Claire Amos

Aa many of you will know I have a thing for teaching as inquiry, in particular I have a thing for teaching as inquiry as a means of developing future-focused adaptive expertise. In 2013 I was lucky enough to facilitate a number of Core Breakfasts on this topic - it was during this time that I found myself talking (and the audience...although I do talk to myself quite often) more and more about the concepts of leadership as inquiry and even governance as inquiry as a means of developing system wide adaptive expertise. Since that time I have tried to make this a central part of my personal leadership reflection cycle. Last year was my first year as Deputy Principal (of an actual open and operational school) and was my first opportunity to lead my team, the Professional Learning Team. We got together and came up with a strategic plan for 2014  and it looked great. It was based on the school vision and values and it was focused on the meeting the needs of the students. They did an...

Source: Ministry of Education Website Dear Mr Seymour, I am writing to you today because this article makes me really really angry. I am passionate about leading educational change and I would love to see New Zealand education develop in such a way that we may be able to offer New Zealanders a richly diverse range of schooling models. I absolutely love the idea of schools being available to meet the diverse needs, interests and passions of our young New Zealanders. I would love to see STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Maths) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Arts and Maths) schools become  a larger part of the educational landscape and would even love to see how these might be supported, sponsored and invested in by the very innovators who might benefit from the skills of the graduates such schools might produce. As you may (or may not) know Designated Special Character schools were created under the New Zealand Education Act of 1989  (see section 156)...

NB. All of this in draft. The following reflects our thinking at this stage only. Too often in schools assessment is the the tail that wags the curriculum design dog. At HPSS is is our aim to challenge and instead design an approach to NCEA that is determined by our vision for teaching and learning...and not the other way around. So what is our vision, principles and values at HPSS? Our Vision What we want for our young people: To create a stimulating, inclusive learning environment which empowers learners to contribute confidently and responsibly in our changing world. Our Principles The foundations of our curriculum decision-making are: Innovate through personalised learning Engage through powerful partnerships Inspire through deep challenge and inquiry to develop  empowered learners Our Values Excellence Inquiry Connectedness Collaboration Innovation So how might this translate into a vision for NCEA that is stimulating and inclusive, that innovate...

Source Whether you did a formal inquiry into your teaching practice last year or simply taught some kids and did some some stuff, one truth will remain - there are a number of things you need to change about your teaching and/or learning environment this year. As my ancient buddy Heraclitus once stated (admittedly didn't hear him first hand, but am choosing to trust my sources), "the only constant is change". Now this is most certainly true of our world, society and most work places, but unfortunately bar a change of names on your class roll this often not the case in the classroom. I acknowledge change is challenging and many of you work in environments where change feels glacial at best, however that needn't bother any of us as change starts with you! Whether you are in a dynamic environment where everyone is striving for "adaptive expertise" or feel like you are a lone nut in a school where the status quo (which may well produce excellent academic r...