Hi My name is Sandra Jenkins.
Across the globe there is a movement to re imagine education to provide settings that are learner led and relevant to the future lives of learners. This blog captures some of my journey as part of that movement
At Freemans
Bay School, we strongly believe that it is important to have a clear vision for learning that prepares students for their future. The
five-year olds who start school this year will be graduating from Highschool
around 2035. We need to think about what sort of spaces they will be working
and studying in and join the dots between education space, curriculum design
and developing attributes needed for their future world. The Innovative Learning
Environment (ILE) design of our new buildings promote flexibility, collaboration,
creativity, choice and personalised learning.
Our school vision of "Engage, Enrich, Empower"
underpins our plan to align school design and collaborative and flexible ways
of teaching and learning. We want our students to experience learning spaces like
the modern activity based designed office spaces that many parents experience
in their work spaces today, rather than the factory typing pool or hierarchical
silo offices of the past.
The
item on TV1’s ‘Seven Sharp’ show last week, looked at ILE through a very
narrow lens. It was disappointing that the article was so one sided. It did not
refer to the New Zealand Ministry of Educations research and evidenced based
policy on ILEs accessible on their
website. Nor did it refer to any of the research underpinning the global movement
towards ILE in education and workplace design. The OECD Handbook
on Innovative Learning Environments pulls together recent research on ILEs.
You can also click here for some of the latest research on ILEs.
The ‘Seven Sharp’ article seems to be promoting teaching in
single classrooms in the same way as in
the 1960s or back in even further. The sentiment of, “It worked for me so
therefore why change things”, does not have the depth of thinking required to
influence schooling design. It is important
to rethink last century school design and align with what we want to happen
today. Joining the dots on the best evidenced conditions for learning and attributes
required in the workforce beyond 2035 is a priority for school design.
Typical 1960's single cell classroom
Sir Ken Robinson, in his 2010 Ted talk,” Bring on the Learning Revolution” promotes that for students to meet their creative potential in our schools we must shift from standardised schools to schools that personalise learning and create conditions where learners can discover their passions and flourish.
I love this You Tube clip which is the work of Sandy Hooda and the team of Vega School, Delhi. – It articulates their personalised learning values and vision very
well. I am sure that a lot of people will find it very useful to promote discussion and thinking about ways to enact their schools vision for personalising learning. It also gives a bit more detail on the Global Schools Alliance. Freemans Bay School is a recent member to this alliance and as you can see the GSA has some real visionary educationists in their organisation. I am really looking forward to meeting and having some rich dialogue with them in October in Delhi at the new Vega School that is in this Your Tube clip.
Our New Zealand Ministry of Education is promoting their property
policy now called Innovative Learning
Environments. Its a useful link, also thought provoking for anyone who is embarking on school design. I like the notion that values and vision around education is becoming part of the picture painted by our policy makers. However the development of the schools learning vision and plan to transition towards the vision also needs strong leadership, resourcing and support.
The educational and political context is a little
different in NZ than the countries and schools that Sandy Hooda includes on the above Veda School video clip. We don’t have SATS like they do in UK. Schools in New Zealand are self-managing and develop
their own curriculum. Freemans Bay School has no schemes or exams. Many schools in New Zealand have
no schemes – but if they are into that and it spins their wheels – they have
them. As a school leader I always get rid of them – I have been burning school schemes since the
1980s! We also have no text books to damage learners spines as they are carried backwards and forwards to schools in backpacks.
Our secondary assessment system, NCEA, is
flexible and personalised for the learner. Our teaching and learning can be
more project based and integrated as we don’t have the pressure of national
exams from an early age. Its all about differentiation, visible learning and
personalisation. There are a lot of schools into a more project or inquiry based curriculum now in NZ. Schools such
as Albany Senior and Hobsonville Point are leading the way in this area. There
are now more secondary schools with a project based lens on their curriculum in New Zealand, than there were 10 years ago.
I think it is heartening that our Government is giving stronger leadership around school design to the education sector. Note that the learning zones do not include subject based classrooms, instead they have learning zones or hubs
where personalised learning takes place with specialist areas provided for subjects that need these spaces. Many school leaders are trying to influence the Government to resource
schools to articulate and develop their learning vision – and resource schools to develop strategic plans
to achieve this.
I think the Ministry of Education property pages on their website is a great start to assist schools with their journeys towards a more personalised and innovative curriculum – they promote lead schools with great practice to others in New Zealand and linking it to
education values, culture, collaboration and making culture.
Innovative
Learning Environments is our Ministry of Educations policy. So if you are
building a new school or remodelling – it has to be a ILE by design. The next steps would be to resource the change management needed, otherwise bookshelves will be used to
make walls and separated classroom spaces and teachers will do what they have always done and they will get what they have
always got. A Innovative Learning review tool was posted on CORE Education site recently. This is a good place to start for school leaders to review where they are at and where they are heading. However we would get greater traction to a modern national curriculum if the Ministry resourced the education vision development as part of the project.
Our students wanted a safe place to ride their bikes in the city and here they are enjoying our new facility.
They helped to design the track and now are working out how it can be used during the day. Involving students to make decisions about their learning environment really spins our wheels at Freeman Bay School.
I recently had an interesting email from the New Zealand High Commissioner's office in Delhi inviting me to accept and invitation for Freemans Bay School to become a member of The Global Schools Alliance.
This is an organisation that was established in 2014 with members from all over the world. These educationalists agree to share practice to support other progressive thinking schools in their journeys to provide education that is personalised, innovative, authentic and relevant to their learners.
The current schools involved are:
AB Combs School, USA - rated No 1 Magnet School in the United States of America. Each child's journey is mapped for success in the real world based on the timeless principles of Steven Covey's "7 habits of highly successful people".
Matthew Moss School, UK- ranked by Innovation Unit (UK Govt) amongst the top 10 schools (of the 21st century) in the world. Is known for its ability to align learning (through projects) with individual passions of children.
EOS Teaching Alliance, UK- Hartsholme Academy, member EOS, is rated as the most innovative primary school in the UK. Vega is a member of the EOS Teaching Alliance.
Hilltop Road Public School, Australia - A 'learning frontiers' school that leads in embedding technology in Teaching & Learning, awarded NSW School Cohesive Awards for strong community links.
Ørestad Gymnasium, Denmark- an award winning Scandinavian school that constantly tests new ways of organizing teaching and uses modern technology to support it. Also among the top 10 schools (of the 21st century) in the world.
I have been spending a bit of time learning about these schools.This is an interesting clip that explains thinking from Mathew Moss School around "Slow Learning" at their school.
I can see connections with what we do at Freemans Bay School - particularly around our Passion project learning. Definitely links to personalising learning and student choice.
It is amazing to have this opportunity to connect with The Alliance is an opportunity to connect with like-minded schools across the globe. It will be a new journey to explore the thinking and the journeys of these schools and their leaders.
This is an alternative provision for
under 24 year olds who have dropped out of the ordinary school and youth
education system.
It is built in an old rolling stock
factory and has a creativity focus, including design, drama, art and circus performance.
This creative approach to engaging at
risk students in education is very successful. Once again I was impressed with the Danish way of hooking into passion and creativity in a very personalised way. Students have opportunities to explore different activities such as circus, performance, theatre, writing, visual arts, design and at the same time exploring options for their future.
The
visits in Scandinavia were arranged by Lene Jensby Lange. Lene is founder of
Autens which is an educational consultancy that works
with schools, local authorities, charities, architects and others to innovate
learning spaces dedicated to personalising learning. www.autens.dk
Lene and her family hosted us in Copenhagen - we had a great time sharing philoophies about curriculum and school design.
Lene took us on a tour of schools that she has been involved with in design. The next few posts are a synopsis of the schools visited in Copenhagen and Stockholm.
Utterslev Skole is a new school with a focus on nature and
science. Their curriculum encourages
project based learning to encourage creativity, curiousity and
innovation.
The school has regular classroom
spaces – whole class teaching with some break out spaces.
The curriculum is subject centric –
teachers are subject teachers and have their own classroom spaces with
breakout spaces that can be used for independent learning. Creative and personalised teaching based on
student choice happens when the students are
with the pedagogs.
Their primary department has an
integrated after school club – run by pedagogs. Pedagogs are trained to teach
creatively with a holistic whole child approach.
The science facilites at Utterslev
Skole were very impressive. It is an honour for students to be selected to
look after the range of animals in the science laboritries.
The Croxteth Community Primary School
and Child Development centre is in Mossway Liverpool - it is a new school build and opened in June 2012. This school is set in an area that has experienced generations of unemployment and the social issues that go hand in hand with low socio economic areas. The new school design has engaged the community and dramatically increased the school and home partnership around learning.
Karen explained that a lot of the design elements
came from student led design, This is a single storey building with classrooms arranged around three covered courtyards.
The building includes a impressive
central learning zone / information centre, garden rooms, art and music rooms, a large
community room and a creche.
There is an impressive ”4D Create”
media room where the students can be
immersed in different worlds virtually
to support their learning. There are outside areas for
integrating play with the curriculum, as well as vegetable gardens and large
tarmac areas.
There is very little wasted
circulation space and areas such as the internal courtyards are utilised for
moving through as well as learning and gathering places.
A key feature of the building is its
sustainable ’green roof’ which has been planted with vegetation to absorb
rainwater and provide insulation. Along with solar roof panels and water collection
the school is very sustainable.
The students are taught in regular
classrooms and the shared spaces are utilised for break outs for independent
and collaborative work. These spaces inspire creativity.
I was really impressed with the positive effect the inclusive
process of school design had on this community. The improved results in student achievement is a testament to how school design can engage the community and strengthen school and home partnerships around learning.
Over the 10 weeks as
recipient of the 2014 ASB / APPA travel fellowship, I had conversations with
educationalists, designers and architects – during visits of twenty two schools
in five countries. These schools were actively engaged in new school design and
new ways of teaching and learning. My next few posts will explore
school design and aspirations around personalising learning of the schools
visited.
The school
types visited in UK and Scandinavia , included state,
church, international, independent, primary, secondary, academies and free
schools. It included new school builds, remodelled schools and schools that
were built in refitted commercial buildings.
The visits in
UK were arranged by Terry White. Terry is a director of UK Learning
which is the UK chapter of CEFPI (Council of Education Facilities and Planning International). He is an educational design solution consultant
for Nova
Co-Design which supports schools through the process of
designing new schools and developing and supporting the
teaching vision to be implemented in the new builds.
The visits in
Scandinavia were arranged by Lene Jensby Lange. Lene is founder of Autenswhich is an educational consultancy
that works with schools, local authorities, charities, architects and others to
innovate learning spaces dedicated to personalising learning.
Both Terry and Lene were incredibly generous with
their time and hospitality. I found it really interesting
that in the UK and in Scandinavia the local authorities funded
talented project leaders like Terry and Lene who seemed to have ownership
/ leadership over the design project at all phases. A key feature of their role is to drive the vision around personalising learning and design. In New
Zealand the role of driving the learning vision is usually done by
the principal, whose task it is ensure that the architect
understands the learning culture of the school and how that might look
in the new build. We discussed at length; personalising learning,
school design and the impact of the political, social and local context.
What a luxury to have such
design consultants funded to actively engage with schools to support their
transition from old ways to new ways of teaching.
The school visits were a fast series of walk throughs where the worlds of pedagogy and design, intersected
and fused with vision and concerns. They all aspired to learner led personalised curriculum
and design that would drive these concepts.
The challenge in all the schools was
to embed and sustain teacher practice related to learning vision and
school design so that learners will be prepared for their future
world.
Each teacher frames the class learning through the online class learning links pages on our online learning environment, KnowledgeNET. Students access these at school for their collaborative and independent learning. They can of course access this from home or anywhere they happen to be. This means that the learning framework can be accessed from any place at any time. Generally the learning links page of each class has four areas: reading, writing, maths and learning pathways - (this is our student enquiry area). The learning links welcome page looks like this or similar.
The students click on the links to access their work - I will show the Learning Pathways link as it is associated with the next post which shows students reflecting on their learning pathway work for the term. On this page the teachers have framed the lessons around the student enquiry on attracting birds to the school grounds. The authentic task was to design a bird feeder.
You can see from the photographs and the article that the students are engaged, enriched and empowered which is our vision for learning at Freemans Bay School. I wonder how other educators have used OLEs to frame pedagogy - in particular encouraging students to reflect on their learning and their thinking - I would be interested in your sharing and feedback.
Our students have just completed their reflections on their learning goals for term 1. They could do this by video, audio or text reflection.
Here is an example of how the goals are set up. The student is a 6 year old yr 2 student. The first column on this page is the goal in either reading, writing or maths. The second column is the learning intention for the period and the third column is the success criteria - what would it look like if the goal was achieved.
The student clicks on the area they wish to comment on. This is an example of a 6 year old student's learning journal - notice that each area has comments on it. In this case the comments have been made between the student and the parent from home or work on the reading goals in a combination of text and video. Sometimes the dialogue goes on while the student is in class and the parent is commenting from work (having got an email notification).
Notice how the parent is giving feedback to the student about their learning as well as to the teacher. Teachers and peers can also give feedback. This framework supports collaboration, home and school learning partnerships, engagement, learning anytime and anyplace. I am interested in finding out what other systems people have put in place in their schools to encourage student / parent partnership in schools through an on-line environment? What have been the challenges, successes? What works and what would you suggest to do differently?
This is a clip of a class of 5 and 6 year olds working in a blended e-learning environment at Freemans Bay School. The students are reflecting on their learning using KnowledgeNET our online learning environment. A parent gets an email from the the OLE and responds to her child's learning reflection at work. I hope you enjoy the clip that featured on TV1 breakfast news this morning.
As you see we have several families in the room at the same time. The students talk to their parents about their learning goals which are posted on the learning management system - KnowledgeNET. This year we had 95% turnout. Many parents are now accessing their student learning blogs through their own log-on at home. They are able to post to their students blogs strengthening the home and school partnership around learning. Student led conferences provide an opportunity for students to talk about their learning goals and have parents find out what these are and consider ways to support their students learning at home. Students are able to open up their goals on a classroom computer to access our on-line learning environment “Knowledge Net” and talk to parents about their goals and next learning steps. Parents interact with their students in the classroom and take part in some learning activites both online and in the classroom. The focus of our student led conferences includes: ■Literacy goals ■Numeracy goals ■Habits of Mind (work habits) What does a student led conference look like? ■A conversation between the students and their parent about learning ■Other families are present in the room at the same time ■The teacher is present but the student is doing the talking about their learning
This week I held a workshop with our teachers as we move to prepare for student led conferences to be held this term.
We know that effective reporting systems are the ones where 'student voice' is an integral part of the reporting process. The focus of student led conferences is the students talking about their learning goals and their next learning steps and how to get there.
The issue we face is also around accountability to parents. Parents need to know is where their child is achieving is OK for their age. If the teacher has this conversation at the student led conference with the parents then we risk disempowering the student.
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