Good Teacher Magazine 2014, Term 3 by Good Teacher Magazine

Term Three 2014

“The best teachers don’t give you the answers... They just point the way ... Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 and let you make your own choices.”

2 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

Index 3 Your Soapbox

Close Encounters with Student Learning in Year 9 and 10 Science Classrooms Dr Simon Taylor 5 Would-be teachers in for testing time for before graduation

Performance

Ballet Foundation

Online learning with the IB Diploma

Anne Keeling

Auckland Zoo Series

Barisa Photography

Top Summer Activities to Keep the Learning Going

Smart Playrooms

Support for our Gifted Early Childhood Children

Petra Navanua

MOTAT Series

Barisa Photography

Let’s Talk

Rachel Williams

Technology and Creativity

Elaine Le Sueur

Successful learning

Laurie Loper

Architectural Columns Constructed from Suspended Charcoal

How to Write Good

Defining Your Ideal Work Environment

Michelle LaBrosse

All schools must promote ‘British values’

The Guardian

The World’s Cutest Pub!

Field Candy.com

Elegant Henna Tattoo Crowns Help Cancer Patients

How to encourage students to read for pleasure:

The Guardian

Artist Paints Insanely Small Paintings Onto Food

Mystery Of How The Egyptians Moved Pyramid Stones Solved?

Roger’s Rant

Front Cover:

Caught Perched at Auckland Zoo...Barisa Photography

Back Cover:

Adelaide Zoo, email us for further information

Good Teacher Magazine would like to acknowledge the unknown writers, photographers and illustrators whose work was collated from a wide range of internet sources and may have been used. All attempts have been made to contact those who could be identified.

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is produced in the first week of each school term and uploaded to http://www.goodteacher.co.nz The magazine is freely available both in New Zealand and Internationally. Please keep a duplicate of text and illustrative materials submitted for publication. ed-media accepts no responsibility for damage or loss of material submitted for publication NOTE: The opinions expressed in Teacher Magazine are not necessarily those of ed-media or the editorial team. Goo

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Your Soapbox!

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The History of ‘APRONS’ I don’t think our kids know what an apron is. The principle use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.. And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes. Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma’s aprons. Remember: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don’t think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...

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Found: https://www.facebook.com/GypsyWoman10?fref=photo

If you want to have YOUR SAY please email your offering to: soapbox@goodteacher.co.nz

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Close Encounters with Student Learning in Year 9 and 10 Science Classrooms What is learning like in Years 9 and 10 Science from a student’s viewpoint? What is really going on? Let’s take the opportunity to get up close to their learning world. Dr Simon Taylor’s current research examines the perceptions of secondary students- how they see learning in their science lessons. This article centres on what we as teachers can learn from student voice, how personally relevant learning contexts used in lessons were particularly significant for Maori and Pacifica students and how established collaborative practices influenced student engagement.

Year 9 students at Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School A key feature of The New Zealand curriculum places emphasis on teacher actions promoting student learning in the section effective pedagogy (Ministry of Education, 2007). It’s been in the spotlight in the professional learning and development initiatives over recent years where there is importance of creating a supportive learning environment, encouraging reflective thought and enhancing the relevance of new learning for students. However, what kind of learning do we want to promote for our students in our science classes (as well as for ourselves as science teachers)?

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How should we go about making changes to the way we teach science that embrace effective pedagogy described in the curriculum? One major factor that emerged from an extensive study in New Zealand directed by Graham Nuthall was that the power of peer relationships and teacher interactions directly shaped student learning experiences (Nuthall, 2007). Furthermore, Science Capabilities have been identified from the Nature of Science strand in the New Zealand Curriculum, to promote the concept of science citizenship.

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Students are urged to bring a scientific perspective to decisions and actions. Hence, developing these using relevant contexts in science lessons, teenagers will mostly likely need to be encouraged to:

Using both actual and preferred student forms of a learning environment survey, results show students preferred a far greater collaborative and participatory classroom than what was measured of the actual environment. The shared control theme revealed the lowest score (44%) compared with the other three themes. See Table 1 for comparisons.

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Work collaboratively both with their peers and their teacher.

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Reflect on why they are learning about a topic.

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Challenge views using evidence.

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Ponder the validity of experiments.

Shared Control

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Share their developing ideas with their classmates.

Personal Relevance

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Use their scientific understandings to make decisions.

Critical Voice

Student Negotiation

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Take actions in social and cultural contexts.

These are challenging propositions for science teachers of 21st Century teenagers. So how can we teach science with the explicit intention of incorporating these capabilities in our lessons? To respond to these questions with care, there is opportunity to first explore the immediate learning environment, find out what actually happens in science classrooms through the eyes of the teenager. Having greater insight into their world of learning in science can help gain greater understanding of how teachers teach and how students learn science. Before we scramble to make lists of strategies and claims of how to teach with these specific capabilities in mind, let’s take a breath to ponder the world of the teenager in science lessons. This research predominantly focused on gathering student voice at the junior years of secondary school, collecting descriptions from a wide range of classes and using a unique mix of methods to measure this. About 950 Year 9 and 10 secondary students in 41 science classes attending schools situated in the Central North Island were invited over a period of three years to share their perceptions of what science learning was like in their lessons. The following comments are a brief and introductory interpretation of four themes (student perceptions) that were highlighted: Shared Control titled as “Learning to learn”. This is the extent in which students are being invited to share with the teacher, control of the learning environment, including the articulation of learning goals, the design and management of learning activities-this included practical experiments, and the determination and application of assessment criteria. We can empathise with the metaphor “learners in the driving seat” highlighting the significance of students taking control of the learning, but how does this happen in Year 9 and 10 science classes? Sharing control with students is a practice by teachers that can be considered challenging because of time and curriculum content coverage constraints, particularly in secondary schools where tight timetables can reduce science to 3 hours per week. 6 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

Theme

Student perceptions Actual means %

Table 1: Student learning environment surveysummary of mean values across themes over three years, N=689. Key: 0-20% Almost never happens, 21-40% Seldom happens, 41-60% Sometimes happens, 61-80% Often happens, 81-100% Almost always happens. From results of the survey with respect to an individual item “I help the teacher to plan what I’m going to learn”, on average, 39% of the participants signalled that they almost never did this with their science teacher and 68% of the students indicated that either never did this or they seldom did. Thus we see an emerging pattern about attitudes in sharing control with the teacher with a large percentage of students perceiving a limited capacity in coconstructing their learning with the teacher. Preferred data also indicated a yearning from the students to want to work more closely with the teacher in being involved with the decision making in science lessons. Personal Relevance titled as “Learning about the world” was the second theme describing the extent in which school science and students’ out-of-school experiences are connected, and how students make use of their everyday experiences as a meaningful context for the development of their scientific knowledge. With this in mind, student’s views of learning as drawings were collected to help the research take on more of a qualitative measure, with emphasis on personal relevance. “What students see in classrooms has an influence on the way they understand learning and especially learning in school” (Watkins, Carnell, & Lodge, 2007, p. 27) and one way to examine these comprehensions is to invite students to draw learning. However, learning is not an object but a process and this can pose a challenge to students when asked to draw the learning in their classroom. The test in drawing a process such as learning involves thinking about abstract concepts. Sarason (2004) notes the term ‘learning’ is not like the words boat or water, or rocket, which have visible, concrete meaning. In making these pictures, students do not merely represent what they see, but they do consider aspects, like for example, their position, size

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Lesley’s drawing of learning in science at Year 9 and image of the teacher, the physical nature of the classroom including what is written on the board, the cultural images, scientific contexts, social interactions and sometimes they include speech bubbles with written words describing their thinking. It is understood that drawing is much more than a simple representation of what one sees. The act of drawing and the production of a visual summary of experience can be a powerful mechanism in making sense of the experience where Milne (2008) assures us that children use drawing to grapple with meaning and purpose of their lives. The question was posed “What does learning look like in your science class?” Students were invited to compose their drawings in the science lesson on an A4 sized piece of white paper. All the drawings were unique- there was no drawing identical to another, the majority (97%) of all the students portrayed classmates in their pictures, this suggests that most students perceived their learning in presence with other classmates and most (74%) had specific details of classmates and/or teacher (eg. Facial features, hairstyle, clothes). Most (71%) of the drawings depicted a teacher somewhere in the picture and 14% of the drawings presented the teacher as the central figure in the room. What was surprising, only 37% of the drawings had specific details indicating science was taught there (scientific apparatus, science terms on the whiteboard) and in terms of personal relevance, there were very few (7%) drawings depicting learning about science outside of school such as current events or personal interests that were linked with science.

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In addition to the learning drawings there was high statistical significance in the quantitative results with respect to personal relevance and ethnicity. In comparisons, the NZ European students showed higher perceptions of personal relevance in science lessons with a mean of 64%, compared with NZ Maori (60%) and Pacifica (55%) students. One of the items in the survey “My new learning starts with problems about the world outside of school” revealed a high proportion of Maori and Pacifica students signalling that rarely this happened. In the interviews that followed, some Maori students spoke candidly about the importance of personal relevance in their lessons, so that they could link their world outside of school to what was happening in their science lessons. Personal relevance in science classroom activities has been seen as a significant link to positive student engagement (Bolstad & Hipkins, 2009) where students can begin to sense that their learning about science is inextricably connected with their real world and this happens not just at school, but at home, when they are at the skate park, playing netball, having dinner, etc. However, what is not sometimes observable to students is that these connections between the science activity going on in the classroom and the real world context are not clearly demonstrated or deliberately emphasised. Authentic contexts such as these maybe implied in science teaching but can often be lost in the everyday business of laboratory activities. Time for reflection and discussion on the purpose of the topic can also be easily forgotten to incorporate into the lesson programme because of time constraints. Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 7

Year 10 students at Mount Maunganui College chance in being able to talk about things that they were personally interested in because the topic at the time did not fit with their interests. They felt that at most, science lessons were pre-determined and they did not want to embarrass themselves or others by attempting to make changes to the programme.

However, it is this very process of reflection with peers that could make the difference in drawing students further into their learning, so that they could feel greater personal involvement and commitment. In the interviews, the students spoke of a desire for world relevance in their lessons and with particular interest in their family and in sport. Some were keen to debate ideas with their peers and take opportunity to look at both sides of current environmental issues such as for example oil drilling, sand mining and protection of natural resources. Some Maori students spoke about being frustrated in their science lessons, not engaging with them at all, because they saw little Year 9 students at Morrinsville College.

Critical Voice titled as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Learning to speak outâ&#x20AC;? was the third theme, this focused on the extent to which a social climate had been established in which students feel that it is legitimate and beneficial to debate ideas and voice their opinion in class. In the 67 interviews that took place, a pattern that prevailed in most, was that students spoke of general freedom and autonomy they had in speaking out in class. There were also corresponding reasonably high values of critical voice means in the class surveys, which indicate learning environments to be positive. It was encouraging to hear most (but not all) of the students interviewed, responding positively to the way their teacher did value the way could speak out in lessons. Apart from a few exceptions, overall their voice was valued, they felt comfortable asking questions to the teacher and calling to the teacher for their attention. However, some students remained uncomfortable in challenging the teacher about the way they were taught. Some felt ok talking about operational tasks but in terms of explaining science ideas openly to others they were much more hesitant. There were also definite opportunities in their science lessons that they could voice their opinion but much less opportunities to discuss how science could be learnt using different strategies. Many students spoke enthusiastically about when their teachers used a range of learning strategies, they were engaged for longer rather than a single teaching method used often their motivation waned. They said that there

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was more opportunity to enjoy science and speak up in class if there was a mix of different tasks in a single lesson. Some students spoke of wanting a greater choice in when they would do the activities-options in the lessons to choose from, some spoke about that they had personal scientific queries they wanted to share but there was not the kind of forum in typical science lessons that these queries could be discussed comfortably with their peers. Some students said they were hesitant to discuss their personal scientific queries because they thought they were not associated with the topic they were studying at the time. Student Negotiation titled as “Learning to communicate” which examined the extent to which students have opportunities to explain and justify their ideas and to test the viability of their own and other students’ ideas. This theme had the highest actual mean score 69% in the student survey, out of all four. It is also interesting to note that this theme had the highest preference score of 73% out of all four themes showing a trend where students preferred to have much greater communication with their peers. This theme was identified as being the most preferred and valued across all classes over the three years. Never the less, negotiating discussion with classmates can be a challenging task for teenagers, particularly when the conversations depend on their own confidence to speak up and negotiate the next steps in an activity. As teachers, we are well aware, there can be much activity going on in science lessons in terms of practical manipulation, methods to follow and classmates in close proximity to one another. Hence there are demands for students to negotiate conversations and keep focussed on the task. We asked the question in the student interviews: Tell us about the opportunities you get explaining ideas in a science lesson? Many of the responses described how students initiated discussions, by actively seeking and forming a group where they could have increased opportunity to talk about ideas than if they were on their own. Some students felt overwhelmed with a science lesson in terms of completing the written work if there were minimal co-operative strategies in place. Many discussed the situation if there were no groups set up by the teacher then they would purposely develop a collaborative structure with other classmates to help each other. Another feature of the student responses was that forming a group or being in a pair, students could have the ability to shield distractions from other groups. Nearly all students in the interviews appreciated working on science activities in groups, saying they could share the load, bounce ideas around and that they had greater confidence in speaking within the group than in a whole class discussion. Many valued some time to talk about things other than science that were concerning them and this was the way they liked to work most of the time. Some (13%) of the learning drawings portrayed the student directly interacting with the teacher. Half of the drawings portrayed student discussion,

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movement in the classroom or there was a sense of social negotiation going on in the picture. Remembering that 97% of all the drawings portrayed classmates in their pictures, implicating the importance of classmates in their science learning. There was little evidence from the pictures of the act of planning the learning between students or of the students operating together with the teacher in working/planning together. 14% of the drawings presented the teacher as the central figure in the room and in larger proportions compared to the size of the student images, these pictures portrayed the teacher situated a distance from the students.

Shannon’s Conclusion drawing of learning in science at Year 9 The world of the 13-15 year old student in science lessons is dynamic and particularly responsive to social presence, personal relevance and sharing control with the teacher. Students preferred less dependence on their teacher and much greater shared control in the lesson. Activities where students themselves could manage the work and make decisions about problems were considered fun and engaging. Much of what students do in science is determined by their social relationships and the drawings highlighted the importance of social negotiation. There maybe increasingly more emphasis for students to learn about real world issues but students were signalling that this rarely happened. How the design of topics where personal interests are used as contexts matters to students. Collaboration transpires when classmates have the opportunity to form groups, share ideas and reflect on the reasons why they are studying a particular topic. Dr Simon Taylor is the Central North Island Secondary Science Facilitator for the University of Auckland. Email: sp.taylor@auckland.ac.nz

References: Bolstad, R., & Hipkins, R. (2009). Seeing Yourself in Science. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum for English-Medium Teaching and Learning in Years 1-13. Wellington: Learning Media. Nuthall, G. (2007). The Hidden lives of learners. Wellington: NZCER Press. Sarason, S.B. (2004). Big Change question: What is needed to resolve the social and critical issues affecting large scale reform? Macro change demands micro involvement. Journal of Educational Change, 5, 289-302. Watkins, C., Carnell, E. & Lodge, C. (2007). Effective learning in classrooms. London, England: Sage.

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Would-be teachers in for testing time for before graduation

Practical placement: Emma Semrani with kindergarten children (left to right) Riley, 5; Sienna, 5 (pigtails); Emma, 5; and Matthew, 6, at Holy Family Primary School, Menai. Photo: Tamara Dean

All teaching students in NSW will have to pass a ‘’tough’’ literacy and numeracy test before they can graduate, amid concerns some new teachers struggle to explain maths and grammar concepts to their students. Students who fail the new online test, which will be introduced by 2016, will not be allowed to complete their final practical assessment in the classroom, which would stop them graduating.

teaching,’’ he said. Mr Alegounarias said universities should encourage students to sit the tests early in their degrees. but a high failure rate would not necessarily prompt revised, easier questions.

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said he expected high standards of teaching graduates and the new test would ensure every student graduating from a teaching course in NSW had adequate literacy and numeracy skills.

‘’If students are failing because they don’t have the requisite knowledge, that would not be a reason to change the test,’’ he said.

‘’The test will be quite difficult, quite complex, and so it should be,’’ Mr Piccoli said. ‘’I don’t resile for one minute from setting very high standards and guarding them with things like a literacy and numeracy test.’’ Mr Piccoli said universities and schools had reported graduate teachers struggling to explain maths and grammar concepts. NSW would be the first state to set such a test, with a complete introduction planned for 2016 after trials this year and next. Students would be able to sit the test as many times as they wish - ‘’a little bit like your driver’s test’’, Mr Piccoli said. But Tom Alegounarias, president of the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Training, said some students would not be able to pass at all. ‘’If history and commonsense about tests apply, there will be students who find that they are not suited to

Emma Semrani, a fourth year teaching student at the Australian Catholic University, is doing her practical placement at Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Menai. ‘’We need to ensure that we are competent in what we do so we give children the best chance of the best future possible,’’ Ms Semrani, 21, said. ‘’I think it’s important that you as a teacher constantly revisit material to make sure you are up to date. ‘’You’re not always going to be 100 per cent competent in your own literacy or numeracy because you have to teach all key learning areas.’’ Mr Piccoli said all of the state’s vice-chancellors had agreed to the new assessment, devised by the Australian Council for Education Research and the NSW Board of Studies. As part of improving teacher quality, students starting a teaching degree from school will also need three Band 5 Higher School Certificate results, one of which must be English. http://www.smh.com.au/national/education

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Performance:

Parents, make this time very special to your children. We know it is a sacrifice of your time and money- but please don't complain within earshot of your child.

Your child has worked really hard to get ready and they really, really want to hear how proud you are! The theatre is a magical place to a child- it can be a castle, a house, a circus.. the list goes on. Play into the magic.

Enjoy the smiles, sparkles and moments with your child!

This is how we create a love for the arts that will last a lifetime! Ballet Foundation

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 11

Online learning with

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the IB Diploma

With online learning an increasingly fundamental part of higher education and the workplace, schools are beginning to recognise its importance as a part of the curriculum.

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 13

The benefits of online learning Online learning benefits both students and schools. It offers opportunities for students to develop valuable technology and self-management skills in preparation for independent learning at university and in the world of work. It offers schools the chance to provide an expanded range of subject options for 16-18 year olds which, for many smaller or newer international schools can be one of their most challenging issues. And it moves the school towards providing a more blended approach to learning; combining traditional face-to-face classroom teaching with virtual learning and in so doing responding to the learning needs and preferences of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital-age students.

Online learning with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate has been responding to this move for the past five years, offering an increasingly extensive range of online Diploma Programme subject courses for its students. These are all delivered by online course provider Pamoja Education which has created IBDP courses to ensure students are able to communicate effectively and fully engage in their learning through a range of innovative online educational tools. In participating schools, students can choose to take one or more of their IB Diploma Programme subjects, for the entire two year period of study, via the virtual classroom. They learn in class sizes of between 15 14 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

and 25 students, working alongside online classmates who are based in other schools around the world. Their teacher is an experienced, qualified IB subject teacher who guides them throughout the course via a range of e-dialogue. This includes live online lessons which allow students synchronous time with their teacher and classmates, weekly assignments including online class discussions and blog entries, and learning activities that students work on either alone, with their classmates or with their teachers. The students have structured yet flexible learning weeks, meaning that they have a weekly learning schedule to complete but which can be undertaken at a time and place that best suits each individual.

Growth and success Interest in the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) online course options is growing significantly based on student and school success. In the May 2013 IBDP examinations, 83.5% of online students achieved a grade 4 or above, comparing very favourably with 78.5% for all IBDP students. This academic year there are 1,400 students from over 300 schools participating in IB Diploma Programme online subject courses. Tana Monk from the Philippines is one of them. Tana is a first year IBDP student studying two courses online; Business and Management and Economics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was expecting

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for the IB [Diploma] to be really difficult, and that doing it online would make it even harder,” she says. “But once I dove into the course and got familiar with the site, I found that it was really easy and organized. Pamoja Education’s programme has a lot of tools that help you to communicate with your classmates and with your teacher. So whenever you need help or advice, you can contact them and they’ll get back with you right away and help you as much as they can. I also like how the lessons are set up, because you can go at your own pace as long as you get everything done by the end of the week.” Tana says being in a genuinely global classroom has helped to give her a more international view of the subjects she is studying. “I get to see the world from many different cultural perspectives, meet different people and even make friends,” she says.

In preparation for university How is online learning helping the IBDP students once they reach university? Past international student, María Fernández-Martos Balson who studied IB Mathematics Higher Level online and is currently an Engineering student at the University of Cambridge in England reflects on her online Learning experience: “The flexible pace of an online course

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suited me well,” she says. “I quite liked being able to skip or revisit topics, as necessary. Being able to submit questions in video format was also very useful. My teacher was extraordinary – very talented and extremely supportive. This is not something my school would have been able to provide otherwise. I am currently studying Engineering at the University of Cambridge. I do think that the Pamoja Education online course benefited my application: it shows that I can adapt to a new learning environment quickly, and that I am a proactive learner. The online Mathematics HL course has prepared me for university in ways that a traditional course cannot, both in terms of the quality of the teaching, and of the time management skills that I developed during the course.”

Find out more Students considering online learning as part of their IBDP may wish to find out more from students already learning this way. A short video includes explanations from students about how their IBDP online learning is structured. More information is available from: www.pamojaeducation.com

Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 15

Auckland Zoo Series

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Top Summer Activities to Keep the Learning Going Isn’t it great to have the best of both worlds? Seeing your child learning as they play? There are so many different activities to inspire children to learn while having fun. Three teachers/ moms and owners of Smart Playrooms, Karri, Chris and Jennifer share some of the top summer activities just in time for your children to enjoy this summer, but keep creative juices flowing for when they return to school. 1. Get Messy Art is one of the best opportunities for kids to express themselves and to encounter new sensory experiences. When the art studio is outside, cleaning up the mess is easy and worry-free. So bring out the paints, let loose on the oil pastels, set up the splashy water table, and if you are really brave, get the mud pies cooking! The more that they are able to experiment with a variety of materials, the more they grow as artists and thinkers. 2. Bring Indoor Toys Out When you bring toys from the playroom outside, it gives kids whole new ways to see and use them. Open-ended toys like blocks will become something entirely new outside and will give kids more opportunity to work on executive function skills such as sorting and planning, math concepts such as shapes and balance, and the crucial opportunity to recreate the world around them. Outside, kids might just be inspired to build a miniature farmer’s market!

Before

After

3. Get Them Writing Kids like to write when they know their writing has a purpose. Let them watch you write for a purpose when you write the grocery list, the to do list, the post-it reminder, or the postcard to a friend. Then give them the kinds of materials that they will need to do the same: different paper for making lists, labels, notes, letters and reminders. Chances are, whatever they see you write, they will want to write as well; and when they start to see what writing can do, they will do it even more! 4. Read, Read, Read Parents are always asking us what they can do to help their child become a better reader, writer, and learner. Our first answer is always the same: read to them as much as you possibly can. There simply is no better way to enrich their literacy learning. Kids also get the idea that reading is a fun, enjoyable pastime when they see us reading. Summer is the perfect time to send this message. Read books together or side-by-side in the hammock, on the picnic blanket, or at the beach. Their desire to find books and begin to read on their own will naturally follow.

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About Smart Playrooms Smart Design. Smart Play. “The design, layout and organization of a play area greatly affect the behavior, independence and creativity of children. We incorporate the most effective educational and organizational strategies into a child’s play area to meet the needs of children. Open-ended play materials foster educational and creative play in kids,” shares Chris Simpson, co-owner of Smart Playrooms. Smart Playrooms encourages kids to get their creative and imaginary sparks flying during playtime. Created by three teachers/moms, the Smart Playrooms team knows how important it is to inspire children to learn and create in their own, imaginative way. Their unique teaching and classroom experience is used to design smart play spaces that will benefit children of all ages because they can find, play, and put away the toys and materials with ease. Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 21

Support for our Gifted Early Chil

The free and compulsory education of school children in New Zealand has been available for over 100 years and in this time there have been many exciting and innovative changes occur in the education system to improve outcomes for children (Moltzen, 2011). While not compulsory for children to participate in early childhood education, New Zealand has been a leading figure in the development of the first national early childhood curriculum, which is described as innovative and bicultural (Lee, Carr, Soutar & Mitchell, 2013). Unfortunately, however, support for gifted children has not been a part of these initiatives (Moltzen, 2011). It has only been in recent years that there has been a surge in national recognition for gifted and talented children in New Zealand. Greater government involvement first occurred in 1997 with the establishment of an advisory group, and recommendations from this group resulted in the publication of guidelines for schools (Ministry of Education, 2000). These have recently been updated in 2012 (Ministry of Education, 2013). Subsequent initiatives included the launch of the online resource for teachers on the Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI) website (www.tki.org.nz/gifted) and, from January 2005, the 22 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

mandatory reporting from schools on how they are meeting the needs of gifted children included within the National Administration Guidelines (NAG) 1. To support schools to achieve this NAG, funding was made available for Gifted and Talented Advisors to work with schools (McDonough & Rutherford, 2005), however this support was later removed in the 2009 budget cuts. Sadly, none of these initiatives relate to early childhood education. Margrain and Farquhar (2012) suggest that the lack of attention and limited initiatives relating to gifted and talented early childhood education provides an almost ‘blank canvas’ upon which New Zealand could initiate programmes and support that leads the way and recognises and celebrates talent from infancy. Identification In order to be able to meet the needs of gifted children within an early childhood setting, Allan (2006) states that they must first be identified. Identification of children as gifted in early childhood can be difficult at times due to their varied and uneven physical, emotional, social and cognitive development (National Association for Gifted Children, 2006). Children’s

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ldhood Children Because of the variability of children’s abilities, Kearney (2000) discourages against formal testing of children under the age of four. When identifying children as gifted in early childhood we need to ensure that the methods used are appropriate for young children, are able to be used by teachers on a daily basis and are culturally relevant to a New Zealand context (Margrain, 2005). Porter (1999) recommends the use of a range of identification tools such as parent, teacher and peer nominations, structured observations and learning stories to be used to provide a more complete assessment of the child. This is supported by Riley (2005), who maintains that multiple methods of identification are preferred in New Zealand. Bevan-Brown (2003) contends that identification tools that are appropriate for use overseas may not be culturally relevant and therefore not appropriate for use in New Zealand. By accessing information from a range of sources, children have multiple opportunities to demonstrate their abilities. This information then needs to be viewed together so that, even if it is not documented in all of the information sourced, children’s demonstrated abilities can be seen (Porter, 1999).

development in one area may move ahead rapidly, and yet in another area they may fall behind peers; then just as quickly this may be reversed (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010). Because of this, our youngest gifted children may be less likely to be identified (Margrain, 2010). However, early identification is essential in order to provide a programme that meets the individualised and specific needs of gifted early childhood aged children. Unlike many other countries, New Zealand does not have a national definition of what it means to be gifted (McDonough & Rutherford, 2005). Instead, New Zealand’s gifted education policy recognises that giftedness can mean different things in different communities and cultures. While this lack of clear guidance can create difficulties in identifying gifted young children, especially if teachers and other professionals hold a narrow view of what giftedness is, “then abilities that fall outside of this narrow definition are unlikely to be recognised” (Sutherland, 2012, p8). This policy does support and promote a broad and multi-categorical identification process, and because of this there are a number of approaches that can be adopted to meet the needs of gifted students.

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The importance of early childhood education in forming patterns of learning is widely held, and difficulty in forming these patterns has been identified as a potential source of underachievement in gifted children (Symmes Sweeney, 2008). Early identification assists parents to seek professional advice and determine the most appropriate educational environment for their child (Harrison, 2003). It also enables teachers to offer an appropriate programme and support which ensures children at their early childhood service reach their full potential. However, with more children being identified there will be additional pressure placed on specialist services to support these children, their families and their teachers (Radue, 2009). Support There has been little research carried out on gifted and talented early childhood aged children in New Zealand that included and considered the perspectives on support available to children, their families and teachers. Research that has been carried out has predominately focused on the identification of gifted young children. Margrain and Farquhar (2012) recently noted that, while there have been a number of nationally funded projects undertaken, these have been specific to the primary and secondary school sector. None of these initiatives relate to early childhood education, and the result of this has been limited professional development opportunities, programmes and resources to support teachers, parents and children. Te Whāriki, the Early Childhood Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996) is founded on the following Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 23

aspirations for children: “to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society” (p. 9). Without effective support and provisions, this aspiration cannot readily be applied to gifted and talented early childhood aged children as they will not be provided with the tools required to develop to their full potential. This will result in the child’s sense of belonging and ability to fully contribute to society being compromised. Riley (2005) points out that unless a review is carried out of the effectiveness of identification and provisions for gifted children, then gifted education will not make effective moves forward. This is supported by Margrain and Farquhar (2012), who believe there is little national support for gifted education in early childhood and that further research, professional development and policy development in this area would be beneficial. A review of the provisions available for support, as well as what other support teachers, parents and children require, is the starting point in addressing the needs and wellbeing of these children and families and making the necessary leaps forward. Support for Children Since term one, 2005, the National Administration Guidelines (NAG) have required schools in New Zealand to develop and implement teaching and learning strategies to meet the needs of all gifted school students (Ministry of Education, 2013b). However, currently there is little national support for gifted education for early childhood aged children, and therefore there is a lack of effective support for these children (Margrain & Farquhar, 2012). Allan (2002) highlights the need for additional support for our gifted early childhood aged children in order for them to avoid underachievement, to realise their potential and to stimulate their motivation to learn. Advocacy is one way to provide support for gifted children. It often falls on parents to advocate for their child, however teachers also play an important role in advocating for gifted children. Parents generally know their child best and are often the best equipped to advocate effectively for appropriate programmes to support their child’s learning, as well as decide the best setting to cater for their child’s interests, strengths and needs. Children’s wellbeing and providing the support for them to flourish and blossom is at the heart of parent advocacy (Margrain, 2007). However, at times this can be difficult with parents’ efforts to advocate for their children being misinterpreted. They can be viewed as pushy and ‘forcing’ their child into formal learning situations as they seek to promote understanding about their children’s needs and abilities (Harrison, 2003). Young children need people “who will go to bat for them when they are too young to do this for themselves” (Silverman, 2007, para. 14). Without effective advocacy, children may not be able to learn and 24 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

achieve as fully as they may be able to with support (Margrain, 2010). Educators can also support children by matching the curriculum to the child’s abilities. “[R]esearch indicates that an interactive and responsive environment in early childhood supports both cognitive and affective growth and establishes a pattern for successful learning that can continue throughout children’s lives” (National Association for Gifted Children, 2012, para. 2). The basis of Te Whāriki, the Early Childhood Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996), is that the curriculum is provided by the people, places, and things in the child’s environment: the adults, the other children, the physical environment, and the resources. This curriculum emphasises the critical role of socially and culturally mediated learning and of reciprocal and responsive relationships for children with people, places, and things. Children learn through collaboration with adults and peers, through guided participation and observation of others, as well as through individual exploration and reflection (Ministry of Education, 1996). Because young gifted children are often more advanced than their peers in a range of areas, Symmes Sweeny (2008) raises the concern that the ability to match the curriculum to a child’s abilities may not be readily available in a childcare setting. However, high quality programmes that effectively implement the early childhood curriculum will respect and respond reflectively to the skills and interests of children (Porter, 1999) and will therefore be able to match the curriculum to the child’s abilities. This is supported by pilot studies carried out in 2009 in the United Kingdom with gifted two year old children, which revealed that attending relatively high-quality early childhood settings made a significant difference to children’s learning and development (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010). Furthermore, the holistic nature of Te Whāriki is well suited to the learning needs of gifted Māori children. It ensures that learning is not in isolation, it provides hands on learning opportunities and advocates that parents and whānau are involved (Bevan-Brown, 2012). The curriculum can also be matched to the child’s abilities in their home. Parents who take the time to talk with and extend their children can provide an environment which is responsive and supportive to their needs. In situations where both parents work, grandparents and other family members can step into this role. Providing opportunities such as music classes, attending groups with likeminded people, trips and excursions can incur costs, however supporting gifted children is not the exclusive domain of the wealthy (Margrain, 2010). Trips to the library, walks to local areas of interest and receiving mentoring from older members of the community can provide rich learning opportunities for children. The support parents can offer from home can sometimes also be limited by the area that they live. Small Poppies (www.giftededucation.org.nz/SmallPoppies/ about.htm), for example, is a group designed

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specifically to meet the needs of young gifted children and their families. Small Poppies first began as a parent co-operative venture, after some parents of gifted children, unhappy with what was happening in the childcare centres their children were attending, got together to form this group. Small Poppies provides an enrichment and extension programme for children from the age of two until they turn six, where they can work at their own pace alongside other children with similar interests and abilities (Gifted Education Centre, n.d). In 2003, the Gifted Education Centre established New Zealand’s first online programme for gifted children who lived in rural, isolated areas. This is now available to all children, so it can be accessed by children who are not able to access gifted programmes where they live (www.giftededucation. org.nz). The New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC) also offers opportunities for gifted children and their parents to get together with other gifted children. These are parent run, and are offered throughout New Zealand. In areas where there may not be an established group, the NZAGC offer guidelines on how to set a group (New Zealand Association for Gifted Children, 2013). Finally, parents and teachers can support children by having high expectations of them. Children’s ability to learn is powerfully affected by the way they view themselves as learners, and these views are in part formed by the verbal and non-verbal messages they receive (Department for Children Schools and Families, 2010). Where teachers and parents have low expectations of children’s achievements or they are not adequately supported, the child’s learning may be inhibited, and they will fail to thrive (Colangelo, Assouline & Gross, 2004). It is the actions that teachers, parents and other people involved in a gifted young child’s life take, which have such a huge influence on their development. Through actively listening to children, respecting their ideas and feelings, encouraging their risk taking and learning to accept failure, participating in their discoveries, understanding their motivations and having high expectations of children (Porter, 1999), environments can be created where each child grows up with the support they need to become everything they are capable of. Support for Parents The parenting of any child can at times be challenging and parents of gifted children are not exempt from this. In fact, at times they may be faced with additional challenges as they try to deal with the advanced development of their child and meeting their needs. This can result in additional pressures and stresses on the family (Harrison, 2003). To compound this problem, it can be difficult for parents to find and access appropriate resources and support to assist them, and they can find that they face this challenge alone (Hillmann, n.d.). There are a number of New Zealand websites which offer support for parents of gifted young children and

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feature a range of publications, resource swapping, newsletters and forums where parents can ask questions of experts and other parents. Examples of these include the New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (www.giftedchildren.org.nz) and GiftEDnz (giftednz.org.nz). Forums allow parents the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from experts in the field of gifted education. They are popular with parents and help to clarify perceptions and understandings around gifted education (Gifted Education Centre, n.d). Agencies such as New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC), GiftEDnz and Gifted Education Centre (formally the George Parkyn Centre) are also available to offer advisory support for parents from all over New Zealand. In some situations, these agencies offer opportunities for parents to meet other parents with gifted children, however this is dependent on location. Many parents benefit from belonging to parent support groups where they can talk with other families who may be facing similar situations to their own. Through strengthening their own knowledge and understandings regarding their children’s needs, interests and abilities, these parents are in a stronger position to more effectively advocate for their children. It is also the persistence of large groups of parents who are helping to ensure that provisions for gifted children are kept firmly in place (Silverman, 2007). While some of the support offered by these services is free, more in-depth support or attending workshops and other professional development does generally incur a cost. Early childhood teachers experienced in working with gifted children are also a great source of support for parents and have a significant role to play in sharing their knowledge of gifted education (Harrison, 2003). This is reinforced on the Ministry of Education website under the “Support for gifted and talented children” page which states, if your child attends an early childhood service and you think they may have a special ability, to talk with their teacher. It goes on to state that the early childhood service can advise you on who to contact for support and information if required. Parents are often overwhelmed by the need for educational resources and enrichment experiences for their gifted child (Harrison, 2003). The cost of accessing these resources can also become costly, which for some families may not be affordable, or mean that they have to go without in order to ensure that their child receives this support. Early childhood services can support parents by providing readings and other resources for parents to use, as well as assisting in the development of networks with other parents and families of young gifted children. However, a recent New Zealand study carried out by Margrain and Farquhar (2012) found that there was a disconnection between what parents believed teachers should be doing to support them and their child, and what they were actually doing. One example of an area that parents valued, but was not happening as often as they would have liked, was supporting them to find further opportunities for their Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 25

child’s learning outside of the early childhood service. Instead, areas that teachers focused a lot of their support in, which was more often than parents believed should be was; “emphasising socialisation and play over skill development and knowledge; avoiding drawing attention to exceptionality, and; not differentiating between learners whether gifted or not” (Margrain & Farquhar, 2012, p 6.). The research went on to highlight that the reason for the division between the support parents wanted from early childhood teachers and what they were receiving, was due to a lack of understanding, knowledge and resources available to early childhood teachers around gifted education of young children. Support for Teachers One of the key principles of the New Zealand policy for gifted and talented education highlights that the early childhood environment is a “powerful catalyst for the demonstration and development of talent” (McDonough & Rutherford, 2005, para. 6). Despite this, there is no government funding available or programmes offered by the Ministry of Education to support gifted children in early childhood (Margrain, 2010). Research carried out by Reece (2006) highlighted that some of the reasons that teachers were not implementing a programme that supported gifted young children was due to a lack of knowledge, abilities, information and resources. The research went on to follow teachers who were given professional development in the area of gifted and talented education, which revealed substantial improvements in teachers’ abilities to identify and support gifted children. There are a number of New Zealand websites which teachers can access to learn more regarding gifted education, and agencies such as New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC), GiftEDnz and Gifted Education Centre (formally the George Parkyn Centre) are also available to offer advisory support through online forums, by phone and email. They also offer professional development, one on one support and conferences, however this is at the cost of the early childhood service. With research suggesting that up to 59% of children’s achievement is due to the quality of the teaching (Alton-Lee, 2003), there is a strong need for teachers to engage in ongoing professional development. This is essential for all teachers if they are to continually progress in the provision of gifted education (Radue, 2009). In 2008, the Ministry of Education released the handbook ‘Nurturing gifted and talented children: A parent-teacher partnership’ to all schools and early childhood centres (Bevan-Brown & Taylor, 2008). As already discussed, there are very few resources available to access regarding early childhood children. “This book and some online resources are among the only no-cost materials currently provided nationally to support the education of young gifted children” (Margrain & Farquhar, 2012, p 8). However, while this resource was intended for use by parents and teachers, only one copy of this was sent to early 26 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

childhood services. There was also no training or unpacking of this resource provided. The limited copies of this resource and lack of additional, ongoing support meant that the potential the resource could have had to support teachers and parents was significantly reduced. Another form of support for teachers can be parents. Some parents have read widely about gifted education and these parents may have extensive content knowledge which they can share, as well as specific knowledge of their own child (Margrain,2010). Working in partnership with parents regarding their children can also result in continuity between the service and the home, and “offers an insight into children’s holistic learning, which maximises their overall opportunities to succeed” (Department for Children Schools and Families, 2010, n.p). This was the essence of the Ministry of Education (2009) parent-teacher handbook, that parents and teachers work in partnership and that parents should be recognised as an important resource (Margrain & Farquhar, 2012). Conclusion While in recent years there has been a marked increase of interest in the area of gifted education with a number of national and regional initiatives being introduced (Working Party, 2012), none of these initiatives have been focused on early childhood children. With “[t]he needs of young gifted and talented students [being] as important as those of older students … it is concerning that the Ministry of Education continues to affect barriers for young gifted and talented children” (Margrain, 2001, p 19). While there are a number of ways that gifted young children, their parents and their teachers can be supported, there is still a fair way to go to ensure all students with exceptional talents receive the help they need to reach their potential – and for teachers and other professionals to develop the skills that are needed to support this group of learners (Riley, 2008, as cited in Cox, 2008, para. 15). References Allan, B. (2002). Identifying and providing for giftedness in the early years. The Early Years Research and Practice Series, 1, Alton-Lee, A. (2003). Best evidence synthesis: Quality teaching for diverse learners. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Bevan-Brown, J. (2003). The cultural self-review. Providing culturally effective, inclusive education for Māori learners. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. Bevan-Brown, J. & Taylor, S. (2008). Nurturing gifted and talented children: A parent-teacher partnership. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

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Colangelo, N., Assouline, S., & Gross, M. (2004). A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students. Iowa: The Connie Belin & Jacqueline Blank International Centre for Gifted Education and Talent Development.

Ministry of Education. (2013b). The national administration guidelines (NAGs). Retrieved from www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/ EducationInNewZealand/EducationLegislation/ TheNationalAdministrationGuidelinesNAGs.aspx

Cox, S. (2008, October 27th). Support for gifted children. Eduvac: Education Weekly. Retrieved from www.eduvac.co.nz/news/2008/10/27/ support-gifted-children

Moltzen, R. (2011). Historical perspectives. In R. Moltzen (Eds.), Gifted and talented: New Zealand perspectives (3rd ed) ( 1-30). Auckland: Pearson New Zealand Ltd.

Department for Children Schools and Families. (2010). Finding and exploring young children’s fascinations: Strengthening the quality of gifted and talented provisions in the early years. United Kingdom: DCSF Publications.

National Association for Gifted Children. (2012). Creating contexts for individualised learning in early childhood education. Retrieved from www.education. com/print/Ref_Early_Childhood_2/

Gifted Education Centre. (n.d). Small poppies. Retrieved from www.giftededucation.org.nz/ SmallPoppies/about.htm Harrison, C. (2003). Giftedness in early childhood: (3rd ed). Kensington, NSW: GERRIC Hillmann, P. (n.d.). How to support your gifted child’s education. Retrieved from http://www. parentinvolvementmatters.org/articles/giftedness.html Kearney, K. (2000). Frequently asked questions about extreme intelligence in very young children. David Institute for Talent Development. Retrieved from www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10162. aspx Lee, W., Carr, M., Soutar, B., & Mitchell, L. (2013). Understanding the Te Whāriki approach: Early years education in practice. Oxon: Routledge. Margrain, V. (2001). Gifted and talented students: Meeting their needs in New Zealand schools: A critique of selected issues. APEX, 13 (1), 16-20 Margrain, V. (2007). Inside the greenhouse: Hothousing, cultivating, tending or nurturing precocious readers? New Zealand Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 10, 33-46. Margrain, V. (2010). Parent-teacher partnerships for gifted early readers in New Zealand. International Journal about Parents in Education. 4, (1), 39-48. Margrain, V. & Farquhar, S. (2012). The education of gifted children in the early years: A first survey of views, teaching practices, resourcing and administration issues. APEX, 17 (1) Retrieved from www.giftedchildren.org.nz/apex McDonough, E. & Rutherford, J. (2005). New Zealand’s gifted and talented education policy. APEX, 14 (1). Retrieved from www.giftedchildren.org.nz/ apex/v14no1art03.php

New Zealand Association of Gifted Children. (2013). How to start a support group for gifted children and their families. Retrieved from http://www. giftedchildren.org.nz/howto/suppgp/php Porter, L. (1999). Gifted young children: A guide for teachers and parents. New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. Radue, L. (2009). The forgotten children. APEX, 15 (4), 45-55. Retrieved from www.giftedchildren.org.nz/ apex/ Reece, J. (2006, November). Attitudes and expectations of giftedness within early childhood education. Proceedings of Rising Tides: Nurturing our gifted culture national and Talented Gifted Conference. Retrieved from www.confer.co.nz/gnt/ presentations3.html Riley, T. (2005). Looking ahead: Research to inform practice in the education of gifted and talented students in New Zealand. APEX, 14 (1) Retrieved from www.giftedchildren.org.nz/apex/v14no1art01.php Silverman, L. (2007). How parents can support gifted children. Retrieved from http://childdevelopmentinfo. com/learning/gifted_children/ Sutherland, M. (2012). Gifted and talented in the early years. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Symmes Sweeney, N. (2008). Gifted children have special needs, too. Early Childhood News: The professional resource for teachers and parents. Retrieved from www.earlychildhoodnews.com/ earlychildhood/article_view.aspx Working Party. (2012). The history of gifted and talented education in New Zealand. Retrieved from www.edusearch.co.nz/articles/12/article.htm?descripti ons=&article=0000000026 Petra Navanua

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media. Ministry of Education. (2013a). Early childhood education (ECE) initiatives. Retrieved from www. minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/Budget/Budget13/ ECEInitaitives.aspx

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 27

MOTAT Series Starting Next Issu

MOTAT Information 1 entry cost for access to both MOTAT sites (main site on Great North Rd and our Meola Rd site). General Admission Price Adults $16.00 Children (5-16 years) $8.00 Student with ID $8.00 Family Pass (2 adults and up to 4 children) $40.00 Under 5s FREE SuperGold Card Holders FREE Please enquire on 0800 MOTATNZ (0800 668 2869) for schedule or check ‘What’s On’. Become a MOTAT Mate! 12 month Adult Pass: 12 month Family Pass: 12 month Student Pass:

$40  $75  $20

Tram Fares MOTAT admission includes a return tram ride. Off the street tram fares: Tram Fare Family Pass (2 adults and up to 4 children) Adult Return Adult One Way Child Return Child One Way Under 5s Great Gifts!

Price $5.00 $2.00 $1.00 $1.00 $0.50 FREE

Please Note: MOTAT is an operating museum and suitable footwear must be worn at all times. Children under 14 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

Phone MOTAT (09) 815 4243 for more information..

28 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

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ue!

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 29

Dave Cutler/Illustration

Let’s Talk

At what point in life do we truly understand one another? I mean: truly. Without questionable doubt. It is commonly known that communication can be fragmented into a variety of subcategories, which must be considered when reflecting on such a wide spectrum of intelligence: verbal, non verbal and written. We will focus mostly on verbal communication, though without overlooking the importance of non-verbal aspects such as body language and eye contact – they do after all encompass the emotion of a conversation. It is sometimes difficult to understand another person – and that is natural, there are ample barriers to verbal communication: language of origin, accent, abbreviation and colloquialism to name a few. The lexis (the words) and the intonation (the way the words are said) is the main focal point I wish to deliberate. I am no expert in the field; my degree, like millions of others across the globe is in English but the consideration today is more a philosophical debate of understanding by means of communication as opposed to communication through understanding. Think about the simple words we use day to day without consciously picking those words from our 30 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

vocabulary. Letters and words strung together to make sentences, conversation. I found recently, when talking to a non-native English speaker that I understood her meaning more so than some of my acquaintances who have been using the English language all their lives. Is that laziness: once you become aufait with a language you can be sloppy because those around you will still comprehend your point, or is it that the language they were taught was used to cover the real meaning, the real life beyond those words? Many of us, myself included, think we understand, think we can empathise when words are thrown around. There are a few words, however, which will always be misunderstood or mistaken, for they are not common practice within an individual’s life. A number of factors have lead to this deliberation, and as with other examples of my literature, I will consider taboo subjects. In this instance, the taboo fabricates around Cancer and Death. There are ample reasons to discuss what these words mean; lets break the idea that such discussions should be forbidden and embrace true

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communication with one another. The idea behind this script is to question why it is we are so afraid about using these letters joined together. Death: noun. “The act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism.” Break that down. Honestly - go on, go back and break that phrase down into words, then the words into individual, stand-alone meaning. Mind blowing, right?! We all know objectively what words mean, yet we use different verses to altered audiences to gain that same understanding. You tell an eight year old that Nanny has gone to heaven so we can’t see her any more. You tell a Mother you did all you could but you couldn’t bring her son back. We use these phrases, but each one of us has different beliefs about where we go, what it means for us and how our lives are going to be affected moving forward. Language in this aspect is extremely subjective, but at what stage do we understand what we have just said to the eight year old, or to the Mother when we delivered the agony message – surely until we understand fully what we mean ourselves, the other parties in conversation could not begin to grasp our meaning. For me, about a year ago death was really, really sad. It meant we could no longer see those ‘organisms’ we were once so close to. Having experienced far more death since, I’ve begun to question the word’s significance to our language. When someone dies, often there are a number of things that are left (the number would change dependant on your beliefs): their body, their spirit and their legacy. So the physical, we can see and feel the end of life but that shell has always been just that. The spiritual you will most likely have your own beliefs on how when and where that rests. The emotional: the legacy, the family, the memories - they never go. So for those people whose vital function in life is to love, be loved and are fully content with their heritage, by literal meaning, they are more alive in death than they are in life. Their vital function lives on stronger than ever through the heightened emotions of those once closest to them. What makes us miserable as human beings is the tactile presence we yearn for. You almost feel ashamed: that someone could be that important, that without them you feel like nothing. It begs the question of death while biologically sound; in what state are you when one of your seven dimensions of life go awry – is physical illness the only factor to consider, or is that the difference between survival and living?

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Cancer: noun. “A malignant and invasive growth or tumor, especially one originating in epithelium, tending to recur after excision and to metastasize to other sites.” This word has huge background for so many people. Often it is the derivation of an assortment of agony. So regularly a speaker says Cancer, a listener hears Death. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t understand the meaning first or second time around, when I broke it down like we did with Death. Somehow less impressive. If the meaning is so hard to understand, imagine the complexities of exactly what people denote when they say the word. Frequently, across the globe, people whisper the word or give it a nickname. It can be a distressing subject, but use Cancer as the noun it is and it’s no different to Alzheimer’s or any other medical phenomenon: I have ‘a broken finger’ I would like to be treated with respect (like any other human) and sometimes I will need special measures to get on with my day. It’s not that simple I hear you scream! Our experiences are what make using and understanding these words so difficult as well as the fear of the unknown. Don’t we give the word too much respect? If someone who has Cancer has been working so long and so hard to achieve that remission goal, why then, is the prospect so daunting that the Cancer has gone – because you’ve spent so long working towards making it attainable that you’ve forgotten to prepare for the rest of your life. The derivation of emotion behind the word is completely justified and I don’t think any individual can fully comprehend the word until they have felt those darker, richer emotions of aimlessness and fear or even dogged commitment, but the all encompassing Cancer isn’t the word for the fight, it doesn’t embrace confronting mortality you endure. It seems to be the lexis we use to pinpoint and bracket all these emotions and experiences when realistically, what we need to do is discuss each emotion for what it is and why it is brought to our attention. Combining medical, psychological, and sociological sensibilities has resulted in a unique way of experiencing and describing Cancer and other traumatic life experiences for many people, don’t use the word without understanding what you mean when you say it. Discuss the experience, discuss the emotions, discuss the physical injustice, but don’t just call it Cancer. Let’s talk.

Rachel Williams Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 31

Technology and Creativity Elaine Le Sueur

This article is based on the premise that the 21st century is customisable. Before much of this century has passed the teacher who has not worked out how to use technology to personalise learning will not exist. Differentiation will be a natural part of what teachers do. Don’t get me wrong, there are many teachers who already have had this realisation and I am not about to embark on a crusade on behalf of technology, but I am somewhat uneasy at the current emphasis on literacy and numeracy at the expense of creativity, because I believe that in order to support creativity

teachers need to excite student curiosity and experimentation with ideas in an environment that encourages acceptance of mistakes as learning opportunities. Thomas Edison viewed his inventive creativity thus... ‘I make more mistakes than anyone else I know and sooner or later I patent most of them!’ The arts and science inform and inspire each other in a way that we can’t afford to ignore. So what is creativity? It is a difficult concept to define and there are many definitions because there are many different views and we each have our own perspective of what constitutes a creative person, and as with other concepts such as quality and ability, there are varying degrees within the continuum. Sir Ken Robinson, an educational guru whom I admire greatly, defines creativity as the process of having original ideas that have value. To my mind it involves two distinct processes. Firstly, thinking and having original ideas, and secondly acting on them in some way so that value is added to the status quo. Imagination is not enough if it is not backed up by action because it is through our actions that others are made aware of added value. It’s the ability to question and challenge assumptions. If the assumptions are being made by an authority figure then challenge will certainly be unpopular, as you probably already know. I am not advocating throwing baby out with the bathwater, but I do think that it is time to challenge traditional assumptions about where and when students learn and the ways in which technology impacts on their learning We can all make decisions based on data collected from the past but futures thinking implies looking at things in new ways and the internet offers the means to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods and interpretations, working alone or with other like minds. It may be that a simpler answer has been there all along but just isn’t recognised. Could we use a mixture of traditional and new? It’s time to deviate from the same old same old if we want to change ideas and use them in effective new ways.

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Its the ability to recognise patterns. Often the creative thinker is the only person within the group to be able to do so, and forced to mark time or engage in busy work while the rest find a middle road to travel to the destination that he/she was able to perceive creatively. How might we use technology to effectively reduce the wait time for such students without it being simply electronic busy work? It’s the ability to see in new ways. It is being able to create new metaphor to assist others. Not just in inventions, but in using what is already known to improve on the status quo. How might we use technology to help students to make connections between questions, problems, and ideas from unrelated fields?

Looking at things from other points of view can cause us to refine our own ideas. And who knows... you might come up with something entirely new, original and creative. You owe it to yourself to try!

And it’s the ability to take risks. The environment is a major influence on deciding whether or not to engage in a a creative exercise of the mind. There is the pain of failure... being made to look a fool... ‘I told you so... and ridicule ‘Any fool can see that the idea won’t work.’ Or the threat of change. Why bother ? This is the way that we’ve always done things and it works. If it ain’t broken, why fix it? Ideas of ANY sort that leap forward from the present state of knowledge are innovative, but most of the time we don’t try to change ideas, just use the ones that we have in an effective way. Children are amongst the most creative people around. Often they know whether something will work or not but they just jump in and do it as they play with ideas and make sense of the world around them. Compromise is the creative solution to the constraints of realism, but compromise should be a starting point rather than the barrier to change. Knowing when to stop in the creative process is something that children learn as they create a balance between being satisfied and having done enough. Is there a place for looking at the use of technology in education in a completely different way to allow for students to take responsibility for their own learning?

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 33

Successful learning In the search to equalise educational outcomes, one wonders how many more failed new directions in education it will take before we might see a significant and durable closing up of the achievement gap. Unless hopes implied by new initiatives are matched by a learning regime that can deliver on that hope, further failure is guaranteed. There’s a knife edge balance involved here that will only tip in favour of success if teachers know plenty about efficacy and possess the skills and understanding to deliver on that knowledge. Having developed and used a package for doing this, I know such a thing is possible though it must be recognised that change of this kind will take time to bed in and must be properly supported.

Our concept of successful learning has largely been fashioned by things like pass rates in national and international exams, completion rates in relation to courses, progress in subject areas relative to age, and such like. In other words, success is defined in terms of output. So whenever success levels don’t reach target, ways of increasing them becomes the focus. It’s understating things to say that raising success levels across the board is fraught with many difficulties. The main one I see is that the nature of learning itself is not understood hence whatever interventions are chosen, they’re always going to be a poor match to what’s required. In these circumstances, results are never likely to be as good as desired. Also, the more complicated intervention systems like National Standards and NCEA require the retraining of all teaching staff, which is quite an undertaking and one bedevilled by the ‘ghost’ in each teachers past. That ghost is the powerful culture that determines how teachers see their role. Conservative and omnipresent by nature, this culture operates at the unconscious level, so its influence is difficult to counter. What our most recent intervention strategy seems to boil down to is the idea of going hard-out at obtaining increased achievement by using things that have not been effective in the past. As a consequence, teachers appear to be working far harder than before yet the achievement gap isn’t closing. Although there are indications that achievement levels for NCEA are climbing, the most recent PISA results has New Zealand fifteen year olds slipping down the international rankings in Maths, Reading and Science. What needs to be understood is that no matter what intervention approach teachers use, or however it’s dressed up, as research by Professor James Ysseldyke, Minnesota University has found – in a

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Laurie Loper Psychologist huge study he did in the early part of his career on what was special about Special Education – all teachers continue to do is use the same inefficient learning process and teaching model all teachers use anyway, irrespective of their student’s difficulties. Expecting this to produce rising levels of success across the board would be foolish, it’s never going to happen. Besides, once it dawns on underachieving students that their fate is sealed, hope flies out the window and equity goes with it. The sad aspect to all this is how this circumstance is viewed by the education sector. Where poverty looms large enough to be identified in the popular mind as being the cause of underachievement, the education sector conveniently sees underachievement as a poverty relief issue, not a learning one. Likewise, in situations wherein there are cultural dissonance and social disadvantage issues in the mix, these too are fastened upon as being what needs to be attended to. Teachers seem to feel that unless that’s done they will be wasting their time. Meanwhile, those students from affluent neighbourhoods, being more attuned to, and better prepared to weather the vagaries of classrooms and teachers, handle the inefficiencies of the prevailing learning approach much better and so play their part in maintaining the equity divide. Inevitably funding becomes a focus, the securing of which often causing teachers and schools to use time and energy that might better employed elsewhere. Funding brings it’s problems for the squeaky wheel principle ensures it doesn’t get to be distributed evenly, equity suffering again. There’s too often uncertainty about how long funding will be continued. Raising performance across the board requires funding arrangements that are going to be secure and readily accessible. But the main reason interventions used to raise student learning outcomes fail is that the factor most

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responsible for underachievement always remains untouched. Nuthall’s discovery that the learning model and process all schools use is inherently flawed has gone completely unnoticed, resulting in a permanent drag-chute effect on achievement. Interventions that try to squeeze additional effectiveness out of a learning model that’s flawed beyond fixing are never going to be the answer for improving achievement across the board. Being in ignorance of the nature of learning, though, it is little wonder that teachers and their trainers fail to take efficacy into account. In a profession Nuthall says that draws all of it’s expertise from beliefs that have no factual basis, what you would hope for is that educators would be falling over backwards to take advantage of the best quality information about the nature of classroom learning that’s ever come to light. But since the whole sector has ignored Nuthall’s information, expecting teachers to incorporate efficacy into their practice is a no brainer. And if perchance a teacher somewhere did start to wonder whether there might be something everybody was overlooking that could better explain the disparate results education produces, such a heinous thought would be immediately squashed by the ever present teaching culture and tradition. Fortunately all is not lost. The lesson Nuthall has for us is that learning can also be viewed from a process point of view. Doing this allows considerations of effectiveness of the learning process to be brought into play. Clearly if the process isn’t as efficient as desired, options that could improve learning efficiency could then be sought. Looking at learning from a process point of view allows for a growing understanding and acceptance of the fact that the old belief based way of doing learning is a very large part of the problem. Realising that opens up a window of opportunity. Employing a

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hard-out compensationory approach won’t be necessary anymore. Teachers will be able to cast off that heavy multi tasking load they carry, a consequence of that inefficient learning process and learning model that they have been saddled with. Once students have been taught to use an efficient learning model and process like Self Directed Learning™, they will take over a lot of the learning management burden formerly shouldered by teachers. With much more time now available to them, teachers will be able to become the learning facilitators they’ve always wanted to be. Like it or not, New Zealand’s wasting a huge amount of it’s education budget because it’s unaware that it’s running an inefficient learning regime. Like it or not, that’s a situation that doesn’t have to be. Convincing the sector of this, however, is another matter entirely. Failure to think about underachievement in efficacybased terms leaves the door open to the whims of political agendas and every hair-brained intervention imaginable. The recognition that quick fixes are unlikely to be successful nevertheless seems to give licence for all sorts of belief based theories to emerge and to be thrown willy nilly into the fray. Even Nuthall, at one stage in his research career thought he could improve outcomes by creating a teaching manual, using the findings of existing research, to make teaching more successful. But as he warmed to the task, he found there were just so many inconsistencies, such a lack of consensus on important points, and such a lack of replication in the studies he reviewed, he simply gave up, recognising the task was impossible. More importantly, though, and fortunately for us, the action of throwing out the several chapters of the manual he’d already completed caused him to review his tactics. He then adopted the classical observation model and replicated everything from that point on – his learning rule, for instance, was validated by tracing back through some 1300 instances of student learning behaviour to find the pattern involved. His decision to take a new research direction also led to him to develop research methodologies the like of

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which had never been seen before. Though his work is regarded overseas as ground breaking, here in the land of his birth it’s been virtually ignored. I’m of the opinion that the business of improving educational outcomes across the board has stagnated and that the same can be said about closing the achievement gap. When we see the latest PISA results showing that New Zealand is sliding downwards in comparison to other OECD countries yet NCEA results are climbing, you really have to wonder why. One obvious reason might be that there are different types of “success” being measured. How so? PISA deliberately sets out to measure not what 15 year olds know but what use they can make of the knowledge they have so far acquired, problem solving being one of the main skills sampled. In the NCEA system something different is going on. It’s a modular system in which students work to accumulate credits, these being graded according to the quality of the work produced. The countries that latterly have topped the PISA ratings share a number of characteristics but if there is one thing above all that can be said that influences their outcomes it’s the “hard work” factor. That can be taken to mean students in the top ranked countries put in the hours, they know their stuff. It might not be that they’re using study time efficiently, but they really do get to know their stuff. Describing that in Nuthallian terms, they end up processing their learning well enough to ensure it becomes fully integrated into their respective knowledge bases, and is therefore available to be used on tasks of all kinds. As said though, you’d also have to say that since they know nothing of Nuthall’s three-times-at-two-dayintervals learning rule, they make unnecessarily hard work of doing so. Nevertheless, if “hard work” gets the result desired, it’s little wonder it is seen by teachers, parents, students and governments as the key to being successful. Having found a hard way to be successful, though, it’s surprising to me that there’s such little appetite to find an easier, more efficient way.

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Contrast what happens in a modular system. With the emphasis being on knocking modules off and moving on to the next one, dwelling on the material in the way that students in the top PISA countries do, doesn’t happen. This means they don’t have the same acquaintanceship with the content. That doesn’t mean NCEA students can’t turn in work of high standard or that in examinations they can’t get high marks. In Nuthallian terms, though, the truth of the matter is that the modular system operates so as to ensure very little of the learning of new stuff gets to be properly processed. If that vital processing doesn’t occur, none of the new learning gets to be fully integrated into respective student knowledge bases, and isn’t therefore available for tasks of all kinds. What anecdotal evidence says is that passing tests becomes a student priority but that remembering stuff beyond the time the test is taken is not. Also, when memorisation serves well enough, understanding has low priority. Nuthall’s learning rule, then, provides a basis for understanding why countries that use the “hard work” recipe are always likely to have an advantage over our NCEA modular students in PISA tests. But that’s not the rule’s only value. As a tactic, selling underachieving students on the merits of hard work as being the answer to raising their performance runs the danger of demotivating them. A better tactic would be to provide them with something that could not only boost their progress but which they could control/operate themselves. This is where Nuthall’s learning rule could really come into its own. How is something I’ll deal with shortly.

results. Teaching all NCEA students to make use of Nuthall’s learning rule is all that it would take. That too would be easy enough to do. All that’s required would be to make use of the idea that texting services use to remind people of appointments. This idea would handle the three experiences of all new topics/ideas/concepts (tics) the Nuthall learning rule stipulates, thus ensuring all tics new to any student would end up being properly processed and thus available for tasks of all kinds. Alternatively, by teaching parents how to support the operation of the rule, homework involving new tics could be set so as to match the rule’s two day interval requirement. (Note: A project that will have students using texting reminders in conjunction with Nuthall’s rule is in the planning stage.) Obviously what passes for learning in classrooms everywhere requires an urgent re-think. Once schools learn to concentrate their efforts on factors that properly fall within their realm and within their capability to exert academic influence, student success rates can be expected to climb. Improving efficacy is a tactic well within the capability of any school. Ensuring new learning that requires understanding is properly processed provides the obvious pathway. But it’s not one that can be forever hidden from the rest of the world. Woe betide the standing of our NCEA students if those countries now sitting top of the PISA ratings were ever to get wind of what that Nuthall learning rule could do for their students.

It should also be noted that Nuthall’s learning rule holds the answer to improving learning across the board for it’s use doesn’t just pertain to underachievers. One of the real drawbacks teachers face working in an inefficient learning system is busyness and scarcity of time. Hence, especially in the initial stage of introducing any new system, to get busy teachers involved in taking up Nuthall’s rule, the least time they have to spend dealing with the change process the better. Nothing sells a change idea quicker than when it produces effective

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 37

Architectural Columns Construc

Currently on view at Zadok Gallery in Miami, Fiction of the Fabricated Image is the latest body of work from Seoul-based artist Seon Ghi Bahk. Of particular note is this impressive series of architectural columns constructed from pieces of natural charcoal suspended on nylon threads. The work is part of the artist’s An Aggregation series that explores the complex relationship between nature and humanity, where Bahk suggests “nature” can be incorrectly viewed as simply a backdrop or tool used in the creation of civilization. You can see more over on Zadok Gallery where the installation will be up through August 25, 2014. (via My Amp Goes to 11, My Modern Met)

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cted from Suspended Charcoal

Christopher Jobson

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How to Write Good How to Write Good

The first set of rules was written by Frank L. Visco and originally published in the June 1986 issue of Writers' digest. The second set of rules is derived from William Safire's Rules for Writers. My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules: 1. Avoid Alliteration. Always.

12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

13. Don’ t be redundant; don’ t use more words than necessary; it’ s highly superfluous.

3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’ re old hat.)

14. Profanity sucks.

4. Employ the vernacular.

16. Understatement is always best.

5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. 6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary. 7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. 8. Contractions aren’ t necessary. 9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. 10. One should never generalize. 11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “ I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”

15. Be more or less specific. 17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. 18. One word sentences? Eliminate. 19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 20. The passive voice is to be avoided. 21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. 22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. 23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

1. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.

16. Eschew obfuscation.

2. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.

18. Don't indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.

3. Avoid archaeic spellings too. 4. Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before. 5. Don't use commas, that, are not, necessary. 6. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively. 7. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice. 8. Subject and verb always has to agree. 9. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct. 10. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers. 11. Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before. 12. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed. 13. Don't never use no double negatives. 14. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out. 15. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.

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17. No sentence fragments.

19. A writer must not shift your point of view. 20. Don't overuse exclamation marks!! 21. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. 22. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. 23. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. 24. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. 25. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. 26. Always pick on the correct idiom. 27. The adverb always follows the verb. 28. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. 29. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing. 30. And always be sure to finish what

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Defining Your Ideal “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

With the start of summer, it’s easy to find yourself daydreaming about where you would rather be. Do you see yourself on a sunny beach, digging your toes into the sand? Or perhaps hosting a barbeque in the backyard? Most likely, these daydreams have nothing to do with your job, but are rather an escape from it. At Cheetah Learning, we believe in daydreaming - and we believe that you shouldn’t limit your happiness to just a few weeks (or days!) of vacation a year. In this article, we’ll encourage you to take a few minutes to daydream about your ideal work environment. Though we may never find that “perfect” job or workplace, it is valuable to know what your ideal is. From there, you can better evaluate what matters most to you when weighing new opportunities.

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Our Cheetah Certified Project Manager Program includes several activities in which students explore their ideal professional environment. Drawing from one of these, the idea is to let your imagination roam free. All elements of the “work environment,” even those which seem out of your control, can be open to re-interpretation. This is not an interview with a potential employer - give the answer that is best for YOU! Where in the world do you want to work (and live)? No, I do not mean “what company do you want to work for?” - but, literally, where? In the city, suburbs, or maybe the remote wilderness? Do you want to be sitting in an office building, working inside but staying active, or doing physical labor outdoors? What length of commute would make you happiest - a short walk to work, or a long, peaceful drive? What hours do you like to work? Think beyond the 9 to 5: when do you really want to be working? Are there certain hours of the day in which you are more alert and productive than others? Working hours that work for you can impact how well you do your job. How much responsibility do you want in your job? And, what kinds of responsibility? Do you like working independently, being responsible for only for own work? Or are you comfortable managing others? Take a minute to reflect on your past work experiences: were you happiest when you had a tightly scheduled work day, or when you had more freedom to schedule your own day? Did you prefer it when your supervisors were highly involved in your daily work, or when they were less involved? Try to isolate the elements that made these previous positions positive or negative experiences for you.

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Work Environment By Michelle LaBrosse,CCPM, PMP®, PMI-ACP, and Megan Alpine, CCPM, Co-Author

What do you want to wear to work? This may seem trivial, but this detail can have a big impact on your daily happiness at work. If you absolutely hate wearing a uniform, you need to take this into account when weighing new job opportunities. You may also find that you’re never comfortable in a suit or very formal businesswear; make sure to observe (or ask) if this is the “norm” in potential workplaces. What are your ideal co-workers like? Again - this element may seem insignificant, but in fact it has a HUGE impact on your daily work environment! Particularly if you work in an office or on a team, you will spend a significant portion of your day communicating and collaborating with your co-workers - so it helps if these are people you find it easy to get along with!

Don’t limit yourself here: challenge yourself to imagine the “best co-worker ever” - even if this ideal is totally unrealistic. Defining your ideal provides you an important foundation from which to then realistically assess your options. To explore these issues in greater depth, consider becoming a Cheetah Certified Project Manager. This program starts with a personality assessment, from which you then determine your unique strengths in learning, doing projects, and negotiating. You will learn how to objectively assess different opportunities to bring you closer to building YOUR ideal career.

Some questions to ask yourself about your ideal co-workers include: What level of education do they have? What do they like to do in their free time? How do they dress?

About the Author: Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, is an entrepreneurial powerhouse with a penchant for making success easy, fun, and fast. She is the founder of Cheetah Learning, the author of the Cheetah Success Series, and a prolific blogger whose mission is to bring Project Management to the masses. Cheetah Learning is a virtual company with 100 employees, contractors, and licensees worldwide. To date, more than 50,000 people have become “Cheetahs” using Cheetah Learning’s innovative Project Management and accelerated learning techniques.

publications and websites around the world. Her monthly column, the Know How Network, is carried by over 400 publications. She is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management (OPM) program and holds engineering degrees from Syracuse University and the University of Dayton.

Recently honored by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), Cheetah Learning was named Professional Development Provider of the Year at the 2008 PMI® Global Congress. A dynamic keynote speaker and industry thought leader, Michelle is recognized by PMI as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the world. Michelle’s articles have appeared in more than 100

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 47

All schools must promote ‘British va Michael Gove, the education secretary, has seized on a finding byOfsted that a «culture of fear and intimidation» existed in someBirmingham schools by announcing that the government will require all 20,000 primary and secondary schools to «promote British values». These values will include the primacy of British civil and criminal law, religious tolerance and opposition to gender segregation. Gove also suggested girls wearing the burqa would struggle to find their voice and must not feel silenced in the classroom. In what is being described by ministers as a decisive shift away from moral relativism in the classroom, the education secretary took action after a landmark series of reports by the schools inspectorate into 21 Birmingham secular schools found an atmosphere of intimidation, a narrow, faith-based ideology, manipulation of staff appointments and inappropriate use of school funds. Ofsted found 10 of the schools needed improvement relating to the “Trojan horse” allegations, five were placed in special measures and the rest were cleared. Several school governors face being barred from holding office. Gove told MPs: “The overwhelming majority of British Muslim parents want their children to grow up in schools that open doors rather than close minds. It is on their behalf that we have to act.” Education department officials said non-maintained schools were already required to respect British values, but all schools would now be required to promote those values, with Ofsted required to inspect schools to ensure compliance. The reports also raise issues for Ofsted, Birmingham city council, the Education Funding Agency and Department for Education officials who failed to inform Gove of a 2010 presentation to his department given by a former headteacher, Tim Boyes, about radical infiltration of Birmingham’s schools. A future report commissioned by Peter Clarke, the former head of counter-terror policing, will determine whether there was an extremist conspiracy to pervert the purpose of state schools or merely individual examples of bad governance as some individuals tried in effect to turn secular state schools into faith schools. Gove also announced that Ofsted would press ahead with no-notice inspections of schools. In proposals Gove is less likely to accept, the chief inspector of schools and head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, recommended mandatory training of school governors and a governors’ register of interests. He also suggested a more prescriptive description of a broad and balanced national curriculum that would have to be followed by all schools, including 48 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

academies and free schools, a reform that potentially strikes at the heart of Gove’s reforms. Wilshaw, echoing longstanding Labour criticisms, also called for a review of the funding agreements for all academies and free schools. Unveiling his findings, Wilshaw said inspectors found that school governors had “recently exerted inappropriate influence on policy and the day-to-day running” of several schools in Birmingham, and castigated the city council for not providing adequate support for staff who tried to resist. In one case, a school leader was so anxious about speaking to Ofsted inspectors that a meeting had to be arranged in a supermarket car park, he said. In a letter to Gove prefacing the results, Wilshaw said: “The evidence suggests three broad categories of school: in some schools, the inappropriate influence of governors is widespread and deep-rooted; in others, there are significant weaknesses in governance, but the level of undue influence exerted by individual governors is less established; in a few schools, leaders have successfully resisted the attempts of governors to change the nature and ethos of their school.” The five rated as inadequate included Oldknow primary and Park View academy secondary school, previously judged by Ofsted to be outstanding, as well as Saltley secondary, Golden Hillock secondary and Nansen primary schools. Of the remaining 16, five schools – Small Heath, Washwood Heath, Waverley, Chilwell Croft and Ninestiles – were cleared by inspectors of concerns related to risks of extremism and governance, while 11 “required improvement” on specific issues, largely to do with pupil safety and the relationship between staff and governors. Park View Education Trust, which governs Park View academy and two of the other schools downgraded, issued a statement denying the allegations: “The Ofsted reports find absolutely no evidence of extremism or an imposition of strict Islamic practices in our schools. We reject the judgment that students are not being prepared to play an integrated role in modern British society.” The DfE also published its report into Oldknow primary, a large, mainly Muslim school in east Birmingham, which contained allegations that the school had changed in nature over the course of a year, and had banned Christmas activities, ended exchange visits with local churches and spent £50,000 on a school trip to Saudi Arabia. Jahangir Akbar, the acting principal of Oldknow academy, said: “I feel that it’s a political witch-hunt. There is no extremism here, our children are safe. It is unfair that these allegations are being made against

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alues’ us. All my middle managers are female, the leadership team has female members. The majority of the staff are non-Muslim.” The governors of Saltley school, another school downgraded to inadequate, also rejected Ofsted’s concerns of exposure to extremism: “Parents and the wider community may be wholly confident that students here are safe and well looked after.” In the Commons, the shadow education secretary, Tristram Hunt, said Gove’s “agenda has been an ideology of atomisation and fragmentation: teachers without qualifications; every school an island; a free market of provision; and an attempt to oversee it all from behind a desk in Whitehall. Birmingham has shown that that model is bust.”

Michael Gove

In Birmingham, the leader of the Labour-run council, Sir Albert Bore, said he was “very reassured” that Ofsted had not uncovered evidence of a coordinated plot or conspiracy to seize control of schools but said it was clear some governors and governing bodies had “failed in their duties” to pupils. Theresa May, the home secretary, earlier refused eight times to tell MPs who had authorised the publication of a letter she wrote to Gove criticising his actions and put it on the Home Office website after midnight. The letter was sent to Gove as it emerged the education secretary had criticised the Home Office approach to combating extremism. May repeatedly said she had not authorised the release of the letter and the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, had found she had not breached the ministerial code. Her special adviser, Fiona Cunningham, resigned in the wake of an investigation by Heywood. May was not asked whether she approved of the release of the letter or whether Cunningham had ordered a civil servant to put the letter on the Home Office website.

Theresa May

The Muslim Council of Britian said the schools had been downgraded on arbitrary and inconsistent criteria. “If there are irregularities, then of course these should be looked at. But to conflate them with issues of security and extremism is a dangerous approach,” it said. Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood, said: “The contents of the Ofsted reports make distressing reading for any resident of Birmingham. But what these reports do not prove is the central charge being levelled, which was that there was an organised effort to import extremism.”

Tristram Hunt

http://www.theguardian.com/politics

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 49

The Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cutest Pub!

England is famous for cosy country pubs with roaring fires, real ales and good food. Presenting the smallest, sweetest pub you will ever find, or own, and the only one you can keep open to the public after hours without a license. Now, how will you fit the pool table in alongside your sleeping bag?

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Why not purchase your pub together with it’s very own Worlds Smallest Pub sign, proudly personalised to match. Each tent is built to withstand extreme weather conditions to the same high specifications of an expedition tent. 100% waterproof, UV fade resistant

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and with a breathable inner tent, you will even find the Original Explorer to be much roomier than most other two person tents complete with a large front porch for muddy boots. “Stand out from the crowd with unique design, colour and creativity” The FieldCandy Team

http://www.fieldcandy.com/

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Elegant Henna Tattoo Crowns Help Can Cope With Their Hair Loss The art and tradition of using all-natural paste from the henna plant to create temporary henna tattoos goes back to ancient Asian and Middle-Eastern history, but there’s one group that has taken this ancient art form and given it a new, modern purpose. Henna Heals is a community of henna artists based in Canada that creates beautiful flowering henna crown tattoos for women who have lost their hair to cancer and chemotherapy.

The henna crowns, which feature traditionally feminine floral patterns, religious symbols and messages of hope, help women suffering from cancer cope with the loss of their hair to cancer. For people suffering from cancer, losing their hair to chemotherapy is a demoralizing difficulty that only adds to the emotional and physical struggles that come with their disease. “For cancer patients, the henna crowns really are a healing experience,” said Frances Darwin, the founder of Henna Heals. “This is all about them reclaiming a part of themselves that would normally be perceived as ill or damaged or not nice to look at and making it more feminine and beautiful.” An individual’s hair is a big part of how they perceive themselves, so many psychologically or spiritually focused healing campaigns focus on coping with hair loss as a way to help cancer patients’ lives easier. Albert Bredenhann was also part of a project in which one cancer patient’s friends decided to help their friend cope with a different but also powerful hairrelated surprise.

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ncer Patients

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 55

How to encourage students to read for teachers s While students might trudge through set texts in lessons, how can teachers inspire them to open a book when they get home? Here are some of the best ideas, initiatives and projects that teachers use to help students develop a love of reading. The big challenge for teachers is not simply getting students to read – it’s getting them to enjoy it too. It’s one thing for students to trudge through set texts in a lesson, but will they open another book when they get home at the end of the day? The National Literacy Trust has noted that becoming a lifetime reader is based on developing a deep love of reading. “Research has repeatedly shown that motivation to read decreases with age, especially if pupils’ attitudes towards reading become less positive,” it said. “If children do not enjoy reading when they are young, then they are unlikely to do so when they get older.” For younger readers in particular, their home environment is critically important. “Home is a massive influence,” says Eleanor Webster, a primary school teacher in Nottinghamshire. “Supportive and understanding parents are key to developing their child’s reading.” But if a pupil doesn’t see people reading at home, it may be harder to instil the idea of reading for pleasure. So what can teachers do to encourage it? Here are some of the best ideas, initiatives and projects that teachers have developed to motivate children and help them develop a love for reading:

Reading challenges Reading competitions come in many shapes and sizes, with the aim of spicing up literature and giving children an incentive to open a book.Mountbatten School in Hampshire is one school that has run several projects to encourage reading for pleasure. “We wanted them to try reading a broad range of books,” says Jennifer Ludgate, an English teacher at the school. “We challenged students to read one book, fiction or non-fiction, from a wide range of genres. They get them ticked off by their teacher and there are medals at the end of the year.” Another competition saw students race against time to tick off the classics. “A colleague created the ‘16 Before You’re 16 Challenge’ for the older years,” says Ludgate. “We chose 16 classics, like To Kill A Mockingbird and Brave New World, and challenged students to read as many as they can before they turn 16. It’s a good way to make sure they’re being challenged.” In another contest, Eleanor Webster gets younger children to read for pleasure with “extreme reading” competitions over the summer holidays. “They’re always very popular,” she says. “Children take pictures of themselves reading in strange places and we display the photos in the main corridor. Some were on roller coasters, in tractors, on top of bookcases or at holiday destinations.” The 100 Word Challenge , created by Julia Skinner, asks children to write regular posts online and read other students’ work. “When you tell kids, ‘We’re going to do some reading,’ it can immediately turn them off,” says Skinner. “But with this you say: ‘We’re going to support someone who has done some writing. What do you think of it?’ It gives them a purpose to read.” Jennifer Ludgate, who uses the 100 Word Challenge, explains: “Their homework is to read two students’ writing – they really like it because it’s short, easy to read, and it only takes them a couple of minutes.” Escapism While reading challenges can give a sense of purpose, escaping the challenges of school is a crucial part of encouraging reading for pleasure. “Children won’t find reading pleasurable if there is too much

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r pleasure: share their top tips pressure on them,” says Webster, “so a relaxed atmosphere and a positive ethos around reading is really important.” “One teacher in my school started referring to library sessions as ‘the escape’,” says Suzy Dodd, an English teacher at the Co-operative Academy of Leeds. Promoting reading as a form of escapism from the general pressures of school and their social lives encouraged her class to see reading as a form of self-indulgent relaxation, instead of another intelligence test. Her class are among the most prolific readers in the school. In September she gives her kids a good talk about reading as escapism, and then introduces library sessions by saying, “we get to escape for an hour today”. Teacher involvement “Showing students that teachers of all subjects read books, not just the English teachers, is really important,” says Ludgate. “We asked teachers to bring in two or three of their favourite books. Then, at the start of every lesson, whether that be geography, maths or whatever, the teacher would read to the class for ten minutes from their favourite book. “The students would come in talking about what their PE or history teacher was reading, and that would spark really interesting discussions. It’s especially good if they don’t see people reading at home. “ Reading walls “Having a print-rich environment is important,” says John Murphy, who is an English and history teacher in Ireland and blogs at Web of Notes. “The surroundings should encourage reading in all its forms and support their choices of reading material. I don’t simply mean putting up a poster which tries to promote reading because it’s ‘cool’ – I think they’re totally ineffective. Instead, students and teachers could share the name of the book that they’re reading at the moment, and offer a sentence about it. It’s a great way to share recommendations.” Drop Everything And Read Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) is used in classrooms across the country, and allows children to forget their normal tasks and drift away with a good book. Webster explains: “The whole school has a set time in the school day where children read to themselves or an adult and they can choose from a wide variety of books.”

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Ludgate says it is important that DEAR does not become a task: “Having 10 minutes of reading at the beginning of every lesson doesn’t always work because it can become too ingrained. But the idea with DEAR is that it goes across different subjects – not just English.” Reading to the class Encouraging children to read for pleasure is about more than getting them to pick up a book; it’s equally important for children to appreciate a good story. “I think it’s important to make sure you read to them as much as they read for themselves or other people, making it a more supportive environment,” says Ludgate. “Spending once a half term saying, ‘Right, I’m going to read to you this lesson’, I think really encourages them to appreciate it. The older years in particular haven’t been read to at home for so long that they absolutely love it.” Anything goes “It’s crucial to bear in mind what the student wants to read,” says Murphy. “Having this control shouldn’t be undervalued, and I think they should be allowed to venture from one type of book to another. “Introduce students to a wide variety of texts, mediums and genres – they may surprise themselves once they have faced preconceived ideas about what they consider enjoyable and embrace a diversity in what they read. Comics, ebooks, short stories, online articles and magazines shouldn’t be ignored.” Books across the curriculum “Our curriculum is very creative and topics are often set around a book,” says Webster. “Children respond well to it because they love exploring details of books and making books come to life. For example, we had a whole term based on the Gruffalo in September. Now in the summer term children often recite it word for word and talk about other Julia Donaldson books they’ve read since.” http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/ teacher-blog Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 57

Artist Paints Insanely Small Pain Hasan Kale, an incredibly talented artist from Turkey, pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved with paint by painting inconceivably tiny yet beautiful paintings on… just about anything, really. Kale’s artistic canvases include, but are not limited to, peanut husks, split almonds, banana chips, and beans – as long as it’s tiny, he’ll paint on it. He paints

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on inorganic objects as well, but the food canvases are more impressive because of their impermanent nature. And then there’s the scale to consider. Most of these are so tiny that they can’t be seen clearly without magnification, which begs the question – how did he do that!? According to his Facebook, Kale has set himself the goal of painting a silhouette of Istanbul on a strand of hair. If there’s anybody who can pull this off, it’s probably him.

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ntings Onto Food

Source: Facebook (via: thisiscolossal)

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 59

60 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 61

Mystery Of How The Egyptians M Ancient Egyptians had to pull massive statues and pyramid stones weighing 2.5 tons on large sleds across the desert -without any modern mechanical device. Now, new research shows how adding a small amount of water to sand significantly reduces the sliding friction -- a clever trick that allowed the Egyptians to cut the number of workers needed by half.

start to merge and disappear, and the sliding friction increases again. It’s a delicate balance. “If you use dry sand, it won’t work as well, but if the sand is too wet, it won’t work either,” Bonn tells LiveScience. “There’s an optimum stiffness.” The ideal amount of water falls between 2 and 5 percent of the volume of sand. The answer had been staring us in the face for a long time. In a wall painting from the tomb of Djehutihotep (schematic above), you can see a worker pouring water on the sand in front of a sled that’s carrying a colossal statue. The sleds were little more than large wooden planks with upturned edges. “Egyptologists had been interpreting the water as part of a purification ritual,” Bonn says, “and had never sought a scientific explanation.”

To make a good sandcastle, you don’t use dry sand. By adding water, the grains stick to each other, and your castle holds its shape. Same thing with sand transportation: Adding water reduces the sliding friction of any object moving over the sand. With the right amount of dampness, water droplets bind the sand grains together. An international team led by Daniel Bonn from the University of Amsterdam tested the sliding friction of dry and wet sand by pulling a weighted sled across the surface in a tray. With dry sand, a heap would form in front of the sled, hindering its movement. And as they added water, both the force needed to pull the sled and the amount of friction decreased. As the water made the sand more rigid, the heaps got smaller and smaller until there no obstacle forming in front of the moving sled. Their experiments revealed that the required pulling force decreased proportional to the stiffness of the sand. When water was added, capillary bridges arose; these small water droplets act like glue to bind the sand grains together. With the right amount of water, wet desert sand is about twice as stiff as dry sand, allowing the sled to glide far more easily. “I was very surprised by the amount the pulling force could be reduced -- by as much as 50 percent -meaning that the Egyptians needed only half the men to pull over wet sand as compared to dry,” Bonn tells the Washington Post. Pictured here is the lab setup: A pile of sand accumulates in front of the sled when it’s pulled over dry sand (left), but not with wet sand (right). But just like with sandcastles, too much water isn’t good either. Water saturation is accompanied by a decrease in stiffness. With very high water contents, the capillary bridges (which used to act like a glue) 62 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

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Moved Pyramid Stones Solved? Janet Fang

Photo credit: Schematic from the tomb of Djehutihotep depicting the transport of a colossal statue. Note the person standing by the statueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foot is pouring water over the sand right in front of the sled

The work was published in Physical Review Letters [via Gizmodo, Washington Post]

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 63

Roger’s Rant Just a thought A well-known ‘activist’ and friends, as part of an international group whose intention is to boycott Israel, recently tried to disrupt an Israeli dance performance in Wellington. I remember a few years ago that the same people did this to a young Israeli tennis player in Auckland. The rationale behind these manifestations of democratic free speech and right to protest, is that Israel denies Palestinians freedom and responds with excessive brutality when its citizens are attacked.It has built a wall to separate Gaza and Israel and regularly prevents Palestinians having access. The present situation would reinforce those views. What puzzles me is why Israel has been singled out for vilification. There is no shortage of human-rights abuses in the world and some of the most nondemocratic and cruel regimes are not too far from Israel. It seems ironic that the only democratic country in the Middle East is the target for western liberal hatred. If you are reasonably well-informed of world affairs you would be aware of egregious regimes, well-worthy of condemnation. Try this quiz: Name a country who has brutally occupied a neighbour. Name a country where its women are treated little better than cattle and are imprisoned for being raped. Name a country where religious minorities are routinely assaulted, or worse. 64 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

Name a country where homosexuality is brutally put down. Name a country where innocent villagers are murdered and girls are routinely abducted for slavery. Name a country where animals are skinned alive for their fur. Name a country where elephants are threatened with extinction, as their tusks are harvested for ‘medical’ purposes or to finance terrorism. Note: There may be more than one correct answer.

I wonder who scored 100% Ponder the brutality in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Nigeria. Consider the hundreds of thousands who have died in the last two years. Now, hold your collective breaths for the a protest by activist and friends against just one of these countries. Not going to happen? I’m sure the rumour is incorrect, that ‘Oh they’re too busy planning to disrupt the national spelling bee, where a 10 year-old girl from Tel Aviv is competing’. Blaring out via megaphone, a continuous loop of ‘Old McDonald had a farm, EIEIO.’ Fair enough. Get the picture? Why is Israel the focus? Don›t give the ‹apartheid› analogy.. That is patently disingenuous.The South African government deliberately legislated for racial separation and even if Israel did the same, which they don’t, I still don’t understand why they are the only target.

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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/ News.aspx/138631#.U7SicvmSwmg When Israel was formed in 1948, the accusation was that western colonial powers had artificially constructed a state, with consequent disruption of other cultures living there. OK, true but that applied to many of the neighbouring countries as well. Still does. Why was Israel established? Simply put, the world had proven that it could not accommodate Jews. Centuries of pogroms and the final holocaust (hope that word doesn›t offend those who deny its occurrence) convinced the Jewish diaspora that a return to ‹Jerusalem› was the only answer and post-war guilt and Zionist assertiveness led to the establishment of modern Israel. From multiple progroms, through institutionalised racism (Dreyfus) to Auschwitz, the mantra became, ‘never again.’ The war which immediately followed Israel’s partition and subsequent ones established Israel as militarily strong, albeit supported by the Great Satan. Regular guerilla and rocket strikes against its citizens (regularly not-reported by all the world’s media) incurred heavy responses (usually reported by the world’s press). Israel is losing the propaganda war. Even spurious on-line photographs of death and destruction are believed by many. Militants frequently call for the genocide of all Jews. A simple question is often asked: ‹What would happen if Israel put down its arms? Israel cannot lose one war. After the wars of 1948, 1967 and 1973, its neighbours rebuilt and rearmed and financed anti-Israel aggession. The world mostly turned its back on fleeing Jews in 1938. Would it open its arms to what would be left if Israel were overrun? Back to the boycott. How can artists and

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sportswomen be accountable? Oh right, they served in the IDF, hence are Zionist aggressors. Did the protesters check out the political backgrounds of the tennis player or the dance troupe? Were they rampant Zionists living on the West Bank? Guess it’s OK to use bully-boy tactics to oppress a minority. Fair enough. Let’s get a crowd together. Oh, another thing. Boycotting Israeli oranges may be one thing but guys, you better take the chips out of your computers, smartphones and I-pads and you’d better not be in need of an MRI any time soon. You who have asthma or diabetes, you know you will have to boycott imminent technological breakthroughs in their treatment, as guess where these are being designed and developed. After the tragic killing of three teenage Israelis and subsequent retaliations resulting in the equally tragic killing of a Palestinian teen, I was appalled to see a photograph of several very young Palestinian children, posing with three fingers raised, celebrating the Israeli deaths. How can this cycle of hatred be interrupted? Is it too simplistic to ask whether antiIsraeli protesters see the whole picture? Is it incredibly naive to suggest a protest about universal violence and hatred? Perhaps a hikoi for world peace? Give Miss America contestants a helping hand? Perhaps not all is doom and gloom. I encourage you to view the following:http:// www.upworthy.com/awful-religiousstereotypes-shattered-by-two-girls-and-oneabsolutely-stunning-performance Or perhaps our friends might boycott half of it.

Roger Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014 65

“The best teachers don’t give you the answers... They just point the way ... 66 Good Teacher Magazine Term 3 2014

and let you make your own choices.”