Theory into Practice

Provocation: Documentation is a fundamental tool for the learning of the adults and the children.

Our project is focussed not only on how we engage with children and families, but how we think, design and reflect on our professional engagement with our work as educators.

Pockets of promising practice have existed within teacher teams; our challenge was how to leverage these practices whole school. Toward this end we designed and facilitated professional development to strategically improve educators’ reflective practices through greater intentionality and increased collaboration.

In leading the learning we nudge and stretch educators in their thinking. This involves processes and structures that engage educators in reflective practices:

• provocations,
• professional reading,
• dialogic encounters,
• shared professional development,
• time for collaborative engagement,
• a focus on continuity of learning,
• intentional planning,
• high expectations,
• researching children’s learning processes,
• collegiate engagement,
• educator inquiry,
• practice checks,
• observations,
• use of documentation.

The most significant strategy has been supporting educators to consider the evidence of the impact of their chosen strategies by reviewing their documentation of children’s learning.

This approach to our work has increased the collective efficacy within our site for our children’s learning.

There is an importance in reflecting upon documentation alongside a commitment to action. Educators design and implement effective strategies whilst documenting children’s learning and engagement in order to reflect upon their impact and then intentionally stretch children in their learning.

Time dedicated to the processes used with educators has created space for teachers to engage in deep thinking and collaborative planning for children’s learning.

Documentation of children’s engagement in learning and the evidence of the learning processes provides the basis for the reflective practices of educators. Thus supporting a whole school focus on improving children’s literacy learning specific to meaning making.

Culturally Responsive Pedagogies

Provocation: The rights of children are born and die every day in the thinking and institutions that we have.

This week educators reflected on evidence of children’s literacy learning and the effective strategies that have had a positive impact on children’s reading.

We then engaged in further professional learning with Professor Pauline Harris where we explored children representing their world symbolically and culturally responsive pedagogy.

A culturally responsive pedagogy nurtures children’s strengths by engaging with the learner’s culture, their family and their community. Diversity enhances learning. When as educators we are inclusive of our children’s lived experiences we create democratic spaces for learning that uphold children’s rights.

There is an inherent issue in Australia where many of our Aboriginal children are not receiving a quality education. “Leaders, principals and teachers of public schooling where the majority of our aboriginal children reside, have to protect and become advocates for public schooling and the notion of democracy” ( Lester-Irabinna Rigney, 2018).

Our children have the right to a culturally responsive educational experience that:

provides high intellectual challenge

is connected to their lives

recognises cultural difference as a positive asset

values and builds upon indigenous knowledges and practices

promotes communities of learners

draws upon socio-cultural understandings of literacy.

By using a repertoire of strategies to support the literate learner educators balance intentionality and explicitness within their teaching.

What children bring – what they know, can do and understand – needs to be acknowledged, valued and built upon. Dialogue is important for learning. Relational learning is about creating third spaces, yarning spaces where we yarn up rather than down.

Educator intentionality in both the design of provocations for learning and the engagement and nudging of children whilst immersed in the learning is deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful.

Using a strengths based framework supports educators to leverage the third spaces between home and classroom to provide opportunities for intellectual stretch.

Children who are Aboriginal don’t lack intelligence they lack opportunity; children who are poor don’t lack intelligence they lack opportunity.

Routines and Relationships

Provocation: Teaching is not about delivering knowledge but finding the best strategy to benefit your unique cohort of children.

At the end of each term we review children’s social and emotional development using The Boxall Profile. This assessment informs our learning programs and guides intervention – with educators selecting the best strategies to support children’s developmental needs.

Children who receive intensive intervention through the Nurture Group graduate from their Nurture program once their Boxall assessment reflects that they are developmentally on track, can manage the organisational experiences across the day and have established internalised controls.

For one of these children, whom I will call Kayla, the journey toward graduating Nurture was an 18 month roller coaster ride. Kayla resides in an out of home care situation staffed by a commercial care agency with carers working shifts across a week. This is the result of child protection concerns regarding abuse and neglect. Her story is not unlike many of the children we work with.

Children who experience barriers to learning due to social, emotional or behavioural difficulties often lack secure attachment. The quality of a child’s early attachment influences how the child copes with the demands of school life.

Effectively supporting children with attachment difficulties and/or complex childhood trauma within mainstream classrooms is challenging. This is because the structures of school are based on an assumption that children will trust their teacher, are biddable, will attend to instruction and can manage the social demands of the learning environment.

The learning process usually builds upon a secure base and healthy early childhood development. The foundations for success in school are usually established by primary caregivers in the years prior to formal schooling.

This clip provides a useful summary of Attachment Theory.

If unsupported, children with attachment difficulties can leave educators feeling de-skilled and demoralised. However, when we understand that all behaviour is communication we then view disruptive, aggressive, provocative and defiant behaviour as a window into a child’s distress.

18 months ago Kayla was distressed; she told us everyday. She told us when she tore through classrooms like a whirl wind, destroyed her own and other’s learning, distracted others from their learning, pulled posters from the walls, stood on furniture, damaged property, verbally abused others and ran in to traffic. She showed us she was in pain every day by hurting everybody in her wake emotionally and physically.

Kayla entered the Nurture group after a lengthy exclusion from school as a consequence of violence. It had not been her first exclusion for violence. Kayla was undeterred by suspension or exclusion processes because she was incapable of exhibiting the control required to regulate her emotions.

Kayla initially resisted forming relationships and bucked against the routines. She needed to test the boundaries over and over to ensure they were firmly in place. She needed to test the relationships over and over to ensure they were unconditional. She slowly but surely began to trust in the network of support we had built around her.

It took 12 months before she began to trust.

And then the learning started.

To nurture is to educate.

In the latter 6 months Kayla began to achieve developmental milestones that had previously been out of reach, at first co-regulating and then self regulating her emotions.

A nurturing response provides the flexibility for educators to find the best strategy to support the child’s learning. It is important that all educators within the school understand how healthy development and attachment progress and how insecure attachments effect a child. A nurturing response is a whole of school approach.

Routines and relationships support children to be able to regulate their responses to stressful situations. It is the need for boundaries within a secure nurturing relationship and predictability within daily routines that provides the space for learning.

Providing a nurturing school environment is as simple as routines and relationships. And at the same time it is as complex as routines and relationships.

Playful Learning

Provocation: doing activates thinking. An active learning environment promotes capable and competent learners who can independently inquire and discover through play.

Two years ago we inquired into playful pedagogies and the structures of schooling. We developed an understanding of the importance of play beyond the common definitions of ‘playful’, ‘imaginative’ and ‘fun’. We reflected upon our practices and formed a shared position on the purpose of play and the use of breaks to support learning and development.

The definition of play is broad. Play includes social games, pretending games, games involving playing with objects, indoor and outdoor play, pretend, authentic, traditional and free play. Playing “in nature” supports children to develop physical skills, social skills and manage risks. Play is:

• essential to a child’s holistic development and wellbeing.
• important for learning and supports cognitive, physical, social and emotional development.
• a foundation for the development of abstract and scientific reasoning.

Play is a fundamental human right for all children, regardless of age, gender, culture, social class or disability. This must be reflected in a range of play environments that offer children, who are otherwise disadvantaged, with experiences that help improve their quality of life. (2012, Gleave and Hamilton).

Extended unstructured “free play”

Research consistently documents that unstructured play has an important role in the school day, and has benefits for children’s cognitive, social, and physical health. Unstructured, free play supports children to develop social skills including team work, turn taking, sharing and conflict resolution. When children initiate their own play they can engage in decision making, problem solving and self-regulation.

Unstructured break time with the freedom to play away from intensive adult supervision is beneficial for children’s learning and development. Whilst unstructured play can be a time when social issues arise there are many positive benefits. Providing opportunity for children to play independently within a safe environment uninhibited by adults promotes creativity and social competence. There is a great value in providing undirected play opportunities; when play, social interaction and physical activity “are included, children chase one [an]other, challenge each other… make up games… all the while becoming more fit, imaginative/innovative, and socially competent” (Jarrett, 2015).

Play in natural environments is viewed as potentially more complex, imaginative, self-determined and ‘playful’, compared to play in indoor environments, notably in schools and preschools, where play is often constrained by adults’ agenda (Brooker and Woodhead 2013).

Playful Pedagogy

Through a pedagogy based in play and inquiry educators design learning to provide opportunities for children to be:

• Engaged
• Communicating and collaborating Powerful learners
• Inquiring
• Having fun
• Creating
• Directing their learning
• Problem solving
• Exploring and discovering

The questions and steps are not predetermined for the student; with the aim being for the children to work harder than the teacher.

Playful contexts are incorporated within the learning program with the intention of promoting social competence, literacy, numeracy, creative and critical thinking and cognitive development. Children are involved as participants in their learning and have a sense of agency and control in their own lives. Active learning environments enable greater opportunities for children to engage in learning. Natural breaks, incorporated as a part of the daily program, are used to engage children with social, emotional difficulties and complex/challenging behaviours.

Our inquiry resulted in:

1. clearly stated beliefs that underpin successful practice.
2. shared definitions of play and playful learning to support teaching and learning.
3. an appropriate balance between proactive planning for children’s play guiding and nudging their learning and respecting children’s autonomy to play without interference.
4. consistency, continuity of learning, improved engagement and a consistent approach to high quality practice.

Children with a sense of wellbeing and belonging are highly involved in their learning. They undertake complex and creativity thinking are persistent engage with deep learning and become powerful learners.

Opportunities for structured and unstructured play are incorporated in to the daily program alongside opportunities where children can make choices during their day.

Playful learning is collaborative, engaging, occurs within and beyond the classroom, and is joyful.

The dialogue of listening

Provocation: The pedagogy of listening is not simply listening and being guided by the children but rather a circular movement between the children’s and adults knowledge; a constant dialogue of listening.

We are nearing the mid point of the academic year. Educators have now completed two research cycles within our project and are in the midst of reviewing their documentation with the view of honing those strategies that are making the biggest impact on children’s learning and letting go of those that have made little to no difference.

Each cohort is different, every child unique. Educators who take responsibility for shaping the contexts in which the children are learning know their children well enough to effectively support them. By providing space and time for learning and by listening to the child the educator can then respond with an invitation for the child to develop and grow.

The intentionality is the art of being and learning with children.

When educators observe the child within the context of their learning and review the documentation of children’s learning they form a basis from which to design rich experiences, remove the barriers to learning (what ever they may be) and stretch children within their learning.

Earlier this year during a dialogic encounter one educator commented: why would I ask the children for feedback, I know what they need to learn and where they need to go. We nudged this educator to consider what the children bring to the relationship and to reflect on the relational nature of learning.

Whilst as educators we bring our knowledge, skills and experience to the relationship with our learners children bring their own capabilities and desires for their learning. If we do not listen we can not build relational learning. Educators need to be aware of students’ preferences and strengths. Within the dialogue of listening educators also need to actively seek feedback of their professional practice from their students.

When we take a pause and listen to our children there is much they tell us about our teaching and their learning.

When designing Discovery Learning opportunities, developing provocations and providing invitations to relaunch learning experiences educators are engaging in a dialogue with children. The educator listens and responds.

If we do not learn to listen to children it is very difficult to understand how and why children think, what they do, what they ask, what their ideas are, and it is therefore difficult to lead the learning.

The invitation is that we as educators do something that adults very often do not have the patience to do and that is to listen to children.

Reflecting on impact

Provocation: In order to make connections with children and be intentional in relaunching learning experiences: educators need to observe and unpack the learning children are engaged in when they immerse themselves within the educational project.

Mid way through Term 2 educators reviewed their documentation of children’s learning in order to share and reflect upon the impact of their work.

At the start of our second 4 week sprint educators identified what their next reading goal would be, how they would get there, and how they would document and share the impact of their work.

We framed our reflection by posing a series of questions to educators prior to the check in at the staff meeting:

How are you as an educator influencing learning with regard to children’s identity as readers?

• What do your chosen strategies look like?

What do you know about your learners as readers?

• Including those who are not making benchmark and those not being extended.

Has the impact of your work been successful in improving children’s reading capability?

• How do you know?

We then engaged in a process to review and reflect upon our documentation in order to interpret children’s learning.

Educators have been intentional in utilising specific strategies appropriate to their cohort including:

• prior knowledge
• teacher modelling
• co-operative groups
• re-reading – backing up to make meaning
• guided reading
• anchor charts
• skip and read on
• chunking
• building resilience in reading
• building positive dispositions to reading
• making connections
• use of short texts to practise SCORE.

The documentation reviewed by educators provided evidence of:

• increased engagement
• increased confidence
• active participation
• reading progress
• increased stamina
• increased fluency
• more detailed responses and increased complexity in children’s response to text
• increased vocabulary

A Year 2 student articulated to her teacher:

I’m re-reading to make sense of what I’m reading.

Where to next?

Educators are now dedicating time to designing and relaunching rich learning experiences into the second part of the term. Some of the foci include:

• anchor charts to support decoding
• support children to read to self
• stretch learners from short texts to comprehending extended texts.

A problem of practice which educators are grappling with is transference of good reading habits beyond the literacy classroom.

The key to our next steps is to imbed what is working, discard ineffective strategies and sharpen our focus on what we need to do next to continue to develop our children’s identity and in turn their capability as readers and learners.

Lesser Known Boandik History

Provocation: Reconciliation must live in our hearts, minds and actions.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following contains images and references to deceased people.

Today marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum that saw 90% of Australians vote to give recognition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. On June 3rd we culminate National Reconciliation Week with the anniversary of the Mabo decision and the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of lands.

The 2018 Reconciliation Week theme is Don’t Keep History A Mystery: Learn. Share. Grow. This is an opportunity to explore our shared histories, cultures and consider how we continue to contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The official campaign focusses on the lesser known aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, histories, cultures, and achievements, to promote discussion about our shared history and pique curiosity with respect to what we do not know.

Our school stands in Boandik Country and services the present families of Mount Gambier. This week we explore some of the lesser known Boandik history:

In the late 1840s a Boandik woman Nutunda formed a relationship with a station worker and stockman named William Brice, Billy worked at the Old Penola Station for Alexander Cameron.

An aboriginal camp was located close to the Cameron’s homestead, where members of the Pinejunga tribe lived. The Pinejunga and Boandik people were interconnected; the Boandik being the largest indigenous group in the region with country stretching from the mouth of the Glenelg River (Nelson) through to Rivoli Bay (Beachport) along a 50 km stretch inland toward Penola.

Billy and Nutunda had two children, Lucy and Annie. Annie was born in 1849. In line with Boandik traditions Natunda was given to an Aboriginal man, to whom she had a son named Tommy. There is no documented history of Natunda beyond the birth of her children,  however it is recorded that Nancy (as Annie was affectionately known) and an aboriginal child named Tommy were left at the aboriginal camp where they lived and were cared for in part by Billy and the extended aboriginal community.

The Cameron’s adhered to their lease providing the indigenous peoples with access to springs, surface water, the ability to gather and use food, (including animals and bird life) along with the privilege of constructing “wurlies and other dwellings”. The indigenous people’s rights to their language, songs, traditions, beliefs and customs were all upheld. This was contrary to the practice of many pastoralists throughout Australia at the time of colonization.

Annie became involved with the church and the local Catholic nuns. Annie was baptized in 1856 and confirmed in 1867 at the age of 18.  In 1860, Mary Mackillop began as governess to her Uncle Alexander and Aunt Margaret Cameron’s children. She included Annie in the lessons, teaching her to read and write – which for an Aboriginal woman of the era was extraordinarily rare.

Annie moved to Gambiertown where she remained until her death, she had thirteen children and married twice; her first husband Emile Francois Jaqueline and her second George David Holmes.

She worked for Dr Whel as a domestic servant, as a servant at the Royal Oak Hotel in Penola, a general servant at the Temperance Hotel and Boarding House and for Christina Smith who ran the School for Aborigines. Christina Smith among others wrote to the Commissioner of Crown Lands in support of Annie’s application for 158 acres of land at Millicent in 1879 to “bear testimony to the genuine character of Annie” stating “ I have been interested in the aboriginals for many years and have known the applicant to be industrious, hardworking and honest. She is a real native. Her maiden name was Brice.” The Commissioner declined the application.

Annie’s daughter-in-law Florence Holmes is said to have recalled Annie as “a tough, hard working woman. She expected all her children to work hard and attend church every Sunday. She was tall and very beautiful with a voice like and angel”.

Annie’s aboriginality was not shared with the Holmes children; and consequently history was a mystery for nearly three generations.

Jaquelin-Furr, M (2017) Annie’s Mob: the story of the Brice/Holmes/Jacqulin Families

Members of Boandik Tribe, Mount Gambier. L-R: Ellen, Tommy, — with Mrs Christina Smith, Sally, the lady on the right of the picture is Annie Brice who was born at Penola. She worked with Christina Smith at her home.

Reconciliation is a journey we share toward a stronger identity as a nation achieved through respectful relationships across our communities. Reconciliation lives in the actions of all Australians.

On 13th February 2008 Kevin Rudd delivered the apology, acknowledging the stolen generation and apologised for the role played by the government. The Closing the Gap strategy targeted: life expectancy, Year 12 attainment, enrolment in early childhood, early childhood mortality rates, literacy & numeracy and school attendance. 3 of the 7 targets are on track.

One decade on policy has become rhetoric, rather than action. If we want meaningful improvement and outcomes we need to act.

The issues we face are symptomatic of the trauma of past experiences – whilst we are not responsible for the mistakes of Australia’s past we need to recognise these mistakes. Because we need to learn from them to ensure we do not repeat them.

The generational issues such as substance misuse and domestic violence affect our children and families today. There are an inordinate amount of dollars spent in Aboriginal Education and still little meaningful outcomes are achieved.

Why?

Because of a lack of understanding, fear, apathy and inaction.

Fear of aggressive parents, due to a lack of understanding about mental health, substance misuse and domestic violence. Along with a lack of confidence or experience in the interpersonal skills required.

Apathy on behalf of children, families and educators due to a lack of understanding about poverty and intergenerational poverty.

Our aboriginal children have a rate of removal that is 10 times more than that of non-indigenous children – this often leads to youth detention. Legislation for indigenous voice is on the agenda and being discussed widely in the media. Whilst Aborginal children sit 10% behind their non-ATSI counterparts in attendance nationally. Children are below in literacy and numeracy and indigenous unemployment is risisng. Mortality rates are down in early childhood but life expectatncy is still poor.

Our children are surviving but for what future?

The narrative of our past as an Aboriginal peoples is one of colonisation and dispossession. The narrative we pen with our children and with our families should not be one of continued inaction on a daily basis in our schools. Our action needs to come in the form of intentional planning for all our learners, strengthened partnerships with our families and high expectations in our schools and kindergartens.

We need to shift the conversation and focus the resource.

We must work in partnership with our families, our wider community and present Elders to gain social justice and empower all our children.

Nurturing & Empowering Our Community

Provocation: every child’s right to education provides a basis for building wellbeing within the community.

Quality education is a project of participation; it is impossible to develop quality education if you are not connected to the context in which you are working.

Four years ago we planted the seed for what would become our Community Hub – a space that welcomes families, connects children from birth and provides opportunities for learning together.

Our hub now offers a full suite of programs and opportunities for families to connect and find support; from playgroups, to parenting programs and coffee n’ chat. Having realised our goal we engaged the expertise of our Community Development Coordinator, Fiona Pulford, to facilitate community consultation for the purpose of identifying where to next.

In the first of two planned sessions we opened opportunities for dialogue and participation to capture ideas and aspirations for the future of the Hub.

Our vision:

An empowered, inclusive community that nurtures and strengthens.

Our mission:

Creating opportunities for connection and growth.

Guiding principles:

1. Promoting a proud future that celebrates cultural diversity.
2. Encouraging life long learning.
3. Recognising our children grow in families, neighbourhoods, schools and community.
4. Creating a safe, welcoming space for sharing and supporting.
5. Valuing our combined wealth of knowledge and experience.

Strong families strengthen communities and create powerful learners. By nurturing and empowering our families we promote quality education and improve the lives of children and communities.

Education is a right; education is a responsibility of the community.

NB: The title for this post was generated in the community consultation as a part of the thinking that developed into final vision for the Hub.

Collaborative Professionalism

Provocation: the manner in which educators consider themselves as both educators and learners, coupled with a focussed and intentional approach to their work, informs the learning of the children.

Professional collaboration is an essential component of our educational project. By engaging in focussed dialogue at staff meetings we are incrementally shifting our practice through greater specificity.

Andy Hargreaves discusses the difference between ‘professional collaboration’ & ‘collaborative professionalism’ and what it means for educators.

Through high expectations relationships and the strengthening of a high expectations staff culture our professional collaboration as educators is beginning to transcend into collaborative professionalism. We have created a culture that supports challenging conversation. We have increased the level of trust and safety between colleagues. This is evident in an increased precision in our practice generated through more robust conversations focussed on children as readers and meaning makers. We will continue to strengthen the level of trust by designing opportunities for colleagues to engage professionally in focussed dialogue about children’s learning.

This week educators checked in on their progress toward the 1000 ft goals set last week, by considering:

• What next?
• How will you get there?
• How will you document and share the impact?

Documentation supports educators to interpret children’s learning. Giving time to thinking, reflecting and sharing the impact on student learning strengthens our expertise. Regardless of whether the impact is positive or otherwise our educational choices have an impact; we therefore place value in dedicating time to reviewing the documentation to develop a shared understanding of our children’s learning in order to design the next learning cycle.

The 100,000 ft goal is for children and their families to see themselves as readers and for this to be reflected in children’s improved reading comprehension, achieved through more focussed and intentional teacher practice by strengthening educator teams and deepening our relationships with each other.

“Better relationships, more expertise, greater focus”.

Reflection upon Documentation

Provocation: Use of documentation as a process of self-reflection, to check our impact and implement appropriate strategies to progress children’s learning.

Documentation as a teaching tool offers opportunities for reflection able to change the teaching and provide greater intentionality.

Educators collect a range of documentation of children’s learning including:

• video of children’s engagement in Literacy Block and Discovery Learning
• Running Records (PM & WRAP)
• observations
• writing samples

The purpose of this documentation is to measure and reflect upon children’s learning progress specific to reading and meaning making. Educators synthesise and interpret children’s learning through the use of documentation.

At the conclusion of our 4 week sprints last term educators reflected upon children’s learning progress in relation to their Clarifying behaviour tools by considering what happened and what didn’t happen in terms of children’s reading and meaning making.

In considering what happened educators were asked:

• How do you know?
• How could you strengthen/embed? 

Next when reflecting upon what didn’t happeneducators were supported to deepen their understanding of the root cause using another clarifying tool.

Our next step is to refine our Term 2 focus.

We build in time to think, design and reflect on our work as educators; it is the process the educator uses in designing, reflecting upon and relaunching rich learning experiences that informs the learning of the children.

This professional engagement as both educators and learners informs our intentionality in designing learning that is responsive to children. It is through our professional engagement and reflection upon the documentation that we listen and respond to the children to stretch them as learners.