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6 ways to get the most out of a new PLD journey

When you embark upon any new learning, you get to decide what kind of attitude you’ll bring to it. There's a big difference between thinking:“Here we go again, another whizz-bang program that’ll be tossed out again in a few years” - and -“I’m interested in seeing how this learning might help me to boost engagement in literacy”Coaching questions to help you decide your vibe:What would you love to get out of this PLD?What attitude will you choose to bring to this PLD? ...

Mentor Teacher Problems #4

Here are some coaching questions that can help you to find the answers that work best for you (and hopefully your B.T): 🍎 What have you done so far to establish a professional relationship between you and your B.T?🍏 What else could you do?🍎 What do you already know about your B.T?    Their work style, personal and professional goals, communication preferences etc... 🍏 What other information could you find out that would help you communicate more effectively a...

Mentor Teacher Problems #3

Here are some coaching questions that can help you to find the answers that work best for you (and hopefully your B.T): 🍏 What are the potential benefits of your B.T seeking advice from other colleagues? 🍎 What are the potential negatives of your B.T seeking advice from other colleagues? 🍏 How does my B.T like to communicate?        e.g; questions in the moment, bullet pointed lists, reflective afternoon conversations, early morning chats... 🍎 How ...

Mentor Teacher Problems #2

Here are some coaching questions that can help you to find the answers that work best for you (and hopefully your B.T): 🍎 What have you done so far to ensure that your B.T is 100% clear about their responsibilities?🍏 What else could you do?🍎 What additional resources or check-ins could be included in your B.T's advice and guidance program?🍏 How might you encourage your B.T do discover a work style that works best for them?Remember: Being a mentor teacher isn't about passing on your p...

Mentor Teacher Problems #1

Here are some coaching questions that can help you to find the answers that work best for you (and hopefully your B.T):🍎 What have you done so far to make the expectations for your B.T crystal clear? 🍏 What else could you do? 🍎 What could happen if you stopped bailing out your B.T? 🍏 What could happen if you kept bailing out your B.T? 🍎 What will you start doing MORE of to encourage your B.T to become more independent? 🍏 What will you start doing LESS of that will encourage y...

Contacting Parliament

You might have seen my post on Facebook recently about the proposal to bring forward the school holidays due to the current Covid/Delta outbreak. Not surprisingly the nere idea of shirting the holidays generated a lot of angst and concern amongst teachers, and I had a few of you get in contact about how they could make their views known to the Government. It got me thinking a bit about democracy and how it all works. It isn’t just about voting every three years; there’s a whole lot...

Meetings

Most meetings suck.  Of course they do, because no one is training us to do them well and we’ve suffered through years of having them poorly modelled to us....

ADKAR

It’s often said that when it comes to education, the only constant is change and CRIKEY that can be tough sometimes! Just when you get your head about doing one thing, someone in a swivelly chair decides that you don’t need to do it anymore and from tomorrow onwards you need to start some other new fandangled thingy-ma-jig. Change can seem relentless! But change doesn’t have to be the bad guy. There are lots of things that we can do to encourage positive change in our schools. Decades of h...

Being Coached

Having a coach is a huge investment. Either you personally make the decision to have a coach, or your school leadership chooses to provide you with one. Either way, coaching requires an investment of your time and energy. As your coach, I can help you achieve your goals and reach the next level. That “next level” varies from person to person. It may be:  planning for changes that you’d like to make to your teaching practice developing your leadership skillsexploring how to succee...

Toxic Colleagues

When we’re out in the real world we describe something toxic as a thing that is poisonous to every member of a group. For example:Chocolate is toxic to dogsUncooked eel blood is toxic to humansChilli is toxic to pigeons With this logic, is it really right to say that a person is toxic? Can one person be so poisonous that they affect everyone else in a toxic way?  True, there are some people who you would describe as not so friendly or tactful out there, but not one of them is an arse to e...

Books

Coaching for Performance Sir John Whitmore Sir John Whitmore is the Beyoncé of coaching. When it comes to the GROW model, he wrote the book … literally! If my house was on fire and I could only save one book, it’d be this one. If you’re looking for an easily digestible starting point in your coaching journey, then this has everything you need. The essential guide to Coaching and MentoringJudith Tolhurst I checked this book out from my local library. 10 pages in I knew that I had...

Options

Good questions have magical powers! Our brains are obsessed with answering them. You can use this to your advantage when faced with any situation that you want to improve. Ask good questions and get your brain going to work to come up with good answers. The best brainstorming happens without censure or conditionality. The key is to generate a long list of things that you could potentially do to improve a situation. Your objective during brainstorming should not be to find the right answer, but t...

Over Teaching

There are an estimated 215 million drawing tutorials on YouTube. Half a billion music lessons to look at. Hundreds of thousands of videos that teach you how to ride a unicycle. When did plopping learners in front of a screen become a default for everything? Surely, we can’t call it self-directed learning when it’s actually technology directed learning .. can we?...

Professional Growth Cycles

Having 3 days without pay to go and stand in the rain and chant along to "Kua tai te wā!" is up there with having a root canal on the enjoyment scale - but we did it and it worked! The old 'jump-through-hoops' appraisal system for teachers is out, and Professional Growth Cycles are IN - but the work hasn't stopped - oh no my friends. It's just getting started!...

Teacher Survival Guide: The End of Term Edition

Isn’t it weird how the whole COVID lock down escapade feels simultaneously like it was just yesterday, but also like it was aaaaaaages ago? I’ve been seeing the carnage that’s been going on in schools over the last few weeks with the student (and parent) behaviors that you guys are dealing with and it’s only now that I truly understand the need for the word UNPRECEDENTED. Seriously though, what the hell is going on? My own kids are an absolute bag of crap right now and I try and mak...