Getting the latest technology into classrooms is one thing, but ensuring  students take part in authentic learning experiences while helping to educate their peers is the target for one Victorian school trialling the latest touch screen gadgets.

Brighton Grammar School in Melbourne has bought 21 iPads and is hoping to team up with researchers from Swinburne University to see how the gadgets impact on pedagogy and differentiated learning for students who thrive on a kinaesthetic approach.

“We want to actually do some kind of analysis to see how you compare the usage of an iPad to a laptop to a desktop [PC], because they’re not the same animal. I don’t think they’ve [laptops and PCs] changed pedagogy and I don’t think they’ve changed content ... but with the iPad there are really some exciting possibilities out there, from the fact the kids can walk around and learn collaboratively but still have that individualised learning approach,” IT teacher Brett Fitzsimmons explains.

In another innovative approach, Fitzsimmons will be working on a Year 9 and 10 extra-curricular project to create learning apps for junior school students. “It’s that applied learning, it’s an authentic task. We’ve got an extension studies [class] ... they’ll be looking at the programming side of it and a range of apps. We’ll do analysis of designs and come up with some of our own,” he says.

“Many of the apps that are currently out there used the touch screen as a navigation interface and not necessarily a learning interface, so we’re going to look at building some that ... provide a strong kinaesthetic learning base to see if it does have an impact on students, particularly their numeracy.

“It will be just small apps that target particular learning tasks within the scope and sequence that the junior school kids are working on. It may be handling a specific maths task such as multiplication or division, number lines and things like that, and see if we can build something that’s graphical and actually targeted to a particular area then we’ll hopefully get some kind of data to see if there’s been a noticeable improvement [in learning].”

Fitzsimmons points out that, far from jumping on the gadget bandwagon, Brighton Grammar School, with help from its innovation arm the Crowther Centre, decided to buy the iPads purely as a research tool. “I guess that before we go putting them onto school booklists we want to see how useful they’re going to be. We didn’t go down the route of the one to one laptop program and I think that’s been a good decision.”

The gadgets will be used with Year 1, 3 and 6 students and the research is expected to last at least two years. It’s hoped the app development course for senior students will eventually be integrated into the mainstream curriculum. Fitzsimmons is also looking at monitoring students to compare the way they read an online document such as an eBook and a traditional textbook.

Giving students the freedom to become creative thinkers instead of relying on spoon-fed information from teachers in class is at the core of an innovative approach adopted by staff at a New South Wales college.

The ‘culture of thinking’ program at Masada College in St Ives, north of Sydney, is based on the Visible Thinking project set up by researchers at the world-famous Harvard University.

Educators are encouraged to incorporate a series of routines into lessons to help students become more involved in their own learning by questioning the views of others and reflecting on their own thoughts.

“We first started introducing it into the school about four years ago in a small way ... we decided we would do it as a gradual process with ongoing professional development, and that’s part of the key to the success,” principal Wendy Barel explains.

Teachers take part in focus groups to discuss student progress. “I think it’s helped teachers move away from spoon-feeding students ... it makes them involved in their own learning and is empowering. There’s no longer a ‘right answer’ ... it’s based on different thinking routines and it means everyone can contribute.

“The very basic routine that should run through everyone’s lesson is ‘what makes you say that?’ – taking them back to explaining their thinking and be conscious of it. The idea is it becomes automatic for the kids,” Barel says.

The college started by adopting the core routines on Harvard’s visible thinking website pzweb.harvard.edu/vt, but now teachers are beginning to introduce their own.

“It’s an ongoing process ... developing it and embedding it into the curriculum. We’ve got it going from pre-school to Year 12, which has been a great thing. [The focus groups] are also a great way for staff in different parts of the school to recognise what colleagues are doing.”

Barel, in her fifth year as principal, says the culture of thinking is just one part of a college ‘education package’ incorporating three key programs. The second strand looks at behaviour management among pupils, encouraging them to take responsibility.

“It ties in to the culture of thinking ... it’s about taking responsibility and being answerable for your behaviour. I think it’s one of the things that’s pretty weak in this generation and this [approach] is making people more conscious of that.”

The aim is to make students reflect on their own behaviour and move away from a blame mentality, instead taking responsibility for their actions. Barel is excited about the final strand - a new initiative called ‘the leader in me’. It is based on author Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Successful People and helps teachers build confidence by recognising their strengths.

Masada College has adapted the habits for use in a school environment and plans to roll out the program to students after a positive feedback from staff. The college is staging a conference on June 16th to share all three initiatives with neighbouring schools.

Masada College principal Wendy Barel is encouraging students to look beyond the obvious and free their minds.

GIVING students the freedom to become creative thinkers instead of relying on spoon-fed information from teachers in class is at the core of an innovative approach adopted by staff at a New South Wales college.

The ‘culture of thinking’ program at Masada College in St Ives, north of Sydney, is based on the Visible Thinking project set up by researchers at the world-famous Harvard University.

Educators are encouraged to incorporate a series of routines into lessons to help students become more involved in their own learning by questioning the views of others and reflecting on their own thoughts.

“We first started introducing it into the school about four years ago in a small way ... we decided we would do it as a gradual process with ongoing professional development, and that’s part of the key to the success,” principal Wendy Barel explains.

Teachers take part in focus groups to discuss student progress. “I think it’s helped teachers move away from spoon-feeding students ... it makes them involved in their own learning and is empowering. There’s no longer a ‘right answer’ ... it’s based on different thinking routines and it means everyone can contribute.

“The very basic routine that should run through everyone’s lesson is ‘what makes you say that?’ – taking them back to explaining their thinking and be conscious of it. The idea is it becomes automatic for the kids,” Barel says.

The college started by adopting the core routines on Harvard’s visible thinking website pzweb.harvard.edu/vt, but now teachers are beginning to introduce their own.

“It’s an ongoing process ... developing it and embedding it into the curriculum. We’ve got it going from pre-school to Year 12, which has been a great thing. [The focus groups] are also a great way for staff in different parts of the school to recognise what colleagues are doing.”

Barel, in her fifth year as principal, says the culture of thinking is just one part of a college ‘education package’ incorporating three key programs. The second strand looks at behaviour management among pupils, encouraging them to take responsibility.

“It ties in to the culture of thinking ... it’s about taking responsibility and being answerable for your behaviour. I think it’s one of the things that’s pretty weak in this generation and this [approach] is making people more conscious of that.”

The aim is to make students reflect on their own behaviour and move away from a blame mentality, instead taking responsibility for their actions. Barel is excited about the final strand - a new initiative called ‘the leader in me’. It is based on author Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Successful People and helps teachers build confidence by recognising their strengths.

Masada College has adapted the habits for use in a school environment and plans to roll out the program to students after a positive feedback from staff. The college is staging a conference on June 16th to share all three initiatives with neighbouring schools.

Digital resources are helping teachers at a Sydney high school improve educational outcomes for multicultural students and provide round-the-clock learning opportunities.

Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta is a melting pot of cultures, with 56 nationalities represented including Iraq, Germany, South Korea, Egypt, Afghanistan and India. More than 90 per cent of its students are from non-English speaking backgrounds and some have been forced to flee war-torn countries as refugees.

Amid this backdrop, Principal Lynne Goodwin says a revolution is taking place – a digital learning revolution, triggered by the nationwide laptop rollout. She explains: “We’re meeting the children where they’re at [academically] and trying to provide a learning environment that is really 24/7. We’re watching students really carefully, seeing how they like to learn and then we’re trying to adapt how we work with them.”

One key element of the change is the creation of personlised learning plans for every student and analysis of performance data that goes way beyond NAPLAN results. Goodwin, who has been at the school since 1996, says: “It’s pretty sophisticated … we use a whole range of testing to see where the students are really at and then where they need to go. We’ve got a way of communicating that simply to teachers to let them see the potential of their students. With a bit of intervention you can make a big difference.”

Innovative programs include an online e-literacy course, which requires students to submit a creative project each term, learning traditional literacy features as they go. “So, they might be producing a poster in Photoshop, but in the process they’re learning a whole lot of strategies and when they get to the point where they need to understand something like apostrophes we’ve got cute online programs [to help],” explains Goodwin.

The school has a detailed learning profile for every child, so students can go in and look at their particular band level in different subjects. As well as information about academic performance, there are exercises recommended to reach the next level, tailored to each student.

Parents also have access to the profile, meaning they can supervise homework. Some of it is self-correcting and some can be emailed directly to teachers for feedback, meaning work is always available online for students eager to take the next steps in their education.

Teachers communicate with students through 280 blogs and wikis, helping to break down the barriers with youngsters who are too shy to ask for help in class. The move to hi-tech learning is providing a visual outlet for students who struggle with language, and is having a knock-on effect in other areas.

Goodwin says: “They love [learning with laptops] and they’re so creative. Out of all that they’re doing more, writing more and are proud of what they’re doing. We’ve found a tremendous improvement in attendance and engagement.”

Its latest project is an innovative approach to learning grammar, and the school is also proud of its community links, particularly when it comes to helping students who arrive as refugees.

Is your school using innovative methods in the classroom? Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the details.