What Others have said ...

Extract from The West Australian Educational Magazine Term 4 2005 kindly posted with the permission of the West Australian Educational Magazine.

"The Matrix"

Click here to read "The Matrix" ... Reproduced with kind permission of Teacher magazine , a publication of the Australian Council for Educational Research. Story by Steve Holden. Graphic by Ralph Schubele.

"Same Time Next Year"

This article appeared in the Independent Teacher, published by the Queensland Independent Education Union, Volume 21, No. 2, Page 2, April 2000 (click here to read Avril Rose' experience at QIEU's Conference 2000)

Steve Holdens article from Educare News, July 2001 ... "Two strings to their bow" 

On the Pirozzo Matrix

 

	This is brilliant.
	Really marvellous. I look forward to planning using it. And getting other staff to have a go!
	Fantastic, I can really see myself planning and using it. Gradually involving my class in the process.
	Excellent – easy to glance at then elaborate. Especially useful for the students in mixed ability classes. It allows kids to work at different levels of ability.
	A nice way to simplify some fairly complicated concepts – will make it easier to accommodate learning styles in programming & teaching in classes.
	Excellent. I had experience in using Bloom’s & higher order thinking skills but meshing it with Multiple Intelligences is a brilliant move. Thank you.
	We are a fair way down this track, so it was good to have our practice reaffirmed as well as our thinking extended by samples of planning documents.
	Extremely useful as it is concise & comprehensive.
	Very useful, easy to follow and user friendly to adapt in classrooms for planning and implementing programs.
	Excellent ideas & very useful in planning units of work & programs as well as strategic planning for the school at staff meeting.
	Outstanding presentation. Provided clarity, easy to use and allows those unsure to really engage in the planning of units.
	Very useful because it will enable me to see if I cater for the range of learning styles in class as well as making learning stimulating.
	Provides a framework for me to ensure I maximise the short time I have with my class – Extend/Enthuse/Engage kids.
	Wonderful – probably the most useful in terms of introducing staff to engagement.
	Exceedingly useful – inspiring me to plan more effectively.
	A highly useful planning tool within our school’s integrated curriculum structure.
	Excellent!!! It’s good to have a practical understanding of higher order type activities.
	This is a fantastic way to plan – it puts everything at your fingertips & simplifies it all.
	Fantastic – makes you consider each & all areas at one time & really consider/appeal to learning styles of students.
	The potential is limitless – now I just need to get the staff on board so it becomes a whole school approach.
	Fantastic for ensuring all students are engaged.
	Very valuable. A terrific framework. I can see each kid with own (individualised) spreadsheet for a unit!
	Will be useful as a source of reference to “lift the learning to a higher plane”. It will encourage me to “step up” for those children who require it.
	The matrix will enable me to devise a bigger range of activities which allow the students more selection and ownership of their learning.
	Very valuable – great way to plan to make sure Bloom’s Taxonomy and Multiple Intelligences are being utilised.
	Very useful. I’m going to use it for whole school planning of an integrated year 7 unit & in my own class planning.
	We are at the stage of rewriting our teaching & learning integrated unit policy & this will be a great resource.
	Very useful – The examples were great.
	Extremely useful – clearly shows what I am providing for the kids and what I am not – therefore making the lessons as effective as possible.
	Can’t wait to try!
	Absolutely fantastic & extremely useful.

What Children say ...

This workshop was one of the best I’ve ever been to. It was really fun and I learnt how to use my imagination and how to be creative (William).

I learnt that things get done more quickly in a group than on your own and you build self confidence (Sara).

I was impressed by how much I learnt today. I was lucky to have this opportunity. I would recommend the workshop to everyone (Luke).

	The workshop was interesting and you build self confidence. It’s great fun meeting and working with people from other schools (Jessica).
	I really enjoyed presenting our work and building the bridge. It was a great experience (Katy).

I would recommend Ralph’s workshop because he pushes teamwork, you have heaps of fun and it’s also educational (Andrew).

The SWOT Analysis is a great thing to use (Emma).

The section of Ralph’s workshop I enjoyed the most was the building of the bridge as we got to use our creativity to design and construct a bridge (Keith).

The best part of the workshop was when we used our brains to solve problems. Brainstorming, SWOT and team work were the best (Aimee).

	Have received rave reviews about your seminar on Thursday from Kathy and Russell. Both have strongly recommended you should be asked to talk to the rest of the staff at this college (Dean of Studies-Independent College).
	Recently, two teachers from this school attended a seminar you ran, here in Townsville. They were very impressed with the session (Principal-State School).
	It was refreshing to attend a well presented and highly motivating seminar, to reconfirm my own practices and to learn new skills which will help me to enhance the learning opportunities of all my children (Teacher-Catholic School).
	Thanks for an inspiring session (Year 9 Coordinator-Independent College).
	Now I can see how Multiple Intelligence can help me to cater for the needs of all my children. Many thanks for a most informative seminar (Teacher-State School).
	Our college has been planning to enrich our students through a Mentor Program. Your material will assist us enormously in implementing this very innovative program (Teacher-Catholic College).
	Just a short note of thanks for your seminar yesterday. It was really great and I learned so many useful and practical strategies (Principal-State School).