The Joy of Teaching - 20 years of teaching and 20 reasons why this is the best career choice ever!

Next week marks my 20th anniversary as an educator. In 1998 I began my teaching career as an English and Drama teacher at Rangitoto College. Twenty years and I still freakin' love this job and really do struggle to understand why more people are fighting to join us in what I believe is one of the most rewarding, challenging and bloody entertaining jobs and careers you can have.

I also promised my critical friend Steve Mouldey that I would begin blogging again. His word/theme for the year is #optimistic, I've decided my word/theme for the year is #positivity. To this end I thought I'd celebrate my 20th teaching anniversary with a blog about the twenty reasons I believe teaching and education is the best career choice ever.

1) What we do is important
There is no question. Being a teaching is one of the most important roles in our community. We are not only fantastic caretakers and babysitters for much of the year, we are also trusted to provide young people with the knowledge and skills they need to survive and thrive, whilst also addressing community concerns and government priorities - we are bloody miracle workers (and hence we deserve the pay to go with it ;). But seriously, what we do is seriously important work on many levels, and personally I am stoked to be given that opportunity.

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” 

- Malala Yousafzai

2) We get to be challenged
See above! With the privilege of doing such important work comes huge challenges. There is no question that teaching can be massively challenging and at times hugely stressful as teachers feel the pressure to be all things to all people. Whilst we are told that relationships and people are the most important things in teaching we are also then pulled away from that by pressures related to administration, data mining, keeping up with the latest priorities and not to mention assessment and reporting. Yep, it's bloody hard work, but it's good work, it's meeting the challenges head on, managing the challenges and working out ways to work smarter that can also be hugely rewarding. Challenges force us to grow.

3) Our job changes every year
I don't know about you but I definitely have some sort of attention deficit disorder. Too much same same and I get bored, but oddly I also like routine. What I love is that we get the best of both worlds. Whilst we get to experience a comforting cycle of work life each year, knowing that at the beginning of each year we are working to an end point, beginning of each term we are working towards another well deserved break, we also get the to experience a sense of genuine rebirth and renewal every year. How many people get to work towards a real sense of completion each and every year and get to begin anew each year as well! New classes, new challenges, new topics to roll around in. Heck I even get excited about my fresh new notebook I get to break out. Boom. Fresh Kmart stationery gives me real joy. But seriously, the fact that our job changes and evolves every year is a gift. Look around you and consider how many other careers provide an opportunity for reset and refresh every single year?

4) We get to witness learning lightbulbs being sparked
And of course there is no denying one of the biggest joys of teaching - seeing people learn! I can still recall so many moments from throughout my teaching career where I have been privileged to see that lightbulb flick on. Whether it's teaching them tricks to improve their writing, demystifying the art of essay writing - it might sound dull but seeing a student who has struggled through ten plus years of writing and seeing essays as an insurmountable mountain of words, helping them to see that it is actually no more than jigsaw of teeny tiny parts that they can totally do is totally rewarding. Honing my ability to make the seemingly complex, seem achingly simple has been one of my greatest sources of joy. Giving students tricks and strategies that help them to help themselves is freakin' cool.

5) We get to provide safe havens
Not only do we get to teach all of these young people, we also get to create a safe place for them. I love love love creating spaces where teenagers feel safe to let their freak flag fly. A place where being different is celebrated, where having an opinion is encouraged, where failing is fine and challenging me is expected. Being a teenager is hard and being a teenager in the age of social media is a total minefield. How cool is it that we can provide a haven from all of that, we have the ability, even if only for an hour of that teenager's day where they can feel assured that it's okay just being them. We can teach subjects and topics that challenge them to develop greater empathy and understanding. We have the ability to make each and everyone of our young people celebrate who they are and what they can do, simply by getting to know them, listening and caring. That's a gift right there.

6) We get to indulge in and share our passions
And if that wasn't enough, we can do all of this whilst indulging in our passions. Most secondary teachers I know came to teaching with a desire to share their passion for learning and particular subjects. The great thing is, even as education evolves into more integrated approaches and with a greater focus on skills, we can still indulge and share our passions. For me that is an absolute love for poetry. There is so much that can be taught through poetry - any topic, any theme, any aspect of human nature, poetry has got it covered. I LOVE Maya Angelou. If you've been in my English class at any point I've probably shoe-horned in some Angelou. There is nothing better than sharing your passion and having it catch on. In a world of algorithm echo chambers, curated playlists and YouTube subscriptions there has never been a more important time for broadening teenagers horizons by exposing them to all the fantastic literature and learning we know and care about.

7) We have a captive audience of teachers and students
Maybe it's the Drama student/teacher in me but I do love that we have a captive audience that we get to perform to occasionally. I'm not big on direct instruction but I do love the opportunity to entertain and inform when the opportunity arises, whether it be performing a Sam Hunt poem with his distinctive rhythm and lilt, sermonising at some conference or even writing a blogpost. Having a platform of any kind is pretty empowering.

8) We get to teach cool sh*t thanks to an amazing curriculum
And the thing that allows us to weave in our passions and personalise learning is our awesome New Zealand Curriculum. One of the greatest gifts that speaking at international conferences and events has been the growing realisation that the NZC is not normal. In fact you would be hard pushed to find a curriculum that is as creative and as flexible as the NZC anywhere else in the world. It's important to celebrate these things, it's way too easy to focus on what we see as barriers, when in fact we actually have pretty much no barriers to how we deliver this thing. And if you believe we do, the nice thing is they are probably the result of department and school policies and approaches which can totally be challenged, hacked and overcome!

9) We get to assess learning creatively thanks to our flexible assessment framework
And if that wasn't enough we can be totally creative in how we assess it as well. Again local contexts and constraints may feel like it limits your creativity, the nice thing is the system doesn't. How cool that you you only have to challenge your context and not the whole freakin' system. Yay NZ.

10) We get to share cool sh*t 
Not only do we get to do awesome stuff we can share it! I have been an over sharer from way back and I can attest that sharing what you love is totally rewarding. Whether it be within your school, through online communities or at conferences it is all kinds of warm and fuzzy when you share what you do. And it doesn't matter how small or insignificant you think it might be, even if it helps one person, it's a great feeling.

11) We have amazing PLNs and support networks
And the bonus of sharing is it goes both ways. I'm not sure if it's the same in all professions but education seems to be particularly rich in terms of personal and professional learning networks and events. You can turn to twitter for any number of chats - #edchatnz is a constant source of inspiration, challenge and support and there are now more "chat" hashtags than you can poke a stick. We have Facebook communities and list-serves. We have subject associations and unions who all work hard to support teachers. We have an evolving Education Council that is producing exemplary professional learning and support resources such as Our Code | Our Standards.

12) We get paid to learn
And we also get paid to learn! Whether it be through in school professional development or through more formal professional development and study. Many schools will also support further learning at tertiary level. And of course through the very act of teaching we learn.

13) We have awesome opportunities in our wider community
One of the great things about teaching is we aren't just part of a school, we are part of a system! One of my greatest joys is that I get to work beyond the school in a number of ways. In the past I have been exam marker (great learning 😬), I have supported the wider English teaching community as a facilitator at Team Solutions, have been involved in writing Achievement Standards, been part of national reference and advisory groups with the PPTA, MoE and NZQA and have served on the Teachers Council and now the Education Council. And all of this came about because I am a teacher who likes to communicate and share. One opportunity led to another. And the great thing is anyone can get amongst it. Start local or online, you'd be surprised at how having a positive voice online can open doors to great opportunities.

14) We get to hang out with teenagers 
Okay this may not strike everyone as an obvious "joy". It took me leaving the school environment to work at University of Auckland's Team Solutions for nine months to realise how much I actually loved hanging out with teenagers. Hanging out with people your own age all day is boring - I felt like I had accidentally meandered in to a retirement village! Albeit a retirement village of awesomeness. I loved my time at Team Solutions, it gave me breathing space and time to read and learn in a way I hadn't done for years. It also gave me the chance to support other teachers which I loved. But there was no doubting that I realised just how much teenagers were the reason I loved teaching. They crack me up, teenagers are hilarious. They also help me maintain an excellent immature streak.

15) We get to know a lot of amazing young people
And amongst those teenagers there are a lot of amazing people. I know we aren't meant to have favourites but there is no denying there are "those students" who we will never forget. Whether it's the ones who overcome massive challenges, those who shine academically, culturally, creatively or on the sporting field. Those students who deliver a spine tingling speech or that seemingly boofhead First XV lad who secretly stays behind in class to share his amazing poetry. Teach for long enough and you will meet so many characters that will stick with you. Definitely one of the coolest parts of the job.

16) We get insights into a lot of other worlds
And with all of those young people come their experiences and cultures. Whether it is gaining an understanding of what it is like for a young Pasifika women to get up and catch trains and buses from the far corners of Auckland just so they can be part of the AGGS community or move out of home into a hostel at EGGS or the complex pressures they experience to be the best they can be in the classroom, on the sports field or on the stage or the challenges they may have to come overcome due to all kinds of family and community complexities and differing cultural norms. Not to mention the online world in which they also exist. I don't think are many people who get the privilege of learning so much about different worlds as we do.

17) We get to work with amazing colleagues
One of the advantages of us experiencing these worlds is that for most of us it means we develop insight and empathy that is probably only equalled by those in other public services. To this end by working in a school we get to hang out with a pretty amazing bunch of people who care about others as a living. I have worked at many schools and seem to collect longterm friends at every stop. The vast majority of my friends are teachers. I love that they tend to be passionate, empathetic, intelligent, opinionated and just generally really interesting and passionate people.

18) We can travel and call it work
Being a teacher can also take you amazing places. Whether it's local school trips or camps or bigger international experiences in Vietnam or Europe. Okay so this isn't universal, but the opportunity to experience new things, people and places along with your students is a pretty cool bonus if you can get it.

19) We have the best holidays (part one) - so get time with our family and friends
I'm not sure why, but teachers seem to play this down. We seem to be way too quick to try and make out the holidays aren't all that. We can be quick to bemoan the amount of planning, marking and prep we do. I'm sorry I just don't buy it. I have lived in a household my whole life where my parents and my siblings were thankful for three weeks off a year. Not us. We have 10-12 weeks of freaking holidays!! Oh yes we do and it is awesome! Yep, we might do some school stuff in that time, but we get to do it on our terms. I LOVE that I get to hang out with kids whilst they're on holiday, I get rock my dressing gown until whenever the hell I want and I get to catch up with friends and family whenever I damn well please. Since having kids I have often reflected on the fact that this is one career that I can really go hard out in that career without having to compromise hanging out with my family. Basically I get to be Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford all at the same time! 😂  Okay that might be a bit of a stretch, but I am truly grateful that I get to be all "kickass career Claire" and also get to hang with with kids in the holidays. That sh*t is priceless.

20) We have the best holidays (part two) - so can travel more than most
And with this flexible time comes time to travel. I might be lacking hard dat on this one, but if my Facebook and Instagram feed is anything to go by, teachers simply have more time and opportunity to travel. Whether it's road tripping, camping tramping or crossing the globe, the Summer holidays seem to provide teachers and their families whether extra time and space to experience amazing things. So it's not just great being a teacher your are super lucky to be with a teacher and have a Mum or Dad that teaches as well.

So there you go that's my twenty reasons. Would be keen to hear what you love about this job. Yep there are challenges and there is always things can be improved. I am a firm believer that if we can sing our praises and shout from the roof tops what is so damn fabulous about this career, we are better placed to get others on board. So if you are reading this and aren't a teacher, I consider you think about becoming one! And if you are reading this and have any influence over teaching conditions, workload and pay I suggest you think about how we can ensure all teachers get what they rightfully deserve.

All the best for an awesome 2018 school year!

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New Zealand Curriculum Implementation - Are we there yet?

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week I had the utter privilege to be invited to participate in a Ministry of Education New Zealand Curriculum Think Tank. Two days, 25 positive, proactive agentic and action orientated curriculum leaders from across the country came together to consider how NZC implementation might be reinvigorated. Interestingly, I couldn't help but chuckle about how an article I wrote (as guest editor of English in Aotearoa) six years ago sort of captured the challenges we discussed.

English in Aotearoa Editorial – What new curriculum?

By Claire Amos

In August 2009 The Education Gazette spoke to New Zealand Curriculum project manager Chris Arcus, to find out what schools needed to know about the NZC at this stage. When asked where schools need to be by February 2010 his answer was this, “All schools need to do a couple of things – they need to design and implement a school curriculum and they need to teach using an evidence based inquiry cycle that informs what they do and monitors the impact of those decisions.” 

It is nearly a year on since that statement was made and many of us have been “implementing” the NZC for some time now. Whilst we might feel we have been very busy implementing, how well and how authentically we are doing so is hard to measure. 

In the junior school, implementation may have involved a review and maybe even a redesign of Junior English programmes. It may have included consideration and even integration of values and/or key competencies, for others it might simply have taken the form of adopting unit planner templates that incorporate the language of the NZC. Then along came the aligned Achievement Standards -
galloping on horse back over the educational horizon to rescue our senior school. Out with the old standards, in with new, and hey presto, the NZC will be magically implemented...or will it? Are our students even aware of any change, or are they asking – what new curriculum?

Okay, so this is an unfair and rash summary of our many and varied approaches to implementing the NZC. It does, however, raise some very genuine issues around approaches to implementation and in particular the differing approaches we tend to adopt when looking to integrate the NZC into the junior school versus the senior school. With national qualifications generally out of the picture in Year 9 and Year 10 it would seem we are more likely to take a “principled” approach to NZC implementation. It is almost as if the lack of formal national assessment frees us to focus on the “front end” of the NZC. Without NCEA in the picture we can allow principles, values and key competencies to come into focus and in some cases even form a structure or framework for our programme design. The implementation of the NZC in the junior school, it would seem, is more likely to be explicit, with the values and key competencies being highlighted in the classroom, being referred to by the students and in some cases even being assessed and reported on.

However when we hit Year 11 and NCEA comes trotting into view, an interesting thing happens. The “front end” of the NZC seems to diminish or in some cases even disappear from the picture altogether. Instead NCEA now provides the framework and structure for our programme design. Achievement Standards (or a combination there of) replace values and key competencies. Whilst this is a rather harsh generalisation, when it comes to senior programme design it is hard to argue the fact that assessment comes to the forefront and the principles of the NZC (values and competencies) seem to be thrust to the background or erased altogether. You may argue that the “front end” of the NZC is still implicit in your planning. But is it? Really?

Attitudes and approaches to NZC implementation could be seen as falling into four areas, or what I refer to as the quartiles of curriculum implementation. Consider any one course that you teach. Would you describe your approach to implementation as explicit or implicit? Have you focused on the “front end” or the “back end” of the NZC document? Have you considered all aspects of the NZC in both your junior and senior programmes? 

So what is the right approach? Is there even a “right” approach? I guess only time will tell.

But of course, things have changed. Or have they?

So seven years on from implementation, where are we?

Firstly, the document itself has stood the test of time. The NZC document remains a world leader in future-focused, creative, innovative and delightfully permissive curriculum design. It balances the what Jane Gilbert labelled as the Traditionalist (Knowledge) with the Progressivist (student centred), i.e. the stuff at the back (learning areas and achievement objectives) is offset by the brilliant stuff at the front (key competencies, principles, pedagogy etc). In many ways we have made excellent progress.

However my key concern after listening to a number of awesome educators who have coherently implemented the curriculum is, I believe, we have a situation. A major situation.

More precisely, IMO, we are have a gaping freakin' chasm.

On one hand we have many educators and schools who have indeed implemented the curriculum coherently. These leaders are what I would describe as truely ethical school leaders. School leaders driven by a moral purpose who have determined that they would address the whole curriculum, even when they may feel that the government really only demands them to deliver National Standards and/or NCEA Level Two results. Leaders such as my own, Maurie Abraham, leading a reimagining of the secondary experience at HPSS, Barbara Cavanagh exemplifying the power of Impact Projects at ASHS, Sheryll Ofner who helped Selwyn College become 'SELWISE', Sarah Martin of Stonefields School and Russell Burt leading into the future at Pt England School. This list goes on, each and every leader I have worked with other the last two days had "it" in spades. A desire to genuinely put the needs of the learner ahead of the seemingly overwhelming demand for data, data, data and results.

On the other hand, we have the rest. The schools and leaders who have stayed with 'traditionalist' approaches and have either addressed the 'progressivist' stuff through lip service...or not at all. These are the schools who are either so weighed down by the demands of meeting achievement targets, they can't see past them (these people need our support), or more infuriating we have the oft described "top schools" who meet the achievement targets with ease and seem to coast along resting on the laurels of a high decile rating, bulging school roll and top of leaderboard/Metro magazine placing. And the worst thing is, there seems be little challenging their *hands clasped behind head, feet up on the desk* position. Goddam people. That is bloody disappointing.

So what can we do?

Many ideas were discussed and shared over the last two days. Note - not everyone may view the situation quite as I do. People agreed on one thing though - our curriculum is kickass. Let's just ensure we make the most of it.

Many suggested the need to amplify and share the success stories.

School leaders were continuously seen as the solution...and the problem. Ethical, proactive leaders are doing it. Others are not. How do we address this?

There was discussion about the need to address Principal appointment processes - self-managing schools make their own appointments. This means Boards of Trustees (who we must remember are simply a group of interested parents) are entrusted to appoint their leaders. Do they understand what a future focused leader looks like? Or do they look to the past, to the leader that they looked up to in a different time, thereby perpetuating an industrial model of leadership? Do we need to ensure there is a mechanism that ensures an educational expert is involved?

Another issue raised was the lack of Principal support and development. Do we need an apprenticeship model or something ongoing that looks beyond the First-time Principals Programme? What happens after that?

What about Principal appraisal? Does there need to be something that is nationally managed to ensure a consistent standard and make it possible for intervention and support to be more effectively introduced? Forget the National Aspiring Principals Programme, maybe we need the National Appraisal of Principals Project instead?

Do we need more specific standards for Principals? Standards that clearly demonstrate the 'principles in practice' required to implement a coherent future-focused, localised curriculum in every school.

And what about a Curriculum Leaders Institute that recognise Master Educators, think the educational equivalent of a Master Builders guild. Giving a recognised status to those leading the way. 

One thing that everyone agreed on, was the need to (re)start a national conversation. The NZC, not National Standards, NCEA or decile ratings, the purpose of the curriculum needs to be at the heart of a robust national conversation. Are we there yet? If not, why not? And what are going to do to rectify the situation? Here's hoping, if nothing else, this excellent NZC think tank is the beginning of that...and much much more.

Thank you to the MoE for an excellent couple of days.

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Blue Sky High - five things every secondary school should implement...now

Apologies in advance. This appears to be my annual end of summer "what needs to be changed in schools" rant. All this "not blogging" over summer has resulted in pent up edu-righteousness that must be unloaded.

So, what happens when you take 15 years of teaching and leading at four different fairly traditional, fairly engaging, high performing secondary schools, add three years of innovation incubation as part of the establishment Senior Leadership Team at Hobsonville Point Secondary School (HPSS) and throw in a bit of Most Likely to Succeed (documentary and book)? For me it's resulted in the creation of Blue Sky High.

Check out the book here!

Actually, to be honest, Blue Sky High has been with me for a while now. Some people have imaginary friends, not me, I'm all about the imaginary high school. Blue Sky High isn't a new school, because to me that's not where the potential necessarily lies. Blue Sky High is all of the schools I've worked in and all of the schools I dream of leading one day. It's a hypothetical "every school" that I continually assess and reassess in light of the learning I am doing at HPSS (and believe me, the learning is huge) and the learning I do with every event I speak at, every conference I attend, every group or committee I sit on, every bit of research and stories I read or watch and every educator I meet. I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time daydreaming, planning and plotting about what I would change, what I would introduce and what I might take away if I was in the position to do so.

Of course every school has it's own context and its own specific community needs and opportunities and there is no one size fits all solution, nor is it ever one person's job to affect or demand change. There is however a few key things I keep coming back to, that I reckon could improve any and every school I can think of - improving schools without taking away the special character or flavour that makes a school what it is. I believe that implementing the following five things would be a relatively easy way for any school to evolve so as to ensure students are gaining the skills needed now (not 100 years ago) and in the future. Whether you refer to them as the infuriatingly named "21st century skills" such as collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking, or simply as a way of genuinely fostering what the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) refer to as key competencies, particularly relating to others, managing self and participating and contributing. And the awesome thing about NZ and our self-managing schools is that all of these things could be implemented tomorrow. 

1. One to one devices with an open internet

I nearly didn't include this one as I feel like it's so damn obvious. But alas I know that it is not necessarily the case. So, number one, get a solid wifi infrastructure and open up that Internet. Invest in digital citizenship programmes over surveillance software. Students will binge on Facebook/Spotify/YouTube etc for a time and then they won't, or at least they won't binge too much if the learning is engaging. Yes you will have to be vigilant, you will need to move from the front of the classroom and be among your students. Stop fretting over filtering and control and just get on and encourage and support each and every student to bring in a laptop and use it effectively. Yes some students will struggle to afford a device but increasingly suppliers are offering very affordable hire purchase options and what you save on computer labs can be invested in chrome books or affordable laptops that can be lent to those that need them through the library. "One to one" is the key, not optional BYOD as this will only add to teacher workload as they double up on paper and digital approaches - teachers will also use this as a handy excuse to not evolve their approaches, and fair enough too if it's all a bit "here and there". Teachers are bloody busy, they deserve nothing less than one to one if they are going to learn and leverage new strategies, they need to be able to do so efficiently. Bite the bullet, just do it. It is only when you have all students connected that you can genuinely transform how you manage learning and can use e-learning to support, extend and personalise learning and assessment. Or even better you can let the students take the lead, choose the tools, sources and mode for capturing and evidencing learning in a way that engages and supports them. And of course students can still work by hand, make, create, talk, roll around in butchers paper and connect face to face. Believe me, I have experienced every shade of BYOD, diving in the deep end is way less painless than nervously dipping your toes and wondering why learning isn't being transformed. 

Now on to the genuinely exciting ideas (each of which will be enhanced if kids develop digital literacy AND have digital freedom so as to support real agency).

2. Spend more time doing less

One thing of which I am sure - we are rushing teachers and students, doing too much, too quickly. For years I have heard teachers wail about the loss of flexibility, freedom and time, how we used to have time to play and dive deep. Well, news flash, we have created the beast of busyness ourselves. We have added more and more and more and have failed to do anywhere near enough editing. We jam learning into bite size portions, insulting young people's ability to stay focused for anymore that 40-50 minutes at a time. The reality is we over teach, over assess and often cover a whole lot of "stuff" that we are clinging on to because we as teachers love it and are convinced they need all of it. One of the biggest personal learning curves I have experienced at HPSS is that students don't need all that stuff and we don't need to teach all aspects of every learning area every year. At HPSS we are exploring the idea of "threshold concepts" - these are the concepts from each learning area that must be learnt and understood in order for students to progress. The other trick is making Year 9 and 10 a single two year programme - that way content can be almost halved in most learning areas, giving much more time and space for deep learning and inquiry.  

However simply pruning programmes is not enough. 

Classes need to be respectful of a student's need to take time. Time to not just "be taught", but time to engage in deep learning and independent inquiry. This can not be achieved in 45 minutes. After 15 years of 45-60 minute periods in a range of schools and three years of 90 minute blocks at HPSS I am embarrassed that I ever gave students less time and expected deep learning to occur. Students and teachers need time for a whole raft of reasons. Students need it so they have time to engage in deep learning, they need time so they can engage in self-directed learning, they need time to think/wonder/ponder, they need time to create, time to fail, they need time to simply learn how to manage time. Teachers need time to get out of the way. So often in a 45-50 minute block, we really only have the time to share our "brilliance" with our students. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with John Hattie last year and he out and out challenged me when I declared I only spent 15 minutes in a block direct teaching, he reckons even if my direct teaching time was minimal he doubted I clocked less than 30 minutes airtime (and of course he had data to back this up). And he was probably right. The joy of a 90 minute block is I can engage in direct teaching for up to 30 minutes (if it's even necessary) and still have 60 minutes for group or self-directed work, completing challenges, discussion, inquiry and creation. Suck 30 minutes out of 45 minutes and you barely have time for students to arrive and settle at the beginning and pack up at the end. At HPSS we have 90 minute blocks and no bells and surprisingly students often need to be prompted to stop working. Deep learning is bloody hard to achieve when you barely have time to breath. 

3. Connected interdisciplinary learning

Another huge learning curve I have experienced at HPSS is the power of connected interdisciplinary learning. Our foundation programme (a composite two year Year 9 and 10 programme) includes a number of co-taught modules where two learning areas come together to teach under a common concept or theme. For example I have taught an English and Science module with Danielle Myburgh called Game Over that looked at the gamification of war through the novel Enders Game, explored the nature of science through a science fiction lens and researched the science of gaming. I taught an English and Social Science module with Sarah Wakeford called Freedom Fighters to Freedom Writers which looked at Black Civil Rights in history and through the text Freedom Writers Diary and went on to explore this in a NZ context through the Treaty of Waitangi and Parihaka through a Social Studies and literature lens. There is no question, learning is deeper if it is connected and contextualised. Time and time again I have seen students experiencing enhanced learning in each learning area by the the addition of a second one. Maths is given an authentic context by applying it to Technology, representation of ideas in English literature are taken to the next level when explored through the Arts. Combining two learning areas has been made possible by our physical learning environment at HPSS with two teachers being able to teach 50+ students in an large learning common (we are working from the same student teaching ratio as any other school in NZ), this of course is nigh on impossible in the traditional single cell classroom environment. However all is not lost. Often, in many schools, junior programmes are organised in form classes that move through much of the day together (bar the odd bit of needless streaming...I'll save that odious topic for another blogpost). All it would take for many schools to make this shift is for a series of common concepts or themes to be established and a mechanism whereby the teachers of each form class commit to some serious time and effort to connect their learning by planning together. Maybe they could allow the students to work smarter by completing overarching inquiries and projects that counted for more than one learning area. Yes this would take time and fair bit of effort (although platforms such as Hapara Workspace can make this surprising easy to manage) but imagine what you could achieve and how all of you might learn from each other and the way you might share and learn from one another's student data. This would of course rely on schools giving each and everyone of their teachers the autonomy to plan their courses as they see fit for their learners - now wouldn't that be a bloody marvellous idea! 

4. Large scale long term project learning

Connecting the learning as outlined above is an awesome first step in deepening learning, it doesn't however allow for the genuine interdisciplinary learning that can be achieved through large scale and long term project learning. I know many schools collapse a week or a few days here and there to engage in rich tasks or cross-curricular project learning events, these are great, but I actually reckon the skills and dispositions developed through interdisciplinary project learning are best experienced over time, deserving the same status as any one of the "core subjects" we seem to defend, obsess and froth over. I have long admired the work that Albany Senior High School (ASHS) do through their Impact Projects and am surprised that more haven't followed suit. In many ways ASHS have pioneered and paved the way for what we are doing at HPSS, giving students two thirds of every Wednesday to engage in large scale, long term projects which run for a semester (half a school year) which see them addressing an issue or need, providing a solution, a service or designing a product for a very real client or partner. This is a great way to authentically introduce "service learning" and has been a great way for students to explore and address issues around sustainability within a very real community context. In the junior programme these programmes are led and managed by the teachers (project guides) with the idea that as students move into senior school they will have gained the skills required to start developing their own impact projects with the support of a project guide. Personally I can see a whole lot of sense in dedicating a day a week to project learning, that way making the entire school focus on the same thing and teachers and facilities from across the school are available as needed. It also requires having a person or team that can help develop partnerships with local community groups and businesses - imagine how your students might serve your (and their) local community if they had a dedicated day a week to do so. Of course you will need to make space in your curriculum to make this work (refer back to point two - this will require a bit healthy pruning in each of those core subject areas to make space for project learning that quite possibly dips into each of these subjects anyway). To make it genuinely engaging students need to have options and choices, being able to select a project focus that interests them in the junior school and ultimately developing an impact project that lets them explore their interests and passions in the senior school. This requires project guides that are flexible and responsive - a challenge, but so worth it when you consider they way that projects allow students to really express and develop each of the key competencies and are way more likely, more so than any one subject, to prepare them for their lives and careers beyond school. As an aside I would love to see NZ adopt a Project Learning qualification similar to the one offered in South Australia (SACE) where all Year 12 students engage in a year long Research Project which are then celebrated through a state wide exhibition of learning - what a great way to measure the development some of our key competencies through important and engaging context. 

5. Home rooms with real academic coaching

Like projects, I believe form classes and home rooms deserve real time. Before HPSS I had only really experienced the 15 minute form time, which lay outside teaching contact time so often achieving little more than a quick hello, roll take and if you are lucky a rousing rendition of the Daily Notices. We then try and add academic coaching and/or mentoring and wonder why they fail or result in very little. Deans take care of the meaty matters and teachers take care of admin. At HPSS we have Learning Hubs where teachers spend three 90 minute blocks a week, dedicated to looking after the whole student. In the last two years this has been shaped loosely around a curriculum divided into three areas - my learning, my community and my being. Hub time is a time for meeting with students one to one, setting goals, reflecting on learning, learning to learn developing dispositions we refer to as the "Hobsonville Habits". Coaches communicate home every two to three weeks and students stay (where possible - this is hard to achieve in establishment phase) with the same coach for their five years at high school. In many ways the coach is like a form teacher on steroids combined with a dean and career adviser - they are the "go-to adult" for that student throughout their secondary schooling. Many of you probably baulking at the 3x 90 minutes (yes, this means more subject specific pruning) but I reckon at least 2x 60-90 minute blocks of home room time would be worth their weight in (pedagogical and wellbeing) gold. Imagine what might be achieved within a vertical group, the kind of student mentoring that could be developed, the way you could develop the skills and dispositions that would support your mentoring, academic coaching, restorative practice and PB4L initiatives. This gives you the space for that important cross curricular learning around such things as digital citizenship, anti-bullying, wellbeing and learning to learn strategies. This time becomes especially important as your school moves to an increasing student centred approach where learner agency is encouraged - students can succeed at large stints of self-directed learning, but they are teenagers and will always need your guidance, challenge and support. 

Of course there are many other things we could change or do, such as ensuring every teacher engages in teaching as inquiry, or even better - spirals of inquiry. Schools could develop a common language of learning, provide more student choice and encourage greater learner agency. But I reckon if the five ideas above were adopted, many of these other things would occur in the long term anyway. I recognise that many schools are doing one or more of the things outlined above already, however I believe the key is not glacial incremental adoption of one, two or three of these things, I actually reckon it's doing all of them and more depending on the particular needs of your students and community. I actually have an alternate daydream where I abolish all timetables and subjects in favour of a series of self-directed challenges and projects with learning guides helping students to navigate through the curriculum - but one thing I have learned at HPSS is the importance of taking people with you. The five ideas suggested above are completely doable - if you believe they aren't, I suspect you might be underestimating yourself as well as your staff, students and wider community. To paraphrase Grant Lichtman - educational change isn't hard, it's simply uncomfortable. Remember the purpose of education is not just good NCEA grades or achieving University Entrance, it has to be way bigger than that if we have any chance in preparing our young people for an ever changing and increasingly challenging world we live in. I like how Wagner and Dintersmith sum up what the purpose of education should be in their book Most Likely to Succeed:

The purpose of education is to engage students with their passions and growing sense of purpose, teach them critical skills needed for career and citizenship, and inspire them to do their very best to make their world better. 

Are we meeting that purpose with arcane, disconnected, single subject learning, or could we be doing a whole lot better by making just a few small but significant changes? I would be interested in your thoughts.

What changes would you make at your Blue Sky High?

Finally credit where credit is due. Thanks (or possibly apologies) to the following people for being such key influencers resulting in this particular rant. Maurie, Lea, Di and the whole HPSS team (I honestly think I've learnt as much in the last three years as I did in the 15 before that). This post is also a direct response of spending my last week of the summer holidays reading Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith's Most Likely to Succeed (which I highly recommend - if nothing else it made me very proud of the NZC and NZ education system - but equally annoyed that we don't take greater advantage of the freedom we have here to implement their recommendations) which provides the research and provocations that led to the documentary of the same name being made. Getting to meet and speak with High Tech High's Larry Rosenstock last year at EduTech had a profound impact, as did working and presenting with #EdJourney author Grant Lichtman at Ulearn and our very own Staff Only Day. The other two educators that provided influential ear worms that firmed up my thinking were my new found friends from Learning2 Manila - make sure you check out the Learning2 talks from Sam Sherratt and Reid Wilson. 

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Realising the Future of NZ Education - an open letter to all NZ educators (and Minister Parata)

Realising the Future of Education from Claire Amos

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at The Festival of Education as a supposed 'mover and shaker'. Here is an overview of my presentation on 'Realising the Future of Education' which endeavored to look at why, how, what, when we need to change education and what the government could do (IMHO) to support it. Okay, so not so humble...more righteous really.

Why must we change education?

As Ludwig Lachman stated, "the future is unknowable, but not unimaginable" and whilst we can't see into the future, we can look to a strong body of research to try and divine our present and future learners' needs. Put simply, we need to change education, because the world is changing...and changing rapidly. In the Western world we have moved through the 'Agrarian Age' where the land and agriculture were central to existence. We then moved into the 'Industrial Age', it was in this period that what we know as modern school structures and curriculum really came to the fore...and by and large there they have stayed. We are now however entering the 'Knowledge Age' where increasingly society and the economy is driven by ideas, information, problem solving, creativity and innovation. In a world where our learners are faced with more information, more people, more careers (but fewer jobs available) and fewer resources - our learners need new skills. Add to this the notion that the rate of change is accelerating, see Moore's Law based on Intel founder Gordon E. Moore's prediction that the power and speed of computer processing power would double every year, a prediction that holds true 50 years after it was made. It could be argued that we are, in fact, entering a period of hyperchange. Indeed. As Heraclitus once stated, "the only constant is change".

How do we need to change education?

Firstly we need to change our focus. We need to ensure we are focusing on actual 21st Century skills. This does not mean we need to throw out traditional learning areas with the proverbial curriculum bath water, but we do need to overlay these subjects with skills such as complex communication skills, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, innovation as well as digital and information literacy skills. These are skills that need to be developed in a way that reaches across traditional subjects and silos. With this traditional subjects and silos may also need to be challenged so as to find more authentic connections and contexts to make the learning more relevant to our learners' worlds. 

We also need to address our models of teaching practice. As Scott McCleod highlights in his blog Dangerously Irrelevant three educational shifts are needed which will have the most impact on our students future and their success within it. There is a need to move from low level thinking such as recall and rote learning to high level thinking and complex problem solving. We must engage shift from analog to digital (or I would actually argue 'blended') and as Sugata Mitra states "unlock the power of new technologies for increasingly self-directed education". Which leads us to the final shift - teacher centred to student centred. Critical thinking, digitally rich and increasing levels of self direction will ensure we are developing learners who can survive in the knowledge age and flourish in the age of hyperchange.

I would actually argue that self-direction and developing student agency and efficacy is the fundamental shift. In a sense we want step away from our 'caged' classrooms to develop increasingly 'free range learners'.

Free range learners who are:

• Free to choose how they learn
• Free to choose where they learn
• Free to choose how they process their learning
• Free to choose how they evidence their learning
• Free to experience learning that is relevant and responsive to their needs not our limitations

This does not mean the teacher becomes redundant, quite the opposite as they are challenged to provide authentic relevant contexts for learners, with just enough 'enabling constraints' to ensure that our little chickens don't accidentally cross the road...in heavy traffic. Our roles need to change from teacher, to facilitator and ultimately to learning activator. Providing triggers and opportunities to learners to develop the relevant skills needed for their world (whilst somehow pleasing those pesky bloody UE requirements....universities of NZ...you have a lot to answer for in relation to slowing progress).

I would argue if we are to realise the new MoE catchphrase 'Education, Excellence, Equity' then I would suggest we actually look very closely at the concept of 'Universal Design for Learning'. We need ensure that we are actually using pedagogical approaches that are reaching all learners. We need to ensure all learners are provided with multiple means of representation (or ways of receiving information...think visual, oral and written, offline and online). We need to ensure all students have multiple ways of expressing and evidencing their learning (again think visual, oral and written, offline and online) and multiple ways of engaging. This is equitable, but it is also challenging for educators have not had the methods or means of teaching challenged (in any rigorous way) for some time.

At HPSS we are in our infancy (we only opened this year), trying our best to meet these challenges. doing our best to learn and share along the way (see this earlier post to see how we are going about it). We are looking at delivering secondary education in increasingly authentic and engaging ways, offering up a programme that addresses a desire to develop both personal and academic excellence through a mixture of specialised learning (in both integrated and single subject modules), learning hubs, project learning and a generous serving of MyTime. We certainly don't claim to have nailed it...yet, but I would say we are wearing our future focused nappies rather well. You can check out both Steve and Maurie's recent reflections on our progress. 

How can we lead change in our schools

So how can we all lead this change, particularly when not given the gift of a clean slate. Put simply we will all need to get good at changing. We will need to lead our educators to become adaptive experts who as Linda Darling Hammond states "know how to continuously expand their expertise, restructuring their knowledge and competencies to meet new challenges.” All leaders in schools need to be firmly focused on the future. Future focused leadership is  about change leadership. Luckily, that continuous cycle for developing adaptive expertise already exists within the New Zealand Curriculum, the Teaching as Inquiry cycle in a sense represents an effective model of change management on a micro or classroom level. It is actually just a matter of ensuring that all teachers (and leaders) actually engage in robust, longterm inquiry. They need to be looking to student data, getting to know their learners' interests and needs and trialling new strategies. In fact, they need to become learning designers who are willing to iterate and prototype their teaching practice on a daily, weekly and annual basis. And it is important that the cycle is continuous so as to build on growth achieved from previous cycles of change management. As the Sigmoid Curve demonstrates, long term gains are more likely when transformation happens in periods of growth rather than decline. Put simply, it is better to be proactive than reactive. We simply must all keep evolving and moving forward. It might seem brutal, but quite frankly if you aren't willing to move forward, maybe you should consider moving out of the way. It isn't about innovation for innovation sake. It is about innovation for improvement sake.

How can we be supported to make the necessary changes?
Firstly we need to be acknowledged by the present MoE as active partners in our own future and knowledge building (letting educators help select the foundation members of EDUCANZ might be a good start...just saying :-). As Keri Facer stated "the future is not something that is done to us, but an ongoing process in which we can intervene" - please let us all intervene...we are more than capable of doing so. If there is one thing (more like a few things) I could say face to face to Minister Parata, it is this. Be warm but demanding! We have the technical infrastructure (or at least we soon will have that) and for that we are incredibly grateful. I can only look forward to promising developments such as Network for Learning evolving in to an even richer platform and portal (please get ESAA working and mash up a solid range of pre-provisioned SMSs and LMSs for all schools to easily engage with...just a suggestion). We have phenomenal educators - yes some are better than others (just like our learners..we vary), but with the right support we can all fly. We have spectacular students - I actually wish you would stop labeling them so bluntly - your term 'priority' is potentially problematic. I am sorry, but for me, ALL students are my priority learners. I know we have a tail that desperately needs addressing, I am just not convinced that label actually helps. We have a stunning curriculum - don't waste resources and time on changing it...just yet. It is slim, it is creative, it is both freeing and just constraining enough. I adore the NZC from front to back and front again. So you if could just leave it be (for now) that would be ace. Yes, please have high standards for us as we have (and you want us to have) for our learners, and if you must, measure results, but just don't publish them. Use achievement data as you would have us use achievement data, for identifying teachers (who are learners too), school and geographical areas that need your resourcing and support. In publishing that achievement data, all you are doing is creating shame, and you know as we do that shame only does harm. It creates resentment, it creates loss of face, it eats away at confidence and knocks the very communities you claim you want to support and rebuild. This doesn't mean we want you to be soft, quite the opposite - we need you to be firm. Firm, warm and supportive. What we need for all educators and all schools, whether they are struggling or 'successful' (and achingly traditional) is recognition, celebration (The Festival of Education was a good start) but more than anything we need resourcing so WE receive the education WE need as well.
Demand high standards.
Demand excellent outcomes.
But mostly, provide generous amounts of ongoing professional learning and support. Provide support that is as relevant and authentic as the education we must provide for our learners.

Where and when will we make the change?
So whilst my last paragraph might have been targeted at those who support us, I would like to end with a call to arms to all educators. All challenges aside, we are actually more than capable of leading positive change ourselves. We need to set aside any perceived barriers, be it our leadership, our school, our socio-economic situation, classroom or class size - the reality is we can all start making changes in what and how we teach our young people. We can begin by supporting one another by sharing our stories, our resources and our strategies. We can create our own networks and support systems, whether they be the teacher next door or teachers on Twitter across the country or globe. Without resorting to singing some Whitney Houston or John Farnham at you, we need to acknowledge that the change actually starts with you - you wanting to change and then actually, quite simply, changing. As Ford once said, "if you think you can, or think you can't, you're probably right". The change can start here and now… …it’s simply a matter of developing a growth mindset.

In lieu of me attempting a power ballad (my colleagues will attest that it wouldn't be a wise idea), I leave you with this...a short poem by Claire "Righteous" Amos. ;-)

The Future of Education
The educational revolution will not be televised.
It will be blogged, tweeted and co-constructed in code.

The future is unknowable.
Change won’t be slowed.

So hurry up, build your own map.
And whatever you do, at least get on the road.

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So, why we are focusing on Blended Learning at HPSS?

For many years now I have been championing the need for all schools and all students to engage in e-learning, and whilst I definitely sense there is a ground swell of support for this notion I am still patently aware that it is important to be clear about why this should be a priority. I initially trialed e-learning because I suspected it would engage learners and would provide an opportunity for students to continue learning and engaging in the work I set, anytime, anywhere. These continue to be compelling arguments for blended learning, however it is becoming increasing clear that this is in fact just the tip of the pedagogical iceberg.

Firstly let's talk about the term e-learning. It is easy to write this term off as twee or outdated, and I agree that it should be about the learning full stop. However we are still, and will continue to be for sometime in a period of transition, and whilst there still remains to be many teachers and indeed many schools who are yet to use e-learning on a daily basis, it is useful to highlight the "e". Personally I prefer the concept of  'Blended Learning' - it allays the fear that we are trying to replace pen and paper, traditional modes and methods of teaching, and instead suggests that we simply want to 'blend' the pen and paper with electronic modes and methods. So for now, until everyone is clear about the potential and need and facilitate learning using both modes - blended learning is fine for me. Remember to look beyond your personal educational circles and echo chambers - e-learning or blended learning is not a norm yet. Far from it.

There are a number of reasons as to why we have decided to make blended learning a non-negotiable at Hobsonville Point Secondary School. We are aware of World trends, we have based it on compelling research findings, we want to prepare our students for NCEA (which is becoming increasingly blended). Blended learning is an incredible enabler of differentiation and delivering learning that aligns with the notion of universal design for learning. Then there is our guiding document- the New Zealand Curriculum which highlights the ways in which e-learning can support effective pedagogy in and beyond the classroom. 

World Trends

Core Education explore a wide range of world trends to bring together an annual summary of trends pertaining to ICT use in education. These provide an excellent starting point that go beyond our own experiences or opinions and encourages us to consider what these trends might need for our learners. We need to consider also the period in which we actually live. Our ancestors came through an Agrarian (agricultural) age where the ability to farm and work the land was essential. Our parents and maybe even we have come through an Industrial Age where the need for industrial and technical skills were very important. We are now entering what is referred to as a Knowledge Age  defined on the NZCER Shifting Thinking website as

 "a new, advanced form of capitalism in which knowledge and ideas are the main source of economic growth (more important than land, labour, money, or other ‘tangible resources). New patterns of work and new business practices have developed, and, as a result, new kinds of workers, with new and different skills, are required."

and as they also state

"Knowledge Age worker-citizens need to be able to locate, assess, and represent new information quickly. They need to be able to communicate this to others, and to be able to work productively in collaborations with others. They need to be adaptable, creative and innovative, and to be able to understand things at a ‘systems’ or big picture’ level. Most importantly, they need to be to think and learn for themselves, sometimes with the help of external authorities and/or systems of rules, but, more often, without this help."

 These are our students, and many of these skills are best learned in an online space - this is where they can, very quickly, locate, assess and present information. Tools such as Google Docs is what enables them to collaborate and co-construct anytime or anywhere. Blended Learning is key to enabling learning that meets the demands of a 'knowledge' rather than 'industrial' age.

http://www.core-ed.org/thought-leadership/ten-trends

Research Findings

Research by it's very nature is backward looking, so it is important that we do not sit back and wait for the evidence that e-learning is effective before we even deign to dip our toes. It can be tempting to simply say there is not enough evidence yet. However I would suggest that whilst relatively small there is plenty of compelling evidence and research available. This is particularly true if you look at the evidence gathered as a part of 'Teaching as Inquiry' projects where e-learning has been a focus. Literature reviews such as Noeline Wright's 'e-Learning and implications for New Zealand schools: a literature review' brings together a wide range of findings. In her conclusion Wright highlights a wide range of potential benefits, ranging from motivation and engagement to the development of critical thinking and multiliteracies. It is important to remain critical about the benefits of ANY pedagogical approaches, not just the e-learning ones. We seem quick to defend traditional methods and modes when there is little more evidence that they are in fact effective. For this reason it is important that we reflect on all of our approaches, gather pre and post data and feedback from students to ensure that all practice is indeed evidence or research based. We need to ensure our practice (and the research we base it on) is actually current and responsive. It is not okay for teachers to base practice on an approach that might have been exciting when Pong was a cutting edge video game.

NCEA

Many would argue that NCEA is actually an argument for protecting the mighty 'paper and pen', indeed external exams are written by hand...for now. In April 2013 NZQA's Dr Karen Poutasi stated in a speech to SPANZ "we are reasonably confident that we can reach a position within 8 years where most students will be sitting examinations using a digital device." That means your Year 1-4 student will most likely be sitting their exams online. Our Year 9 students will most definitely be creating and submitting internal assessments online. To do this well, and to ensure our learners gain the skills they need to gain Excellence or at least achieve the very best results they are capable of, then we need to give them practice. More than that, we need to be explicitly teaching them, or giving the time and space to develop the skills to do this well. Learners will need to be able to locate, synthesize and present information. They will need to be able to do it safely, lawfully and effectively. This takes time. We need to start now. In fact all students need to have started yesterday.

Differentiation and Universal Design for Learning

There is also the fact that pedagogically speaking e-learning or blended learning is actually a no-brainer. We have a responsibility to ensure they way in which we facilitate learning and gather evidence of said learning is inclusive. All students have a right to learn and enjoy success, therefore we must be meeting the needs of a diverse group - not just the select few that learn the way you do or did in your day. Consider differentiation as defined by Carol Ann Tomlinson which seeks to provide a range of learning opportunities differentiated for student readiness' learning style and interest. This is possible in a paper based classroom, but choices will still be limited and controlled by the teacher and the resources made physically available to the learner. You might provide a small range of different activities and maybe texts that a either written or more graphic based. Consider this now in a blended learning environment where if a student can access the Internet they can access unlimited resources - written, visual and oral. A teacher may well need to support a student in locating appropriate material or may even curate a collection for them. The speed and ease in which differentiated learning can be facilitated in a blended environment is incredibly enabling. If a teacher can also let the student take the lead and have the power to negotiate methods and modes for learning and evidencing learning,, then you on to something quite magic. Similarly if you consider the diagram below with a blended learning lens it is again a no-brainer. As stated on the Cast website 

" Universal Design for Learning was initially is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs." 

Who wouldn't want this for their learners? Providing multiple means of representation (of information), means of expression (evidencing learning) and means of engagement is nigh on impossible in a purely paper-based  classroom, and again it limits it to a single teacher perception of what they think they know about the students ability, learning style, interests or even their mood or tiredness on any given day.

http://www.cast.org/library/UDLguidelines/version1.html

E-learning and Effective Pedagogy 

There is of course the small matter of our guiding document - the New Zealand Crurriculum. If nothing else,, look at the document, I think it's about page 35??? E-learning is clearly identified as a powerful means of supporting effective pedagogy in and beyond the classroom. As the NZC states:

"Information and communication technology (ICT) has a major impact on the world in which young people live. Similarly, e-learning (that is, learning supported by or facilitated by ICT) has considerable potential to support the teaching approaches outlined in the above section.

For instance, e-learning may:
assist the making of connections by enabling students to enter and explore new learning environments, overcoming barriers of distance and time
facilitate shared learning by enabling students to join or create communities of learners that extend well beyond the classroom
assist in the creation of supportive learning environments by offering resources that take account of individual, cultural, or developmental differences
enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save them time, allowing them to take their learning further.
Schools should explore not only how ICT can supplement traditional ways of teaching but also how it can open up new and different ways of learning."

When all is said and done, it is simply important to realise that blended learning is not a priority just because I said so. Blended learning is not a priority because we spent all that money on wireless and the students spent heaps on devices (although we DO need to respect this investment). Blended learning is a priority because of world trends, because we want our students to ready for THEIR world, not our past. Blended learning is a priority because we want our students to achieve excellent results. 

But mostly, blended learning is a priority because we want our students to experience learning and express their learning in a way that suits THEM - that means face to face, paper and pen, online, anywhere and anytime.

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Edutouring 2.0 - Learning by Doing and Design Thinking at Nueva School

Nueva School is a private California School that provides a constructivist education for gifted students. That said, what they actually provided was a programme that could (and should) be offered to any student. The school's motto is to "learn by doing, learn by caring" with students engaging in project based learning, integrated and thematic studies and as much real world learning as possible. Across the programmes students apply a Design Thinking process that insure learning is built around inquiry. 

Nueva School has been open for 45 years and has traditionally been an elementary and middle school only (same as a full primary in NZ), however they are just about to launch Nueva High School so as to provide a complete educational journey for their students.Students take a range of seemingly traditional subjects such as Maths, Science, Technology (IT), Literature Studies, Humanities and PE. They also take Design Engineering which seemed comparable to the equivalent of all NZ Technology subjects being integrated in a single monster Technology course delivered in a Maker Space (woot!).

I have to declare at this point - I loved this school. Particularly as it was the first school on this tour where they approached technology (and actually the whole curriculum) in a way that I relate to - this school wasn't an Apple school, they weren't a school that put the technology up front all. This school was about outcomes for learners. Technology (in its widest sense) was a tool to be used when it makes sense, as the Principal said - don't try to fit a square peg into a round hole. 

This didn't mean technology wasn't being used, it was, a lot. All students used MacBooks, they also had an incredible iLab which struck me as the ultimate "maker space" with 3D printer, laser cutter, desktop computers, sewing machines, glue guns, paints and a range of hard technology tools and work spaces. Work tables were on wheels to allow quick rearrangement of spaces. 

Nueva School is passionate about Design Thinking and Design Engineering. They have a Design Thinking Institute and Innovation Lab led by Kim Saxe. To me, this aspect of the school was the key to its success. It was also the aspect of the school which in a sense really exemplified what the NZC is all about. Students in this space developed Key Competencies. Their focus on real world learning and focus on empathy meant that it covered the Values and Principles as outlined in the NZC as well. The Design Thinking process they use has been developed by Kim Saxe, based on the Stanford model. It is a inquiry model and thinking process, not unlike the one used in our Technology curriculum. It is however a process that can be used across the curriculum. The real point of difference (for me at least) was the inclusion of empathy in the cycle. A great example of this was the 6th grade Health Innovation programme where students work with a person with health issues, identify needs of health care. Whilst students are not expected to find cures, they do focus on the human experience and identify issues that may have solutions. In one example given, a number of students happened to be working with people with similar illnesses and discovered that each suffered as a result of having to work through a number of different treatments to find which one suited needs, the students identified that if the patients had been informed of all choices up front and able to choose, this could have prevented much of the "trial and error" the patients experienced. 

The focus on empathy and social action is woven throughout the curriculum at Nueva. Students don't just take "Business Studies" they instead learn and explore Social Entrepreneurship. They also learn a language of choice throughout using this as a platform for exploring world issues and social action on global level. Students learned about the country of their language and even engaged in a longterm in depth inquiry around designing and building an Eco house in the country they were focusing on. In the final year of the middle school, all students then spend two weeks in that country, one with a host family and the other exploring the country itself.

Inquiry was everywhere at Nueva. All students engaged in inquiries for each of the subjects, with much of the final two months of the school year being dedicated to inquiries in preparation for their "culmination" presentations which (I think) were basically an opportunity for students to present and celebrate their learning. Another core value of the school is collaboration and "collective knowledge", therefore presentations may be in groups or individual depending on how the learning took place.

Students also engaged in a passion project in Middle School. The project was based on something the student is passionate about and also betters the world (that component is optional but 2/3s still opt in).

Students have a mentor outside of the school and the project is very much based in the "real world". Students also participate in self-initiated projects that they engage in at lunchtime.

In summary, this was (to me anyway) genuine 21st Century teaching and learning in practice. Forget the fact that it is pitched at gifted students (it needn't be) or the fact that it is private (this could easily delivered in any public NZ school) - this school put their learners at the centre, put inquiry at the centre, put social action at the centre and they provided educators that worked alongside learners as facilitators of knowledge rather than teachers. 

We could all afford to do a whole lot more learning by doing and especially learning by caring. 

Websites:

http://www.nuevaschool.org/

http://nuevadesigninstitute.org/

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