Ron Heifetz (Heifetz et al., 2009) from Harvard University articulates the distinction between adaptive challenges and technical problems. He states that an adaptive challenge is a problem situation for which solutions lie outside current ways of operating and more than existing know-how, whilst technical problems are solved by applying existing know-how.
Adaptive challenges introduced gaps between where you were and where you wanted to be. This made sense to us in the context of schools and our action research. It occurred to us that trying to address the issues we were focussing on was not going to work using existing strategies and know how.
S.O.L.E. appeared to be a possible adaptive solution that we were looking for.
We were also aware that teachers in many schools were usually teaching to the curriculum statements more than to the broader concepts that under-pinned them. Given the focus on curriculum accountabilities this was perfectly understandable.
What we saw in S.O.L.E. was a chance to attack key ideas, maintain a line of sight back to the core aspects of the curriculum and a chance for students to explore and learn in a more pro-active manner.
Adaptive challenges introduced gaps between where you were and where you wanted to be. This made sense to us in the context of schools and our action research. It occurred to us that trying to address the issues we were focussing on was not going to work using existing strategies and know how.
S.O.L.E. appeared to be a possible adaptive solution that we were looking for.
We were also aware that teachers in many schools were usually teaching to the curriculum statements more than to the broader concepts that under-pinned them. Given the focus on curriculum accountabilities this was perfectly understandable.
What we saw in S.O.L.E. was a chance to attack key ideas, maintain a line of sight back to the core aspects of the curriculum and a chance for students to explore and learn in a more pro-active manner.
....at a system level
High performing systems support research undertaken by teachers to drive innovation and school and system improvement.
Practitioner-led research allows teachers to investigate issues and explore solutions to the teaching problems they face in their own school setting and this is how S.O.L.E. came about. We wanted to find something that was relevant to the context of our schools and students and that also provided students with the opportunities to be more pro-active participants in their own learning.
High performing systems recognise teacher led research has a much higher impact on teacher professional learning than other development opportunities and invest in it accordingly.
High performing Principals encourage their teachers to try out new ideas to better support student learning.
School level flexibility and teacher collaboration drive innovation in teaching and learning that can be shared with other schools.
Practitioner-led research allows teachers to investigate issues and explore solutions to the teaching problems they face in their own school setting and this is how S.O.L.E. came about. We wanted to find something that was relevant to the context of our schools and students and that also provided students with the opportunities to be more pro-active participants in their own learning.
High performing systems recognise teacher led research has a much higher impact on teacher professional learning than other development opportunities and invest in it accordingly.
High performing Principals encourage their teachers to try out new ideas to better support student learning.
School level flexibility and teacher collaboration drive innovation in teaching and learning that can be shared with other schools.
...at THE SCHOOL & classroom levelThere is increasing interest in inquiry and project based learning as a delivery method for many elements of the curriculum.
Our experience suggests that providing students with the opportunity to discover things for themselves and rethinking the way that we are delivering curriculum has a two-fold effect. The students become more interested and involved in their learning and the teaching becomes more enjoyable and less stressful for the teacher. ...ACROSS THE CURRICULUMA practical example of implementing the S.O.L.E. philosophy in various aspects of the curriculum is Visual Arts where components of S.O.L.E. have been overlaid in the structure of the sessions.
This collaborative project ran across a series of lessons with the visual arts & classroom teachers planning the process where both classroom and art studio provocations and questions allowed the students to find the information, gather the knowledge, have lots of conversations and then self organising and applying that knowledge using a variety of medium. In these examples the Visual Arts teacher has structured the program to support the study themes that students were investigating in their classroom program. In this example the students in year 3/4 completed a three week collaboration on “Spiders and their habitat”. |
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real world application & connection
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Over the past 18 months students in year 5/6 classes from Belle Vue Park, Aberfeldie and Newlands Primary Schools have been involved in an Arts collaboration in partnership with the Incinerator Art Gallery in Moonee Valley.
The project was supported by Amy Grevis James (Arts Officer - Education and community engagement). Amy provided our students with fantastic experiences and insights about the art pieces on display at the gallery. These S.O.L.E. sessions have been brilliant as they bring together 30-40 students from 3 different schools (different life experiences, language and cultural backgrounds). At a recent session the S.O.L.E. provocation for the students was “why might people who move to a different country find it difficult?” There were amazing answers and discussion. Following the S.O.L.E. research at Aberfeldie Primary we walked to the Art Gallery for a 90 minute follow up session with Amy… the exhibition at the gallery was entitled “A new world” which linked back to our research provocation. This is another practical example of how our schools are expanding the traditional walls of a classroom to expose our students to wider, richer experiences. |
“When we are working in the interpretive world where children are experiencing new images and artistic pieces the differences in the life experiences and backgrounds of students melts away”.
This project creates an emotional response in students. In our eyes positive emotion is critical for engagement and the environment that S.O.L.E. creates supports positive emotion in students.
This ongoing arts initiative creates opportunities for students to observe, interpret, evaluate and critically appraise art in a supportive and safe environment. It offers students a different way to view the world and to engage in real world experiences.
This initiative was designed to expose students from different backgrounds to the same stimuli and experience. It is a very real example of expanding the classroom beyond the school walls and what an individual school offers.”
This initiative can be replicated in any setting, in any country. Teachers need to just think about what opportunities exist in their own area. Why not try something like this yourself?
This project creates an emotional response in students. In our eyes positive emotion is critical for engagement and the environment that S.O.L.E. creates supports positive emotion in students.
This ongoing arts initiative creates opportunities for students to observe, interpret, evaluate and critically appraise art in a supportive and safe environment. It offers students a different way to view the world and to engage in real world experiences.
This initiative was designed to expose students from different backgrounds to the same stimuli and experience. It is a very real example of expanding the classroom beyond the school walls and what an individual school offers.”
This initiative can be replicated in any setting, in any country. Teachers need to just think about what opportunities exist in their own area. Why not try something like this yourself?
adventure learning
Aberfeldie Primary Primary School made excellent use of its close location to the Maribyrnong River valley and has delivered an outdoor Adventure program through S.O.L.E. The teachers planned a series of S.O.L.E. investigations which focused on the local environment and habitat. Students undertook a series of adventures and investigations including the study of indigenous plants and monitoring a new planting area. The classroom teachers and the P.E. teacher worked together to achieve this.
PISA FOCUS
The next subject to be added to the PISA tests (currently on reading, numeracy and science) is collaborative problem-solving (Griffin et al. 2012). This will involve students solving a set of problems with another person or a computer-simulated person. The chat between the two is scored for each student to assess their levels of collaboration.
Extract from Hattie’s “what doesn’t work in Education: The politics of distraction."
Extract from Hattie’s “what doesn’t work in Education: The politics of distraction."
