Purposeful, Practical and PowerfulCollaboration for Learning

ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS MONDAY 31 AUGUST 2015

Dr Sara Glover – Director, Mitchell Institutesara.glover@vu.edu.au

Persistent challenges

• 25% of year 9 students cannot read well enough for further learning• 20% 15 years olds fail to master the simplest maths problems• Around 50% of 15 year olds report not being good at solving maths

problems, and are not interested in the the things they are learning in maths• Nearly 40% 15 year olds report students don’t listen to what teacher says

and teacher did not get students interested• Less that 30% of secondary students find learning at school stimulating• 40% 15 year olds reported family demands or other problems prevented

them from putting time into school work• 25% of young people have mental health issues• 25% of 17-25 year-olds are not fully engaged in education, training or work

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Wide in school variation based on socio-economic backgrounds

ESCS Index – PISA, OECD

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…and persistent strengths

From PISA surveys of 15 year olds… Nearly 90% report positive teacher-student relations and

sense of belonging at school 95% - trying hard at school is important 84% - schools has helped give me confidence to make

decisions 95% report that their parents believe it’s important for me to

study mathematics

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‘The forces that are shaping our world are very different from any that we have experienced before. They require different responses from government, from businesses

and indeed from us as individuals.’ Catherine Livingstone, Business Council of Australia -

July 2014

The future…

“If you’re a 22 year old and looking at the next 45 - 50 years you will not have just one occupation and the one skill set you were trained for. Instead you will need the ability to retrain and up skill and form relationships easily.”

“Up until the GFC you could be a 15 year old with no skills and get a job in a factory, on a farm or in a warehouse. But where do barely skilled people get a job if those sectors are shedding labour? Well they don’t and social dysfunction could follow as a consequence.”

The main attributes for the future worker are flexibility, fluidity, agility and a positive outgoing social demeanor.

Bernard Salt, May 2014

Source: ABS, from FYA New Work Order, 2015

Three game changers in education

1. Creativity 2. Collaboration3. Data, evidence & judgement

1. Creativity

‘ We are moving to a world where the capacity of individuals to create and innovate will be the difference between success and failure – for companies, for governments and for the individuals themselves.How we educate, train and retrain is going to be the absolute game changer in keeping countries, and the people within them productive, competitive and prosperous.’Business Council of Australia, Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott – February 2015

Innovation and knowledge is the future of our country

Creativity, resilience, entrepreneurial skills and global competency

‘Globalisation has transformed industry and fundamentally changed jobs and employment, demanding people with greater creativity, resilience and with entrepreneurial skills and global competency. Yet almost all of the current efforts to reform education are focused on ‘fixing’ past systems rather than inventing the future. We need to invest in inventing the future.’

Prof Yong Zhao – Mitchell Professorial Fellow, University of Oregon, author of ‘Who’s afraid of the big bad dragon’ 2014, and ‘World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students’ 2013.

A rethinking and expansion is required…

‘Education has to change. It has to engage the energies and intelligence of all young people. It has to respond to their anxieties about the future, and to help them develop the mental, emotional and social equipment they will need to thrive in a complex, challenging and exciting world.’ Prof Bill LucasBill Lucas et al Expansive Education,Teaching learners for the real world (2013)andEducating Ruby: what our children really need to learn (2015)

2. Collaboration

‘Supporting collaboration effectively for the purpose of student learning is the

overwhelming strategic priority for education policy and management’

Source: Bentley, T. & Cazaly, C. (2015). The shared work of learning: Lifting educational achievement through collaboration. Mitchell Institute Research Report no. 01/2015, Melbourne http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au p.7

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Strengthen local learning systems

Locally-led decision making Focus on developing capabilities and knowledge Develop wider relationships to support and sustain learning

outcomes in 21st century communities and economies Adaptable to students needs and interests and local

resources Responsible for all students’ learning

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3. Data, evidence & judgement

“In recent times, an emphasis on academic success has meant joy of learning has disappeared from the agenda. As a result, there are many successful students who feel no joy, and many struggling students who feel disengaged.Data has the capacity to address this malaise and underperformance and identify exactly what each student needs. Whether it is additional stimulus or added support, so that each child can find joy in learning, flourish and tackle life’s opportunities.”

Sir Michael Barber, Australian Learning Lecture, May 2015

See more at: http://www.all-learning.org.au/blog/what-do-we-mean-joy-and-data#sthash.dkoYt3AI.dpuf

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Creating feedback rich environments

”One of the things that I've always been intrigued with is how absent regular feedback is in the school sector, even regular data about your own performance. In most other walks of life, whether it's a firm like BCG or in the outside world such as in the sporting area, people are constantly getting feedback. To me that is a cornerstone of how people develop. It's almost absent in many parts of the school sector, but it needn't be.”Larry Kamener, Global Public Sector Leader at BCG

See more at: http://www.all-learning.org.au/blog/all-voices-larry-kamener-bcg#sthash.8pCUqK3x.dpuf

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Bringing this all together…what might this look like?

1. Creativity 2. Collaboration3. Data, evidence & judgement

1. Give visibility to learning outcomes that are diverse and valued

Learning how to learn – learning skills

Creativity, critical thinking, curiosity

Communication, collaboration

Perseverance, resilience, adaptability, empathy

Concepts, knowledge and skills

Ross Gittins, Economic Columnist, The Age, March 18, 2015

Balance of cognitive, social and emotional skills needed to succeed

OECD, March 2015, Skills for Social Progress: The Power of Social and Emotional Skills

Social and emotional skills are particularly important drivers of social outcomes, such as health, civic engagement, and subjective well-being. Social and emotional skills do not shape outcomes in isolation: they complement cognitive skills in further enhancing children’s life prospects.

2. Co design learning - real world learning driven by students passions and interests

‘Product’ orientation

Engaging students in deep learning through creating authentic products

Identifying a problem or need, thinking of possible solutions, making and trying prototypes, getting feedback, refining designs, and presenting results

Final product serves a genuine purpose, solves a real problem, meets a genuine need of others and is personally meaningful

Sustained and disciplined efforts are applied over a long period of time

Requires persistence, collaboration, multiple drafts, feedback – real world learning

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An example of a collaborative, co-designed learning model…there are many possibilities

3. Increase opportunities for purposeful collaboration

Teachers working together within and across organisational and geographical boundaries – study groups or inquiry circles

Professionals from different fields work together to solve common problems - cross-agency workers

Teachers collaborating with relevant businesses/industries/community organisations

Students working together – ideas generation, problem solving, creating products, presenting – diverse talents

Imperative that time is dedicated for professional collaboration, feedback and learning

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4. Create a feedback rich environment

Relationships - The relationships between teachers and students are central – knowing each student

Growth mindset – knowing how young people are developing their capabilities, knowledge and skills

Feedback – Rapid feedback loops are necessary for learning and improvement to occur

Expansive educators see it as part of their job to make evaluation an everyday part of their role

How can we expand the ‘noticing’ capacity of teachers and students to grow and develop diverse capabilities?

5. Use multiple sources of data

Learning assessment data Teacher observation data Student perception data

Learning assessment data - growth mindset

Student progress or growth data is most important

What do you know about the progress students are making in your areas of learning?

Eg: -Yr 3-5, Yr 5-7,Yr 7-9 growth in NAPLAN?-other learning gain?-non-cognitive skills development?

What evidence do you have of progress or growth? What does the student know about their own progress or

growth?

Teacher observation data

Noticing - what might help you notice whether improvements are being made?

What might you notice if student engagement is improving? What might you notice if a student’s skills are improving? What do students say you could be noticing?

Focussed, systematic and evidence-informed

Source: LLEAP Dialogue Series No. 3 – Growing Ideas Through Evidence, ACER 2015

Student perception data

“Students seem to know effective teaching when they experience it.” Provide valuable feedback to teachers - identify strengths and

weaknesses and develop new, effective teaching strategies Reliable measures of teacher effectiveness Most useful when used:

At the classroom level Across different learning areas In conjunction with classroom observation data

“Student Perceptions and the MET Project.” Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. September 2010, pp. 1-2. http://metproject.org/downloads/Student_Perceptions_092110.pdf

Example..

Source: “Learning About Teaching… (Policy Brief).” Op. cit., p. 5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Hanover Research 2013.

The importance of feedback for both students and teachers

Timely Focused on progress and effort Building capability as learners and as teachers Strengthening the learning partnership between teachers and

students

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Learning power is boosted when…

Learning goals are visible and shared It emphasises local strengths and interests – strengths of each student, teacher,

school, families and the local community Students pursue passions and learning interests that are important to the

community Parents and families, business, education providers, community are engaged in co-

design, feedback and presentation There is a global connection – develops global competence There is a strong culture of professional collaboration There is a collective understanding of quality – based on your own data, noticing

and evidence

creates a strong sense of collective efficacy & impact

The next great education systems

Diverse system outcomes are all valued learning outcomes All students learn and progress along a pathway they value Broad and flexible educational experiences Many to many relationships to create better outcomes Build on strengths and unique contexts Resources directed to learning need – at all levels System wide cycles of learning from innovation

‘It requires us to build new capabilities out of what parts of the system already know and can do. The good news is that this work is already happening. The

challenge is to make it count for every student’

Source: Bentley, T. & Cazaly, C. (2015).