Mapping the Sacred Landscape in a Learning

Centred School

Action Learning Cycle

Action Learning Process

• Finding Focus:o What is our area of improvement?o What is powerful learning for students? o What is powerful teaching?

• Developing Success Indicatorso What is worthwhile for your students to learn?

•Therefore…• What do students, teachers and leaders need to

do?

Developing Criteria…..

• Support the CL focus

• Manageable: 3- 4 tops

• Aligned: clear thread between student, teacher, teacher leaders

• Achievable & balanced

Contemporary Learning Focus

• Is our focus about student learning?

• Is it contemporary? How?

• Why is it significant for you & your school?

• Why might students think its important?

• How does it relate to your SIP?

What teachers need to know, understand and do – teaching

approaches – to enable the student learning vision or learning focus

areas

What teacher leaders need to know, understand, do – professional learning

approaches – to enable teachers

What school leaders need to know, understand, do - to build leadership capacity of teacher

leaders

Establishing expectations /success indicators at each level

Contemporary Learning focus: To develop a deeper understanding about themselves, the world and how it works through rigorous and

relevant learning opportunities

Student Success IndicatorsStudents will

Teacher Success IndicatorsTeachers will

Teacher Leader Success IndicatorsTeacher Leaders will

• Link what they learn to new situations

• apply new knowledge & set future goals

• Choose appropriate contemporary tools to enable communication with others

• Take opportunities to influence….??

• Provide rigorous & relevant learning opportunities for students to engage in

• Provide thinking tools or organisers to support analysis and synthesis

• Provide access to appropriate virtual and community resources

• Link school vision to curriculum design

• Structure opportunities for robust discussion around what’s worth learning

• Provide training around the use of contemporary tools

Leadership will implement the following strategies & structures to enable this learning:Allocate time and space for release of teachers to develop curriculum plans

Student Success indicators Teacher success indicators Teacher Leaders success indicators

•Regularly communicate and collaborate with others, using appropriate language to build relationships

•Communicate & collaborate with others via a range of contemporary tools to build relationships within & beyond the classroom

• Be able to select the most appropriate tool & articulate and reflect how the tools and strategies enable & support their learning

•Provide opportunities and model the language of communicating with others

•Provide engaging and flexible learning environments that enable purposeful and relevant learning opportunities.

•Provide the opportunity to use a variety of contemporary tools and resources that promote & enable communication and collaboration

•Provide access to professional learning opportunities for teachers to better understand the language and tools that enable & promote effective communication & collaboration.

•Model and/or mentor and/or coach, as required in order to support teachers in their teachingskill & practice development.

•Work collaboratively with teachers to plan for students to engage in, and take responsibility for, theirlearning.

Building Learning Relationships: Improving student outcomes through increased communication and collaboration with others within and outside the classroom.

Success Indicators-SMART

• Is the indicator open-ended enough for robust inquiry?Can the indicator be measured in some way either qualitative or quantitative? Is this indicator of student learning capable of happening or being accomplished given the current situation?Is it a genuine practical example of what could be achieved if teachers support and enable learners?Is it possible that you will notice change or growth in the time frame of the project?

Success Indicators-SMARTSignificant Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely

Is the indicator open-ended enough for robust inquiry?

Can the indicator be measured in some way either qualitative or quantitative?

Is this indicator of student learning capable of happening or being accomplished given the current situation?

Is it a genuine practical example of what could be achieved if teachers support and enable learners?

Is it possible that you will notice change or growth in the time frame of the project?

Evidence Process

• Central this process is the belief that the critical examination of teaching and learning evolves most productively from the close examination of evidence that comes from an educators own work.

What counts as evidence?

• Evidence may be samples of student work, observations of students, curriculum plans, interviews with students, observations by colleagues, video & audio capturing student or teacher learning/reflections – anything that will help you get clearer about your question or focus.

• Ref: The Evidence Process. A Collaborative Approach to Understanding and Improving Teaching and Learning (Project Zero~ Harvard School of Education)

Pre/Post comparisonsFor student success indicators:

To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a concept/big idea

Use mind map, concept map at the beginning, middle and end of a unit to monitor growth over time

For teacher success indicators: to demonstrate growth in understanding and use of a pedagogical practice

Audit

Purpose: To determine the extent which particular professional learning structures or strategies are known and being used to enable learning.

AuditPurpose: To determine the extent which particular strategies are known and being used to enable learning and to measure change over time

This tool is used to gather evidence in relation to a particular teacher success indicator.

Teacher Success Indicator: Model and use feedback to promote reflection and learning for both teachers and students

Likert ScalePurpose: To self assess practice using a rating scale and to measure change over time. This rating needs to be supported by evidence.

This tool could be used to gather base line data in relation Teachers Success Indicators

The tool could also be adapted for students to self assess a particular skill, level of understanding

Frequency of UsePurpose: To determine how often particular practices, strategies or contemporary tools are used and to measure the change in use over time.

This tool could be used to gather base line data in relation to the following Teacher Success Indicator Teachers will….Model reflective thinking routines and provide opportunities for students to use these routines to promote deep understanding.

Google Online forms

• Audit of contemporary tools

Purpose: To gather basline data and measure change over time in relation to the familiarity and use of particular contemporary tools (adapted to gather other kinds of data)

Wiki ~Ongoing reflectionsPurpose: Monitor growth and change in thinking and behaviour through ongoing teacher reflection through the wiki

Understandings of performance

• Unit based assessments (of, for, as) provide evidence in relation to student success indicators.

• Captured:– Annotated samples– Video & audio formats– On wiki, myclasses

Capacity matrix

Purpose: To gather baseline data in relation to the following student success indicators:• Can reflect on their

learning to inform future goals

• Students effectively negotiate their learning pathways with their teacher.

‘… the idea is not that one artifact from the classroom be shared as absolute proof of teaching or learning, but rather that a variety of artifacts collected over time could create a convincing argument that important learning is taking place and that a particular teaching practice is effective.’ (Ref: The Evidence Process)

This evidence was presented with student reflections on their learning

Existing data

• School Improvement Planning data • Surveys• Existing literacy and numeracy data