Learning without limits - Dame Alison Peacock - 23.10.14
Lifting the lid on learning- keeping the door open for children to learn
The conflict between professional principles which drive you and the accountability and pressure from external forces.
Raising aspirations of low attaining children and parents
Escaping from the bottom set:
Labelling leads to, " destruction of dignity so massive and pervasive that few subsequently recover from it." Hargreaves
Trivial things like where you put your bag etc. can dominate a child's experience of school depending on the atmosphere and priority of the school- FEAR
The same can be said for children labelled in academic terms
Negative feedback can hinder learning and aspirations- emotional impact
Teachers following lesson plans rather than using professional judgement just to meet curriculum needs.
Teachers and pupils disengaged- poor behaviour/ low aspirations
Making an irresistible curriculum- excite children and empower staff
Currently, we have freedom but it doesn't feel as if we have direction
Academic Studies
http://learningwithoutlimits.educ.cam.ac.uk/downloads/creatinglwl_forumarticle.pdf
http://learningwithoutlimits.educ.cam.ac.uk/downloads/creatinglwl_forumarticle.pdf
Learning without Limits Books
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-without-Limits-Susan-Hart/dp/033521259X
The Research School
http://thewroxham.org.uk
Classroom Based Study
http://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/Images/challenge-and-success-alternative-approaches-to-assessment-in-the-primary-classroom-alison-peacock-presentation.pdf
Teachers arrive at school defeated- under pressure to cover all areas of the curriculum, all the 'we have to' things, marking and evidence to show the feedback that is happening.
Building on excitement in the classroom rather than suppressing it.
Wroxham School
Children at Wroxham love their school: children learn by choosing their own challenges, independent learning not forced, lots of fun elements around the school-bus, jeep, someone dressed as a rabbit.
Children collaborate and know how to work well with others- trusted to make sensible choices
Circle Groups- Y6 work with younger children
Pupil Voice - has a powerful role in the school and children are empowered and taking ownership
A Team Approach
School improvement didn't come from monitoring, work scrutiny or any other 'traditional' methods
Developing a team amongst the staff
Living a vision of trust, co agency and inclusion
A listening school
Mutual respect
Enabling and supporting
Monitoring quality of learning NOT quality of teaching
Encourage risk taking
Staff self- regulate, manage, improve, motivate
Children do the same
Whole School Democracy
Everyone is valued
A participative culture
Weekly mixed age circle meetings- instead of assembly- shared agenda: game, news bulletin, shared discussion. Democratic Engagement
Older children act as role models- they value younger children, raises responsibility, model teaching practice, culture of respect
Shared decisions
Challenging yourself is valued BY ALL
making sure the curriculum has a little bit more to stimulate and engage children
Sparking interest and keeping it going- with staff and children
Professional Learning: Trust
Listening not telling
Freedom for staff to make own judgements
Put in place contexts that create rich contexts for learning
Open-ended curriculum experiences
Connecting books and Brains
Evidence in books etc. surface evidence doesn't provide a full picture of the thinking and process behind learning
Giving children a quality assessment process NOT just in books- evidencing process
Writing is to convey meaning- needs an audience- motivates- who will read my ideas?
Children want to boast about their learning
Making school unmissable
Lesson studies rather than lesson observations
Teachers and children NOT graded
Once graded- feedback is irrelevant
Co Agency
Thinking in partnership
Making suggestions
Shared involvement
Help bring ideas to fruition
Feeding in ideas and materials
ASKING QUESTIONS
Challenging
Everybody
Maximise opportunities for all staff to learn from each other
Value different ways of working
Capitalise on differences to inspire teaching
Create structures to encourage mutual support
Dispositions
Openness
Questioning
Inventiveness
Persistence
Stability
Generosity
Empathy
New Curriculum
Dialogic pedagogy
Authentic first hand experiences
Open ended challenging tasks
Language for learning- talk is important
Creating First Hand Experiences
Historical features to support understanding- Celtic roundhouse, trenches etc.
Assessment
No 'ability' groups
Children choose levels of challenge- mainly in maths, literacy children make their own list of personal challenges and tick them off when they think they have achieved them
http://vimeo.com/69709930
Feedback is positive, high quality discussions
Secretarial skills- enabling children to keep up with their ideas- eg. Handwriting practise
Learning partners- choose partners for a week etc.
High expectations
Lesson study
Background metric for triangulation- levels recorded but not shared with children or parents
Discussion with staff- who are exceeding your expectations, who is in line, who is below expectations
Based on Y2 performance but viewed of in terms of expectation and challenge
Whole school accountability NOT just teacher in the class
Teachers need to model challenge, openness and reflection
Working with Families
Trust
Openness
Learning Reviews
Reports written in a dialogue with children
Family Learning
Keeping learning interview records/ notes
Children produce a learning review video/PowerPoint and evidence from work, discuss successes and challenges with child, parents and teacher- How can I improve?
Children identify issues and think of a way to resolve them
Y6 children choose if they feel confident to do level 6 paper
Children choose whether or not to work in a fast paced level 6 target group
Whole family approach- child, head, teacher, parents
100% attendance
Use a whole day and evening
Reports
Children write comments about their learning throughout the year
Comments passed to next class teacher or used throughout the year
Language of school talks about challenges and next steps NOT levels
Booster groups are supplemented by a Maths Club which children sign up to depending on their challenges- squash and biscuits provided!
Developing a culture of togetherness
Shared responsibility
Powers shared amongst all not a select few
Child behaviour
http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.php
In Summary:
Children are not labelled
Children are given responsibility for their learning
Children feel empowered (co agency)
Children's learning is celebrated and shared
Staff put children at the heart of planning
Feedback is positive but not graded
Learning experiences are exciting
Self assessment is key
Families engage in all aspects of learning and evaluation
