Newsletter Term 2 2010

We had a really good turn out for the Parent Education meeting last Friday. The topic we discussed was Independent Learning and what this means for the children and teachers in the classroom. The ideas we touched on were wide ranging, but I thought it would be useful to outline a couple of the most important aspects of the talk in this newsletter. (By the way, Independent Learning is a phrase which the staff have latched onto at the moment. It does not totally sum up the learning that takes place in the classrooms, but is a starting point from which to build our Professional Development from. A new, more complete term, will be created as our own learning continues)

The key point we are trying to make with Independent Learning is that we want to ensure there is student voice in the learning that takes place in the classroom. This does not allow for a total free-range of "play" activities, but rather, in negotiation with the teacher, a co-constructed approach to learning. Students who have a particular passion, for example a keen interest in drama, might choose to use create a play which shares the learning that has taken place during reading time. Another student might choose to share their learning by creating a poster outlining the key learning points from their lesson with the teacher.

Here we have two different methods of sharing the students learning, both of which require different skills to be taught and different success criteria set to ensure that the time spent on the task is valuable. This is a challenge for the teacher but, with effective teaching and management skills, opportunities like this are seen as unique learning scenarios for the students and truly reflect their own voice in the classroom programme.

The second key point that needs to be made is the time this learning model gives to the teacher and students in the classroom. Independent Learning allows the students to focus on a wide range of learning opportunities while giving the teacher the time to work with small groups and even individuals. Small group teaching, linked to the assessment and overall teacher judgements we have about the students, means that explicit learning can take place within the normal structure of the day. Think about what it was like when we were at school. The teacher would have a "one plan for all lesson" and those who already knew the skills or knowledge being taught would be bored, those of us in the middle of the class would be taught and those who were struggling would often be left until the end of the lesson and, because time had run out, would be seen tomorrow. But tomorrow never really came, did it? The key here is that this Independent Learning model gives the teacher the time necessary to ensure that all students are successful.

Another key point of the discussion was the need for the teacher, often with help from the the students, to set the success criteria for whatever learning is taking place. A class may well have a wide range of teacher directed activities for the students to chose from, but each of these needs to be well set up, managed and the success criteria clearly outlined so that the children are able to independently access the learning opportunities. Setting this success criteria also allows the students to access prior knowledge and this adds depth to their learning.

Students need instruction and teaching about what Independent Learning is and how best to access their learning through this model. It is not OK to just assume that the students, any year level, understand how to "do" this. The teacher has a vital role to play in the classroom to ensure that effective learning choices are being made by the students. This could begin with just a few choices of activities to do, heavily supported with success criteria, and flow through to a wide range of learning opportunities co-created by the students and the teacher.

The staff, like the students, are on their own journeys with Independent Learning. We are discovering ways of tracking the students work, their success, next steps and working out how this fits into the Learning Reports that are the primary face of the students learning at FOS. Rest assured, Independent Learning brings out the best teaching practices and ensures the students have the most effective learning opportunities available to them.