My view from the stage.

Last night it was my pleasure to attend the Graduation for this year’s Children’s University Students. This is an initiative set up by the University of Adelaide that encourages children to pursue learning in their own time and about their own interests. Accredited activities count as time towards different certificates and awards. It was with great pride that I presented 61 students from St Thomas for their awards.

As I sat and watched each child from all of the schools receive their award, my thoughts extended beyond the graduation of Children’s University.

As they waited for their name to be called, it struck me just how different every child is. Some looked really nervous and were taking deep breaths. Some were very relaxed and walked calmly across the stage. All were different but all were there proud and celebrating their learning.

This makes me think of our school and our classrooms. All children are here for the same shared purpose; to engage in deep learning that is meaningful to them. In many ways however, they are all different, all individuals with unique personalities and different gifts and talents. Schools have not always treated children as individuals. Last night was a not only a celebration of some wonderful learning but a reminder of how unique each child is and how important it is for us to recognize this.

Today our cluster of schools are working together on our focus on continuous improvement in numeracy. This is a project that has been going for this year and is about developing a shared understanding of the most effective ways to teach numeracy. There has also been a broader focus on learning in terms of encouraging a “Growth Mindset” and how learning looks different in our schools today.

As teachers shared their reflections and learning from the year so far, the school leaders were asked to listen and summarize back to the group some key themes.

Some of what I heard was:

• Teachers are using data as a diagnostic tool
• They recognise the need to give more time to students for reflection and sharing
• Providing broader investigations and provocations in class has helped children connect concepts across different areas of mathematics
• Technology is enabling us to share more with each other and with families
• A growth mindset is critical. We as teachers need to model this.
• There is a need to engage with families and facilitate some learning about how we do things differently and why.

Teachers are setting goals about their own practice and outlining with teachers across the three schools how they will achieve this.

It has been a very productive day!

I would like to highlight some work happening at the Harvard Graduate School of Education through “Project Zero”. An element of deep learning they are exploring is called “Visible Learning”. This is something I would like to start exploring with our school. There are five principles identified in classrooms where deep learning is visible.

Earlier this term as we were having discussions about how to make better use of the yard space, I asked teachers to seek feedback from our students. Some great ideas were generated and some initiatives such as the board games in the hall, buying additional sand equipment and rejuvenating the sand pit were quickly acted upon. The students from MY McMahon worked in groups to offer me some additional suggestions. I am working through them as we speak. Here are some examples….  

What wonderful examples of student voice. Our children are very articulate and will come up with workable ideas when given the opportunity to have a voice.

I’m off to buy some chalk and some handballs….