Setting up a modern learning environment, or "ELS" (Engaging Learning Spaces) in a traditional school building was my challenge for 2015. We moved from traditional stand alone classrooms- NE- Year 8 with one teacher per class, to 'hubs". These hubs consist of two to three teachers and two to three year level groups. For myself, this meant moving into a teaching team with three teachers and approximately 90 students from Years 6, 7 and 8. But how do we create collaborative and engaging spaces in traditional buildings with limited finances? That was the challenge and it required thinking outside of the box. I knew using ALL available space would be essential- so I quickly set to work transforming storage (or junk) rooms, cupboards and resource rooms into workable learning spaces that children could use- and want to use. Teaching resources were culled, organised and arranged in space saving ways that created much needed extra space. Here are some pictures of our newly created spaces- a starting point to be adapted time and again.
We decided that each "homeroom" (Year 6, 7, 8) would have a specific purpose- the Year 6 homeroom became the Workshop Room, the Year 7 homeroom became the Group Working Room, and the Year 8 homeroom became the Independent Working Room (for silent working). A previous wasted space became the new maths room- a space for working and a base for the maths equipment and learning displays. I am still in the process of transforming another large space into a Breakout Room- which also doubles as a second workshop space.
WHAT DOES ELS MEAN FOR ST JOSEPH'S SCHOOL?
MLE is a term that is flung around and seems to be the current trend in education. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that- but we need to think about our purpose for doing something- are we changing for the sake of change? Are we trying to be trendy? Click here to see our Strategic Plan which will show you our GOAL is for ALL STUDENTS TO BE FULLY ENGAGED IN DEEP LEARNING. Everything that we do comes back to that goal. As teachers we are constantly reflecting and refining- it is a constant cycle. We ask ourselves- "What motivates our students? How do they enjoy learning? How can we engage them fully?" and so on. Creating our own take on MLE (ELS) has one purpose only- to engage our learners. Engaged learners achieve. We don't need to read pages and pages of research to know that having some control, or learner agency, having opinions and ideas valued and acted on, encourages students to feel more connected to their learning, and therefore higher levels of engagement occur. Gone are the days where children are happy to sit in a desk all day, facing the whiteboard, listening to a teacher dump endless information into their brains. Were they ever happy to learn that way? Learning should be about discovery, curiosity, investigation, searching, action and INVOLVEMENT. How involved is a student stuck at a desk all day? I recently read something on Facebook where there were comments such as "children can't learn sitting around for six hours a day." I thought- really? Do people really believe that's how school's operate in the modern world? The children MOVE. The children EXPLORE. The children INVESTIGATE. And this looks very different for different learners.
One of my Year 6 students (male) said, "I looked around the classroom and I could see that everyone was engaged and happy to learn. I thought it just looked like such a well run classroom. There were people on beanbags, people lying down, I was sitting at a desk, and we were all just getting on with it. It's cool."
We decided that each "homeroom" (Year 6, 7, 8) would have a specific purpose- the Year 6 homeroom became the Workshop Room, the Year 7 homeroom became the Group Working Room, and the Year 8 homeroom became the Independent Working Room (for silent working). A previous wasted space became the new maths room- a space for working and a base for the maths equipment and learning displays. I am still in the process of transforming another large space into a Breakout Room- which also doubles as a second workshop space.
WHAT DOES ELS MEAN FOR ST JOSEPH'S SCHOOL?
MLE is a term that is flung around and seems to be the current trend in education. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that- but we need to think about our purpose for doing something- are we changing for the sake of change? Are we trying to be trendy? Click here to see our Strategic Plan which will show you our GOAL is for ALL STUDENTS TO BE FULLY ENGAGED IN DEEP LEARNING. Everything that we do comes back to that goal. As teachers we are constantly reflecting and refining- it is a constant cycle. We ask ourselves- "What motivates our students? How do they enjoy learning? How can we engage them fully?" and so on. Creating our own take on MLE (ELS) has one purpose only- to engage our learners. Engaged learners achieve. We don't need to read pages and pages of research to know that having some control, or learner agency, having opinions and ideas valued and acted on, encourages students to feel more connected to their learning, and therefore higher levels of engagement occur. Gone are the days where children are happy to sit in a desk all day, facing the whiteboard, listening to a teacher dump endless information into their brains. Were they ever happy to learn that way? Learning should be about discovery, curiosity, investigation, searching, action and INVOLVEMENT. How involved is a student stuck at a desk all day? I recently read something on Facebook where there were comments such as "children can't learn sitting around for six hours a day." I thought- really? Do people really believe that's how school's operate in the modern world? The children MOVE. The children EXPLORE. The children INVESTIGATE. And this looks very different for different learners.
One of my Year 6 students (male) said, "I looked around the classroom and I could see that everyone was engaged and happy to learn. I thought it just looked like such a well run classroom. There were people on beanbags, people lying down, I was sitting at a desk, and we were all just getting on with it. It's cool."
More photos to follow.
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