Christchurch Workshops
I have just got back from Christchurch where I was involved in running two days of workshops for local teachers.
The first day was spent specifically on Questioning, looking at questioning skills, the importance of questioning in learning, the QuESTioning Rubric, its application in classrooms, and how it can be used for school wide assessment of querstioning skills.
The second day was spent with a group of Principals, Deputy Principals and Assistant Principals. The central focus of the day was to look at the Key Competencies in the Draft New Zealand Curriculum. We discussed some of the broader issues arising from the Draft Curriculum and then looked at the Competencies in depth and discussed ways that schools could implement and assess the Competencies in their programmes and structures. We had some very interesting discussion around a wide range of issues including the need for schools to clarify their visions before they try to implemnt the competencies or design school based curriculum.
I am looking forward to ongoing discussion with the schools involved as they start addressing some of the issues discused. It was a great two days.
