One of the hardest parts of teaching online is so many of the tools we use every day in the classroom to help build relationships aren't there. We can't physically move our bodies to be closer to a child whose actions are telling us they need our attention. We can't easily use eye contact to... Continue Reading →
We are physically distant now, the future of learning is collaborative
When school returns do we keep doing what we always have done?Teachers in the individual spaces.Learners even further apart.A danger of physical distancing measures put in place is that it can also support a return to traditional desks and worksheets. When schools moved off campus, we forced to reimagine how learning might happen when we are... Continue Reading →
Teaching in the eye of the pandemic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CafU_gAJNAo Watching our Term 3 second a day video, you’d be mistaken for thinking it has been business as usual here in Singapore schools. Reading groups took place, science experiments were observed and maths tests were marked. What the video had trouble capturing is what happened since late January in Singapore, as different regulations have... Continue Reading →
Breaking the homeroom mould
When we moved into our new campus, our team seized on the opportunity to re-think how our year group uses space. Inspired by the masterclass that Rosan Bosch held at WAB’s Future of Education Now!, we thought differently about how we might set up different spaces for our learners. Instead of allocating each class a... Continue Reading →
Keeping the ‘new school’ feel alive
Over the December break, my school moved across town to our new campus. It’s something I’m never likely to do again in my career. Yet now that I’ve gone through the process, I wondered how can we keep that ‘new school’ feel alive in 10 years? Schools aren’t the buildings or the facilities, but the... Continue Reading →
Top 3 Lists for 2019
I borrowed this concept of ending the year with lists of both personal and professional 'top threes' from Chris Kennedy's blog, A Culture of Yes Top 3 actions I took this year Acknowledging the Christchurch Mosque attack A conversation with one of our learners who felt despondent about the attacks in New Zealand prompted me... Continue Reading →
Starting the school year off slowly – putting PYP enhancements into practice
Tarryn asked how teachers were using the PYP enhancements to guide planning. So here's what the first few days of school look like. The learner Take time each day to greet and ask about their day. The children will design a layout for the learning space and move the furniture. Setting up the learning space... Continue Reading →
One second of learning day – what’s microtrending in your class?
Documentation of learning is a tricky business. Like so many teachers, the camera roll on my phone is full of photos and videos of learning in action. How can those digital artefacts be used to tell a story? I was intrigued by the 1 second day app and this past academic year committed myself to... Continue Reading →
My year of reading furiously – #40BookChallenge
When it comes to reading I've always felt like a bit of a fraud. Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild have inspired me to give time and space for children to regularly read in class. Yet at the beginning of this year, I was, at best, a sporadic reader. I'd polish off half... Continue Reading →
#PYPx – low floor, high ceiling
How often in planning meetings is a new idea often met with phrases such as: "That will never work for student X" or "What about so and so, they'll never get anything done." This is particularly the case as we move towards more personalised inquiries. Let's take some time to unpack some underlying assumptions. What's... Continue Reading →
Teaching the Teacher 