Founding Principal - Part 1

I guess I’m not alone in saying this year has not started as I expected. I was expecting to lead a school through the very difficult process of transferring management of a school and virtually starting from scratch. However, I find myself working with a school through the very initial developmental stages.

The new situation is a private school in Taiwan interested in providing an international curriculum to students in Tainan. Though the owner, the principal and the financial backer have experience in education, that experience is limited to the local ecosystem. They need someone like me with experience in running an international school. The challenge will come from starting a school from scratch. 

So this is my journey. It will involve new learning as well as reflection on what I want to improve from my previous experiences. 

My experience in international education is extensively in IB programmes. So when the Tainan school wanted an international education I said I could help, but I thought their best option was the IB. The owner was impressed. So the first thing to do is to have a plan then convince the board of your plan. I tried making the presentation for the principal and some other finance people, like a story, I’m not sure if it worked but it seemed to. Next time I would make the arch like the TDTs or the inquiry cycle. 

We are awaiting the decision of the board. The next step will be evaluating what we have and making a plan for the next 12 months. 

1. Facilitate a fact finding and generation session with the board to focus on exactly what type of school they want and when, include what is necessary for mission statement and vision. 
2. Assess our current situation and where we are in the process of creating an international school as this is a school that wants to become an international school.
3. Incorporated the ideas of the people we have currently have in the organisation dn finalise guiding statements by end of September.
4. Start the process of writing the curriculum for 1-9
5. • MYP by September 2020
   • PYP by October 2020

Some things to do

• Start advertising MYP in October 
• Find out when we can start advertising for the PYP. 
• Find out information required by the IB and register for interested status. 
• Develop action plan, my plan and school calendar. 
• Write policies and procedures. 
• Think about who can promote our school.  

My Educational Philosophy

I am a strong believer in social constructivist learning. My speciality is in early childhood education, the focus of my teaching degree and Masters degree. Since graduation, I have taught extensively in the primary years and bring the mindset of an early years educator to my work.

My philosophy can be best described using a quote from Piaget, “Every time we teach a child something, we keep him from inventing it himself.” I think that students learn best from their peers. This takes the teacher away from the direct instruction of material and places them as a facilitator in the learning process. I am a passionate believer in inquiry, which is derived from the social constructivist learning approach. I believe that it takes a special kind of teacher to lead students to learn through inquiry. It requires someone who is willing to give agency to the students to let them have power in the learning process. As a teacher you have to know when is the right time to be in charge, and when is the right time to let go. It also takes a special power to know what type of scaffolding is needed at the right time to get students through the learning process. Often it is asking the right questions.

I completed a degree in psychology before pursuing a teaching career and bring that understanding into my interactions. Given that students learn best from their peers, learning occurs best when students feel safe and secure. I spend time to build relationships between students to facilitate this process. This is my highest priority. I find the benefits of this approach means that all members of the learning community get to know each other at a deeper level which leads to a more compassionate and caring learning environment. As a PYP Coordinator, I let teachers know that this is something they must work on in their classes. It is of little use to embark upon learning if the social and emotional needs of students are not established as a the most important consideration of the class. As an administrator I bring the same attitude to interactions with the teachers and run similar sessions to support teacher wellbeing.

As an IB educator, there are a number of learning practices I feel are fundamental to learning in an increasingly connected world. Being internationally minded is of great importance. Learning must be significant and meaningful for learners if they are expected to be engaged in learning. Building connections to the world, and in encouraging their participation in solve problems of a global nature empowers their learning. A focus on concepts is another way we can help learners see the “bigger picture” they become more engaged as a result.

Students taking action is one of the most important aspects of learning. This occurs naturally when you have established the framework for learning, created units that are significant and meaningful, showed connections to problems, students take action of their own accord. Action can be viewed as either action from learning or action for learning. Action from learning is the action students take as they learn about some problem and decide that they must do something. That something could take the form of direct action to work directly on the problem, indirect action which means doing something auxiliary to the problem with would have a positive effect, advocacy where students tell people about the problem, or further study about the problem. This type of action can be directed to the global, communal or personal level. You can read an example of Grade 2 students engaging int the latter here, http://inquirypractice.blogspot.tw/2016/09/student-led-inquiry-and-visible-thinking.html. Action for learning is where upon reflection students develop an understanding of their own learning and realise what they need to do to improve their learning.

I follow a backwards-by-design approach to teaching, focusing on what it is I want students to know. Finding out what students know and what they are interested in learning determines the learning engagements and activities students need to advance their learning. Co-authoring assessment tasks allows students to display their understanding in ways that aligns with their developmental stage and individual needs. Open-ended tasks empower students to achieve at their level and exceed whatever assumptions educators may have developed. Guiding this process is the main goal of educators and we must ensure that learners understand the purpose of learning by making the goals of learning explicit and provide examples and accurate descriptions of what is expected. We follow this by developing formative assessments that ensure we are aware of learners progress. Giving constructive and timely feedback enhances this process. Learners are empowered to control their own learning, setting goals for learning, monitoring their progress and reflection on future steps to improve.

Due to our rapidly changing world, education that focuses on knowledge does a disservice to our students. I believe that the emphasis must be on skill development. I am working in collaboration with some other international educators to develop a coordinated and comprehensive range of skills students will need to become 21 Century learners.

As an administrator, I believe that progress occurs best through a collaborative effort. It is important to have support from the teachers and without teacher buyin, success will be limited. I seek feedback on all matters and listen carefully to what people are saying. Teachers appreciate my responsiveness to their needs and feelings, creating a happier workplace. With this approach, I find that teachers often exceed my expectations in engagement and outcomes. They appreciate that their advice is taken on board and become much more committed to the processes.

I have a number of skills and interests that I employ to support student participation in extra-curricula activities. I have structured and scaffolded the student council in the primary school. I have an interest in drama and use my passion to develop these skills with students. I have some experience coaching primary sports.

I believe that students need to develop connections to nature. The natural world is alive with spontaneity and unexpected lessons. Unlike predictable games, the surprises a young learner discovers outdoors promote problem-solving skills, scientific and mathematical exploration, and language skills. It stimulates curiosity, encourages persistence and creativity. It allows students to take risks and develop resilience.

I am a life-long learner. The world is changing at an astronomical rate and education must move quickly just to remain relevant. I believe that a focus on skills is essential, as there is no way that we can provide the information students will need when they leave formal education. I believe that there has never been a more relevant time to be an educator.

A Step-by-step Guide to Schools of the future

A work in progress

My post about the future of education gives a sense of what I envisage schools to look like in the future. It would be unrealistic to expect to be given the time and money to create such a school from scratch. The most pragmatic approach would be to make the necessary changes to create a school that is both relevant and sustainable. Their would be an added advantage that such an approach could allow a changing school to become adaptable to unforeseen variables.

Step 1

Evaluate current curriculum documents to ensure that they comply with a student-centred, inquiry-based pedagogical approach to learning.

Step 2

Undergo a major evaluation of skills and create a continuum of skill development. This is a difficult task and needs constant evaluation and monitoring. We started working on this in a previous school and we found that once we started identifying the skills and focusing on skill development, the skill level of all students developed quicker than had been initially evaluated. This meant that the continuum had to be continually monitored and re-calibrated at times.

Step 3

The next step would be to create an ICT platform that would combine a self-directed learning suites of skill-based platforms to learn subject-based skills, e.g. language and mathematics. It would also monitor participation in individual and group learning projects that required the assessment by a teacher. I envisage this platform as being the central point of interaction for students. This platform does not need to be created from scratch. Schools that share platforms would be in the unique position of being able to share resources with other schools and have students move between schools to utilise learning that better suits their interests.

Step 4

Once the platform is allowing students to make choices in connection with their learning, the situation arises that students will feel confined by their being members of a class and look for learning activities across the school. As this happens, the school will need to start having conversations with all stakeholders about things like multi-aged classes, or doing away with class-based systems all together. Student well-being will need to be given significant consideration and specialized structures will need to be created to ensure that with increased freedom, students still develop a sense of belonging.

This process will take some time, but at this stage the school will have the experience and the conversations that could drive the development of a true school of the future.

Schools of the future #1

This is part 1 in a series about what I envisage schools of the future will look like.

I've been thinking about education and the direction it will take in the future. I am looking at trends I see developing as well as drawing inspiration from great educational thinkers such as Sir Ken Robinson and Richard Gerver. I am also very conscious of the work of Susan Cain about personality types. I see ICT becoming a big part of the education process. The IB are talking a lot about student agency in their publications relating to the release of the new PYP. The power of the internet to enable people to learn what they want, when they want, in becoming more prevailing. The fact that people, and students in particular, engage in learning online through various media points to the fact that students can be engaged in learning and they can do it without a teacher. I think that schools in the future have to embrace this type of learning.
Standardised testing has become almost as commonplace as people using the internet to learn. Government departments and community leaders all demand that schools are accountable for the money they spend. I agree that there needs to be some assessment of learning, but I have significant problems with standardised testing.
As schools empower students to have greater agency over their own learning, the more we will need some way to monitor student learning and guide future learning. I believe ICT can again be utilised for this purpose. By combining the tasks of independent learning and monitoring of progress, ICT can become a useful partner for schools.
The focus of learning will be on skill development. Students will be in control of their learning and receive support and assistance from teachers and the School Learning Platform (SLP). Students will be allocated a peer aged group, a group similar to a house and a teacher/advisor. Students will engage in activities based on their current skill level and ability and their experience with content areas. These activities may group together students of various ages. The time, the amount of time and location will vary according to the needs of the group. This will allow students to manage their time with the assistance of the SLP.
The role of the teacher becomes one of developing relationships with the students they are advising, monitoring their progress against established benchmarks and creating and supervising learning projects.
Adapting the IB framework to this model would require the school to track content area exposure, conceptual understanding and engagement with transdisciplinary themes. I would suggest a points system where students needed to accrue points in certain areas and that learning engagements displayed the point values. This would enable students to make choices but also cover a breadth of experiences.

Student-led Inquiry and Visible Thinking

At IIS, the grade 2 class is embarking on a fantastic journey of student-led inquiry, powered by a Visible Thinking routine.

We are doing a Who We Are unit with the central idea, 'People can use strategies to improve relationships with others.' This had been done by previous teaching teams as a way to focus on behaving responsibly. It was done at the beginning of the year so that the ideas 'taught' during this unit could be referred to during the year.

I have never been a fan of this unit as I found it difficult to see how, or why, students could take ownership of the unit. I feel that previously the unit was teacher driven. However, I find myself in the position of working in the classroom with the grade 2 team to do this unit. Luckily I am surrounded by a team of intelligent and hard-working individuals who are keen to develop a student-led inquiry. During planning meetings we talked a lot about what where were going to do with the summative assessment. We talked about previous ideas, and came up with some new suggestions. Two teachers in the team have just been on an inquiry workshop and had spoken to others about this unit and others schools had used interviews as a summative assessment, so that was also on the cards. We kept talking about the fact that we still needed to keep an open mind about the summative assessment as we still didn't know what the students wanted to do.

Through unpacking the central idea, we realised that students could understand the words, but didn't really know what the unit was about. We did a provocation were we played games with the students, but part way through started shamelessly cheating. In previous years this provocation offended the more principally minded students and started discussions about the need to follow rules to promote social harmony. This year the more savvy students just took our cheating as a cue to cheat themselves, but we still had the same discussion. We also did a learning engagement where students drew pictures of some of the people they had relationships with and described some of the problems they had with those relationships and the solutions they had employed.

I wanted to use the visible thinking routine of ‘Think. Puzzle. Explore.’ early in the unit. It took longer than I expected, three sessions rather than the one that I had envisaged, but the results were well worth it. I am a big fan of visible thinking routines because I love the way they force learners to think in depth about issues. This routine especially focuses on investigating possible areas learners can explore about a topic, making it ideal for the tuning in part of the unit. We finally got to do it yesterday and as I said earlier, as students struggled to understand what the unit was about, they struggled with the first part of this exercise. It wasn’t until the ‘puzzle’ part of the activity that things came alive. Students puzzled over the possibility of using strategies to improve relationships with family or friends. After discussing their questions, students decided that they wanted to explore such things as, ‘What I can do to become a closer friend to my friend,” or “How can I get my brothers to care more for me,” from the youngest brother of three boys.

At this point the unit seemed to spread out easily in front of me. If we have the students follow the inquiry cycle, finding out, then students will investigate strategies for improving relationships. The most likely way to do this is to interview people, especially peers. After collecting information students then move to sorting out where students can decide on strategies they think might improve their relationships and what measurable outcomes they expect from their behaviour to see if they have improved their relationship. Going further would be where they practice the strategies they have decided upon and measure the outcomes. Making conclusions would be where they compare the results of their experiment with their expected outcomes. Taking action would be to continue doing the strategies if they worked, or decided on other strategies if their original strategies failed.

We can scaffold the process by giving students a copy of the inquiry cycle and talking as a group about how to do each stage, then dividing students into smaller groups to talk about the specifics of their situation. This also works well for integrating mathematics, especially data handling, and literacy, where we were planning to write a friendly letter and this could be incorporated easily into the process.

I am excited to see the process unfold and watch students engage in a unit they created.