ICSEI: Day 2 - some thoughts

A very stimulating and provocative day!

Some of the key themes emerging included:

• the development of school cultures focused on learning at all levels of the school.
• the importance of trust and building relationships.
• the significance of practitioner inquiry, and creating cultures of inquiry. The place of appreciative inquiry and the need to develop skills to do so.
• the role of networks in building innovation and professional learning.

More later ...

All at sea in possibilities

The last few weeks have been intense with learning for me. Being a person who likes to explore connections and possibilities as threads emerge means that my mind has been and remains all over the place. All of a sudden "being lost in my own thoughts" makes sense!!

So what has been pre-occupying my thinking?


Students and their learning

• The importance of knowing the learner and expecting all to learn at a deep level
• The possibilities that exist for schools as we understand more of the nature of the learner and learning
• Shifting from the atomised pieces of teaching (ritualised teaching) to opening up possibilities for the learner through deep learning, thinking and creativity.

Teachers and their teaching

• Why finding excuses in the kids for why kids can't learn is so ingrained in teaching
• Depersonalising the teaching from the teacher as a person and linking teaching with learning.

Designing learning spaces

• Understanding the learning environment as the "third teacher
• The need to have principles of learning to shape and inform the design of learning spaces
• Does the space shape the practice?

Teaching as the learning profession

• Building the learning within professional teams to deal with the complexities of teaching, not just training for delivery to achieve results
• Teachers' agency and teachers leading learning across the school
• Teacher inquiry and knowledge building and the place and nature of networks
• Learning conversation that capture new learning and how to further develop and share the learning
• Identifying what's worth sharing with others in the profession.

Transforming schools for 21st century

• The tension between developing goals for schools and keeping an open-mind for unforeseen possibilities
• The invitation to engage the imagination to reconceptualise schooling
• Moving beyond best practice leading the rest to developing next practice.

Over the next little while I'll muse more publicly here about these, but would welcome any thoughts.