RE-LENSINGÂ LEARNING
JUNE 2018
EMPOWER SUSTAINABLE LEARNING CULTURES
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
2018 © Tabitha Leonard
Copy this the right way.
You have permission to post, email, copy, print and pass this document, for free, to anyone you like as long as no changes are made to its content or digital format. We reserve the right to bind and sell this document as a book.
PAGE 02 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
CONTENTS WHAT IS HAPPENING?
04 06
RE-LENSING LEARNING a learning culture that is relevant to all levels in a school & community
Empower sustainable Learning Cultures
at all levels of the school
WHERE ARE YOUR STAFF
16 22
WHAT NEXT?
LEARNING
11 15
EMPOWER THE LEARNING CULTURE
of empowering learning cultures
08 10
REDEFINING THE LEARNING CULTURE
THE CHALLENGE
CASE STUDY
26 27
TABITHA LEONARD PAGE 03 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
WHAT IS HAPPENING You are experiencing a lag in progress as a response to yet another government in power. The uncertainty of what comes next - paralysing progress. You may be experiencing some frustrations and be suffering from a disconnect in the direction and drive of learning in your school. As an established school, you have had best practice in education shift on you so often that there has been a patchwork of PD in response. As a result, there is patchy, nonintegrated practice happening - some is good and some is not. As a leader, you are unable to identify the best parts and are unsure how to harness what is good so it can be used to grow and develop future steps for the school in a way that is no longer patchy. There are so many options for what and how learning should - could - look, and it becomes rather overwhelming.
What are you doing now that national standards have gone? Perhaps shift to a competency-based learning focus? What does good learning look like in your school? How do you build sustainability around pedagogy in your school?
As I work across schools, I see a lot of instances where the understanding of what good learning looks like is spoken about, but principals are not seeing it in action in the classroom. The PD that is happening is not driving the change you desire. Teachers are working hard, and want to do the best for their students but are in a state of overwhelm about all the tasks and requirements on their lists of to do that are not related to teaching. Their energy is being removed from planning for learning and being used up on admin. There needs to be a reset. A refocus on what great learning looks like. An elaboration of how this can be in your school. And a refocus on the meaning of "lifelong learner". What that means for you, your staff and your students.
PAGE 04 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
Lee Jenkins (2013) found that the percentage of students who were engaged in their learning dropped from 95% in kindergarten to 39% in grade 11 (Year 12). It begs to question, what is the reason for the majority of students to take conventional schooling seriously when there are so many roadside attractions and other diversions that provide alternative draw cards. If we want learners who can challenge, provoke, stimulate and celebrate learning we must re-lens learning.
I would challenge any leaders looking for change - to put the process of learning at the heart of any change. Mobilizing collective action to focus on the process of learning changes the relationship and develops new pedagogical practice. This, in turn, pushes the structures to change. We need to change the culture of learning, not simply the structures and processes. A change will only happen once we have agreed on the learning outcomes or competencies. By providing rich opportunities to work collaboratively, build new learning relationships and learn from the work, will change happen. - “we learn more from doing than thinking about doing”.(2)
PAGE 05 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
THE CHALLENGE OF EMPOWERING LEARNING CULTURES Challenge 1: You are so focused on elevating the learning outcomes of students you implement to impact that. In the current changing climate of education in New Zealand, there is always the expectation that schools are implementing the latest and greatest education initiatives because they are going to have the greatest impact on the learning of our students. All of this is in addition to all the other things your teacher are doing. As a principal, you are operating within the expectations of numerous stakeholders - the Board, parents and the community as a whole. The need to lead the growth of your teachers, to make the best school for the future is more real today than it was in the past.
Challenge 2: You see a disconnect between the learning of your teachers Little is known about how teachers interpret the available understandings and utilise the particular skills offered during professional learning opportunities or the consequent impact of these on teaching practice and student outcomes. - Timperley et al. (2007).
and their implementation in the classroom As a school, you are so focused on the learning of the students - as you should be - that sometimes there is a disconnect between desiring a change to impact on students learning and the exact way to make that happen. What is missing is the connection between what teachers know or learn and them having the capability to action it in their classrooms. We often work to implement strategies that we hope will be the solution to what we identify as the learning gap for our students. However, perhaps if we were to implement change to fill the learning gaps of our teachers they will be more enabled to pass the information onto their students.
PAGE 06 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
Challenge 3: The shift to competency based learning means yet another refocus for my teachers. There is a need to refocus teacher planning and the impacts that planning has on student learning. Student agency - key competencies and 21C learning skills and dispositions are becoming more important than ever for our learners. However, there is a lack of clarity of what these skills and dispositions look like in your school. An uncertainty of where to go next.
Challenge 4: There are too many learning cultures in our school. There is a lack of coherence. Your school has a clear culture around learning. However, it was developed quite a while ago and lots of things have been added to it willy-nilly. With research and new ways of learning becoming more popular, you are not sure what is still relevant and what is not. There are mixed messages. Teachers are well embedded in their way of doing things. Your teachers have the go-to strategies that they know work. In many cases, teachers are aware of and are able to speak about, various learning strategies. However, they operate primarily with the one they know best. Interestingly, there is a learning gap for your teachers from theory to action that needs attention and support. However, what that looks like exactly is unclear.
The way schools approach solving this problem is to run whole school Professional Development. Possibly get a specialist in. What they fail to do is to take the time to really understand where the gaps are. Therefore are unable to unpack exactly how to meet the learning needs of the learners - who are in this case the teachers.
PAGE 07 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
RE-LENSING LEARNING A learning culture that is relevant to ALL learners in a school & its community Gaining Clarity Clarity is the shared depth of understanding about the nature of work. Coherence provides an agile, organic framework that helps leaders integrate and strategies a transformational whole system change strategy and offers a pathway to make deeper learning a reality. Clarity is developed through common experience, purposeful interactions and the making of meaning with regard to the learning culture. (appreciative inquiry). Through coherence, comes a focused direction that facilitates the process of building shared meaning and collective purpose. With this clarity comes the development of a specific strategy to achieve that purpose that mobilizes people. Common experience and purposeful interactions generate collaborative expertise that allows leaders to use the group to change the group. With a focused direction and a collaborative culture, schools experience clarity and purpose allowing them to go deeper into their learning culture.
A Learning Culture for all - built by all Students are encouraged to inquire and learn through curiosity. However, often this behaviour is not being modelled by teachers or leaders. The strength of lensing learning through inquiry models good learning for students and teachers and grows the learning power of the individuals in the school. Approaching learning with an inquiring lens enables 21C skills and dispositions that lead to deeper learning and resilient learners with high levels of learning power(1).
PAGE 08 |Â
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
Imagine if schools were to lens up the learning for its teachers and students through the same lens. Everyone in the school is modelling the same learning behaviours and using the same learning language. In this paper, I challenge school leaders - connect with learning for teachers in the same way as you do for students. As leaders you are the caretakers of the learning culture that means teachers and students alike. As a school leader:
Are you meeting the learning needs of your teachers? Are you developing the learning muscles of your teachers so they can pass the experience onto their students?
Let's empower teachers to reconnect with what great learning cultures look like in your school. Enable them to model them for their own learning purposes and bring it to action in their classroom.
PAGE 09 |Â
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
LEARNING AT ALL LEVELS OF THE SCHOOL Learning is occurring at all levels of an organisation or school - all that changes is who supports the learning at each level. When all members of a school are given the opportunity to contribute and clarify what the learning culture is in their school, teachers find it incredibly empowering and exciting. Building what
Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it Albert Einstein
learning success looks like at each level of the organisation empowers learning and elevates it to a new level. It is a whole lot easier to coach and support teachers and students when there is a clearly defined and carefully unpacked definition of the learning culture to work towards. The crux of it is - all members of the school community has a love of learning and should be striving to learn at every opportunity. For teachers and leaders, it is especially important to model learning for the students who are grappling with the process, and working to grow their learning powers.
It is possible to teach in a way that hits both higher grades and positive, empowering attitudes toward learning itself. - Guy Claxton
PAGE 10 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
REDEFINING THE LEARNING CULTURE What is good for the goose is good for the gander
The way I see it - in a school - staff at the different levels are responsible for the learning of the people they directly influence. A teacher is responsible for the learning of the students. A senior leader is responsible for the learning of the teachers. All staff in the organisation are experienced educators who are experts in unpacking and designing learning opportunities for students. What is missing, is the same level of learning application to the learning of the teachers and leaders. With a slight shift and re-lensing of leaders learning mindset, schools can unleash the learning power of their teachers. Teacher learning power is being squashed by the lack of true curiosity - wondering, questioning, exploring and tinkering (1). Teachers are so focused on elevating student learning, that they fail to recognise their own learning needs. The shift in practice that is needed when the system makes a shift from assessment centred to competency centred learning requires support. Competency centred learning requires highly enabled teachers who can facilitate the learning journey of all students in a way that is deep, rich and relevant. Teachers need to facilitate student learning in a way that grows the capability of the learner - to grow all round learners and learning. Teachers question - with curiosity - students about their learning so that gaps in the learning can be identified and filled. All done to help a student grow in their learning to reach certain milestones. This description of learning should be the case for all learners in a school. The redefining of the learning culture will enable this shift to happen. The development of reframed learning cultures enables leaders to lead learning. As caretakers of the learning culture, it is important that they believe in the vision and are engaged in the caretaking duties of the learning cultures.
PAGE 11 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
In many cases, reflection on, and the unpacking of, the learning culture for a school is done by the senior leadership team. When teachers are given the opportunity to contribute to the school's learning culture vision, it is incredibly energising.
PAGE 12 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
EXHAUSTED The Observer At its worst, leaders and teachers are instructed as to what the learning culture of the school will be. In some cases - the learning culture is represented as a statement on the wall of a classroom or staff room. It is never read or engaged with. It is ignored.
The Participator A marginal improvement in the above situation. The instructed learning culture is spoken about or referred to occasionally during staff meetings or department meetings. In this case - teachers and leaders have an awareness of what the learning culture is and know what it says. However, like above, it's still a poster on the wall that is never referred to or referenced.
The Exhausted Teacher The exhausted teacher has low energy levels. They are uncertain and unclear as to what strategies lead to the best learning for their students. There have been too many new things introduced, and changes made that they don’t know where to start. The anxiety all this change causes is exhausting.
Meet Judy Judy agonises over her students learning constantly. She finds all of the possible resources and strategies available to her overwhelming and as a result is paralysed by possibility. As a result, she stays in a zone of what she knows, and is hesitant to innovate and try something new with her students. She loves to talk about the strategies she uses in her lessons to help students learn. However, she rarely connects with how her students learn.
PAGE 11 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
ENERGIZED The Contributor When teachers and leaders are given the opportunity to contribute towards what the learning cultures in the school is going to be they being to take ownership of it. Contribution usually involves working in small groups during a staff meeting where they are given a few minutes to brainstorm their ideas. What happen to their thinking after that is anyone's guess. More often that not, teachers don't hear anything further for some time and then out of the blue at another staff meeting, the learnership team unpack and feedback. Leaders gain a capacity to begin to engage with the school learning culture in a way that illustrates they like it and have some ownership of it.
The Designer When teachers and leaders in a school are given the opportunity to unpack the learning culture of their school they are able to collaborate and begin to co-construct what learning should look like. When given this opportunity - teachers and leaders will begin to own the vision. They will love it purely because they have been part of the process of designing it
The Energized Teacher By allowing contribution and dialogue about learning, teachers begin to feel energized. They feel valued as a result of being asked their opinion and being able to contribute their ideas. The experience of sharing ideas and collaborating on a future vision of learning and its solutions is incredibly energising.
Meet Jess Jess found the process of sharing her ideas about learning and what it will look like in the future incredibly energising. She contributes to the discussions with enthusiasm and finds these discussions give her clarity about her belief and her practice as a teacher.
PAGE 13 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
EXCITED The Builder When teachers and leaders work together and take the time to truly connect with what the learning culture in their school is, they are able to unpack what it is on multiple levels. When unpacked on multiple levels schools are able to build a rich and relevant learning culture. The process of connecting - unpacking and building, make the vision come alive for the teachers and leaders such that they truly own it.
The Grower When teachers and leaders are enabled to explore, discover and design a school's learning culture they are able to identify how learning could be when its elevated to its very best. Through the process of exploration, design and deepen; leaders and teachers are able to grow their learning culture. It is no longer a static statement on the wall. It morphs, stretches and grows with the school and as the capability of the learners in the school grow. The clarity that comes out of deeply unpacking a schools learning culture enables leaders, teachers and students truly embrace learning and live it.
The Excited Teacher By participating and contributing to the dialogue about the learning futures in the school, teachers find the clarity and the future possibility exciting. Their participation in the process enables them to have been part of the journey and part of the laying down of new foundations.
Meet Brook Brook found that by speaking her thoughts and experiences of learning she began to understand - deeply - what drives her as a teacher and learner. As she collaborated with her peers and contributed to the ideas of others she began to feel excited about where learning can go to her school.
PAGE 14 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
WHERE ARE YOUR STAFF?
... AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE THEM TO BE?
PAGE 15 |Â
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
EMPOWER THE LEARNING CULTURE Imagine a school where every dialogic exchange, no matter between who, is lensed around learning. Students, teachers, parents, leaders all enabled and positioned in their community to have rich and deep conversations about learning. The key to enabling this is having a clearly defined learning culture in which everyone takes ownership. Re-lensing learning and making intentioned connections of it to the schools learning culture is an incredibly powerful journey to go on.
When a school has taken a checkpoint and reset or redefined their learning culture, a whole lot of opportunities present themselves all of which potentially lead to accelerated learning growth. When framed up in the safe space of a shared culture around learning, powerful learning dialogue begins to happen that is facilitated by the fact that everything is lensed around learning. Dialogue hierarchies are broken down - enabling everyone to learn from each other.
PAGE 16 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
In many cases, the power of the schools learning culture gets diluted by other priorities. It is empowering for staff to have been part of the process to develop the strategy and the vision for a schools future learning state, and the learning culture that needs to exist to get there. Sustainability is achieved when organisations connect the dots between theory and practice. When staff understand the journey in relation to their role in the organisation.
Contribution in the design of a simple solution to a complex problem will drive change in a more efficient way than traditional avenues of change. When connections are made between a staff members role and the solutions designed, a greater change in momentum is gained when change is growing out of a people-centred approach. Leaders learn and implement alongside their staff - a whole organisation approach altogether. When all levels of an organisation work together to build a learning culture, the ability to learn from each other and together is elevated because a people-centred approach facilitates the breaking down of hierarchy around learning dialogue. When talking at all levels of an organisation about learning, the strategic directions and outcomes are strengthened.
PAGE 17 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
A LANGUAGE FOR LEARNING An organization's learning culture is strengthened when it has an agreed language for learning. That way every exchange of ideas, feedback and discussion lends itself to the support of the learning culture vision A language for learning defines an organization's learning culture. It needs to reflect the language that is used to identify what successful learning looks like in the school.
LISTEN FOR UNDERSTANDING Listening is a skill. Listening for understanding is more than just listening. It's about listening with an awareness of the things that prevent the listener from connecting with what the speaker is really saying. Oscar Trimboli - an expert in deep listening and author of Deep listening - impact beyond words (5) - suggests that the following things impact on listening. Listeners typically self-talk. Self-talk is when the listener has self-dialogue in their head while they are waiting for the speaker to stop talking. This dialogue is typically thinking about what they are going to say in reply to what the speaker is saying. This is called listening to reply. The listener should try and make a conscious effort to refocus the dialogue and ask themselves - is this the right time to have this discussion in my head? Questions are good. Questions should be framed to help the speaker explore patterns over time and to explore the dialogue to help the listener discover more than they have said. However, it is important to be aware - Listening becomes unproductive when you ask too many questions. Assumptions are mental shortcuts, and in my experience often wrong and very dangerous. It is important that the listener checks their assumptions - and lens the checking up with a learning lens.
PAGE 18 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
Listening for learning enables learning cultures. Listen for understanding allows you to frame up the dialogue around the learning. A learning lens is an important element of enabling sustainable learning cultures because it is framed up in a safe way and staff feel they can contribute openly and without judgement. Seek to understand. Listening in a way that shows you seek to understand encourages others to contribute their ideas. Leaders can deepen dialogue by listening for understanding. Listen for understanding deepens the dialogue about the learning which develops the schools' learning cultures. Successful dialogue needs to be lensed around learning. For that dialogue to be impactful it is important for all participants to listen for understanding.
SCAFFOLDING FOR DEEPER THINKING Thinking scaffolds help staff unpack their thinking about learning. Learning Cultures that are unpacked using a scaffold help to deepen thinking.
Through the unpacking of the aspects of a learning culture at each level - a deeper understanding of the learning culture is achieved. By making connections between the different elements of a learning culture, a greater clarity can be achieved. When connecting the vision of a learning culture to what that looks like in action, teachers and leaders gain a greater clarity. With greater clarity - members of the school are able to apply their understanding to their actions to deepen learning for themselves and others. A deep understanding of the learning culture is achieved by unpacking what success looks like for the learners. This gives learners something to aspire to.
PAGE 19 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
STRENGTHEN US Strong dialogue and understanding makes strong teams. When teams have a scaffold for deeper thinking and are enabled to listen for understanding the team as a whole is strengthened. Scaffolds help put the whole team on the same page. The power of a scaffold to deepen thinking means that the whole team is on the same page. The learning culture and what success looks like within their learning culture are clear. This enables teams to bond together and strengthen the journey to deeper learning. When the learning culture is unpacked using a scaffold that identifies what successful learning looks like within the culture, teams are able to dialogue with each other in a listening for understanding/learning lens. The team as a whole and the impact that team has on organisational learning is strengthened.
STRENGTHEN ME To grow it in others, first, you must understand it in yourself. Scaffolds for deeper thinking allow staff to strengthen their understanding of what successful learning looks like. With that understanding, staff are able to design more impactful learning opportunities for others. When armed with a scaffold to deepen thinking - and a language for learning - as learners, staff are enabled to learn more effectively, making the impact of their learning stronger/greater. With a scaffold to support deeper thinking as a learner, the learner is able to gain greater clarity of what success looks like. A language of learning assists articulation of learning. Staff who are armed with the language of learning, are more able to articulate where their learning is at and potentially identify the gaps and a way to fill them. The language of learning facilitates dialogue. Empowered with the language of learning, teachers feel safe to enter into conversations with others about what is happening in their classroom for their learners.
PAGE 20 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
STRENGTHEN THEM When a language of learning is present, and teams are listening for understanding, the learning culture within that team or school is considerably strengthened. Dialogue about learning begins to happen in new ways. The language of learning allows teams and staff to dialogue about learning in a way that is empowering. Listen for understanding removes the hierarchy of dialogue. The ability to listen for understanding allows team members to dialogue through a learning lens. When dialogue occurs through a learning lens it remains in a safe space. It allows participants to share ideas and learn from each other. It removes the concept of hierarchy within a conversation. When staff are able to frame up their conversations around learning - facilitated by the school having an identified language of learning they are able to have conversations that build rapport, trust and lead to greater learning outcomes. When staff are enabled through a clearly defined language of learning, the dialogue becomes incredibly rich and the impact that they have is strengthened.
The redefining of a learning culture is like building a jigsaw puzzle to reveal the picture that the jigsaw creates. It is not until you have worked all the pieces of the puzzle together do you know the what and how it will be. As a school, you are always striving for excellence in all that you do. Sometimes a change in direction is needed - like a fresh lick of paint - to elevate your impacts - how do you know what that direction - paint colour - is to be without the contribution of all who are
Success criteria are linked to learning intentions. They are developed by the teacher and/or the student and describe what success looks like. They help the teacher and student to make judgements about the quality of student learning - John Hattie
stakeholders?
PAGE 21 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
CASE STUDY Alfriston School is looking to move to deepen learning. To do this, they are implementing New Pedagogies for Deep Learning. The leadership team at the school have recognised the need to identify strengths, and have engaged in a new change dynamic. Not a usual implementation mindset but a process of learning and coconstruction of ideas with staff. Change management done in this way results in learning occurring laterally not hierarchically.
Part One - Clarity.
The leadership team and staff at Alfriston School have participated in a process to gain clarity of shared understandings. Identification of what is working well. They have gained clarity of future state - connected to teacher values and beliefs - that is informed by the passions of leaders and teachers. Together they have created a clear shared version of what deep learning looks and sounds like in the classroom. They have participated in a process that has given them clarity of the future learning state and identification of the essential learning elements of learning.
To gain the clarity needed to design their aspirational learning vision, staff participated in an appreciative inquiry process. This process involved interviewing staff about learning ideals. Staff were enabled to create the vision by connecting with a time when either their learning or the learning of their students was rich and impacting. Staff were asked to identify what was happening when this learning was occurring. They spoke about what was happening, what support structures were in place to allow the learning to happen, and what lead to that moment. Out of the process, essential elements and phrases were identified. Essential elements to be taken through to the future learning culture of the school. With the key phrases, syndicate teams then participated in a co-construction activity where they collaborated to create common learning themes for their syndicate.
PAGE 22 |Â
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
With these common themes identified in each syndicate, the whole staff then came together to compare and contrast what each syndicate had developed. Out of the comparison, came clarity through ideation. A narrowing and down of keywords that were to be used to create the schools' future vision for learning.
Part Two - Design
The journey that the leadership team and staff have been on at Alfriston School has enabled them to bring all of their ideas together to build a future vision for learning. They have participated in focused discussions and have unpacked what the progressions of each learning element looks like for the learners at each level of the school. Rich dialogue has occurred about pedagogical practices that deepen learning. They have examined how well students are learning and how to improve that learning. They have co-constructed and connected pedagogies that grow learner capability.
Part Three - Process
The process that the leadership team and staff have been through has involved collaboration and co-construction of ideas and the vision for learning. Teachers and leaders participated in creating a model for learning. The model they created connects critical elements of deep learning for their school. To deepen the model, staff and students have participated in the process of unpacking what each learning element looks like at each level of the school. In syndicates, they have then gone on to language the learning culture elements so that students will be able to engage in a common language about their learning. This common language will also become the learning language for leaders and teachers in the school. Depth has been designed into the language of the learning culture by unpacking each of the elements to give visibility of the different levels of capability that exist within each learning element.
PAGE 23 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
The clarity gained through this process has enabled leaders and teachers to connect with different pedagogical practices that will allow students to grow their capability of learning. The identified pedagogy will then be able to be Incorporated into teacher planning for student learning.
The gains from the exercise a 2 fold:
Teachers have felt valued and become energised and excited about the possibility that is created. Learning gaps for teachers and leaders have been identified - with clarity. This incredibly important information will enable strong foundations to be built in which to grow and sustain the new learning cultures. With the information this experience has thrown up, leaders are able to gain clarity on how all of the already existing learning focuses and strategies can add value and assist with future steps and engagement.
Together leaders and staff have designed and created a vision for the future of learning. They have been able - together - to identify what is good about learning and take that forward to the next stage of the journey. Every member has had a part to play in the development and design. The journey to get there is now present and visible to everyone and the school is in a position to leverage next steps with conviction rather than experimentation.
PAGE 24 |Â
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
Final Version
Staff were asked to try and encompass their design as a statement of learning for their school. This is an example of such a statement
"Learning here means we question our world around us. We collaborate with others to broaden our understanding. We recognise that with a growth mindset we can realise our full potential as learners and have an impact on our future and the future of others."
PAGE 25 |Â
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
WHAT NEXT? Empower sustainable learning cultures Empower sustainable learning cultures is a program for leadership teams who want support to unpack their schools learning culture. It is focused on moving your schools learning culture from - told about it to grow it. Together we are able to:
Bring clarity to the journey for teachers and leaders in your school to make a change Execute next steps to deepen/elevate the learning and engagement of 21C learning skills and dispositions in learners. Excite leading-edge learning, and strengthen your foundations to grow pedagogy and sustain change.
The process enables leaders and teachers to understand learning in themselves so that they can enable it in others. The role of this process is to energise change by building a process that will enhance the visibility of your schools learning culture. We unpacked what the learning for the teachers would look like at each level of a SOLO rubric, ie a continuum of practice, and developed success criteria for each learning element in the same way we unpack the learning and give visibility for our students.
PAGE 26 |
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
TABITHA LEONARD Empower sustainable learning cultures Tabitha is the co-author of An Action Research Project with SOLO Taxonomy. How to tell if it is making a difference. Which underpinned the work she does with her clients. Through co-design, she creates positive impacts for clients using design thinking processes to innovate human-centred design solutions that will enable, empower and elevate clients capabilities.
Tabitha is passionate about the professional growth of her clients. She uses her expertise in Design Thinking to help clients unpack issues and challenges in order to create new designs and innovations to facilitate new direction.
She loves connecting with clients and engaging with them to help gain insights into the impact they are having on the growth of their teams or businesses, and use the fundamental principles of appreciative inquiry to enable collective vision and actions.
Tabitha works with organisations seeking innovation, growth and influence to design and build the next generation of experiences. Tabitha seeks to engage and generate innovation and creativity that will make learning meaningful and relevant. She brings her experience in coaching learners to grow a learning culture that will result in evolutionary - transformational change.Â
PAGE 27 |Â
REDEFINING LEARNING CULTURES
REFERENCES
Claxton, G (2018). The Learning Power Approach: Teaching Learners to Teach Themselves. California: Corwin
Fullan, M., Quinn, J., McEachen, J (2018). Deep Learning: Engage the World Change the World. California: Corwin
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning. London: Routledge.
Timperley, H. (2012) Using Evidence on the classroom for professional learning. Ontario Education Research Symposium.
Trimboli, O. (2017) Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words. Self Published. www.oscartrimboli.com
PAGE 28 |