Evidence Based Educational Consulting and Project Management

Hi Lara

Some feedback for you. The PLD we did today had an immediate benefit in my Year 9 class. It felt good to be able to commend and push harder those who need to be. They really responded to that which had a very positive impact on building relationships. For my group whose needs are greater, I didn't focus on any research today but worked on building a positive environment to foster relationships so that I can help them with research next week using what you will be teaching me :)

Have a great weekend Lara

Thank you so much
Lulu

Do you regularly seek feedback from your students to reflect on your teaching?

Do you use feedback from your students to make sure you are intellectually challenging and stimulating each of them?

Do you share the feedback your students give to you during your PLC/ Kahui Ako conversations?

How do you feel about student feedback on the quality of your teaching? Energised or defensive?

Are you working in solidarity with your students?

I am excited to be talking with a group of teachers today. We will begin our first dive into the Curriculum Learning Progressions Frameworks.
We will learn about how to benchmark their young people. So we can be better teachers for them.

NZ and Aussie teenagers are wise! Their comments reflect the educational research. Over the past month I have listened to some fantastic young people talking about what they want from education. The following quotes are theirs...

'We want our teachers to open up to being vulnerable so we can have a warm relationship with them'. Maori Boy aged 15.

'Treat all of us the same. I feel like some teachers think we are bad kids' Maori Boy aged 13.

'Our PE teachers get on well with all of us!' NZ Girl aged 14.

'Streaming is a dumb system. The bottom stream don't bother because they know what the teachers think of them. If streaming was abolished, we could all learn more about our strengths and talents'. Top Stream Girl Australia, aged 14.

'I think for some students to learn better, they need a better student teacher relationships. Some teachers are really good and take our perspectives into account in how they teach'. Maori Boy aged 14.

'Ask us what we want to do in Science'. Aussie boy aged 12.

'Move more'. Aussie Girl aged 13.

Lots of kids are rude as to the teachers!'' Boy aged 12.

'The Maori teacher is really good and lets us read about our important things'. Maori Girl aged 14

'Don't keep teaching the whole class the same work, some of us already know it. We have to learn things we already know'. Aussie Girl aged 14.

Thanks to the team from Wairoa Police who were so much fun today during the first day of their Sorted Seminar. It takes quite a bit to make me belly laugh while I am facilitating but you guys managed it several times. Wairoa, you have some great cops on your beat!

Feedback from an HOD MAORI about the Reciprocal Literacy PLD I ran at Hastings Girls High for all teachers of Social Sciences, Science, Mathematics and Languages.

Tena tatou katoa!

Kua akiaki nga taonga nei a te wahine hei whakaakiaki i nga akonga ki te tu rangatira i roto i o ratou ake hinengaro, whakaaro kia tutukii ai i nga akoranga katoa ahakoa hei aha i to ratou ake mohiotanga.
After spending the most inspiring day being guided and empowered by this incredible wahinetoa Lara Meyer there is no doubt in my mind that every Maori teacher should go through her course.
It has been unbelievably advantageous at every level. If there is ever a course we as Maori teachers should be considering it is this one. This course is a MUST for every single Maori teacher in this country whether you are at a general school, at a private school, to kura kaupapa to kohanga ake
The difference it is making to the literacy level of my akonga in such a SHORT time is nothing short of a miracle. Me aro koutou!

I am furiously working to gain a Masters in Educational Leadership and I read lots of really interesting research. This photo highlights the difference between a Professional Learning Community and Performance Training.

trained national school improvement reviewer for Australian Council of Educational Research.

http://www.theage.com.au/nsw/dont-teach-your-kids-coding-teach-them-how-to-live-online-20170323-gv5e9r.html

Don't teach your kids coding, teach them how to live online "Don't teach your kids coding," says New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman. "Well - teach it if you want. But before you teach them coding, teach them digital civics: how to talk to one another on the internet, how to understand fact from fiction on the internet."

Evidence Based Educational Consulting is an accredited professional learning provider in New Zealand.

Hi Lara!

Tasha Henneker here, from Wairoa College. Sorry I haven't gotten this to you sooner, I've been so busy with organizing not only things here (such as piano tuning and cat micro-chipping) but also stuff for next year in Auckland! I hope everything is going well, and here is the review! I didn't know if I should put it on facebook, but I'll leave it to you. Anyway, here it goes:

At the start of the 2016 schooling year, I managed to pick something up incorrectly and end up with Sciatica, a 'condition' (there is honestly not enough research into this) that more or less categorizes pain in the leg and lower back through the sciatic nerve. You wouldn't think that this would affect schooling in such an extreme way, but it did exactly that. My attendance dropped sharply and with absences came failed assessments in Level 2, which honestly made me feel like I was useless and probably better off not here anymore. For the first two terms I had zero credits and had achieved absolutely nothing due to the cycle of not wanting to go to school because I was failing, but failing because I didn't go to school. Even though sciatica was gone in the first term, those absences still hurt my schooling badly.

Then Lara Meyer came along, with her can-do attitude that kicked me up the butt, making me realize that I'm better than this, that the 2015 excellence endorsement I received was not a fluke and I should strive to achieve more because I have the potential to do so. She helped me not only with chasing down NCEA credits I should have (even when my school year had ended!), but by encouraging me to work hard for what I want in life and not be a person on the sidelines watching as the world floats by. She was exactly what I needed in a sea of unmotivated teachers, I would not be at the point I am without her help, and would honestly suggest that everyone have their own clone of Lara, because even the greatest person or business will always need help to become motivated.

Thank you Lara for everything you have done for me! You're honestly an amazing person and if you need more reviews I'd gladly do more. I'll definitely keep in touch and tell you how next year goes.

Tasha Henneker.

Hi Lara - last night at a staff dinner it was announced that I have been appointed as 'The Dean of the Development Centre'. This is all possible because you believed in me, mentored me and made me dream. Thank you, thank you, thank you. What a special, intelligent and strong woman you are x

What a beautiful message from a valued former colleague. Let's us make sure everything we do supports our young people to thrive. Helping each other to be amazing educators is integral to student success.