Tag Archives: mindset

My Review of the brilliant #TLAB13

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First off – the longest, most intense, most intellectual, most practical and most challenging Day Conference I think I have ever been to, which to me makes it also the best I have ever been to.

I have read several attendees’ blogs, and indeed sat next to some of them, but I’m not able to function particularly well like that – tweeting is as much as I can cope with! To that end, this post is simply a summary of my tweets for the day – I hope no-one minds! I’ve added and annotated where appropriate! I also find that I tend to remember only what I have recorded if I do so. These then are my permanent reminders:

 

Alistair Smith – 50,000 chunks (link to keynote slides, and also, quite brilliantly, his initial slidenotes)

Nutshell: Beware the OFSTED Whisperers, when is an OFSTED 1 a Real 1, what good leaders do, what good schools do.

Learning behaviours for infants

(Photo of Slide – I Tweeted this and it got a lot of RTs and Favourites – it clearly hit a nerve!)

Most lesson plans I see are elaborate to do lists.

I agree with this, but only because, isn’t that what they are? Isn’t a recipe a to do list? His point however was more than that – I took it that we can’t just tick things off and think they are done – we need to keep going back to them again and again.

There is a perception that expertise is a function of time.

This was at the beginning but really resonated. Many years service does not make you a better teacher than the NQT teacher next door. In fact, they’re probably better, according to Dylan Wiliam. I have been driving for 14 years – I don’t think I am improved immeasurably as a driver despite this. The point was this – Deliberative Practice – my mantra. He also had a great perception of hexagons – the knowledge is on the shapes, but the skill is seeing how they join together.

(A longer blogpost by @dailydenouement can be found here.)

 

David Didau – Ofsted Whisperer – The Anatomy of an Outstanding Lesson

Nutshell: Use music, Marking is planning, don’t overplan activities, don’t accept not finished, vary the depth of your questions

‘Sapere aude!’ – dare to know!

A very good session from a Secondary English teacher and writer on what he does to make his lessons sing. He is clearly thoughtful in his approach, and there was lots to get from this as a Primary Specialist. His blog is very good too. Found on Twitter as @LearningSpy.

It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission.

David’s session showed how he measured the optimum level of deliberative practice he gets his students into, as well as revealing a brilliant questioning chart to get deeper understanding from his students. He has high expectations, which the children are aware of, and strive to achieve. He also plugged a brilliant tool the Learning Event Generator, to skip the hassle of making an activity. Find the free online version here.

 

Bill Lord – Change as a Head

Caveat – Bill and I are friends. He has been very supportive of me, and I in turn have leeched from him the various experiences he has had as a Head since he started. I one day hope to reciprocate the friendship.

Nutshell: Try everything, take risks, ground everything in work, make your philosophy relevant, be honest and true to yourself

What the eleven year olds do the four year olds do.

Everything is fair in Bill’s school. I love the idea of a flat curriculum!

School motto ‘Reveal your inner star’ (child-created)

This is part of a motto, and are actually on all the staff identity Lanyards. Created by children themselves, as Bill says ‘If we don’t live it, they don’t love it.’ I’m very taken with the Smile Inside concept, and I think Bill’s work here is great. Or rather, his pupils’ work.

2 ‘classes trialling 2 terms without any displays as action research’

Bill confessed that although he read up on things, his staff were taken with him, rather than reading independently. To that end he is involving them in Action Research, and his staff will be all the richer for it too! I hope I am this brave and ambitious when/if a Head.

Kill the cult.

 

 

Bill Lucas – What is Intelligence?

Nutshell: Change your perceptions, research more, join us, intelligence is flexible, mindset is key, what type of learner are you

Split-Screen teaching – objectives are both knowledge and ‘learning habits of mind’ straddled (paraphrased)

This was the middle Keynote, and despite being the most grounded in terms of reference and research architecture, there was a strong amount of ‘noise’ on Twitter regarding some of the things that Bill Lucas said. I for one enjoyed the Keynote, I liked the focus (one of personal interest), and I think that a growth in Research papers from teachers is a natural offshoot of the more organic nature of Pedagoo and Teachmeets.

I *think* that he has some books out, and perhaps next time, he might want to mention this in his presentations…

 

David Rogers – Guerilla Geography

Nutshell: Geography designed by The Beastie Boys. Anarchic yet brimming with ideas, possibilities and concepts. If I’d been taught by this team, I’d be teaching Geography now.

Two phrases of #genius in Geography lessons – ‘prove it’ and ‘so what’

I loved this session. David has a team of three and takes them on an Away Day to get them excited and inspired for the coming year! I think this is BRILLIANT. He also is challenging and subversive, but in the best way. Learning is active and exciting to him, and so should be for the children. This was the most untheoretical of the sessions today; lots of fun and very practical!

 

Bill Rankin – Light and Heat

‘the non measurable stuff is the more important and more valuable stuff’ – (paraphrased, my interpretation)

Nutshell: What is best for where we are now, classes are largely passive, schools have become monocultures, make your learning alive, use the world as your classroom, I make beautiful slides

You know one of those situations when you are glad you made the right choice? I was sorely tempted to go home and miss this last Keynote – I’d had a busy week, and my brain was feeling veeeeeery tired at this point, but I felt compelled to not miss out on what had already been a great day. I am so glad I did. Bill was a fascinating speaker on a great range of topics. He spoke with interest and confidence, yet was very humble in his authority. I really felt warmed by his call to arms. I think (hope) that I live his dream, but found it encouraging anyway!

 

All credit to Nick Dennis and his team for putting together something so interesting, professional and yet very relaxed and fun. It was a celebration of what is good in Education, as 300 people sitting in a lecture hall at 4pm would be testament to. Thank you Nick, Rebecca and Berkhamstead for letting us ‘Pedageeks’ invade!

The Purpose of Education is connection #500words

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Join The DotsTo answer the purpose for education, I went one stage back, and looked at the reason for learning, as I would hope that the purpose for education is based upon this.

What is the reason for learning?

To ask lots, and answer more; to join the dots and make some of your own.

Learning should be a desire like an itch or scratch. Learning should be a driving force, a passion which is almost unquenchable. There should be an excitable agony knowing that you have only uncovered 1% of 1% of the world’s knowledge and understanding – there is so much already, and so much more to learn!

We hear toddlers exasperating their parents with endless ‘Why’ questions, but to me, that is fantastic. Without why, we wouldn’t explore new land, uncover hidden secrets, write new stories and songs, discover new tastes and live more interesting lives. The death of learning starts with not asking why. ‘Why’ should be encouraged all the time, even as adults!

There is a pleasure in watching friends solving a jigsaw. Working together on a shared aim, they work separately, but talking, sharing ideas, and looking to see if they can help each other out. Much of a jigsaw being built is social, and the satisfaction is not at the end when complete, but the pleasure of the journey; the small wins.

There is a tangible excitement to finding your own path, cutting your own way. No-one works better than on their own passions and interests – indeed, studies have shown that strangers can identify the difference between artwork which is commissioned and art which has been done for pleasure.

So if this is my belief as the reason for learning, what would I say is the purpose for education?

To encourage questions, to help uncover answers, to help with making connections, and to guide making their own.

I believe that we learn best when we are most interested in our learning; it follows that teachers and educators should be the ones that help to guide that interest to the most fruitful and beneficial point.

Education should equip children to uncover answers, but to enjoy that journey. Yes, it is good to find an answer efficiently, but it is just as important to discover things serendipitously, otherwise we will have a set of solutions but no contextual interest frame.

We as Educators should relish the opportunities to help young people make connections, using their ideas, enthusiasm and perspectives on life. We should encourage them to refine their focus, and allow their passion fuel their drive. We should help to link and connect things they are interested in (football) and things they aren’t (maths) in a way that helps them engage (league tables).

Our young people are standing on a diving board before the future. We don’t know how far the drop is, how deep the pool is or even, given the future conditions, if they can swim. The purpose of education, our purpose, is to help them make the best judgement possible. We can tell them that the water is deep, but if they don’t believe us, they won’t jump.

Stephen Lockyer, May 2012

(You can find out more about Purpos/Ed and the current campaign here.)

Bounce (The myth of talent and the power of practice)

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Bounce by Matthew Syed

(Fourth Estate, £8.99, 2010)

 

(This is the first in a regular series reviewing books outside of the realm of education, and looking at the impact they could have in a learning environment.)

 

Tagline

The myth of talent and the power of practice

 

Lowdown

This is a very powerful and interesting book, with a sporting background as its basis, which looks at the evidence for and against talent. It draws on the previous writing by Malcolm Gladwell, which ascribes to the idea that talent is a created concept, and what is seen as talent is actually at least 10,000 hours of practice. Syed’s writing is however much more involving than Gladwell’s at times, and he takes the reader through the concept of talent versus practice, then pinpoints several key features of practice.

 

10,000 hours of doing anything will not make you an expert he reasons, using driving as an argument, and the practice he recommends is one of focussed, intense practice, driven by coaches who give intense support for areas which are outside the comfort zone of the athlete. He argues that those tricky shots that David Beckham or Tiger Woods take are actually not so unusual to them due to their level of training and focus.

 

The main tenet which is carefully explored in both anecdote and psychological study is that of a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. The fixed mindset is one which believes in talent, whereas a growth mindset accepts that it takes practice to improve a skill, and that nothing is impossible, simply ‘out of reach.’

 

The book is a very easy read – that is not to disparage the quality of the writing, but to highlight how well the material has been chosen for the reader. Although this book is from a sports/business background, the connections to Education are enormous.

 

The Management Angle

The demand for Gifted and Talented Policies within schools defines a school on a paper sense as having a fixed mindset. This then has the potential to establish a philosophy of talented and non-talented pupils. While it can be argued that there are children who are stronger at some subjects than others, it is always interesting to examine why this is the case, what the origin of this strength might be. Bounce contends that with enough focus, anyone can become talented. How this can be put into Policy, and then embedded in the curriculum, is a challenge for any SMT. The main message for management from ‘Bounce’ would be to stretch all pupils , regardless of their starting point, but to underline this by eliminating the concept of failure and doubt. As Syed says, doubt reduces ambition.

 

The Teacher Angle

One area which is incredibly relevant to teachers is the language used to develop a growth mindset. Syed argues that we should verbally reward the achievement rather than the overarching skill – ‘You really nailled those tables’ rather than ‘You’re so good at maths.’ The very subtle change in language can have a lasting impact in terms of the athlete’s/pupil’s perspective of their ability; the logic being that you get told you are good at Maths often enough, and you can become nervous if you tackle something you feel you ‘should’ be able to achieve.

 

The Pupil Angle

A perception of people being ‘born with talent’ comes from an early age, and is encouraged in popular media. Whether or not we believe that this is the case, it is crucial to instill confidence in pupils that there is no limit to potential, but that lengthy, repetitive and sometimes uncomfortable practice and dedication needs to be put into place in order to progress.

 

Best quote

‘If you don’t know what you are doing wrong, you can never know what you are doing right.’ – Chen Xinhua, Chinese Table-Tennis Coach

 

Ponder now

What about your learning environment is limited by a ‘fixed mindset’? Where was this embedded?