We often hear teachers say that ‘teaching is very rewarding’. But what do they mean? What are the ‘rewards’? And more importantly, how are they reaped? Well, as the saying goes: “what you put in, is what you get out”. Therefore, the more you put into teaching, the more rewards you get out. It seems logical then, toRead More…
professional development
What is digital media literacy and why is it important?
A recent article in the NZ Herald got me pondering (http://bit.ly/Xjoq5R) and subsequently posting these musings to my Facebook page : As part of an Initial Teacher Education programme, should we be providing teachers with the skills and know-how to (a) be confident and competent in working with digital media and resources themselves, inRead More…
Transformative learning : Changing adult learners’ perspectives
Learning and change in the adult years: A developmental perspective by Tennant and Pogson (1995) is a book aimed at adult educators and it addresses adult learning in relation to adult development. Tennant and Pogson believe that, in order to teach adults effectively, adult educators need to know themselves, and so the role ofRead More…
An organizations most valuable asset is their people
This week’s blog post discusses productivity and profitability. Last week, I mentioned how hard New Zealand teachers and leaders work. The reality is, as a nation we work really hard. With the exception of Iceland (a country that enjoys icy cold conditions and 6 months of darkness a year), the average New Zealander apparently spends moreRead More…
Are educational organizations becoming more profit-focused?
My thoughts for the blog post this week were inspired by a couple of critical questions posed in a recent online discussion between education management professionals. The following two commonly held assumptions were made explicit: (a) Collaboration among teachers across disciplines for project-based learning is essential for real learning in schools, and (b) Real educationRead More…
