Applause, Applause

This morning started with just that - applause, applause. A round of applause to start the session. As David puts it, applause is a great way to start as it draws people as they want to see what the applause is all about and if there is applause, it must be good. I think it's a great idea and well worth a try in my classes.

In the morning session, we broke into small groups to discuss innovations. Prior to coming to the GTS we were each asked to write one page on an innovation that we used in our own practice. Everybody had a turn to talk about their innovation (and there were some AMAZING Ones), and everybody had to comment or speak to the innovation - it was a very powerful experience - lots of free-flowing ideas and suggestions.

David kicked off the afternoon with more incredible words of wisdom (and I am paraphrasing because I spent more time listening than writing) - "If you want something to last, don't organize it. Use oral tradition and don' take ownership". It's worked for the Great Teacher Movement which is now 40 years old. The term David uses is "Rigid Minimal Structure" - less IS more and I'm going to try that too in my practice.

We talked a little about problem solving (one of my favourite topics) and some interesting points came up:

1. Have a well-defined problem (know what it is)
2. Define what cannot be changed
3. Recognize to what degree you are part of (or the whole) problem

In the afternoon we talked about issues that we were asked to bring with us - again a very illuminating and stimulating session - we may not have solved all of our issues, but we did come up with strategies that are worth a try - the power of the group. We talked about how to engage the learners we were not getting to, how to best implement technology, what to do when our passion may not be that of our learners, what happens when an icebreaker doesn't work the way we want it too, and how to engage online learners. While we had no definitive solutions we all left with lots of things to try.

End of Day One and my toolkit is bursting at the seams. Applause, applause - I can't wait for tomorrow...

Off To A Great Start

Well, we all arrived safe and sound in Cornwallis, got checked into very comfortable accommodations and were fed a great meal (this is not a place for dieters, and in fact one of the takeaways as we discovered at tonights' opening session will be an extra 5-7 pounds. The struggle will be keeping it that low). I think that morning "walkies" will definitely be in order.

Had a great opening session - David Gotshall is amazing (that's him on the left)! I could feel the stress of a long academic year melting away as he spoke. So much of what he said just made so much sense (I need to start taking notes). His premise of "Less is More" is so true - this week I hope to figure just that out - how do I cut out all of the extra unnecessary "stuff" and get to the core of the matter - the critical "Less" that is so much "More".

We did an interesting "ice-breaker" - we broke into pairs after some "structured rambling" to mix us up and then interviewed each other for five minutes to report back to the larger group, but with one catch - we could not talk about work! I now know things that I never knew about people that I have worked with for years - a VERY cool exercise.

We then adjourned to the Wooden Fish (I'll explain as the week goes on) for a social gathering - the energy and power in the room was amazing. I can't wait - I plan on spending the week CASEing the joint (Copy And Share Everything - thanks Libby!) - I have so much to learn from everyone and an amazing place to do it in. I cannot wait...

Welcome To The NSCC GTS 2007 Blog

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog about the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Great Teachers Seminar being held at the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre at Cornwallis Park Nova Scotia from 29 April- 4 May 2007.

I will be posting here about my thoughts and experiences at the GTS. I hope that you will find it of use and interest!