Change…

This clip isn’t new, but it’s a favourite of mine.  It seemed a good choice if the subject is change!

I asked my colleagues at school how they feel they have changed as teachers and learners in the past year. This wordle shows their responses:

The fact that the biggest word is THINKING means that it was the most frequently used word, which I think is great! It tells you something about what we value as teachers and learners.  I like the fact that the words ‘teaching’ and ‘work’ are nowhere to be seen.  It shows how far we moved in our reflection and in our practice.

Most of the respondents were part of  a voluntary group of  teachers who come to school an hour early once a week to learn together. Our ‘thinking group’ meets fortnightly to discuss readings, share ideas and reflect on our teaching.  This is my in-school PLN, a group of committed teachers who have, over the past few years, become a true ‘community of learners,’ creating a culture of thinking and inquiry which has spread through the school, across disciplines, staff and students. The ‘technology group’ (many of the same people), meets on the alternate week to experiment with web 2.o tools and share how to use them in the classroom. This week I listened to Konrad Glogowski talking about ‘learning with‘  rather than ‘learning from‘ at the K-12 online conference and was struck by how much more meaningful this kind of PD can be than the traditional type.

Here are a few examples of the teachers’ responses to how they have changed:

‘I have learnt that together my students and I can explore topics and issues through the use of thinking routines and graphic organizers. We celebrate the fact that we are able to learn from each other in this way and see things from different perspectives and value our different views.’

‘I feel this year that I have become more exposed to technology  but I still feel that I need to implement more of what I have learned. I have also made an effort to focus on the children’s thinking and making connections with their previous knowledge through the regular use of thinking routines.’

I am beginning to shift from being a teacher to a facilitator.  Relinquishing control is challenging but the benefits are worthwhile. I have learned that listening to children’s thinking gives incredible insight into their understanding…’

‘Growing questions and thinking with the use of thinking routines and technology… is something I have learned and used a lot this year.’

PS. I asked the same question on Twitter (‘ How have you changed as a teacher/ learner in the past year?’), and the responses were somewhat different.  Most of them related to technology, to what teachers have got out of Twitter, to the benefits of an online PLN… but that’s another story…  🙂

PYP Key Concept: Change. Series of posts through the lens of key concepts of PYP.