Friday, May 14, 2010

Stephen Heppell - Reflection and notes


I had the good fortune today of listening to Stephen Heppell’s presentation at the St. Clair County RESA.   His message was positive and humorous.  The perspective was global.  I can’t help but get excited by the examples of change both large and small which Stephen shared with us.  There two main points which I took away today.

There is no One Size Fits All.
The most reckless gamble we can take is not to change

I’m grateful to be involved in a program in a district where this message is not lost.  A message in which we are the architects of our change.  

Caveat: My notes below are incomplete at best, but may be of value, especially to those who were in attendance.  

The Ingredients: 21st Century Schools are using:
  • Search for: Consolarium

    • Nintendo DS and gaming - Brain training
    • bullying has virtually disappeared in these environments.
    • Not clear why this is, just is.

  • Search for:Learnorver

    • Connecting students over skype
    • Students in Sweden not being overly tested. Intrinsically aware of their own abillity.

  • Search for:eduQuest

    • Using video cameras to describe science experiments rather than formal writing.
    • Singapore used this study to build dedicated science labs in every elemetary school.

  • Search for: asms adelaide

    • exposing young students to undergraduate college courses.

  • Schools closing their staff rooms and reopening them as shared spaces.  Turned into cafe’s and chillout spaces.

    • If everyone is a learner why have special rooms for the old learners (adults)?

  • Schools going shoeless for the day

    • has unexpected benefits
    • changing furnishings is also integral
    • adults - shoes off too
    • don’t do slippers

  • Search for: unlimited christchurch

    • took one floor of a department store
    • using empty spaces to embed education
    • minimal use of furniture
    • One cohort - no continual influx

  • Using video deliver school-wide messages flexibly
  • Search for Bilston Academy

    • created an advertising campaign to PR the community
    • promoting the positive aspects of learning

  • Search for: home bases, mini schools

    • no more than 125 students
    • intimacy
    • trust

  • http://teachers.tv - Learner Voice

    • students attend in-service, do lesson observations, interviewing staff
    • Student asked “What is an itch”
    • cannot be compulsary

  • Search for Cayman futures

    • One course at a time!
    • immersion
    • compare to dramatic productions (focussed and dedicated, project based)
    • remove the corridor transition time

  • Search for: praisepod

    • adults had praise tokens
    • you go to a video recorder which records to DVD
    • A peer asks what did you do that was so good?
    • Changing school culture
    • Now they are using cellphone deliver to parents.
    • Hero Award cards which students give to teachers for going above and beyond - students are only given 3 cards.  Teacher raffle at the end of the term.
    • Praise points for behavioral (controllable activities, not grades)

  • Search for: tk park
  • Search for: hellerup school

    • Using stariwells and corridors as lecture and work spaces
    • move students less

  • If you have a computer lab use mirrors on the walls.

    • see their faces or see screens
Context:
  • http://mapumental.com

    • technology and information are pervasive
    • data is changing how we make decisions

  • We live in a world of no secrets and

    • big surprises
    • Google Translate transforming data into native language
    • phones may have simultaneous translation with 16 months
    • students are being presented with things they haven’t met before
    • we are now preparing for the unexpected, we need to surprised students in their learning
    • “We had expected the unexpected, but we weren't’ prepared for this!”
Tools:
Teaching very large classes
  • 120 students ( 1 teacher leader, 1 teacher differentiating, 1 teacher doing remedial support)
  • With just one teacher the support is serial
  • With multiple teachers the support is parallel
  • extended learning class periods
Learner Voice:
  • asking students how we improve our learning
  • http://teachers.tv
  • student driven learning (vested)
Furnishings:
  • non-traditional seating
  • would not recommend projectors and would instead focus on flat panel tv
  • tech day show and tell
  • playfulness matters
School Design:
  • made projectors that project both inside and outside
  • chill out room in the Netherlands (set the scene based on famous plays)
  • Add color
  • outdoor amphitheaters
  • three points of focus or more / make collaborative teaching easy
  • curved furniture
  • agile room design
  • color coding of areas
  • inflatable wall pods
Misc:
  • Ask 3 then me
  • Essay grading; put the essay’s in the middle of the room ask each student to take two, compare and rank which is better.
  • Download free essays online, compare them, contrast them, critique them, improve them.
  • School libraries should be shelved with student work
  • How can we change learning?

    • Theoretically via cognitive enhancement - using pharmaceuticals to enhance learning.  Putting chemicals in the water like fluoride. Yikes
    • Parenting is far and away the greatest factor in student success.