Monday, October 5, 2015

#edblognz Challenge 2

  1. Write a blog post about an education question/ challenge/wondering that you have or are facing. You don’t need to have the answer/solution.
So here's my post, via my question. (This will only work if people respond!)

WHAT WOULD BE THE IDEAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROGRAMME FOR YOU?


18 comments:

  1. uLearn! *sob*

    On a more serious note... I have realised over the past few weeks in the lead up to uLearn15 and not attending for the second year in a row what it is I actually value about attending conferences... It is the people. The feeling of connectedness and inspiration from people in the room who are genuinely keen to connect, share and collaborate. It is this that is core to a lot of my professional growth over the past few years. The same can be said for educamps and other events where the participants are driving their own learning...

    Not sure if that helps, Bede?

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    1. So for you it's about learning with others, if I've read you right?

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    2. Yes - designed by me with like minded people...

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  2. My ideal PLP is one which I can design for myself so it suits where I am at and what I am interested in (AND which of my PLN are going to!)... a little bit like personalising our programmes for our learners - choice, interest, friends!!
    Only this PLP would have a $ amount attached to it I suspect!

    PS. Do not worry about ULearn Claire - just follow #notatULearn15 with me heeeheeee

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  3. One that targets learners first, with teachers and admin a distant second.

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    1. Are you saying to base it in data or learner voice?

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  4. I'm grappling with a similar wondering. Personalized, vs whole school strategic, vs school vision - and in particular how to best support the innovations team and provide a vehicle for those to explore the things that spin their wheels!

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  5. As I think Robert- above- is saying the most important professional learning event or sequence is one that has direct impact on student learning. So maybe a PLP that incorporates teaching as inquiry with links to how is student learning being improved- can be soft as well as hard data, i.e.: it doesn't have to be numbers!!
    I absolutely agree that professional learning needs to be personalised for teachers, just as we are personalising learning for our learners in classrooms.
    If all staff are learning on the own kaupapa- and as long as there are links to how they are improving student learning as a result of their learning then all I can see is a more engaged and productive staff team. I've experimented with doing this in a variety of ways over the last couple of years. (Blog post still coming on that one day....)
    As a leader my questioning then hovers around how I still ensure a positive, empowering team-ness is being created, enhanced and developed further amongst our staff team, if we do not "meet" together for learning sessions as a whole group.
    For me, I think this professional learning as a leader has to be personalised too. What I need to learn in my current Principal role is vastly different to what I needed to learn in my previous Principal roles, and this is nothing to do with the size of the school but all because of the context of the school, staff and learners I am leading.

    The above answers have also helped me realise why I am quietly grieving that I am not at ULearn this year. Only the second one Ive missed since 2001. And while some of the learning would be fantastic- and Im especially sorry not to have the chance to hear Grant Lichtman in person- I also know I am doing a lot of learning of my own in various forms and for different purposes this year and that my learning pot is rather full. But that chance to connect with people is still really valuable. I, like Claire, like educamps for the same reason. I love twitter, google plus groups etc, but that chance to get out from behind the computer and chat to people real time can be very re energising and re affirming too. Keri I'll definitely follow #notatulearn15!

    Sorry Bede if this is slightly longer than you wanted! I've been off line for a week and working my way up to doing last weeks edblognz challenges before attacking this weeks ones. This was a great start!!

    In summary- professional learning needs to show clear links to improving student learning, and it needs to be personalised, and thats for leaders as well as teachers! It needs to be a mix of F2F and electronic. I think it should be ubitiquous- available anywhere anytime to suit a workforce that has to juggle multiple demands, but needs to see professional learning as vital to their ongoing growth and that of their profession.

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    1. Thanks Karyn. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts as it's help me clarify my own.

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  6. Ideal? Definitely self-selected and online BUT still with FTF every so often. Funny how the 'techno' people on a platform like this still appreciate FTF! Also need full staff get-together cupla times a year, though, as mentioned by someone earlier, just to keep the overall strategic thing going aswell....

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  7. So as a teacher, my ideal professional learning programme would be an experience(s) that incorporates visual/aural/kinesthetic activities that feed the soul and reignite passion whatever the learning - to be engaged for the full length of the experience so lots of people and talking and sharing as well as practical useful teacher tips to try/use in the classroom :-)

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    1. Thanks for your comments. Connecting with the experience is important.

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  8. Good question. The PL that works for me is self-directed but with a group of interested people, has a mix of immediate and long-term results, and is aimed at me as a learner with background and experience (androgogy - my word for the day: The science of adult learners). I also need a spiral, where I come back to ideas several times in more complex forms for something to effectively stick.

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  9. Thanks for your valuable input. Spirals. Yes, need to learn more about that and incorporate it so teachers have opportunities to revisit, re-examine etc.
    So is your PL based on learner data? Data for your class? For your school?

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  10. This is something I was asked during my appraisal and have yet to find the right answer that fits for me. I'm at a fork in the road at the moment and I'm not sure what path to take. So for me (personally) I would like to have the chance to have a mentor to connect with. Preferably someone outside my own school. Certain things I can't get from staff meeting, readings, or Twitter and I need that f2f guidance.
    My PLP would help me take that next step to where I want to go.

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  11. I thought, following the efellows adventure last year, I should tackle my long overdue Post Grad with distance papers. I discovered a lot about my preferred PLD at the same time. I loved the learning the paper I did brought. I hated the restrictions of assignments - word limits when I could not get my point across fully not to mention citations. The more informal, online environment of badge earning, blogs, webinars, VPLD, the work based PLD I have access to this year and the education articles that Twitter and Facebook can bring suit me just fine. I can follow my interests and ask deeper questions. Face to face is important for me too. Online tools such as Adobe Connect for webinars also allow an element of connection. Informal vs Formal learning was the last conference we had in our paper - informal for me won hands down as I had so much more agency over it.

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