Reading

Capability of living and lifelong learning. What has science got to do with it? by Ally Bull

My thoughts, wonderings and questions… The reading based on creating lifelong learners who “can participate as critical, informed and responsible citizens in a society in which science plays a significant role”. This reading has highlighted the importance for the capabilities in the teaching and embedding of science. To create students who are curious about the world around them and how they can contribute to that world. Assessment shouldn’t just be based on the year group of the student which is only accessible via the level the achieve because of their year group. As all students are different to each other and have different learning outcomes as they process the information and their understanding. Are we focusing on the skills and strategies used to achieve? Rather than content driven of the facts you actually know and learn... This reading reaffirms what I have learnt throughout the workshops at the RSNZ and my belief the focus for science needs to be on the capabilities as this will empower the students to be more inquisitive, have more fun and become lifelong learners of science. This reading is one I will recommend my colleagues read. As the reading comes with exemplars to show students understandings and the different way they process information. Showing the holistic nature of the capabilities and the discussion threads between student and teacher allows further insight into the benefits of developing the capabilities further and unpacking them for the understanding of the students. The development is crucial for the students to become “scientifically literate” lifelong learners that can look through a scientific lense when faced with evidence.

Constructing your primary schools science curriculum by Ally Bull, Chris Joyce & Rosemary Hipkins

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

The main points are the you need to define what you think being scientifically literate where both students and teachers respond to. Aim is for both elements of science literacy what is your school vision for assessment. As it is ultimately about talking together as a collective in developing the rubrics and the importance of the conversation behind creating them. The capabilities involve using all of the the things as it is not a linear process which makes it very tricky to report on this which is often restrained from what we have to report on. Science is having a push on how we report the progress, the social sciences have the same push to report on their progress. Are we focusing on the skills and strategies used to achieve? Rather than content driven of the facts you actually know and learn... Focus needs to be on the capabilities.

Science in the NZ curriculum Years 5 to 8 by Education Review Office

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

Is essentially an overview of students year 5 to 8 in 100 schools. The Nature of Science strand is a compulsory strand of learning for all students up to year 10. "In the absence of strong and knowledgeable science leadership, science can be subsumed by the inquiry process." My understanding is in order to have engaged and actively curious minds for science students first need teachers / facilitators who are naturally curious about science and confident in teaching the content in such a way it inspires and innovates students to want to learn more. My experience with the Science Capabilities so far have shown me how effective they can be in facilitating and enabling staff to become more confident within science and engaging that passion from the students. I am wondering about the different steps I will need to take to empower others with science confidence and curiosity to be effective in the Nature of Science... Questioning what resources can I source, make to ease the transition? I know I will find quality resources and further guidance via TKI. I am interested in how well do the science lessons at school connect with the students lives outside of school?

Enviro Schools fostering a generation of people who think and act sustainably by Toimata foundation

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

Starting to read information and papers about the journey of an enviro school and developing my passion further. The paper gave me a few ideas to help write a school plan for the potential of an enviro learning curriculum. I like how the philosophy behind enviro schools and sustainable environment really encourages the students to take care of their environment and teaches them life skills they can use at home, outside of the classroom and in the wider community. I'm wondering how I will be able to use this information to consolidate my own ideas for including enviro focussed learning within the science capabilities...

The Leadership Challenge VI edition by Kouzes and Posner

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

This book took a wee while to read through and is highlighted and post-it stickies to within an inch of its life! I must admit I picked up and put down many times. Some to allow room for reflection and other times because I found it really hard to read and apply into an educational context. There were a couple of case studies that really stood out for me, both looking at my work life prior to education and now as a facilitator of learning. I enjoyed the 'Ed Beattie, general manager of Chorus case study' - as this manager is always looking for feedback and there is nothing he won't listen to. I likened that to my own experience of management positions and always ensuring my door is always open for feedback whether from my staff or students. I found this as a genuine effective tool that gives you valuable information and allows you to grow as a leader. The Five Practises and Ten Commitments of exemplary leadership stood out to me as they seemed to make sense and be factors that I can incorporate into my own leadership style. Some I know I have done more often than others. Wonder what feedback has been left for me on my leadership style? Will I have changed since the last leadership role I undertook? How much do I want to lead again? Will there be the opportunity for me to utilise my skills and knowledge?

Unlocking the idea of 'capabilities' in science: NZACE by Rose Hipkins

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

After reading this document and reflecting on the contents I really enjoyed the easy break down and reference that it certainly made the capabilities clearer in my own mind when used in a real world context. Particularly given the use of 'Global warming' as it is a very real topic that students will be aware of and indeed may have an opinion on. When teaching the capabilities it is about the skills that will be transferred from facilitator to student so they can take their own curiosity and investigate their passions within science. I may use snippets of this when I'm back at school, I believe for anyone who has not read the capabilities it gives some real life context that can be applied into the class. How will I use this when I'm teaching? Looking at my students would I look for a wide topic or narrow the field to a smaller area of investigation? Thinking of my science club I really want to use these as building blocks for the students own investigations...

Discourse Primer for Science Teachers by Ambitious Science Thinking 2015

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

After reading the paper on talk/discourse it reminds me of my time as a secondary school teacher and the strategies I would utilise to get my students to open up and share their ideas. I really liked the framework used by the teachers, it goes without saying that the students need a safe space where they feel their voice is valid and no answers will be ridiculed. I could incorporate some of these aspects in my classroom albeit slightly more scaffolded as the students are junior and will need more practice, longer wait time and more modelling. I will probably use the questions below on cards to stagger the responses from my students. Higher cognitive thinking and rich deep questions makes for a more challenging and involved classroom, something I would definitely want to see with my students. I am looking forward to seeing some secondary school teachers, teaching using this method. During my time on placement I have certainly seen these questioning techniques used by the professors on their students both during lectures and practicals.

"• What experiences have you had with [really loud sounds]?

• What did you think was going to happen in this [video, situation, demo]?

• What did you notice happening here? Follow-up prompts are just as important as the original question:

• Can you tell me more about that…

• Can you explain/describe it in a different way?

• What do you mean by that?"

I may change some of the language slightly for my younger students. On the whole I enjoyed this reading and it certainly left me with 'food for thought!'

Decolonising Māori narratives: Pūrākau as a method by Jenny Lee

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

I have read the above paper in order to clarify what I need to bring with me in terms of a Māori narrative for my visit. As a teacher I have often recounted Māori Myths and Legends into my teaching, however after reading this paper I am inclined to wonder if I should be recounting Pūrākau "a traditional form of Māori narrative, contains philosophical thought, epistemological constructs, cultural codes, and worldviews that are fundamental to our identity as Māori." (page1 of above paper). In other words I should be looking for authentic narratives that retell an event from the perspective of a Māori person sharing their culture and stories. My understanding of pūrākau is to represent stories of ako (Māori pedagogy) that can be shared with others and that have semblance and relevance in todays present time whilst encapsulating the narrative from the past event not losing the detail or description from the past time, whilst making it poignant for today. That is a lot of pressure for me as an outsider to do the pūrākau justice. How can I collect narratives from my area? Relying heavily on my support system at school and people who know these narratives and are willing and open to share. I think I may need to record the narratives I have passed to me, either sound or written may be best. I can retell stories I was told as a child from another place and time in the world that stayed with me due to the morals that were held within the story; Pied Piper and Baba Yaga. Fondly looking back on stories shared by my grandparents that were linked to our family; Privet Bush and Towns people. Must admit I don't ever remember sharing them...

School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration. Executive Summary

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

I understand the link in the Executive Summary stating leaders in high performing schools which are goal setting orientated are more likely to have a result that is a where teacher confidence and competence and student success are mutually enhancing. Having worked in a few different middle management leadership roles, that was the basis behind positive movement in student achievement, teacher accountability and job satisfaction. Ensuring the staff felt supported, accomplished and knowing they had made a positive impact on their students. In all roles I was fortunate to have a supportive Senior Leadership team that paid forward their knowledge and experience, training so the cycle would trickle to middle management and other staff. My thoughts; If I hadn't been supported would I have known/wanted to support others? Why would teacher-parent interactions have a negative difference on the students learning? Would this be specific to student or across the board? Or purely as a standalone difference? Does the traditional leadership roles suit all learning environments? If so why? If not why not?

Scientific and Engineering practices in K-12 Classrooms. Understanding A Framework for K-12 Science Education by Rodger W. Bybee

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

I could relate to the opening of the article referring to Sesame Street as a pre cursor for learning and how in the 42nd season they are now incorporating STEM into their episodes. As a teacher who enjoys delivering Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) challenges for my class children it is encouraging to see the introduction of the STEM concepts covered on a widely watched tv program especially by pre school children. From my experience the article backed up my thinking behind STEM and why I use it in the classroom? The children enjoy the challenge, freedom and flexibility to find the answers to their own questions based on the topic. Stem can be used as a motivator for many subjects and indeed to spark the computational thinking, processes and systems for children. Should subjects be taught as discreet subject process / content / knowledge / skills? Or should they be integrated across multi subjects where the focus is not only knowledge and skills but how to solve the problem? I enjoyed the article and the Figure breakdowns could be used to a certain extent with younger children too.

Physiological measures in participants with chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis and healthy controls following repeated exercise: a pilot study

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

I found the research paper incredibly detailed and informative into a study I hadn't thought about before. I always thought exercise was beneficial for everybody depending on the type of exercise you complete, however that is not always the case. I have read the paper once and I know I will need to revisit it again at least once if not more to further clarify my understanding. The study looks at chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME), multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls (HC) and the impact of cardio exercise on each of the participants of the study. Using a selection of data collected; heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), oxygen consumption (Vo2), carbon dioxide production workload (WL). There is a few new acronyms there which I have not come across before. I need to ask for more detail on the breakdown of the HR, RPE, Vo2, WL in HC in comparison to a CFS/ME, MS suffers. How does the impact of each of these impact the different participants? Which elements are most important? Why? How does CFS / MS differ from each other where exercise impact is concerned? What are the benefits? Disadvantages of exercise for these participants?

A Nation of curious minds

My thoughts, wonderings and questions...

I found the document an informative read on "Science and knowledge of innovation that flow from scientific progress". The key elements for Science and Society challenges outlined by the govt. “Encourage and enable better encouragement with science and technology across all sectors of NZ society”. There was certainly some aspects that give 'food for thought'! What the future generation will learn? Choose to study? How will they use science in the future? What careers will they use Science in?

My Favourite Case study ->"Uawa / Tolaga Bay are working with Allan Wilson Centre on a Uawanui Project based on molecular ecology and evolution. The students and teachers were interested in returning parts of Bay to a state closely resembled when Captain Cook and his men would have seen the Bay." I liked the idea of returning an area of land to its past state, untouched and unspoilt. Although the process over time would take some commitment and no doubt complex issues would 'crop up from time to time'. Imagine if there was a portion of land in every country that was returned to its original state of unspoilt and untouched nature. What could we learn? Where could this potential lead? This case study resonated with me and I was wondering... How I could bring this idea back to classroom for my students?