Author: R Bhalla

                                                                                                      

Practice and policy development in ‘Outdoor Learning’ and ‘Learning for Sustainability’ in Scotland has been informed, and heavily influenced by the research and teaching of the outdoor and sustainability education staff at Moray House School of Education. In particular  the Scottish commitment to bring outdoor learning together with other more traditional approaches to education for sustainable development, and to do so simultaneously in a wide range of Scottish Government policy areas, as well as in the training and registration of teachers, and supported by establishing a United Nations recognised centre of expertise in the field, is of international significance.

                                Professor Charles Hopkins, UNESCO Chair in Education for Sustainable Development, York University, Canada

Teaching outdoors helps encourage curiosity, and stimulates all the senses in a way that indoor learning simply cannot do. Progressive outdoor learning experiences are best delivered through a combination of school-based outdoor learning and residential programmes. All children and young people are participating in a range of progressive and creative outdoor learning experiences which are clearly part of the curriculum.

Learning outdoors can be enjoyable, creative, challenging and adventurous and helps children and young people learn by experience and grow as confident and responsible citizens who value and appreciate the spectacular landscapes, natural heritage and culture of Scotland.

Well-constructed and well-planned outdoor learning helps develop the skills of enquiry, critical thinking and reflection necessary for our children and young people to meet the social, economic and environmental challenges of life in the 21st century. Outdoor learning connects children and young people with the natural world, with our built heritage and our culture and society, and encourages lifelong involvement and activity in outdoors.

Partnerships between staff in schools, other educational settings and with other organisations will create working relationships that contribute to professional development for teachers and educators and construct clear pathways for delivering Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes outdoors.

The place of outdoor learning within Curriculum for Excellence

Opportunities for outdoor learning exist within and across all curriculum areas, including the themes for development across learning such as enterprise in education, sustainable development education and global citizenship. Learning outdoors is part of the wide range of practical approaches to developing skills. Building the Curriculum 4 outlines how these approaches should be integrated: ‘These practical approaches to learning must not be seen as a ‘bolt-on’ or alternative form of provision but part of an integrated experience.                               

                                                                                       Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work, 2009

Assessment should apply to learning outside the classroom

School improvement plans are constructed drawing on a wide range of evidence, including assessment information. Assessment of outdoor learning experiences provides valuable evidence to contribute to school improvement plans. To assess individuals’ progress, essential skills may be reported and recorded through learning portfolios, learning profiles and/or reports. Actively involving children and young people in the assessment process helps develop ownership of learning.

                                                                                                                                             HMIE, Learning Together: Opening up Learning, 2009

Examples from the Curriculum for Excellence Principles and Practice papers relating to the outdoors include:

• ‘encouraging and capitalising on the potential to experience learning and new challenges in the outdoor environment’ – Health and wellbeing

•  ‘as children and young people progress in their learning of the sciences, teachers can take advantage of opportunities for study in              the local, natural and built environments’ – Sciences

• ‘learning outdoors, field trips visits and input by external contributors’ – Social studies

Progressive experiences

‘All aspects of the curriculum can be explored outside. The sights, sounds and smells of the outdoors, the closeness to nature, the excitement most children feel, the wonder and curiosity all serve to enhance and stimulate learning.’

I was initially worried that my enquiry on outdoor education was too topic driven. What underpins it is the fact I am putting ‘my own values into practice’ as discussed in the reading for Task 3A. I’ve still got quite a way to go, but I have taken first step by taking initiative to set up Eco-committee in our school.

Intended Approach

I’ve had brief conversations recently with both my PT and the DHT who has staff development as part of her remit. Both are keen for me to proceed with an enquiry around my initial idea of Eco- school as a part of outdoor learning.

That’s what made me think idea of Eco-school would be ideal to work with a group of pupils from S1 to S6 with when undertaking my TLP enquiry. and I want to harness this in allowing us to work much more collaboratively than I might be able or willing to do in a classroom setting.

I want to  work on the project already known to pupils and for learner voice to influence what we do/where we go to a much greater extent than normal. Therefore, the idea is that together, my pupils, I with my colleagues can create a more holistic learning experience out with the classroom. Clearly, given the nature of the work, the enquiry will be rooted in working in partnership with community. Eco-committee is the pupil decision based committee where they plan and execute their ideas. I am hoping less talking which I am currently used to and more listening on my part. I want to allow learners the time to articulate their own wondering, whilst also providing a safe space to share those which will shape the direction of what we explore and look at in terms of working together. What will be different from the way I’ve approached teaching in classroom to explore and to focus on individual experiences and work with pupils.

Next Steps

Looking at E’s and O’s, I am thinking not very sure to link numeracy skills with outdoor learning. Initially, I will look at some of the previous TLP academic posters, for ideas, find suitable way to execute it. Watch Fearghal Kelly’s ‘Planning Our Learning’, about an enquiry he undertook in his own classroom, allowing pupils the opportunity to ‘explore new ideas.

As it is a new project in the school, Environmental survey by the committee members is done and soon it will be open for whole school feedback. Last week we got new badges and group and individual photographs of all the committee members were taken by S6 pupil who is now photograph link. Article with photo will be published in the December newsletter.

After December, once the background reading is underway, develop the materials I intend to use. I am aware that I will need to be flexible and I will be constantly revising and reflecting on the process as we go along.

When I am think about my own Pactitioner Enquiry, my focus seems to change every day .I have lots of ideas but being a Scientist I feel whatever the area I choose should be in line with the whole school improvement and also should have positive impact on my learners. I am thinking to have a meeting with school CPD co-ordinator to discuss my ideas and approach about practitioner enquiry.

What’s become apparent to me, after doing this week’s reading, is that an enquiry, although conducted in the classroom and of personal interest to the practitioner, should also be aligned with both the school and national priorities.  I can see, once these connections are made at the start of the process, how this will engage others in the learning community and allow them to see its value.

At the center of each of these potential enquiries from all of us is the learner and their experience, —–how we can help learners to achieve their potential. However, I think the clear link to school improvement plans, to subject benchmarks, to HGIOS4 will help allow what we plan, do and ultimately improve, to be valued outside of each of our classrooms. The collaborative approach of the enquiry is really important, as we are sharing ideas and supporting each other during the process.

I like the step-by-step aspect and the clear questioning given in each of the Action Research approach and Fearghal Kelly’s An Enquiry Process make. In terms of adopting an approach to going about Enquiry, I probably feel most comfortable with Fearghal Kelly’s Enquiry Process, simply because of the level of detail in it. Perhaps in time, I will grow more confident in relying more on some of the ones taking a visual approach, such as the Action Research cycle or the Spiral of Enquiry as used in British Columbia.

               

 

 

 

 

 

As Dr Harris says in the video clip, Practitioner Enquiry through action research should be about putting our values into practice, in order to bring about change that will bring improvement regarding these issues. Professional Enquiry requires great involvement in self-reflection, in terms of my own personal and professional values and upon the issues that don’t quite sit right for me.

As the aims of this approach are specifically about to bring improvements, rather than to implement change for the sake of change, and the changes that are made are chosen by the practitioner rather than imposed upon them. it should be a positive, and possibly even emancipatory experience for the practitioner. The benefits of practitioner enquiry is it allows the practitioners to implement and improve the quality of educational theory and practices and thereby significantly improves the quality of a learner’s experiences in their educational journey.

Practitioner Enquiry allows us to develop that sense of self awareness which enables the person to develop a sensitivity of what, why and how your enquiring as a practitioner. Learning to develop Practitioner Enquiry skills is a long process because the practitioner has to challenge their own ideas and values over the time.

 

Professional Skills and Abilities 2.2.2:  I… question, develop and account for practice in critically informed ways and provide an informed rationale for professional actions. GTCS Standard for CLPL.

After watching Chris Kilkenny at the STEP conference has given me a much better understanding of some of the issues children have or go through which can impact seriously on their ability and motivation to learn. I knew there were a few things that I wanted to improve in my teaching but wasn’t quite sure what would be my priority and if I did change/adapt/redesign some of my L&T, what would actually make some impact. During my career so far, I have always tried to develop independence in all my pupils, fighting through pressures to spoon feed pupils information to guarantee success and trying to create a culture of sustainable learning where pupils want to do well and achieve. After joining SCEL course, hoping it would  inform and guide my next steps.I much felt focused  and I realised my approach so far to develop independence is not correct.

With the attainment gaps being so significant in schools, this is not always the best way to go developing independence so I feel like I would like to investigate the strategies bridging the gap between pupil attainment and independence in my current school. My aim would be to provide ways in which every single pupil could develop independence without the requirement to use something of a cost which they may not have access. One aspect is how using new technologies could add to improved outcomes and increase attainment for my pupils. I’ve recognised that I’m out of touch with the interests of our young people particularly with such emphasis on social media and how digital technology could be used as an effective learning tool in the classroom. So for me, my itch will focus on how I can use specific active learning techniques such as goggle classroom, goggle form, interactive online targeted gaming technology, think, pair and share, blooms taxonomy etc.etc. Even I need to refresh my skills to use interactive whiteboard. I feel that this could also be achieved through collaborative learning and peer marking, mentoring programmes, lunchtimes café and building more sustained links with community based projects such as outdoor learning, after school games club for skill development in younger pupils.

Most of the pupils in my school come from right across the town where it is located. A number come from further afield or they have a placing request. Strathaven Academy is one of the high achieving school in South Lanarkshire council. It’s an interesting mix and the school serves a reasonably affluent community although there are some pupils across all year groups in the lower SIMD deciles (around 6%). Therefore, of course, we aim to cater for each of these pupils’ needs in our teaching. In Developing Scotland Young Workforce the school is committed to providing opportunities for all pupils to develop the skills and knowledge that will ensure successful progression beyond school. Throughout the curriculum pupils are encouraged to recognise and develop skills in communication, working with others, problem solving, literacy and numeracy. Pupils in S3 and S6 experience elective programmes that target work related skills, additional qualifications, and the development of leadership.

Our school motto is Shared ambition and aspiration. Working together, caring for all. I think I promote this motto in all aspects of my school life. My results, feedback from pupils and colleagues, promoting positive behaviour and positive class room ethos, involvement in activities out with the classroom. I have established links to the authority EAL contact and community working groups through my new initiative Eco committee.After attending growth mindset CPD my prospective to the pupils learning is changed. I believe that there are solutions out there – it’s just sometimes it’s harder to implement those solutions than others.

It is so important to have a support network in order to help meeting all pupils needs. Shanarri wheels and Wellbeing indicators are useful feedback tools to assess, to gather raw data. Document A 26—-refers to identified groups increasingly must address the socio – physiological health impact on many learners. There are increasing numbers of learners identified as requiring ASN. Behaviour support base, our learning support and staff with PEF roles is a skeleton staff. This is to ensure our pupils feel safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included.

 

After reading the J. John Loughran article on effective reflective practice, It made me feel quite positive about how reflective I actually am and how important it is in my day-to-day teaching.   “…learning through questioning and investigation…” is something I think I do to my teaching and the pupils learning. I often find myself questioning pupils on how well they understood, could I clarify further, is there any particular technique—. I also question and investigate some areas of course to my colleagues. I am learning about my teaching by questioning and investigation before deciding on what is my next step and the method of delivery accordingly. Through critical reflection I have evolved myself as a confident informed teacher and learner in the past 8 years by teaching in inner London and now in Scotland though my cultural and educational background is all different.

Less teacher talk, more listening      

An area I would like to address in chapter 5 of the Hattie paper “..the portion of student talk to teacher talk”.  I don’t think I always have the right balance when it comes to teacher talk as it can feel in some lessons that I talk too much. I believe we can get so caught up on ensuring that we are covering the mandatory course coverage that at times it take over the lesson simply imparting information.  I need to take a step back and listen more.  Hattie states “…the more the instruction was challenging, relevant, and engaging, the less likely teachers were talking”.  This is something I think I would like to start to consider more.

Collaborating – leading and learning collaboratively in classrooms, establishments and communities.

7/10-I feel like in my practice I collaborate a lot with other teachers in my own faculty and other departments. In my own department we are always sharing resources  & ideas. We discuss about how our lessons went and  various L & T strategies for pupils.  I also collaborate with colleagues from the other departments and local community for whole school projects as John Muir, DofE and Eco school. For STEM and IDL  I as a part of team liaise with maths and PE mainly.

Self evaluation – leadership of self-evaluation for improvement

7/10- I am a self-reflective practitioner and I am quite good at evaluating myself against self-evaluation tools by looking into what did not go well and how it can be better next time. As I am working with very experienced staff in my faculty, I often discuss various ways and strategies which can result in effective classroom teaching and learning and how I can develop this into my practice. I am now in a position where I am getting better but still a long way to go at evaluating. As a part of whole self-evaluation process we all teachers take part in TRIO observation where 3 teachers from different departments observe each other’s lesson and share collective feedback on the lesson. We all science teacher have open door policy and can walk in any class to observe a lesson.

learning –  leadership at all levels of high quality learning and teaching

6/10- Lifelong learning is at the heart of our job. I am always trying out different teaching and learning techniques to improve engagement and mot in motivation in the classroom. This has resulted in raising attainment and achievement. Sometimes the challenge is finding time to plan those consistently high quality lessons especially when we all jiggling with so much paperwork, course updates and new initiatives etc.

 

 

 

Personal outcomes focused practice is important to me as it involves working with the person to determine what is important to them and this might be achieved through Person-centered care and research and evaluation, building on the person’s assets and strengths and where necessary drawing on services and wider supports.

My personal outcomes in class is to encourage and help pupils in my care develop skills to achieve their potential and teach the capacity to be scientifically literate citizens and prepare the foundations for them to go on to a career in science and technologies.

Being trained in John Muir and outdoor trained teacher I am equally interested in some of the E’s and O’S to be covered outwith the normal classroom teaching through outdoor education which in turn will raise awareness of the environment in children. It  pupils to achieve skills for life long learning, developing Scotland Young Workforce.

My participation in the SCEL is already making me look much more closely at what I want to achieve. As SCEL’s intended outcomes from the teacher leadership programme are to impact positively on the learning outcomes and experiences for learners of the teachers involved which in turn benefits the collaborative culture within their school.

I hope SCEL TLP will also allow me to explore what it means by ‘good pedagogy’, to consider what kind of tools could help me capture it and how this could promote better learning in and outwith my classroom.It will also support me to make a difference in the classroom, school and wider community through access to innovative and high quality leadership development programs and activities.

 

By committing to lifelong enquiry, learning, professional development and leadership as core aspects of professionalism and collaborative practice.

These values are demonstrated in my day to day teaching through all my professional relationships thinking and practice. The connections between Professional Values and practices need to be regularly considered This is an important part of being a critically reflective and enquiring professional. I Engage with all aspects of professional practice and working collaboratively, enthusiastically and being constructively critical with all members of educational communities

to enable each learner to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor (the four capacities).

The key findings are

Teachers are more engaged with professional learning and the impact on pupils.

Teachers are engaging in professional dialogue more often and there is a willingness to try new approaches.

e.g. In science, a core idea for a chemistry class might include “Students will understand the trends and interactions found on the Periodic Table of Elements.” This core idea requires that students demonstrate understanding of things such as periodic trends, reactivity of elements and relative strengths, and the way chemical formulas are written based on characteristics of various elements.

In other words “doing” has become an essential element of professional learning. In many cases this has involved action research-type initiatives built around school or classroom-based development projects.

2. It is important to consider how it might be possible for teachers to develop new ways of  Provide and ensure a safe and secure environment and demonstrate a commitment to motivating and inspiring learners acknowledging their social and economic context, individually and specific learners needs.

I line with well being indicators, Learning outcomes and aspirations set out by the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) could not be achieved without good relationships and positive behaviour within schools. The solution oriented approach is well positioned to assist this by its potential to improve relationships within schools, increase responsibility and promote respect.

Key indicators of HGIOS 4 encourage a pragmatic approach by focussing on what people can do, what is working well now, examining situations when the problem is not there, and seeking a positive future (by acknowledging the problems but seeing beyond them) and partnership working (everybody working together to generate solutions).

 

Teacher leadership to me is to empower teachers, and contributed to school improvement through this empowerment and the spreading of good practice and initiatives generated by teachers. A range of conditions needed to be in place in schools for teacher leadership to be successful, including a culture of trust and support, structures that supported teacher leadership but clear and transparent, strong leadership, with the head usually being the originator of teacher leadership, and engagement in innovative forms of professional development

The best way to maximise the ‘teacher leadership’ effect is through collaborative working, as then professional knowledge, energy, experience and ideas are enhanced. It is also about practice of involving and influencing others so that learning improves.

The research also shows that when teachers collaborate, in meaningful ways, and provide feedback to each other, their practice improves.

To ensure a meaningful learning experience and to make sure I reflect on my current practice and consider the nature and purpose of enquiry. I will then plan and implement an enquiring approach to developing their classroom practice to enhance effective inclusive practice of knowing, doing and believing.

Throughout the programme, I will engage with literature and reflect on the learning arising in terms of their own leadership as well as for their learners.

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