Differentiating and Personalising the curriculum

Workshop/Seminar presented by Ralph Pirozzo, www.pli.com.au
time: 5 hrs (all day) at Essendon Football Club

This presentation illustrated and workshopped Ralph’s curriculum structure and pedagogy which is designed to address the learning styles and abilities of the whole class. Using Blooms taxonomy and multiple intelligences Ralph has created a grid that enables a teacher to structure their courses to ensure that they offer their students many levels of thinking and opportunity to learn within their preferred learning style. He is also informed by deBono, Tony Ryan, Eric Frangenheim, Langford, Pohl, Art Costa, Kagan and others

Ralph’s pedagogy is informed by Glasser, Vygotschy, Bruner, McTighe and Wiggins, in which he has created a 48 or 56 activity matrix to present any topic within.

This program integrates blooms (to achieve higher order thinking) and Multiple Intelligences (to achieve engagement) Ralph has added to Bloom’s Taxonomy with a concept of preknowing – which takes into account students who are coming to or classrooms without the cultural identity our courses expect (ESL in particular). he has created a matrix of six (or seven) blooms tax, vs eight MI.

Ralph then gave instruction on how to implement such a matrix with assessment and Learning outcomes and then gave as access to many examples of these in use by other schools and classrooms.

POL Profession Learning Day

Length: 6 hrs
Location: Marian College
Presenter: Marg Stewart

Leadership at Marian

Aim of the day is to create a strong team within our leadership group.
Started with a couple of activities to get us up and moving. Asked why do this? Her vision for leadership is about focussing on the person not the task. Everything you do has impact on people. Who your are as a leader is responded to, seen and judged by people, our interactions as a person is the most important part of our leadership role.

Pivotal group is our students. What does Brigidine education look like at Marian College? Marg was moved by the saying: Do ordinary things extraordinarily well. Which is a great mantra, and As you are, those who come after you will be.

If you the leader is at the top of the tree, where are you looking?
A better metaphor is a human pyramid, with the leader at the top, the leader is looking forward but is always aware that they are held there by those underneath.

School improvement plan 2011-2014:
the section on background and context was developed from the staff responding to an activity last year which asked staff to look at what they thought Brigidine education was at Marian (page 9-10)

Marian:
1. Serving the mission of the church
2. Dedication to community
3. Learning for life
4. Relationships and well-being

Leadership:
1. Making vision a reality
2. Making meaning for people

These two points are a focus for our interactions with our peers, not the students.
We must have meaning for ourselves before we make meaning for others.
Be actively engaged in the vision.
Need tangible short term targets
Act out the vision in the small things as well as looking toward the bigger picture
Need faith in the vision
Be aware of others view of the vision and accept their interpretation, flexible, fair and fluid
Our personal vision needs to be consolidated with the greater vision

Looked at the philosophy of Education for Marian College examining the four sections and identifying one personal point that stands out. For me it was

Engaging students with their wider world
Staff and students are energetic and motivated
Are independent learners – open to ideas and innovation
Emotional intelligence and resilience

Looked at the annual implementation plan and strategic goals 2011-2014
It contains management priorities and improvement foci for 2011
Discerned for 2011, according to current need from strategic intentions and goals contained in school improvement plan
The plan highlights the ‘driver’ of each goal rathe than a responsible person which gives the idea of moving on a journey rather than someone who at the end of the process has to face the consequences of objectives being met. The term suggests a much more team approach.

The plan leaves open the opportunities to contribute, rather than articulating particular individuals who are responsible, the driver is not on their own and it is clear that many will be contributing to ensure the goals are achieved.

The agenda for this year is that we put our students in a position to accomplish the best possible outcomes by placing them, in right environment, created by the collective energies and innovations of all staff.

Professional Action Learning Team Meetings

Length: 2.5 hrs
Location: Marian college

these are part of the official meetings that were held to facilitate our PLT. Many more were held outside of these to consolidate our new Yr 10 curriculum. In this meeting we showcased the new curriculum we have developed and outlined some of the philosophy behind the changed pedagogy.

Nurturing Marian as an Evolved Community

Tags

School Community, Student wellbeing

presented by Dianne Reynolds
2.5 hrs of professional development and accreditation to CEO category C teaching in a catholic school.

This Pd was a part of our Marian whole school staff day. We spent a considerable amount of time looking at the value system we want to promote at Marian and how we are achieving this within our classroom and in the community as a whole.

Physics National Curriculum Consultation Forums

Tags

National Curriculum, Physics

Length: 2 hrs
Location: Marian College
Presenter: Jane Coyle and Neil Champion

This meeting was hosted by my school and allowed teachers from the area to come together and discuss the proposed national curriculum. Several concerns about content and implementation were identified and participants were encouraged to make their concerns known through the National curriculum website.

Cyber Smart Presentation

Length: 1:15
Location: Marian College

This was an update on the hazards of internet and social forums and a reminder about teaching our students to be aware of their digital footprint. Pretty important for our students who all seem to use Facebook and other social media. Interestingly Twitter is not commonly used by students of the age we teach but an older group (19-35).

Physics National Curriculum Presenters day

Tags

Natational Curriculum, Physics

Length: 4 hrs
Presenter: Dan O’Keeffe, Neil Champion, Jane Coyle
Place: Kew High School

This was a preparation session for presenters doing to up coming forums into the national curriculum. Physics curriculum, available at www.vicphysics.org/nationalcurriculum.html

10:00 Introduction:

A brief (15 – 20 min) powerpoint presentation has been prepared. It is on the structure of the document and the questions that can be asked about each section.

Small Group Discussion:
The groups were about 5 in size. Some participants were asked to bring their laptop so that there is a laptop in each group. A template was be provided on the day into which the scribe will enter comments.

About every 30 minutes, each group was asked to make a brief observation, then back to group work. The files will contain the groups’ thoughts. The files will be combined, emailed to all participants and put on the vicphysics website.

12:00 Briefing on views from other states and ACARA’s plans for post consultation. (It is possible that Maria James, recently back at VCAA from ACARA will be in attendance)

12:20 Lunch

1:00pm * Fine tuning of the presentation and discussion questions. Logistics for managing the forums for the week beginning Monday 19th July.

2:00pm Finish

* For presenters of the subsequent forums, others are welcome to stay.

Prayer

presented by Marguerite Buckley and Dianne Reynolds
Accredited 1.5 hrs of Professional Learning contributing to CEO Category C

How we use prayer in our classrooms and personally as our way of making meaning of our relationship to God

A Look at Timetabler

Tags

The Timetabler, timetabling

Length: 4 hrs

Traveled down to Geelong last week to have a look at ‘The timetabler’ package as we are thinking of turfing ‘FirstClass’. The package seems to have much better data access with many more ways to export and report. The actual timetabling algorithm seems to be based on the old fashioned analogue system of place cards on a board and switching them around to get a solution. May be the interface is set up like this to please the old school uses but to me it just worried me that the algorithm they use is antiquated as well. It did seem that you have to go through several more steps to set the data up and run the timetabling part of the program. I think we will probably change to it as its data retrieval seems much more suited to the needs of the school and any TTing issues will only effect me.

The needs of the many out way the needs of the few or the one!

Oodles of Moodle 3

A Look at Moodle 2
Length: 2 hrs
Place: VITTA – Forest Hill College
Presenter: Julian

Show and tell session

Can download the alpha build from

New text editor

Can set the sharing of files using webdap and have ldap enabled in the moodle.

Edumate have created process

Has the ability to create backups of the previous years course so that you have access to last years course.

Auto-link to work sheet to so that you can write the name of a sheet and it will create a link to the worksheet in the text.

Quiz editor is still not the best tool. Can upload quiz from hot potato.

Questions in quizzes can be tagged so they can be used and searched.

Save as you go function for creating a resource.

Current version has a data base tool.

Project management plug in called technical projects

Setting up Moodle at Secondary

See www.digbys.blogspot.com

Daily digest email used to remind of changes on wiki for staff handbook

Used external system with Moodle meant that they do not have to update twice to the external web site

Room bookings on Moodle

Student observations

Look at alfresco as a drag and drop file server.

Issues with getting this up and running with staff

• Xyrus is serious hardware investments for wireless
• Online course creation regular sessions or course over 3 to 4 weeks with impetuous due to pd hours requirement
• Stratify your pitch so that you can cater for differing needs of staff
• What do you start with? What creates enthusiasm. Assessment ongoing with instant feedback to students and staff. Student s access at home and for parents. Build independence as learners for students appeals to teachers. Start with using for the administrative side of school to allow staff to see what it looks like and get comfortable.
• Messaging with students to their email but not giving out email address.
• Try to create a private space to enable them to improve their skills but it must have a final purpose
• Gradebook stores and centralizes results

Parent access students moodle ….google this to find the code.