16 minute read
Changemakers for sustainable development in schools
process has a ‘pit’ (Nottingham, 2010) that ‘illustrates the steps that can be taken to move from surface-level knowledge to deep understanding’, and putting in place strategies like ‘stuckness routines’ (Griffith & Burns, 2014) or learning how to ‘fail well’.
The learning process should also be based on a reflective cycle that guides students through a process of description, feeling, evaluation, conclusion, and action by considering alternatives and consequences. Educators should be encouraged to implement reflective practices in lessons like Kolb’s learning cycle, and visible thinking routines like ‘slow looking routines’ (Tishman, 2017) that will ‘produce active cognitive opportunities for meaning-making and critical thinking that may not be possible through highspeed means of information delivery’ which depicts the world in which we live.
Developing characters traits such as empathy, teaching about perspectives and points of view, and inviting students to ‘halt, engage, anticipate and replay’ (HEAR listening method) allows them to stop and focus on a problem and then listen to other ideas and reflect on them. Teaching empathy allows for the transformation of individual lives for the better and helps to bring about positive social change in schools.
Using inquiry-based lessons is a corner stone for these habits to be developed over time. The ability to pose powerful questions that invite reflection and provoke deep and critical thinking, helping students to conduct problem-related research. Questions should be used that go beyond the curriculum and require the use of previous and interdisciplinary knowledge so students can make natural links with many areas of knowledge and are initiators of creative thinking; questions that trigger emotional responses (moral dilemmas, ethical issues) and encourage collaboration and debate.
All in one, and as Martin Luther King once said: ‘The purpose of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education’. ◆
Dr David Bauza-Capart is Assistant Head:
Teaching, Learning and Curriculum at Jumeira Baccalaureate School, Dubai and a member of the IB Educators Network. ✉ dbauza@jbschool.ae Ö youtube.com/channel/ UCG5ydq1gwyX7-WO8p_6Gj_g
References
• Claxton G (2017) Deep Rivers of Learning. Phi Delta Kappan. 99(6), 45-48. • Costa A and Kallick B (2008) Learning and Leading with habits of mind: 16 essential characteristics for success. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
• Delors J et al (1996) Learning: the Treasure Within. Paris: UNESCO
• Griffith A and Burns M (2014) Outstanding Teaching: Teaching Backwards. Tokyo: Osiris. • Nottingham J A (2010) Challenging Learning (1st ed.). Alnwick, Northumberland: JN Publishing. • Pala A (2011) The Need for Character Education. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies. 3(2), 23-32 • Tishman S (2017) Slow Looking. The Art and Practice of learning through observation. London: Routledge.
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Student Well-being
Introduction of well-being classes at Robert College in Istanbul
By Margaret Halicioğlu
‘What is the main function of schools?’ This seems to have been a common question, sometimes unspoken, during the past two years, especially with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated reliance on distance learning, which has meant a reduction in or even a loss of elements which we considered so essential for schooling such as practical work, social interactions, and team work. While certainly schools need to ensure the academic education of their students, and their students’ readiness for tertiary education and/or work life, it is becoming more and more clear that schools must also focus on the well-being of students for their long-term success as contributing members of society. We need to help students prepare for the challenges life will throw at them. A student’s EQ (emotional intelligence) is at least as important as their IQ if they are to thrive. Morris (2015) suggests that children’s happiness and well-being are more important than academics. As Kristjan Kristjansson succinctly puts it, in the foreword to Morris’ book (2015), ‘schools are meant to prepare students for the tests of life rather than just a life of tests’.
Well-being across the school
Even before the pandemic, Robert College had elements of student well-being interwoven throughout the school year. We need such elements: our students come to us after taking the national Turkish 8th grade exam and are highly academic, competent and competitive individuals. In particular, our senior students – approximately half of whom apply abroad with its associated stress and uncertainty, while half choose to stay in Turkey with the marathon, two-year preparation at cram schools for the Turkish university entrance exam – need activities to improve their well-being. Thus, there are monthly events on the day that represents their class: so, the graduating class of 2022 will have a well-being event on the 22nd of each month. One example is the day-long cyclothon, with students released from classes to participate in the cycling ‘race’ held in the center of the school, Marble Hall. Another example is a boat trip on the Bosphorus, going to one of the local islands for the day: creating an opportunity for students to relax, do some fun fi eldwork on the island, and build memories in their fi nal year before graduation. It was felt, however, that these special events were not enough for what Robert College wanted to achieve for its students.
Above: Robert College Cyclothon.
Well-being classes Well-being curriculum
In the academic year 2020-21, Robert College Ian Morris’s book ‘Teaching Happiness and Well-being in introduced a well-being class for its two youngest grade Schools: Learning to Ride Elephants’ was a great guide levels: Lise Prep (all students new to the school who during the development of our curriculum, and remains enter after 8th grade, with a preparatory English year a road map for the development of our well-being before they progress to 9th grade) and grade 9. This was initiatives across the school. in recognition of the need to support our students to The LP curriculum includes: deal better with life’s challenges, and to help • ‘The Resiliency Toolbox’, populated with basic skills them fl ourish. related to mindfulness, meditation practice and ‘being
It was challenging to fi nd time for this class in a in the present’; packed schedule of other classes, largely mandated • ‘Body’, which focuses on physical well-being skills, such by the Turkish Ministry of Education. The ISC Research Wellbeing Report (2021) suggests that in order to improve wellbeing in schools, changes need to be made to traditional school structures and organisation. This is something that Robert College school leaders recognised prior to this report as they found a creative solution to the as having a balanced and healthy diet, sleeping well and scheduling challenge. The one-hour weekly well-being exercise. It also covers other related topics such as diet, class is taught in English, and includes whole class body image issues and the impact of technology on discussion, reading, and written refl ections – so it was sleep patterns; incorporated into the regular English lesson for the • ‘Emotions’, including the journey from mood to action; Lise Preps (LP), with the well-being teacher going in and empathy; alongside the regular teacher to lead the lesson. For the • ‘Mind’, with topics like ‘learning to learn’ and resilience. grade 9 students, a weekly one-hour slot was available The grade 9 curriculum also covers four units: in the schedule but academic departments were keen • ‘Passions and Curiosity’, which focuses on career to assimilate this extra hour: again, the school leaders pathways and approaches, and how we identify with others; determined that the importance of student well-being • ‘Relationships’ focuses on interactions with others should be the priority, and so the time was allocated for with a specifi c emphasis on romantic relationships, the well-being class. introducing some basic concepts such as
intersectional feminism, dating violence and gender roles; • ‘The World’ which focuses on topics such as ‘consumerism versus sustainability’; • ‘Technology’ which has a big focus on social media and its effects. Inviting alumni to contribute to some of these elements proved very successful, and often inspiring for our ambitious students. For example, their seeing that not all graduates follow the stereotypical career path and that some choose areas of work such as organic farming, following a passion for cooking and becoming a celebrity chef, or working for NGOs, provides an open door for students to explore such avenues, should they wish. During the lessons, we hope that students will find something new that they can incorporate into their lives, and which will foster their personal well-being.
Well-being teachers
The Head of Counselling readily agreed to lead the development and delivery of the well-being curriculum and the training of the teachers. Teachers who were interested in being part of this exciting development were invited to apply to join the Well-being Team. There was a high level of interest in this, even though it meant teachers were agreeing to take it on in addition to their regular roles: this showed the level of commitment to the initiative. It was felt that having teachers from a range of backgrounds and experience was important, especially during the development of the programme, since they would bring different strengths to this home-grown curriculum. The four selected teachers became known as The Well-being Circle, and met weekly to plan the next week’s classes, review the previous week’s classes, and generally reflect on the process.
Well-being classes during the pandemic
The vast majority of the well-being classes in the 202021 academic year took the form of distance learning, with a few in hybrid format. To say this was not the ideal format for the introduction of well-being classes is an understatement. An evaluation by students was conducted towards the end of the year and, not surprisingly, Dr Margaret L Halicioğlu is Dean of Student Affairs at a recurring theme in the Robert College, Istanbul. ✉ m.l.halicioglu@gmail.com feedback was that the
students were released from classes to participate in the cycling ‘race’ students wanted to DO things related to their wellbeing, not LEARN ABOUT how to do things related to their well-being. In spite of this, it was clear that these students do now have an awareness of how they can contribute to their own well-being, and they enjoyed the more relaxed, reflective pace of the class.
Plans for the future
Since the academic year 2021-22 is starting face-toface, the well-being teachers are excited to have the opportunity to incorporate well-being activities into the lesson plans: such as getting out onto our fantastic, forested campus, experiencing the flora and fauna, and doing simple yoga moves together, rather than talking about the benefits of yoga. Planning for the following years has already started, with well-being lessons to be introduced into 10th and 11th grades in the following academic year. The idea of a carousel approach is also on the table: having well-being teachers who rotate through the classes, so that they teach their specialist areas. There is also discussion about the possibility of creating a leadership post of Head of Well-being, someone who will focus on the well-being of the whole community, not just the students.
Conclusion
In the previous issue of International School magazine, Keeling and Wigford (2021) clearly articulated why well-being matters more than ever, referring to the ISC Research project on well-being in international schools (ISC Research, 2021). Yes, the time is ripe for all students to be supported in their well-being, which is being openly discussed and planned for in schools. At Robert College, one of our five Core Values is Balance, which fits perfectly with what we are trying to achieve in the well-being programme. Does your school mission include any reference to students’ wellbeing? If not, maybe it is time to consider it. Happiness, contentment, and the ability to deal with life’s challenges: let’s go back to the initial question of ‘What is the main function of schools?’ When we focus on students’ wellbeing, we are helping them to be happier individuals, and ultimately that will have a positive effect on their learning. It’s a win-win situation. ◆
References
• ISC Research (2021) Wellbeing in International Schools. The 2021 Report. Available via https://iscresearch.com/reports/ wellbeing-international-schools/ • Keeling A and Wigford A (2021) Why Wellbeing Matters More Than Ever. International School. Summer, 6-9. • Morris I (2015) Teaching Happiness and Well-being in Schools: Learning to Ride Elephants. 2nd ed. London: Bloomsbury. Bath Uni
Filler
Agile minds,learning hearts, humble spirits:
curriculum innovation during the pandemic
By Nicholas Forde
The prevailing global conditions over the last eighteen months have forced all organisations to consider their strategic aims, operational delivery and overall fi tness for purpose. The notion of the ‘pivot’ has been well covered (Guillén, 2020) in the context of businesses adapting their practices to ensure their short-term survival and promoting long-term resilience. For schools and school leaders, particularly those in fee-paying schools, there has been a tension between, on the one hand, maximising a ‘business as usual’ approach wherever possible and, on the other, adjusting teaching and learning to comply with the health and safety measures imposed upon us by government and health bureaucracies. In particular, one visible sign of the immediate impact upon International Baccalaureate (IB) schools has been the cancellation of extra-curricular and experiential learning programmes which form an integral part of the holistic philosophy of a break from their screens and pursue an individual passion for the afternoon, something which they could refl ect upon during the process and share with others. Students learned new skills (from juggling to baking) and were given an opportunity to share the process and results with family and peers.
In addition, with the cancellation of most international travel in the summer of 2020, all of our overseas summer extension programs were grounded. Here, we pivoted to ask teachers to offer campus-based activities focused around their passions which would seek to go beyond the curriculum. Take-up and participation from both teachers and students was extremely promising.
the IB. At the ISF Academy, Hong Kong (academy.isf.edu.hk), very early on, during intermittent periods of school closure and online learning, we redoubled our efforts to staying the course towards meeting our ambitious strategic priorities. This included asking what was possible in the area of curriculum development.
At ISF over the last decade we have harnessed an exciting range of curricular offerings. The foundations for us are our IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP), a strong commitment to Chinese-English bilingual language education, as well as experiential learning. Students in Grades 6-10 are able to complement their MYP with a number of school-based courses which provide enrichment with a particular emphasis on research and scholarship. Students can study classical languages and pursue university level scientifi c research in collaboration with tertiary academics. We have also recently taken our fi rst steps to embed maker education in both the Primary and Secondary schools. All of these programs fall under what we term our ‘Shuyuan’ programme – envisaged during the pandemic created an even greater sense of urgency for change. Between March and June 2020, during extended periods of online learning, we realised that students and teachers found lengthy screen time enervating. With most students confi ned to their homes, and with concern for both teacher and student well-being, we introduced some planned breaks to screen time which we termed ‘creative learning afternoons’. Here we encouraged students to take
From these experiences, in August 2020 we set about planning the next chapter in curriculum innovation. We called this Hao Xue. Taken from the Confucian Analects, Hao Xue is a term which represents a passion for learning and the desire to learn from others. This enrichment programme for Grades 6-9 seeks to nurture students’ creativity, critical thinking and a lifelong love of learning, and to strengthen mental, physical and social health and well-being. Our tagline for the program was ‘Agile mind, learning heart, humble spirit’, which sums up the passion for
as a ‘school within a school’, a learning sanctuary for students studying alongside a ‘master’.
The problem: fi nding the time
For a high achieving IB school, taking a pragmatic approach, many of these additional Shuyuan programs have naturally had to carve out time and space towards the end of the school day. Although we now have an impressive suite of school-based ‘honours’ courses (such as Chinese Classical Literature, Comparative Classics, Comparative Politics, Mathematics for Engineering, and Latin) offered to Grade 9-10 students as part of the regular timetable, many Shuyuan courses occupy the same space as co-curricular activities. In addition, for many years on Wednesday afternoons we had also offered a small number of enrichment activities which students in Grade 6-8 could opt into as part of what we called ‘Big Learning Afternoon’. Students had to reach a certain level of attainment and effort in their mainstream subjects before being able to access these courses. They would then be allowed to attend, and would come out of their MYP lessons on those afternoons. It was an imperfect solution implemented at a time when the Secondary School was much smaller. However, there were a number of problems. Firstly, access: not all students could participate. Secondly, many parents did not want their children to miss out on their mainstream lessons. Finally, for those students who did participate, there was a tension about missing out, and similarly for teachers who could not progress assessments or substantive content with students away from class. The key question for us was: could we create a Wednesday afternoon electives programme which was open to all students, without signifi cantly affecting the allocation of time to the regular curriculum? The existential battles for ‘turf and time’ in schools were on full display here!
The incubator: online learning and the lack of international travel
Although a strategic priority to reconsider our approach to enrichment, events
The aim: access and passion
learning which can come from within and from learning from others.
Within Hong Kong, in the sometimes over-programmed lives of adolescents by their parents, we wanted the courses on offer to refl ect domains which connect students with the wider world. Teachers were asked to volunteer to offer courses which refl ected their interests and passions in one of six domains. Courses would not be assessed in the formal sense, but students would be expected to refl ect on their experiences as part of our student refl ection records.
Figure 1: The Hao Xue ‘domains’
