The importance of laying down the foundation for learning

Just as we place a high importance on getting the foundation right when building houses, equally important is building the foundations for the learners to be able to begin to build their success as learners. A flaw in each foundation equals instability when building upon it.

Last year we placed a huge emphasis on teaching the akonga how to learn within the various classroom spaces, as we moved into ILE mode (or MLE as it was then labelled). As a team, we have identified that it was remiss to have not laid this fundamental foundation at the beginning of this year. In hindsight, it was probably due to the immense changes that we were moving into. We were leaping out of our comfort zone, and into the Learning Pit.

We threw ourselves into a collaborative four, for core curriculum… moving to a collaborative three in the afternoons (due to losing a team member for this part of the day). It was interesting to draw a comparison between the three “magic numbers”.

Two:

Two was easy. It felt natural and both pairs in our learning space seemed to function very well and successfully, as individual pairings. Therein lay the crux… It was too easy. Two very different learning environments developed, which made it difficult for akonga to transition between. Different expectations. Differing visions around student agency vs “getting it done”. It proved problematic in that divides were created and voices began to, at first not be heard… then later not be voiced.

Four:

Four has felt hard. Draining, confusing…

We decided to ensure that the students got used to moving between the spaces by ourselves moving to a different teaching space for each curriculum area.

It worked, in that the learners began to feel able to use the entire block, although the breakout spaces weren’t effective this year, due to the akonga not being taught (or part of a co-construction process) how to learn within the spaces. This came down a push for us to get on with the learning, rather than taking the time to build the foundation for learning within a new space and delivery of teaching. The hurdle arose due a difference in philosophies amongst the team, whereby one pair placed huge value on the students co-constructing the learning spaces in order to be able to take ownership of how they learn within them, using it as part of the vital setting up of routines for the school year. In contrast, the other pair wanted to hit the ground running on learning, as we had identified that we had a number of below National Standard learners, across a number of learning areas. This was valid, however in hindsight, I believe that learning would have been further enhanced if we had set up the foundation effectively to utilise the spaces before building the knowledge within.

Four also brought its share of hurdles.

- Four felt watered down. We had to be constantly vigilant of which learners we needed to develop a stronger relationship with. It's a whole different ball game ensuring that you have developed an effective relationship with 85 individuals, compared to 45!

- Communication breakdowns. Messages need to be communicated among a number of staff members, Teacher Aides included. It’s easy to forget, or innocently not pass on, information to all parties when there are so many people to ensure they are in the loop. It’s easy to “meet in the middle” and catch everybody up on anything that crops up if there are a smaller number. The bigger the group, the harder it is to find a time when everybody is free to meet. These before school, or after school, impromptu informal meetings became an integral part of pastoral care and best supporting individual learners. It enabled us to be aware of things that crop up, as they crop up.

- Relinquishing ownership over the learning spaces. As we moved into a different space for each block of the day, we had to be vigilant of leaving things lying around, out unfinished, or on whiteboards etc. Things that you take for granted in "your own space" became real bug bares. Problems arose when one persons frustrations were fobbed off or not valued, leading to a build up in frustration and a break down in relationships. Picture all of the things that used to be "on your desk"... then you suddenly have no desk... where do they go? How do you have them on hand when you need them, when you move between four classroom spaces? It's very easy for these little changes to build up into bigger problems, like the boulder that falls into a river... creating a dam... slightly changing the long term path of the river.

Three:

Three became the middle ground. While we only really put this into practice in the afternoons, with art/inquiry/athletics etc… It seemed an easy transition. In these sessions we used a variety of ways to split learners.

• Offering three options, then letting the akonga select their preferred option, then working with one teacher in a learning space.
• Each teacher taking a topic/skill, then rotating the akonga through, so that each teacher would teach the same lesson series/understanding, with each different group.
• Two teachers would take the larger group, while one was able to take a smaller group for a specialised area e.g. Writers Club, Radio, etc.

Three offered a variety of different Collaborative teaching and learning strategies to be successfully implemented depending on the situation or requirements. It felt as if everyone was aware of what was happening in the space and more respectful of making each other aware.

To sum up...

• Non-negotiable's are important. Everybody needs to know the parameters they are working within. This could be:
• wall spaces - teacher created resources vs student work vs used as giant wonder walls or think spaces. How will they be used to cater for all, across all spaces? What needs to be up? What doesn't?
• Resources - is there an expectation that these will be put away before each session ends, or can things be left out for students to return to? How will this be managed to minimise impact on the next group using the space?
• Conflict resolution - How will the inevitable conflicts be dealt with to achieve resolution? Prepare for the worst, before you find yourself there! That way there is a system in place to fall back on to make things right.
• Clear systems - I believe a chain of command is vital. When individuals start deviating around immediate leaders and heading for the top, or other management... it leads to a lack of trust which begins to snowball. If it is clear who has responsibility for what, toes aren't tread on so easily. Sometimes people think that they are "helping" by taking on tasks to share the load, when it can actually lead to more frustration as others are left "out of the loop" purely because the usual system or process hasn't been followed. There needs to be clear lines of responsibility.

These are just a few, and all seem excedingly simple - even ridiculous... But the little things are what cause the breakdowns. Teachers are strange creatures of habit. While prone to having to multi-task and be flexible, they also have there own systems and quirks which often make them the fantastic teachers they are. It's not about breaking those habits and quirks... It's about finding ways to best utilise and make them work together.

Sometimes developing the ability to listen for twice as long as you endeavour to be heard, is the difference between maintaining those relationships effectively.