Flipgrid is Flippin Fantastic!!

I was introduced to Flipgrid by a colleague who is passionate about all things digital.

Flipgrid is a free, education-focused platform that allows the user to create and share short videos created by teachers and students. 

I was so excited about this digital learning tool that I completed Flipgrid Certified Level 1.

"Common Sense Education" states that;

Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create "grids" to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions, called "topics," and their students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display.

 

When I initially used Flipgrid I was really only using it at a very surface level. In other words I was only using it to video a message to share with students.

 

With the first lockdown beginning on the 20 March, the Alert Level was moved to Level 4, putting the country into a nationwide lockdown. The Alert Level was moved down to Level 2 on 13 May.

And recently we went into our second lockdown.

During the first four weeks of home learning I created a few short videos and shared this will all students. Some were simply just saying hello while others involved experimenting with a few of the tools linked to Flipgrid like, Screen share, adding text and uploading photos.

 

Reflecting on those four weeks I knew that I was not utilizing this tool as it was meant to be used.

As we headed into our second lockdown it was my aim to engage students utilizing the Flipgrid tool. I wanted to hear from as many students and provide them a platform to easily make their thinking visible.

Using our "Water" theme I decided to video a science experiment - "Walking Water" and created a Flipgrid Discovery Topic. 

After viewing my Flipgrid students were then asked to have a go and:

💥 Predict what might happen when they placed a folded paper towel between 2 glasses, one filled with water.

🗣️ Share the results they came up with on Flipgrid.

 

This Discovery Topic highlighted how Flipgrid empowers our learners. Flipgrid provides a system that allows students to explain or show their learning using video. Their response is placed in a grid which can be accessed by the teacher and other students at the creators discretion. 

I quickly realised that I could provide video feedback and respond to their Flipgrid which enabled the students to reflect, take further action and deeper their learning and thinking. 

Here is an example of one my feedback.

This in itself is powerful for teachers. Teachers can collate this information about their students understanding, oral language and learning growth.

Through Flipgrid I heard from students who are generally very shy and do not speak in class due to language barriers (many of our students have English as their second language), speech impediments or lack of confidence. 

 

Using Flipgrid has certainly opened my eyes to the range of opportunities that we can provide for our students such as:

 

# Collaboration (within the class, across the school, globally)

# Oral Language

# Sharing and celebrating work

# Mix tapes 

# Providing feedback

Flipgrid has changed how we share with one another. It provides students the opportunity to share their ideas, have a voice and to build their confidence in a creative and safe platform. 

I highly recommend this tool. 

If you are interested in signing up for a free Educator Flipgrid account please use this link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COACHING - “A Way of Being”

(This post is one of several that were collated into #EdBookNZ for 2017.)

When we think about coaching, most of us think of coaching in the context of sports and fitness coaching to life and business coaching.

By definition, a sports coach is ‘ a coach is a person involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople. A coach may also be a teacher.’ Coach (sport). (2017

In a School Coaching model teachers who coach other teachers are visible. The teacher coach listens and questions and then listens some more which leads to further questioning in order to build awareness. This process allows and leads the teacher coachee to identify a goal or way forward.

“Leadership Coaching is a dialogue in which the coach and the coachee collaborate to unlock the coachee’s potential and maximize performance. Coaching is a relationship that helps coachees to learn and enhances their professional effectiveness and on-the-job performance, ensuring accountability and support for managing workplace issues, reaching goals and sustaining development. … and also it is about transforming good intentions into great results.”                                                                  (Growth Coaching International)

Misconceptions

Coaching is NOT therapy, training, mentoring (is a relationship between expert and novice involving the giving of advice) or consulting.

During my two days of training with Bernard Fitzgibbon, a certified GROWTH Coach, I walked away with an understanding of what coaching is and the benefits of choosing to use a ‘Coaching Approach’ in my Leadership. I learnt to use the GROWTH coaching process to structure coaching conversations and use key coaching skills to develop the coaching “way of being”.

My Journey

I have to admit that when I was initially asked if I was interested in undertaking a two day course around coaching I felt skeptical about how this could help me in my leadership. I believed that I was already using several strategies when having learning conversations and prided myself on already growing the teachers that I work with. However after the two days of sessions I identified the benefits of choosing to use a GROWTH Coaching approach.

As the year unfolded I heard myself using terminology learnt during the sessions and new ways of questioning which I have identified contributes to building a coaching culture.

A collective and shared responsibility is required in order to build a coaching culture that maximises the potential of all. Culture is about the way we do things at our school. This is not something that just happens but is created from the top down.

“Building a coaching culture is about embedding a conversational culture that contributes to the learning environment focused on constant improvement, where everyone feels confident and motivated in their roles.”

Our thoughts behind using Coaching at our school was to produce greater clarity, confidence and competence around our practice.

“Increased confidence and receptiveness to new ideas and growth bring with them a natural ownership of responsibility for self-development, for the necessity to effect change.” (Robertson, 2009: 44)

Coaching relies highly on a trust and honesty model, building a relationship, collaboration and open communication. Anyone who is involved in coaching is responsible for supporting and developing others. As a result there is a shift in your learning. The focus is CHANGE.

The GROWTH Coaching Model

This framework focuses on questions on key steps that will move the person being coached, the coachee, from where they are to where they want to be.

Setting goals (ISMART) - reviewing performance (both own and children’s). Acquire the skills to select and use the appropriate technology and resources to support and enhance their learning. Becomes a self-directed, expert learner who monitors progress and reflects on learning. An effective form of professional development. Helps with dealing with issues and concerns. Provides perspectives and feedback on practice.

Everyone has a different approach and suits different questions to suit different registers.

How do I know if coaching has had any effect?

Our staff fill in a ‘Coaching Journal’ which they use to document their discussions with their coaches and reflect on the session.

A survey was filled in Term 1/2 and then again in Term 4 focussing on the 8 Key Coaching Skills checklist. From this I was able to compare and analyse data from the beginning of the year to the end.

The challenges of coaching

Time is a big factor when it comes to coaching. Teachers can perceive coaching sessions as another meeting, therefore the leadership team needs to be mindful about building this time in. We value the importance of coaching and how it plays an important part in what we do. Regular sessions were scheduled in on a three weekly cycle as part of our Staff Meetings.

Sometimes you might come across colleagues who are unwilling for help. This could be an opportunity for you to work your magic and use your coaching skills. Often colleagues don’t know what they don’t know. Or is it plain out pride?

Overcoming barriers

Coaching starts by establishing a relationship of trust and where strengths and weaknesses are discussed. Conversations might include mutual help.

Coaching can happen anywhere and at anytime.

Instead of focussing on what is wrong and what needs fixing, the coach focuses on what is going well and working on these strengths.

Often I do not realise I am coaching. How you coach and how effective you are comes down to the focus of your questions.

“The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.” Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

As a school leader I wonder if Coaching should be explored and built in by schools as part of professional learning. I can see the difference that GROWTH Coaching has made in the conversations between our staff and the shifts in their practice.

Reference

Bertrand Russell. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2017, from http://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_russell.html

Coach (sport). (2017, October 10). Retrieved October 22, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_(sport)

Growth Coaching International. (n.d.). The Growth Coaching Approach. Retrieved October 22, 2017, from http://www.growthcoaching.com.au/UK/the-growth-coaching-approach

O Sullivan, G. (n.d.). Instructional Leadership and a Coaching Approach. Retrieved October 22, 2017, from http://www.growthcoaching.com.au/articles-new/instructional-leadership-and-a-coaching-approach

Robertson, J. (2009). Coaching educational leadership: building leadership capacity through partnership. London: SAGE.

The Value of Professional Learning Communities

Belonging to groups of professional discussions are viewed as Professional Learning Groups (PLG), Professional Learning Communities or Critical Friends.

Wikipedia defines A Professional Learning Community (PLC) as:

“An extended learning opportunity to foster collaborative learning among colleagues within a particular work environment or field. It is often used in schools as a way to organize teachers into working groups.”

Being involved in a PLG recently got me thinking about how important it is to build this into our Professional Development as Teachers.

As stated in “Teacher Professional Learning and Development  - Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration [BES]” Helen Timperley, Aaron Wilson, Heather Barrar, and Irene Fung, University of Auckland, teachers need to take or make provisions to learn about new approaches to teaching, to share ideas for good practice, and to acquire new knowledge about areas of interest.

When there is any change in practice, we as professionals need time and the opportunity for professional dialogue and learn from others in order to implement or make change, therefore having strengthened pedagogy and practice.

In my role as Deputy Principal I chose to inquire and address an area of the school system around assessment.  “ As a school how do we make sure our assessment practices align to our changing environment?”

As I began sharing my goal and the actions I had taken to date and the results (evidence) in my Professional Learning Group (PLG) I felt quite at ease, I certainly felt a high level of trust.  In our PLG each educator was given the opportunity to question, re-evaluate, refine, and improve strategies and knowledge collaboratively with the support from group members.

In my case through the questioning from my colleagues I was able to reflect on the process, purpose and think through my next steps. My group provided me with the platform to investigate another aspect of my goal further.

What this learning conversation highlighted for me was the areas that I could delve deeper into - “how do I use the feedback from students to grow teachers understanding?” , to consider the levels of student agency and teacher voice. Does my goal link to our strategic plan? How? In what ways?
I have a lot of work to do!

So where to from here? Having the learning conversations with my colleagues in my PLG I am again back in the “Pit” -

Edwards (2016) wrote, “When we are introduced to new ideas, new content, new ways of thinking, our minds are puzzled. This is commonly called cognitive conflict or cognitive dissonance.”

His colleague Jim Butler developed a powerful model for this as can be seen in Fig 1.”

Several educators have been writing about ‘The Pit’ analogy such as James Nottingham. Even Sylvia Duckworth created a sketchnote about this model. However it is interesting to note that Edwards and Butler have been using this model of learning since the early 1990’s. Edwards and Butler emphasise that it is important to be in that cognitive struggle as this confusion is an essential part of learning.

Fig 1.

Source John Edwards and Bill Martin 2004.

Edwards, J. and Martin, B. (2016) Schools That Deliver. California: Corwin Press.

Finally, I see PLG's as “added value”. As a leader I've taken the responsibility to embrace any opportunity to share and learn from others.

Parent Hui's 2015

PARENT CURRICULUM HUI NIGHTS

Hui 1 Thursday 19th March 

• 2 - 3pm Literacy moving through the years
• 6 - 7pm Literacy moving through the years (repeat)
• 7 - 8pm Digital safety for parents         (Andrew Cowie - Core Education)

Hui 2 Thursday 26th March

• 2 - 3pm Mathematics moving through the years
• 6 - 7.30 pm Blogs and the future of homework

Literacy Reubina Renee Hannah Veni

Blogs Waveney Anna Andrea Sonya

Maths Belinda Nola Sarah Elena

One way to share our learning with our parent community is through our Parent Hui days and evenings.

It was so great to see our talented staff share their knowledge and skills in a collabrative co creative way. (Refer to links above).

As Assistant Principal and Curriculum Leader I felt a sense of pride when the teams sought feedback for their presentations and took on board the critical discussions and suggestions.

Overall in my opinion the team collaboration was successful because the teachers worked together collaboratively and produced and presented a coherent artefact for our school.