Blog
The Instructional Coach Course: A Marathon of Learning (But Without the Sweat)
I have just past the halfway point on the Instructional Coach Course with Jim Knight and Brian Sepe. I am learning a truckload of strategies and techniques I did not know existed. My current plan is to create some checklists and infographics to accompany them.
In the last online session, we learned a bunch of strategies to create a strong learning-centric culture. A lot of the work is influenced by Edgar Schein, the OG of culture in organisations – see Schein’s Iceberg.
I was able to summarise and remix some of the Learner Friendly Culture strategies into an infographic and 5 little playing cards that coaches may be able to carry around and pass out. You can download PDFs here (infographic/cards) or on TPT for free.
Keep up the good work, coaches, and remember – with great culture comes a great iceberg, so don’t let yourself get frozen in the depths of culture theory!
Enjoy
Moonwalking with Einstein – Joshua Foer
Remembering items in a list: the first thing that really resonated with me was that it is hard to remember a series of words, and that are not linked together. Foer says that one word is inextricably linked to the next word. So for example he wants to remember:
- bear
- truck
- college
- shoe
- drama
- garbage and
- watermelon.
As I was reading it I thought about a bear that was picked up by a truck on the way to a college where they designed shoes for a drama involving actresses dressed up as garbage selling watermelons
Remembering names: to remember someone’s name the trick is to associate the sign of a person’s name with something you can clearly imagine. For example, Donata would be eating a donut when we first met.
Fun fact: we can only think about 7 things at a time.
Memory palace
A memory Palace does not need to be a building. It can be a route to a town, it can be indoors or outdoors real or imaginary, as long as there is an order that links one thing to the next. Humans are great at remembering spatial information. When picturing an image in your memory palace, try to associate multi-sensory attributes to it eg. Smell taste etc. This way, you’re like it’s attaching hooks to that object to your mind to the memory Palace and it’ll make it way easier to recall. The more creative you can be here the better, because it makes it easier to remember! For more abstract words like professional learning goals try to think of the first thing that comes into your mind when you think of professional learning goals could be a person or a thing or a city whatever it is. Make sure that the memorable thing is linked to the thing you’re trying to remember not the object in the house and your memory Palace.
Collect a list of memorable places for your palaces over time.
Check out the POA system, used for remembering playing cards – https://artofmemory.com/blog/pao-system/
The OK Plateau: you have to consciously practice a skill to continually improve it. Moreover, this practice must include failure. Watch the failure and learn from it. Eg. Try tasks that are too difficult for you, and then you will certainly fail. Or put yourself into the shoes of another person and try to figure out how that person works through problems. To get better at any skill, you need to switch of autopilot E.g. touch typing. Force yourself to type faster than you can, giving yourself permission to make mistakes. Then keep practising until you no longer make mistakes and then decrease the time you have to complete the task
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 9 – Be Different
Ed Tech I’m Using
Looking for a way to promote positive mental health and well-being in your classroom? Look no further than along.org. With a focus on social-emotional learning and building strong relationships, this evidence-based program provides the tools and resources you need to help your students thrive. From interactive lessons and activities to teacher training and ongoing support, along.org has everything you need to create a safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environment.
AI I’m Exploring
This is my favourite AI tool so far. The purpose is to serve as an additional storage device for your brain, or as the co-founder Dan Siroker says, a search engine for your life. It records your activity on your device (currently this is Apple Silicon Macs only), from websites you have visited to the insane amount of YouTube shorts you watch. It does this by constantly running and recording in the background; a little creepy, although all files are stored locally, which is great. Then, to activate a search you open the app, using the shortcut keys, type in what you want to search for, and it then presents you with the information.
It looks awesome, and I have found it really useful to look back to see how I am spending my time – which appears to not be all that great! It is subscription based, but the free trial gives you 50 free rewinds. Check it out here rewind.ai
Teaching Practice I’m Trying
This week it is a coaching practice that I have incorporated into when I have a 1-1 conversation with a student. Jim Knight states, that the single purpose of a coach is to allow the other person to think and grow. For me this just means listening more to my students when we are discussing work they are doing presently, or future goals they might have. I find it really empowering for them, as it gives them a lot more ownership of what they are doing, as well as giving them a voice.
Media I’m Consuming
This week it is a video tutorial on how to use Procreate, since starting a (almost) daily drawing routine. Brad Colbow’s channel is pretty cool.
Things I’ve Learned
That I just need to shut up and listen!
The String I’m Pulling
LLMs, for me at least, are a black box. I really do not understand exactly how they work. I feel like a romantic from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – not knowing nor caring about how this technology is working, when all I want to be is a classic; i.e. to understand what makes LLMs and the chat agents work.
Quote, I’m Pondering
“Master a few skills well, look for a few places where you can apply there, and stay out of everything else!” Adam Robinson on the Tim Ferris Show.
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 8 – Be Different
Ed Tech I’m Using
In Experiments with Google, Haiku poems can be enhanced with the assistance of AI-generated music, fonts, and video. This is especially beneficial for my EAL students and creates a more emotional impact.
AI I’m Exploring
The announcement from Google IO this week was pretty cool. My top three announcements were:
- Help me write: an AI assistant coming to Gmail to help you write email responses.
- Immersive view: shows you the route in Maps in advance.
- AI responsibility: this looks like the most interesting out of the tons of information to come. It talks about watermarking AI-generated content – not sure where this will end up, but it is bound to cause a stir.
Teaching Practice I’m Trying
I stumbled upon an outstanding writing project by Debbie Millman that she assigns to her pupils. It involves envisioning where they see themselves ten years from now. This exercise is incredibly empowering and I was thrilled to share it with my own students. However, since they are in grade 5, I decided to customize the exercise to their age group. Therefore, instead of looking a decade into the future, I had them write about their expectations for their first day of middle school. This activity proved to be an excellent way to tap into their aspirations and apprehensions.
Media I’m Consuming
I love tuning in to My Analog Journal’s YouTube channel, where DJs showcase timeless beats. The Japanese Jazz from the 70s they curate is especially delightful.
Things I’ve Learned
Making time for loved ones is a top priority that should never be overlooked, no matter how busy our schedules become. As a leader, it’s absolutely essential to make time for the amazing individuals you are responsible for guiding and supporting.
The String I’m Pulling
The phenomenon known as “isomorphism of schools” refers to the trend of schools adopting similar structures, policies, and practices over time, regardless of their location or student population. This can be attributed to the schools’ desire to meet common standards or to replicate successful models from other institutions. I have seen this ism occur in a bunch of international schools, fancy a back-to-school BBQ anyone?
Organizational sociology first introduced the term “isomorphism,” which describes the tendency of organizations to conform to societal expectations or gain legitimacy by adopting comparable structures and practices. In education, this results in the implementation of standardized testing, teacher evaluations, common curricula, and other widely used policies and practices across schools, districts, and countries.
While isomorphism of schools can promote consistency and fairness in education and facilitate learning from successful models and practices, it can also hinder creativity and innovation, and limit curricula, over other essential educational objectives.
Quote, I’m Pondering
“Don’t aim to be the best, be the only one.” – Kevin Kelly
And if you can’t be the only one, be the best at being different!
Cache and Carry – My Week In International Education – Entry 7 – Who Will Inherit The Earth?
Ed Tech I’m Using
Google Fonts – not exactly groundbreaking, but I recently rediscovered Google Fonts, after using dafont for what seems like forever. Google Fonts is now my go-to for all of my font needs!
AI I’m Exploring
Teachable Machine is a free online tool developed by Google that allows users to create their own machine-learning models without needing to know how to code. The tool uses a webcam or microphone to collect data from the user, which is then used to create a custom machine-learning model that can recognize and classify different inputs.
I intend to use it with my students to create a custom model to recognize different languages or accents!
Teaching Practice I’m Trying
I just finished reading two of the posts on ASCD, after a much-needed refresher on my literacy knowledge. Here are my notes on the first two posts in their series on literacy.
- Build from birth: When reading new text about a new concept for example space, let your students explore/play the theme of space by building rockets or playing as astronauts!
- Grow vocabulary: When Learners know more about the vocabulary in a piece of writing then they’re more likely to understand the text. Interestingly, it talks about that in explicit instruction works but it’s better if it just comes across naturally because then it’ll construct its own meanings. In read-aloud, try all kinds of genres, including informational as well as the normal rotation of fiction. Revisit words across different texts.
- Create discussions: Empower students to talk. Eg. Question the author! Guided reading style.
YouTube Video I’m Watching
I start my day with this and it is the thing I look forward to the most before I hit the hay – coffee. Chandler Graf presents this TedX Talk on coffee. I didn’t even know that coffee beans could be washed.
Things I’ve Learned
I just started a course on coaching with the Instructional Coaching Group, led by the awesome Jim Knight – who is my joint-favourite researcher and writer in education; ties with Michael Fullan. My key takeaway was the 7 partnership principles – see graphic below. In case you are wondering why there is a random Gibbon in the graphic is that, according to the BBC, it partners with its mate for life. Given how critical partnership principles are in coaching, I felt that Gary the Gibbon deserved his spot here; although I am sure not all coaches and teachers partner for life…
The String I’m Pulling
I came across this after asking a chatbot I created in POE, to help me find peer-reviewed research as I desperately try to think about what research project I should do for my grad program, and it came up with ERIC*; an online library of education research.
*ERIC (Education Resources Information Center): ERIC is a free database sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that indexes and provides access to articles, reports, and other publications related to education. It is a great resource for finding research articles on a wide range of education topics.
Quote, I’m Pondering
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” Eric Hoffer; thanks to Jim Knight for this!
Tech Rich Learning – All The Gear and No Idea
A few years ago, whilst in a spit and saw-dust gym that I used to frequent pre-Crossfit days, this guy walks in with all the correct gear for heaving lifting; squat shoes, knee straps, hand chalk, and support belt. He then saunters over to the squat rack, puts on a...
Research for a Reason
Without research, we stagnate. Without research, we may keep our vision, but we risk not keeping up with what is relevant. With research, we create new learning pathways for ourselves, which lights the fire within. With this fire, we can light the path and learning...
Connect 4 – Lurker/Observer/Learner/Reader
A Screen to Hide From or Platform to Project From? I try to be the same offline as online, in as much as I can. However, as has been addressed perhaps in thousands of comments, blogs, vlogs, articles, and books – assuming a different online persona gives us confidence...
Stay Focused With Forest
I just found an app that you can plant trees in! I like trees, they look pretty, particularly the ones in Shanghai called London Plane trees. Anyway enough about that and more about the app itself. Essentially it is a focus app. It helps you direct your attention...
COETAIL Learning Goals
Here we go, three ISTE Standards, of the student kind, on which I have based my own COETAIL learning goals on. These are: Digital Citizen / Empowered Learner / Global Collaborator ISTE Standard: Digital Citizen My COETAIL Learning Goal: Is for me to create a learning...
Touch Type Like An Octopus With Typing Club
Should your students learn to touch type? Yes – in my opinion. It helps them get things onto the computer much quicker! It helps to develop their fine motor skills, as they are searching for the correct keys to use according to the challenge/game on the screen. I...
Three Gmail Features You Cannot Live Without
Filters, labels and undo send – these are three of the handiest little Gmail features available, helping to organize your inundated inbox. Use filters to guide your emails like little homing pigeons into labels; which you can colour coordinate too! And then there is...
Cargo Bot – Lifting Things With A Claw
The concept of this game is really quite simple. You control a large robotic claw, which you use to pick up crates and place them in a specific place and order. That’s it! What a great and easy way to introduce coding concepts. And that’s what I love about this app;...
QR Codes In The Classroom
Three years ago, when I first came to Cambodia, I wanted the students to learn about QR Codes, in a fun and practical way. Before embarking on this perilous lesson plan one of my colleagues asked me who uses QR Codes anyway and therefore why should we teach it – good...
Safe Search Engines
Do you have safe search engines at your school? If not then try out the two listed in this review, I have tried and tested these with students ages 5-9. They are very easy to use for your younger students and quite safe. Safe as in you won’t get any nasty surprises...
A Duck’s Life
It’s fair to say that there are not many digital citizenship (written in 2018) books suitable for year 1s/kindergarteners. So DigiDuck makes quite a splash in this area; even though it has been out since 2012! This book attempts to inform the user to think twice...
Ignite coding with Codespark Academy and The Foos
A Discovery I only just came across this coding app a couple of weeks ago whilst traveling in Bali. I have since tested out all the levels and introduced it to Year 1 & 2 students. I love this coding app – and so do my students! Yet another app that can get your...
Coding for Kids
Coding for Kids Rather than having kids consume code by playing, get them to learn how to code, and from an early age! I can still remember my first-ever coding lesson. I was sitting down at an old IBM computer that had Turbo Pascal installed, the year was 1996. It...
What Is Digital Citizenship?
What Is Digital Citizenship? This is a question that I feel all educators and parents need to ask themselves – given that our kids are spending so much time online. How are we preparing them for how to behave appropriately when they use the internet? What are the...