The Cultural Force of Interactions… In one of the most powerful educational TED talks, Rita Pierson’s ‘Every Kid Needs a Champion,’ she clearly articulates the need for teachers to develop significant positive relations with their students. She talks about the value and importance of human connection. “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like,” she […]

Understanding the job market for our youth… The future is not what it used to be. I was recently asked to speak at a High School Careers day. The school had invited professionals to come and speak about their jobs, with the aim to help inspire and inform students of career choices for their future. […]

Most of us avoid conflict – maybe we have been conditioned to or maybe wired to, neuroscience has answers for both sides. Lately, however it seems more and more choosing to be uncomfortable is the best choice to make, for the sake of humanity and the planet. I was recently on a flight from Wellington […]

“What feedback did you receive today to help you in your learning?” is a power question I recently heard John Hattie ask – one that he asked his own children after school. So I asked my Miss 16. “Nothing” was the continual reply. I was curious… Couple this with a post I saw on social media (right) […]

According to Ron Ritchhart, seeing ourselves through our students’ eyes is the key to being a great model for thinking. He describes two types of modelling in the classroom. The first is explicit modelling. This is when you are demonstrating and showing a process or procedure that you want the student to adopt. The second […]

One of the leading goals in every classroom should be creating independence in our students. This means teachers are required to step back, stop rescuing, allow students to make mistakes and ask powerful questions about learning. I love the I.C.T. method, first taught to me by Adrian Rennie in Christchurch. It stands for Individual, Collaborative […]

I’ve been pondering… what if education looked different? What if we truly valued what really matters rather than what used to matter? What if we cared more about the progress students are making rather than the marks, grades or number of credits they get? What if we were more concerned about the skills that will […]

The research is very clear: Setting goals is good for you! Having a strong set of goals improves academic performance, increases your motivation to achieve, improves self confidence, and increases your personal pride and satisfaction of the finished product. There are three main types of goals you might set at the beginning of a school […]

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars.” Having great expectations and high standards are proven to help raise achievement in the classroom. Recognising that our beliefs also shape behaviour is a vital key to success. In his book, Creating Cultures of Thinking, Ron Ritchhart discusses the role of expectations […]

An email arrived in my mailbox inviting our family to our Year 13 son’s prize giving as he was receiving a prize. This was not the whole school prize giving, it was the Te Hotuwaipara Maori Student Achievement Evening. My grandmother was quarter Maori and rightly or wrongly I have registered my children in school […]