The advantages of shared learning and team teaching

Mr Alex Petrovic, Ms Paula Wanke & Mr Steve Wishart Benton Junior College Mornington, Victoria, Australia

School background

Benton Junior College, situated on 3.5 hectares on the eastern fringe of the bayside town of Mornington, opened in 2003. Mornington East is a rapidly growing area of Melbourne, where many young families are building in estate areas surrounding the school. The long-term anticipated enrolment of over 800 students is expected within ten years.

"We support the development of the whole person; a person with a positive self-image, who seeks excellence and respects the rights of others."

Benton Junior College is committed to developing and nurturing a community of lifelong learners. We support the development of the whole person; a person with a positive self-image, who seeks excellence and respects the rights of others. Our intention is to make learning relevant and meaningful to students. Our focus is on students as capable individuals and as active constructors of their own learning. We aim to instil students with the motivation to learn, the ability to think, the courage to imagine and the compassion to care.

Students are encouraged to develop a sense of identity and self-worth, recognising their own strengths, talents and areas for improvement. A flexible, happy and non-judgemental environment allows students to take risks and draw on their natural curiosity to research and confidently verbalise innovative ideas. The positive climate encourages cooperation, positive behaviour and effective communication between teachers, students and peers. The students are given the opportunity to grow and develop a love of learning in a challenging, yet safe, environment.

Our innovative curriculum embraces the International Baccalaureate Organisation - Primary Years Program. This involves students in active inquiry, drawing on their own experience to assist in gaining a greater understanding and appreciation of the world in which they live. Students develop skills that enable the courageous, flexible, creative and imaginative use of the mental capabilities essential for solving complex global problems, so that students can play a purposeful and productive role in their community.

Teachers work cooperatively to bring out the best in each student, recognising that there are different ways of learning and different styles of teaching. We have high expectations of each of our students and provide resources and opportunities for all children to excel. Benton Junior College provides a range of opportunities to celebrate success and achievements.

Enrichment programs are provided weekly for all students in Health and Physical Education, Music, LOTE (Japanese), and ICT. Computers in classrooms and learning pods also enable students to access learning technologies in an integrated manner. Theme-based whole-school Fellowship Days, excursions and incursions, the Fellowship Program, Reading Recovery, student leadership development, instrumental music lessons, the Perceptual Motor Program, outdoor education camps, school concerts, musical productions and participation in gifted programs and interschool and district sports also enrich the curriculum. Parents are actively encouraged to be a major part of the learning process, through involvement in activities at school and at home.

Teachers work in teams and plan detailed curriculum units. A straight grade structure will be prioritised but some classes may need to be composite in the initial stages, until enrolment stabilises. All staff commit to a personal professional development plan that will link to college priorities and will involve the daily use of learning technologies.

Parent involvement is very strong and parents are welcomed to assist in the classroom with many programs. The school community believes that educational experiences must match the learner's stage of development, whilst promoting growth and further learning. Active learner participation is to be encouraged, by building on previous individual experiences, interests and talents. The school ethos will be one that encourages the broader use of its facilities by the community. The expectations of the staff, supported by the wider community, promote stability, tolerance and understanding and the students are well-behaved, cooperative and self-motivated. All decision-making is based upon the best interests of students and the school is committed to working with children as individuals, developing a wide and varied range of programs that meet their specific needs.

Year 5 open plan learning area

After reviewing data from student surveys, Benton Junior College opened discussion into improving student engagement and increasing self-efficacy. The plan of an open learning area was considered and discussed. Teachers, parents and the community were consulted prior to implementation.

The design included combining 60 year 5 students with three teachers in the area formerly used as a library. This area provided the necessary space for such a project. A withdrawal room ensured greater flexibility for the program and catered specifically for smaller groups, targeting individual learning styles, difficulties or abilities.

The program was resourced with 26 student laptop computers and three teacher computers. This allows for greater opportunities for research-oriented approaches that are inquiry-based. Students are encouraged to move places in the room and engage in group work, with a variety of students or groups each day.

The curriculum is delivered through a number of different strategies. We often start lessons as one group and then break into smaller groups with specific aims and purposes. We also have groups catering for gifted students requiring additional challenges, or groups working on a specific skill difficulty which may have become apparent after assessment.

Assessment is ongoing within the classroom, with all three teachers contributing to observation records, as well as more formal forms of assessment. Although we conduct both formative and summative assessment for each unit of inquiry undertaken, we allow students to set specific individual performance goals, which are then referred to, updated, challenged and reassessed throughout the year. Goals are set, after consultation with both parents and teachers, and highlight areas for achievement and components of education that need to be either improved upon, or thought about, throughout the year. Such goals are incorporated into assignment work, as well as general tasks completed within the class.

Goals are set at student-led conferences. Students demonstrate and discuss the challenges undertaken in class, how they have improved and what their strengths are. They also identify areas that need to be improved.

Together with teachers and parents, a plan to maintain areas of strength is devised. Strategies are also identified to improve areas that may need to be enhanced. The emphasis is placed upon the student taking control of his or her own learning and understanding the impact that they can make upon their own performance by making informed and positive decisions.

Challenges

The initial challenges faced were from concerned parents. The idea of having 60 students in one room raised questions about space, noise levels within the class and our ability to cater for the individual students. Parents were concerned that a lack of attention may cause a fall in literacy and numeracy abilities within the class.

A meeting was called where all concerned parties engaged in open discussion about the new year 5 structure. The staff student ratio was highlighted as a benefit of the system, with one teacher for every 20 students. It was explained that, due to this staffing commitment by the school, specific needs could be met with greater ease, specialist groups could be formed to target areas of need and challenge students to achieve more. With this number of students in the class, greater social links could be made and the broadening of friendship groups was possible. The ability to engage in group work and greater scale for meaningful class discussion was also seen as an advantage. Finally, the information technology commitment to the class was seen as something that would be of great benefit for children. We have witnessed no increase in noise levels from that of a regular classroom and have invited concerned parents to enter the class to see for themselves. We have had very positive responses from parents who have entered the room during class sessions.

How do you make learning in the classroom more exciting and effective?

We have listed in point form some of the approaches we have employed in order to make our classroom exciting for the students, as well as being an effective centre for learning.

• a low student teacher ratio: 1:20;
• large open spaces (former library area) with withdrawal room;
• use of three teachers with 60 students to allow for specific groups to be formed that may target either gifted/advanced students or children with particular needs, such as spelling or number;
• an inquiry-based concept-driven approach to learning;
• students with scheduled time and resources to research areas of interest;
• up to 29 computers within the classroom for student/teacher use;
• flexibility within the program allowing for individual learning styles and abilities.

Have you personally changed your teaching practice recently to make learning more effective? What motivated you to do so?

All teachers involved in this process have changed or modified practices in order to allow for this structure. We have been motivated by a willingness to engage in data/research-driven educational decision-making designed to change from traditional approaches to more child-centred, thinking-oriented curriculum choices. All of us have called upon best practice experiences and have incorporated this knowledge into our current program. The desire and challenge to deliver approaches that fully engage students at all ability levels and with varied learning styles is key to our motivation. A shift from what students know, to how students learn and how students can add to their understandings for themselves drives our present approach. Below we have included some of the key changes employed by teaching staff in our approach.

• combining three teachers into a shared teaching environment;
• shared decision-making, negotiation and review of previous experiences;
• shared unit planning time;
• fully implementing a thinking-oriented curriculum framework that is inquiry-based and concept driven.

What more can schools do to encourage and support classroom teachers to explore new ways of teaching and learning (what needs to change, and, importantly, at what level)?

• Teachers generally are quite creative. They need time to explore and compare ideas with staff and other schools.
• Shared planning time between teaching units.
• Opportunities for teams to explore how other schools are performing. What initiatives are running? Why? How?
• School community links need to be strengthened. The community needs to be part of the planning process.
• Consult the students.
• Links to be made with international schools or high performing schools, either interstate or internationally.
• An apprentice leadership scheme whereby identified young teachers within schools are given the opportunity to view leadership roles and responsibilities, while planning and implementing school or cluster-based initiatives that strive for greater student engagement.
• The use of technology to assist in the development of more global thinking students.
• Encourage various teaching styles and approaches through schools, so long as certain structures/frameworks are being adhered to.

How easy is it to try new approaches to teaching and learning (what are the obstacles)?

The ability to implement initiatives varies greatly between schools. Often enthusiastic teachers feel as though they cannot gain the support of fellow staff (‘we've tried this before'). Other times it's a time management issue. Teachers feel overloaded and are uneasy sharing ideas that may lead to additional work with an already crowded timetable. We have included some of the key obstacles that may hinder the development or implementation of new teaching and learning initiatives.

• Administration need to be supportive and understand the benefits of school based initiatives.
• Support from fellow staff members. Flexible staff willing to investigate, explore and trial concepts.
• Parents with pre-set ideas of education and how it should be conducted.
• Community expectations of education.
• Professional development and experience.
• School funding.

If you could share your most creative teaching and learning strategy with others, what would that be?

• Three teachers in a team teaching environment.
• Student-led conferences.
• Expert teams. Students nominate areas of expertise and may assist fellow students in assignment or class work. They may act as a critical friend and assist a student when comparing work to a Rubric or set of pre assignment/ task indicators.
• Using research and data to drive decision-making.
• Connecting students to other schools throughout the world via email.
• Employing the IBO PYP as a framework for curriculum. Using an inquiry-based and concept-driven approach to learning.

What outdated teaching and learning strategy have you abandoned recently, and why? What did you replace it with?

Worksheets have been replaced with student-driven or open-ended challenges that relate to the particular skill/s being developed. Students engage in cooperative learning approaches that involve discussion, debate and teamwork. The data projector has been employed as a learning and teaching tool within class, which has also limited the use of whiteboards. The emphasis has also changed from a teacher-directed approach to a more student-centred strategy that allows for thinking skills and inquiry. Students need to understand how they learn and how they can source information instead of being fed facts under a teacher-directed model.

How can teaching colleagues help you to create a more innovative and exciting classroom? Perhaps tell us how this has happened at your school.

• School brainstorming sessions. How can we improve our school? Identify specific areas such as curriculum, teaching and learning, and so on, and rotate groups of staff through these areas. Share ideas. Identify which can be implemented immediately, those that require further planning/ discussion, and those which may prove difficult to engage.
• Shared planning sessions that are timetabled. Initiatives to be addressed as a key point in meetings.
• Teaching staff can use their network of contacts to assist in the implementation of initiatives.
• Increased access to those programs that are high performing or best practice.

What role do students have in creating more effective and innovative classrooms?

• Students at Benton Junior College broke into cooperative groups and designed their ideal classrooms. The classroom had to be based upon our class design, with the view that we could make improvements that would assist learning and promote an exciting program. Students researched prices for all additions and created a written proposal. This proposal was presented to school administration, and then school council. School council have since provided funding to implement various aspects of the student classroom designs.
• Student representatives elected to participate in the planning process for each unit of inquiry.
• Student-led conferences allow students to understand that they have a role in their education.
• Self and peer assessment.

Do you have a creative and innovative idea about teaching and learning that you haven't tried yet – but would like to someday? What is it and what‘s holding you back?

Setting up a school where year levels worked together in an open environment and teachers team teach. Classrooms with couches, conference tables, kitchens, wet areas, science labs, laptop computers, as well as a computer pod. Fixed data projectors in each area and a financial commitment to team teaching - teachers opening doors, and parent understanding of best practice via school-based community professional development.

If you are an education academic or school leader, what advice do you give to teachers who wish to become more innovative in the classroom?

• Don't be afraid of failure.
• Seek the support of enthusiastic teachers.
• Use research and or school-based data to support your initiatives.
• Conduct an open forum where teachers, parents and students can contribute.
• Present your ideas in written form, outlining the benefits, similar projects undertaken elsewhere and their successes, as well as a timeline for implementation. Also highlight what is required, associated costs, and opportunities to assist the initiative.
• Seek related professional development opportunities.
• Use external teachers, community members, and so on, to support your ideas.
• Outline expected outcomes.