Conference Agenda

Linking closely to the overarching conference themes, this presentation looks at creative and innovative practices that offer an impactful alternative to how time is currently spent covering teacher absence from school and other learning loss issues emanating from Covid days residue.

Studies on learning loss in Covid pointed towards employing a multi-faceted approach which takes in contextual realities as guiding drivers for impactful practice. (Blainey, (2021), Grima, & Golding, (2021), Hanushek, & Woessmann, (2020)).

Chiswick House School and St Martin's College in Malta, a whole-through 2-18, co-educational independent learning organization worked tirelessly internally and externally to combat learning loss between March 2020 and June 2023.

From devising focus groups per subject per level, counselling sessions, individualised and intensive catch-up classes and family support groups, we were able to construct an evidenced-based picture of our state of play with regard to learning loss. Both young and adult learners' needs were and are considered.

Working closely with two newly recruited teachers, the Principal looked at the number of lessons "lost" due to the statutory provision for teachers for sick and special leave. Estimating, on average on actual data, a loss of 10% of learning time for children, a new Replacement Curriculum is being devised to combat learning time loss and to relieve teachers from an outdated administrative practice that frustrates learners, teachers, parents and leadership.

Weekly 2 hour meetings over 6 months (approx 20 weeks) with two newly recruited teachers co-constructed and changed the concept of CPD to DPC - Developing Professional Creativity Davies, C (2022).

Three Streams of Learning Plans for Cultural Cohesion, borrowing from the IDG Inner Development Goals Framework (2021) which include the 5 Dimensions that have been adapted to offer over 50 lessons per year in each Stream for 3 Replacement teachers to use and explore. The Streams include Stream 1: Being and Thinking - Wellbeing and Ways of Being. Stream 2: Relating and Collaborating - Caring for Others, the World and Cultural Cohesion ( World Canons) and Stream 3 : Acting - Agency, Change and Real Life Snapshots.

Participants will be invited to actively engage in a short, simulated task of deconstruction, construction and co-construction from the Curricular Plan and the Professional Creativity Process through Project Based Learning principles Larmer, J et al (2015).

This interactive session for practitioners - teachers, educational leaders, professional educational coaches and mentors and curriculum planners aims at offering an impactful and engaging conversation that shed new light on school improvement.

This contributon to an Innovate Presentation focus on sharing practical experience based on testing recommendations from a R&D project about Student voice, presented at ICSEI 2023. The R&D looked at student voice from two perspectives; student voice in learning processes and student voice in democratic processes, both in school. The project concluded that the role of the student council (SC) must be strengthened. This Innovate Presentation will look at practical experience from testing some of the recommendations for increasing student voice in school democracy.

Background, purpose and policy focus:

In the R&D students, teachers, school leaders and owners all describe the SC as an important arena for student voice and the most important body for democratic processes in their school. It gives students the opportunity to influence issues that are important to them and give them experience with democratic processes. However, there are great variation in how the SC is used, and in which areas the students feel that they can contribute to school development. There are also great variations in how the students are chosen for the council and at what level all students feel that they have an impact. Several interventions in the R&D project recommended to strengthen the SC role and to train students voice in democratioc processes.

We would lik to share experiences and explore together with participants at the ICSEI 2024 the following bullet points:

• Get knowledge about the topic “student voice in democratic processes in school”

- The concept student voice in democratic processes at school will be defined in every class, with the teachers and school leaders

- The head at each school will visit every class befor the selection of the SC and tell them about what is expected from each in SC and how the selection should be done

• Involve all school levels, including the political level:

- The school owner together with politicians will gather all the SC in the municipality and give them training in political processes

• Practice:

- The SC will be involved in broader topics than before, like how to increase reading competence, collaboration between kindergarden and schools etc.

Experience from the testing will be evaluated with students, teachers, school-leaders and school-owners.

Purpose

To increase student voice in democratic processes in schools, in order to create engagement, competence and motivation to be active in democatic processes aslo as adults and as a consequence preserve democratic societies.

Educational Importance

Sharing our experience and to have dialogue at ICSEI will be important for how we move on further with this project. It might also be of inspiration for other school-communities on how to increase students voice in democratic processes, and also how to train for democratic societies.

Approach for the session

We would like to explore the area of practice via use of digital sharing, like mentimeter (www.mentimeter.com) and padlet (www.padlet.com) , combined with dialogue in pairs and whole groups. We will then be able to hear every voice and to build a climate for innovation and new ideas.