Reflections on #TLAB13 2 of 6: ‘What gets you up in the morning?’ Alistair Smith’s opening keynote [ @alatalite ]

This is the second of six posts reflecting upon the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Conference held at Berkhamsted School. This post will provide an overview the first keynote session.
Alistair Smith opened the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Conference on Saturday with a simple question and a call to arms. He simply asked what got us up in the morning? Also, what got us all together on a Saturday to learn more?

The slides used have been made available here, and contain a number of useful models and ideas for school leadership.
The main points I took from the keynote were (as written, summarised and reflected upon in my analogue notebook):

How much do we, as teachers, know the research? If we are to ignore the ‘Ofsted Whispers’ and take back control of curriculum and pedagogy then we have a responsibility to understand the research that underpins teaching and learning. This links to another session I recently attended where Neil Mclean highlighted five pieces of research that all teachers should know about. To me, how are we meant to challenge and disrupt poor leadership if we are not aware of the fundamentals and latest research?
Under pressure, we don’t rise to the occasion but default to what we have practised and habituated to. This resonated with me and the relentless drive at Priory Geography and my school to improve outcomes and experiences for young people. While the habits have been difficult to form, especially with regard marking and feedback, it has been worth it. Not because an Ofsted snapshot said that we’re doing alright, but because our students are confident learners and are become more successful.
I enjoyed the challenge that Alistair put out about TeachMeets: how collaborative are they really? I’ll leave that one for you to ponder, but it did strike a chord with me.
The characteristics and strategies of experts were defined and shared, and I liked the simple 5C model below:

The two big hits that set up the conference, for me, were:

The simple question: ‘What gets you up in the morning?’ Is it Ofsted? Results? Or is it to develop the skills, understanding and attributes that young people will need throughout life? This resonated across both of the following keynote sessions and indeed throughout the other conference sessions that I attended.
Alistair warned attendees to ‘Beware the Ofsted Whisperers.’ This was my favourite moment. He spoke of schools, such as St Andrews in Leatherhead, that have transformed themselves without mentioning Ofsted. He cautioned that if we succumb to the language and measurement of other organisations, the curriculum and pedagogy of our own institutions will suffer. We are the ones who are the experts. Therefore, CPD and Lesson Observations should be linked to each other, something that I’m working upon. The language connected with ,y own thoughts and feelings and my own monitoring aims to catch everyday brilliance instead of being able to turn on the tap. I really don’t care too much for the snapshot that a 20 minute glimpse of a lesson gives, and I long ago stopped caring about being labelled as an '‘outstanding teacher.’ I’ve always wanted the best experience for the young people in my charge,m and now I have a new ‘tag’ to aim for. There’s no point in being outstanding when you can play the system. Indeed, Alistair shared this taken from a school just after receiving an ‘Outstanding’ grade. Notice that Ofsted's Grade 1 is very different from a Real World 1. In other words, the system can be played. Interestingly for me, with my CPD role, is that most 1’s are 1’s because of CPD linked to learning and teaching.

We also considered what made an ‘expert’ school and the list below was explored.

What does this mean for me?
I’ve understood the importance of keeping up with research for a good long while. I create time on a Thursday just to read research, but I’m not so good at sharing the insights and helping others to stay in touch. That needs to feed into the work that I do. All in all, a fantastic opening keynote.
So, what gets you up in the morning and into school?

High Impact, Low effort

This month is the start of the #29daysofwriting challenge. I enjoyed this last year and will be using my Staffrm account to post. I'll also be reporting here, both to give a little more detail and to keep a log of what I have written. The challenge developed a great sense of community last year, which is why I'm choosing to write on Staffrm. What I would say to those who are new to writing or don't want to run out of ideas is: Write for yourself. Clarify an idea, write something out loud. The process of distilling thoughts into writing is immensely beneficial to your practice. If other read, comment and respond, that's a bonus. Ignore the muppets who know nothing of your context, style or students. Mix it up - I like to read about real stuff from real classrooms and schools and also about other stuff. If we always write about school, how does that work for workload? If you've nothing nice to say, don't say it. So, the following has been

What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey. As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others. Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up. I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions. From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment. From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die. How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach? Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment is not always conducive to profound

The danger of Teaching and Twitter conversations: poorly formed bipolar arguments.

Sometimes in life, there really are only two options. Get the wrong one and you can look like a muppet. Take this useful sign for the toilets in Morocco. I successfully navigated it, choosing the right option. The result? No egg on my face. As a mountain leader, there are many right or wrong decisions that I’ve faced, as there are all over life. It’s not a good idea to let inexperienced young people walk themselves down Snowdon. They may die or be seriously injured. If someone is showing the signs and symptoms of hyperthermia, you need to treat it fast in a specified way. There is no real arguing with this sign: Other options are less obvious. Take this sign recently spotted near to where I live: Now, I wouldn’t consider sleeping in a bin. However, faced with a sub-zero night, I could see the appeal. The danger? Being tipped into one of those huge lorries with a compactor. (by the way, I only really considered all of this thanks to questions from my four year old boy).

David Rogers

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