mle session uoc

Westpac Business and Community Hub,– Tuesday 11 March, 2014

Modern Learning Environments and

Future Focused Learning

WHAT ARE SCHOOLS FOR?

1.  Get a good job 2.  Learn to be a consumer 3.  Learn to adore

technology

“We need to address the metaphysical or philosophical purpose of school – if parents, teachers and kids don’t believe in the purpose of school it becomes a place of detention, not attention.” Neil Postman 1931 - 2003

MENTAL MODELS

Mental models are the assumptions & stories which we carry in our minds of ourselves, other people, institutions, & every aspect of the world. Differences between mental models explain why two people can observe the same event and describe it differently; they are paying attention to different details.

CHANGING SCHOOLS…

“Schools may be the starkest example in modern society of an entire institution modelled after the assembly line. This has dramatically increased educational capability in our time, but it has also created many of the most intractable problems with which students, teachers and parents struggle to this day.

If we want to change schools, it is unlikely to happen until we understand more deeply the core assumptions on which the industrial-age school is based”

Peter Senge

TESTING ASSUMPTIONS…

1996, Prof. Hedley Beare

“egg crate” classrooms set class groups based on age

period-based timetable linear curriculum

division of all human knowledge into “subjects”

division of staff by “subject”

allocation of most school tasks to teachers

assumption that learning is geographically bound

notion of stand-alone school

limiting ‘formal schooling’ to years 0-13

9-3 school day

SHUT THEM DOWN? These are the fundamentals of the futurist Alvin Toffler’s vision for education in the 21st century:

•  Open 24 hours a day •  Customized educational experience •  Kids arrive at different times •  Students begin their formalized schooling

at different ages •  Curriculum is integrated across disciplines •  Non-teachers work with teachers •  Teachers alternate working in schools and

in business world •  Local businesses have offices in the

schools •  Increased number of charter schools

http://www.edutopia.org/alvin-toffler-school-reform

Students in physical school, instruction and

assessment predominantly on-

site

Students access formal learning via

the network, instruction and

assessment provided online

Students learning through their

online personal learning network,

incl. social networking

environments

Students at home, library or other space, pursuing

own interests individually or collaboratively

FORMAL

INFORMAL

PHYSICAL

VIRTUAL

Principle #1

= Ubiquity

Any time, any place, any pace, any device…

UBIQUITY

Principles #2

= Agency “the power to act”; informed, enabled, empowered learners

•  Self directed learning

•  Un-tethered to traditional institution

•  Expert at personal data aggregation

•  Power of connections

•  Creating new communities

•  Not tethered to physical networks

•  Experiential learning

•  Content developers

•  Process as important as knowledge gained

FREE AGENT CHARACTERISTICS

http://teachthinktech.learningconnective.org/post/1656186536/free-agent-learners

Principle #3 Connectedness ‘edgeless schools’, global reach

David Ronfeldt TIMN (Tribal, Institutional, Market, Network)

School A

Groups

NETWORKED LEARNING

Network PLN

Federally organised Collections of entities Collaborative Networked knowledge

Externally organised Single entity Competitive Knowledge transfer

Personally organised Association of entities Connected Personal knowledge

The way networks learn is the way individuals learn

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK #1

•  MLE supports differentiated and student-centred learning. •  MLE produces better teaching and learning. •  Teachers are more accountable and empowered to collaborate through

the power of 2 – 5 to provide quality teaching and learning. •  De-privatising practice and having learning spaces that are open,

inclusive and accessible is best practice in NZ and beyond. •  And a great quote about MLE architecture: Learning within purposeful

de-privatised learning centred spaces with architecture that “makes you want to learn”:)


•  All members of the school's community have to work together to create a shared vision around learning. As long as everything that occurs can be true to that vision then teaching and learning can be successful. This does not mean that everyone has to do everything in exactly the same way.

•  The environment is not the most essential part of the process. There is no one correct plan for what a MLE should look like.

•  Learning doesn't stop with the children, teachers are also lifelong learners and are learning to improve their knowledge and practice all the time through use of collaborative teaching and teacher coaching.

•  When involved in designing new learning spaces we need to be aware that we are not just planning for ourselves but for the next twenty plus years so spaces need to be able to be arranged in a variety of ways as no one can know what the needs of the learners will be then.


•  Excitement and challenges are two words that come to mind. In a positive way of course!

•  I keep coming back to the children and what will best meet their needs. During our great trip, we saw children engaged in their learning. I know we see this in more traditional classrooms too. What I liked was the level of engagement of the teachers in their own learning, in the confidence they displayed, and their conviction that the open spaces created a more dynamic and effective teaching model.

•  I also liked the belief the leaders had in that they were making a difference for their students and for their teachers.

•  I liked seeing children demonstrating independence in their learning and their ability to self manage. The published league tables affirmed the levels of achievement were to be commended, and that the National Testing did not inhibit the learning in depth and breadth that was taking place.


•  Outstanding, passionate, inspirational leadership - I think that's crucial in setting up a successful MLE.

•  Also a clear, collaboratively formed vision is vital. Each successful principal we saw, was passionate about ensuring that the vision was lived and breathed by everyone and that the learning spaces reflected the vision.

•  We have an amazing opportunity in ChCh to create something special. I truly believe that all the 'stakeholders' are keen to make this happen. I feel very grateful that I was on this tour. I only wish everyone involved in our merge could have had the same opportunity.

THOSE KEY WORDS

•  Differentiated and student-centred learning. •  Accountable and empowered to collaborate •  De-privatising practice •  Open, inclusive and accessible •  Collaborative teaching •  No one correct plan •  Shared vision •  Dynamic and effective teaching model •  Demonstrating independence •  Outstanding, passionate, inspirational leadership •  Collaboratively formed vision •  Learning spaces reflected the vision.

WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE?

1.  Dynamic, future-focused leadership 2.  Clear articulation of a collaboratively developed and

owned vision, values and beliefs

3.  Primary focus on the learner

4.  Collaborative, de-privatised practice

5.  Learning spaces reflect the vision

UNPACK

•  How adequately do our learning spaces cater for the type of learning we are wanting our children to experience?

•  Do our current spaces work against the things we’re trying to achieve?

LEARNING SETTINGS

LINKING PRINCIPLES TO PLACE

METAPHORS FOR CHANGING THINKING…

•  Cave: for private concentration. •  Camp fire: group process. •  Watering hole: encounters and impulses. •  Sandpit: experimentation and practical work. •  Mountaintop: presentation of progress and

discoveries.

Source: Prakash Nair

CAVES: PRIVATE CONTEMPLATION

CAMPFIRE: GROUP PROCESSES

WATERING HOLE: ENCOUNTERS AND IMPULSES

SANDPIT: EPXERIMENTATION

MOUNTAINTOP: PRESENTATION

SCHOOL SPATIAL TYPOLOGIES

tradi&onal school plan separate classrooms opening off corridors

large, open undifferen&ated space

separate classrooms linked to shared central space

mul&-‐op&on space made up of many diverse, discrete but connected spaces / se<ngs

SCHOOL SPATIAL TYPOLOGIES

Source: Mary Featherstone

duration of activities?

documentation of activities?

what furniture, equipment, resources?

what services are required? what surfaces are required? what floor, levels area?

ambience, climate control?

degree of enclosure?


MODERN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

http://bundlr.com/b/core-education-modern-learning-enviroments

http://www.core-ed.org/professional-learning/mle-matrix

http://eps.core-ed.org/

http://eps.core-ed.org

Derek Wenmoth Email: [email protected]

Blog: http://blog.core-ed.org/derek Skype: <dwenmoth>

mle session uoc

Education