Category: PLN

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.

2-cliffs | Have to have a head for heights. | Louis | Flickr

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/

 

Where does change begin?

On By Kayri ShanahanIn 21st Century Learners, Australian Curriculum, Curriculum, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Group Learning, Imagination, Learning Spaces, Liminal Spaces, Online learning, PLN, Reflection, Refugee, Syrian refugees, Teacher, Uncategorized1 Comment

In the past few weeks I have had the privileged opportunity of participating in a community of teachers and discussing the role of educators today. Part of these conversations revolved around learning spaces, what they are, who they are for, and why teachers need to have a sound understanding of them in order to maximise the student experience. This alone makes for stimulating conversation.

However, one final comment from my mentor has once again left me pondering (as so often they do). He was commenting on the understanding that we are all aware that education has the power and ability to change lives. Yet, he encouraged us to remember this:

“you are an arbiter of that change – do not leave it to others when it can be you who makes the change!” (Staples, 2016)

So often we feel that there are other people more qualified to make significant change. They are more capable, more skilled, more available, more experienced, more dedicated, than us. However, the reality is that as educators, we all have that power every single day that we are in contact with our students. What we choose to study with them, the conversations we choose to have, the experiences we choose to provide them with, and the global awareness we choose to bring into our classrooms will all contribute to make change.

We are the ones who are qualified to do this because we are educators. We are part of a global network of educators who have the ability to have a powerful and positive impact on the students we come in contact with. It is from this global network that some incredible professionals make a decision to make an enormous change to their daily lives in order to bring about change for others.

image-refugee

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/22/isle-of-wight-superhead-running-makeshift-school-for-refugees

However, as an everyday teacher (and I mean this with no disrespect whatsoever) it may seem that we are not able to solve the educational crises we see around the world, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t (and don’t!) have an impact. The knowledge, skills, understanding, and behaviours that we assist our students to develop will add to how they choose to interact as members of a global society in years to come.

We will touch the lives of countless students during our time as educators, and it is important that we realise that even though it may seem that we are not the ones teaching the children from the most dire of circumstances, we still have the privilege to be the arbiter of change through the choices we make for ourselves, our students, and our professional networks, and our school community.

So, take a moment to enjoy being a member of one of the world’s largest professional groups and make the decision that change will start with you.

Happy teaching!

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References:

Staples, A. (2016, October 30, 13:18). Online forum: Final week.

Practise what you preach!!

On By Kayri ShanahanIn 21st Century Learners, Blogs, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Liminal Spaces, Motivational Quotes, Online learning, PLN, Reflection, Teacher2 Comments

As educators, we are constantly asking our students to try new things, take risks, make mistakes, bounce back, and try again. And we do this for good reason. We know that growth is achieved through challenging and extending our learners. But, (there’s always a ‘but’), why do we so often find ourselves reluctant to do the same thing ourselves? We are educators and we know what steps need to be taken to achieve new skills and knowledge, but when it comes to putting it into practise for ourselves, somehow we suffer from stage fright and aren’t quite sure we can do what we are asked to. Why is it so uncomfortable to try new challenges and take risks ourselves when we are the cheerleaders for these growth mindsets in our own classrooms?

I have wondered whether this is because we are comfortable with the status quo and therefore don’t believe the reward (ie. new skills and knowledge) is worth the risk (ie. failure, embarrassment, time ‘wasted’)? However, even when the learning is connected to skills or knowledge that we want to master, we are often still reluctant to try something new.

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As adults, particularly as educators, we are accustomed to being the ones that guide or initiate the learning and challenges. We are not necessarily the one with all the answers, but we are certainly seen as the ones in charge. And it can be unsettling to loosen that grip on our own self-image and change from master to novice again. However, in order to continue our own development, it is crucial that we actually put into practise the learning behaviours that we preach as it is virtually impossible to achieve new growth following our old patterns. (There’s a reason there is a very famous quote about this phenomenon – you are not alone in being hesitant to take risks or trying something new. And neither are your students!)

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As an educator who was recently involved in a lot of professional development, I have a newfound respect for our ability to continually challenge, upgrade, and sometimes totally reinvent ourselves. That isn’t to say that the process was always easy (spoiler alert – it wasn’t!). But, it was absolutely worth it. I didn’t always master everything. I certainly didn’t always master things on the first go. I had to let my guard down, be prepared to enter the area so many of us avoid at all costs – a liminal space – unknown territory.

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However, just as we expect our students to evolve and attempt new challenges, we, too, need to be willing to do the same. As an educator, when it is our turn to try something new and your inner voice starts to whisper words of self-doubt and express a fears of failure, this is your chance to put on your best teacher voice and be your own best support. What would you say to your students if they shared the same worries and concerns with you? You would tell them with confidence, patience, and belief that they should just have a try, that you would be there to support them, and that you knew that they would come out the other side having achieved some element of new learning.

So, when you are in the position to extend your own skills and knowledge, remember to be kind to yourself, but never sell yourself short. Flip the knee-jerk panic reaction that you may be personally experiencing and treat it as if it was coming from one of your students. Be supportive of your own learning, lean on those around you who can guide you, and just have a go. You may just amaze yourself with what you are capable of.

Happy teaching!

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A moment to reflect

On By Kayri ShanahanIn 21st Century Learners, Australian Curriculum, Blogs, Collaborative Learning, Cooperative Learning, Creativity, Curriculum, EDFD459, Education, education capital, Educator, Group Learning, Imagination, Learning Spaces, Learning Theories, Motivational Quotes, Online learning, PLN, Reflection, Teacher2 Comments

For the last few months I have been fortunate enough to be involved with a group of enthusiastic educators whilst researching the place and contribution of learning spaces in education.

The research and learning that has taken place could not have been possible without the collective input of my peers. They have provided me with ideas, solutions, and motivation when at times I felt challenged. I can also wholeheartedly say that without the guidance, support and facilitation of one particular member and leader (thank you Adam Staples) none of this would have been possible.

Our research over the course of the last 4 weeks specifically has focussed on a topic that is not easy to digest – the Syrian refugee crisis. At many times, I found myself questioning the lack of humanity that people are capable of, and wondering what on earth I could do to make any improvements for such an enormous problem.

However, out of this I have come to develop a new sense of gratitude and inspiration. Gratitude for all of the unearned privileges I have been reminded that I have each and every day. But also extremely grateful to know that my children are going to be fortunate enough to be educated by the types of teachers I have come to know within this research group. The group of peers I have worked alongside are inspired, committed and passionate educators. They have approached each and every aspect of our research with determination and perseverance. They have inspired me with their ability to to create holistically-sound programs to meet each child’s educational and developmental needs.

As this experience together comes to a formal end, I am thankful for the changes they have afforded me, for I have a new outlook and perception of just what I can strive to achieve for myself and my students. And I am proud to know that the future of education within Australia (and beyond?) will be influenced by them.

Happy teaching.

teacher quote

 

 

People helping people – “Roads to Refuge”

On By Kayri ShanahanIn Australian Curriculum, Collaborative Learning, Cooperative Learning, Curriculum, EDFD459, Education, Educator, Imagination, Learning Spaces, Liminal Spaces, PLN, Reflection, Refugee, Syrian refugees, Teacher3 Comments

This site was shared with me by a family member and it has helped restore my faith in the good that can be done and achieved when people actively decide to help people.

Roads to Refuge is a site set up by the NSW Department of Education (Australia) in conjunction with The University of NSW and the Centre for Refugee Research. There are Education specific programs outlined, but my favourite information was found under the Education Partnership Programs page which contains information about partnerships with universities, government agencies and local schools all designed to achieve specific improvements in the educational experience (and lives!) of refugee children. It shows how sometimes just a little coming from one person can make a big difference in the life of another. And for refugees who may be unsettled and stuck in a liminal space as they try and adapt to another life here in Australia, actions such as these support programs can certainly help ease the ambiguity.

If you are unsure what support may be needed for a refugee arriving in Australia or you are looking to become more involved, this site will offer some practical strategies and links to current programs which may be able to be adapted or incorporated into your own school community.

Happy teaching!