Presentation to Graduate Students at Griffith Uni on July 23rd

1. Transformational Teaching
Transformational Teaching
23rd July 2009
Tony Ryan
All things considered, you
are lookin’ sensational!!!!

4. Hot Hints on finding
some inspiration in
teaching
• Make a conscious choice to be inspiring
• Stay open to possibility
• Look after your Self
• Get into social justice... and make a
difference

7. Transformational
teachers??
• Transactional (boring) cf
transformational (inspiring)
• We will need innovative
teachers who think in a
solution paradigm
• We will need educators who
believe in the profession
• We will need educators who
contribute on a local and
global scale

8. Some questions for
you?
• What’s your Inspiration Factor about life
(from 1 to 10) ??
• How do you rate teaching in terms of
importance to society?
• Why really are you going into teaching?

9. Make a conscious
choice to be
inspiring

14. • It’s not hard work that
tires us out.
• It’s a us out. attitude that
tires
negative
Manage your • People make energy
inspiration?? • Energy creators
choices in their lives:
• Energy neutrals
• Energy consumers
(Brighouse and Woods; cited in
Fullan, 2005)

15. Energy consumers
• Have a negative view of the world
• Resent change and practice blocking
strategies
• Use other people’s time excessively
• Don’t feel good about themselves
• Be able and unwilling to critically examine
their teaching practice
• Appear not to want to improve on their best

16. Energy neutrals
• Competent sound practitioners
• Willing to address the task
• Good at ‘maintenance’
• Sometimes uncomfortable accepting
examination of their practice by others
• Capable of improving on their previous
best

17. Energy Creators
• Are enthusiastic and always positive
• Use critical thinking, creativity and
imagination
• Stimulate and spark others
• Practise leadership at all levels
• Are able and willing to scrutinise their
practice
• Wish to improve on their previous best

18. • How do you ‘inspire’ yourself at the start of the day?
• What do you do when you’re feeling ‘down’?
• Remember that teaching (and life) can be a mirror -
your attitude can be reflected back to you
• Just GOIMO
Energy creators??

19. Stay open to
possibility

21. In the next ten
years??
• Global teachers who take part in Collective
Intelligence concepts?
• Lessons via YouTube
• Online use of your IP?
• I-Tunes U + Rate My Teacher + Second Life

23. Focus on solution!
1. Do your research
2. Work out the REAL problem / issue
3. Brainstorm solutions
4. Choose one (or some) of the solutions
5. Put it (them) into action

25. Watch for the further use
of visual literacy
• Many Z Gens are highly visual learners
• Use every possible IWB, data projector, computer
screen and chart that you can find
• Use your own visual collection to reinforce your
lessons
• Create icons and visual stimuli for key learning points

32. Look after your
Self

33. Look for the fabled
balance in life!
• 50 % Self
• 50% Others

35. Stress???
• Eustress? Distress? Hyperstress?
• Two steps:
• 1. Recognise the indicators
• 2. Put stress-busters into place

36. Nijo Castle
Stress indicators
Nightingale floors

38. Relating To Others
How professionally
will you engage in
teacher dialogue?

39. Connecting through
professional dialogue
• The quality of your everyday dialogue will determine
your level of professionalism
• Two critical skills in dialogue: listening and
paraphrasing
• Paraphrasing? Listen first...
• Then pause
• Then begin with: “So, you’re saying that....”

42. Get into social justice -
and make a difference

43. What will be your
personal
contribution to
local and global
causes?

44. Teaching that makes a
difference
Here’s the reality: Quality teaching makes a
difference in students’ lives
The Ripple effect of what you’ll do every day
Help students to become global socially aware
citizens
Remember that it takes everyone (Every One) to
offer a contribution

45. Inquiry-based digital tasks that
support others?
• English: To write a blog that explores your social justice
contributions throughout the year
• SOSE: To research, and create, a YouTube video on
homelessness that will score 20 000 hits
• Math: To create a wiki of student research on the
worth of local community initiatives
• Music: To produce a podcast that integrates the use of
music / image / video for an anti-cyberbullying message
• Excursions: To develop a short video that demonstrates
the community worth of the visited institution

48. Learn to coach each other
1. What are your three core
messages from this conference?
2. What could you put into action?
3. What will you put into action?
4. What will be the process for
implementation?
5. How will you keep this going??
Adapted from ‘The Leadership Coaching Guide’

49. Learn to coach each other
(Take Two)
1. What do you need to achieve?
2. What’s happening right now?
3. What could you put into action?
4. What will you put into action?
5. What will be the process for
implementation?
6. How will you keep this going??
Adapted from ‘The Leadership Coaching Guide’

50. Hints for sustaining any
of today’s learnings
• Revisit the notes twice
• Specifically dialogue about the new strategies
with other enthusiasts
• Just have a go! Put something into place

51. Wrapping
Up
• tony@tonyryan.com.au
• Remember that you’re going to be
working in the most important
profession on the planet
• Have a fantastic Semester 2
• Thank you