sandr068

Cicadas They have taken their time but the cicadas are now in full song . Information about NZ cicada     And more great stuff What do we know about cicadas? It is always the way. As soon as the summer holidays have past summer actually arrives. Teachers and their students, who have up to now had little experience of real heat, are now feeling it, but now confined to their classrooms. Let's hope teachers have decided to vacate their rooms and do their learning in the cool shade outside. A chance to develop an awareness of the environmen t. Teachers who have not forgotten that environmental literacy is as important as book literacy will no doubt be really enjoying themselves . The big issue of the coming decade is not a literacy crisis but a climatic one - environmental literacy The sooner students develop an awareness of their environment , and in the process learn to love and respect it, the sooner they will see the need to sustain and protect it. As the future ...

Goodbye National Standards. A opportunity for creativity in schools Education Readings By Allan Alach Time for new thinking The New Zealand school year is about to begin, so Bruce Hammonds and I are back again with our education readings . Hopefully New Zealand schools are well prepared to make the most of the opportunities provided by the dumping of national standards, although we have our concerns that too many principals and teachers will struggle to break their mindsets free from the raising achievement focused dictates of the the previous nine years. I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz Assessment too often fails to prioritise learning – let's change that ‘By relying less on data and more on teachers’ judgment, schools can give student assessment greater meaning while also cutting workload. Often the focus is on what tracked data tells us about student progress, but I know of no large-scale study that demonstrat...

. Seven ideas to consider Pass on to interested teachers . Beginning a school year is a challenge to all teachers   - even the most experienced. In teaching, it seems, there is no shallow end! Check out the links below the seven ideas below - you might find some of them useful to you. 'Begin with the end in mind'   Business 'guru' Steven Covey advice is to 'begin with the end in mind' . A good idea ( for an individual teacher or staff) is to define the attributes of a great learner that you would like all students to achieve by the end of the year.  This is equally a good idea to discuss with a new class at the beginning of the yea r.  They could be posted in the classroom for reference. In New Zealand they could be par t of a class treaty linking the idea to the Treaty of Waitang i if so this might define positive teacher behaviours as well. Once such attributes/ competencies have been defined then when  seen in action students c...

Beginning Teaching - some practical advice to start the year Teaching  is one profession where there is no shallow end .   From day one you are presented with up to thirty plus young individuals for you to shape into a learning community; and every class community will be different . Even experienced teachers have No shallow end for new teachers. second thoughts about starting a new class . This blog shares some ideas to select from. . Teachers need to negotiate with their students as much as possible to ensure empowerment or a sense of ownership and then to hold students to completing what they have agreed to do to develop a sense of responsibility . First read this  excellent advice to make a shiny happy classroom! Another link for new teachers The challenge for teachers is to think up ways to tap into their students innate sense of curiosity. of curiosity. Educationalist Jerome Bruner has written that teaching is ‘the canny art of intellectual temptation ’ ....