Claire Amos

 Source: http://classroomaid.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/10-drivers-of-blended-learning.png Well it's officially 'hump week' for the  Hack Your Classroom project. Well done to the educators who are still with us! You/we rule!! The sharing via twitter has been spectacular and the shared learning has been magic to watch. In a sense this brings us to this weeks topic - looking at the power and potential of blended learning. If we as educators can recognise the breadth and depth of personal learning (and motivation)  that has been achieved over the last four weeks thanks to online environments and communities such as Twitter and Google+, then why aren't we all using these platforms this way with our learners? Obviously if you are teaching students under 13 years old, this isn't really an option, but there is much that can be replicated in a closed, private environment that can provide similar opportunities for younger students as well. I know my daughters ...

Week One: Developing a growth (and hacker) mindset This week we will aim to explore the idea of developing a 'growth mindset' and how it can help to support teachers becoming more innovative and moving towards 'adaptive expertise'. Below is an explanation of the concept of 'mindset' from mindesetonline.com. What is Mindset? Every so often a truly groundbreaking idea comes along. This is one. Mindset explains: Why brains and talent don’t bring success How they can stand in the way of it Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity What all great CEOs, parents, teachers, athletes know Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference. In a fixed mindset, people believe their ba...

Bring it on! Hack your classroom is go! The plan is cover a range of topics over the next nine weeks. Here is a tentative timeline. NB. I am very keen to include guest posts or share your blogs as well - just email your post or link at claire@hobsonvillepoint.school.nz Week One: Developing a growth mindset Developing a growth mindset Turning a growth mindset into a hacker one Week Two: Putting learners at the centre...hacker style Getting to know your learners - hacker style Week Three: Intro to Design Thinking Bringing design thinking into the classroom (I don't pretend to be an expert...you can learn with me) Evolving design thinking - from Standford, Nueva to HPSS via the NZC Week Four: Intro to Maker Culture Making every classroom a maker space Week Five: From e-learning to blended learning to deep learning Ideas for blending leaning without 1:1 devices (or even wifi) Week Six: Hacking teaching to meet the needs of diverse learners Intro to ...

It would be hard to capture in one post all the fabulous readings and videos I want to share, but here are a few potted highlights to whet your appetite in the lead up to the Hacking your classroom - the Term 2 challenge ! Short Readings A Rich Seam: How New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning Authors: Michael Fullan and Maria Langworthy Michael Fullan and Sir Michael Barber, chief education advisor to Pearson, former head of McKinsey’s Global Education Practice and UK government advisor, will lead the launch of A Rich Seam at Pearson’s London office on September 22nd. The speakers will unveil the findings of the report to a selected audience of educationists, academics, policy advisors and media commentators, before leading a live Q&A, which will be live-streamed to a global audience. The report by Michael Fullan and Maria Langworthy is the first in a new series of publications published by Pearson. It addresses the challenges encountered when trying to implement new pedagogies ...