learning@school

1. learning@school Ko te whenu hou te tau Shaping teaching and learning in the 21st century learning@school Rotorua New Zealand February 2008

2. Key Competencies: Complex, Challenging, Compulsory

3. Pathway to success Clarify Learning Vision (what) Establish Learning BELIEFS Extract what you VALUE Understand the COMPETENCIES Establish SUCCESS CRITERIA (Vision and Criteria) Design CURRICULUM Deliver the LEARNING

4. But first… before we start looking at the key competencies, there are 2 crucial aspects about the new draft curriculum that we need to understand The draft New Zealand curriculum identifies five key competencies for learning and life. These are:managing self relating to others participating and contributing thinking using language, symbols, and text.

5. Vision (Page 8) Who will be confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners The whole of this curriculum is about empowering our pupils as learners

6. School Curriculum (P. 37) The national curriculum provides the framework and common direction for schools… It gives schools the scope flexibility and authority they need to design and shape their curriculum so that teaching and learning is meaningful and beneficial to their particular communities of students. Curriculum freedom is yours so that you can engage and motivate your pupils

7. Key Competencies: Compulsory

8. Competencies (Page 38) The school curriculum should challenge students to use and develop the competencies across the range of learning areas and in increasingly complex and unfamiliar situations The school curriculum is about using and developing the competencies.

9. Competencies (Page 38) When designing and reviewing their curriculum, schools will need to consider how to encourage and monitor the development of the key competencies. Schools need to… monitor

10. Learning Pathways (P. 41) • Learning areas in years 1-6 Teaching and learning programmes are developed through a wide range of experiences across all learning areas, with a focus on literacy and numeracy along with the development of values and key competencies. The focus for years 1-6 is on literacy, numeracy, values and competencies.

11. Competencies (Page 44) Each board of trustees, through principal and staff, is required to develop and implement a curriculum for students in years 1to 13: • Principles • Values • That supports students to develop the key competencies set out in pages 12-13 The freedom given to schools does not include the competencies, They are compulsory!

12. Key Competencies: Complex,

13. Challenge 1: Understanding The central core and purpose of the National curriculum is to develop the competencies. To implement the competencies Teachers, Boards, Parents and pupils need to gain a clear understanding of them. The competencies are very different from the essential skills. The Essential skills were just that.. A list of specific skills, with no real expectation that we would assess them, they were also never Gazetted. Competencies by contrast are complex mixtures of attitudes, values, understandings and skills……

14. It is important to understand the complexities

15. Managing Self Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently. Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently. Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently This is a complex mixture, students will not exhibit this competency in any consistent manner, their attitudes, understandings and skills will change from day to day, context to context, and situation to situation. Attitude Understanding Skills

16. Managing Self Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently. Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently. Managing self is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow and when and how to act independently This is a complex mixture, students will not exhibit this competency in any consistent manner, their attitudes, understandings and skills will change from day to day, context to context, and situation to situation. Attitude Understanding Skills

18. Pathway to success Clarify Learning Vision (what) Establish Learning BELIEFS Extract what you VALUE Understand the COMPETENCIES Establish SUCCESS CRITERIA (Vision and Criteria) Design CURRICULUM Deliver the LEARNING

19. Key Competencies: Challenging,

20. What are the challenges we face with implementing, teaching, assessing and reporting key competencies?

21. The responses to these challenges that I will share as we go through them come from a range of schools that I have been working with as they have been implementing aspects of the curriculum

22. Challenge 2: Vision “A school’s curriculum is likely to be well designed when: • Principals and teachers “can show what it is that they want their students to learn and how their curriculum is designed to achieve this.” P39 Schools will need to clarify their learning vision, that is…. What they see as being important for their pupils. They need to be able to clearly articulate those learning needs and goals. This is the foundation to being able to develop a sound school based curriculum, because the only way to justify and explain your curriculum is in terms of your vision.

23. 2 common types of vision in NZ schools

24. What vs HowMission vs Vision A good vision will: Be Clear Be Succinct Be about the organisation’s core purpose Be a statement of WHAT we aim to achieve

25. Tino Pai School Vision Mission We will create a learning community with a caring supportive environment, encouraging students to succeed in all their endeavours.

26. Recommendation: Review and revitalise your school vision… this is more than compliance, it is an essential foundation. Tidy it up so it is a learning vision Ensure it is commonly held

27. Pathway to success Clarify Learning Vision (what) Establish Learning BELIEFS Extract what you VALUE Understand the COMPETENCIES Establish SUCCESS CRITERIA (Vision and Criteria) Design CURRICULUM Deliver the LEARNING

28. Challenge 3: Going Deeper We have already seen that each competency is a complex mixture of skills, understandings and attitudes. The skills explicitly listed in each competency only scratch the surface. In most cases there are a whole range of skills that have not been detailed. A school will need to decide if they just focus on the listed skills, or if they will go deeper. For instance.. What other skills are associated with Managing self?

29. Some skills of Self Management Time management Resource management Goal setting Planning Task focus Setting standards Self evaluation Decision making Enterprising Strategies for meeting challenges These must include a range of skills… what are they?

30. Recommendation • Focus on one competency at a time • Take time to get to grips with it and gain a clear corporate understanding of the associated skills, attitudes and understandings. • Take time to go deeper, and discover what lies underneath • Don’t skimp on this crucial school wide professional development

31. Challenge 3: Implementing Once each competency is understood, (and further understanding will come through the process of implementation) schools have to implement the competencies. • Successful implementation requires a number of steps. • Setting your success criteria • Developing appropriate curriculum • Addressing the how of delivery • Designing and implementing assessment • Ongoing review These are all part of a larger holistic structure that can help schools with this whole process.

32. Appointment Process Induction Process Learning Vision Appraisal Process $ Criteria to show when that learning is occurring The school based curriculum Deliver the learning Learning • Use the criteria to assess learning and then: • Report to parents • Report to BOT • Review • Professional • Development

33. Setting Success Criteria This is crucial because it stops us talking educational waffle. The following example comes from Wakefield Primary School (Yr 0 to 6)

34. A Capable Communicator is one who can: • Productive: • Transmit complex messages clearly and creatively using a range of techniques appropriate to the audience and media. • Explain the main and supporting points from the intended message, • Justify the range of techniques used to convey the message • Evaluate the effectiveness of their communication using their own rubric or criteria

35. Developing Curriculum I don’t have time to go into this deeply. Talk to me at some stage during the conference and I can show you an example of a school based curriculum for ‘Communication’ which combines the competency of ‘Using language, symbols, and texts’ and the learning area of ‘English’ But there is one important message ….

36. We have learnt from experience that too much curriculum is not conducive to good learning When developing your school based curriculum start with a basic central core of what you see as being absolutely essential for you pupils. There is, and will always be, huge pressure on schools to keep adding to their curriculum

37. Recommendation • Establish a clear picture of the entire process and how the separate parts relate to each other • Establish a strategic plan that is realistic and manageable • Work through each step thoroughly • Seek advice, support and help from those that are ahead of you • Consider having an outside voice involved

38. Challenge 5: Assessing Once we understand the complex mixture of attitudes, understandings and skills that make up each competency it doesn’t take much to realise that assessment of these competencies is going to be an issue. Students attitudes and understandings will vary from situation to situation, and that our traditional paper based methods are inadequate for the challenge. A solution being developed to this at Brightwater school takes a 2 pronged approach, with students and teachers using digital portfolios for gathering evidence, reflections, and outcomes. 1.. Facilitate students to reflect on their understanding and attitudes across a range of contexts and situations. 2.. Identify a core set of skills (there are too many to assess them all), develop a set of progressions towards skill achievement, then gather evidence across a range of situations over time.

39. Thinking Thinking is about using creative, critical, metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas. These processes can be applied to purposes such as developing understanding, making decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency. Students who are competent thinkers and problem-solvers actively seek use, and create knowledge. They reflect on their own learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask questions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and perceptions. Thinking Thinking is about using creative, critical, metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas. These processes can be applied to purposes such as developing understanding, making decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency. Students who are competent thinkers and problem-solvers actively seek use, and create knowledge. They reflect on their own learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask questions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and perceptions. Working on this with a number of schools we have identified about 35 specific thinking skills. (and the list is still growing) Each school has identified a core set of between 5 to 8 thinking skills that they see as important for their students. These are the skills that will be assessed over time. This doesn’t mean that the other skills won’t be addressed, just they won’t be formally assessed and reported.

42. Questioning is central to thinking is central to learning is at the core of the Social Science and Science curriculum Go to http://ictnz.com , follow the link to the Questioning Wiki to see some exciting new material developed to help us facilitate and assess questioning skills. Or come to the workshop on questioning in breakout 6 on Friday

43. Recommendation • Spend the time to establish your school vision in terms of what is important for your pupils. • Decide how you will handle attitudes and understandings • Establish the range of skills involved • Determine which are the core skills for assessment

44. Challenge 6: Pupil driven learning Implementing core competencies well is likely to require further shifts towards student-centered practices. This may include students involved in the co-construction of curriculum. Moving away from a teacher-directed approach towards increasing student decision-making can be daunting for teachers.

45. Challenge 7: Teacher Attitude “Oh no… not more change!” “Just new names for old stuff!” “But we did vision 3 years ago!” “So all schools have to do their own curriculum… that’s crazy.. What a waste of time and energy, why don’t they just give us one curriculum and let us get on with it?”

46. Recommendation • Make the key competencies a whole-school focus (with not too much other PD). • Don’t just add extra work… reduce meetings • Remind them that teachers have wanted professional recognition and autonomy for a long time. Now you have it. • Too much curriculum, no-one to blame but yourselves after this.

47. Challenge 8: parents and caregivers There is always, especially among parents, a kind of nostalgia for the schooling which seemed to serve them so well when they were young, but which belongs now to an outdated paradigm Beare 2000

49. Both results will be an outcome of how schools respond to these challenges 8 Challenges: So What? In 5 years time some schools will look little different from how they look today. In 5 years time some schools will be very different places from what they are today.

50. There are 3 waves of school reform: Doing the same, but more of it Doing the same, but doing it better Re-structuring and re-designing the system Peter Holly 1990