Innovative School Design

Inside-out solution

When approached to extend a dated 1960s school building, Jonathan Clark Architects found a solution utilising a practice never attempted before in the UK.

Brief and design approach

The brief called for a two-storey extension and partial conversion of an existing 1960s constructed building at Longford Community School (now Rivers Academy). The new build needed to be able to accommodate a library (with an auditorium for 50 people) on its first floor, along with two classrooms and a fitness centre on the ground floor.

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      string(351) "... from their education than just grades’.They cite the work of David Crossley, Executive Director of Whole Education and author of Systematic School Transformation an Inside-Out School Led Approach. He said: ‘Employers, parents and society as a whole are very clear about what they expect from education: rounded, resilient ..."
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      string(5545) "High Tech High in San Diego was described by Oprah Winfrey as a high school that ‘doesn’t do anything by the book’ that ‘teaches via hands-on projects’ and gets students ‘thinking outside the box’.Expeditionary Learning is one of the innovative approaches that influenced the thinking of the High Tech High Founders. It combines elements from different curriculum areas, puts young people in teams and sets them challenges with the expectation that students will create work of an exceptionally high standard that will have a place in their community. It was one of the first schools of its kind and has been a model for other projects in other countries, including XP School Doncaster in Yorkshire.Both of these schools will feature in The Lessons of Covid-19 – Are New Pedagogies Needed? a webinar hosted by the Edge Foundation for Teaching Times on November 3rd at 4.30pm. Delegates will hear how these schools have bridged the ‘vocational-academic divide’ to produce a more cohesive approach to education that works for students, the community and the economy. Register to attend EVENTBRITE.Why we need a revolutionThe Edge Foundation has an exceptionally clear view of the current system of education in the UK and the many ways in which it is currently not fit for purpose. Their report Towards a Twenty-First Century Education System calls for ‘a revolution in our classrooms to ensure young people take away more from their education than just grades’.They cite the work of David Crossley, Executive Director of Whole Education and author of Systematic School Transformation an Inside-Out School Led Approach. He said: ‘Employers, parents and society as a whole are very clear about what they expect from education: rounded, resilient young people who can communicate, solve problems and apply their skills and knowledge in different settings. Yet so many aspects of the current education system act in opposition to this – the combination of a narrow curriculum focus embodied in the EBacc, high stakes exams and very limited approaches to assessment can all lead schools to focus on rote learning and simply teaching for the test.’How High Tech High startedAs in the UK, the starting point was dissatisfaction with the current education system. Students in San Diego were not engaged and were dropping out or leaving school without the skills and qualifications that local industries required. So, in 1996, forty members of San Diego’s civic and high-tech industry gathered to discuss how to engage and prepare more young people for the high-tech industry.With a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, High Tech High opened with 200 students in the 9th and 10th grades in September 2000. In 2003, 50 students graduated. In 2020, there are now 16 schools, 5 primary, 5 middle and 6 high schools as well as a fully accredited Graduate School of Education. All schools adhere to the four principles that underpin High Tech High approach:EquityDiverse, integrated and inclusive, the schools are totally non-selective. They operate a ‘zip code-based lottery’ to ensure that they enrol students of all abilities and from all backgrounds within the local community. Students with special needs receive individual attention and teachers recognize and promote the advantages of having students from different backgrounds working together.The aim is to help all students fulfil their potential and this includes a strong push towards college entrance and college completion for all students. In 2015, 98% of students attended college after graduation, with around 75% attending 4-year schools. Often these students were the first in their family to go onto higher education.While conventional education so often separates academic schooling from vocational training, High Tech High prides itself in ‘not segregating those who use their heads from those who use their hands.’PersonalisationMany schools are still stuck in a traditional model where all students study the same syllabus and sit the same exam at the end of a course. This one shot high stakes exam system has dominated UK schools since Victorian times. Not so at High Tech High. Larry Rosenstock, founding principal and former CEO said: ‘It is not students all sitting in front of computers doing a self-paced math program. It is not finding the right pace or right technique to get this inert content to each student.’So, instead of following a set syllabus, students will work on projects, sometimes alone and at other times as part of a team. 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Creative Teaching & Learning

What Makes High Tech High So Special?

19 Oct 2020

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It is sometimes necessary, if time is limited as in school, toreduce the time taken in making bread. In this case time allowedfor rising and the second kneading can be reduced or evenomitted altogether, provided that the other processes are carriedout thoroughly, particularly the kneading before shaping. Breadmade in this way will be reasonably satisfactory though not aslight and spongy as bread made by the traditional method.3. The deposits of sulphur are several hundred metres below thesurface of the ground. A hole is drilled into the sulphur bed, and apipe which is about 20 cm. in diameter is put down. This pipe notonly strengthens the hole, but it contains a piece of engineeringapparatus called a Frasch sulphur pump.General/Particular: Contraction324. If you find a fire, there are three things to try to do:1. Cut off the fuel. This might mean turning off the gas or electricity,or covering oil with sand or soil. Take care, especially withelectricity. If in doubt, do not touch.2. 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Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Fast-track Course

8 May 2014

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      string(5643) "respect for them. Forexample, during an outdoor PE. lesson two of the Ruffwood boyswere invited to play a game of tennis. The boys, having never playedbefore, had no idea of how the game was played, to the pleasure ofthe Rugby boys, who gave no help at all. They enjoyed laughing atthe two Ruffwood lads’ efforts to play tennis, leaving the two youngmen very humiliated and upset.Which word (or words) in each passage show that an example is tofollow?85Contraction                                                      COREIn some of the examples on page 85 you can also miss out detail (whatwe have called Particular Facts) if you want an even shorter summary.For example, when you have cut out the example in the first passage, youare left with:You could summarise this still further by missing out the detail:What you are left with is a General Statement.Miss out the detail from the texts below, so that you are left withonly a General Statement.Write out the General Statement.1. Perennials are plants which do not die during the winter months. Theypersist, either with some foliage above ground or in dormantunderground forms.2. During the week when the ten Comprehensive School students spenttime at a famous Public School, their views changed drastically. TheComprehensive School people went there thinking that they were onequal terms with the Public School students. Once there, theydiscovered that the Public School students had no respect for them.3. After all the other groups had finished building their towers, the towerswere judged by two teachers. To our surprise, our tower won. Here arethe results we were given:Height Strength BeautyTeacher 1 10 6 2 Total: 18Teacher 2 10 4 4 Total: 1886Rich people could afford to be fussy especially when it came toclothes.Rich people could afford to be fussy.CORE                                                        Chapter 104. After researching many types of drawing boards, it is necessary todecide which will be suitable for my use. All these types have to beconsidered:A. Desk-type (rigid) – the angle cannot be adjusted. This limits theuse of the board to writing or simple drawing.B. Easel-type – the angle is limited to that of the easel, so this wouldonly be good for painting.C. Adjustable type – these are the main types used for design work.The angle of the board is adjustable for various uses.5. President Truman now had an extra weapon at his disposal. It was theatomic bomb, designed and made secretly by Robert Oppenheimer,who used Albert Einstein’s theories on the splitting of the atom.Oppenheimer and the others at the Manhattan Project who made thebomb had spent many years and lots of money to make America theonly country with any bombs of this type.News on television and radio usually begins with a summary of the latestnews and then goes into details afterwards.Think of an item of local or school news. Talk through the detail andthen make a one-sentence summary.Make a news programme for the class. Each pair will give its summaryin turn and the class can ask for more detail.87Contraction                                                      COREMaking academic headingsIt is helpful to your readers to give them headings to follow, so that theyknow what they are going to be reading about.(Note that academic headings are not like newspaper headlines: they arenot to catch the readers’ attention to persuade them to buy the paper.They are to help the reader understand what you are saying.)You can usually make your headings from the General Statement. Forexample:General statement: During the week when the ten ComprehensiveSchool students spent time at a famous public School, their viewschanged drastically.Heading: Changed Views of Comprehensive Students(As always, there are many different possible headings.)Change the General Statements below into headings:1. As sport became more popular, new facilities were opened.2. Offal is any edible parts of the inside of an animal.3. In my opinion a good education should leave you a lot moreindependent.4. In both countries (Germany and Italy) personal freedom was limitedin several ways.5. Perennials are plants which do not die during the winter months.6. After all the other groups had finished building their towers, thetowers were judged by two teachers. To our surprise, our towerwon. Here are the results we were given:7. After researching many types of drawing boards, it is necessary todecide which will be suitable for my use. All these types have to beconsidered……………..8. President Truman now had an extra weapon at his disposal. It wasthe atomic bomb.88CORE                                                        Chapter 10More about headingsIn Problem-Solution paragraphs, the most informative heading for yourreader is one which picks out the Problem and Solution. For example:Here the problem is hard water. The solution is to soften it – three differentways are suggested. 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Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Book 3: Writing for Learning

23 Feb 2012

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      string(5617) "social learning tools like forumsand chatrooms. These can help with mentoring programs and peer-led learning, encouraging the more senior teachers to share theirexperiences with junior staff. The ability to easily share informationonline creates a more specific, cultivated space to discuss methods orideas that pertain to your school in particular, rather than relying onthe unwieldy online hunt for information. Totara also has tools to helpbook and arrange face-to-face training, which can be great for drop-in training sessions and mentoring.One of the most useful features of Totara for the managementteam is the reporting tools on offer. There is a flexible report builderbuilt into the LMS that allows reports to be generated on a numberof different data sources in the system. These are easy to set up,even if you don’t have a technical background. As well as creatingreports, a view of the report (and the ability to filter the data) can bedelegated to any member of staff, making it easy to share informationwith middle managers. These can also help with the drive towardscompliance within an organisation, the biggest help being the abilityto subscribe to a report and get it emailed to you on a weekly basis.Totara is also ideal for deploying different learning techniques,for example you can use the “flipped classroom” approach with yourINSET days. The teachers can do the “absorption” of learning in thenormal work week, and then use the INSET day to discuss and digestthe information. The system also suits mobile learning, making sure thatstaff have access from anywhere and have no barriers to their training.ProsExtensive feature set, relatively low cost.ConsThe key is to finding the right business partner associated with Totara.Moodle VLE (moodle.org/)Moodle is a free, online Learning Management systemenabling educators to create their own private websitefilled with dynamic courses that extend learning,anytime, anywhere.Moodle is an open-source VLE, which has been developed byteachers and enables the best aspects of their classroom practice tobe transferred into a home teaching and learning environment.Moodle has many features and is also highly configurable andextensible, allowing it to be customised to meet the individual needsof schools. As Moodle is open source, there are no licence feesto pay, but this also means there is no external support, which hasthe downside of needing significant setup time and some technicalexpertise to configure and personalise plugins etc. In addition, youwill need to include hosting, either internally on a server or externallyon the Web.Moodle now includes the ePortfolio App, which gives pupils asafe online space to save and display their work in. It can be usedto create a digital story of learning – with students uploading text,images, documents and video of their achievements. Portfolios can beshared both inside and outside your school, engaging parents andthe local community. The app encourages children to be expressiveand provides a map of learning, allowing children to see theirprogress from month to month and year to year. Importantly, it allowsteachers to comment on any page and give students feedback onwhat they’ve done well.http://www.teachingtimes.comhttps://moodle.org/‹‹ PREVIOUS PAGE n  NEXT PAGE ››This month’sfeaturese-learning UPDATE n www.teachingtimes.comProsFree and open source. Modular, plugin-based design enablesadministrators to add or create features as needed. Supports myriadactivities, including peer assessment workshops, real-time messaging,and wiki forums. Generous progress tracking and reporting options.Unparalleled language support.ConsSetup is by no means turnkey. UI lacks the visual finesse of paidcompetitors. As we all know, nothing is ever really free, so if you goopen source make sure you have the resources to invest to make itrobust. Moodle is great in secondary schools, however it doesn’tgeneral gel well with Primary schools.Frog (www.frogeducation.com/)Frog is a one-stop-shop solution which can be rolled out ain one go. Frog’s easy-to-use system allows students andteachers to search for almost anything on the internet(videos, images, educational resources) and build itinto a sleek-looking site, without needing any technicalexpertise. The Frog VLE is also a gateway to educationalresources and apps from around the web, all accessiblewithin a safe, filtered environment. All students have aunique User ID and password allowing them to accesslearning and information outside of lesson time. Frogcontains homework tasks, resources used in lessons,timetable and achievement information.The Frog Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is a web-based learningsystem that replicates real-world learning by integrating virtualequivalents of conventional concepts of education. For example,teachers can assign lessons, tests, and marks virtually, while studentscan submit homework and view their marks through the VLE. Parentscan view school news and important documents while schooladministrators can organise their school calendars and disseminateschool notices via the Internet.Teachers can assign and keep track of students’ work andmarks, create teaching resources, and connect with other educators.Students can explore videos, games, and posts, personalisetheir home page, upload and save files on the cloud, completeassignments anytime, anywhere, and share ideas with classmatesand teachers. Meanwhile, parents can keep track of school events,PTA reports and school notices with the calendar and school noticeboard, find contact"
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Digital Learning

VLE comparison update

1 Feb 2016