tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46051805461211397932024-03-14T07:44:31.927+13:00Teaching French in Kiwilandfroggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-63182345647883656052015-09-09T16:33:00.001+12:002015-09-09T16:34:19.935+12:00I heart Excel Survey !<div class="MsoNormal">
I am in love with Excel Survey !!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is now official I think that Excel Survey is a fantastic
tool. It is very easy and quick to create a survey and students find it clear
to answer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmdU_zWqTmN42vCGjTs3AevEJFD2k1vbrCjGX7HYYzAVAX9qZPsYiPtO55UloWLxH7Ru-TyDsz9bfH8BT5trlczr8jTBMeoyKDOioh9HmzUkF3idWnDYlYVieUn_W1_6Ociv1E3TX-tQ/s1600/excel+survey.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmdU_zWqTmN42vCGjTs3AevEJFD2k1vbrCjGX7HYYzAVAX9qZPsYiPtO55UloWLxH7Ru-TyDsz9bfH8BT5trlczr8jTBMeoyKDOioh9HmzUkF3idWnDYlYVieUn_W1_6Ociv1E3TX-tQ/s320/excel+survey.png" width="320" /></a>I use it to collect students’ voice data in order to plan my
lessons and see where I need to go next. It is also quite useful to gauge if my
students understood a concept or if I need to spend more time in class on a
topic. Students can answer a multichoice question, or even better they can
explain their answer with a short text. I like reading their reasoning so I can
see if the learning is deep enough. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week, I could see that students understood adjective
agreement in French but their choice of<o:p></o:p></div>
words was not correct. The concept was
understood but they came up with answers like “the verb is feminine”. So the
next lesson we went over the meaning of noun, verb and adjective. It is a
wonderful learning opportunity which would not have happened if I hadn’t used
Excel Survey or at least if I hadn’t listened to my students.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After creating the survey I put the link onto Moodle for the
students to access. If (when) we are moving towards Teacher Dashboard school
wide, it will even be easier to share the survey. But until then you can share
with anybody as long as you share the link, in my understanding, you don’t need
to have a Microsoft account to access the survey. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In conclusion, the important factor is to survey our
students and listen to them to see where their learning needs to go, and Excel
survey is a great tool to do it. <o:p></o:p></div>
froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-39952208336464460562015-08-26T18:20:00.000+12:002015-08-26T18:20:05.204+12:00New Classroom !!!A good news from a bad news...<br />
<br />
As the Japanese teacher and I only teach a minuscule number of students at senior level, we have <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5y_EYPz2COQO_cy5xO4xL-XYtNn4-ZS1QFSZqGNtUU-shFghNkWZr3PbgHbBvL-obXWfAW9z3vEmKgQqhhYL2EddVQgZdroBwoJtITJyj3YOxJ8NBHx_VL9PV8fRXbWTrVRqnHOhEuI/s1600/20150825_110107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5y_EYPz2COQO_cy5xO4xL-XYtNn4-ZS1QFSZqGNtUU-shFghNkWZr3PbgHbBvL-obXWfAW9z3vEmKgQqhhYL2EddVQgZdroBwoJtITJyj3YOxJ8NBHx_VL9PV8fRXbWTrVRqnHOhEuI/s200/20150825_110107.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
been given a new room. This room used to be the Languages Resources Room and during the last term it has been refurbished. It looks amazing !!!<br />
<br />
The new room is near my French classroom at the bottom level of the block. It has a new heat pump (great for winter and our hot summer!!) and a data projector. This is not very exciting as all our classrooms at school have one of each; the most exciting thing is our furniture !!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWt_STnLfjlh7xieP51r9R_XuL0HQroevC4pWLyjMqmObSnZAIZ4zkCemu0QXSuwgiceYZHEfxn5GZgOtWJRktIK9-z9m0NQwlzG1OwWKwOJafmtvXZX1uA_hiJfynZmq00A2MxI31pNc/s1600/20150825_110113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWt_STnLfjlh7xieP51r9R_XuL0HQroevC4pWLyjMqmObSnZAIZ4zkCemu0QXSuwgiceYZHEfxn5GZgOtWJRktIK9-z9m0NQwlzG1OwWKwOJafmtvXZX1uA_hiJfynZmq00A2MxI31pNc/s200/20150825_110113.jpg" width="112" /></a>The Japanese teacher and I sat down and picked some tables which can put in different shapes (yuppie !!); we also got some bean bags and some ottomans. The idea is that students would sit and work where they want and how they want. We could have a reading corner, other students could work on a listening task while others could work with the teacher around some tables. This is a very exciting time for us, although we will start using this room only next year when all the resources are brought back to the room.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_6Kxc9H4idFTnIKW29IBvmt4tH75ZfWF2bWLXlCOSgmNOdwIQ7OvBo9_aSy4gxHDHY0nIEzCqjXoASwZAhvD5ZJ08W_FUIfXNsyvdePO2M-5IRKGn7RZPVKipFDNQwA_WC8hM7aHU-o/s1600/20150825_110057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_6Kxc9H4idFTnIKW29IBvmt4tH75ZfWF2bWLXlCOSgmNOdwIQ7OvBo9_aSy4gxHDHY0nIEzCqjXoASwZAhvD5ZJ08W_FUIfXNsyvdePO2M-5IRKGn7RZPVKipFDNQwA_WC8hM7aHU-o/s200/20150825_110057.jpg" width="112" /></a>Although we could not change the shape of the room as we can't move the walls, this is a kind of MLE for our combined senior classes. It is very heart warming<br />
to see our students getting excited every time they peep through the window to<br />
check how the renovation is going.<br />
<br />
Now the goal for us is to ensure that we use this room as it is planned and not fall back into an old fashion teaching.<br />
<br />froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-41269770141614505292015-08-16T10:27:00.000+12:002015-08-16T10:27:12.880+12:00I ain't dead !!I haven't been blogging in ages and for different reasons. Some reasons are personal (family life), health issues and some reasons are much more simple, like I needed a break to assess where I was.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://pixabay.com/get/a0dc5786e38eef0350bf/1439677568/neglected-horse-810745_1280.jpg?direct" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://pixabay.com/get/a0dc5786e38eef0350bf/1439677568/neglected-horse-810745_1280.jpg?direct" width="320" /></a>As I have found myself again, I feel ready to write once more. Although, I haven't been writing for 2<br />
years now, it does not mean that I haven't been thinking for the last couple of years. Actually, I have been thinking a lot, in every directions and maybe it is why it has been difficult for me to write. Not only I have found myself again but I seem to know where I am going now so it seems much easier to channel my thoughts. The last 3 years have felt like a "ride on a horse with no name". Although the desert can be harsh, it can also liberate us from unwanted stuff....I feel invigorated and ready to tackle a lot of things and maybe even bring down some mountains. I feel like a strong teacher scared of nothing.<br />
<br />
Let's recap where we are up to in August 2015. I am still teaching French in a rural school in New Zealand and I still love it like on my first day. In February, I have been given 4 hours a Cycle - we have a 6 day timetable- to do some Future Focused Learning at our school. I have also been involved in the Kia Eke Panuku Team- how to raise Maori achievement.<br />
<br />
In other words, since Feb, I have been very busy and I have been very challenged. The most challenging thing for me has been to learn how to work with teachers. Indeed, I thought it would have been easier to deal with teachers than teenagers but it turns out that it is much the same and the challenges are actually quite similar. But I think this is a topic for another post =)<br />
<br />
As I am typing on my keyboard, I am tying to think what is my priority today regarding my thoughts. Funnily enough, I think I want to rant a bit ! This is not very surprising for a French though! I am angry to see that schools in NZ are seen as a place where students come to get ready for a job.<br />
<br />
I believe that if we were sending our kids to secondary schools for the only purpose of getting a job then they will be no point of doing so. At the end of Intermediate School (age= 12 y old), students should then learn how to become a baker or a builder as their primary and fundamental education is (or should be) finished.<br />
<br />
WRONG !!!<br />
<br />
Students should be sent to secondary school to be challenged, to be shown how to become a critical thinker and learn how to make informed decision. A student in high school should be taught how to find information and critique this information, in other words a student should be taught how to evaluate all the information available at his finger tips and not become a sheep!<br />
<br />
Secondary school is not only a place of knowledge as content but also a place of critical thinking !!<br />
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<br />froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-82238401779347749872013-07-02T15:12:00.002+12:002013-07-02T15:12:59.797+12:00Te Reo I am learning Te reo. I have been learning now for about 3 weeks, I
am learning alone using books and for the vocabulary I use language
perfect (online game to learn vocab)<br />
I love learning, and
especially I love learning languages. I am very excited about learning
Te Reo. Although I only say a few things I have already noticed it has
made a huge difference.<br />
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/7552727978_9447ebed7a_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/7552727978_9447ebed7a_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;">with my students</span>-
For the first time in a long time, I put myself in the learning seat.
As te reo is not linked to any Indo European language, I can't make
links to what I already know. If I were learning Spanish or Italian, I
could make links with French or English, but with Te Reo it is
impossible so it is quite challenging. However I am still making
connections. I make connections with the grammar I already know, and I
make connections with words. For example, awhina means helpful. the word
reminds me of the word woman, and everybody knows that women are more
helpful than men =) This connection works for me and it might only work
for me but it is important that I tell my students about it. Thus they
will be able to make their own connections with words in French. So
learning Te Reo is making me closer to my fellow students and will help
them learning French. Also they can <br />
see that in order for me to speak
Te Reo I actually spend time working, and that work is the only key to
success.<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">with Maori students</span>-
the Maori students I teach are very excited to come to my class to see/
hear which new words I have learnt. But what is more amazing is
students I do not teach come to see me or run towards me in the
playground to check my progress. They are smiling and even if they laugh
at my pronunciation sometimes, they seem to be quite happy. I think it
is because I show respect to their language and per extension to their
culture. They know I only learn Te Reo just because ( I do not want to
change job, I just want to learn because I want to be able to speak with
others).<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
Voila<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
Kei te arikoha ahau =)<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-26471254856506381332013-03-20T10:27:00.002+13:002013-03-20T10:28:02.871+13:00RELAX !!!I teach a wonderful Year 12 French and a very nice Year 11 French. I have asked my Year 12 to come during their study class to teach my Year 11 about past tense in French. I had deliberatelly not spoken about past tense with the Year 11, as I had in mind that somebody else was going to do a better job than me.<br />
<br />and they did !!!<br />
<br />It was great to be at the back of the room listening to Year 12 explaining how to create past tense in French. All the students were engaged and asked heaps of questions. <br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Reathel_Odom,_secretary_to_Bess_Truman,_sitting_in_a_winged_chair_in_the_White_House._-_NARA_-_199958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Reathel_Odom,_secretary_to_Bess_Truman,_sitting_in_a_winged_chair_in_the_White_House._-_NARA_-_199958.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />It was a great exercise for both levels as "enseigner c'est apprendre deux fois" (teaching is learning twice). The Year 12 want to teach again as they said it had to become clear in their head before they could teach, and the year 11 said they could relate to the Year 12 much more than tome =)<br />
<br />I cannot wait to have another lesson like this one. I have learned so much as well by looking at my students teachingfroggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-39602008302237122702012-10-30T15:04:00.001+13:002012-10-30T15:04:31.686+13:00I teach MY students
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I teach my students, not other teachers’
students. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What do I mean by that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I have been extensively reading about
teenagers and what/ how they are learning. I have been reading how they text,
how they speak, what they like doing. I have been reading all that from
teachers or from people in the learning business. As I was reading I have never
taken the time to actually stop and look at MY students. I assumed that
teachers around the world had the same students. So I thought that teenagers
from Scotland were like teenagers in South Africa, who were the same as
teenagers in the US or Australia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">How wrong was I.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsxbCAU9D40DlgWoqnK6yeLL_Lkp1eEbaZyjaETMjtR75cW9UNB0UlD2qSLgH1gfAwoExOONLY-1940TIpeYlE77FXmlLfAdFOAFAbHc0Rss1M6b0uWcYzTCjsLn2vVuT0Z009JioCo4/s1600/3417496059_fb799c5907.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsxbCAU9D40DlgWoqnK6yeLL_Lkp1eEbaZyjaETMjtR75cW9UNB0UlD2qSLgH1gfAwoExOONLY-1940TIpeYlE77FXmlLfAdFOAFAbHc0Rss1M6b0uWcYzTCjsLn2vVuT0Z009JioCo4/s320/3417496059_fb799c5907.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(source http://bit.ly/QR3no3)</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">One typical example is that I have asked my
students how they text. They told me that they text like they write in English
(proper !!!), they do not use text language and cannot stand kids who do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As you know, I teach French in a rural high
school in NZ. My experience, my students might be different from yours even if
you teach in a rural high school in NZ. My experience might also be different
from another teacher in the same school as me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I made the mistake to assume how my
students were. This year, I have been observing them (I should have done that
years ago of course, but I cannot change that). By observing and asking them
what they actually like, I have realised that they like touching stuff I have
laminated, they like doing grammar drills, they like playing gameboards, they
like conjugating verbs on individual whiteboards (the old way) and they like
learning their vocabulary using Language Perfect online.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So now, when I plan my lessons, I do not
plan them if I were teaching students in Australia or in Huntly, I plan my
lessons if I were teaching my students, the ones who decide to take French in
high school, the ones who like conjugating verbs and playing gameboards <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-89599652437742859512012-05-21T17:19:00.002+12:002012-05-21T17:19:49.666+12:00MIE in Year 10 French class<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn33r7lYtFWBd2Jv0W_fAaD5lEebs7EWkdk_OOiQBuJLy-Ir2FTqdn7HGRiqxmq_0wgQH5D42dDi6eUJvRnRLa2nLuyt3_TDqf0LocbIL4r_M0A0hfiROmO-lyr_QayhUnLfc6QEBSFwo/s1600/petanque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn33r7lYtFWBd2Jv0W_fAaD5lEebs7EWkdk_OOiQBuJLy-Ir2FTqdn7HGRiqxmq_0wgQH5D42dDi6eUJvRnRLa2nLuyt3_TDqf0LocbIL4r_M0A0hfiROmO-lyr_QayhUnLfc6QEBSFwo/s320/petanque.jpg" width="320" /></a><b id="internal-source-marker_0.14189753751270473" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 422px;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few weeks ago, I have asked my Year 10 French who wanted to be extended. (<a href="http://florencelyons.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/extending-my-year-10-french.html">read this post </a>if you are interested).</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So a group of around 10 girls have been working on different projects ranging from clothes designers to French actress.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only two directions they had was to study a topic they were interested in and use their brain. I have asked a fellow teacher to (re)introduce the SOLO Taxonomy to this group in order for them to ask good questions.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last week, was their final week and they presented to the rest of the class their work. MAMMA MIA !!! I was very impressed by the quality of their work. Their presentation skills were remarkable. A student spoke about pétanque. Her presentation was out of this world. She had great research, asked herself superbe questions and at the end of her presentation asked her peers a quiz. She wanted to be sure that her friends listened to her. I was very impressed by her deep understanding of the topic. She was actually capable of answering questions the other kids asked. I can say that we have now in our class an expert about pétanque in our class.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not only this little experiment worked well but the kids cannot wait to carry on. Some are already thinking about what they are going to do next. </span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 422px;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 422px;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 422px;"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speaking about engagement ??!!! Good way of measuring engagement in our classes =)</span></b>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-90827320848144983192012-03-22T09:48:00.005+13:002012-03-23T12:48:17.036+13:00Extending my Year 10 French<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsC4xQOL0AjG-1kVknIOJBLGeqWdNJpKeF0c6U4LYkP9C_mbK9Me8VF2FZhGY5Ud3cW0xJpHdzsax1PtRja2QINCeiCEFTOTbfHTxUPH_kx2x3cdE9ArsAC1c4wLXUBd5HVWM8DYevQEM/s1600/coquelicot.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsC4xQOL0AjG-1kVknIOJBLGeqWdNJpKeF0c6U4LYkP9C_mbK9Me8VF2FZhGY5Ud3cW0xJpHdzsax1PtRja2QINCeiCEFTOTbfHTxUPH_kx2x3cdE9ArsAC1c4wLXUBd5HVWM8DYevQEM/s200/coquelicot.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722872332548267858" /></a><br />I teach a wonderful Year 10 French, with lots of different abilities within the class. Some kids are flying when some need a lot of repetition. I actually love teaching mixed ability class but I thought we could/ should extend some students. <div><br /></div><div>Last week, I asked the whole class who wanted to be extended in French. About 10 girls (interesting hey??!!) stayed behind and we discussed together how we could extend our French. I told them that I didn't want them to work extra. Who would like to do more of the same boring stuff ?? High abilities students are not stupid, why would you want to work more? Instead I offered the opportunity to work on things they are interested in.</div><div><br /></div><div>Indeed they can study what ever they want e.g. poems, French history, special theme etc... They would study while the rest of the class is learning in "the normal way". They will also get the vocabulary they are missing. As it is very low level of thinking I thought they would cope with just learning lists.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had planned to start next week but the kids were eager to start straight away. So yesterday while the rest of the class was learning about shops in France, "the extended band" went into my grotty office next door and started to think about they would like to study.</div><div><br /></div><div>During that hour they came up with great ideas like studying the life of Louis XIV, Versailles, French designers, French bread and Paris to name a few.</div><div><br /></div><div>What was surprising was when I was teaching the rest of the class (the kids who did not want to be extended), the dynamic had changed. Kids who usually do not participate much were very engaged and put their hands up heaps. When I discussed this situation with the DP, we thought that :</div><div>-a gap and an expectation had been made which needed to be filled and the kids were quite happy to fill in that gap. So they behaved in the way that usually the most able girls behave.</div><div>- they felt less embarrassed that more repetition was needed, so they were more comfortable answering questions</div><div>- they had more more time and felt less threatened</div><div><br /></div><div>For whatever the reasons, both sides of the class worked very hard.</div><div><br /></div><div>What next?</div><div><br /></div><div>The girls and I will be discussing next lesson what topics they are going to study. It is also very important that they keep a log and write down how they are going to spend their time. They will write down what they expect to do each hour, and at the end of each lesson, they should reflect and see what has been achieved or not.</div><div>I have also asked the lady who looks after the Gifted and Talented students to come to see those girls and remind them about SOLO Taxonomy. Indeed, it is primordial that the girls get a good understanding of deep level thinking. I do not want to see them learning lists of vocabulary or ask how many steps on the Eiffel Tower.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the end of their topic (which should last 2/3 weeks) they will present their findings to the rest of the class. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope that this is going to work well as I want to see if Minimally Invasive Education can be done in a French class</div>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-46884337266069999692012-03-08T19:32:00.002+13:002012-03-08T19:41:26.386+13:00Look at my new black pen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjtmYwsGSmr-0y5d4hb-qgk_m0-tuwucAZmTPT1xSlot0xQDzzR7MRMkBMBd95JLmEbaTVbiZEH_ZBoMe7Ev1mHuytP9SwKlNS0uIDoI_tYRk4nbtbKJ_M36JeRiOVepgIh2T-Mp2PbM/s1600/Museum_of_the_History_of_Science_Oxford.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjtmYwsGSmr-0y5d4hb-qgk_m0-tuwucAZmTPT1xSlot0xQDzzR7MRMkBMBd95JLmEbaTVbiZEH_ZBoMe7Ev1mHuytP9SwKlNS0uIDoI_tYRk4nbtbKJ_M36JeRiOVepgIh2T-Mp2PbM/s200/Museum_of_the_History_of_Science_Oxford.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717412630355722418" /></a><br /><br /><p style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">" I usually write on the whiteboard using a blue pen, but now I use a black pen. I have not changed anything at all about my teaching but the colour of the ink I use. My students learn in the same way except that now they see my black writing on the board" </p><p style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></p><p style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">This is what I hear when I listen people speaking about their use of technology. It is not about the teaching, it is not about the learning it is just about the technology. As if by just using a computer the learning/the teaching would become better by magie. Like if changing the colour pen could hide the fact that my teaching is mediocre.</p><p style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></p><p style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">I have nothing against (quite opposite actually) the use of technology if only you can back up why you do what you do and/or why your students do what they do. As long as a teacher has a vision and the way to get there is to use an Ipad then go for it. If you ask your students to write on NOTE on an Ipad, why not using a piece of paper. If your teaching/ learning can be done on the piece then do it on paper and don't spend $1000</p><p style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></p><p style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">What do you try your students to achieve when you ask them to use technology or when you use technology in your class?</p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-34643794817733834012012-02-13T18:23:00.002+13:002012-02-13T18:26:34.217+13:00I (re)discovered Facebook<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkKIuQ2rfAezwelQAc7LBs67LlxpiOrsBbRoNGbn9r24iuIQFIi_Br5SXFWoT2PLiU8pFLBGO1ogPXRubojyay3dWYkQxJ0NKiWeCM6L4io_zlUs6EPtvXGhOnwFbY78VxVpdUk92sCQ/s320/facebook-logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkKIuQ2rfAezwelQAc7LBs67LlxpiOrsBbRoNGbn9r24iuIQFIi_Br5SXFWoT2PLiU8pFLBGO1ogPXRubojyay3dWYkQxJ0NKiWeCM6L4io_zlUs6EPtvXGhOnwFbY78VxVpdUk92sCQ/s320/facebook-logo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Like a billion (or so) people I am a member of Facebook. It started as a fun thing to do. One day, my mum who lives in France and only uses the Internet has a encyclopedia joined Facebook. On that day,I found I could not delete my profile. Then a few other members of my family joined and now it is too late. As they are all hooked up on Facebook I am unable to leave "the community".</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">So until December, I used Facebook as a mean of seeing my cousin's wedding pictures (she got married in August and France is unfortunately very far away!!!) and/or telling people about my daughter's milestones (very interesting, NOT !!). </p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">I know that <a href="http://www.paradigmlost.info/"><span >Joel</span> Dodd</a> uses Facebook with his classes, but the school where I work is definitely not open about it =(</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Anyhow !!! </p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">When I was lying on my couch during the summer, I realised that Facebook was a lot more than my cousin's pictures (although she looked gorgeous). During my readings I have found "pages". I had already "liked" pages before but I had not realised the power behind those micro-communities.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">As new hobbies came to my life (e.g. sewing), new pages were added to my wall. Facebook is actually a RSS feed and I also can put all those liked pages into groups. So when sitting on the sofa in front of a good old American sitcom, I can read about some new sewing projects that different women (sorry to be sexist here) are tackling; I can read how I could live one year <span ><a href="http://www.rubbishfree.co.nz/">rubbish free</a></span> like a couple who is trying in the South Island.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">I know I was the only one not knowing about the power of Facebook and I should be ashamed...but as they say it is better late than ever.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 17px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Instead of looking at Facebook like an evil creature (did you know that before Facebook bullying did not exist ??) we should use it in our advantage. Connecting with our students is one thing we could do, but actually there is SO much more</p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-88119853886078122732011-11-21T19:48:00.003+13:002011-11-21T20:01:13.037+13:00Pointless exam<p class="p1"><span class="s1">A few days ago Year 11 sat the French NCEA which is the end of year exam here in New Zealand. As you might be aware the exam was of a poor quality. Some questions were of a level 3 instead of level 1. French teachers have complained and you can listen <a href="http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ckpt/ckpt-20111118-1717-teachers_say_ncea_french_exam_was_unfair-048.mp3">to a podcast of teachers</a> expressing their feelings.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Of course like all the other teachers I am shocked and disappointed that my students were assessed to a higher level than they are expected to work at. But I am more asking myself about the idea of exams itself.</span></p><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFj54Vwui55FEwYpe7IYmChFzAeL06ED6TflFPCDVEaLd4aZEkDcx_taGYsBYDGfpu7hErz2hSljTiAdfhIf8BSkEuFHp1pVBacu03Rz_gMCy74LJzWkGAivGWmJOEsRFthERXWaGOH9s/s320/pont+avignon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677338570902297106" /> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I actually do not know why students have to sit an exam at the end of the year. What is the point ?</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">So you work all year around, you learn everyday more French and at the end of the year you sit an exam and then what ?? 2 possibilities here : first you carry on with French or it was your last test ever in French. Either way you haven’t learnt anything at all from this exam.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">In 2011, we have seen in NZ students using more and more ePortfolios in order to not only gather evidences but also to reflect on their own progress. To me, it seems it is pointless then to ask our students to sit an exam at the end of the year. I think it would be a much better idea to ask our pupils to sit an exam during the year, give them a feedback and ask them to sit the same exam (or another one of same difficulty) and see what the progress have been.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">It is common practice in other subjects to pre-test student and then retest them later on using the same test (when the learning has taken place). By doing so students can see their progress and are given the opportunity to actually reflect on their learning.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">What do the students do with their NCEA results ??</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Yes I am outraged that the exam was of a very poor quality, full of errors and of a higher level, but for me the biggest complain is that there is no point at all to assess the students the way it is done now.</span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-48127342594628854122011-11-19T08:35:00.003+13:002011-11-19T08:37:05.941+13:00Back to the old times<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg219bQNtRZu7IlkfHSmAjoRjmDOM48ZbqKsjVRm-VPwNf-GARNVDizZgaiVP6MN8Eq_CR-4C8fjCyeBZNOBVcph_26ta55hC2QlqQBUOwC39UfgkvoO2WCgHgsSNcXvUoxlyE9PtTUpik/s1600/Vanilla-Ice.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg219bQNtRZu7IlkfHSmAjoRjmDOM48ZbqKsjVRm-VPwNf-GARNVDizZgaiVP6MN8Eq_CR-4C8fjCyeBZNOBVcph_26ta55hC2QlqQBUOwC39UfgkvoO2WCgHgsSNcXvUoxlyE9PtTUpik/s320/Vanilla-Ice.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676421786782287986" /></a><br /> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">In my <a href="http://florencelyons.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-have-been-lucky-enough-to-be-awarded.html">previous post</a> I spoke about how a cartoon can change your teaching life. However in this post I am going to mown a bit and look at how things unfortunately never change -If you do not want to read a moaner, don’t read this post.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As I was saying in my previous post I have been attending a conference in Auckland about <a href="http://www.confer.co.nz/tblt2011/">Task Based Language Teaching</a>. Although the food was great something got stuck in my throat.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As I arrived at the venue I had to register, so far very normal. While I was registering, the lady behind the counter gave me a bag which I thought was full of chocolates. Unfortunately it wasn’t !!</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I was very disappointed to see that in the bag with a bottle of water I was given a block notes and a pen. And my disappointment did not stop there. I was very sad during a good session to be given paper handouts. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Why was I disappointed ?</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">First because if we take notes or if we are given paper handouts we cannot share them with the rest of the world. Why should knowledge be restricted by distances? I am sure that a language teacher in Europe would have loved looking at the presenter’s research. By sharing paper with an audience you do not promote collaboration. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">It is now 2011, it is time that teachers collaborate and share. How can we expect our students to do so if we cannot even show them that we are doing it?</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Another thing was quite disappointing. On the program the word elearning did not appear once. I saw the word internet but I did not see the words elearning or ePortfolios. </span></p> <p class="p2">I went to this conference to become an effective teacher and for my students to learn better, I did not go to become a better teacher in 1985, I want my students to learn better in 2011 in order to succeed in the world in 2020.<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2">From those points of views, it was a bit sad to be stuck in the 20th century -which has seen Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli, let’s not forget it- instead of being shown how we can use a great language method in the 21st century.<span class="s1"></span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-9062755832721184872011-11-19T07:46:00.005+13:002011-11-19T07:58:41.367+13:00Crossing Boundaries<p class="p1"><span class="s1">I have been lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship by the <a href="http://www.french.ac.nz/nzaft">NZAFT</a> to go to a conference on <a href="http://www.confer.co.nz/tblt2011/">Task Based Language Teaching in Auckland</a>.</span></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoK9gpHUTm_tJa8K9uBkBgscSZIGgU0YuwruOH9DQX3DUISIfTBa1f1f8K06g-uBtOAME3xdpcZhW1NeAZCvSZp6yQQJHK0a9NztzsJKnad3Pd95fIhVjnnv5kanF0CE4jlZ-3Rc4RUQ/s200/3577875909_0042fa93b9.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 142px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676411501745203170" /> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">First I would like to thank the NZAFT for this great opportunity.</span></p><p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">When I arrived at Auckland University I was very pleased to see that there were language teachers from around the world. It is encouraging to see that teachers from each corner of the globe is dedicated enough to come so far for a conference and also it is encouraging for our students to see that their teachers are thinking about teaching and learning. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Sometimes you go to a conference and among great stuff there is something exceptional which is going to change the way you teach. On the first day of the conference there was a moment like that. While I was listening to a teacher from Japan, he showed us a cartoon. This cartoon changed my life (as a teacher).</span></p> <p class="p2">This teacher has asked his class at the beginning of the year to draw their German class. I could not believe what I saw.<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2">The students are drawn in what I believed to be a typical 1960’s class. The teacher was at the front of the class with a giant frown sitting at her desk. The rest of the class was sitting behind their desks facing the teacher. Some students were even drawn sleeping.<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2">Then at the end of the year -using TBL as a learning method- he asked the same students to draw their language class. This was a different story- or should I stay cartoon.<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2">The teacher on the second cartoon was nowhere to be found. Students were sitting facing each other and were actually drawn having conversations. The desks were put every where in the room instead of being aligned like on an army camp.<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2">Like Bridget Jones when she realises that she has to change, that point of the conference is when I realised I HAD to change learning in our French class.<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2">I do not want to be the frowny teacher at the front of the class, I want instead the students to have conversations in French and enjoy the ride.<span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Now the big question is how to manage this shift ? </span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-8721695032820479672011-11-19T07:08:00.001+13:002011-11-19T07:17:53.796+13:00Reforme en français<p class="p1"><span class="s1">This year in my French class, I have been asking myself some questions. These questions were ranging from “Why am I the one working the most in the class while I already know French?”, “How come my students cannot speak any French?” to “Why do I teach what I teach?”</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I had to find a solution in order to make my lessons more students centered. As I have also been teaching Social Studies, I could see that students could be more independent in their learning and that they could be in charge of their learning. As much as I am egocentric and that I love that “ it is all about me”, school is not for teachers but it is for students. So it was time that I find solutions to put the kids at the front instead of ME the teacher.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As I was looking at a solution or solutionS, I have been reading a bit about Task Based Learning and asked advice to our wonderful National Advisor Ruth. Of what I read TBL seems to be quite structured which could be restrictive for me as I like going in every directions.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">So instead I came to my class and I showed my students a simple Powerpoint that I had made in the morning about my school. I told them in French that they had to produce a Powerpoint as well about their school in pairs and that they could not speak any English at all, if not they will be punished. After a few moans they started to work. I hadn’t given them any vocabulary at all or any structures. They didn’t even know how to speak about school subjects. I wanted that the learning comes from them instead of me telling them what to learn. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Using phrases like “ Comment dit-on biology room en français?” they managed to produce great writing (this was obviously a writing assignment) but the best for me as a teacher was that they chose what they wanted to learn, and actually if we compare what I was going to teach them initially and what they learned there was not a huge difference. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I had to be a bit vigilant though when the students were talking among each other though. They were discussing in English so I had to punish them. Their name appeared on the board and after 3 ticks they will be dramatically punished. Nobody got punished as they started to speak French among them and using sentences like “mon portable à la maison, demain photos du collège”. I think because I did not give them the choice that they had to speak in French at all times, they felt in danger and they had then to speak French. I think that in conventional lessons they were not using the French they already knew because they were in their comfort zone that English was acceptable and possible. If one goes to France one will learn French not because French is spoken there, but because one HAS to in order to get understood. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I was indeed very pleased with this try, and I will do it again.</span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-88830200662169801922011-10-03T13:49:00.003+13:002011-10-03T13:56:52.402+13:00A contructivist cocktail please !!!<p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">My Year 9 Social </span>Studies have embraced not only the use of myPortfolio but also our new constructivist approach.</p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">We are currently studying Maori culture. First I need to point out that I did not pick this topic at all. When I asked the kids what they wanted to learn now, they said they wanted to learn about Maori culture. I was selfishly very pleased with this choice as I know very little about the</span></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcr1xVaQaqMXS1xfWsZiTpCQ9EKC6E0qJ5Hrm_irRT50PEO_n9F4IBQdGunKH88E0mdqBo9-hU0rOeI3wKUCYYVrwAZC7IhvI7s5eNIljPqCRGhpybhoN8v66nN-k1bpQmEggD2ShKAzU/s200/Maori-hd.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659063373893870690" /><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> topic and I am eager to learn. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">The kids were then put into groups and had to chose into their group an aspect about the culture they wanted to study. Once again they all came up with great ideas. For instance, a group is looking at weaving, another one Tattoo and another one at war between Pakehas and Maoris. The only requirement is to use your brain. They have to think and use the SOLO Taxonomy in order to increase their thinking skills. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I was very happy to see that each group discussed their topic (they all had to agree and make compromises) and they delegated the work to each member. What surprised me the most is their maturity as they can be very silly at times =) But what pleased me the most was to see that a boy who is usually very timid and does not participate at all in class, was actually very active within his group.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Thanks to myPortfolio this shy boy will be able to show his classwork to his parents, will be able to reflect on his work and progress and especially see for himself the progress he has made. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As for the SOLO Taxonomy, I am still happy that we are using it to scaffold our thinking skills. The kids always make reference to our poster of the Taxonomy in class. The use of the SOLO has not only increased their thinking ability but it has also pushed them upwards. What I mean is that now they are no longer happy with the bare minimum, they push themselves to always think of a better way, a better question and are capable of seeing if they are underworking and how to get better. The SOLO taxonomy supports reflecting as much as myPortfolio.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">One thing is very funny now in class, is that my role has dramatically (and for the best)changed =) the students are SO engaged and so independent that I feel very obsolete. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I think that I as a teacher am now obsolete but my role as a facilitator is primordial and very active. Because the students are now in charge of their own learning, I am no longer at the front of the class. Instead I am sitting among them and I can go around and help them. I actually now have more time to spend with the kids to enhance their learning.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">It is now the end of Term 3 and all is well in our Social Studies class.</span></p><p></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-34130751849568013602011-09-06T10:39:00.005+12:002011-09-06T10:48:55.320+12:00My visit to Albany Senior High School<p class="p1"><span class="s1">On Friday I went to visit <a href="http://www.ashs.school.nz/">Albany Senior High School (ASHS)</a> with my friend <a href="http://www.core-ed.org/foundation/efellowship-awards-2010">Tara</a>. <a href="https://plus.google.com/102196778439425938057">Mark Osborne</a>, DP at the school had generously offered to show us his school around.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I was very excited by this visit as I wanted to see if such school could exist or if it was like</span></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleZALJR7DruGZSiVyqhGest4CCtG8zyTeP_afzpZeSytPr9mvskGgR7KspwXy7608yomBgW1tgc6egIPibVXgWpMcTUAR8ILzvkNdYXMROouf5EdqCQQ5-e3JulpWMnT-3CGBX09CnBE/s200/VID00023.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 112px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649010507098392786" /><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> communism, it only looks good on paper but it actually does not work at all. Thus, I went </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">there with my critical eye switched on. French are very talented at critiquing so I knew it will easy for me to find faults in this school- arrogance is a French gift =)</span></p><p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Well, how wrong was I !!!! It was very hard for me to find anything wrong with the school. I was especially impressed with the politeness and behaviour from the kids.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>What have I found the best ?</b></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I liked the fact that each teaching space has a mini staffroom made up from one teacher from each department (e.g. one teacher from science, one from maths, one from English). Indeed, in other schools every department are very insular and nobody has any idea of what is going on in other departments. It is a dream for me to be able to work collaboratively with others. It is essential that teachers work together if we want each student to have their own personalised learning. I</span></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9f-07ttp4ePSxcX8j1QV_TpIOfHbvgHXDXRzFwWOJ23IECrtqzu1GBI0Mfq4VDIzYgy5KvntiGQ44hlGk6aewGIj-m-CYucMFO8kBnYERgI4mA-CieE5KkDaxe9fW9pZmec0H5B4uiXc/s200/VID00024.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 112px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649011081482884882" /><p class="p1"><span class="s1"> know that nothing prevents me now to work with other teachers, but to be honest the teaching spaces are not helping us to work together - French are also very good at making excuses =)</span></p><p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I liked the 100 minutes period. It is my dream to have my senior classes for 100 minutes. Who would not want to have short period with the juniors and longer ones with the seniors. When I teach Years 9 and 10, the first 40 minutes are idyllic, but then everything goes down hill. The kids start to misbehave and I become this horrible police officer who asks them to have their shoulders parallel to the board and stop swinging on their chairs. Why not letting them go. I </span></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3X32ilHsqwOOffA2eSoe8u8dOTNgsIdLUudd6FkWBL303bPtjN5rvbnbEwr_XVjFPNY6Fl4i5FtLvaU50inTU7N2zucoutWGEpd_y89NofIvreRtWq3b7Uy_YwYK2PBCsn56zUr_vI4/s200/VID00025.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 112px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649010881592771586" /><p class="p1"><span class="s1">would rather to have the pupils more often for shorter period than a long period during which 20 minutes are a waste !!! Can you also imagine what you could do with your senior classes if you had them for 100 minutes ???!! </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I loved the fact that students have 6 hours on Wednesdays to work on a project of their choice. This is amazing !!! This is what the NZ Curriculum and the Key Competencies are all about. Students work collaboratively and independently with a teacher’s supervision. They have to keep logs and tracks of what they are doing. During our visit, we met 2 students who have been on a project with tropical fish. They were enthusiastic and happy to talk to us about their project. I can see how easy and authentic literacy strategies could be in such a school. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I liked the fact that nothing online is blocked. I am trusted in my class with 30 kids but I am not trusted online !!! Why ?</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I liked the QR Code to enable visitors, staff and students to log on the internet easily. Instead of having passwords and usernames given, Mark has put QR Codes in the corridors. Easy, effective and cheap...what more do you want ??!!!</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>What have I found ok?</b></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As I love putting colourful displays and photos of France everywhere in my classroom, it is a pity that teachers don’t have their own classroom in order to make them look pretty =) But I say that because I am a girl and I like creating new displays every year =)</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Overall? </b></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">If the school was in the Waikato I would apply, this should tell you how much I liked it</span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-71050044887831499032011-08-18T09:00:00.003+12:002011-08-18T09:14:47.403+12:00It does not have to be about Commerce<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Together.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 186px; height: 115px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Together.png" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<br /><meta charset="utf-8"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">As I was drinking my coffee in the staffroom I came to <a href="http://www.victoria.ac.nz/fca/teaching/five-cs.aspx">my page</a>. It is by pure chance I found this page as I was following one link, which lead to another wich lead to another one.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">The page has for title "Five C for Commerce teaching" but it actually applies to any class I reckon. It is not a life changing discovery but sometimes you need to read again something you know about in order to keep it fresh in your mind.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">My favorite word of this page is "Connectedness" as I think it is pivotal in our learning.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Have a wonderful day =)</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">
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<br /></p></div>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-19291435974904009892011-08-15T16:49:00.001+12:002011-08-15T16:52:16.665+12:00Those who can teach Jiu Jitsu...
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Sometimes you go to conferences or PD and although you have learned something new it has not changed your life (as a teacher), and sometimes you do that has got nothing to do with school and you realise that what you are doing should be part of your weekly PD.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I explain what I mean.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As you know it is always easy to tell people what to do and how to do it well, but it is another story to actually tell people and do it yourself. I keep hearing messages from people who tell me how to teach but I don’t see anything in action. And then I learn Jiu Jitsu and I learn not only the movements which could give me another coloured belt but also I learn how to be a better teacher.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><p class="p2">
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As you know last week was my second lesson of Jiu Jitsu. The fact that I went back after my first lesson already shows that I am enjoying myself as it is a very late class. Because I was complaining (surprise !!!!) that I could not do a particular movement- maybe because I am vertically challenged- the teacher told me that he would love to have a video camera and film me, so in 2 months time I will be able to see how much progress I have made. While I was struggling to get out of a strangle, I was thinking that this guy (call me how you want; a facilitator, a teacher, an instructor, a master!!!) had understood the power of a portfolio (with an E or no E). Because I go to a community class, the teacher has a paying job during the day (he is actually a farmer). Although teaching is not his job, he has more understanding of learning than a lot of teachers !! </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My learning did not stop there !! For the next activities, the teacher paired us up and asked us to work on our moves by ourselves. First we were put with someone more experienced and then when we were put into groups of same ability. It was very interesting to see that while we were struggling (the other guy I was working with is a beginner as well) the teacher kept an eye on us and could stop us every now and then and show us how to improve.</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/5078518795_3e4ddfe587.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 332px;" border="0" alt="" /> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">OMG !!!! This is constructivism in action !!!! I do not need to go to another PD, I only need to go to my Jiu Jitsu class on Monday nights. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">
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<br /></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1" >Image source: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/5078518795_3e4ddfe587.jpg</span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-80129911572679449532011-08-12T09:21:00.004+12:002011-08-12T09:26:23.484+12:00Constructivism: I am jumping of joy !!!!!<a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4792319145_9c3658ef86.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 394px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4792319145_9c3658ef86.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Yesterday was our first lesson during which the social studies students have been presented with <a href="http://myportfolio.school.nz/">Myportfolio</a>. It went quite well for most of the students. Our main objective of the lesson was to familiarise ourselves with <a href="http://myportfolio.school.nz/">Myportfolio</a> and create a new page.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Of course there were some students (boys !!! ) who were more interested to see who was online and who they could become friend with (typical!!!!) but 90% of the class was quite engaged and asked relevant questions. I wanted them to try to figure out by themselves how to use Myportfolio’s features which they did well and independently. I mean independently of me, as they were actually asking each other for help. YES !!!! they were working collaboratively </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I gave out simple rules of online</span></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8">
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><p class="p1"><span class="s1">behaviour, like “do not change your name and/or username, do not bully people and do not put inappropriate picture for your profile”. The boys thought it was quite cool they could put a picture of a motocross for their profile =) and some girls put pictures of koalas and squirrels (typical !!!!)</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I was quite impressed when a boy who is not the most academic boy in the class, asked me if he could start doing his homework on Myportfolio as he said he would rather do it online than writing on a piece of paper. He even added that it was quite exciting for him and that he could not wait to start. I am not sure if he said that just to make me happy or if he really speaks the truth, only time will tell. Anyhow, even if he just wanted to please me it is still very sweet of him =)</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">What was even more surprising was this little lovely girl who is also in my French class (2 periods after the social studies class). As she was writing her French project about her family, she asked me the permission instead of doing it on a poster if she could do it on Myportfolio. I was so happy that she could not only see the potential of Myportfolio but also that she took responsibility of her own learning.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My next move with the Social Studies class is to ask them to start on their project itself and reflect at then of each period using the “journal” feature of Myportfolio.</span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-46236332245897337932011-08-09T13:54:00.003+12:002011-08-09T14:01:25.614+12:00Constructivism: I am jumping in......SCARY !!!!!!Thanks to all the comments and feedbacks I received in my last post , I have decided to jump in and face my social studies class with another learning approach.
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<br />After asking them what they would be interested in to learn, I have picked a subject. As it is my first jump and I am extremely scared of height, I made the decision of giving the class only one topic. I told them today why and they were quite understanding. Although my reasons might not be the good ones, they are very simple. I want to model to the class how to find resources, how to ask questions and how to reflect on their learning.
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<br />I have looked at a topic on Music as several kids in the class had said that they were very interested in Music. As we looked at human rights in Term 2, this is the question I am going to ask the students "Evaluate the influence of protest songs on the American society in the 1960s". I have watched the video about "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZHfAoGGPtY&feature=player_embedded">planning backward</a>" that <a href="http://www.ethosconsultancynz.com/profile/HazelOwen">Hazel Owen</a> suggested me in the last post (brilliant video BTW!!!!) and this is what I think the kids should aim for. As I am keen on <a href="http://hooked-on-thinking.com/solo-taxonomy/">SOLO Taxonomy</a>, I have used the taxonomy's questions to model the inquiry.
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<br />My objective would be that the kids would pick their next topic, so that the whole class will work on different topics. I am hoping we will be able to take on the Minimally Invasive Education approach that my friend <a href="http://taratj.blogspot.com/">Tara Taylor-Jorgensen</a> has been sharing with me. My wildest dreams would be to see that at the end of the topics chosen by the students, they teach the rest of the class what they have learned and create their own resources to make others' s learning a success. What I mean is that I usually created resources (e.g. dominos, card games) but this time I want the kids to be fully in charge, do everything from the planning, the delivery and the activities.
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<br />For them to be able to reflect I am hoping to see them use <a href="http://myportfolio.school.nz/">Mypotyfolio</a>, an eportfolio supported by the MOE. Because I have never been taught how to reflect I had a look a bit online and I have found some questions I should ask students to answer. Your comments on these questions would be extremely appreciated as I feel walking in the dark
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<br />What did you learn?
<br />How do you know you learned it?
<br />What got in the way of your learning?
<br />What helped your learning?
<br />How did you feel?
<br />So voilà
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<br />Your help and comments are appreciated (again!!!)
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<br />Merci de me lire
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<br />Froggieflofroggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-23266796113127528122011-08-02T14:02:00.001+12:002011-08-02T14:09:03.288+12:00Constructivism in a secondary school<meta charset="utf-8"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >During the holidays I have been reading a bit about constructivisme. </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >At the same time in the complexe word of education, a giant dilemma appeared about Khan's academy videos. The controversy stood in the fact that by watching videos, students do not get to experience what constructivisme is really all about. </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Although I agree partially with that, in the sense that even if I keep watching hours of videos of someone teaching me how to sail, I will only know how to sail the day I go on a boat, on a sea and that I can make the boat moves (and not die !!). So of course while watching a video the learning is not happening.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >or is it ?</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >We learn mainly my mimicking and in a social environment. So I need someone to show me how to do something first. Last night I had my first session of Jiu Jitsu (Youpiiii!!!), the instructor showed me first how to break my fall, and then asked me to do it myself. Without his showing I would not have any idea how to break my fall. My instructor was in front of me, but that would have been the same if he had been in Congo, I could have watched a video of an instructor showing some movements. </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >I have actually learned how to break my fall when I did try myself.....actually no. I have embraced my learning (I owned my learning) when I was able to fall without crying, as I think I started to learn while I was watching the instructor. I could thus look at perfect moves and analyze where I should put my arms before hitting the mat. </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >If we think that watching a Khan video (or any other media e.g. books, blogs, TV, phone, networks) it is admitting that lurkers do not learn. I am often a lurker as I think I don't have a lot to offer to others, and every single time (or almost every single time) that I participate to a conference or an online vent, I learn heaps.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Another question I have about contructivism is that during my readings I have seen a lot of examples of implementation of constructivism in small schools (primary and intermediate) but I have not managed to find anything about secondary school. Is it then possible to implement constructivism theory in a secondary class knowing that at the end we have an exam? </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >I can see it would be possible to implement such a theory in my class, especially using an eportfolio to gather evidence of work/ progress but with external assessment which are set nationally, I dont see how it would work.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >As much as I don't want to sound like a whinging teacher (too late !!!) I also wonder how it would be possible to implement it in a class of 30.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >I explain.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Everything that I have read points out that it is necessary to present the students with work/ ideas that is relevant to them, that they are interested in. This morning I have asked my social studies class what they would like to study in my class if they had the choice. The kids came up with topics ranging from evolution, agriculture change throughout history, Music history to NZ sports. Knowing that, it would be easy to interest them into learning. As a few want to learn about NZ sports they should work in a group, while the kids who are interested in music history can work in a different group. So far so good. But how as a teacher who works full time (plus duty, plus Group Class, plus meeting etc..) can I cater for so many groups ? </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >As I am very keen in implementing this in my class, I would be grateful for any help and comments</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >
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<br /></p></div>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-32900417222494166622011-07-25T08:44:00.001+12:002011-07-25T08:46:59.187+12:00Facilitating Online- Last assessmentIt is the end of the online facilitating course I have been doing for teh last two terms. It is the end of a journey I have very much enjoyed. Last week I hosted a mini event online. Here are my reflections about it following the question/ criteria asked from my course.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What went well, and what did not go so well</span><br />I thought it actually went quite well overall. I was quite relaxed and I was very happy that my mentor Rachel was here to support me if needed. I actually needed to have Rachel stepping in at one point when I asked the participants to click on a link in order to watch a Common Craft video about RSS Feed. I didn’t know that the audience could not see exactly what I could see as a host. Rachel dragged the Weblinks Box where everybody could see it. I was also quite happy that I was able to switch between boxes quite fast and that I could use the full screen option in such a way that it did not slow down the event.<br /><b>How the event was organised and promoted</b><br />The event for promoted within our small community of Virtual Professional and Leadership Development. This was done by Rachel Roberts during our last online meeting, our last F2F meeting and in a virtual newsletter. So a lot of people knew this session was on. Participants had to RSVP their participation to the event in the Ning used by this community.<br />All the information needed to access the event was done perfectly. Each participant knew the phone number to dial in order to get the audio for the event.<br /><b>support (technical and access)</b><br />One of the first participant entering the room was not sure which number to dial in order to get the audio. Using the chat box I pointed out to this person where to find all the information needed. After my explanation s/he managed to have the audio and was able to participate to the event.<br /><b>relevant for the audience</b><br />I actually think that the session was relevant for the participants because each one of them asked question during the event which shows that they were involved and engaged.<br /><b>Whether the event was managed and conducted smoothly - particularly noting how you handled any disruptions.</b><br />As I said earlier, I am happy with my speed going from one box to the other and using efficiently the full screen option. Unfortunately I needed help to show the audience the Weblinks box.<br /><b>What efforts you made to ensure that all participants knew where they were supposed to be and when, and arrange technical support for people</b>?<br />I used the chat box constantly to see if each participant knew what we were doing and I also asked them on the phone (audio) if what we were doing made sense. I had also prepared the room during the day to have everything set up in order to run the event smoothly.<br /><b>How you set the stage, made introductions, explained the aims, and whether you managed to remain neutral and facilitatory</b><br />Rachel and I have set up the room during the day to have all the boxes we needed at hand and we also have spent some time to check that the video we wanted the participants to see was working well. We decided to send the audience directly on the internet and ask them to mute their phone as the internet connection was way too slow. In all this little trick worked perfectly and everybody enjoyed the video. This is something I could do next time.<br />As I was very prepared and that I had notes next to me it seems to me that I gave clear instructions.<br /><b>How you did a round up, drew closure and indicated where recordings and other follow up materials would be made available.</b><br />As I was co hosting, Rachel took it over for the round up. She asked the participants to think about who could take next session. She also made the recording of the session and said that the next day it will be in our community ning.<br /><b>Feedback from audience?</b><br />The participants seemed happy as they thanked us and asked a lot of question.<br /><b>How you would do things in the future?</b><br />I think that next time, I will take time preparing the room as we did this time. It was quite good to have already everything handy. I also feel more confident as I have learned a lot of tips. I would be quite happy next time to do the recording myself as another challenge.<br /><b>General comments and additions</b><br />I was very lucky to have Rachel with me as it was like being an acrobat with a safety net. I felt very secure as Rachel was here to catch me in case I needed help. For my first time as an online facilitator it was a very good idea.froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-37095492201185254742011-07-17T16:29:00.002+12:002011-07-17T16:33:41.830+12:00Have you seen Learning? I am looking for itI have just typed in Goole search “what is learning?” and a post from G Siemens came up on the first page. Although <a href="http://www.connectivism.ca/?p=14">the post</a> is quite old, 2005, I quite like the definition given of “learning”.
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<br />But my reflection today is where is the learning happening.
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<br />I am a teacher and I love my job but when I ask students why they come to school and that they answer “to learn” I disagree strongly. Students do not need to be at school to learn at all.<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfe-B03XDhgmZGAGcx1O-cO_W5r0eAjyD2OcTHCMtv5W6g9EhKN-p5HVqbhzVD7B2vbTgtBZnvwd2SyYp8AIem3o0fJTniDvSOmdmxJcpbErvEUwKgtJB2LOrlNPV3kkAb6AOEvJwWiE/s200/5650603380_84a3296c1a_b.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630174502268540850" />
<br />I think that technology can bring the learning anywhere, for example right now in my lounge with my laptop looking at my husband in the kitchen preparing dinner -Yummy tonight it is lamb from the garden=)
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<br />Yes technology can play an important role in bringing learning where I want but it is not the technology which is important, it is the networking of people. I am learning right now not thanks to technology but thanks to people who have used technology to put their thoughts and their own learning online. If they had not, my computer in itself would be useless. People are making my learning possible, even if it is by distance or virtually as I have not met the people I am learning from. This is formidable for me as I live far away from anything and I can learn anything from the comfort of my little house in the prairie.
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<br />So in other words, Learning has no border. So I do not need to be in a particular place to do great learning, but what I need is to know how and where to get my learning and most of all I need to have the will of learning. If I do not want to learn, wherever I am or what ever great technology I have I will not be learning.
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<br />I am the seeker of my own learning. I decide what ever I want to learn. For example, my husband and I have learned how to look after a small farm (animals, plants, gardens etc..) without prior knowledge. The only thing we knew and had was the will of learning (making it work) and the knowledge on where and how to find knowledge. As I have a degree one could think that I got those skills from school but as my husband has not had a good school experience it is definitely not behind the walls of a classroom that he has acquired those skills.
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<br />The question I have now , as a teacher is how to pass the love of learning to my students. I think teaching how/where finding knowledge is quite easy (tutorials in class on how to do a good web search is easily achievable) but how can I give my love of learning to my students ?
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<br />I need now to reflect a bit longer, I need to digest my own thoughts and in one of my next post I will think about “what is the point of school then?”froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-9443614836656173762011-07-12T10:19:00.001+12:002011-07-12T10:21:07.591+12:00Planning my mini eventI already have written a post about planning my mini event but I needed to write a bit more. Here are my other thoughts about facilitating an event online<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />how online communication tools can be used to facilitate online;<br /><br />During one of the illuminate session we had during this course, I have learned that the word facilitate come from the French word “facile” which means easy. I know I should be ashamed of myself not realising it earlier, but better late than ever. So Facilitating means making things easy. When you speak about online facilitating you obviously want to use online tools to make things easy. In order to help the majority of participants I will need to use different tools as varied as possible in order to cater for the different learning types. <br /><br />You can use Youtube for example as it is a great source of fantastic videos which can support the message you want to pass. For my mini event I intend to show a video from Common Craft which explains without jargon what is a RSS Feed as I will host a hot session about RSS Feed and Diigo.<br /><br />You can use online surveys before, during ad after a mini event to see what are the needs of your audience and check their feedback. You can use the chat backchannel of Twitter or the one which comes within your virtual room ( as I will be using Adobe Connect Pro I intend to use the chat box to check on the participants at all times). Thus, the host can answer any questions raised or can include/ make feel valued any participants. <br /><br />Other tools could range from nings, social networks, youtube, emails, social bookmarks.<br /><br /><br />the process of facilitating an online event. <br /><br />For my mini event I had two roles. The one of a host and the one of a presenter. Rachel Roberts, my mentor was kind enough to give me a lot of help before the mini event. She spent one hour on the day prior the event, to go through all tips and tricks about Adobe and the virtual room and reminded me to check constantly the chat box. She also looked at my presentation and we checked the video I wanted to show was working well.<br /><br />We decided to not only use Adobe Connect Pro but also use phones for audio as a lot of schools have a very slow internet connection. This is something that it is vital to keep in mind as in NZ and around the world there are still a lot of people with low internet connection. <br /><br />I need to point out here that as the mini event was taking place in the closed community I did not need to advertise it in the wide world.froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605180546121139793.post-42985840200325802542011-06-27T19:02:00.002+12:002011-06-27T19:09:42.591+12:00Online facilitating :mini event<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <meta equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <title></title> <meta name="Generator" content="Cocoa HTML Writer"> <meta name="CocoaVersion" content="1038.35"> <style type="text/css"> p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} </style> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As I had to facilitate a mini online event for my Online Facilitating Course, I had to think about what I could present to an audience.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I have noticed that some people find it hard to keep stay in touch with what is new due to their lack of method in gathering infos. The Internet is a huge space full of good information (or not so good) and how can you know what is new? You obviously cannot look for info everywhere as it will waste a lot of time. Reading blogs is a good way to be kept in the loop but it is time consuming if you have to check them all online in order to see what has been written recently. I have even seen people keeping blog address in their browser’s bookmark and then go through them all one by one in a weekly basis.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I use RSS feed to stay in touch with the rest of the world, therefore I thought I could speak about it with the online community I am belonging to, which is the VPLD Community. (Virtual Professional and Leadership Development).</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I spoke about it with my mentor, <a href="http://www.core-ed.org/staff-profiles/rachel-roberts">Rachel Roberts</a> and asked her if it would be possible for me to facilitate a hot seat session during our next meeting which take place once a term. She kindly accepted and the date of 13th of July came up.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">So now I have to plan my session per se. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Rachel has sent me a wonderful Common Craft video which would be a great start to the event. It is a very quick video in plain English (no jargon in it , therefore everybody can understand it ) which explains clearly what is a RSS feed. I think this video should be the start point of my presentation. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As I use Google Reader, I would like to show how I use it. I would like to point out how to subscribe to a blog and how to use the shortcut in Google Reader. As my main objective is for people to see how easy and practical a RSS Feed is, I want to keep everything short and sweet. I do not want people to feel intimidated. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">I also would like to show the idea of a social bookmarking system. I use <a href="http://www.diigo.com/">Diigo</a> and I LOVE IT !!!! I will thus show to the group how powerful such a tool can be. </span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">As I have to present from school and that the internet is not very reliable I would need to think of a plan B. I will make videos of everything I am planning to do just in case the internet is slow.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1"></span>
<br /></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Because I am presenting a session to an inclose community I don;t need to advertise the event. If I were trying to attract more people I would need to think about how to advertise. It is actually quite useful that for my first time the event will happen in a define community and that Rachel has announced and advertised the presentation.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">
<br /></span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">My next post will be after the mini event......until then, I will keep my fingers crossed :-)</span></p>froggieflohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09110528859139121094noreply@blogger.com0