SSAT Next Generation Learners

Although I was at the SSAT conference to meet and present with Bob Harrison today, I also benefitted listening to two powerful presentations on the use of space within schools. The first from Ty Goddard and the second from

Further to Bob Harrisons 21^st Century Leaders test, I outlined how we were deploying the Digital Leader skills to the benefit of our school. Hopefully this cameo role may al least encourage school leaders to visit www.Vital.ac.uk or even get in touch. Incidentally, we asked how many school leaders were aware of the Vital project, sadly very few.

Ty Goddard, British Councils for School Environments gave a particularly emotive presentation. Following a brief outline of what / who / how overview of BCSE, Ty Goddard offered an insightful review of how school/classroom space design could be engineered to further impact the learning that happens there, a theme later echoed by Mark Lovatt. A learning space that incorporates both indoor and outdoor environments as well as cultural influences. Ty Goodard shared the work of Kenn Fisher, research I aim to follow up starting with the link to Rubida.

Ty Goodard went onto share international learning space examples, some large investment projects, some simple but creative redesigns and proudly UK examples. His parting message to delegate was that the British Councils for School Environments is well equipped to support schools on a building design or redesign projects. For schools (and government) to exploit that service  and  to make better use of the expertise within his team.

CLV offered an interest case study, outlining how both a new build and a redesign of an existing 1930s build was planned around the style of learning the leadership team wanted to encourage. Taking a reverse model, the leadership team first asked ‘What do attributes do our students need to be successful learner,’ and second, ‘How to best to design the learning space to facilitate that aim.’ Both spaces posed different re/design questions (budget / scope / Key Stage) yet CLV manage to map commensuarate solutions to the enquiry based teaching approach they wished to adopt.

The Key factors included;

Increasing classroom transpacency – more windows into classrooms

Bite size desk, jigsaw desks or round tables

Removal of the teachers desk and inclusion of a gyro mouse in every classroom to displace lecture style teaching with move interact proximity facilitating.

Noneclature – school = village, attitude and learning = 5Rs

Curriculum walls, with detachable teaching materials eg Thinking Hats and taxomony barometers

Learner to Learn curriculum in KS3

Mark Lovatt also welcome school visits during their open day, he also noted the school conference. I will notify him of this post and hopefully he will share the dates.

Finally my thanks to Bob Harrison for inviting me, and Paul Hynes (SSAT) for the opportunity to share the Digital Leader programme with the delegate.

One last, slightly related point. If you are an ‘teachnology’ specialist, look out for a wonderful teaching opportunity on the horizon @ Ormiston Bushfield Academy. Forward thinking Headteacher Eric Winstone is considering an innovation / technology / teaching (but non-timetabled) specialist position on his staff to encourage the embedding of technology across the curriculum. What an exciting post that would be, I could only describe it as AST post for teaching and learning with technology.