June 2023

SCHOOL-WIDE PEDAGOGY NEWSLETTER JUNE EDITION 2023

Celebrating Early Career Teachers Dr Bruce Addison, Deputy Principal (Academic)

Welcome to the first 2023 edition of our School-wide Pedagogy Newsletter, with its early-career teacher focus. It has caused me to ponder my pre-service teaching memories.

I decided to join the teaching profession in the late 1980s, more specifically after the 1987 share market crash. The view of the world after this—especially in the banking industry where I was working—was bleak. I enrolled in a Diploma of Education in 1990 through The University of Queensland (UQ). My first practicum placement was at Morningside State School. It was here that I taught my very first class. I remember it vividly. I was teaching condensation to a Year 5 class. ‘Teaching’ might be a stretch. I certainly told them about, and demonstrated, condensation—it’s amazing how helpful a metal pitcher and ice can be. When UQ asked for our preferred secondary placement choices, I chose a number of difficult schools in Logan. Given that I had attended an all-male GPS school, I thought such an experience would be good for me. Much to my surprise, the placement office gave me Brisbane Girls Grammar School for both of my secondary school practicums. Had that not occurred, my career would have been very different. My practicum supervisors were Mr John Walsh and Mrs Lyn Chakravorty. How lucky I was. Both remain valued colleagues and friends. I remember my first lesson very clearly.

It was on the deregulation of the banking sector. This certainly interested me as I had both an academic and practical experience of deregulation in its many guises. Over time, Lyn and I spent many happy years delivering our Economics curriculum. We worked especially well in the assessment design space. Many hours were spent drafting and redrafting bespoke pieces of assessment. This was possible and encouraged under Queensland’s then internationally revered system of school-based assessment. This expertise has been invaluable when asked to contribute to the QCAA’s assessment quality assurance processes. Almost 33 years have passed since walking onto the BGGS campus for the first time. Since then, I have worked at two coeducational schools, three girls’ schools and one all-male school. I always thought I would teach in a co-educational environment. I would never have thought I would spend the majority of my teaching career at BGGS. How fortunate I have been. I am currently completing my 21st year at the School—a relative newbie. The richness of this educational environment is so special. Our classrooms and staffrooms are beacons of inquiry, deep learning, and finely ingrained academic care. In closing, here is a quote from one of my educational heroes, Dr Parker Palmer. It is particularly apt to think about this as we reflect on a new generation of teachers joining the profession. He notes: Let’s stop talking about “passing the baton” to the next generation as we elders finish running, or contemplate finishing running our laps. Since in time most of us will be more skilled at sitting than running, let’s change the metaphor and invite those entering the profession to join the orchestra (Palmer, 2018, p.33). I commend this edition of the School-wide Pedagogy Newsletter to you. Source Palmer, P. (2018). On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old. Berrett-Koehler.

Perspectives of growth: A reflection from an early career teacher Ms Maddison Mair, Health and Physical Education Teacher

Embarking on my journey as a graduate teacher has been a transformative experience filled with challenges, triumphs, and invaluable growth. As I reflect on my time in the classroom, I am humbled by the profound impact it has had on both my students and me. In this reflection, I aim to share my personal insights, lessons learned, and the overwhelming joy that comes from being an educator. My first experience within school began with my own journey as a student, at an all-girls’ private school in Brisbane. I then made the move to begin my studies in a Bachelor of Education at James Cook University in Townsville, where I was afforded many opportunities as a pre-service teacher. Through my practicum, I was able to experience life as a teacher in four different schools. In terms of character, size, diversity, and socio-economic demography, these schools were very different from the school I attended as a student. These experiences ultimately taught me—as both a teacher and as a human being—invaluable lessons. In these educational settings, I was able to better develop a sense of empathy, adaptability, and commitment to each of my students. Through reflecting on my journey my biggest learnings include classroom management, monitoring student progress, and overcoming challenges. Classroom management By establishing clear expectations, consistent routines, and fostering open communication, I was able to effectively manage behaviour and promote an environment based on mutual respect. Creating a positive and inclusive classroom environment is paramount to the success of my students’ academic and personal growth. By establishing a safe and supportive space, students feel comfortable collaborating with their peers and myself. They, and I, become free to make mistakes and grow from the experience. Monitoring student progress Assessing and monitoring my students’ progress was instrumental in tailoring instruction to their individual needs. Employing various assessment methods, including formative

and summative assessments, allowed me to gather valuable feedback and track their growth. By identifying areas where students struggled, I was able to provide targeted support and develop personalised learning strategies, ultimately helping them reach their full potential. Overcoming challenges The path of a teacher is not without its obstacles. I faced numerous challenges along the way throughout my pre service teaching, with everything from classroom management difficulties through to having to navigate complex student dynamics. Undoubtedly, each challenge was an opportunity for growth. I learned to adapt, seek support from mentors and colleagues, and approach obstacles with resilience and determination. These experiences taught me the importance of embracing challenges for personal and professional development. The pre-service experience can only prepare you so much for the realities of a full-time teaching load, and for the realisation that the students in the class are ‘yours’. Fast forward to my time now as a beginning teacher at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, and it feels, at once, both familiar and different. Time is moving quickly, and in many ways it feels like I’ve learned just as much over Term 1 and 2 as I did throughout my entire pre-service experience. At this point, neither is more valuable than the other. I can bring the experience from my pre-service teaching and combine it with the grounded and ever-evolving teaching and learning I’ve experienced at Girls Grammar so far this year. I have taken a keen interest in Cultures of Thinking. The ‘Eight Cultural Forces’ provide a useful reflection tool that has enhanced my classroom practice. Engaging with, and applying the practices of Cultures of Thinking to create a classroom where individual thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted, is the bridge that will join the ‘pre-service past’ to the ‘teaching and learning present’.

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Reflecting on the importance of developing strong relationships as an early career teacher Mr Paul Soward, English Teacher

Developing strong relationships with students is one of the cornerstones of my pedagogy. One of the primary reasons I became a teacher was that I saw the power of the relationships my parents developed in their careers as teachers. To this day, the stories they hear from, or about, past students are a poignant reminder that mentoring adolescents and sharing your passion with them can be an incredibly rewarding experience. In my own teaching practice, the relationships I have developed in the classroom have been immensely rewarding personally and professionally. In my time at BGGS, I have found clear and empathetic communication is a vital part of building these rewarding relationships. The payoff is most evident in how students engage with feedback and show a willingness to explore new ideas. Recently, I have been conferencing with my Year 9 students about their narrative short stories. As part of this, I have needed to guide students to reflect on the logic of their characters, how their reader is positioned to respond to these characters, and how they can create tension within these stories. Writing a story can From the very first day I stepped into a classroom as a teacher, I knew I had made the right career choice. Having the opportunity to facilitate learning in a classroom, see those moments of understanding in a student’s eyes, observe growth, and cultivate a supportive classroom environment, have been the true highlights of my early career as a Math teacher. The path to get here has not been without its obstacles. Meeting students’ diverse needs, discovering effective (and not so effective) strategies to engage learners, and facing the challenge of students saying ‘I don’t understand’ halfway through a lesson have all been part of the journey. Rising to these challenges has been instrumental in my growth as a teacher, both personally and professionally. Every experience I’ve had as an educator has played a crucial role in shaping my teaching philosophy and self-awareness. In my short time as a teacher, I’ve been fortunate to work alongside inspiring colleagues and mentors who have encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, embrace new approaches, and reflect on my practice. Although there is always a fear of ‘getting it wrong’ during peer observations, I have learned the immense value of feedback on teaching practice. It has provided me with insights into areas of improvement while also highlighting the strengths I bring to the classroom. One observation, in particular, stands out. I believed the lesson had gone awry, but the feedback was surprisingly positive. It helped shift my focus from meeting the specific, rigid, classroom goals I had set to prioritising student learning and engagement. It also taught me to be kind to myself and reflect on both the good and bad of a lesson. It was a transformative moment that reshaped my teaching perspective. Another significant milestone for me was reading Oliver Lovell’s book, Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory in Action .

feel very personal, and as a result, so can the feedback. Therefore, communicating this guidance with clarity and empathy was crucial. Initially, some students were quite visibly disappointed that they needed to change their idea or think more deeply and fully about their story. I noticed conversations went not only more smoothly, but were far more constructive, when I was able to clearly communicate the intent of my feedback. Additionally, navigating the delicate balance of praise and criticism was essential in managing this challenge. This intent and tactful communication was always informed by the relationships I had developed across the year so far. What has been most rewarding is that many students have worked hard after these conferences to apply, and then seek, further feedback. By building trust and communicating clear expectations it has been fantastic to see students embrace feedback and work through the challenge of changing their ideas. Reflecting on this recently has been a powerful reminder for me that relationships should remain at the forefront of my pedagogy. As an early career teacher, it feels particularly important to remember this.

Equations and insights: early career reflections Mr Allan Herbst, Mathematics Teacher

This enlightening resource helped me understand the limitations of working memory and the importance of optimising learning through effective instructional strategies. Simply put, a student’s working memory is a limited resource in a lesson. Once used up, there is very little left to work with. This helped me see those moments of ‘I don’t understand’ for what they are: signs of cognitive overload. With limited working memory in mind, keeping it simple and avoiding overcomplication has become a guiding principle in my teaching. So now when I introduce the Quadratic Formula for example, I fight the urge to derive the formula from scratch in the first instance. I show students how to use the formula and highlight its important features first. When they return with a refreshed working memory and the necessary foundation, we can then delve into these fun, complex concepts. As I continue to learn, I look forward to embracing new challenges, finding innovative ways to empower my students, and further exploring how we all learn. Teaching is a lifelong journey, and I am excited to continue learning and growing as an educator.

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Making the most of disruptions Mrs Madeleine Nielsen, English Teacher

My career in education thus far has been anything but linear. From family emergencies disrupting my university courses and resulting in drastic changes to my career goals, to being a part of the first implementation of the new syllabus, and working as a graduate amid a global pandemic, my teaching experiences have been largely characterised by disruption. While I could harp on about the magnitude of each disruption and lament the emotional, psychological, professional, and social challenges of each situation, instead I want to highlight the invaluable opportunities these situations have afforded me as a recent graduate teacher. To begin with, changing my university degree from a Bachelor of Arts to a Bachelor of Secondary Education allowed me to explore my areas of interest while learning how to educate others about the interests I’m passionate about. As an Arts student, I took full advantage of being able to study a broad array of interests: Drama; Pop Culture; English; Sports; and Health. But, after a family health emergency left me wondering about my imprint on the world, I realised I wanted to use my knowledge to make a difference and help others feel passionate about their own interests. So, in honour of my mother and father and all their care and compassion for the community, I took a chance, changed degrees, and felt immensely satisfied by this new combination of my interests and aspirations. Another invaluable opportunity arose for me when the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority moved to the new ATAR system. As a student who graduated secondary school in the OP system, this systemic shift represented an opportunity to explore new approaches to teaching, learning, and assessing students. In addition, the fact that most of my

pre-service placements were completed within the OP system challenged, and ultimately developed further, my flexibility and adaptability. From this exposure, I developed an early understanding of how to integrate the ATAR syllabus into schools and was able to capitalise on this knowledge in my graduate teaching position. Although turbulent, the next disruption—the COVID-19 pandemic—was strangely unifying as teachers transitioned to online learning and shared the newness of the pandemic experience. All at once, teachers and students alike were challenged with curriculum changes, the integration of new technologies into their teaching and learning, along with the physical, social, and emotional health concerns that arose throughout 2020 to 2022. However, for me, it instilled further the immeasurable value of pastoral care, streamlining assessments to focus on core skills, and encouraging all of us to pursue areas of personal interest during the pandemic. Fortunately, I have retained and reinforced these values in my post-pandemic classrooms. The inevitability of change and the increasing frequency of disruptions is something every teacher has had to come to terms with in our modern world. As an early career teacher, I have learned to see not only the silver lining, but the opportunities that only exist because of the disruptions—from technological advancements like Zoom that are shifting work-life balance, or the seemingly scary ChatGPT, which is even now showing us new ways of enabling learning and assessing learning. I acknowledge that I will need to continue to manage disruptions throughout my teaching career, but I truly look forward to the new opportunities that each disruption may bring.

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Embedding School-wide Pedagogy as a beginning teacher Ms Sandra Vecchio, Biology Teacher

This article discusses the ever-presence of cultural forces within a science learning space and delves into the personal experiences of a beginning teacher’s implementation of thinking routines in an array of science disciplines across different year levels.

Leveraging cultural forces as a beginning teacher Leaving university and entering employment as a beginning teacher is an exciting transition. You enter the teaching profession with some of the tools you require to thrive in the form of well-renowned scholarly literature, such as John Hattie’s Visible Learning Theory (2008) and Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983). The profession is truly multifaceted, and the more time you invest in understanding these facets, the more tools you seem to acquire. Teaching is a profession that requires adaptability, a passion for the subject area, and an eagerness to continue learning. Just like the young minds we teach, a beginning teacher conducts learning experientially through iterations of doing a learning routine, reflecting on its effectiveness, and applying improvements in future practice (Moon, 2004). There may be no explicit manual to becoming a ‘good’ teacher, but there are certainly forces that can be leveraged to harness the learning potential in each learning environment. Having a general awareness of these cultural forces within your learning space is a precursor to doing a thinking routine that harnesses their power to make learning and thinking visible.

Creating Cultures of Thinking, rather than prioritising work

The construction of knowledge in science is stimulated by students’ attitudes, interests, and engagement, as well as the quality of instruction. Interestingly, the quality and quantity of instruction, either behavioural (how students learn) or content based (what students learn), are not always directly correlated (Milner, 2008). For this reason, science educators should strive to create a learning environment that prioritises students’ learning over the traditional classroom culture of simply completing work. As a science educator, it can be easy to inhibit the creation of a culture of thinking by failing to appreciate that students are perfectly capable of constructing their own knowledge through meaningful collaboration with their peers (Vygotsky, 1978). Thinking routines are content-free scaffolds that allow students to structure their thinking about concepts and content, share ideas in group settings, and make their thinking visible. When executed successfully, thinking routines are very much learning-oriented. They allow the educator to find a suitable balance between scaffolding learning and reducing the quantity of instruction given, which creates a learning space desirable for harnessing the power of the cultural forces (Ritchhart, 2015). In this way, the completion of work is merely a byproduct of the learning that has taken place. Authenticity was achieved in my thinking routines by establishing a foundation that provokes an inquisitive classroom environment and recognising the evidence-based nature of thinking like a true scientist (Venville et al., 2019).

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Leveraging language throughout the 3-2-1 Bridge routine (Year 8 Astronomy) When planning to embed this thinking routine into my Year 8 Astronomy class, I was aware the cultural force of language would play a crucial role in the delivery. Our students are exposed to an array of situations that require thinking in their daily lives. To prepare them well, they need authentic learning experiences that help them learn to think (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), 2008). The type of language used by the educator can either nurture or diminish opportunities for students to practice the tangible skill of thinking. By carefully choosing my language during this routine, I fostered my students’ ability to think critically about a visual stimulus and draw their own conclusions. In the 3-2-1 Bridge routine, I used a flat map of the Earth that had particular regions shaded to resemble night-time, as well as the relative positions of the Sun and Moon at a specific time in the Earth’s rotation. Before the delivery of content in this lesson, I asked students to generate three thoughts, two questions, and one analogy associated with the image. This individualised task allowed students to become curious thinkers before even being taught the nuances of how we experience day and night. As students completed this initial phase of the learning experience, I noticed that by using the language of thinking I was assisting in metacognition and optimising the engagement of students who were struggling to adhere to the task requirements (Ritchhart, 2015). I leveraged the cultural force of language in the ways specified in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Language of Thinking used in my Year 8 Astronomy class during the 3-2-1 Bridge thinking routine (Ritchhart, 2015).

Example of classroom language

Instructional purpose for educators

Naming student thinking • ‘I can see that you have thought about the relative position of the Sun when writing that question.’ • ‘It is great that you have thought about the reason why the North Pole is experiencing night-time in your metaphor.’ Probing students to notice their own thinking • ‘How did you identify that it is summer in the South Pole in your question?’ • ‘Do you think your reasoning for day and night would be transferrable to a spherical globe?’ • ‘How does your metaphor translate to your own experience of daytime during summer in Brisbane?’

• Recognising students’ scientific thinking through commending enterprise behaviours such as open-mindedness and curiosity (Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), 2012). • Creating a subtle blend between highlighting thinking, giving students autonomy, and limiting scaffolding reduces any tendency for ‘recipe-style’ instruction (Dawson, et al., 2019). • By using higher-order questioning in this first phase, deep thinking is promoted. • Just like scientists, students are engaging in the evidence-based nature of looking at a stimulus and extracting information that is scientifically accurate.

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The 3-2-1 Bridge thinking routine achieved authenticity by adding personal value to students’ understanding of day and night. Educators can leverage the language of thinking within this routine to ensure the scientific knowledge constructed has purpose and 21st century applications that are meaningful beyond the science classroom (Ritchie, 2019). All too often, diagnostic assessment is completed by students before content delivery and is never used again to stimulate learning. Using the 3-2-1 Bridge routine in my Year 8 Astronomy class made me appreciate that the exploration of a new topic does not just happen at the beginning of a lesson (Ritchhart et al., 2011). I noticed the students were thinking deeply about their thoughts, questions, and analogies associated with the concept of day and night hours both prior to, and after, the instructional period. In the concluding lesson, students reviewed their original thoughts, questions, and analogy before thinking beyond their initial understandings and performing the second 3-2-1 (Ritchhart et al., 2011). The value of this second phase is that students have their own work from the first 3-2-1 to conduct critical comparisons and reflections, which allows them to debunk their own misconceptions. As a result, it became clear that the students had developed their own sense of ‘agency’ (Johnston, 2004). A student example of two completed 3-2-1 phases, with more in-depth responses after the instructional period, is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: A Year 8 student’s completion of the two 3-2-1 Bridge phases.

Although I had witnessed major shifts in the students’ thinking, the bridging component of this routine is what solidified the thinking for students. Through collaborative discussion, I asked students to discuss the evolution of their own thinking. To encourage elaboration based on evidence from the stimulus, I would ask, ‘what makes you say that’? This open-ended question is useful when there is an opportunity for a student to explain their thinking on a particular topic for their own benefit and that of their peers (Ritchhart et al., 2011). Science educators emphasise that the bridging phase of this thinking routine is about making connections between students’ current ideas and their previous ones. By doing so, students are not only naming and noticing their own thinking but also using its visibility to engage in valuable discussion with others. Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate: Using a concept map to make both deep and surface level thinking visible (Year 10 Biology) As science educators, we know different teaching strategies can result in varying degrees of cognition for students. How we structure our lessons can determine whether our learning environment is fostering deep or surface-level thinking (Marton & Salijo, 1976). For instance, if we want students to be able to think deeply about a topic, we devote both time and resources to content delivery and activities that allow students to rehearse the desired skill. If we want students to simply attain a surface-level understanding, the applied emphasis and time allocation may be reduced. The Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate thinking routine targets both the students’ recollection of surface-level knowledge and their rehearsal of deep thinking, through the consideration of how and why scientific concepts are interconnected. In my Year 10 Biology class, I used this thinking routine at the end of the year to encourage students to make informed connections between our Semester 1 and Semester 2 units of work. The central topic I selected was DNA. The Year 10 students completed this task in a collaborative setting where each group member’s strengths were recognised and utilised (Australian Government, 2016). I initially provided some instructional scaffolding relating to the requirements of a concept map and its ability to diagrammatically represent one’s thinking, before allowing students to start the generate phase. I believe this step is crucial to ensure students understand the requirements of the task prior to being immersed in the learning experience.

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I noticed when my students were generating and sorting their ideas based on how central they were to the topic of DNA, they were openly communicating with one another to adapt their design thinking and trial different possibilities (QAA, 2018). Even though the concept map creation was yet to begin, the students were displaying teamwork and problem-solving through scientific inquiry, just like true scientists (Venville et al., 2019). The entire thinking routine involved group members brainstorming different approaches, which sparked new and innovative thoughts for others. A diagrammatic representation of group dynamics that I observed during the generate and sort phases is featured in a cyclic format in Figure 2 (right).

Figure 2: The Design Cycle used by Year 10 students to plan their concept maps

The students spent approximately half of the lesson on the generate and sort phases, and the other half of the lesson on the connect and elaborate phases. As a consequence, some groups did not leave enough time to compile detailed elaborations to connect ideas. A completed concept map, with connections to both Semester 1 and Semester 2 topics, is featured in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: A Year 10 group’s completion of the concept map with DNA as the central topic.

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The environment matters Learners and learning are dynamic, and science educators can strive to be the same (Ritchhart, 2015). During my time as a beginning teacher, I have realised that the cultural force of environment can either diminish or amplify the learning taking place within a classroom. In traditional classrooms, teachers would keep desks separated to restrict peer-to-peer collaboration, which meant classrooms were rigid production lines specifically designed for students to simply mass-produce work. To optimise learning 21st century classrooms can be much more flexible (Ritchhart, 2015). It is important students learn in environments that take a variety of physical formats, as this may positively impact classroom engagement and enhance opportunities for collaboration. For the Generate Sort-Connect-Elaborate thinking routine, my students used laboratory benches at the back of the classroom as collaborative areas. This configuration meant my students were able to share their thinking with their peers, which had a measurable effect on their engagement levels (Byers et al., 2014). I strive to utilise learning experiences that result in such an outcome because if my students are not engaged, it becomes exceedingly difficult to encourage them to be curious thinkers. Zoom-In (Year 12 Biology) Not only are thinking routines transdisciplinary but they can also be used to promote learning at any year level. In my Year 12 Biology class I used the Zoom-In thinking routine to engage students through an image of predation within an ecosystem (refer to Figure 4 below). Prior to this thinking routine, students had briefly been introduced to the Unit 3 topic of species interactions that take place within an ecosystem.

I commenced this thinking routine by emphasising to students the importance of verbalising any interpretations, hypotheses, wonderings, or thoughts they had pertaining to the image (Ritchhart et al., 2011). As more of the image was incrementally revealed and more visual information was available, the students’ thinking evolved. There was a direct correlation between the progression of image visibility and the amount of new information the students verbalised. It was clear this short and simple learning experience activated students’ prior knowledge of species interactions and brought any minor misconceptions to the forefront. Students were puzzled by, and actively motivated, in the attempt to decipher the information and meaning within the ecosystem image (Bybee, 2009). By ‘slow looking’, the students carefully observed the small details within the image to make assertions that linked to the Unit 3 content they had been taught prior to the thinking routine (Tishman, 2018). Doing, reflecting and improving The students who enter our classrooms today are like sponges who are highly capable of absorbing knowledge and thinking deeply under the appropriate conditions. This is why it has never been more important to create, rather than inhibit, a culture of thinking in each learning space. By becoming accustomed to the influence I have as the teacher to leverage the cultural forces within my own learning space, I have been able to develop my teaching practice to create an environment where students are becoming critical and evidence-based thinkers. By trialling thinking routines such as the 3-2-1 Bridge, Generate-Sort Connect- Elaborate and Zoom-In, I have witnessed first-hand how engagement, paired with a genuine interest in thinking, can lead to enhanced fulfilment and academic performance within a subject domain. If there was a manual to becoming a good teacher, I am confident that thinking routines would be a critical component of the toolkit.

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Figure 4: The first image (1) and final image (2) that were shown to my Year 12 students during the Zoom-In Thinking Routine (Cambridge Conservation Initiative, 2022).

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Sources Arnold, I. (2011). John Hattie: Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Int Rev Educ 57, 219–221 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-011-9198-8 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). (2008). Developing the Language of Thinking . https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/ developing-the-language-of-thinking Australian Government. (2016). Engaging students in scientific inquiry. http://www.stepup.edu.au/inquiry/ Bybee, R. W. (2009). The BSCS 5E instructional model and 21st century skills. https://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/dbassesite/documents/ webpage/dbasse_073327.pdf Byers, T., Imms, W., & Hartnell-Young, Elizabeth. (2014). Making the Case for Space: The Effect of Learning Spaces on Teaching and Learning. Curriculum and Teaching, 29 (15), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.7459/ct/29.1.02 Cambridge Conservation Initiative. (2022). Can camera trapping help capture predator ecology? . https://www.endangeredlandscapes.org/can-camera trapping-help-capture-predator-ecology/ Dawson, V., Venville, G., & Donovan, J. (2019). The art of teaching science: A comprehensive guide to the teaching of secondary school science. Allen & Unwin. Marton, F. & Salijo, R. (1976). On qualitative differences in learning: Outcome and process. British Journal of Education Psychology, 46, 4-11. Milner, A. R. (2008). The effects of constructivist classroom contextual factors in a life science laboratory and a traditional science classroom on elementary students’ motivation and learning strategies. https://www.proquest.com/openview/049190f8088851470a5153a32a8d9c10/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 Moon, J.A. (2004). A handbook of reflective and experiential Learning: Theory and practice. Routledge. Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). (2012). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: guidance for UK higher education providers. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/ docs/qaas/enhancement-and-development/enterprise-and-entrpreneurship-education-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=15f1f981_8 Ritchhart, R. (2015). Creating cultures of thinking: The 8 forces we must master to truly transform our schools. Jossey-Bass: A Wiley Brand. Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible. Jossey-Bass: A Wiley Brand. Ritchie, S. M. (2019). STEM Education. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.237 Tishman, S. (2018). S low Looking: the Art and Practice of Learning Through Observation. Routledge. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. New York, Basic Books. Johnston, P. H. (2004). Choice words: How our language affects children’s learning. Stenhouse.

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Who are you? Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘habitus’ Ms Susan Garson, Director of the Centre for School-wide Pedagogy

Sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, began his writings in 1960s France. His goal was to investigate social inequality, paying particular attention to the French schooling system. Bourdieu’s social theory seeks to ‘uncover the most profoundly buried structures of the various social worlds which constitute the social universe, as well as the “mechanisms” which tend to ensure their reproduction or their transformation’ (Bourdieu, 1989a, p. 7 cited in Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992, p. 7). Specifically, Bourdieu’s concept of habitus (dispositions and actions) offers another lens to reflect upon who we are as teachers, and how we came to be. Habitus Bourdieu’s habitus is the linchpin to understanding ‘the social embodied’ or ‘socialised subjectivity’ (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992, p. 126, 128). Habitus is not fate, but rather the history of an individual that plays out in a space. Habitus situates an individual in practice or activity. Bourdieu explains habitus as ‘durable, transposable dispositions, structured structures predisposed to function as structuring structures’, that are played out in the form of the body (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 53; Costa and Murphy, 2015). Working in a particular space, then, involves employing habitus or enacting dispositions at an unconscious level (Thomson, 2017). Habitus causes the reproduction of conditioning that generates an individual’s ‘thoughts, perceptions, expressions, and actions’ (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 55).

This conditioning is socially constructed and begins with an individual’s immersion in their familial and educational background (Thomson, 2017). It is often linked to social class, in that members of the same class are more likely to have experienced similar situations to others in that class (Thomson, 2017). Habitus can also explain a person’s vision linked to their personal history and positioning within that history (Bourdieu, 2004). Indeed, individuals carry perceptions and beliefs with them which are formed in their early years, that are then transformed into actions as they interact in different spaces in the future (Stahl cited in Costa and Murphy, 2015). Some individuals in an organisation, such as a school, share habitus with others, while some will differ greatly (Emirbayer and Johnson, 2008). This is the reality of different leaders and teachers who come from different backgrounds, working together. It is not always without struggle. Habitus can sometimes be perceived as an elusive or abstract concept, but it often becomes visible in arenas of struggle or

contradiction (France cited in Costa and Murphy, 2015). An individual’s habitus is, therefore, a grounding force, a process of becoming, as well as a source of influence on a person’s practice. Bourdieu’s notion of habitus operates as a subjective force and is socially constructed over time as a result of different experiences. With that in mind, I offer a few prompts for you: • Think back to what you learned about education from your family or from your formative schooling experiences. What were the key messages? • What lived experiences have shaped you as a person, as a teacher? • Can you identify any critical turning points that prompted change? • Have previous teachers or mentors shaped you? • Who are you now as an educator, as a result of your history? • Have you been affected by your history and sought to transform it?

Sources Bourdieu, P. (2004). Science of Science and Reflexivity (R. Nice, Trans.). University of Chicago Press. Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Polity Press. Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice (R. Nice, Trans.). Polity Press. Costa, C., and Murphy, M. (Eds.). (2015). Bourdieu, Habitus and Social Research: the art of application. Palgrave MacMillan. Emirbayer, M., and Johnson, V. (2008). Bourdieu and organizational analysis. Theory and Society, 37 (1), 1-44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-007-9052-y Thomson, P. (2017). Educational Leadership and Pierre Bourdieu. Routledge.

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