Category Archives: Education

A focus on vision and leadership for education

Open space learning: Let’s talk about the elephant-in-the-(class)-room. The ABC of acoustics

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miss a beatI was standing in The Zone with an architect.

The hubbub of learning engagement was all around. 180 students and six teachers call this space ‘home’ at Northern Beaches Christian School. In front of us a teacher was taking a large group through a step-by-step process on a particularly technical aspect of uploading their work to the portal. This group of Year 5 and 6 students were focussed, sitting on the floor with their devices on their laps.

To our right another group were sitting at tables, their heads down, working on a pen and paper task. After a few moments this group stood as one and picked up their work to relocate for the next activity.

As we watched this happen the architect said to me, “They didn’t miss a beat, teachers tell us that open learning won’t work because the students are distracted.” He was referring to the group in front of us. While the commotion and movement of about 20 students were happening not one of them looked up or were off task.

Many people cite noise and distractions as the reasons why open learning will not work. 2013-04-20 20.26.01 Research on innovation and creativity reinforces that the best ideas come when we put our heads together. Open learning facilitates collaboration and team work. So if we really believe this to be the future of school, then the physical environment must be conducive to this. Not just rethinking the spaces, we also need to shift the mindset of the educators and students on what is actually productive work and how does it best occur. The acoustics matter.

Acoustic effectiveness is personal. What’s good for you, may not work for me. I have never been able to work or read when there is certain music in the background. If there is singing, I will listen and can’t focus.

I was talking with another visitor in The Zone a while back. He does work facilitating effective workplace design. He said to me that when there are less than five conversations within earshot we become distracted by them. However, once there are more than five, it becomes ‘white noise’, a more productive sound than silence.

Noise can be productive. 2013-04-20 20.26.19

Perhaps the most significant obstacle is mindsets – often educators and parents. People cite the so-called ‘failure’ of the ‘open learning experiment’ of the 1970s. This is not a fair comparison, in my opinion. At the time there was very little regulated curriculum and technology and its ability to open the world of learning was not yet conceived. Culturally, the 60s and 70s were an experimental era,
with little accountability.
2013-04-20 20.25.41

Today, we work differently and we learn differently. Often the complaints about the noise and the distractions come from teachers who either assume that it won’t work, or haven’t received sufficient support in changing the way the learning now needs to occur.

The ABC of good acoustics

elementWhen I walk into The Zone with visitors from other schools they are usually overwhelmed by the productive environment – 180x 10-12 year olds, actively engaged in learning. Teachers are working with groups and/or roving the space, touching base with students. I usually make the comment, “probably one of the most important elements that makes the space work is something that you don’t actually notice”. Then I point to the acoustic panels on the ceiling. When I visit schools and find that an open space is not working well, the first question I usually ask is how the sound levels are being managed.

The UK group Acoustics at Work has produced a report that simply describes the ABC of acoustic management. The focus on the office environment, but can be relevant to the open learning space.

Absorb Absorption of sound waves minimise noise reflection. The materials selected for the ceiling, the floor and the furnishings make a huge difference.

Block Temporary/movable partitions alter the sound path. This can reduce the level of sound transmitted and can facilitate individual work.

Cover Noise masking systems can artificially increase ambient noise levels to provide background (white) noise.

When I taught young children and noticed a problem with learning, my first suggestion to the parents was to check the child’s eyes and ears. It is similar with spaces we work and learn within. The key elements physical environment should be addresses first.

If we are committed to open learning, attention to the acoustic environment is essential for effectiveness of the learning and wellbeing of all.

@anneknock

If you would like to see The Zone in action visit us scil.com.au

Reference for Breakout quotes

Putting the legs on vision. Making it scalable, sustainable and enduring

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There are some people who embrace change and others have change thrust upon them.

There are a few who are visionary leaders, some who put legs on vision, others who are swept along and a handful who doggedly hang onto the status quo.

Which are you?

I’m one of the people ‘who put legs on vision’. Great vision inspires me to action, then, as I look around I can see:

  • Obstacles to overcome
  • Systems to set up
  • Mindsets that need changing
  • Policies to develop
  • Spaces to change
  • Tough conversations to be had
  • People to encourage

Each of these creates the context that helps the vision becomes reality.

Change needs more than a great leader. It needs a concerted, coordinated and sustained reworking of multiple work systems. (Shea and Solomon, 2013)

‘Systems’, not a particularly exciting word, but unless the vision is surrounded by good policy and systems it won’ be scalable, sustainable and enduring.

Think about the vision that motivates you to action. Imagine a scene that encapsulates the ‘vision to reality’. If you are in education, maybe it looks like this:

2011-03-03_0088The learning space is busy, active and productive. Teachers and students are co-workers. One teacher is alongside a student explaining a concept, another taking a small group in an instructional session. You see a group of students are working together on a project together, excitedly sharing and forming ideas.

There is engagement, it is highly relational and academically rigorous. A community of engaged, motivated and inspired learners.

How do you put legs on your vision?

Have a plan to develop systems, behaviours and attitudes that  are consistent with the vision. A vision without a plan is a dream. It will remain in your head and reach a dead-end. A plan gives direction and grounds the vision in reality. It generates action.

Remember the scene in your mind? Think about it in terms of these eight areas that will keep it moving forward. They are the patterns of behaviour that become the levers for change.

Organisation: Identify the most effective leadership structure that directs, guides and values people. Can the current leadership structure be adapted for the vision or is a new one required?

Place: Establish the physical and virtual environment that maximises productivity, learning and creativity. Can the scene be achieved in the current spaces? Does the furniture work? How does your virtual space serve the vision?

Task: Articulate what the ‘work’ actually looks like. How will this be explained, supported and modelled?

People: Find the right people and equip them. What do the people need to learn, relearn and unlearn?

Motivation: Facilitate an environment that keeps your people motivated and on track – rewards and consequences. How will you recognise and reward embracing the vision and ‘having a go’?

Measurement: Measure what matters. What are the top five areas that matter to the vision?

Communication: Think through and articulate who is responsible for communicating what. How will you manage the message?

Decisions: Authority and authorisations that enable not disable, that bring clarity not confusion. What are the levels of responsibility for complexity of decisions to be made?

Your plan guides strategy.  A vision is not the past nor the present – it represents the future. It’s new, scary and unknown. The only way change will endure is through addressing the work systems that surround the vision.

Shea and Solomon identified these eight elements that represent the essential areas to the plan. Each of these points can be further articulated and developed. If you are committed to your vision, believe in it and do whatever it takes to make it happen. Here is a starting point.

@anneknock

Finland “only country…students leave…innovation ready” a big call. Some thoughts from my own experiences

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“…it is the only country where students leave high schools “innovation ready”

I have visited schools in Finland on numerous occasions now. I have found a hardworking nation – the community, its students and teachers – with a commitment to attaining high educational outcomes. Finland is definitely a nation the ‘punches above its weight’. But, with respect to my own relatives and professional friends, I have not found an education system that is particularly innovative, as I observed the day-to-day life of school.

So when I read the opinion piece by Thomas Friedman that is currently published in the newspapers in the world’s major cities, I am puzzled. I have incredible respect for Thomas Friedman and Tony Wagner. The premise of the piece is excellent:

More school leavers are going to have to invent a job rather than find one. Schools must equip them for the challenge.

Friedman picks Wagner’s brains on what needs to happen:

The goal of education today should not be to make every child “college ready” but “innovation ready” – ready to add value to whatever they do.

Every young person will continue to need basic knowledge, of course, but they will need skills and motivation even more… Young people who are intrinsically motivated – curious, persistent and willing to take risks will learn new knowledge and skills continuously.

I couldn’t agree more. The myth of the university/college degree as a ticket to the future career is now dispelled, as many young people are highly qualified, yet under-employed. We need to do all we can to teach, equip and engage them in order to follow passions and dreams and find innovative solutions to world problems. The way we repackage learning is crucial to that end.

Then Friedman asks: Who is doing it right?

Finland is one of the most innovative economies in the world and it is the only country where students leave high schools “innovation ready”.

This big statement is based on the following information:

They learn concepts and creativity more than facts, and have choice of many electives – with a shorter school day, little homework and almost no testing.

That is the case, as well as teacher autonomy and community respect, local school decision-making, high level of competitiveness to enter the profession and high PISA results. But do these elements actually translate into students leaving high school “innovation ready”? I have not observed repackaged learning.

Do high results in PISA testing equate to “innovation ready” students?

In my visits to ordinary, everyday school I observed little that showed me innovative methods and practices. The wifi test on my iphone found no wireless networks in the schools. Teaching was textbook and teacher-talk dependent. Technology was predominantly desktop computers and the only school I saw with ipads was an automotive vocational college, with the most innovative educators of all that I saw.

Observing secondary classes, students were taught in traditional methods by teachers, those ways that present knowledge to pass tests. At the end of the senior years students spend a huge amount of time cramming for 6 hour exams.

I also went to an educators conference, run by the OECD and universities, enduring long lectures and very dull and indiscernable powerpoints. These people were responsible for educating the future teachers.

Sometimes I wonder, what will happen when Finland is no longer top of the PISA tree. I think the national education marketers, who have done an outstanding job in promoting the qualities of the Finnish education system will need to move to Shanghai or Singapore.

 @anneknock

What’s your strategy to keep Gen Ys engaged and interested in teaching for the long haul*? (You may have to lead them differently)

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(*about five years seems to be the long haul for these guys)

Recruiting, training and retaining young teachers is a challenge. Gen Y have a high work turnover rate, so instead of rolling our collective Baby Boomer/Gen X eyes, maybe we should be considering how we keep them. We need them to stay. Our kids need great teachers.

In case you are wondering Gen Ys were born from 1980  to 1994. The oldest one are turning 33 this year and the youngest are 19. These are our current generation of new (ish) teachers. This is what research tells us

Generation Y are the most materially endowed generation ever. Currently aged 18-32, They are very tech savvy- bringing social media and productivity skills to the workplace.

The global generation- culturally diverse, mobile careers, travellers and globally aware. Gen Y aren’t just a product of their times, they’re also a product of their life stage.

They will work longer than previous generations with the retirement age and pension age pushed back. They will average more than 4 careers and 17 employers in their lifetime.

Forget the training manual or the staff meeting- enter the company vodcasts, instant messaging, and even content-laden music.

We will see an increasing trend towards people unplugging, and hotdesking: the era of activity based working. So the rise of ping-pong tables, well-equipped lunch (and breakfast) rooms, mini-nap spaces, time-out rooms, and outdoor gardens and green spaces.

Having managed to complete their pre-service education is one step toward their new career. A newly-minted education graduate wrote in an opinion piece recently:

After dragging myself to the finishing line, I have finally completed my diploma in education at a university in Sydney. I shudder in horror on behalf of the unwitting students who will follow in my footsteps, since in many Australian universities single-year diplomas in education are being phased out in preference for two-year master’s degrees. Or 24-month agonies, as I prefer to term them.

One of my friends, with a tutor who presumably has missed the last decade, was asked to present a slide presentation in which each slide had to have a different background colour, different fonts and a working hyperlink. Oh my. I shall put my typewriter away.

Not only does the pre-service education we provide need a good shaking, but also how we present teaching as a career worth investing in, once they have graduated.

According to McCrindle Research there are five key factors in recruiting and retaining Gen Y

1. Work/life balance

2. Workplace culture

3. Varied job role

4. Management style

5. Training

In summary – They don’t want to be workaholics, they want to belong and not have the same-old-day-in-day-out, they are seeking relationship and community from their supervisor and you’ll keep them longer if you challenge with new learning opportunities.

So, what do you need to think about in your school that will encourage teachers with great potential, the right attitude and aptitude to stay?

Clarity in standards and expectations – If work/life balance is important, then we can’t make assumptions about standards. Clearly state expectations.

Pay attention to culture –  There is a desire to belong. Be a thermostat, not a thermometer. Set the right culture for community and do what needs to be done to maintain the right temperature.

Provide opportunities – Find ways of throwing the curve ball, a new opportunity that can interest and excite from time to time.

Lead relationally  - Leaders are more effective in the context of positive relationship than an authoritarian style. It’s actually more enjoyable for everyone.

Keep sharpening the saw - “90% of Generation Y’s who receive regular training from their employer are motivated to stay with their employer”. Provide new ways to address their professional learning needs.

Those of us of earlier generations can bemoan the changing motivators of younger professionals, or we can appreciate them for what they bring.  Of course there are things that they need to learn and change, but so did we, once upon a time.

@anneknock

There’s no *place* like *home* – why comfort and community matter when we work, learn, play & create

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This post is my presentation at the Education Future Forum, 15 March 2013

Slide02

There is no sense of ‘place’ that is greater than ‘home’.

Hugh Mackay, in What makes us tick? Ten desires that drive us  says

‘My place’ is partly an anchor, partly a refuge, partly a stable point in a world that seems kaleidoscopic in the complexity of shifting patterns…we need to know where we belong; we need to feel that some physical place stands as a symbol of our uniqueness and acceptance.

The places where we spend most time are home and work. The picture of the employee in isolation is changing, as we prefer to work in community with others. Yahoo recently banned working from how, because as CEO Melissa Mayer stated, “we are one Yahoo” and community and connection is essential to culture change.

The traditional office  isn’t  particularly inspiring either. People often like to just hang out, work in proximity with other like-minded people. This has led to  a happy medium between home and work.

Sometimes curing office doldrums is simply about a temporary change of scenery, whether that’s in a coffee shop, a co-working space or even a park bench. (Link)

Over the last couple of decades there has been a shift in the way people work and learn, breaking down barriers, enabling choice and recognising that ownership of time space and very work itself is a huge motivating factor. The term ‘third place’  was coined by Ray Oldenburg an urban sociologist. In his book The Great Good Place he writes about the importance of informal public gathering spaces. “Third places” are essential to community vitality.

The $8bn Green Square project in inner Sydney is an urban development will eventually be the home for more than 40,000 people by 2030.  A young architectural team came up with the winning plan for the library at Green Square:

Artist impression 1

Artist impression 2

The below-ground vision will include garden storytelling, rolling hills and a sunken garden for reading and relaxing. It features an amphitheatre, water play area and music rooms where residents can practise on their instruments without disturbing neighbours.

Did anyone mention books?

Today, the library is a third place where people come to meet, read, work and belong. The word ‘library’ was once only synonymous with the word ‘book’. Now it is a ‘place’. The architects described this library as the ‘community living room’, a third place where people can be comfortable and productive at the same time. The library that feels like home.

The Hub ”Where change goes to work”  is a non-profit communal movement across the globe that is recreating the work environment.

The Hub

HUBs are uniquely designed spaces that provide a creative environment as well as a professional infrastructure to work, meet, learn and connect. Individuals rent spaces to work with other  entrepreneurs or project space with their team. The spaces are comfortable, with a variety of furnishings, a cafe and a kitchen.

We believe physical spaces are key to our impact  - for work, collaboration, inspiration, community, vibrant spaces, tools, connection, innovation. Why work from home when you can co-locate with other like-minded people at The Hub?

Slide14Slide16

Another example of the third space is The Design Factory at Aalto University in Helsinki. This is a cross-disciplinary project space furnished in the same way as the hub, catering for different ways of working and placing shipping containers to create a variety of working areas – spaces within spaces.

Slide19

Importantly, the kitchen provides a focal point and an opportunity for “planned coincidences”. It houses the only coffee machine in the building, so people must come to the kitchen to connect.

Design Factory

So what happens when school feels like home?

For generations, educationally, we’ve been polishing the chrome on the Holden Kingswood (or Edsel or Cortina), without seeing the need to reinvent in the hybrid-vehicle era. For generations the physical place of school has remained the same, when all around people are working and learning in markedly different ways. Think about the hospital/medical services, the way we communicate, how we access music and purchase goods – yet there is a constancy to the way schools look – for decades.

Slide23

The physical environment does matter. This was identified by a pilot study by the University of Salford and architects, Nightingale Associates. This study  found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress over a year by as much as 25%.

 Slide26  GM23

Schools we have visited in Scandinavia, and in particular Denmark and Sweden,  the design definitely feels like home. There are communal living rooms with soft furnishings and kitchens within the learning space, especially for primary and middle years.

There are, of course, other spaces for instructional sessions, but there were no rigid rows, but coworking tables. These spaces are generally kept small, because they aren’t spaces to stay in all day.

Slide29

I witnessed a ‘school feels like home’ moment last year.  

The teacher brought the young boy over to the kitchen, took a plate, put some crackers with cheese together for him and then sat at the ‘kitchen table’ to work with him on his maths problems.

Slide30

Kunskapsskolan is a system of more than 30 free schools across Sweden. The schools have a specific replicable design that is evident at each site.

Slide34

 

A new Kunskapsskolan school is not built on fresh greenfield site, but a disused factory, warehouse, shop or hospital that can accommodate the design and way of working – one characterised by light, visibility and flexibility.

Slide33

Every space is a learning space.

The starting point for design is to think of the entire space available as a potential learning area, not defaulting to “dividing space into static classrooms with connecting corridors”

Most areas have multiple functions …the cafeteria doubles up as a space for collaboration.

Visitors to Kunskapsskolan often remark that our schools look more like the site of a modern, creative knowledge industry, rather than a traditional school.

How do we make school feel like home? 

Slide37

Test every assumption about school - just because we have always have classrooms, desks, chairs and a teacher at the front, it doesn’t mean they are the necessary elements.

Identify what is actually necessary – begin with the end in mind.

Observe the times – how do your students connect, learn and communicate?

Ditch those things that don’t matter any more – how much of what we do is due to what has always been done?

Focus on relationships – at all levels, and at every nexus.

…And be brave.

@anneknock

 


Will this be in the test, My Pyne? Old school is not way to go #weneedvision

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Christopher Pyne is the Australian Education Minister in-waiting, with an election due in September this year. We have been waiting for a clear vision for the students in our nation and are yet to receive it. The current government hasn’t delivered. This piece appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald this week.

Old School is way to go, says Pyne (emphasis mine – see below)

Child-centred learning should be abandoned for a return to more explicit instruction driven by teachers, the Liberal education spokesman, Christopher Pyne, says.

Mr Pyne on Wednesday advocated ”more practical teaching methods based on more didactic teaching methods, more traditional methods rather than the child-centred learning that has dominated the system for the past 20, 30 or 40 years’‘.

”In other words, mounting evidence suggests that primary school children or students with particular types of disadvantage would be better off being taught this way,” he said. ”Unfortunately this research has been ignored by most teacher training and in many instances attempts to return to explicit instruction pedagogy have been blocked by state education departments.”

Dear Mr Pyne,

The world has changed significantly from when I was at school. I’m not sure who’s advising you, so maybe I can help. In 2013 it is not feasible to look to the so-called good old days and say, “it didn’t do me any harm”. Rather than appeal to the voting public (parents) with seemingly reassuring words about getting back to the past, we need an Education Minister who can look forward and see the amazing opportunities our children have before them.

I’m sure as a student you knuckled down and worked hard to get where you are today. But learning is personal, and I wonder if there were peers in your classes who were like a ‘fish out of water’ at your school.

Today I want an education system where there are no more of these ‘fishes’ at school, that we are able to personalise the learning for the success of all students – with a curriculum that is deep, engaging, rigorous and purposeful. Not a policy that will just win votes.

In no other profession do we yearn for the past. For those of us over 40, think back to our childhood. Would we want to go back to the way it was for a visit to the dentist or the hospital? I wouldn’t. Similarly, the world of education and learning has significantly shifted and we are looking to the leaders, like yourself, as alternate Education Minister, not to turn back the clock based on your own experience, but gain a greater understanding of the world we are preparing our young people for, especially the opportunities that technology bring.

Just to ge things straight

Child-centred learning that has dominated the system for the past 20, 30 or 40 years This term was used when I started my career in education 30 years ago. In 1979 I started my pre-service teacher education and it seemed that in the right conditions learning would happen, as if by osmosis.

Rather, I think today forward thinking educators would say that the curriculum needs to be learner-driven, not putting the student in charge of the content, but the teacher. ‘Learner-driven’ is more about the students as engaged and passionate learners, who actively pursue learning as a lifelong endeavour.

Return to more explicit instruction, driven by teachers. Now I’m really confused. We now know that quality teachers are more important than ever. I see many passionate teachers that are taking responsibility for the ‘stickiness’ of their students’ learning. Back-in-the-day it was a simple blame game – if students didn’t learn it was their fault or problem, with associated punishment. I am impressed with the education professionals in my world who are constantly assessing students and evaluating their own practice, thus seeking to ensure that they provide the conditions for students to learn.

This may also include instructional teaching, as part of the tool kit, but this can be done in a variety of ways that frees up the teacher from the one-to-many approach, allowing more quality time with students.

Mounting evidence suggests that primary school children or students with particular types of disadvantage would be better off being taught this way. Does this mean that because these students require a particular approach, then there needs to be a blanket rule for all students? There is no one size fits all education. Let’s aim to give all students the approach they need to realise their potential and achieve success in life.

In many instances attempts to return to explicit instruction pedagogy have been blocked by state education departments. I can only speak from the NSW perspective, perhaps one of the most prescriptive curriculum jurisdictions across Australia. I am very familiar with the requirements for the registration and accreditation of schools and I am not aware of any such blockage. The breadth of outcomes to be met in NSW actually lends itself to explicit instruction, as this is the only way that many teachers feel they can meet the statutory requirements.

I am currently reading social researcher, Hugh Mackay’s book, What makes us tick? The ten desires that drive us. In the chapter, ‘The Desire to be Taken Seriously’, Mackay talks about the need to focus on intrinsic motivation. Rewards and punishments come from extrinsic sources, says Mackay, then we focus on control. This is very evident in school:

Students who become obsessed by the marks they are getting tend to be less engaged learners – in the richest sense of ‘learning’ – than those who are not driven by the extrinsic reward of marks. Marks become the goal. Learning, questioning, exploring ideas, making mistakes – all the hallmarks of an engaged student – tend to diminish in the pursuit of rewards.

In one secondary school famous for high marks achieved by its students, teachers reported that the students’ focus on marks was distorting their approach to learning: ‘Will this be in the exam?’ students would ask, whenever a teacher introduced a topic or mentioned a book worth reading. The clear implication was that if there were no marks in it the students wouldn’t bother paying attention to it.

I don’t know about you, but I would like to provide the conditions for rich and engaged learners. I definitely don’t want these young people to face school as I experienced it.

Be the change, Mr Pyne, if you become the new school Education Minister for Australia

PS… Please don’t take counsel from Mr Gove. Instead, watch the TED talks by Sir Ken Robinson and Sugata Mitra.

Dogfooding: Would you send your own kids to your school?

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Dogfooding…
It’s a curious term that I came across in the business section of my newspaper this morning. In business ‘eating your own dogfood’ refers to the scenario in which a company uses it’s own product to demonstrate its quality and capabilities.

Of course, there are many extenuating circumstances in the decisions we make for our own children (present company included) – but in principle, is your school the kind of school that you would like your own children to attend? When I had my own sons at school with me it hit my hip-pocket. Not so much in the cost of fees, but the regular question  as I crossed the playground… “Mum, can I have some money?”

In business, and in particular for business leaders, this speaks of corporate loyalty. The article makes reference to a question put to Melinda Gates about i-devices, to which she answered, “The wealth from our family came from Microsoft, so why would I invest in the competitor?”.

As a child I used to wonder if the employees from a TV channel were only allowed to watch their own station at home.

The former chief executive of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy, recently admitted on radio that his zeal for Britain’s biggest supermarket stretched to the contents of the family’s fridge. Asked if his wife Alison had ever shopped at rival Waitrose, he said: “Occasionally, but I would complain so much that she wouldn’t bother.”

He even bribed his kids to inform if his wife popped into Waitrose (the competitor). You can’t say the man’s not passionate about his supermarkets.

While this sounds a little extreme,  the principle remains, would you send your own kids to your school? Great school leaders would, almost with a parent-heart, want to create a learning community within which their own children would thrive.

So hypothetically, and even if you don’t have your own kids, how would your school stack up as first choice for your family?

Is the learning personalised so that your children would be engaged and stimulated?

Are there high quality relationships that would make your children feel part of a community?

Would the professional practice provide the best quality of education you would want for your kids?

Would they recognise you as the person at home?

I’m sure that there are other questions, but it comes down to passion for your school, and making it the best, so that even your kids would love it and thrive there.

So how passionate are you?

@anneknock

Kicking off the new school year. Never “same old, same old” here at Northern Beaches Christian School

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In Australia the end of January is the start of the new academic year. Within a few days of getting back into it I usually gaze out the window, trying to recall the vacation and thinking to myself that perhaps it was just a dream?

(No, I really did have Christmas in Paris with my family)

Like many schools, Northern Beaches Christian School started the new year with a couple of days for professional learning activities with the staff. I have been the Director of Development at SCIL* for a few years and for the staff, each start to the new school year is always different from the previous year. Professional learning experiences are shaped around the key elements of the vision, reflecting the priorities of the year ahead.

This year, the priorities are GLO – Growth, Leadership, Opportunities. When the principal, Stephen Harris starts each year he outlines the priorities that will be the focus of the year, each of these areas are the further advancement to the vision:

Exceed Expectations.

Stephen expressed this further as he articulated the SCIL Learning Model

At its simplest form the SCIL Learning Model is essentially about learning and opportunity. On the one hand, there is a recurrent focus on developing a strong culture of self-directed learning, with an emphasis on critical and applied deep thinking. Project-based learning supports this approach well. On the other hand, we wish all students to recognise, have access to and take up opportunities that will grow them as pro-active compassionate leaders with integrity and moral strength, as they journey through their learning.

Central to the priorities is embedding project-based learning as a consistent element across the learning culture of the school, in every faculty, at each grade level.

1Like many schools, the first few days before the students return provide a valuable opportunity for professional learning and growth. This year it started with a session by an external facilitator, outlining the Apple model of challenge-based learning.

After some initial input and guidance, teaching teams set about developing their own interest projects that were then shared with their peers at the conclusion of the day. Embedded into the project was the use of an app or other element that may have been new to them.

The following day was set aside for the teams to critically analyse and develop how PBL can become a normal part of the teaching and learning at a faculty level.

In previous years teams have embarked on an ‘amazing race’ stye adventure around the city, imagining spaces for learning in all sorts of non-school contexts, or working on Bloom/Gardner’s matrix with like-minded peers to create a project that would improve a learning space within the school.

Do you see a pattern here with the professional learning?

  • Directly linked to the school’s priorities.
  • Immerses the teachers in the learning environment that we want for the students.
  • Teachers need work in teams.
  • ‘Facilitator talk’ is capped to the necessary 
  • Opportunity to pursue a passion or interest area
  • Challenge of using new technology as part of the project
  • Learn new skills necessary to complete the project

The professional learning opportunities gives the teacher the first hand learning experiences that we seek for our students.

If we want to change the way teachers teach, we need to change the way teachers learn.

Happy 2013!

@anneknock

*SCIL is the innovation and professional services focus within Northern Beaches Christian School. The SCIL Learning Model is currently being developed as a resource and will be available this year.


Why innovate? Answer inspired by Ghandi ‘Serving the unserved’

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Lasting innovation comes from identifying and responding to need – human need.

We are often reminded that people in developing nations are amazing innovators – living, that is staying alive, on less than $1 per day. Ghandi is known as a liberator and revolutionary of his people, yet he approached the issues of tackling the British colonization with the mindset of an innovator.

While I have been travelling over the last few weeks I re-watched Sir Ken Robinsons 2006 and 2010 TED Talks to see how was are tracking since this call to educational change. I had already come to the conclusion that we need both a top down and bottom up approach to change in education. Sadly, we haven’t come far too far in changing the minds of the policy-makers. Standardized tests and the focus on academic intelligence as the primary measure remains, and this still needs significant work. But simultaneously we need to keep activating at the grass roots of education.

Ghandi faced the problem of British colonization through inspiring innovation in the day-to-day lives of the people, a simple idea that would bring change. Britain controlled the textile industry in India. Heavy machinery was used to make cloth from cotton and silk. But what if ordinary people could make their own cloth? This was the inspiration behind the Box Charkha. A portable (and inexpensive) spinning wheel used for spinning cotton and silk into thread. A small idea, with big consequences.

This simple innovation, inspired by Ghandi was then developed, made into reality, by his colleague. The Box Charkha made it possible for ordinary Indian people to ‘compete with modern industrialization by creating mass individual modernization.’ (Sawhney)

Ghandi’s approach to innovation had two key elements. It needed to be affordable and sustainable. Similarly in education, we need not always assume that to be innovative, there needs to be significant funds attached, but begin as Ghandi did, making important changes at the grass roots, he was able to to more with less. His focus was improving the life of his people, giving them the tools to be able to break from the constraints of British colonization.

Learning from Ghandi there are a few things to consider in getting innovation right

How do we serve the unserved?

Does the vision have a strong human dimension?

Are our goals and milestones too safe?

How do we use constraints to expand our creative capacity?

Are we measuring the right stuff?

Who are we doing this for?

‘Today, technology can be a similar equalizer in our search for economic development or innovation, provided these technologies function to empower the individual.’ (Sawhney)

A synthesis of Ghandi’s innovation applied to education
1. Disrupt existing business models – alter the way schools ‘do business’
2. Modify existing capabilities – break down subject hierarchies and silos, work together
3. Create and source new capabilities – look beyond usual boundaries for input, expertise and ideas

When faced with innovation, there are only two choices
Leverage existing resources in new ways
Change the rules of the game entirely

The choice we make depends on the context. But like Ghandi, if we are passionate enough about educational change, we need to make a start. I was initially discouraged after watching Ken Robinson’s TED Talks to see how little governments have changed, but I know at the grass roots, so many of us who are committed to making schools and education better and more relevant to our young people.

So at the outset of 2013, be encouraged and keep the flame for innovation and change burning. Be inspired by revolutionaries of the past, who, while they were in the thick of it probably doubted the difference they were making.

References
Quotes: What Ghandi, yes Ghandi, taught me about design, leadership and technology, Ravi Sawhney

Model of innovation: ‘Innovation’s Holy Grail’ C.K. Prahalad and R.A. Mashelkar
HBR, July 2010

10 [educational] New Year Resolutions for your 2013

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New Year resolutions provide an opportunity to press the reset button on life.

fireworks

So here is a start for thinking about how you will step into 2013 and make some changes.

10. I will discover new ways of achieving the same outcome. One first step to reinventing learning is to think of new ways to both deliver content and for students to respond. Do you still think it is ‘harder’ to write an essay than build a model to demonstrate understanding?

9. I will learn from my students. Find out how young people navigate life. The reality is, they social media rather than email. What’s the most effective way to get your message to your students?

8. I will team up. No lone rangers anymore. One of the most significant images of school is the single teacher, up the front of the room facing the students. This model of teaching/learning bears little resemblance to the real world of work and learning. What could happen if you shared space, time and ideas with your colleagues? What would the students see and learn?

7. I will release control. Think about your most powerful learning experiences.  The things I have learnt deeply have often stemmed from a problem that needed a solution. ‘Just in time’ learning sticks more than ‘Just in case’. What areas do you need to release in order for your students to drive and own their learning?

6. I will develop coaching skills. When students take responsibility for learning the role of the teacher changes. The coach helps the learner to identify and achieve their own goals. These skills take time and practice to develop and directly relate to releasing control. How will you develop coaching skills?

5. I will get out of my comfort zone and build a wider network. Either electronically, through social media, locally through event/opportunities like TeachMeets; and/or travel. Connecting with people outside your everyday world changes perspectives. What’s your next step to widening your network?

4. I will consider the visual impact of content delivery. We are visual. For effective communication in the 21stC the visuals matter. Great visuals can easily convey a message and effectively make complex information simple. Some of us glaze over when we hit a wall of text. Visuals cut through this. How can your communication become more visually engaging?

3. I will change the space. When the media reports on school issues they look for photos to support the article. These are usually –  children at desks in rows, chalkboard with words and sums, teacher standing at the front – you get the picture. New ways of working need new spaces. These default images of school will only change if we change the spaces. What are some subtle changes and not-so-subtle changes you can make to your physical working space?

2. I will get mobile. Left to our own devices, we are creatures of habit we go to the same way, sit in the same place and connect with the same people. Working in cross-disciplinary teams opens new ideas and approaches. Where do you need to go or relocate?

1. I have chosen this career because I want to make a difference to the lives and futures of young people. Schools, as was recently expressed to me, are not “mortgage paying institutions”, nor are they our lifestyle-facilitators. Are you in this career for the kids first?

@anneknock