'Control based approaches are bad for the future. If we really want to encourage excellent teaching, teachers who are committed and passionate and prepared to have the emotional capacity to engage with their students in relationships to get the best learning from them, we need to free teachers from process-driven bureaucracy. We need to trust them despite the fact they'll sometimes make mistakes.'

So said Gigi Foster, Professor of Economics, UNSW, at our latest ScotsIdeas forum on 'Redesigning Education and Society for a Post-COVID World'. This evening, hosted in partnership with the College's Institute of Business and Economics, brought together a diverse panel of leading thinkers and practitioners in education to ask how we might make the most of the disruption brought about by 2020 in changing the way we educate.

Panelists included:

• Honorary Professor Mike Conway, Founder and CEO of XVenture, University of Wollongong, emotional agility and mental coach for the Socceroos and former managing director of The Wiggles.
• Professor Gigi Foster, Professor of Economics UNSW, host of ABC Radio National's 'The Economists', and 2019 Young Economist of the Year.
• Mr James Oliver ('09), Research Director, Strategic Projects, NSW Department of Education.
• Dr Ian PM Lambert, Principal of The Scots College
  

If you had missed it, I encourage you to watch the recording and delve into the compelling conversations and topics discussed, along with all other ScotsIdeas events here.

Dr Ian PM Lambert shared these reflections in his weekly newsletter:

“If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow.” John Dewey

This statement over a century ago by the great American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer, John Dewey, has never been more true. Casting a stark reflection on Australia’s current education system. For the past 20 years, the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach in our curriculum is now failing our students to prepare for the unexpected in their future.

For this year in particular, no one could have predicted its events and how it has led to the profound change in the way we operate, think and relate to one another. It has given society and Scots a reality check, reinforcing why we continue to forge ahead with our Reinventing Education strategy.

Education is not just about preparing for an ATAR or being ‘work-ready’. If one was to take a single learning away from 2020, it has taught us the need to be agile, adaptable and resilient in the face of challenges. This is a core of what education is. Many take for granted that being agile, adaptable and resilient just happens, but at Scots we believe, and have proven that, it can be taught.

On Wednesday evening at our latest ScotsIdeas event, I was joined by a group of experts in economics, coaching and education to deliberate on the topic ‘Redesigning Education and Society for a Post-COVID World’. The panel of experts discussed the global trends as a result of the pandemic and what in their opinion schools should be doing to better position students on how to tackle an uncertain society after school.

We look forward to sharing our exciting program of 2021 ScotsIdeas events soon.

Dr Hugh Chilton
Director of Research and Professional Learning

Our critical friend, Dr Phil Cummins, shares some of the findings from a major International Boys' Schools Coalition research project on the nature of character education in schools for boys, of which Scots was a key participant.

The popular ScotsIdeas program of ‘compelling conversations in education’ is back for 2020 with more engaging, relevant and thoughtful voices to help you bring out the best in boys. On 24 February, a sold-out audience of parents and staff enjoyed a compelling conversation about the science and character of relationships in schools.

Dr Rob Loe, former teacher, senior leader and leading academic in the measurement and management of human relationships as CEO of the Relationships Foundation, spoke lucidly about why relationships matter and why we don’t understand them as well as we should. In an age obsessed with social networks, he called for schools and families to invest in ‘relational networks’. ‘Relationships are not about how well you like people, but how well you know them,’ and the foundation for flourishing individuals, communities and nations.

How can we build deeper relational networks in schools? Drawing on ground-breaking research with tens of thousands of school students, teachers and parents around the world, he showed the protective impact of good relationships, and how great schools invest seriously in creating belonging. Four key strategies for improving relationships in schools included:

1. Developing students’ awareness of unity over diversity
2. Exploit synchrony, those routines and habits that enculturate, such as uniforms, chapel and assembly
3. Create healthy competition among teams and not individuals
4. Instil in students an awe for something larger than themselves

See below for a full recording of Dr Loe's talk.

During Term 1, The College community participated in a Character Education survey in partnership with the International Boys Schools Coalition (IBSC). The purpose of this survey was to provide the first layer of data in an attempt to orient the College community towards a greater understanding of its practice and pursuit of the Character and Care of our boys.
This week, as a continuation of this process, principal researchers Miss Rachel Yijun and Mr Hugh Ouston, from CIRCLE - The Centre for Innovation, Research, Creativity and Leadership in Education, conducted focus group interviews as a means of gaining a richer understanding from parents, staff, and boys in most aspects of College learning community, from Transition to Year 12.

Research suggests the quality of a students' relationships, the structure behind their social processes, and the philosophy that undergirds their collective agency affects how and why we learn in all spheres of life (Elias et. al, 1997). In a broad sense, character education refers to the engagement with core values and virtues and the development of personal traits or character strengths that promote well-being, purpose, and success. Character education includes what happens throughout the College, formally and informally within the: curriculum, co-curricular, character and care, leadership development, physical activity, ceremonies and events, and relationships more generally.

The Research Centre wishes to thank all members of College community who wilfully volunteered their time to contribute to this endeavour. It is highly appreciated and seen as a valued investment in the future lives of our students, contributing to their longitudinal development for the common good.

Mr Toby Castle
Research Officer, Experiential Education and Leadership Development

"Countries must learn how to capitalise on their citizens' cognitive resources if they are to prosper, both economically and socially. Early interventions will be key."

Quoting a recent publication in Nature, eminent thinker Professor Ian Hickie AM opened our recent ScotsIdeas forum, Beyond Mental Health, with this provocation. As he explored the unique developmental differences between individual young people, and the value and importance of 'kin' - networks of relationships within communities who are invested in that individual's care and flourishing - it was the nature of such interventions that characterised much of his subsequent discussion. As those in attendance will testify, the evening offered an important and timely exchange of ideas about the ways we can best care for the social and emotional wellbeing of our young men.


The video of Professor Hickie's presentation is now available online - please click here to view it in full. It was a true privilege to have such world class thinkers contributing to our knowledge and practice as a College community, particularly as we look to create the first of our five Patribus Centres, focusing on the character and care of fine young men.


Be sure to visit scotsresearch.org/scotsideas to watch videos of past forums on topics ranging from sustainability to speechmaking, sports science to the art of motivating boys. We look forward to seeing you at future ScotsIdeas events in 2017.


Dr Caitlin Munday
Research Fellow (Professional Learning)

In very large schools like Scots with boys from ages three through to 18, there can be the perception that most of the deep reflection on educational practice takes place in the Senior School, when things 'get serious'. When you look at the Early Learning Centre, however, that assumption could not be further from the truth. Under the leadership of Mrs Gaye Entwistle, the ELC has built a rigorous, reflection-rich professional culture, seeking to provide the best experiential education for our youngest boys in a critical stage of their development. That culture was on display this week as each full-time teacher presented the fruits of their action research on developing a philosophy for the ELC that integrates the best of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood formation. This project was conducted as part of a joint study with the Early Childhood Education team at Macquarie University. Mrs Entwistle explained the process of collaboration between academics, teachers, boys and families, the questions teachers explored, and the fruit of this research in enriching practice:

A focus group of families and boys were given opportunity to meet with the lecturers to discuss the heart of the Centre. What was the evident practice that made the Centre unique? How was the impact of the reflective Reggio Emilia practice part of the Centre's philosophy?

Each teacher then chose an action research question and became part of a practitioner inquiry to research the question in their class. The research was diverse and was refined over a year as small groups and teachers refined their thinking and saw evidence of change in their practice. Data was collected, practice changed and re-evaluation in teams and classes meant at the final presentation of the work, teachers had not only found some answers but continued with a further question or line of inquiry. Many felt it had finished with a new beginning. Shared ideas and experiences have provoked new directions with year levels and teams reexamining documentation, classroom designs, furniture, small group combinations and programs.

Parent participation has given us a great collection of ideas and information to rebuild our website and to offer different ways of communicating our learning while reinforcing the much loved portfolios and celebration materials we currently share.

Questions explored included:

Gaye Entwistle
What starts aggressive play in the playground?
Kindergarten

Deborah McMurtrie
How does the outside environment impact learning?
Cubs

Kitty Joson
How do we normalise IT in the Lions program?
Lions

Christa Sheaffe
Do parents value/understand our practice or do they think we should be more formal?
Lions

Kathy Gibson
How can I prioritise reading skills and strategies during guided reading time?
Kindergarten

Markie Calle
What strategies impact phonetic development in the EALD boys?

Sam Nealson
How do we build a class community?
Kindergarten

Sarah Jane Marmion
Can problem solving maths strategies be productive in low skill sets?
Year 1

Adelaide Brown
How can I utilise the best class arrangement with boy's voices to build community?
Year 1

Penny Ryder
What impact is fidgeting having on learning?
Year 1

Kate Stoddard
How can I encourage a student voice in curating the class displays?
Year 1


The research confirmed our list of essential philosophy components in the Centre.

• The agency of the child is paramount.
• Knowing the child deeply is the beginning to growing.
• Choice of the child is heard.
• Voice of the child in the environment of the room and Centre, in documentation and celebrations of learning is important for connection and comprehension.
• The environment must be a place of provocation to learning both beautiful and engaging.
• The experience of play is needed to reinforce and consolidate learning in a social, linguistic and physical domains.
• The environment is the third teacher.
• The differentiation of the program to meet the child's needs is foundational to design of programs.
• Connection and community are important for a sense of belonging, confidence and respect.
• All boys can contribute to learning.

These key points will now become the basis for our document outlining the philosophy for the Centre. We are not a Reggio Emilia 'all of us thinking a bit differently about it' school. We are The Scots College and we do Early Childhood Education this way. We seek to reflect world's best practice, influences and research, in an Australian context.

Congratulations are due to Year 3 teacher Mr Stuart Pearson for having his International Boys' Schools Coalition Action Research Project selected as one of the eight best presentations at the 2016 Annual Conference in Vancouver. Mr Pearson's research project, picking up on the conference theme of 'Boys as Global Citizens', was entitled 'The Power of the Stories We Tell: Creating a Multimodal Text to Foster Boys' Engagement with Children's Rights'.

This action research project saw ten Year 5 and 6 boys voluntarily undertake a process of researching, designing and writing a multimodal text. In this initial iteration of the action research cycle, the boys benefited greatly from the writing process, showing greater engagement, interest and understanding of children's rights. By the end of the project, it became clear that it is not enough to merely 'teach' children's rights. Instead, by having boys develop their own projects inspired by a genuine audience, greater understanding, engagement and empathy is engendered.

Mr Pearson was praised for his rigorous data collection, honest reflections on the mixed results of his intervention and understanding of the way action research leads to continuous cycles of improvement. Mr Pearson's work will soon be published on the IBSC's website.

"I am thrilled to have been part of the IBSC Action Research program," said Mr Pearson. "It has been a wonderful experience, injecting enthusiasm and new ideas into my classroom."

Recognition is also due to the College's part-time Research Officer, Dr Caitlin Munday, who played a key role in mentoring Mr Pearson and the other staff participating in the Action Research Program.

How do we engage boys in transformative learning experiences? That is the question every teacher at Scots asks every day as we seek to bring out the best in our boys and form them into fine young men. To help us create rigorous, reflection-rich learning designs connected to real-world practices and places, the College has been developing its own model of Experiential Education in line with our Strategic Intent 2015-2025.
 
Last week a number of teachers from across all areas of the College had the opportunity to encounter, understand and begin to apply Experiential Education (or ‘ExpEd’) practices at a special workshop conducted by the Glengarry Leadership Team and the Scots Research Centre. Staff began the day in the blackness of the basement of the Main Building, simulating the caving activity boys undertake at Glengarry. They were guided through a modified version of the Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle – framing, immersion, direct debriefing, bridge-building and assimilating – and shown how an outdoors experience such as caving can be powerfully connected to other curriculum areas, discussing Plato’s conception of the cave and listening to poetry on the nature of darkness and light in Christian formation.
 
Staff then participated in interactive sessions exploring the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of ExpEd at Scots, before exploring ways of embedding it in their own practice. Hearing from exemplars such as Mr Phil Atkinson’s Year 9 Mathematics Fishing Hike, Year 10 Australian Business Week and the Vanuatu Mission Trip, we had the opportunity to imagine the rich possibilities for transformative learning experiences which we could provide for our boys. A number of pilot programs are now taking shape to test and refine our model of ExpEd, while wider training and conference programs are being developed to further enrich our collective understanding of ExpEd. 

Scots is a unique school in many respects, not least in having a Research Centre supporting staff and students engaged in research-led practice and connecting the College to the best insights into boys' education. Over 40 staff members from across the College gathered for the ScotsResearch Open Afternoon last Friday to discuss their research journeys and to explore further areas of development. Staff had the opportunity to watch an interview with the Principal, Dr Ian PM Lambert, on his own research journey, and to see the scope of ways in which research is critical to enriching the quality of our educational enterprise. As detailed in the ScotsResearch Report coming very soon, focus areas for 2016 include embedding experiential education across the curriculum, action research with the International Boys' Schools Coalition, expanding the new Master Teacher Fellowship program, furthering research partnership projects on the Indigenous Education program and the Glengarry experience with the Australian Catholic University, and further engaging boys, families and old boys in the College's heritage and traditions.

The College enjoys a range of disciplinary and pedagogic research programs underway at the College and with leading researchers at Australian universities and an increased number of staff involved in higher degrees by research. World-leading academics are regularly visiting the College to work with students and staff, and there is great enthusiasm for public research-related events such as ScotsIdeas and the Clark Lectures. The marks of an enriched scholarly and professional culture abound. Research at Scots already makes the College a unique place in Australia: this rising tide of brilliant teaching and research connections promises to make it all the more so in years to come.
For more information about ScotsResearch, come and speak with us in the Research Office.