Hero photograph
 
Photo by Anne Jacques

Collaboration and innovation

Anne Jacques —

All around the school, in small subversive pockets, innovative practice is happening. Teachers are working together on common cross-curricular projects across the curriculum, classes are working together to share their learning and some conventional classrooms are stretched to find themselves suddenly accommodating sixty students together.

Following our curriculum evaluation over the last two years, some teachers have responded to the need to have our students making connections across subjects, and learning in a more collaborative and co-operative way, by working more closely together themselves, so that subjects are not taught in isolation. 

In some cases, this looks like a Science teacher and Maths teacher working on a cross-curricular project together with one class. In another case, two classes are put together with their two teachers for shared instruction and learning in French.

The contextual class is another example of how teachers plan and work together to deliver quality outcomes for their students. This term, their focus has been on the airport context, where the class was based for two weeks while they explored the challenges of this context.

Students say they enjoy this change in their programme – they can see the benefits of learning together and enjoy the more social approach where group work is more commonly part of the programme. They say they are also learning how to work with and learn from others, including teachers, and the greater autonomy in choosing activities and themes.

Teachers also say they enjoy working more closely with their colleagues, and the freedom to let students have more say in the programmes themselves. 

For some, the timetable has made collaboration difficult, and the it is not easy always to find the spaces needed. 

We are currently using D3 and D4 – two adjacent classrooms with smaller break-out spaces – when we need to put classes together. These rooms will be further developed over the holidays to make the spaces more suited to independent learning.