Week Five Already?!

Wow!  Week five is upon us already.

It has been a whirlwind action packed four weeks so far as Hub Whenua has been getting to know each other and we build relationships with all 71 learners.  We are fortunate to have such an enthusiastic group of learners this year and with this comes the challenge of designing learning in a way that they can both identify with and apply their understanding.

I am currently crafting both my inquiry focus as well as my research for my dissertation this year. After reviewing our assessment data and using these first five weeks to really get the opportunity to observe our learners in action, the focus for both will be around the area of how I can boost confidence in writing.  I am excited for this opportunity as I have a passion for writing so hope to pass on some of this excitement and enthusiasm to the learners.

However this did have me reflect on how I will plan and design for these learning experiences.  I have put my hand up to present at this year's 'Changing Spaces' forum as a way to practise my presenting skills as well as build more pedagogical knowledge in how we can use the learning spaces to meet the needs of our learners.  At an information evening this week, we watched the following video that likened the design of learning to that of bowling.

The 7 - 10 split analogy has challenged my thinking around how I should be approaching my planning this year.  Last year I did plan for the majority of the group and found that sometimes I was missing the mark with learners on the outliers.  I feel by having this perspective change, I will further hone both my observational and analytic skills in with my design and instructional ability while in class.

I would love to hear you take from this video as the main messages or if it has a similar effect on your thinking around the design of learning?