ELS: Empowering Learning Space: About Us

Kia Ora and welcome to our blog.

My name is Clive and I am Year 6 teacher at College Street Normal School in Palmerston North. This year I am team teaching with Miss Katie Gordon in an exciting space with amazing kids (GRi11). My passions include sports, coaching, gardening, DIY, and my family. I love teaching and providing children with exciting, fun, and memorable learning opportunities. I am interested in how technology (particularly Google Apps) can help children manage themselves in a MLE.

My name is Katie

This year I have been given the opportunity to be team teaching with Clive in GRi11. My passions are music, art, e-learning, my family (including my dog Ralphy) and teaching! I am excited about the year ahead, as Clive and I are on the same page with trying to make learning engaging and fun. I am excited to see how we can transform our teaching to allow children to more effectively manage themselves especially through the use of technology.

You may have come across the educational term MLE (Modern Learning Envirnonment).

A definition from the Ministry of Education New Zealand is:

" A learning environment may be understood to be the complete physical, social and pedagogical context in which learning is intended to occur.

The use of the word modern implies characteristics that are contemporary or ‘fit for purpose in the current time’ – the original Latin being modo, or “just now”. Thus, a modern learning environment is one that reflects and supports what is current in terms of pedagogical practice.

When considered this way, a modern learning environment is one that is capable of evolving and adapting as educational practices evolve and change – thus remaining modern and future focused.

The term MLE is commonly used to refer to school classrooms but may include any designated place of learning such as science laboratories, distance learning contexts, libraries, tutoring centres, teachers’ staffrooms, gymnasiums, and the interaction between these spaces. These might be better referred to as modern learning spaces." http://mle.education.govt.nz/

This year we have been given the opportunity to teach in an MLE at our school. We are team teaching a Year 6 class.

Rather using the term Modern Learning Environment (MLE) we have chosen to add our flavour to this type of teaching and named it a Empowering Learning Space (ELS) hence the name of our blog.
The term ELS term has developed from our ongoing inquiry into being in an MLE. We think that it is so much more than just a modern learning environment. We believe that it is an empowering learning space; for teachers and children. This inquiry will outline some of the things that guided that thinking.

Throughout the year we will follow the 'teaching as inquiry' model to inquire into areas of our practice that we believe can help make our space run smoother.

We will be focussing on two areas:

1. Monitoring -

How can we develop effective and efficient ways to monitor children through the use of technology in an MLE?

2. Feedback -

How can we provide meaningful and individualised feedback using technology?