Conference Agenda

Introduction:

In ancient Greece an Agora was an open space that served as a meeting ground for various activities of the citizens. From philosophers to merchants, from statesman to travellers, an Agora hosted a community that was willing to learn from each other. A learning community that emphasises on intrinsic motivation, autonomy and psychological ownership. With this idea in mind a new perspective on Dutch national education was born in 2014: a concept called Agora-education. Currently there are over 20 schools that work with this new perspective on the educational paradigm, including primary and secondary education. Also internationally, Agora spreads its wings with establishments in Curacao, Poland and Belgium. Newspaper the Guardian named Agora ‘one of the 21 brilliant ideas to remake the world’.

Objective:

What is the vision of Agora and what is the role of leadership in relationship to capacity building and learning efficiency? During this innovate session you will find out in an interactive and engaging way how Dutch society and science put their hands together to measure professional culture and school improvement within a new paradigm that reshapes the context of school, hoping to inspire international representatives and therefore to increase inclusion and equity amongst students and professionals.

Context and connection to the conference theme:

The traditional concept of what school is like, has to be put aside when you enter an Agora-school. Curiosity is, namely, the starting point of all learning. At Agora students work with so-called challenges (learning objectives) that are being monitored and evaluated by coaches within small core groups of max. 15 students. Students set up their own challenges, with their own intrinsic need as the beginning of their learning process, being constantly inspired by the other actors of the learning community and outdoors. Therefore there are no subjects being taught. Neither are there tests or grades. Also, students design their own working space in which they feel comfortable to learn and owner for the purpose of learning efficiency. This is a radical answer to the paradigm that has classically been implemented and seen as the model for enhanced school effectiveness.

The role of the coach and the school leader plays a key role in the pedagogical development of the student in order to actually enhance learning efficiency and stimulate psychological ownership. This role will be further explained and discussed with the latest scientific data, including qualitative-empirical studies and evidence-based learning.

Format and approach:

By using an engaging work form to start a discussion panel in small groups, divided over the amount of participants, participants will have the opportunity to share their own experiences within their cultural frame to share insights on professional culture and leadership. Therefore, we hope to establish an international cross-pollination between school actors to address the paradigm swift in northern European countries, or at least, to propose a new modelling perspective on the education paradigm.

School improvement should be at the heart of every educational institution. One of the key factors in facilitating school improvement is undoubtedly professional learning and development. As highlighted by Hargreaves and Fullan (2013), professional capital, a combination of human capital, social capital and decisional capital, “has a fundamental connection to transforming teaching every day” (p.36). Professional capital ultimately ensures that the moral purpose of the educational institution is met - that of outstanding teaching and learning. As argued by Creemens and Kyriakides (2010), “the ultimate criterion for a successful improvement effort is concerned with its impact on learning and the learning outcomes” (p.14).

Chiswick House School and St Martin’s College is an independent school in Malta, catering for over 1600 students between the ages of 2 and 18. As part of its School Improvement Plan in 21/22, the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) identified the need to increase learner engagement through more collaborative approaches in the Middle School, specifically Year 7 (ages 11-12). Plans were made to reach this target by providing deep and connected learning experiences that would ensure the learners’ internalisation of the concepts, skills and competencies at hand whilst enhancing our 8Cs: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Compassion, Confidence, Contribution and Commitment. The SLT and staff members co-constructed the notion that, Project-Based Learning (PBL), in an adapted form, would be an appropriate approach to reach these goals. During the proposed innovate session, targeted at sharing this innovative practice with practitioners and school leaders, the process through which change was acquired using effective professional development methods will be presented and discussed. Two consultants were brought in to support the project through their expertise and knowledge. During the same year, professional learning opportunities were planned to take different forms. The initial meetings outlined the characteristics of PBL. Educators identified that a major challenge in connecting learning in a secondary school setting was that they had no visibility of the learning outcomes that were being covered in the different learning areas. To provide this visibility, a software was used. In a collaborative manner, educators started to identify learning outcomes that could be taught in a connected manner and result in a project created by the learners. They chose the name Connected Learning Project for this endeavour. Projects were developed by the educators and the role of the experts in the field changed since they began to act as mentors during the second year of implementation (22/23). The whole process was considered as action research. Lesson study took place, and the educators were engaged in a reflective process to identify the strengths of their projects and any areas for improvement. Opportunities to share their projects and reflective logs with others were given so that they could be inspired further for other projects. Finally, the session will provide an overview of how the professional learning opportunities transformed the teaching and learning process by reporting the impact of this project on both young and adult learners.

Purpose of the session and educational importance

Student wellbeing, equity, and performance are at risk in many countries, also because of the recent pandemic (Hamilton & Gross, 2021; Dutch Education Inspectorate, 2023; Mælan et al., 2021; Nordahl et al. 2021). Data use can help overcome this challenge. Using data can lead to improved educational decision making, teaching, and subsequently student learning (Lai et al., 2023). Although many studies focus on educators’ data use, students are rarely actively engaged (Jimerson, Cho, & Wayman, 2016; Kennedy & Datnow, 2011). Involving students in data use can help to understand and address educational problems schools are facing (Mitra, 2004; Yonezawa & Jones, 2007). Furthermore, student involvement in data use can contribute to developing data literacy amongst students, a core competence in today’s society (OECD, 2019). In many countries, therefore, there is an increased focus on student involvement (in data use). For example, in Norway, the core curriculum and education act addresses democracy and participation and quality development in which students should be involved. Existing data use models (e.g., Schildkamp et al., 2018; van Geel et al., 2016; Lai and McNaughton, 2016), often focus on educators using data in Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). However, these do not include students as active data users.

The purpose of this session, therefore, is to explore with the audience what models and activities for data use with active student involvement could look like.

Formats and approaches for engaging participants

As a preparation for the innovate, we compared and contrasted different data use models from the literature (e.g., Schildkamp et al., 2018; van Geel et al., 2016; Lai and McNaughton, 2016, Nordahl, 2016) and integrated these into the PULSE model consisting of the following phases: (1) Problem definition; (2) Possible sustaining factors; (3) Collection and analysis of data; (4) Interpretation and conclusions; (5) Action plan and implementation; (6) Evaluation and revision. In a workshop with five schools for primary and secondary education we discussed how to involve students in the use of data. For example, regarding the first phase, participants suggested that school leaders and teachers should first narrow down the topics and goals and then together with students decide what to focus on, to develop a shared goal.

In the innovate, we will further discuss student involvement in the phases. After a brief presentation of the purpose and background, we will present the PULSE model. The audience will then discuss and work on one or two phases of the model (in groups), developing ideas of how to take into account an active role of students. We will use A3 papers on tables per group of (3-4) participants to elaborate ideas. We will conclude the session with a plenary discussion of outcomes.

Connection to the conference theme

By participating in data use interventions in PLNs with an active role for students , targeting the quality of education in collaboration with teachers and school leaders, schools will be able to enhance their effectiveness in improving both students’ social and cognitive competence.