Stonefields School Opens Part 5 on PhotoPeach
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Stonefields School is Open!
Stonefields School Opens! on PhotoPeach
What a fabulous day we had on Thursday. There were many smiles as one by one the surprises were revealed.
What a fabulous day we had on Thursday. There were many smiles as one by one the surprises were revealed.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Knowing what to do when you are stuck!
The Stonefields School staff spent considerable time dialoguing and discussing the necessary dispositions needed for the future. This dialogue was an important one as we wanted to create a shared language that is reinforced throughout the School to actively build each learners Capacity to learn. This dialogue lasted over a number of days and we are pleased with the outcome. There are seven competencies that will be intentional explored and taught to ensure our learners know what to do when they don't know what to do.
They are;
Be determined – push through when the going gets tough
Wonder – to image and be creative
Reflect – Think about my thinking and about how I might improve, what I might do differently next time
Connect – Make connections
Question – Ask questions
Se Self Aware – Grow an understanding of how I best learn, what my strengths are
Think – grow thinking skills and tools to solve problems and make informed decisions
One of our teachers spent the day videoing learners to capture their thoughts about what makes a good learner a good learner. From our baseline we can see we have some work to do. Having interviewed hundreds of students using similar questions the responses are quite disturbing as often children will say ‘I don’t know’, ‘pick up rubbish’, ‘do what the teacher says’, ‘sit quietly on the mat’, and ‘listen’. Deep and engaging learning is not about being passive or being good, it is about engaging and knowing what to do when you are stuck in your learning. We look forward to focusing deeply in the next few weeks on ensuring our learners understand more deeply what it is to be an effective learner.
They journey begins.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Learning - The bottom line!
There has been lots of dialogue amongst staff in the last week or so about how to cause/activate learning and ensure as Guy Claxton so beautifully puts it 'get as much learning juice possible out'.
The learning design is two fold or better termed split screen. The design of the workshop (small group) teaching session where as much (sweet) juice as possible is packed into the experience so that the potential for gaining the goodness from the juice squeezed out. Graeme Atkin's question "How do I know my students need this learning at this time" is a superb question and has been asked many times as we reflect, critique and think about how learning is going to be designed and activated at Stonefields School.
The other side of the screen is ensuring learners are involved in worthwhile, rigorous learning experiences when not involved in a workshop with a teacher. Our inquiry/learning model is proving powerful at helping us design learning at stages beyond building knowledge. The thinking required to make meaning and apply understandings is what we want students to be involved in to develop the necessary thinking and powerful learning skills.
Exciting times - the journey is a privilege.
How do we pack as much juice in - how do we enable learners to get as much learning juice out?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
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