welcome
Paul Kenna and Brett Millott are both primary school Principals in Melbourne, Victoria.
Hi and Welcome to the S.O.L.E. Australia website.
Our interest in Self Organised Learning Environments and our collaboration with Professor Sugata Mitra began in 2010. Sugata's enthusiasm, friendship and continued support for our work has been impressive from the very first day.
Thank you to the teachers who have embraced and supported the S.O.L.E. philosophy in their classrooms and to the many students who have supplied their endless enthusiasm, positivity and feedback along the way.
A broad expanse of recognized educational, social and emotional research and knowledge has informed our classroom action research and provided us with an authentic platform for our work which builds on the positive relationships and trust that already exists between teachers and students.
Our belief is that student engagement and learning improves if we create and nurture positive emotional environments and embed collaboration, conversation and communication skills in everyday classroom interactions. All students want and need acceptance.
We need to be mindful of what works best for the students, not what works best or is easiest for the teachers.
A person's position in the hierarchy of a school is not as important as their drive or capacity to examine how to effectively deliver content and how to make it relevant for students today. You might just be the catalyst your school needs.
Technology has a profound impact when it is used in the right moment. Students can utilize technology to enhance their learning, understanding and capacity to apply their knowledge. Technology won't replace good teachers or good teaching - it can enhance it.
We believe the success of our S.O.L.E. strategies lies in our original "theory of action" which was to develop a teaching methodology which successfully combined student led inquiry learning whilst ensuring the delivery of system required educational outcomes.
S.O.L.E. can be implemented in a range of educational settings across a wide variety of curriculum and topics.
The appropriate emotional framework needs to exist to enable students to choose to become engaged in their learning. Removing the fear of failure or the hesitancy that comes from an individual's negative mindset should drive all teachers.
We hope you discover some things that will inspire you to incorporate our S.O.L.E. philosophy into your teaching.
Good luck.
Paul Kenna & Brett Millott
