Today one of the staff who is working closely with me on the BYTES program asked me what it is that I want to do with the funding and CRT days that I have received for Digital Portfolios and for TPL. She got me thinking about exactly what it is that I would like to spend more time doing. It is easy when everything is so busy to forget to reflect and I think that I am at risk of that happening. I would like to have more time to work with the students on their Digital Portfolios one on one - if we are going to make this a worthwhile program and give them a product at the end that reflects their learning journey and their work in BYTES then it is important that they are given feedback and individual help and guidance on their portfolios in order to encourage that higher order thinking and reflection. In terms of making the project sustainable and looking at producing the best reflection over the long term, it is important that I am able to talk to the students to gauge where their strengths and weaknesses are with the project. I need to get their feedback on what they are enjoying/finding difficult/learning/not learning in order to make the necessary changes for next year.
In my typical style I am starting big - the whole of Year 9 is involved in our Digital Portfolio trial and this is one of the major issues for me in terms of managing the project. How do I get to all the students, keep them all on task, give them the sort of prompts that encourage reflection and learning in all students, when they all learn differently? My first challenge was to introduce the program. In those early stages my focus was on how to introduce the concept to the students, how to structure their work and how to get them all to the same level in terms of their ICT ability.
In this next phase, now that most students have started their portfolio and seem to be working quite well on it, is to refocus my energies on getting the focus for them back onto the content of the portfolio, rather on the set-up. I want to encourage evidence and reflection rather than just surface information. Whilst some students are doing this quite well, I think others need to have that one on one feedback to help them on their way.
Moving on from Digital Portfolios, but still related, I think that I need more time out of scheduled BYTES classes in order to go around to students and talk to them about the program and what they are doing in particular classes. I think that it is important to gather data from students about the program when they are actually working in it. At the moment I am teaching during half of the periods and so I am not free to do this. Perhaps I can use some of the TPL stuff to give me more time to pursue that avenue.
I think that it is important if we want the DP project, and BYTES on the whole to survive and thrive, this, being the trial year, is the year that we need to gather the most data about how to improve the program, what the students are enjoying or not and what the staff think needs to be done to really engage the students. Obviously this year we have had the issue of space - because our custom-designed MERC is not built yet and that is impacting on staffing and spaces and how we do things. The new building will make a big difference in terms of student and staff attitudes, teaching methods and facilities, and will see us truly team teaching for the first time.
Therefore I really want to work on further developing the curriculum, building in further choice and engagement for students and building in new opportunities for staff to relate to students on a different level.
I want to visit other schools and find out what it is that they are doing with their new spaces and their new curriculum - work out what is working and what is not - learn from their mistakes and their successes to enhance our own program. So I need to work out where I want to go and make that happen.
I want to spend more time doing this - writing and reflecting on exactly what it is that we are doing and what we are trying to achieve with DP's and BYTES. I want to spend more time reading and working out where to from here.
So now that I have worked out what it is that I think that I want the next challenge is how to see that it happens. To my trusty AP...
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Professional Conduct?
I found out recently that one of my Year 12 English students is going to another Year 12 English teacher's classes in her free periods. Humph. This raises a variety of issues I guess. Is this really professional conduct? What message is it sending to the students (mine and his) and what are the implications of a student being taught the same topic by two different teachers?
Is it unprofessional to allow a colleague's student into your class? I know that some people would not see it as an issue as long as the student attends the class they are supposed to be attending but I fear that it is not as simple as that. Personally I don't know how to feel. In a way it is totally undermining for me to have a student choose to attend another teacher's class as well as mine. I know that it is probably only because the student is listening to the hype that the other teacher surrounds themselves in, but nonetheless it hurts my pride to think that my teaching may not be good enough in her opinion. Perhaps I need to get a thicker skin, but the fact remains that as teachers, we can console ourselves with the fact that our classroom is our domain to a large extent and no student can really compare us to anyone else because they are not in the other class. In this case the student is being taught the same thing by the two of us and is able to compare how we are teaching and what we are saying. It doesn't sit well with me either because I know that the other class are further into the play than we are so she has already learnt the content and so she sits in my class disinterested.
I guess some of my issue comes down to my own insecurity. I don't like the thought that the student may have decided that she thinks the other teacher is better than me or knows more or teaches better. What message does this send to my students? That they will not do well in my class because I am not a good enough teacher? That they will only succeed if they have this one particular English teacher? What does it say to his class? That I am so crap that one of my students chooses to attend 5 extra classes a week so that they actually learn something? Despite the fact that none of this may be true, that is the perception that the students may have based on the fact that she is in both classes.
The question that I ask myself is this... how should I feel about this situation? I am annoyed that a) One of my students saw fit to ask another teacher if they could sit in on their class because that hurts my ego and that b) that teacher said yes and allowed her on numerous occasions to be in that class. I know that b) has nothing to do with me and is all about that other teacher's ego but it still makes me uncomfortable.
It also makes me question myself which isn't fair. I prepare fully for my senior classes, and although it is the first year that I have taught Year 12 English I think that I am doing a pretty good job. This just takes the shine off things a little bit.
Regardless, I will continue to do my thing and try to remain unaffected by the whole affair. It is out of my hands now anyway because other people know about it and are dealing with it. I will continue to refuse to give extra help to or answer questions from other people's student's because that is undermining and unfair and hopefully some time soon others will begin to do the same...
Is it unprofessional to allow a colleague's student into your class? I know that some people would not see it as an issue as long as the student attends the class they are supposed to be attending but I fear that it is not as simple as that. Personally I don't know how to feel. In a way it is totally undermining for me to have a student choose to attend another teacher's class as well as mine. I know that it is probably only because the student is listening to the hype that the other teacher surrounds themselves in, but nonetheless it hurts my pride to think that my teaching may not be good enough in her opinion. Perhaps I need to get a thicker skin, but the fact remains that as teachers, we can console ourselves with the fact that our classroom is our domain to a large extent and no student can really compare us to anyone else because they are not in the other class. In this case the student is being taught the same thing by the two of us and is able to compare how we are teaching and what we are saying. It doesn't sit well with me either because I know that the other class are further into the play than we are so she has already learnt the content and so she sits in my class disinterested.
I guess some of my issue comes down to my own insecurity. I don't like the thought that the student may have decided that she thinks the other teacher is better than me or knows more or teaches better. What message does this send to my students? That they will not do well in my class because I am not a good enough teacher? That they will only succeed if they have this one particular English teacher? What does it say to his class? That I am so crap that one of my students chooses to attend 5 extra classes a week so that they actually learn something? Despite the fact that none of this may be true, that is the perception that the students may have based on the fact that she is in both classes.
The question that I ask myself is this... how should I feel about this situation? I am annoyed that a) One of my students saw fit to ask another teacher if they could sit in on their class because that hurts my ego and that b) that teacher said yes and allowed her on numerous occasions to be in that class. I know that b) has nothing to do with me and is all about that other teacher's ego but it still makes me uncomfortable.
It also makes me question myself which isn't fair. I prepare fully for my senior classes, and although it is the first year that I have taught Year 12 English I think that I am doing a pretty good job. This just takes the shine off things a little bit.
Regardless, I will continue to do my thing and try to remain unaffected by the whole affair. It is out of my hands now anyway because other people know about it and are dealing with it. I will continue to refuse to give extra help to or answer questions from other people's student's because that is undermining and unfair and hopefully some time soon others will begin to do the same...
Friday, July 07, 2006
Blah Blah Blah
At the moment our school is trialling online roll marking. Eventually, both the rolls and a lot of our teaching content will be available to us online - including other teacher's resources and ideas - a great way to teach and learn and collaborate. Being the technobrat that I am, I think the idea is great - the online roll marking (which is the only bit that is really up at the moment) is an easy program to use, takes the same amount of time as manually marking the roll in your chronicle and has the added benefit of making the roll monitors that used to travel from class to class checking attendence defunct. This means that your classes are no longer interrupted by a student who requires you to stop teaching and tell them who is absent. In all a great idea that actually saves us time already.
Unfortunately there are some (the vocal minority) who are unable to look past the fact that they have to take their laptop to class and that they have to log into the program which requires them entering their password three times and that the wireless network lets us down in some classrooms. I am constantly hearing people whingeing and complaining about such minor things. The general state of negativity to anything new in this school both depresses and aggravates me. I know that this school is no different from any other in terms of attitudes - in fact it is probably more progressive than many with a large cohort of graduate teachers who are embracing the changes as making their jobs more simple. However I still cannot escape the negativity that started with the mere suggestion of these changes last year and has continued throughout the training and particularly this week. Why do people get scared by the idea of change? Is it because they do not understand the process behind the system? Is it because they are stuck in their ways and fail to see the benefits of the new way of doing things? Is it because they have nothing better in their lives to focus their attention to? Nothing better to talk about and so they are using it as a conversation starter? It annoys me that technology is always the first thing to get a bashing from the uneducated and unconverted. It's the old adage of knocking what you don't understand I guess.
Needless to say - I haven't had any problems with the new system. It does not bother me that I have to type my password in three times to get into the system because I can type fast and it takes me about 8 seconds. I do not complain about having to take my laptop to class because I take it will me everywhere anyway (you never know when google or dictionary.com may com in handy in the English and History classroom). I do not feel the need to use this new system as a starting point for conversation because I have a life and plenty of other things to talk about that are far more important and worthy of my time (was that a bit harsh)?
So what am I doing about this? I am helping those who may have problems or concerns by showing them how to use the program effectively and by talking them through and explaining the technical difficulties that they may be having. The two staff members supporting the new system are doing a brilliant job - and working a lot harder than they should have to to ensure that there are minimal issues and that staff have the support they need. There is a new computer tech to join the other two in helping to sort out any of those issues and allow students. Largely though people are not actually having difficulties - over 90% of the rolls were marked for the very first day of the trial without an issue which I think is a brilliant achievement. Largely people just want to complain - any excuse will do. My technobrat solution - to put my new 60Gb Photo/Video I-pod in my ears on full volume and ignore them. It's the only way a girl can get any work done these days...
Unfortunately there are some (the vocal minority) who are unable to look past the fact that they have to take their laptop to class and that they have to log into the program which requires them entering their password three times and that the wireless network lets us down in some classrooms. I am constantly hearing people whingeing and complaining about such minor things. The general state of negativity to anything new in this school both depresses and aggravates me. I know that this school is no different from any other in terms of attitudes - in fact it is probably more progressive than many with a large cohort of graduate teachers who are embracing the changes as making their jobs more simple. However I still cannot escape the negativity that started with the mere suggestion of these changes last year and has continued throughout the training and particularly this week. Why do people get scared by the idea of change? Is it because they do not understand the process behind the system? Is it because they are stuck in their ways and fail to see the benefits of the new way of doing things? Is it because they have nothing better in their lives to focus their attention to? Nothing better to talk about and so they are using it as a conversation starter? It annoys me that technology is always the first thing to get a bashing from the uneducated and unconverted. It's the old adage of knocking what you don't understand I guess.
Needless to say - I haven't had any problems with the new system. It does not bother me that I have to type my password in three times to get into the system because I can type fast and it takes me about 8 seconds. I do not complain about having to take my laptop to class because I take it will me everywhere anyway (you never know when google or dictionary.com may com in handy in the English and History classroom). I do not feel the need to use this new system as a starting point for conversation because I have a life and plenty of other things to talk about that are far more important and worthy of my time (was that a bit harsh)?
So what am I doing about this? I am helping those who may have problems or concerns by showing them how to use the program effectively and by talking them through and explaining the technical difficulties that they may be having. The two staff members supporting the new system are doing a brilliant job - and working a lot harder than they should have to to ensure that there are minimal issues and that staff have the support they need. There is a new computer tech to join the other two in helping to sort out any of those issues and allow students. Largely though people are not actually having difficulties - over 90% of the rolls were marked for the very first day of the trial without an issue which I think is a brilliant achievement. Largely people just want to complain - any excuse will do. My technobrat solution - to put my new 60Gb Photo/Video I-pod in my ears on full volume and ignore them. It's the only way a girl can get any work done these days...
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