Sally Avern's Professional Journey

Sam's writing that we have been working on What is happening and why? My students are now producing more quality work. Their planning is improved now that I have worked on what else they need to be including in their writing and looking at it before the lessons in models with them. They are including details that are being selected more carefully and the work is becoming far more relevant. This is happening because the process of pulling apart models and then using that info to increase our writing is helping. What is not happening and why? Some of my students that need extra support are writing their story in a kind of list.  They have gotten the things they need in their intro/ body/conc and have included them but it doesn't really flow and I don't know how to make this better.  They have done what I have asked of them but now I need to know how to make it better. What am I going to do to change that? I am going to continue to use models, although more ...

As part of the Kootuitui Cluster of schools developing their digital skills for teaching, I am regularly observed to help with data and research for further developing practice.  As part of this I am now in my second year of facilitating a 1:1 classroom where all students have Chromebooks.  From this observing and recording I have been flagged as having effective digital pedagogy and am very excited that I might help shape something in the future. I am hoping that this will not only result in a close inspection of my practice that is going well but also an opportunity to see what else is happening in other classes and an ability to learn from other classrooms that demonstrate effective digital pedagogy.

This year I got to go to a google Apps for education summit. I learned quite a few things. A large portion of it wasn't new too, which I think just helped me to actually remember the things I did need to learn. Here is what I learned at the Summit:   HOT TIP: all pics are linked. DAY 1: Introductory chat Am I really giving my students opportunities to meet the Key Competencies? Are they receiving the tools and the explicit skills they need to learn them? Use design thinking to help them see where to go. Have I equipped my students to talk to each other? After the summit, I went back to school and decided that we don't need to put up our hands anymore. When in real life does that happen? So we have started the discussion technique 'Can I add to that?' Helping to equip my kids for the REAL WORLD. A-Z of lesser known Googley Tools This was epic the ones I love are, obvio...