Tuesday, 27 January 

Create / Hanga (Dorothy)

Today started off on a really positive note. I truly enjoyed Dorothy’s presentation on “Why we do what we do.” It’s such a powerful question and one that invites me to reflect deeply on my teaching and leadership journey.

I was reminded that engagement is at the heart of teaching and learning. When students are engaged, learning becomes meaningful and purposeful. This connects closely with our planning – ensuring that what we design in the classroom truly gives effect to accelerating new learning.

Creativity in teaching and learning is so important. It encourages our students to become problem solvers, better communicators, and strong collaborators. It challenges them to think outside the box and approach learning with curiosity and confidence.

Today’s session was a great reminder of why we do what we do – to inspire, to engage, and to create learning experiences that truly make a difference.

…However, as the day went on, things took a very different turn.

My confidence in today’s learning began to wobble, and frustration slowly crept in. The sessions on setting up YouTube, Google Drawings, and Google Slides became difficult for me to follow. My laptop froze, and then the sound started going static in the middle of each session. From that point on, my learning seemed to collapse — and sadly, so did my motivation and enthusiasm.

I tried my best to keep up by following the slides, but then my laptop kept jumping into Firefox on its own. It felt like everything was working against me. On top of that, the coaches moved very quickly, and as a novice, I found it hard to keep pace. I wanted to learn, but the technical issues and the speed of the sessions made it overwhelming.

It was a reminder that learning can feel exciting one moment and exhausting the next. Today challenged my patience and resilience, but it also showed me how important it is to be gentle with myself when things don’t go as planned. Even when learning feels messy and uncomfortable, it is still part of the journey.

Tomorrow is another day — and with it, another opportunity to try again, ask questions, and grow in confidence.

Jan 23, 2026

Today has been a huge learning experience, particularly when Day has been unsuccessful with Firefox and Chrome running at the same time.

Useful:

This part is important to me as it reminds me as a leader the pedagogy underlies teaching and learning.

At the heart of effective teaching and accelerated learning is connection — connection to our learners, to our purpose, and to our practice.

The visual design of the whare helps us see this clearly. The floorboards of the whare represent our pedagogy:
Learn ~ Create ~ Share.
They remind us that learning is not a one-off event, but a journey that is intentional, active, and shared.

When we Learn, we take time to understand our learners — who they are, where they are at, and what they need to move forward. This is where we listen, observe, and gather insight.

When we Create, we design learning experiences that are meaningful and purposeful. Our teaching is not accidental — it is thoughtful and responsive. We ask ourselves:

What am I teaching?
Why am I teaching it?
How will this help my learners progress?

When we Share, learning becomes visible. Learners explain their thinking, reflect on their progress, and connect their learning to others. This is where we truly see our learners and strengthen relationships.

This pedagogy gives us clarity and direction. It helps teachers understand the purpose behind effective teaching — not just what we do, but why we do it. When our teaching is clear, intentional, and connected, it lifts outcomes for all students.

Ultimately, the whare reminds us that strong teaching is built from the ground up. When our pedagogy is solid, our learners are supported, seen, and empowered to succeed.

Creating calendars for events and meetings, as well as setting up the priority workspace, was all new learning for me. I now have a much better understanding of the calendar and its features. One of our teacher had previously introduced Google Calendar at a staff meeting, which we didn’t fully take on board at the time. From here, we will revisit this platform and get it up and running effectively.

There is so much for me to learn and get my head around. Aimee was absolutely fantastic in supporting my learning throughout the process. Not being able to access all the useful tools, along with the pacing, did present some challenges—but thank you, Aimee, for your patience and support.