IDEAS at St Edmund's College

IDEAS is an approach to school revitalisation that the College has undertaken. It is a research based framework for enhancing school outcomes.

In partnership with the University of Southern Queensland, the College Board embarked upon the process for enabling change withing the college.

The following is a link to the IDEAS website where the principles and practices are available to read.

In 2012, St Edmund's College continues on the journey of renewal with the IDEAS process. This process is being driven by the Ideas School Management Team, (ISMT) that meets each week. Parallel leadership is the basis for the IDEAS process and consequently the ISMT is made up of teachers from all levels in the College as well as senior management and the Principal. Student in-put is also highly valued and the student Academic Committee is involved in meetings and workshops.

We are in the Actioning stage of the process and that requires us to develop a school wide pedagogy. This has been the focus of the many workshops that have taken place this year involving teachers and students. These workshops have identified the common beliefs and underlying principles that we share in relation to best practice in teaching and learning.
As well as the regular monthly professional development workshops for the whole staff, for the second consecutive year, the Principal set aside a week in July for workshops and a retreat.

The School-wide pedagogy is one part of the teaching and learning practice, or 3D pedagogy in the college. This 3D pedagogy is made up of three elements;

Personal Pedagogy - the teachers' personal or individual style, skills and knowledge.
Authoritative Pedagogy - or research based approaches that the college embraces, like Blooms Taxonomy and Every Chance to Learn.
School-wide Pedagogy- shared beliefs and practices that lead to optimal outcomes for students.

The college has developed a set of pedagogical statements that express our intentions and beliefs about teaching and learning.

SCHOOL WIDE PEDAGOGY

Challenge Collaborate Create Contemplate Connect

We challenge ourselves to expand o our ideas and our own learning. We see potential barriers as opportunities for innovation. We approach all challenges critically and analytically. We expect nothing less than our personal best in all that we do so that our individual and collective potential is realised.

We collaborate with other professionals to provide a learning environment of excellence. We share ideas and co-operate within faculties and across faculties. Students collaborate with one another and work in groups and ensembles. Team-work, discussion and debate are valued and encouraged. Students take an active part in directing their own learning. The knowledge, skills and experiences of parents and community are sought and are valued as an integral part of the students learning. We respect the perspectives of others.

We create a learning environment that encourages experimentation and exploration of ideas. All faculties encourage creative thinking and students are given opportunity to expand their understandings and to express their ideas in creative ways.

We contemplate our place in the world and encourage students to approach all subject areas with a sense of wonder. We provide quiet times for prayer and for reflection. We teach students to be good listeners and to invite enquiry in search of meaning and truth.

We connect with each other and with the world by personal relationships and via emerging technologies. The teaching and learning in the classroom is applicable to real world situations and students are encouraged to take advantage of all resources available. We connect with local, national and international communities and we support those who are underprivileged. We look after others and are sensitive to those with different cultures or backgrounds. We are inclusive in the Edmund Rice tradition.

We have also developed some statements that describe in more detail how each of these principles will be achieved in the classroom. This is set out below and forms the second part of our School Wide Pedagogy.

Challenge

Teachers will endeavour to:

set high standards of achievement
employ teaching and assessment that differentiates
make use of a critical thinking skills framework
clearly explain expectations
set tasks that go beyond mere knowledge
provide high quality learning resources

Collaborate

Teachers will endeavour to:

Involve parents in students' work/achievements
Make use of Studywiz to facilitate communication and collaborative activities
Engage in formal and informal professional dialogue
Undertake professional development and share new insights
Team teach where appropriate
Use collaborative learning strategies

Create

Teachers will endeavour to:

Reward innovation
Provide stimulating learning spaces
Generate fresh teaching resources
Facilitate independent learning
Use open-ended assessment tasks
Negotiate lesson content with students

Contemplate

Teachers will endeavour to:

Engage in reflective practice
Provide developmental feedback to students and parents
Encourage students to critique their own achievements
Promote contemplative practice in the classroom
Make connections between their course content and their students spiritual journeys
Aim for truth

Connect

Teachers will endeavour to:

Tell students the purpose of their learning
Provide community service opportunities
Cater for all learning styles
Use a range of technologies in the classroom
Organise real/online in/excursions
Create virtual classrooms/communities

We operate with this document as our underpinning guide. Reference will be made to the SWP at all levels of curriculum development and planning. It will also be used as a prompt for personal professional appraisal.

The IDEAS process is the vehicle for the College to change and grow. The next stage in the process is Sustaining, in which we reflect, evaluate and check our progress. We also look at how we can build on what we have achieved so far.