THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW DANDENONG HIGH SCHOOL

A journey with high levels of collaboration over five years

Martin Culkin, Principal

Julia Atkin, Education & Learning Consultant

Richard Leonard, Hayball Architects

Mary Featherston, Featherston Design

2005 – ascertaining the context. Possible merger of three schools. Educational Rationale. Focus on creativity and innovation. Developing a vision and purpose. Honouring the history. Searching for ideas, exemplars, learning. Engaging the people.

Merger of three schools – key differences – size, ethos, history, student cohorts.

Distance. Scope for redevelopment. Potential for gaining agreement?

Curriculum audit showed that none of the schools offered a full and comprehensive curriculum or adequate pathways options for young people.

Relevance. Curriculum and pedagogy. Demographic studies indicated a secure

long term enrolment. Possibility of a major capital works program.

Major government-funded regeneration project being undertaken in the local area.

The notion of an ‘Education Precinct’. Our collective drive to do better for the

students in the district.

The possible creation of a school of 2100 students.

What curriculum? What approach to teaching and learning? What kind of physical environment? Dealing with a very complex cohort of

students? Dealing with change for all members of

the school community.

Securing agreement from teachers on a wide range of issues – change.

Providing comfort and direction for the parent and wider community.

The mismatch between great ideas and inappropriate current physical environment.

Our own personal challenge in coming to terms with the scope, complexity, innovation and depth of the task.

2006 Development of Master Plan. 2006-2008 are characterised as a time

when members of the school community engaged in extensive initial discussion.

The development of a school-wide vision, set of agree values and principles of teaching and learning for the school – needing help from others.

Future search – key writing to assist in developing an architectural brief.

Travel and exploration. Broad notion of the extent of facilities that

might be needed for new school. Focus groups. Early efforts to build a ‘Strong Guiding

Coalition”.

An education vision articulated in the Educational Rationale.

A truly collaborative teaching and learning model.

An innovative, contemporary, dynamic learning environment.

Student self-directed learning. A Personal Learning model. Differentiated curriculum.

Groups of 50 students working with 3 teachers.

A physical environment to support the approach to teaching and learning.

Knew we wanted to create more effective learning environments.

Learning Centres/Schools within Schools. ICT rich. Wanting a structure for strong student

support and effective relationships.

School Within School (SWIS):Learning Community

Key Principles Learning community (300 total, 150 students per floor) Whole of years cohort (50 students year level) Integrated facilities Flexible, creative learning settings Student / staff interface

Agreement to build on the basic intention that every student can learn, every student wants to learn and that the whole school is structured to support the learning and achievement of every student.

An action-based approach to support the development of every student.

Encourage curiosity, lifelong learning, empowerment, independence, reflection.

Building an understanding of diversity when leading people.

Purposeful learning community. Change management. Meeting peoples’ needs – consult and

include. Building leadership capacity, distributed

leadership. Setting out the negotiables and non-

negotiables.

Ascertaining what we value. Focussing on the ‘right’ work. Continuing with the ’Explanatory Voice’. Guarantees.

2008 a highly pressured year – firming up the nature and design of learning spaces.

Building our own prototype. The imperative from our Department of

Education to finally commit to a design. Well supported in our work. Personal reflection.

Changing ‘mental models’ = people changingIndustrial era education 21C education

No shortcuts!Co-creation – true collaboration is the keyValues and vision driven thinking and design

Stimulating the educational imagination

Rhetoric to reality

It’s not about building a ‘faster caterpillar’ rather enabling a butterfly to emerge

TRANSFORMATION

Transformation is complex a linear plan is not appropriate dialogue not debate collaboration NOT competition

WHY?

WHAT?

HOW?

Julia Atkin From Values & Beliefs about Learning to Principles & Practice http://www.learning-by-design.com

Values and Vision driven development From ‘best practice’ to ‘best principle’

We value collaboration

Because we believe:• it leads to richer and deeper learning and more informed decisions• through it we inspire and encourage each other• collaborative learning and teaching provides support and challenge and extends each learner and teacher• collaborative teaching allows greater flexibility & responsiveness to learners’ needs• collaborative teaching maximises the strengths of each teacher and learner• collaborative teaching can bring greater consistency, connectedness and consolidation to learning• it builds on diverse viewpoints and the uniqueness of individuals • it facilitates learning from modeling social and learning/thinking skills

Learning Principles• Community of Learners• Transformative learning• Enlarging experiences-

enriching futures• Spirit of learning

Beyond the simplicity of ‘open and flexible’ designing from the inside-out

- Given what we say we value for learning, what are all the types of learning activities we wish to engage learners in?

- Design/create learning settings that support those learning activities.

- For how many learners at one time?- How many spaces needed at one time?

- How can these learning settings work together in an integrated way for the footprint available?

Between the ideaAnd the reality

Between the motionAnd the act

Falls the shadow

T.S. Eliot The Hollow Men

Relentless pursuit of Dandenong High School   vision & valuesBUILDING CAPABILITY AT EVERY LEVEL

April 2009 with the first three Learning Centres completed.

Junior Years occupied these spaces. Construction site and dislocation. Thinking into action. Implementation of new pedagogy and

curriculum.

2009 and 2010 a period of bringing people along.

Early successes. Next building stage underway. Tremendous interest in our work and

sharing our learning.

Preparations for this phase were undertaken throughout 2010.

Smooth operation during 2011 to date. Challenge – how do we know how well we

are doing? Data – now have three years and able to

establish trends – data from staff, students, parents.

Academic performance data.

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Embedding the vision, values and improvement priorities.

Challenging teacher practice and build breadth and depth.

Highly ‘action plan’ focused. Concentrating on the ‘right work’. Learning spaces and evidence. Reflection, thoughts about whole school

renewal. Recent School Review.

Sharing our work with others. Keenly searching our solutions – visits,

initiatives. Continuing to build the physical

environment and apply the learning. ICT initiative. Sustainability of this model or learning.

Fundamental principles of learning

At it’s most powerful, learning is: Intrinsically motivated and lifelong Personal Relational Holistic and experiential Complex and non-linear

Fundamental principles of learning

At it’s most powerful, learning is:

Intrinsically motivated and lifelong Personal Relational Holistic and experiential Complex and non-linear

Transforming learning

Communities within communities Integration with the environment Cross sector collaboration, co-

ordination and integration Innovative learning environments Holistic – learning, living Ecological sustainability Economic sustainability

Collaboration

Clear educational purpose and principles of learning as the drivers

Building capability & capability building