Stuff this week - Exemplar Schools
Each of the following schools are exemplary in their own way. However, they are similar in their decision to adopt new and innovative practices and demonstrate a commitment to do so in a methodical, transparent and considered way.
In the USA there are schools which specialise in a variety of areas, STEM being one such area. Benton STEM Elementary School has a promotional video which showcases the school and their commitment to providing a rich STEM education for primary school children. It is instructional as it shows how STEM can be integrated into all subjects and how a school has embraced the goal of teaching the children important life skills. An even more impressive showcase video is the one for STEM Magnet Lab School in Colorado. It shows how STEM can be integrated into everything (even music), how it can be done from as early as prep and how subjects should not be studied in isolation.
Despite the lack of STEM specialist schools there are many schools challenging the status quo and embarking on a variety of improvement programs including some that are quite ambitious. What is common is a commitment to developing a well considered and transparent plan. St Patrick's College in Gympie has rolled out a 1:1 laptop program and their college technology plan and vision shows a clear understanding for the need to properly plan for a device roll out and their commitment to having a series of goals with criteria to assess success or failure.
Even more impressive is Templestowe College which has shifted their teaching practices to specialise in personalised learning. Following falling enrolments that threatened the school's viability they embarked on an ambitious plan that has delivered dividends. Their annual implementation plan is a text book example of SMART goals. There is a clear statement of the goal, who is responsible for the goal and how success will be measured. This shows that it is possible for schools that have the will to do great things and that a robust process is so important.
The above examples are not provided to suggest schools need to completely change all that they are doing indeed for most this would be foolish. What it is suggesting however is that if a change is envisioned then proper planning is essential. This is true regardless of whether the school is considering introducing education technology to supplement traditional teaching or completely overhauling their teaching methodologies. As I linked above there are frameworks for schools wanting to specialise in STEM and there are also many guides for introducing a 1:1 device program. These also show the way for everything else in between as what is needed is what I emphasised last week; proper planning which results in SMART goals.
Is your school developing SMART goals to support their significant changes? Is the parent body being engaged in the process?
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment