CHOICE, CHOICE, CHOICE! At a Staff Meeting?

Yesterday I spoke with teachers @materdeiwagga. I informed them I would (later that day) send them an email which would have the ‘agenda’ for our Staff Meeting early next week. Below, is the email…

Dear Teachers,

The ‘agenda’ of our meeting next meeting is about giving teachers the opportunity to set their own agenda regarding their priorities for professional learning by giving teachers choice about what work they do and with whom. Teachers can choose from the following…..

OPTION 1

JOIN A GROUP which…. Explores the possibilities of a Term 4 “Learning Day” opportunity. Considering every day is a day of learning, what is a better title? I don’t think “Activities Day” as that come with preconceptions and misconceptions about what this day (and future days) could bring. Some ideas for that day could see groups of students……

• Build an indigenous house using the expertise of local Wiradjuri people to build an imitation Indigenous House.

• Design and Build a Vege Garden.

• Explore ecologically responsible school based actions. Go to Catholic Earth Care, Australia. This is endorsed by the Bishops of Australia. Of course, we also have Erin Earth.

• For more ideas you can go to… http://bit.ly/19FpDwC

• What can we do to assist students to immerse students in a global challenge? What initiatives, what programs, what activities can we introduce to help students play their role as active and responsible global citizens?

• Have a “Maker Day”. For more ideas go to https://docs.google.com/a/ww.catholic.edu.au/document/d/1GrPHmytAmBL2ZrXrbz4CDVCaxjpLEpmEA6GdhGZS14I/edit

OPTION 2

JOIN A GROUP which…. Discusses/Debates…..  “All Mater Dei Classrooms should look like the Glasshouse.”

OPTION 3

JOIN A GROUP which….Updates the Staff Charter with reference to staff feedback from earlier in the year.

OPTION 4

JOIN A GROUP which…. Reduces the eLearning Plan to an succinct summary.

OPTION 5

INDIVIDUALLY, you can engage in “NON-COMMISSIONED” work. Using your imagination and creativity, a teacher can explore their own area of interest which will ‘value-add’ to the (classroom, KLA or the school) learning environment at the College. A teacher can use this time to do anything as long as it is not related to your “commissioned work” such as preparation, programming and marking. Some examples could include…

• Taking time to explore Apps that will assist learning in your classrooms.

• Searching for research about student-centred learning, flipped classroom etc.

• Developing your awareness of the power of Twitter as a PLN.

• Exploring the possibilities of Pinterest for your classrooms.

• Starting a class blog. An example could be….

http://foodtechnologylearningjourney.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/whats-to-come-by-year-712-food.html#com

ment-form

• OR, Anything else that may ‘value-add’ to the (classroom, KLA or the school) learning environment at the College.

OPTION 6

CREATE A PAIR OR GROUP to explore “NON-COMMISSIONED” work. Using your imagination and creativity, teachers can work with others on a mutual area of interest which will ‘value-add’ to the (classroom, KLA or the school) learning environment at the College. A teacher can use this time to do anything as long as it is not related to your “commissioned work” such as preparation, programming, summative assessment and/or marking. For example, pairs/groups of teachers could develop activities which would see….

• 15 students from 3 different Wagga schools creating ?????

• Peer writing with students from other schools across the state to create a story book, creative writing essay, persuasive speech etc….

• Mater Dei students working with students from schools across the nation to solve a local problem.

• Mater Dei students working with students/teachers from outside Australia develop a “cross-cultural App”.

OPTION 7

Teachers can individually engage in SELF-DIRECTED RESEARCH. Teachers are offered the opportunity to research an area of interest as long as it is not related to your “commissioned work” such as preparation, programming,  summative assessment and/or marking. For example, individual teachers can…

• Explore the AITSL Website developing a greater knowledge of emerging teacher standards.

• View 3 x 5 minute YouTube clips which looks at transforming classrooms for collaborative learning

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y2IaAC5vj4

• Read one research article about education in Finland.

• Read research articles about the relationship between agile spaces and learning.

• Read an article about Critical and Creative Thinking as a “General Capability”.

• Read articles from one the Educational Journals supplied.

• Read a joint discussion paper published by Microsoft and Pearson Education titled 21st Century Skills and the Workplace.

OPTION 8

INDIVIDUALLY, you can engage in “NON-COMMISSIONED” work. Using your imagination and creativity, you can explore your own area of interest which will ‘value-add’ to the (classroom, KLA or the school) learning environment at the College. You can use this time to do anything as long as it is NOT related to your “commissioned work” such as preparation, programming, summative assessment and/or marking.

REALLY, THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

There will be a brief survey which all teachers will be required to complete from 4:50 pm until 5:00 pm.

What are your thoughts?

 

Regards,

Greg.