__ LIPS – Leading in Public Schools

Positive Behaviours for Learning

In keeping with the spirit of sharing and learning from each other, I was one of a small number of people from Hunter Central Coast Region who attended and observed at some training days held recently at Penrith for Western Sydney Region.  A large number of Western Sydney schools has been committing to the Positive Behaviours for Learning program which was featured in the most recent edition of Side by Side (Issue 4 September 2006, Strong Foundations, Page 13)

The PBL system adopted by the Western Sydney region is based on the Positive Behavioural Interventions and Support (PBIS) model developed in the United States in the early 1990s and used in 4,200 American schools.  Professor Tim Lewis and Dr Lori Newcomer, from the University of Missouri, have assisted the Western Sydney region to roll out the PBL program by running a number of two-day workshops for school teams and coaches on how to implement PBL in their schools.

A key feature of this program is the reliance on strong data and the building of positive approaches across a whole range of areas.  There will be further thought around the ways that we can structure our learning environments to create optimum conditions for both learners and teachers.

For some background on the program, you can visit the US website at http://www.pbis.org/main.htm  You will notice that this site and the program it describes is called Positive Behavioural Interventions and Support.  Positive Behaviours for Learning is a local adaptation and seeks to ensure the emphasis on the key focus of creation of positive environments for learning.

I am aware that many schools have already made some very positive gains in Values Education and in a range of other programs.  Who is interested in some discussions next term about how we can build on work in creating positive learning environments.

Are any of you working with a good program which you believe has ‘made a difference?’

How do you know it has made a difference?

Let’s share some ideas around this.  Make use of the ‘Post your own‘ link..go on..you know you want to.

This paper from 2003 is an interesting read.  Look in particular at the tables which compare traditional practice with what could actually be transformational ideas.  Part of the abstract follows. Just how do we solve the conundrum of a push for devolution on the one hand, and a highly centralised need to manage the risks around a very politicised policy context ?

Game, set and match : bureaucracy 1, schools 0 : time to change the rules?

A scan of the organisational structures of government education departments in Australia and elsewhere suggests that they remain hierarchical, bloated and bureaucratic. This is despite school-based management (devolution) trends across the last decade or so that have proclaimed greater autonomy for schools and leaner, meaner supporting central and in some systems regional or district structures. This paper, however, argues that, in the main, the plethora of past reforms and restructures of education systems, schools and schooling has not resulted in much change for central bureaucracies at all.

Click to read the entire paper

18/08/2006

Is MySpace just a fad or does it represent a generational shift towards a new medium which is going to have major implications for how future generations live, learn and communicate? Flex e-News finds out…

So what’s the big deal about a website that allows people to create their own profiles, connect them with friends, post blogs and pictures, instant message, email and add comments?

Well, 100 million members have already found out.

Click here to go there now . .

Found a really interesting site recently which you may find worth sharing with others.   

TeacherNet has been developed by the UK Department for Education and Skills as a resource to support the education profession.

Have a look around at a range of information for all sorts of people.  Have a look in the Management section and look at the protocols around Performance Management for example.

From the main site there are links to a number of other service areas for parents and a curriculum resource area online as well. The same concepts which have driven our own TaLE : Teaching and Learning Exchange, along with concepts picked up by other agencies.

Have a look for the link and check out Teacher TV, with its bank of viewable video segments which highlight aspects of pedagogy etc.

Well worth a look around.

It would be interesting to get some discussion and comment started on this blog.  Go on, give it a go.  Register and post a comment.  Let’s generate some discussion about education and its delivery.