Category: Blogs

Finding the familiar in the unfamiliar

On By Kayri ShanahanIn Blogs, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Learning Spaces, Liminal Space, Liminal Spaces, Online learning, Personal Learning Spaces, PLN, Reflection, Teacher, Uncategorized1 Comment

Many assumed that 2020 would be a year to remember. Perhaps because it was a once-in-a-century numeric milestone where the millennium and decades aligned. Perhaps it was more simplistic than that – did it just roll off the tongue nicely? Either way, many had high hopes for what the 366 days of the 2020 leap year would bring.

However, it is highly unlikely that anyone anticipated what was actually in store. Since ringing in the New Year, we have become accustomed to phrases, new terminology, and lifestyle changes that were simply unfathomable just 12 months ago. Words like ‘unprecedented’, ‘disaster’ and ‘isolation’ have dominated our airwaves and newsfeeds and dictated how we live and exist. I am still caught off-guard and experience moments of “never in my lifetime did I think…”. We are challenged to find our place in our new ‘normal life’ as we grapple to process how much has changed in a short space of time.

The same goes for our children. In their short lives, they have seen daily death tolls and case numbers replace traditional conversations about the weather. They have seen their already small world shrink even further and the familiar become off-limits and potentially a danger to avoid. Their homes became their classrooms. Their friends became fleeting online encounters. Their parents became their teachers and their teachers scrambled to become online education experts. And all of this happened in the blink of an eye.

This week, I have been re-immersed in studies of the liminal space – a transitional space where learning occurs. An intangible space where we are on the brink of transformation; the precipice of change. This is often an uncomfortable space and one which requires reflection, persistence (and a little bit of grit) to pass through. The liminal experience is clouded by ‘what if?’ and this year continues to be filled with many of these unanswered questions.

2020 is proving to be a state of transition for us all. Collectively, we are attempting to navigate an uncomfortable and often extremely challenging version of a reality which we really don’t fully recognise as being our own. Elements appear familiar on the surface but we are thrust forwards into uncertainty by the once distinguishable faces who are now covered with face masks for safety, by the temperature checks as we enter our local stores and by the lingering scent of sanitiser as we dare to bring our hands near our faces. We are all challenged to find the familiar in the unfamiliar.

Yes, 2020 is a year to remember. Just not for the reasons we had anticipated.

But, if our past experiences with the liminal have taught us anything it is that we can successfully transition and transform through periods of change, even those which we don’t necessarily choose to enter. Although we are required to transition through this time whilst ‘socially-distancing’ and isolating ourselves from others, this might be the one time in history where our liminal experiences are more closely aligned than ever before. This time, our personal success depends on us collectively breaking through to the other side.

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As teachers, we are privileged with a position of offering a place of safety, calm, learning (and often laughter) for our students. Whilst that place has had to adjust and adapt this year (along with virtually everything else in our lives), our position still bestows the privilege of offering a place of safety, calm, learning, and laughter to our students. They are still looking to us for guidance and answers in an effort to find something familiar and recognisable to hold tight to.

No-one expects teachers to be able to solve the crises that 2020 has delivered. However, I believe that one of the most important roles we can fulfil this year is not about academic growth. Instead, it is about continuing to offer what we always have – a place of calm and safety. Our students will be searching for familiarity in our interactions more than ever before so they know they can continue to depend upon as they battle through their own liminal challenges this year.

We may never return to how life used to be (and some may not want to). But that’s the thing with emerging through the other side of a liminal experience – you can’t ‘un-know’ what you have learned along the way. So, perhaps the question becomes – what will you help your students know that they did not know before when we finally emerge out the other side?

On the threshold, in a liminal space – An Informed Faith

Happy (and safe) Teaching.

Viewing life and learning through an ‘admiring lens’

On By Kayri ShanahanIn Blogs, EDFD459, Educator, Group Learning, Learning Spaces, Learning Theories, Motivational Quotes, PLN, Reflection, Students with Additional Needs1 Comment

I was fortunate enough to have been involved in a professional learning session yesterday at my school. Our focus was on developing engaged and motivated readers and we were investigating strategies which had proven successful in fostering these behaviours in younger students.

There was a particular reference made during the session when it called for teachers to observe their readers and to analyse their reading habits. Not whether they could decode or not, or whether they could read with expression or not, but just their actual reading behaviours when they were reading independently. Do they lose interest? Do they flick pages randomly? Do they fidget, wiggle, get out of their seats, change books multiple times? Do they read with focus?

The series of questions had been designed to serve as one component of creating a ‘reader profile’ of each of our students to develop a mosaic showing their reading skills, preferences and behaviours.

There was a key point which was made whilst discussing the student observations which had been recommended to take place which was to view each student’s skills, preferences and behaviours through an admiring lens. 

This was described as having a conscious mindset to focus on what a student can do whilst still recognising where gains could be made. It was not asking anyone to be unrealistic but instead to ensure that the interaction was undertaken from a positive standpoint.

The phrase immediately resonated with me as I recognised that many situations in life and learning could benefit by us viewing things through ‘an admiring lens’. A simple shift in focus can be tremendously powerful, and perhaps change the tone of conversations with our students (and with each other?).

One would hope that this is a stance that most educators would take but I hadn’t encountered the phrase before, and to me, it summed it up beautifully. So here’s to viewing life and learning through an admiring lens!

Happy teaching!

 

Limbo within the liminal space

On By Kayri ShanahanIn 21st Century Learners, Australian Curriculum, Blogs, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Imagination, Learning Spaces, Liminal Space, Personal Learning Spaces, PLN, Reflection3 Comments

The term ‘liminal space’ may be something that is unfamiliar to many, yet it is possibly one of the most common spaces learners (and people in general) find themselves in. The liminal space is reference to the process of transitioning through a period of change. It is a conscious awareness of knowing that you don’t know something. This is a direct contrast to being blissfully unaware of something altogether (hence, the phrase “ignorance is bliss”, one would assume!). The liminal space defines the transition that learners experience as they travel from the known into the unknown, which for our students (and hopefully ourselves) is something that we experience regularly.

However, many learners (and educators) are unaware that there is a definition of this crucial aspect of learning. Furthermore, many learners (and educators!) are uncomfortable inhabitants once within this space. Some will even resist entering it altogether through procrastination and work avoidance.

The liminal exists whether we like to admit it or not. I believe that our attitude as we approach this space heavily influences the process. Once it is embraced, it becomes our companion that will travel with us from “the ‘what was’ to the ‘next’ (Liminal Space, 2016, n.p.).

As we guide our young learners to embrace this space, we may need to help them to navigate the emotional ambiguity that can come with it. This can be done by reinforcing feelings of self efficacy – the belief that they are capable of learning and mastering new skills and knowledge. It can also be supported by encouraging reflection – making time for learners to consider their own learning, to make connections with prior experiences, to contemplate what they know, what they want to know, and possible strategies to employ to achieve this. We can also model our own transitions through liminal spaces and allowing our students to understand that this is a natural process that all learners experience.

The following quote from Richard Rohr shared by Liminal Space (2016, n.p.) beautifully describes this space:

“where we are betwixt and between the familiar and the completely unknown. There alone is our old world left behind, while we are not yet sure of the new existence. That’s a good space where genuine newness can begin. Get there often and stay as long as you can by whatever means possible…This is the sacred space where the old world is able to fall apart, and a bigger world is revealed.”

The liminal space is one that educators should aspire for their students to embrace one day. This may take time and guidance for this to occur, but having an awareness ourselves of this space allows us to both respect and support the transition. Most importantly, it allows our learners (and ourselves) to respect the experience of being within the liminal space. We want our learners to know not to resist it, nor to plough through it panic-stricken and searching for ‘sameness’, and instead understand the beauty and value that comes from the limbo experience of not knowing….yet.

 

Happy teaching!

References:

Liminal Space. (2016). Retrieved on 9th September, 2016 from https://inaliminalspace.org/about-us/what-is-a-liminal-space/

 

Putting the ‘personal’ into Personal Learning Spaces

On By Kayri ShanahanIn 21st Century Learners, Australian Curriculum, Blogs, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Learning Spaces, Personal Learning Spaces, Reflection, Teacher2 Comments

After an absence from my blog, recent academic discussion that I have been involved in has prompted me to reflect upon my understanding and opinions about Personal Learning Spaces.

One’s personal learning space is something that can be highly individualised, but often one that is not consciously decided upon. It is only when we reflect on our own preferences for learning that we then begin to notice the key features that we required in order to be successful lifelong learners. The personal learning space is designed around what our students need in order to demonstrate self-direction in their learning, self-efficacy and self-reflection. For younger learners, these are skills which may only be in the earliest stages of development, but they are crucial skills which their teachers should encourage and support.

Each learner, whether they be a child, teen, or adult, will have reasons which motivate them to learn and offer them a sense of self-direction. Sometimes the motivation will be a desire to avoid failure. Other times, it will be a desire to achieve the end result (e.g. mastery of new learning, a new skill, etc). It may be linked to a learner’s belief of the value the new learning gives them once it’s achieved – is it personally relevant? Whatever it is, it allows a learner to take responsibility for their own learning experience (Smith, 1996, n.p.).

Learners will also have a level of belief in their own ability to succeed which may vary from task to task, subject to subject, and even day-to-day. A learner’s ability to begin a task with the necessary amount of self-belief that they will succeed may be linked to prior success in that area, comments or feedback they have received in that area, or their own perception of the cognitive challenge that lies ahead. I have also found that this area can fluctuate greatly when influenced by seemingly unrelated factors such as life-pressures, social struggles and/or times of stress or duress.

The final area that I am concerned that doesn’t get factored in enough is to teach our students (and ourselves!) to become reflective learners. Students need time to consider what they have learned, to make connections to prior knowledge, and to express their understanding of their new learning to themselves and to others. However, often teachers find themselves finishing up lessons without having included any time for reflection (for their students or themselves) and soldiering on to the next timetabled activity in order to keep up with time constraints.

Given that these factors are all highly personal for each learner (hence the name ‘Personal Learning Spaces’), how does one teacher ensure that they are encouraging and fostering these skills in all of their students? My personal belief is that it comes down to keeping it personal and knowing your students.

A teacher will find it difficult to foster a sense of self-direction if the tasks that they assign for younger students unless they are engaging, relevant to their real lives and have value. In some cases, some learners may need more explicit scaffolding in order to develop self-direction skills, whereas others will need minimal assistance. However, teachers will know when they’ve hit the ‘sweet spot’ in lesson design because their learners will be positively engaged in their own learning and require minimal assistance or external motivation in order to keep going.

I believe this is even more true for self-efficacy. The relationship that you develop with your students will allow you to gauge their self-belief as it changes day-to-day, task-to-task, subject-to-subject. Having a genuine relationship, rapport and understanding of what your students believe about themselves as learners who can succeed is crucial. This knowledge allows teachers to ensure that their students will be faced with tasks and activities that will be challenging, but will still allow for success on some level. We don’t want to be bombarding students with unrealistic tasks which will chip away at their self-belief. We can only avoid doing this when we have genuine relationships with our learners.

As for reflection, this is something that our young learners will need to be explicitly taught. As teachers, how are we factoring reflection into each of our lessons? What questions are we teaching our students to ask themselves about their learning? What do we know about their lives in order to make their learning relevant? What connections are we encouraging them to make with prior learning? When are we ensuring that we revisit the learning pathways we have guided our students along?

So, although ‘Personal Learning Spaces’ asks us to consider something that may vary for each of our learners, it is important that each teacher considers their influence on each component. Just as adult learners would be reluctant to invest time and effort into an activity that serves no purpose, that is not relevant to their needs, and appears unrealistically impossible, so too will our students. As teachers, we have to ensure that we keep things personal with our students in order to create harmony between the lessons we design and the development of the skills they will need to become successful life-long learners – self-direction, self-efficacy and reflection.

Happy Teaching!

Celebrating International Day of the Girl

On By Kayri ShanahanIn 21st Century Learners, Australian Curriculum, Blogs, Education, Educator, Parent, Reflection1 Comment

Today, October 11th, is the United Nation’s International Day of the Girl. For some females in first world nations, they may have the luxury of wondering why this day is even necessary? Perhaps, they are fortunate to have been treated as equals to our male counterparts and not feel that they were disadvantaged or discriminated in any way due to being a female. Or, instead, they may be one of the billions of females around the world whose future is limited in every way imaginable because they were born a girl. Their access to equal opportunities for healthcare, education, social-status, and/or political opinion is some cases non-existent, and in the worst cases, it is illegal.

However, the reality for many females who may feel that they haven’t been disadvantaged by being a female is that inequalites and stereotypes are so ingrained in our society that we don’t even notice them happening. That is where the #LikeAGirl campaign helps to demonstrate this beautifully.

This campaign was born from a desire to encourage girls to continue to participate in sports as they reach adolescence. From a global perspective, quite obviously fighting for equal access to quality education and healthcare is very clearly a top priority. However, the #LikeAGirl campaign resonated with me for a number of reasons. Firstly, it demonstrates firsthand how otherwise young, confident, first-world girls have internalised what being like a girl means. This, in turn, presumably goes on to shape their thoughts, their conversations, their opinions of self-worth, and their perceived abilities and limitations as a female in the 21st century.

So, before you write off International Day of the Girl as just another token day on the calendar OR as a day which is only meant for girls in third world countries, just take a look at the #LikeAGirl campaign and see if anything resonates with you. And, if it does, I enthusiastically encourage you to change your dialogue with the boys and girls in your classrooms (and at home) to shed some light on how we can slowly shift such ingrained, outdated, and potentially dangerous stereotypes.

Happy teaching!

Teaching our students to become informed global citizens

On By Kayri ShanahanIn #Syrian Refugee, 21st Century Learners, Australian Curriculum, Blogs, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Learning Spaces, Refugee, Syrian refugees, Teacher3 Comments

I have enjoyed being privy to some of the online conversations of colleagues over the past few weeks as they discuss the importance of Learning Spaces for our 21st century students. More recently, their discussion has revolved around future learning spaces, specifically in relation to refugee crises around the world.

As you may be aware, I spent considerable time investigating this very issue last year in relation to the Syrian refugee crisis, with a central focus on Za’atari. This learning experience is something that has stayed with me since that time and one that changed me profoundly. However, I have had the luxury to go on with my every day life and forget that my reality is vastly different from millions of others. I have been distracted with my first world problems without ever feeling fear over my physical safety or long-term wellbeing.

So, what was the point of spending all of that time, energy, and emotional investment on a topic which I cannot potentially impact directly? Well, here is where I’ve changed my thinking – as a teacher. I bring my knowledge of global issues into the discussions with my students. I enlighten my students with another perspective of what day-after-day life is like for millions of children their own age. I do this in order to help them to develop an understanding of broader values such as respect, civility, equity, justice and responsibility. As the Victorian Curriculum states, Civics and Citizenship curriculum plays a crucial role in helping our students to become active and informed citizens and to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to question, understand, and positively contribute to the world in which they live.

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This is home for all of us, no matter what your beliefs. We really are all in this together.

I have limited control over the injustices which are in place throughout Syria and beyond. That is certainly not to say that I have given up on working towards them changing. Not at all. However, I realise that some of my greatest power is to have the next generation be more adequately informed on a local, national, and international level. As the Victorian Curriculum states, I know that by ‘investigating contemporary issues and events, students learn to value their belonging in a diverse and dynamic society, develop points of view and positively contribute locally, nationally, regionally and globally’.

I have incorporated my understanding of the importance of global issues and future learning spaces (here and around the world) and applied that in a setting where I can have the greatest impact – with my classrooms full of students. Our students may never physically set foot outside of a 100km radius of their current address. However, the children we teach will soon (if not already) be participating as members of our interconnected global society through avenues such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Musical.ly, Snapchat, etc. My aim is to instil the importance for my students to become reflective, active, and informed decision-makers, both now, and in the future.

Ultimately, I am aiming for my students to realise the position of privilege they are in due to their own global location, and to use that privilege with a sense of respect, purpose, and to become tolerant, thoughtful, and informed global citizens.

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Happy teaching!

 

Making technology your new BFF

On By Kayri ShanahanIn 21st Century Learners, Australian Curriculum, Blogs, Creativity, Curriculum, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Online learning, Teacher2 Comments

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Are you a techno-savvy teacher? Someone who is always the first to know of the latest and greatest apps, websites, and tools to bring into your classroom? Or perhaps you’re a teacher who flirts with technology from time-to-time but is much more comfortable staying with your tried and true go-to resources? Or, are you a teacher who is convinced that you and technology are simply not meant to be? Maybe you have ventured so far as to reluctantly incorporate Google Drive into your teaching practise for the purposes of planning and collaborating with your peers, but the exercise of learning something beyond creating a Word document just about killed you?!

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Whichever type of educator you might be, the good news is that there is a level of technology available for everyone which will enhance your own teaching practise. The reasons for using technology in your classroom include: making your teaching practise more relevant and engaging for your students, catering for a diversity of learning styles, as well as providing educational experiences which may otherwise not be possible.

The techno-savvies will most likely be using tools such as mind maps, virtual presentations (e.g. Voki), audio responses (e.g. Vocaroo), comic makers (e.g. Comic Maker, Comic Strip), videos and/or PowerPoint/Keynote regularly in your classrooms. They may also be incorporating things such as Skype in the Classroom to access a wider global network of educators (and subsequently expose their students to a wider array of educational experiences). Or perhaps they’re utilising tools such as Class Dojo as an interactive way of engaging students in their own learning program or Smiling Mind as a pathway for student mindfulness and/or wellbeing. Whichever it is, there are an abundance of tools and resources available, and the list grows longer every day.

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For the novice or reluctant techno-user, I would suggest starting a more slowly and use technology as a means to avoid reinventing the wheel. Social media platforms that you may already be using can be a terrific way to access educational tips, lesson ideas, and resources. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter all have seemingly limitless users you can follow (who have somehow found extra hours in their day!!). Many of them post regular updates of things that are happening in their classrooms and schools. Use these to your advantage! Search and follow educators in your local area, or ones who follow the same curriculum that you do, or who teach the same grade level. If you see a great idea, then save it for future use or share it with a colleague. If you need inspiration, consider searching one of these platforms for some options. Don’t feel the need to start posting your own things (unless, of course, you want to!!). Instead, take advantage of the nature of online relationships and simply click a ‘like’ button to acknowledge something you found useful, clever, or inspiring, and move on. Start small and build up your confidence slowly. Use things such as Once Upon a Picture to stimulate discussion and creative writing sessions. Use class iPads for students to write their retell of a book by using Keynote and take and save specific pictures from the story (where applicable) to the camera roll for them to use (I did this activity with a Grade 1 class and it was brilliant!).

Finally, when you find something that you thought was great AND it worked well in your classroom – share it with others! That might mean with other teachers in your own school, or perhaps with a wider audience (e.g. Online, email, blog, social media). We all know that teachers are time-poor and if we can save our colleagues from having to search for something that we have discovered, then it helps our own educational community to improve. And remember, if you are the reluctant techno-user, you are unlikely to be the first person to have no idea what you are doing when you fumble around a new website, tool, or app. Ask for help, have a try, and see what happens. You might just find something that becomes your new technology BFF!

Happy teaching!

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