Aligning actions with values and beliefs…

“School culture is a manifestation of the relationships, beliefs and values of a learning community. It shapes the ways members act and interact, and expresses the principles and values that underpin thinking and communicating.” (IB PYP Principles into Practice 2020)

We know what we value in the members of our learning community (the attributes of the IB learner profile) and we know what we believe about learning (our learning principles). This year we have chosen to revisit those and focus on alignment of actions with values and beliefs.

‘Live it, don’t laminate it’, has long been our mantra, but it’s time for a deeper exploration of what it means to walk the talk, using the eight cultural forces as a lens for exploring, and a means for enculturating, the attributes of the Learner Profile and our Learning Principles. We launched the focus in our first day workshop for K-6 educators.

LEARNER PROFILE
Keeping in mind the cultural forces of time, language, modelling, interactions, expectations, routines, opportunities and environment, the following questions were explored.(Try it!)

Inquirer
How might we (continue to) build a culture of curiosity?
Knowledgeable
How might we build a culture that encourages engagement with local and global issues?
Open minded
How might we build a culture where exploration of different perspectives is valued?
Caring
How might we build a culture based on empathy and compassion?
Thinkers
How might we build a culture of critical, creative and ethical thinking?
Communicators 
How might we build a culture of respectful communication and collaboration?
Principled
How might we build a culture that encourages honesty, integrity and sense of justice?
Risk takers
How might we build a culture that encourages experimentation, innovation and resilience?
Balanced
How might we build a culture that strives for intellectual, physical and emotional balance?
Reflective
How might we build a culture in which we thoughtfully consider our strengths, ideas and experiences?

LEARNING PRINCIPLES
In order to revisit our learning principles in context, teachers shared examples of meaningful learning through powerful inquiries they have led or experienced, while others identified the learning principles that were evident. The power of teachers sharing learning, their own and that of their students, is energising and inspiring; noticing and naming beliefs in action adds another dimension!

Then, keeping in mind the cultural forces, we revisited and unpacked each of the learning principles.

• We learn in different ways, depending on abilities, preferences and interests.
• Learning takes place through inquiry: questioning, exploring, experimenting and problem solving.
• Learning occurs by acquiring skills and knowledge, constructing meaning and transfer to other contexts.
• Learning is active and social and best takes place through collaboration and interaction.
• Learning takes place when we feel secure, valued and are able to take risks.
• Learning needs to be challenging, meaningful, purposeful and engaging.
• Learning includes meta-cognition and reflection, and requires learners to take ownership of their learning.

The plan is for teams to engage in collaborative action research underpinned by these beliefs, as the year unfolds.

LEARNER FOCUS
While the theme of ‘walking the talk’ will be integrated into student learning in the younger years too, the central idea for a year-long unit for our upper primary students is ‘Our actions reveal who we are as individuals and as a community‘. The conceptual understandings below could well invite lifelong reflection!

We can reveal our values through our actions

• I can make connections between my values and actions.
• I can make decisions about actions based on my values.

Our actions affect the way people perceive us

• I can think critically about my assumptions and perceptions of others.
• I can engage in reflective conversations about my own actions.

Through action and reflection, we can grow and change

• I can describe changes and growth in my actions and values over time.
• I can decide who I want to be every day.

Apparently we’re not the only ones thinking about this currently… (Sign spotted locally by one of our leaders)

10 ways to consider your learning space…

It began during a PYP workshop in Melbourne last week, where we used Ron Ritchhart’s 8 cultural forces as a lens to explore how we might create a culture of creativity.

As participants considered various images of learning spaces, their own and others’, including some beautiful, inviting Reggio environments we generated a list of questions, such as these:

1. Does the learning space reflect what you say you value about learning?
2. Is the space visually appealing? Does it invite learning?
3. What kind of culture does the learning space suggest?
4. What is the role of colour? Is there too much ‘visual noise’?
5. What role do the learners play in deciding how the space is organised?
6. Has the purpose of everything you post on the walls been carefully considered?
7. How is students’ thinking made visible?
8. How is natural light maximised? (I really did hear a story of a teacher who put up curtains so that children would not look outside and be distracted!)
9. What clutter can you get rid of? (Now.)
10. MOST importantly: How is the space organised to foster things like: independence, collaboration, agency, creativity, movement and thinking?

The original version!

 

10 questions in pursuit of learner agency…

1. What is your ‘image of the child’?
How do you view the learners in your class? Do you believe children are inherently intelligent, curious and creative? Do you recognise their rights and their capabilities? Do you trust them to learn?

2. What do you believe about learning?
Knowing what and how to teach is not enough. Have you, individually and as a school, thought deeply about how you believe learning takes place? Have you carefully examined the extent to which your practice aligns with your beliefs?

3. Who do you believe should hold the power?
Is your token nod to agency allowing the learners a choice when you decide it’s the time? How much of what your students say and do has to be channeled through the teacher? Do you make most of the decisions? Or do you believe the learners can really lead the learning? Is initiative valued over compliance?

4. Do you see every learner as an individual?
Are you tempted to refer to the class as ‘they‘ or do you always consider each individual’s personal story? Are you aware of what influences each student’s  learning? Are your beliefs evident in your language, your expectations, the routines in your room and in the relationships you build?

5. Do your learners believe in themselves?
Do you group your learners on perceived ability or do they have opportunities to learn with and from others with varying strengths, challenges and interests? Is a growth mindset fostered? Are learners motivated by learning itself, rather than extrinsic rewards that encourage winners and losers in the game of school?

6. Who do you believe should do the heavy lifting?
Do you explain everything in detail, sometimes several times in different ways? Or do the learners have a go at experimenting and tackling problems first and you step in at point of need? Are you able to release control so that the heavy lifting is done by the learners?

7. Who owns the curriculum?
Do you have secret teacher business? Do you always decide what to cover and how to teach it? Or do you believe that students can be empowered to explore curriculum requirements via their own inquiries, in their own ways?

8. How important is measurement of achievement?
Do you teach to the test? Do you believe everything has to be formally assessed and what can’t be measured is less valuable? Or is the process of learning perceived as more significant than the outcome? Is process valued over product?

9. What is the language of your classroom?
Do you talk about work and tasks or does everyone speak the language of learning? Is how we learn as much a part of the conversation as what we learn? Are students aware of who they are as learners? Are learning dispositions noticed and named? Do you and your students believe that reflection and metacognition are integral parts of learning?

10. Is there a safe space for risk-taking and failure?
Does the learning culture encourage students to take risks and make mistakes? Do learners seek and grapple with challenging problems and unanswerable questions? Do you (and they) believe that failure is an opportunity to learn and grow?

If you’ve thought about your ‘why’, the ‘how’ is much easier to achieve.  Are you asking the right question?

* Influenced by the Modern Learners podcast The Answer to How is Yes. Now reading the book by Peter Block.

(With apologies. This has been posted before under a different heading. Found the post in drafts and accidentally posted it again, deleted the previous one, now it’s back with the right title. For my new friends at NES. )

Imagine a library…

The check in for our meeting is ‘Imagine a library…’

We talk about libraries we have seen in different places and in our heads. Libraries that challenge prior notions of what a library might be. Tranquil libraries with waterfalls and vertical gardens, places to read, to imagine and simply to be. Interactive libraries that buzz with activity, places to gather, to socialise, to communicate. Wonder filled libraries that provoke curiosity to explore, to research, to find out about the world. Creative libraries, with equipment and inspiration to film, to make, to animate, to create…

Next we look at our learning principles, our shared beliefs about how children learn, and consider how practice should align with beliefs. How will these beliefs influence the way our library looks and the role of the librarian?

The new library at our junior campus will be an open plan, central hub, with access from all sides. There will be a decentralisation process… The younger children will have mini libraries in their own learning areas. Teacher resources will move from the library to the planning area. These shifts will not only ensure access at point of need, but free up space for a different vision. There are organisational problems to solve, logistics to work out, perceptions to be changed and understandings to be unlearned.

And it’s an incredibly exciting time to re-imagine possibilities…

Image credit: Deviant Art – EdCamp65RHH

Alignment of practice with beliefs…

‘ A river needs banks to flow. Think of Learning Principles as providing the banks, within which professional prerogative, academic freedom, and teacher creativity can flow.’ Jay McTighe.

It was at a session with McTighe that I was first introduced to the idea of learning principles, an articulated set of shared beliefs about learning, that underpin decisions and practice within a school.

At the time I wondered if we needed such principles. As a PYP school, we already had a framework and a common language. Our school already had a vision and a mission statement. But it turned out to be a vital process with a powerful impact on teaching and learning.  Over time we’ve explored what each principle looks like in practice and we constantly examine the alignment of beliefs with practice. We came to realise that these principles applied just as much to teachers’ learning as to students’. These days we use the learning principles as a springboard for our growth reviews, a non judgemental, coaching based opportunity for teachers to work with a partner from the Teaching and Learning team on developing their practice in line with chosen goals based on our learning principles.

I recently spent an afternoon with a committed and enthusiastic group of teachers at Preshil Primary School working on the first stage of developing their learning principles.

Considering conditions for powerful learning.  Participants shared examples of deep and powerful learning they had experienced or observed with their students and then considered the defining characteristics of such learning. What are the conditions for powerful learning?

Examining learning theories.  They examined a range of learning theories and placed themselves on a continuum for each. To what extent does each of the theories align with what you believe about learning?

Writing belief statements about learning. Individuals wrote their own belief statements then shared, refined and prioritised them in groups. What do you believe about how children learn best?

Evaluating belief statements. The whole group examined, sorted and evaluated the statements. Which beliefs align most closely with yours? Which would you like to see included in your school’s learning principles?

Next steps…

• Refining and finalising the learning principles.
• Unpacking what they might look like in practice.
• Examining alignment of beliefs with practice.

I look forward to hearing how things unfold!

Self challenge: A post a day for a week. #3

Does your practice align with your beliefs?

The power of filming and then watching yourself teach has become evident during our coaching and growth review processes. What did you notice? What are the patterns?  What do they make you think? What surprised you? Does what you see yourself doing match what you think you do?

On a larger scale, having educators from other schools visit us in the past few weeks has provided a similar opportunity. Viewing ourselves through the eyes of others and becoming aware of different perspectives has been both validating and enlightening. In the process of planning for and evaluating the visits and observing our school’s practice through a different lens, we have asked ourselves the same sorts of questions. Does our practice align with our beliefs about learning?

Some years ago we spent time collaboratively developing a set of learning principles that encapsulate our beliefs about how learning best takes place. Since then we have worked at deepening understanding of these principles and ensuring that they underpin every decision we make in regard to learning within our school. 

Our learning principles:

• We learn in different ways, depending on abilities, preferences and interests.
• Learning takes place through inquiry: questioning, exploring, experimenting and problem solving.
• Learning includes acquisition of skills and knowledge, constructing meaning and transfer to different contexts.
• Learning is active and social and is enhanced by collaboration and interaction.
• Learners need to feel secure, valued and able to take risks.
• Learning needs to be challenging, meaningful, purposeful and engaging.
• Learning includes meta-cognition and reflection, which support learners taking ownership of their learning.

Developing learning principles is the easy part.

How do you ensure that practice aligns with beliefs?

Initially this reflection led me to thinking about the barriers; factors that are often out of my/ our/ sometimes-even-the-school’s control, but I’ve started building a list of things that are working well so we can consider how to amplify those. (This is the influence that exploring coaching has had on my thinking. I can even coach myself now!)

As educators we live the learning principles ourselves through…

• A culture of learning.
  • Purposeful professional learning.
  • Ownership of  learning. 
  • Opportunities for growth.
  • Collaborative planning and reflection.
  • Inquiry as an approach to our own learning.

• Distributed leadership.
  • Building shared vision.
  • Collaborative decision making.
  • A culture of autonomy and trust.

• High expectations.
  • Always striving.
  • Self reflection and critical analysis.
  • Willingness to initiate and embrace change.

How does your school ensure that your practice aligns with your beliefs?