Skills or Areas of Expertise

• I help create communities of ‘brain changers’ through metacognition

• I support schools to have more caring, yet robust conversations that matter

• I help middle leaders become more effective and influential in leading learning

 

Bio

I'm obsessed with changing brains. It surprises and dismay me how little learning design, pedagogy and change management takes account of the neurobiology. 

To be a game changer, you must be a brain changer.

You see this in the way I design learning engagements themselves, and in my teaching of others how to better create leaning in those whom they lead.

HOW I HELP:
- Accomplished facilitator and trainer - online and face-to-face
- Impactful coach, especially in the domains of leadership and conversations (e.g feedback)
- Engaging presenter and speaker
- Innovative learning designer, bringing powerful principles of metacognition to pedagogy/andragogy
- Brain-based education expert
- Middle leadership expert, mentor and trainer
- Feedback and conversations that matter expert

My work falls very much into brain-based intra and interpersonal skills that improve the work and life of an individual, a team or organisation. I’m obsessed with adding value - helping others add their own value - so the gap between current and possible is closed. 

 

Forty years as an educator in various forms, from teacher to principal, from trainer to thought leader, and I love working with people and schools looking each day to be better in some way.

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Creating a Community of Brain Changers

For too long many educators, coaches and leaders have plied their craft without a strong understanding of the change that happens in the brain. When we know more about the biology and process of learning, change and self regulation in the brain, we can adjust our planning, content, delivery and assessment to have greater learning impact for our audience.

 

I directly support schools in making sense, making meaning and making a difference with metacognition. This begins with  curating content and concepts into three useful domains:

Brain State - the neurobiology of learning

Learn State - the process of learning in the brain

Mind State - understanding and using principles of emotional literacy, mindfulness and self regulation.

 

I also train, model and mentor the process of metacognitive delivery, creating both learning and metalearning around both pedagogy and andragogy (adult learning). The learning design for this delivery also addresses the many flaws of traditional professional learning through unique integration into the cadence of a school.

 

Supporting Conversations that Matter

As adults, we are not very good at saying what needs to be said. For many reasons we worry about the impact of saying something ’negative’ to a colleague, student or parent. Many situations create conversational tension, and many people dodge the opportunity, or use out-dated models to engage colleagues or parents in those ‘courageous’ conversations.

 

Using metacognitive and coaching foundations, I have developed unique conversational models to support learning new and more effective conversations that matter.

 

Also borrowing from the innovative delivery developed in Brain Changers, learning programs are now available in a variety of ‘blends’ using live and asynchronous sessions. Technology also strongly supports the learning process. 

 

Key to changing conversational habits is the support of new models and tools to help planning, practicing and delivering those honest conversations. I also specifically mentor and coach leaders who are regularly exposed to situations that demand high-level conversational skills, walking them through the planning, practicing and delivering process in 1:1 or small team sessions.

 

 

Creating Impactful and Influential Middle Leaders

Leading from the middle is a tough role in any normal time, and the COVID context has amplified this complexity. I specifically work with leaders of teaching teams to focus skill development and leadership capability around leading self, leading a team and leading learning.

 

Again, through spaced, blended and innovative learning design and delivery, teacher leaders are supported through the journey from drowning, coping, surviving through to thriving. Again, to help participants make sense, make meaning and eventually make a difference, I have curated this program into three broad domains:

Action - learning the best action to take at the best time, including defining team purpose and the team learning cycle

Empathy - knowing people in the team - really knowing people, the problem and challenges they face

Culture - creating ways of working that support and enable the team focus and aspiration

 

I generally deliver this through whole school programs, but have also shaped my support from working with particular teaching teams though to developing and running middle leadership ‘academies’ to develop and retain leadership talent for school groups.