Is the new principal the new bus driver ? No !!
How do we ensure we are all on the same bus, going in the same direction together ? Do we know what our ultimate goal is for our learners or for ourselves as a community ?
During this final school term, we have had a chance to reflect and renew our vision in order to go forward with passion and purpose into 2017 and beyond. Ultimately, the driver of our bus will be our agreed, authentic community vision.
"Collaboration, cooperation, co-creation, celebrating diversity and innovation" are words used by Greg Whitby in his presentation to the Congress of Catholic Schools in Rome, 2015. "If we are to truly transform schooling for a new age, we need to look for partnerships between schools and systems....It is the active work of the community of learners that will drive change and innovation..."
(Whitby, G., 2016, Topics ACPPA, Vol 26, No.3)
Although I had only been a principal in Melbourne for three weeks, the opportunity to collaborate with like minded principals through a Digital Literacy School Grant application, was a great way to build transformational partnerships. It provided an excellent opportunity for our schools to exchange best practice, ideas and innovation as a community of learners.
I had already experienced the benefits of cluster-based school collaboration as a vehicle for school improvement, through involvement in the Learning and Change Network in New Zealand.
Fullan and Munby (2016) share the values of effective outcomes-based collaboration as a benefit of focused, productive networks. In these networks, leaders, teachers and students challenge, support, innovate and learn from one another to measurably improve outcomes. You can read more in Fullan and Munby's global dialogue think piece - Inside out and downside -up at this link. In this article, Fullan and Munby describe the eight critical success factors for effective system - wide school collaboration including the need for partnerships to move from collaboration to co-responsibility to a position of shared accountability.
When the principals and leaders from six schools came together, we came well prepared. We familiarised ourselves with the grant application and mooted ideas on a google document before we met. We shared some background on our school practices and read the article from Fullan and Munby. Rich dialogue led to the drafting of our goals and outcomes. We each chose to complete a portion of the application on a shared document within the expected timeframe. One of the principals offered to proofread and another took responsibility for submitting the application. We agreed that we would proceed with our plans to work together regardless of the success of the application.
As a new principal to the group, I sensed the enthusiasm and passion from the other leaders. The process of collaboration, co-responsibility and co-creation was an energising and rewarding experience. I am looking forward to our communities of learners working together to drive change and innovation in 2017 and truly transform our schooling for the new age.
Some of our leaders collaborating at St Paul the Apostle North, Endeavour Hills.
newly formed South East Digital Literacy Group SEDL
Six weeks of collaboration followed by time for rest and reflection in the seventh week, contribute to a renewed community vision.
When I came home and announced to my family that I had been at my new school for seven weeks, they reminded me that seven was a very special number. During my seventh week as principal of St Patrick's school in Murrumbeena, Melbourne, our renewed community vision began to emerge.
During 2014, Lorraine Frances-Rees and I collaborated on an article for the Catholic Education New Zealand magazine, Aoraki (the article can be found on pages 9 - 16) or Here is a link to the article. The article was in relation to change initiatives that began to evolve as an outcome of my sabbatical after seven years as a principal in New Zealand. It was then that I became enlightened about the number seven from a biblical perspective. Lorraine wrote about God resting on the seventh day in Genesis and the resting of fields every seven years in Leviticus. You can read the article by going to page 11 of this link.
The cover of the original Aoraki publication (left) and the new cover (right).
What has emerged in the seventh week at St Patrick's school ?
This is a summary of the visioning journey so far. The link to an earlier post, explains the initial process with staff: Individual culture and context drives the visioning process.
Staff shared their thoughts and ideas in relation to four probe questions linked to the school's existing vision statements and other pertinent documents. Then staff followed the 10/4 voting process. A fifth probe question was later introduced in response to further discussions - If you had a magic wand to transform the school buildings, learning spaces and playground, what would you like to see change ?
Interested parents who joined our newly formed POPE (Parents Open Partners in Education) group also reflected on the probe questions. Members of the Parish Education Board shared their thoughts and ideas too. Students contributed through meetings and surveys.
During this time, we received the new Catholic Education Melbourne Learning and Teaching Framework, Horizons of Hope. It is a distinctive document, designed to support excellence in teaching and learning within the context of the central vision of Catholic education to carry on the mission of Jesus. I prepared a presentation, incorporating the key messages from Horizons of Hope, to guide staff as they formulate a succinct vision statement and future actions for our community. Here is the presentation. Slide 6 shows the link to Horizons of Hope.
Below is a draft vision statement, a contribution from one group of staff as they began to plan actions going forward. This statement links very well with the existing school logo and encompasses the meaning of the five existing vision statements (Slide 7 above). We hope to have one succinct statement, easily articulated by the whole community. The statement could be the one that guides our future plans and actions. Continual collaboration within a connected community allows a renewed vision to emerge in the seventh week...
Our existing values will be revisited as we link them to our renewed vision for all learners.
In preparation for the visioning session with the St Patrick's Murrumbeena staff, it's important to develop the probe questions.
These questions need to connect with school documentation to provide a valuable starting point based on the existing school culture. The open ended nature of the probe questions will allow room for new growth and development beyond the current school context. The vision is a picture of the future we want to create together to enable everyone to flourish.
These are four probe questions that are based on the existing school vision and strategic plan documents and are the starting point for our process.
Note: The word community will be used below to include children, parents, staff and parish
1. What are the most effective ways to strengthen and integrate the Catholic faith within the lives of our community ?
2. How can we develop the unique potential of every individual in readiness for 21st Century learning and life ?
3. What are the most effective ways to engage our community into learning and the life of our
school ?
4. In what ways can we best enable our children to become resilient and confident learners ?
Process:
Allow for approximately twenty-five to thirty staff. Move into about five or six groups of five with a mixture of year groups for the Classic Brainstorming and 10/4 Voting process for about 15 minutes for each of the four probes.
Below is the process we will follow:
3:45 Welcome, prayer and introduction to the process
3:50 Round 1
4:05 Round 2
4:20 Refreshment break while top two responses from each group are collated onto a master page for each probe for questions 1 and 2.
4:30 Round 3
4:45 Round 4
5:00 Refreshment break while top two responses from each group are collated onto a master page for each probe for questions 3 and 4.
5:10 Individuals review responses and make ten private votes.
5:20 Review top responses as a group and conclude.
Prolific frond growth on a tree fern in Whitehorse Road, Balwyn.
While I was enjoying the sunshine on an early morning walk, I came across some beautiful tree ferns. There were fresh new fronds emerging prolifically from the heart of the ferns. Seeing these fern fronds was very coincidental. I have spent quite some time working on this redesigned blog site with the image of a fern frond as part of the change 2 flourish logo.
Change has always been a constant in both my personal and professional life. For some of us sometimes, change can be daunting. But just as the fern fronds unfurl and flourish, embracing change can help us to open our lives to imminent new possibilities, as we strive to be the best we can be, and live our lives to the fullest.
"The unfurling frond of the Koru (Maori for spiral) fern, symbolizes the spirit of peace, hope, growth and a return to your beginnings, and the way in which life both change and rejuvenates, while the inner coil of one's beginnings, stays the same". Rosemary Burke spoke these words in front of a congregation of students, families, colleagues, friends and parishioners, as she presented me with a pounamu (Maori name for greenstone) carved pendant at my farewell mass in New Zealand. The Koru fern is representative of change in the living world. Change in nature appears natural, simple and uncomplicated. Change is necessary for survival (Wheatley, 2006).
Rosemary Burke and Fr Wayne Healey presenting me with the pounamu pendant.
My taonga (Maori for treasure).
I am about to start a new principalship in Melbourne. This means change for me and also change for the children, staff and families at St Patrick's Primary School in Murrumbeena. I am looking forward to supporting the community, as we revisit the school's vision and collaboratively develop a plan for our future actions to enable all of us to continue to grow and flourish.
This session is a one hundred minute opportunity for all staff to reflect and contribute to future plans for their school. Student, parents and parish community members will also get a chance to contribute during the coming weeks.
It's important to take a little time before we meet to read and reflect on some valuable documents that will guide our thinking.
Documents to consider as we move forward :
- Existing St Patrick's Vision Statement.
- School Improvement Plan 2016-2019.
- 2016 Annual Action Plan.
I am looking forward with anticipation and eagerness to working with the St Patrick's community.
The unfurling frond of the Koru fern symbolises creation and the way in which life both changes and stays the same. We have a great capacity for change and working with change can help us become more of who we want to be (Wheatley, 2016).
Developing this shared site to support the growth of collaborative and connected leadership for change will connect leadership to vision and enable change 2 flourish.
It is my privilege to plan and lead this visioning day in Cromwell as my last official duty for the Otago Southland Catholic Primary Principal Association (OSCPPA) before I leave for Melbourne.
In order to ensure that the strategic visioning day is as constructive as possible for participants from the OSCPPA, all participants are asked to prepare in advance. This is similar to a flipped learning experience that some of us use for our staff meetings and in our classrooms to ensure we are time efficient and purposeful.
Here is a link to the existing constitution OSCPPA Constitution. Please read through this for your own information. Thanks Michelle for sourcing this from past president Alan Watts.
Please read through the NZCPPA visioning experience at this link. This will help you understand how this inclusive process works. Recognition is made to Mary Wilson and Teresa Edwards whose resources I have used to plan and prepare for the day. Special thanks to Paul Richardson who helped to prepare the original draft outline and probe questions. Thanks to all OSCPPA principals who have a growth mindset and are committed to the Catholic education and the important role our schools play in carrying out the mission of the Church.
Outline of the Day
8:30 Venue open, hot drinks available.
9:00 Welcome and prayer
9:15 Clarification around process and key probes (adapted from objectives of OSCPPA and those shared with you at the Bishop's Forum). Keep in mind anything you see as important and ensure you bring this out in your responses.
How can we work cooperatively to market, grow and ensure the continuing prominence of the Special Catholic Character of our Catholic schools ?
In what ways can we nurture our links to the Diocesan office (our relationship with the Proprietor, the Catholic Education Office) beyond the Diocesan events and forums ?
What are the most effective ways to promote and support Catholic professional development for principals and their schools according to needs from within the group eg. personal and spiritual well being ?
How can we enable members to have equity of representation from across our Diocese on appropriate bodies and organizations, including those at local and national level ?
9:30 Divide into four balanced groups (mixed gender and mixed regions) for the Classic Brainstorming and 10/4 voting process with 20 minute sessions for each of the four probes.
9:40 Round 1
10:00 Round 2
10:20 Round 3
10:40 Round 4
11:00 Coffee Break
During this time, top two responses from each group are collated onto a master page and copy made for everyone is made. This will mean eight responses per probe.
11:30
Individually review the responses and make 10 private votes.
These are then used to collate the draft vision and goals during the lunch break.
12:00
Lunchtime
Draft vision and action plan collated. Come up with about 6 important goals and spaces for actions and next steps.
12:45-2:30
Review and include actions, timelines and plan an agreed way forward for OSCPPA
2:30
AGM Meeting based on Article 6 OSCPPA constitution
Here is a copy of a post from the Staff as Activator section of this blog from last June. It is worth revisiting it at this time of the year when the end of term is looming and our staff find themselves caught up completing assessments and reports, preparing for interviews and in our case a school production. I have adapted this post.
We have just finished the seventh week of a ten week term. Staff are busy completing assessments for mid year reports as well as continuing their normal teaching and learning commitments. Winter is upon us with student and staff absence increasing due to sniffles, coughs and splutters. This is the exact time when 'little' niggling behaviours across the school can sometimes begin to escalate. The very time when staff and families need to be proactive and nip everything "in the bud".
Coming together and sharing our learning is an important way to help parents understand how they can be supporting their children.
This year, all of our teachers and children have received professional development around Peer Tutoring. We have ben focussing on writing across the school through peered writing and the teachers have already seen remarkable improvements in more than just writing.
Peered tutoring raises children's awareness in social, emotional and academic skills as well. Research proves that when children support, challenge and give feedback to each other with learning, their progress and achievement excels. When peered tutoring takes place in a purposeful and planned manner with tutors and tutees receiving training, the results speak for themselves.
Thank you to Linda Schofield and Belinda Brosnan from the RTLB service for their support with this whole school project. Thanks to our teachers who enthusiastically shared their experiences with families at our Family Learning Hui. Thanks to the children and families who came to the hui.
Danny Nicholls skilfully captured the combined ACPPA & NZCPPA executive members during the meeting day in Auckland
I was fortunate to be present during the inaugural combined Australian Catholic Primary Principals Association (ACPPA) and New Zealand Catholic Primary Principals Association (NZCPPA) meeting on Tuesday 31st May, 2016. Two days were planned for the Catholic executive members to collaborate, learn and share with one another before the commencement of the Trans-Tasman Primary Principal Conference in Auckland. You can read a reflection about our first day of school visits on an earlier blogpost here. Below are reflections, links and slideshows from our meeting day. Special thanks to all of the contributors mentioned throughout this blogpost who shared their presentations. May our trans-tasman ties strengthen and grow as we unite to bring about the reign of God and keep alive the mission of Jesus Christ for our students and families in our Catholic schools across Australia and New Zealand. Candles Two candles were presented from the ACPPA to the NZCPPA. Brad Gaynor explained that the ACPPA have also got the same two candles and will create a sacred space to light the candles at future meetings. The candles have logos representative of both countries, the wattle for Australia and the fern for New Zealand entwined within a cross as a mark of unity to Christ and each other through our Catholic faith.
ACPPA & NZCPPA special candles, bullroarers and tokotoko
Bullroarers Mark Mowbray (New South Wales, ACPPA president) presented two bullroarers that were painted by a local pastor and tribal elder from the Biripi people. Bullroarers are a sacred wooden object used in Aboriginal religious ceremonies. They are attached to string and can be whirled round to produce a noise and communicate over great distances. Mark then shared a story written for him by an elder. It was called "Gulambara and the voice of Yuludarra" and was based around Catholic Aboriginal spirituality and the Trinity. Mark explained that together, the ACPPA and the NZCPPA will have the voice of the Holy Spirit at their meetings now and in the future.
ACPPA President Mark Mowbray
Tokotoko Michael Mokai (Hamilton Diocese, meeting chair and outgoing NZCPPA president) spoke about the New Zealand gift of a Tokotoko to the ACPPA. This is a Maori talking stick. When you hold it, it increases the prestige of the speaker and is a representation of the spirit world. Mike explained that our conversations can continue when we are not in each others presence.
Donaugh Shirley (Queensland) provided a synopsis of the Australian Catholic Education sector. Donaugh explained there were twenty-seven dioceses in Australia. Some were quite small and some were very large. In most dioceses a Director of Education acts as an agent for the Bishop. Principals have more autonomy than in New Zealand although this is changing in some parts of Australia. The majority of the funding comes through Federal Government to the diocese and then the rest is made up by school fees. Special needs is a growing area in Catholic schools and schools are renowned for catering for the needs of learners. The number of special needs students has doubled in the last few years. Early years education is also a highlight and there is huge diversity across Australia. Some young children start at three years of age in Western Australia and advice sessions for parents are also available . In Queensland, organisations outside the school system organise the Early Years programmes. The ACPPA need to advocate for students, teachers and principals as an organisation. The Catholic Commission are trying to get equity over the funding across Australia. Therese Coleman & Deb Daines (Christchurch Diocese) shared a presentation around the theme 'Managing our Patch' (see below).They explained that Catholic schools are an extension of the Parishes. The Board of trustees explanation plays a major governance role in New Zealand schools and the electing of parent trustees is the second largest election in New Zealand. Therese and Deb shared finance information and explained that 60% of the staff in Catholic schools must be Catholic. Catholic teaching positions are advertised as 'tag' positions. Tags are hard to fill in different parts of the country. There are five preference options for the enrolment of children into Catholic schools but the priest makes the final decision. Legally schools must not enrol any more than approximately 5% of their maximum role of non - Catholics. New Zealand schools have a Diocesan Catholic review every three years and state government review every three to five years. You can click on the arrows and enlarge the slideshow below to view it.
Deb Daines
Therese Coleman
Melanie Bolwell (Northern Territory) shared a beautiful prayer presentation entitled 'Dreaming Big'. Due to images of children from her school we are unable to share this with you.
Bruce Young, Daniel Pepper and Craig McKernan (Auckland Diocese) spoke about Indigenous Education in New Zealand.
Bruce explained the history going back to Bishop Pompellier and the missionaries evangelising the Maori people in 1840. He shared the importance of The Treaty of Waitangi, the nations founding document and the fact that Roman Catholicism and spirituality are included in article 4 of The Treaty. The religious brothers and sisters were brought out to educate the early people. Then the Government developed native schools and Maori language started to get banned in schools and homes. From 1880's to 1950's Maori education was pushed aside. The language was lost and slowly it is returning. In the last fifteen years the government has focussed on Maori and Pasifika students ensuring success for all. The NZ Curriculum document was developed in 2007. You can access information about this at this link. Daniel explained it has a very explicit vision stating that Maori and Pakeha must learn and grow together. There is also a Maori Curriculum document to ensure there is a focus on success for Maori including correct protocols. Craig's school does a powhiri (Maori welcoming ceremony) every term for new students coming into the school. Transiency and truancy are huge challenges but it comes back to the importance of building relationships with students and families. Craig's staff are all learning to speak TeReo (Maori language). The Maori Achievement Collaborative (MAC) for example, is ensuring there is representation and equity for educational outcomes for Maori by challenging all of us. ERO (Government Education Review) will not consider your school to be high performing unless Maori are feeling valued and progressing as Maori students. We have to change the perception of our staff. It starts at the top and then it filters down to the staff.
Bruce talking about the history of NZ education
Karen Pearce (Queensland) spoke about Indigenous Education in Australia. Karen believes Australia is far behind New Zealand in this area and they have a long way to go. Aboriginals only got the vote in 1967. Australians need to learn from us.
We all had a chance to share the Aboriginal Lord's prayer.
Karen focused on the Queensland and Townsville Diocese. 10% of students in the schools are indigenous. The Council of the Australian Government developed the 'Closing the Gap' initiative to help close the gap in Indigenous disadvantage. Closing the Gap focuses on reading, writing and numeracy, however, one of the main problems is getting the children to school.
The Australian Curriculum include cross curriculum priorities and Torres Strait islander priorities.
All schools now acknowledge the traditional owners of the land.
Karen's Torres Strait Islander Dance Troupe performs at different schools. It is mainly made up of non indigenous students.
Schools celebrate special days and build relationship bridges together. RAPS - Reconciliation Action Plans.
Most of the funding is used to employ staff as it is very hard to get staff in some schools.
High schools have more funding for scholarships eg. sporting opportunities
The Northern Territory has flexible learning centres for indigenous children who drop out of school.
Some of the challenges include: generations on welfare and substance abuse, school attendance and access to education.
Danny Nicholls (incoming NZCPPA president) and James Murray (Hamilton Diocese) spoke about Spiritual and Faith formation. Teachers and children encounter Christ each and every day. There are both challenges and opportunities to provide spiritual and faith formation for our students and staff.Parish priests have a role as a spiritual leader and they are on the board of trustees. Different diocese are exploring faith based clusters of communities of learning to strengthen their Catholicity. New Zealand Catholic schools receive the same operational funding as state schools but must use a substantial amount for special Catholic character resourcing and professional development.
James and Danny presenting
Brad Gaynor (Australian Capital Territory ACT)
Every diocese has some form of accreditation and there are many opportunities for professional learning. All school documents and strategic plans have a big push for spirituality and faith formation.
Brad Gaynor presenting
Siloam ('So I went and I washed and then I could see') is a 24 hour spiritual retreat for Catholic principals to take time out and connect with their colleagues and each other in a spiritual way. Principals meet three times a year in the ACT for this 24 hour retreat. It has a spiritual theme and is a process rather than a programme. Principals break into small groups and each group has a priest assigned to them. The priests are progressive and forward thinking. The second day is about leadership.
Some of the issues facing Catholic schools are: disengaged and disinterested teachers, lack of clergy, Parish priest restrictions, every diocese is different, the Catholic education curriculum is constantly changing and different across Australia, managing all of this and at the same time providing relevant and engaging Catholic education for students. As a result of accreditation, there are now more highly qualified knowledgeable Catholic teachers. The concern is that this is still not filtering from the teachers to children in learning to ensure schools are truly Catholic.
Sue Jury (Wellington dioceses) spoke about the positives and negatives of the Religious Education RE curriculum in New Zealand.
In 1996 a new RE curriculum was created by teachers for teachers. It is a National curriculum with six strands - Sacrament, Church, Holy Spirit, God, Jesus, Communion of Saints and three other learning areas which include prayer, liturgical year and myself and others.
A major challenge is that the curriculum is year based and it needs to move with the times. It is difficult to teach it in composite classes. We are working towards a New Zealand Curriculum model with a programme levelled from 1-4. It will need to be more easily adaptable to modern pedagogical practices. Many schools have moved to an integrated approach using a one page overview that provides, for example, everything a Year 4 student needs to know. Assessment is planned at the beginning of the unit around specific aspects of knowledge and experiences of faith. The knowledge only is assessed. Not included at the meeting but an extra to share. At St Joseph's in Oamaru we have a DRS (Director of Religious Studies) blog. This is a record of our RE staff meetings and ongoing sharing around assessment and data gathering that led to an RE Curriculum target in 2016. This target aligns with our literacy and numeracy targets to action and support learning needs and gaps for our learners based on our data.
Ros Oates (South Australia) shared a You Tube video about the curriculum in Australia ACARA with Robert Randall CEO (see below). It is a very complex curriculum with much to cover and the goals is to refine it further. Ros' slideshow is available below.
Ros Oates presenting
You Tube video of Robert Randall talking about the Australian Curriculum Special thanks to Mike Mokai for chairing this meeting and ensuring representatives from both ACPPA and NZCPPA had opportunities to share and collaborate during this valuable time together.
As principals of Catholic schools in New Zealand and Australia, we are united by our faith, our belief in a loving God who has plans for each and every one of us and the school communities we are responsible for.
This is my first active reflection for two months. A couple of months ago, life as I knew it changed unexpectedly for me. I realised that it was time to return to my roots, my birthplace in Melbourne, a city I left over thirty years ago. After ten years at St Joseph's Catholic school in Oamaru, God has a new mission for me. I hope to be able to share my passion for life and learning with a new educational community in Melbourne. I am grateful for the love, support and understanding from my network of family, friends and community here in New Zealand and I know that the next principal at St Joseph's will be truly blessed.
Being part of the NZ Catholic Primary Principals (NZCPPA) Executive for the past eighteen months has been a rewarding learning experience. I was fortunate to be able to finish my time on the executive by sharing a two day get together with the Australian Catholic Primary Principal's (ACPPA) Executive before the start of the Trans-Tasman conference in Auckland.
We started our first day by visiting two large Catholic schools - St Joseph's Catholic School in Takapuna and Sancta Maria Catholic Primary School in Flatbush. Our Australian and New Zealand colleagues were fortunate to have informative student tour guides in Takapuna. The principals were genuinely moved by the traditional New Zealand powhiri (welcome) from the students at Sancta Maria, including a haka and a mihi in Maori, Samoan and Filipino.
The second day will begin with a combined ACPPA and NZCPPA Exec meeting at the Sky City Convention Centre. During that time, members will share information from their countries based around the following themes: Managing our patch, Indigenous Education, Spiritual and Faith Formation for Staff and Positives and Negatives of the Curriculum. This will also include information around how each system works - funding, external reviews, strategic planning, lines of hierarchy, percentage of Catholic students, role of the Parish and Priest and how each executive interact with other bodies. The AGM meetings will follow these discussions.
I will share some further reflections around the themes of the second day via some live blogging tomorrow.
‘Board of Trustees and Principals have a significant responsibility for ensuring the Catholicity of our schools….consequently it is extremely important for Boards of Trustees...to take an active part in enhancing the Special Catholic Character’ (Wanden & Birch, 2008).
This presentation will help new and existing board members to be the best leaders and role models possible as together we ensure we keep Jesus Christ at the heart of all we do in our special Catholic character schools.
Please feel free to share this with potential and existing trustees within our Catholic schools across New Zealand. There are presentation notes to go with each slide. You can email me for these if you wish.
When we transformed our teaching and learning environment into ELS's in 2015 in response to our community focus "To engage every learner in deep learning for success", we began to operate within an authentic, living inquiry of practise. We naturally moved away from the individual class "teaching as inquiry" model to a collaborative holistic whole school inquiry. Our adaptations to our ELS's during the first year were based on learner, staff and parent surveys, videos, reflections, observations, discussions and professional readings. We were and still are open to learning and change in order to create an environment conducive to the best outcomes for all learners within our community. We believe our environment is organic and reflects the environment referred to in a video developed for the Learning and Change Strategy in 2014 where "self organising living systems have the capacity to respond to change".
Some recent work with the MOE drew my attention to the "Spiral of inquiry". You can read a succinct account of the paper entitled A Framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry written by Timperley, Kaser & Halbert (2014) on the MOE Educational Leaders site.
Spiral of Inquiry Source: Timperley et al, 2014
Here are my own thoughts around this framework for leading authentic learning in the context of our ELS's.
The new framework involves learners, families and communities and a shift from student voice to learner agency (p5).
Our ELS model seeks feedback from all involved. We aim for learner agency but need to keep refocusing on this in practice.
A mindset of curiosity and genuine inquiry into what is going on for learners is vital and leads to hunches (p5,6).
We have to continually remind ourselves to be open to change and be willing to action this.
It is a collaborative process and involves a highly motivated and energetic team (p6).
In 2015 we moved away from single teachers making decisions around teaching, learning and evaluation to the ownership belonging to energetic, inquiring teams.
It is grounded in OECD emerging knowledge and reflects the 7 principles of learning (p5).
We incorporate the 7 principles of learning naturally. We need to specifically relate to these.
It is ongoing inquiry of learning leading to innovative action (p6).
This is how we operate naturally within our school wide ELS’s.
Any change needs to involve working out what will work in the context of your own environment (p6).
As a Catholic school we are aware of ensuring the context of our environment reflects holistic innovation.
Continually checking what is working and not working well is essential (p6).
We do this across teams and as a whole team and involve all members of our community. Video evidence recorded on blogs grounds our practice.
Box 2 on page 8 of the framework has questions related to each of the 7 principles of learning.
In the different phases of the spiral, trust and engaging learners and their families are a recurring theme. Here is a brief summary about each phase of the spiral: Scanning (p7- 9): This is about digging deeper, going underneath the data to get an understanding of the experiences of learners to drive change. Teacher observations and surveys of social, intellectual and emotional engagement are valuable. Using the questions in Box 2(p8) of the principles helps to get a bigger picture for the learners. Focusing (p10-11): This is determining which area to concentrate on to start to make a difference. It's about asking the question - What's going on and how do we know ? It's about talking with the learners too and identifying a common area many people can buy into. Developing a hunch (p12-14): Intuition and hunches, together with evidence, inform scanning and guide focusing. We all take responsibility for the areas we have influence and control in and have the confidence to share ideas where it is safe to question our own behaviours and beliefs. Checking assumptions for accuracy is important before moving ahead. New learning (p14-16): Motivated by and connected to changing the learning experiences of learners and understanding why new ways of doing things are better than previous practices. Supporting and sustaining learning over time. Taking action (p17-19): Informed actions. Learning more deeply about new ways of doing things, informed by a deep understanding of why new practices are more effective than others. Evaluating the impact on learners. Checking (p19-21): Have we made enough of a difference as a team? Evidence seeking about high expectations. Providing information on the impact of actions and setting the stage for what will come next. This process is based on a rich understanding of what is going on for learners. Success with small change leads to more radical changes and transformation takes place. Evidence - informed, systematic inquiry becomes a professional way of life as one inquiry leads to another within the spiral. A shared collaborative inquiry approach provides coherence within schools and across schools and is recognised as curiosity- driven change.
Applying the phases of the spiral to our ELS's at St Joseph's in 2016 will provide coherence to our existing living inquiry. We will be able to refocus our school wide inquiry process around a recognised framework for transforming learning and continue to innovate our practise to meet the diverse and challenging needs of all learners.
