Friday, August 31, 2007

Lead Teachers Day

The Term 3 Lead Teachers' Day started with discussion on embedding the Key Competencies into the Inquiry process.
We watched Rose Hipkins video and followed up with discussion on the main points she makes.
Two important aspects were discussed -
1. Curriculum cohesion - Rose mentions this and it is a ongoing issue for many schools. Pressures of timetabling and balance make it difficult for the full inquiry process to take place often resulting in unfinished and shallow outcomes, leaving both teachers and students frustrated.
2. Assessment of Inquiry - a matter of ongoing discussion - what do we actually assess, and what does that assessment look like. What is the purpose of the assessment, and what does it mean? More questions than answers, I'm afraid.

We also watched the Yoram Harpaz series of videos on thinking. A wonderful resource and one that kept us in discussion for a long time.

The afternoon was spent looking at podcasting. We made audio files in Garageband or Audacity, and uploaded them to Podomatic. These podcasts were then able to be subscribed to through Apple Store in iTunes.

Also view our Bucklands Beach cluster wiki for more resources and information.

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