Over the course of the year I have been fortunate to run some Mystery Bus Tours that help administrators and teachers investigate key concepts of- contemporary learning, 1-1 and learning environments.
From these trips it has help schools take a look into other environments. There have been some great reflections from participants:
"The mystery bus trip was an amazing experience for me. It was great to see how other schools adopt and implement the program using contemporary learning spaces. My first impression was on how creative teachers can be to engage students in their learning experiences by providing flexible environment for individuals and inclusion for all learners."
"This trip was a wonderful learning experience. It answered many of the questions I had written down prior to visiting the school. It allowed me to witness first hand what contemporary learning looked like and how it operated inn different school settings, rather than reading from a text."
"It's always a worthwhile experience actually seeing how other schools are engaging in new ways of teaching and learning. The learning walks not only gave me an insight into the contemporary learning practices in other schools but also affirmed the great teaching and learning happening in my school. It highlighted the fact that we are all at different stages of a journey and not to become overwhelmed but to prioritise and to stay true to our teaching and learning vision. The input from the principals was extremely valuable, and highlighted the need for schools to have the support of admin to achieve success. The opportunities to speak to staff and students at the two schools gave an insight into how they are engaging with the contemporary learning. It was great to see that the technology did not dictate the learning but supported it."
Our last trip focused on spaces- physical and virtual. Does your learning space work for what we know about learning today to just what we knew about learning in the past?
The biggest challenge is how to create new learning spaces. New ways of teaching demand different spaces. With new technologies comes the need for new and different skills –collaboration, integration of technology into daily teaching and more project-based learning.A challenge for our schools is that they see design new learning spaces as a huge cost. With planning and careful resourcing there is a myriad of ways these can be achieved schools that will meet key learning principles and can be cost efficient. Since no one can predict how educational technologies and teaching modalities will evolve, learning spaces must adapt to whatever changes the future may hold. Technology allows the opportunity to reimagine physical and virtual spaces that support new pedagogies and value the learner and individual needs.
Clever ideas that help illustrate:
Old tables with legs cut lower and pillows and seat
From these trips it has help schools take a look into other environments. There have been some great reflections from participants:
"The mystery bus trip was an amazing experience for me. It was great to see how other schools adopt and implement the program using contemporary learning spaces. My first impression was on how creative teachers can be to engage students in their learning experiences by providing flexible environment for individuals and inclusion for all learners."
"This trip was a wonderful learning experience. It answered many of the questions I had written down prior to visiting the school. It allowed me to witness first hand what contemporary learning looked like and how it operated inn different school settings, rather than reading from a text."
"It's always a worthwhile experience actually seeing how other schools are engaging in new ways of teaching and learning. The learning walks not only gave me an insight into the contemporary learning practices in other schools but also affirmed the great teaching and learning happening in my school. It highlighted the fact that we are all at different stages of a journey and not to become overwhelmed but to prioritise and to stay true to our teaching and learning vision. The input from the principals was extremely valuable, and highlighted the need for schools to have the support of admin to achieve success. The opportunities to speak to staff and students at the two schools gave an insight into how they are engaging with the contemporary learning. It was great to see that the technology did not dictate the learning but supported it."
Our last trip focused on spaces- physical and virtual. Does your learning space work for what we know about learning today to just what we knew about learning in the past?
The biggest challenge is how to create new learning spaces. New ways of teaching demand different spaces. With new technologies comes the need for new and different skills –collaboration, integration of technology into daily teaching and more project-based learning.A challenge for our schools is that they see design new learning spaces as a huge cost. With planning and careful resourcing there is a myriad of ways these can be achieved schools that will meet key learning principles and can be cost efficient. Since no one can predict how educational technologies and teaching modalities will evolve, learning spaces must adapt to whatever changes the future may hold. Technology allows the opportunity to reimagine physical and virtual spaces that support new pedagogies and value the learner and individual needs.
Clever ideas that help illustrate:
Old tables with legs cut lower and pillows and seat
Opportunities for collaboration and choice. Not every student having own space as it does not align with vision- the classroom is a shared space of learning.