Michael Fullan - The Change Maker

One of my colleagues at Raupehu College, Jane Voon, pointed this article out to me. It is called in the "Change Maker" and is published in the most recent edition of the Education Gazette. This follows up a powerpoint and podcast sent to me by two other colleagues regarding the work of Guy Claxton. My focus for the last two years has been on ICT, and the technology, with the understanding that the technology is really secondary to the pedagogy. However, my knowledge of the pedagogy has been scant at best, and so this year has been a real challenge for me as I climb the steep learning curve of truly understanding the pedagogy behind eLearning. This has widened my exposure to not just educators who have an ICT focus, but educators who truly have the learning and the teaching of young people at the centre of all they do. A very humbling experience to say the least.

Michael Fullan points out the importance of teacher capability and motivation, and the need for strong educational leadership. Not administorial leadership, but educational leadership. This has to come from principals and teachers in our schools. I realise that in my role as an ePrincipal, I am well positioned to provide educational leadership, not just technological leadership, which brings me back to the point of pedagogy, and the long hill still in front of me as I come to grips with the theories and the methods that will really make a difference to a child's learning.