E-News 12th February- Vol 3, No 1
Topics
covered in this edition include:
The Big Picture Education course, “Relevance, Rigour and Relationships in a Personalised Curriculum”, ran from 21-25 January at the Rockingham Campus of Murdoch University. It was led by Viv White, ANSN National Networker and Director of Big Picture Australia, Professor Barry Down, City of Rockingham Chair in Education, Basil Varghese from the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Oliver Reams, the Y 10 student intern from the Met Sacramento. There will be more news about Big Picture throughout 2008. In the meantime, check out the following item, on a related ANSN Snapshot.
ANSN Snapshot Number 1 for 2008 is by Matthew Brown, from Tasmania. He reflects on what he drew from a Big Picture Workshop early in 2007, and how he related this to his thinking and practice, in a primary classroom and in a broader educational context. To read or download this Snapshot, click here. Further Snapshots are in the pipeline, including two from the Connecting Lives and Learning Project. Keep your eye on ANSN E-News for details.
ANSN Networkers met in Melbourne on 3 December. John and Leith Hogan (below left and centre) chaired sessions that addressed ANSN objectives, purposes and practice, planning frameworks, communities of practice, the progress of ANSN Hubs and projects, and plans for 2008 events. The photos of ANSN Networkers in this E-News were taken during the meeting.
Talking about why we do what we do as educators, Leith told the story of a disengaged student she had encountered over a long period. When she first met him, some years ago, teachers refused to have him in their classes because of his behaviour. His home life was also extremely disrupted. Unexpectedly, Leith engaged him in stitching “dolls for Africa”. She described how he worked in her office, calm and engrossed in what he was doing (see Leith with his work, above right).
Reflecting on this, having met the student again recently, Leith noted the importance of engaging “the hand and the heart” together, and the significance of the teacher’s role, both in getting this to happen and in providing a solid point of reference for children who lack that quiet central element in other areas of their lives. “Kids need people like us” she said, “to work as advocates for them, to approach things in different ways and teach differently”, to match the individual’s needs.
Hanan Harrison, ANSN Networker in Queensland (pictured below), reports that the Brisbane DigiKids Hub is now fully subscribed for 2008. In addition, DigiKids has proved so popular in Melbourne that two Hubs have been established there, one in the southern suburbs and one in the western suburbs. There are a few places available for the southern Hub but the western Hub is already full. Letters have been sent to members with the dates for their first meetings (14 and 15 April in the south and 17 and 18 March in the west).
There are limited places left for the Brisbane and Melbourne Dimensions of Learning Hubs in 2008. You’ll have to be quick. The first dates for Brisbane are 28 and 29 February at Clontarf State High School. The Melbourne Hub will meet in early March (date TBC) at St Albans Secondary College. Establishment of a Hub in Darwin is currently being negotiated. For further details email Hanan at hanan.harrison@ansn.edu.au or call her on 0407 462 272. To download a flier about Dimensions of Learning, click here.
If you missed out on DigiKids this time, contact Hanan regarding future opportunities for involvement, or to express your interest.
Andrea Federico, ANSN Networker (below, left) reports that the IWB Hubs in Victoria, which she runs with support from Kate Seabrook of Commander (below, centre), are also fully subscribed in 2008. In December, Andrea and Kate worked with Joe Wickert from Summer Hill Media (below right), recording material for a future IWB kit.
To express interest in future participation, or to learn more about what the Victorian IWB Hubs offer, click here.
To express interest in the Queensland IWB hub, which is operating for the first time in 2008, click here. Interest has been very high in Queensland, as in Victoria.
Two other Hubs are inviting participation in 2008. For information about the ANSN Habits of Mind Hub’s activities this year, or to enquire about participation, contact James Anderson, National Co-ordinator of the Hub (below left), by clicking here. For details of the dates for HoM Hub activities in 2008, click here.
The Curriculum Planning Hub is also running again in 2008, in response to participant feedback during the 2007 sessions. Gavin Grift, the Hub Co-ordinator (below right) comments that the Hub is expected to broaden in 2008, to link with other ANSN projects. Contact Gavin for more details.
In 2008 ANSN continues to offer opportunities for training in both Action Learning and Protocols, through either introductory workshops or more advanced courses. For information about the possibilities for Action Learning click here. For information about Protocols, click here.
When you have considered the options and decided what is appropriate for your school or group of schools, click here to contact John Hogan, ANSN National Networker, and express your interest. He is gathering details of what schools want to organise and will explore the possibilities with you. You can call John direct on 0417 931 991.
At the end of 2007, Australian Policy Online (APO) drew attention to a controversial Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) paper: What are low ability workers to do when unskilled jobs disappear? Part 1: Why more education and training isn’t the answer. The author, Peter Saunders, addresses the paradox that employers report shortages of skilled labour, but unskilled workers are sitting idle on welfare. While many commentators think both problems can be solved by more education and training, Saunders argues that the solution to the skills shortage lies elsewhere, in policies like delayed retirement and increased female participation in the workforce. Challenging some of the beliefs/assumptions about issues of education and equity, he suggests that the solution to unskilled joblessness lies not so much in raising levels of education among lower achieving students as in trying to generate more unskilled employment. The full text of the paper is at
http://www.cis.org.au/issue_analysis/IA91/ia91.pdf
April and August 2008, Cognitive Coaching Course
In 2008, ANSN will deliver an intensive 8-day leadership development course in Art Costa and Robert Garmston’s “Cognitive Coaching”. The course will be presented by Sue Presler in two 4-day segments, from 7-10 April and 4-7 August, 2008, at the Metro in Melbourne. There is an ‘early bird’ rate if you register before 21 December 2007. To download the brochure and registration details, click here.
- Advanced Cognitive Coaching Course held in Tasmania
- Big Picture Education course held at Murdoch University
- First ANSN Snapshot for 2008: Matthew Brown on Big Picture
- ANSN Networkers December meeting
- The ANSN DigiKids and Dimensions of Learning Hubs
- The ANSN Interactive White Board (IWB) Hubs
- Information about the Habits of Mind Hub and the Curriculum Planning Hub
- Opportunities for training in Action Learning or in Protocols
- Some challenging reading
- Reminders of ANSN activities
Advanced Cognitive Coaching Course held in Tasmania
Leith Hogan, Gavin Grift and Craig Tyson were among 38 participants in the recent five-day Advanced Cognitive CoachingSM course, facilitated by John Dyer and Sue Presler from the Centre for Cognitive Coaching in the USA. Participants included Principals, Education Department staff, consultants, senior District Office personnel and international visitors (see below for scenes from the sessions).
Craig, an ANSN Board Member, says the course enabled participants to
learn, apply and reflect upon critical elements to coaching. Areas
investigated included planning, reflecting and problem solving
conversational maps. Particular focus was given to advanced
paraphrasing, mediational questions and investigating the five states
of minds of efficacy, craftsmanship, flexibility, consciousness and
interdependence. Craig comments that there was significant interest in
relation to establishing an ANSN working group to investigate further
the possible ways of supporting schools and teachers to improve
pedagogy through Cognitive Coaching.
Big Picture Education course held at Murdoch University
The Big Picture Education course, “Relevance, Rigour and Relationships in a Personalised Curriculum”, ran from 21-25 January at the Rockingham Campus of Murdoch University. It was led by Viv White, ANSN National Networker and Director of Big Picture Australia, Professor Barry Down, City of Rockingham Chair in Education, Basil Varghese from the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Oliver Reams, the Y 10 student intern from the Met Sacramento. There will be more news about Big Picture throughout 2008. In the meantime, check out the following item, on a related ANSN Snapshot.
First ANSN Snapshot for 2008: Matthew Brown on Big Picture
ANSN Snapshot Number 1 for 2008 is by Matthew Brown, from Tasmania. He reflects on what he drew from a Big Picture Workshop early in 2007, and how he related this to his thinking and practice, in a primary classroom and in a broader educational context. To read or download this Snapshot, click here. Further Snapshots are in the pipeline, including two from the Connecting Lives and Learning Project. Keep your eye on ANSN E-News for details.
ANSN Networkers December meeting
ANSN Networkers met in Melbourne on 3 December. John and Leith Hogan (below left and centre) chaired sessions that addressed ANSN objectives, purposes and practice, planning frameworks, communities of practice, the progress of ANSN Hubs and projects, and plans for 2008 events. The photos of ANSN Networkers in this E-News were taken during the meeting.
Talking about why we do what we do as educators, Leith told the story of a disengaged student she had encountered over a long period. When she first met him, some years ago, teachers refused to have him in their classes because of his behaviour. His home life was also extremely disrupted. Unexpectedly, Leith engaged him in stitching “dolls for Africa”. She described how he worked in her office, calm and engrossed in what he was doing (see Leith with his work, above right).
Reflecting on this, having met the student again recently, Leith noted the importance of engaging “the hand and the heart” together, and the significance of the teacher’s role, both in getting this to happen and in providing a solid point of reference for children who lack that quiet central element in other areas of their lives. “Kids need people like us” she said, “to work as advocates for them, to approach things in different ways and teach differently”, to match the individual’s needs.
The ANSN DigiKids and Dimensions of Learning Hubs
Hanan Harrison, ANSN Networker in Queensland (pictured below), reports that the Brisbane DigiKids Hub is now fully subscribed for 2008. In addition, DigiKids has proved so popular in Melbourne that two Hubs have been established there, one in the southern suburbs and one in the western suburbs. There are a few places available for the southern Hub but the western Hub is already full. Letters have been sent to members with the dates for their first meetings (14 and 15 April in the south and 17 and 18 March in the west).
There are limited places left for the Brisbane and Melbourne Dimensions of Learning Hubs in 2008. You’ll have to be quick. The first dates for Brisbane are 28 and 29 February at Clontarf State High School. The Melbourne Hub will meet in early March (date TBC) at St Albans Secondary College. Establishment of a Hub in Darwin is currently being negotiated. For further details email Hanan at hanan.harrison@ansn.edu.au or call her on 0407 462 272. To download a flier about Dimensions of Learning, click here.
If you missed out on DigiKids this time, contact Hanan regarding future opportunities for involvement, or to express your interest.
The ANSN Interactive White Board (IWB) Hubs
Andrea Federico, ANSN Networker (below, left) reports that the IWB Hubs in Victoria, which she runs with support from Kate Seabrook of Commander (below, centre), are also fully subscribed in 2008. In December, Andrea and Kate worked with Joe Wickert from Summer Hill Media (below right), recording material for a future IWB kit.
To express interest in future participation, or to learn more about what the Victorian IWB Hubs offer, click here.
To express interest in the Queensland IWB hub, which is operating for the first time in 2008, click here. Interest has been very high in Queensland, as in Victoria.
Information about the Habits of Mind Hub and the Curriculum Planning Hub
Two other Hubs are inviting participation in 2008. For information about the ANSN Habits of Mind Hub’s activities this year, or to enquire about participation, contact James Anderson, National Co-ordinator of the Hub (below left), by clicking here. For details of the dates for HoM Hub activities in 2008, click here.
The Curriculum Planning Hub is also running again in 2008, in response to participant feedback during the 2007 sessions. Gavin Grift, the Hub Co-ordinator (below right) comments that the Hub is expected to broaden in 2008, to link with other ANSN projects. Contact Gavin for more details.
Opportunities for training in Action Learning or in Protocols
In 2008 ANSN continues to offer opportunities for training in both Action Learning and Protocols, through either introductory workshops or more advanced courses. For information about the possibilities for Action Learning click here. For information about Protocols, click here.
When you have considered the options and decided what is appropriate for your school or group of schools, click here to contact John Hogan, ANSN National Networker, and express your interest. He is gathering details of what schools want to organise and will explore the possibilities with you. You can call John direct on 0417 931 991.
Some challenging reading
At the end of 2007, Australian Policy Online (APO) drew attention to a controversial Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) paper: What are low ability workers to do when unskilled jobs disappear? Part 1: Why more education and training isn’t the answer. The author, Peter Saunders, addresses the paradox that employers report shortages of skilled labour, but unskilled workers are sitting idle on welfare. While many commentators think both problems can be solved by more education and training, Saunders argues that the solution to the skills shortage lies elsewhere, in policies like delayed retirement and increased female participation in the workforce. Challenging some of the beliefs/assumptions about issues of education and equity, he suggests that the solution to unskilled joblessness lies not so much in raising levels of education among lower achieving students as in trying to generate more unskilled employment. The full text of the paper is at
http://www.cis.org.au/issue_analysis/IA91/ia91.pdf
Reminders of ANSN activities
The following activity has been detailed in previous editions of E-News.April and August 2008, Cognitive Coaching Course
In 2008, ANSN will deliver an intensive 8-day leadership development course in Art Costa and Robert Garmston’s “Cognitive Coaching”. The course will be presented by Sue Presler in two 4-day segments, from 7-10 April and 4-7 August, 2008, at the Metro in Melbourne. There is an ‘early bird’ rate if you register before 21 December 2007. To download the brochure and registration details, click here.
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