Why Blog?

I love to share things I come across with colleagues, parents and friends and others interested in matters to do with education. I am particularly interested in inquiry learning, gifted education, fostering independence and growing emotional literacy in our children. You may find posts interesting, you may not. You may agree, you may not but the important thing is you ponder about how it sits with you and your learning journey.

Have a great day!

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Open ended thinking and creativity

I have been thinking a lot lately about open ended problems, particularly in regards to mathematics and getting children talking about their thinking.

I love this simple illustration about the importance of open ended questions in other areas too.

Tuesday 30 July 2013

As Adults We Need to Keep Learning...



I am always astounded by the links that you find to quality material to learn new things online. The challenge is now to find the time to listen to and absorb all the wonderful things that are out there. Here are a couple of worthwhile links.

Have you always dreamed of studying at MIT? Well now you can.



Jonathan Fields has a very good blog with links to all kinds of fascinating material. Use this link as a starting point to explore further. This particular links provides seven keynote sessions that are listed in the comments as being more worthwhile than 2 years of a reader's tertiary education.




Tuesday 23 July 2013

Being An Effective Teacher


An Ethical Island is a great website providing infographics for teachers. Here is just one that I loved but there are tonnes more and the site is well worth exploring.
Check it out!

Here is a website that provides links to sites where you can (or teach children to) create your own infographics.

The Seven Survival Skills Our Learners Need

This is a thought provoking presentation by Tony Wagner, Harvard University, Graduate School of Education. Not only does it contain a video of his presentation but also a slideshow of the presentation that accompanied the presentation.



Our curriculum is world renowned for developing these skills in our learners. What will be the long term effect of the focus on National Standards? How can we honour both the core values of our curriculum and ensure our children are achieving and continuing to achieve?

You can find out more about Tony Wagner here:
Follow him on twitter:


Thursday 18 July 2013

Measuring Learning




"If your parents ever measured you as a child, they had you
stand against a wall, and made a little pencil mark on the
wall to show your growth. They did not measure you against
your brother, or the neighbor's kids, or kids on TV. When you
measure your growth, make sure to only measure your today self
by your past self. If you compare your relationships, your
success, or your anything against anyone else, you are not
being fair to you. Everyone has a different path, a different
pace, and different challenges to face along the way."

-- Doe Zantamata