Do MLE actually raise the academic achievement of students?

Edchatnz is a great Thursday night twitter conversation that is fast paced and really gets you thinking. Last week’s conversation was no different - MLE Modern Learning Environments.

Lately I have distanced myself from this term as since beginning my journey into this area, I have realised how much my opinion and ideas have changed. I have realized and seen that although some schools use the term MLE they still teaching like a single cell classroom just in a bigger space.

I began to question what was really changing. Had we misinterpreted what MLE were supposed to be? Should we have never introduced the ‘bean bag’ catch phrase? Had we run with one idea and forgotten to look at all the other parts of a MLE? Is ‘modern’ the best word to use at all?

A lot of educators have been throwing out the term MLP- Modern Learning Practices. To sum it up teachers are creating a personalised, collaborative and reflective classroom. This is where I am. I teach in a single cell classroom in a school where the buildings are older than me! But I am changing the way I teach and think students should learn. My pedagogy is changing and becoming more in line with what students of today need.

One of the questions raised by the devil’s advocate aka @BeccaSweeney was Do MLE actually raise the academic achievement of students? This is what others thought.

I have been questioning this as a parent and a teacher. To be honest, I don’t think they do. It’s more about the MLP that is happening inside these buildings rather than the building itself. And this can happen in a brand new  building or  a 40 year old prefabs. The only bonus of a MLE is that you can easily fit more than 30 students into a room and it allows for more collaboration among teachers.

I made a hard decision last term to pull my son out of a MLE. I began to realize some MLE schools believed that by letting students move from class to class to be taught by different they were  ‘modern’. Yet they were still streaming their reading, writing and maths groups.  I wrote about this and my own personal battle about how we were trying to develop a more MLP and what I felt wasn’t working. The more I reflected on my own teaching and learning practices with my own class the more I became aware this was not happening in my sons own school. Therefore I made the decision to move him. I realized by putting him into a school that worked more on MLP rather than focused on the MLE his own mindset about school and learning had completely changed. I suddenly had a child who was learning and wanted to learn!

So no, MLE don’t raise the academic achievements of students it is more about the teaching and learning and how inline it is with MLP’s. This is only my own personal experience and I also think a lot also come down to the teacher/ student relationship as well as how dedicated a teacher is to wanting her students to succeed. But then if they’re dedicated, they are probably a teacher who is always reflecting, changing and looking at ways to improve themselves to meet the needs of their students.

This has got me thinking a lot about where I want to head with my journey. So far we still stream for maths and reading. This is something I want to try and change next term but and still unsure how. Mainly because this term we had two new teachers start with us and next term I will have another new teacher starting. I have to think about what is best for my students but also what is best for a teaching coming in half way through the year.

With 112 students and five classrooms where 3 are still single cell it does face me with a lot of challenges. I know where I want to head, but it is the getting there that is causing me headaches!

Part of me still feels I am only halfway there with my MLP’s and I have areas I still need to work on and change.  Where we are focusing more on MLP I can see the benefits. In those areas I can see that students have succeeded and are enjoying their learning. My job now is to work out how to continue and develop my MLP’s so that the whole day is like this.

What is it that makes a teacher?

I have a friend who has recently moved here from Australia. She came with her partner as he (like many) is part of the Christchurch rebuild. She is a teacher and wants to find a job

Now this isn't uncommon most people want to work. But I know the hurdles she is going to face. The issues with registering herself to be a New Zealand teacher and Nova pay hassles and not to forget that she has no knowledge of the New Zealand curriculum.

I have posted before about my issues, frustrations and share annoyance about the whole thing. Hence why I suggested she came and volunteer with me in our team. That way she can slowly get to grips with how things work in New Zealand.  It’s what I did and from there managed to get relief work then a job.

Talking to her it got me thinking. Does understanding a certain curriculum make you a better teacher? Most schools she handed her C.V in just to do relief work seemed to change their tune when she said she was an Australian trained teacher. Not one school queried anything else just the fact she wasn’t trained here.

So is knowledge the only thing that makes a good teacher? I always recall a University professor of mine telling me that excellent grades don’t always make a ‘great’ teacher. What you can put on paper isn't always the same as what you can do in classroom.

I believe that if you’re a passionate teacher you can teach anywhere. I don’t think having knowledge of a certain curriculum actually proves how good you are as a teacher. There is a lot of the UK curriculum I see here in NZ. I notice a lot of teaching ideas from over there have become popular over here. The Literacy/Mathematics shed, Alan Peat, Ros Wilson, Pie Corbett to name a few. On Twitter Chats you hear about ideas that other teachers are doing all over the world that are similar to those right here in NZ.

So does curriculum knowledge make you a better teacher?

How do I want to teach?

How do I want to teach?

When I heard this I thought straight away of all the wonderful ideas and in my mind it seemed like a simple answer. Now I am not so sure. How do I articulate my ideas well enough so a complete stranger will feel my passion?

The next step as part of our MLE is to work out how we teach and what we want for our students. This has nothing to do with us designing a building but it helps them design it for us. So if I wanted an outside area where students could collaborate and work without the glare of the sun, they would design something to cater for that.

So many ideas and thoughts!

To me some characteristics of 21st century learning:

It is collaboration.

It is creativity.
It is critical thinking, risk taking and problem-solving.
It is research and information literacy.
It is digital citizenship.
It is responsible use.





So how would you articulate your ideas and thoughts to show what you wanted in a classroom?

My kitchen is like my teaching- it is forever changing.

 

 

I have made a radical change and turned my utensil so the handles now face to the back. Yes, I know I may have joined this club late and it was so last year. But for the life of me I can’t understand why I have been putting my utensils the other way round for all these years!

Dare I say it; teaching can be a little like this as well. We get comfortable with what we are used to. We are all a little bit weary of ‘new fads’. It’s the ‘been there, done that’ mentality that we are all saying in the back of our heads. To be honest, fashion is a great example. It comes and goes and then somehow re invents its self again.  Look at how popular vintage and retro is now? Who would have thought the formica table would be back! Therefore we sometimes question the new and scoff that in a year or two it will disappear.


'A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but noting ever grows there'. - Unknown

Some of us stick to what we have always known even though it may not be the most practical solution. My utensil draw is fine both ways but a very simple change and now I can see what each one is rather than playing the ‘guess who that handle belongs to’ and it is a lot faster. No wasted time hunting for something that usually ends up being right in front of me.

Things are changing. When I was at school, it was normal for a teacher to get out the OHP (yes, showing my age) and all we did was copied out copious amounts of work. I am sure if there had been a drama element to history I would have learnt more!  

Worksheet were in, textbooks were trendy and the more maths books you used up was a sure sign you were learning.

But… that is not how it is these days. Sometimes we have to break with what we are used to and branch out. Learn new things and give it a go. I have no idea about QR codes, I’m not a wizz with technology, and I am trying to understand SOLO and many more new ideas that flood my Twitter account. One of the best things a teacher can do is continue their professional development. Learn new things, challenge the norm, and take a risk. We ask it all the time from our students but are we willing to do it ourselves?

I always question myself and my teaching. If it has been a success, fine don’t change it. But if you are not seeing any progress or year by year the same issues are arising maybe turning something around could work.

Changes need to take place even the small ones can make a difference.

Move out of your comfort zone.

'You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something NEW'.  - Brian Tracey