Minds Wide Open

Do you have a masters in education. or experience in designing curriculum or delivering professional learning. Here is an interesting job opportunity in Doha, Qatar, training and supporting teachers and teaching graduates.

Annual Salary: up to $100 000 AUD (depending on years of experience) plus benefits: annual airfare tickets, housing, medical insurance, children education allowance and relocation allowance.

The Education Development Institute (EDI) plays a vital role in the Qatar Foundation Pre-university Education (PUE) vision of Leading Learning. The areas of professional learning, research, curriculum
development, talent development and inclusion & wellbeing are the core of our work leading to student growth and achievement. We strive for a direct impact on over 1400 staff and 7000 students within Qatar Foundation Schools.
Starting August 2022, EDI’s mission is to develop evidence-based education by supporting policy development, professional learning, curriculum design programs for talent development across pre-K-12 education. EDI will play a key role in advancing QF’s agenda for Progressive Education, through the development of quality educators under the school of education.

EDI is hiring for the position of Professional Learning Designer/coordinator. Applications close 17 February.

More details here.
https://app.schrole.edu.au/ #/public/vacancy/7c73de28-cdcf-4848-b0d5-b1e84757e349

FREE PD. Last chance to enrol!

Sydney Metro is providing free professional development and teaching resources for STEM, Arts and Humanities teachers. The training and resources provided can be utilised by teachers within a subject area or in a co-curricular context.

This course aims to support teachers as they seek to engage their students in deeper learning through real-world problem solving and equip them with tools to create innovative solutions and manage projects.

The Metro Minds Teacher Professional Development Workshop will be held at Bankstown on Friday 26 March 2021, 1:00pm to 4:15pm.
https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-professional-development-workshop-teachers

Also, public schools may be eligible for teacher release REIMBURSEMENTS to cover their casual teacher costs (terms and conditions apply).

You can find more information about the Metro Minds STEAM Challenge and its resources:
https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-steam-challenge

Please share this post with colleagues who might be interested.

Regards

James Phelps

Heads up to teachers in Sydney’s Inner West and South West areas!
Free professional learning opportunity offered by Sydney Metro as part of its FastTracking the Future Education Program.

Start the school year with free PD, a resources pack and lots of ideas to engage your students more in their learning.

Are you a Science, Arts, Technology or Humanities teacher looking to collaborate with colleagues across learning areas?
Are you a Design and Technology teacher looking for new ways to motivate your Year 7-10 students in 2021?

The Metro Minds Teacher Professional Development Workshop for 7-10 teachers will be held twice in Term 1 2021 at Bankstown. Teachers have the option to attend on:

• Friday 19 February 2021, 1:00pm to 4:15pm or
• Friday 26 March 2021, 9:00am to 12:15pm

The three-hour PL session will cover:

• How to run a cross-curricular project with Stages 4 and 5 students
• Scaffolds, strategies and teaching tools to run a design or problem-based project, either within a single learning area or across learning areas
• Ways to engage and equip students to apply and practise their subject area skills and knowledge in real-world situations
• How schools can effectively utilise the teaching resources pack provided by Sydney Metro for the 2021 Metro Minds STEAM Challenge

This is a free professional development workshop for Stage 4/5 teachers whose school is within 5 kilometres of Sydney Metro’s City & Southwest and West alignments and are interested in entering Sydney Metro’s schools competition - Metro Minds STEAM Challenge.

You can secure a spot early by registering your interest here. (Places are limited.)
https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-pd-teachers-workshop-form

Also, public schools may be eligible for one of 15 teacher release REIMBURSEMENTS offered by Sydney Metro to cover their casual teacher costs. (terms and conditions apply)

For more information about the Metro Minds STEAM Challenge and its resources:
https://www.sydneymetro.info/metro-minds-steam-challenge

Please forward this post to colleagues who might be interested.

Regards and good luck to all teachers as you launch into a new year of teaching and learning.

James Phelps

Metro Minds STEAM Challenge | Sydney Metro Sydney Metro believes Sydney’s youth has what it takes to solve real challenges in Australia’s biggest public transport project. Metro Minds STEAM Challenge invites students in Year 7 to Year 10 from Sydney Metro's City & Southwest and West alignment to work together to come up with an innovativ...

FYI Sydney and Central Coast teachers

An education provider is looking for enthusiastic teachers interested in getting involved in their holiday workshops in mid to late January at Epping and Erina.
These workshops provide primary-age children with engaging and fun activities that also extend their knowledge and imagination. The workshops are designed to help children develop teamwork, flexibility, persistence and inspire their creativity. Your supervisor will provide you with the lesson plans for the activities and they will be on hand to assist. All resources are supplied. $500 per day.
For more information and the contact details go to the workshop provider’s website - https://www.thynk.com.au/team1.html

Workshops Ph oto: Amazing Maths Race, April 2019

Are you looking for a Thursday-Friday K-6 teaching position in 2020? There is a classroom Music RFF role going at a DoE school in the Epping-Ryde district. The successful applicant would work in collaboration with the current Mon-Wed music teacher to deliver the whole school K-6 Music program. If you are a qualified primary teacher with musical skills or maybe a specialist high school music teacher with primary experience (NESA accredited) and you are interested in the position message me and I will forward contact details of the principal. (Experience with managing school choirs would be an advantage.)

Bradfield Oration: Primary school students’ ideas on what Sydney needs

I haven’t met many school teachers who read the Telegraph so just in case you missed this delightful story about students coming up with amazing innovative ideas here it is.
Well done to Year 6 students at Seaforth Public School - and kudos to their teacher Lisa Carlton for giving them this opportunity to be creative. Thank you for allowing them to practise and develop their skills for the future!

See Daily Telegraph story for a close up of the student’s ideas.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/projectsydney/primary-school-students-ideas-on-what-sydney-needs/news-story/7eb60a18690de0d6252dee1e310c7037

James Phelps

Primary school students’ ideas on what Sydney needs With a class full of creative students, Lisa Carlton was not surprised that her Year 6 group was able to sketch out some designs for a new building to hit Sydney’s skyline.

Michelle
21st century teaching wants children to learn how to think outside "the box" yet some still require children to color inside the lines

Mark
Love the story but as a former Art Teacher I have to point out that many kids come to be frustrated with what they do on their own and truly appreciate the liberation that comes from finding out how to do something better! What's at stake is developmental appropriateness, what the goals are, and assessing the impact of the activity on the student... let's not romanticize this, too! THAT'S not being child-centric EITHER!!!

Beth
There are a lot if abstract artist that are famous who did not follow the "directions". Children need to be creative and it is the whole PROCESS and not the PRODUCT that is important. Not all trees are green not all pottery is round, not all teacher's ideas are everyone else's. Learning to follow directions is a process of it's own through critical thinking asking open ended questions and giving guidance.

Lorraine
The story “Willow” by Denise Brennan-Nelson deals beautifully with this issue. It really made me think twice about the comments I made about kids artwork 😀 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42o8JuaEAZc

https://www.facebook.com/brighterschooling/photos/a.526331450870114/1218302571672995

Once a little boy went to school.
One morning
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make all kinds;
Lions and tigers,
Chickens and cows,
Trains and boats;
And he took out his box of crayons
And began to draw.

But the teacher said, "Wait!"
"It is not time to begin!"
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
"Now," said the teacher,
"We are going to make flowers."
"Good!" thought the little boy,
He liked to make beautiful ones
With his pink and orange and blue crayons.
But the teacher said "Wait!"
"And I will show you how."
And it was red, with a green stem.
"There," said the teacher,
"Now you may begin."

The little boy looked at his teacher's flower
Then he looked at his own flower.
He liked his flower better than the teacher's
But he did not say this.
He just turned his paper over,
And made a flower like the teacher's.
It was red, with a green stem.

On another day
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make something with clay."
"Good!" thought the little boy;
He liked clay.
He could make all kinds of things with clay:
Snakes and snowmen,
Elephants and mice,
Cars and trucks
And he began to pull and pinch
His ball of clay.

But the teacher said, "Wait!"
"It is not time to begin!"
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
"Now," said the teacher,
"We are going to make a dish."
"Good!" thought the little boy,
He liked to make dishes.
And he began to make some
That were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said "Wait!"
"And I will show you how."
And she showed everyone how to make
One deep dish.
"There," said the teacher,
"Now you may begin."

The little boy looked at the teacher's dish;
Then he looked at his own.
He liked his better than the teacher's
But he did not say this.
He just rolled his clay into a big ball again
And made a dish like the teacher's.
It was a deep dish.

And pretty soon
The little boy learned to wait,
And to watch
And to make things just like the teacher.
And pretty soon
He didn't make things of his own anymore.

Then it happened
That the little boy and his family
Moved to another house,
In another city,
And the little boy
Had to go to another school.

The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
And he waited for the teacher
To tell what to do.
But the teacher didn't say anything.
She just walked around the room.

When she came to the little boy
She asked, "Don't you want to make a picture?"
"Yes," said the little boy.
"What are we going to make?"
"I don't know until you make it," said the teacher.
"How shall I make it?" asked the little boy.
"Why, anyway you like," said the teacher.
"And any color?" asked the little boy.
"Any color," said the teacher.
And he began to make a red flower with a green stem.

~Helen Buckley, The Little Boy

(HT Amanda White)

BOOK WEEK
(17 - 23 August)
MORE SUPER IDEAS

🤖🚫🤖🚫🤖

📚️✅📚✅📚

Kudos to Wheeler Heights Public School for their Book Week slogan: ‘Take a risk. Read a book!’



Why not use this year’s Book Week as an opportunity for students to have a digital detox? What if you were to dare your students to ditch their devices for one week and replace them with books?

Most kids like to be challenged and many kids will take up a challenge if it’s offered to them. To help you launch the challenge here’s a cool music video about not being controlled by the technology we use. Primary students love listening to and singing along with this song.

(Don’t want to be) Raised by Robots
https://youtu.be/sAZWPnhWy5c

Lyrics version at LBM.school (CCT.education) login required
https://lbm.school/res-lyrics-videos/raised-by-robots

Raised by Robots © Minds Wide Open