Allan Shaw

Location
Canberra,   ACT,   Australia
Organisation
Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia
Sector
School Education
Interests
Mobile Phone Technologies, Savvy Web 2 Use, Social Networking, educators use of new technologies, Cyber Safety, Second Life, Wikis
edna Groups memberships

About Me

I am a father of two young boys and very interested in how they learn. As an ex teacher and ex school principal I remain interested in how schools encourage powerful learning. I now run an association for principals/heads of independent schools, representing their interests, arranging professional learning, and providing professional and pastoral support.

Allan Shaw's Whiteboard

On 18 Apr 2008 Colin Taylor wrote
I understand how that statement looked and on reflection, I could have worded it better. I do appreciate how unrealistic it is to imagine we will find something that works for all boys in all sites. There are some ideas that are gaining currency and they relate mainly to some of the structural arrangements. Lighting, seating and classroom environments have received some attention but that is simply scratching the surface. I am well aware of the impact of gender and think that is an area where few dare to tread. Having spent 5 years in a small country school, I saw first hand how gender polices what can and cannot be done by boys. Teaching health provided excellent opportunities to challenge some of those ideas but it certainly runs deep and appeared at times to be quite intractable. I do take your point that it really is about me as a teacher finding ways to connect and build on those things that do work and move forward. I have developed some good relationships in my first term at my new school but it is gr
On 18 Apr 2008 Colin Taylor wrote
Good to hear from you Allan. There certainly is an awful lot to working with boys and I shudder when I think back to my days at school and how it felt for me. We seem to know a great deal more but still struggle to apply effective strategies that work across sites. I have seen some schools where it is done so well and others where it isn't even considered an issue. I am extremely wary of the populist solutions. The notion that boys being engaged in practical activities somehow 'fixes' things fails to recognise that even in this area, boys often just want to play and it takes a great deal of structure to change that.
On 17 Apr 2008 Colin Taylor wrote
Hi Allan I have just set up a group to consider boys and their learning. It is an area that I am keen to develop and to assist me, I recently completed a masters in Ed Studies specialising in Boys ed. There are many issues involved from gender to technology and I am interested to hear from others and their experiences with boys and their learning. I have come to teaching late in life after a lengthy career in the metal industry. I trained in middle schooling but am currently teaching Design and Technology and Metalwork in an Adelaide high school.
On 14 Apr 2008 Pru Mitchell wrote
Hi Allan - great to see you at the workshop on Friday. A quick answer regarding events RSS feeds: The most flexible option is to use the events search and pick up the RSS feed from the results, eg. search for Australian conferences with keyword = principal http://url.edna.edu.au/xvAq OR: overseas conferences in July 2008 http://url.edna.edu.au/2mMR Happy to provide other options as requested.