Bright ideas for active learning
An initiative in the Scottish Borders is pioneering fresh approaches to active learning. Chiara Pannozzo reports.
'Active learning allows children to be more involved in decision making,' says Susan Sutherland, a nursery teacher at Newtown Primary in Newtown St Boswells. 'We use the children's ideas to find out what they would like to learn, then we take their ideas forward. This allows the children to take greater responsibility for their own learning, rather than dictating what they are to learn. As a result, children are now more fully engaged in their learning.'
Susan was a member of a working group created to help pioneer a fresh model for active learning across the Scottish Borders. The group, which was co-ordinated by Eleanor Byrne, Quality Improvement Officer at Scottish Borders Council, has recently created a set of active learning guidelines for the Scottish Borders authority.
'The working group was made up of a number of Early Years practitioners from both pre-school and primary, who were committed to reviewing current thinking on active learning,' says Eleanor. 'We recruited a diverse group of people in order to cover as wide an area as possible. The practitioners were already committed to developing approaches to play and active learning in the Early Years, which was to prove invaluable when citing good practice.'
Examining approaches
The aim of the group in putting together the guidance was to look closely at reviewing current thinking in conjunction with the 'Building the Curriculum 2' document. They also looked at learning and teaching approaches to develop current practice. One of the first discussions the group had was to agree on what was meant by the term 'active learning'. Susan wanted to remove any confusion surrounding this. 'Some practitioners are under the impression that active learning is mostly concerned with play, but this is not the whole story,' she says. 'Active learning promotes wellplanned, purposeful play and learning, where direct teaching does take place, but in a more discreet fashion.'
To build upon this understanding, it was important for the group to develop a cohesive approach across the Early Level – for ages 3 to 6. This would set out the necessary continuity and progression, and would take account of prior learning. Susan emphasises the importance of continuity between nursery and primary one. 'It is essential to ensure continuity between the stages as it allows for a more seamless transition. As children in P1 and pre-school work together, they become more aware of similarities in their day, thus making the transition process smoother.'
Progressive curriculum
The Curriculum for Excellence Early Level is now giving practitioners the opportunity to develop a more progressive curriculum. As practitioners make connections between nursery and primary one, the working party is moving forward with a number of recommendations to Borders Council, in order to develop this way of working.
'One of the main recommendations we put forward was that future CPD should be a joint experience between nursery and P1,' says Eleanor. 'Not only would this allow for the development of the Early Level, but it will help to eradicate the boundaries between nursery and P1.'
As well as developing the guidance in line with the main reference point of 'Building the Curriculum 2', the working group was keen to ensure that the finished document was workable. 'We wanted to present the information in a way that would be easy to follow,' says Eleanor. 'This prompted us to produce a single set of guidance for managers and practitioners that would provide a clear message to whoever was reading it. We also wanted it to be rooted in best practice. A number of the comments and exemplars were based on practical examples from practitioners.'
Smoothing transitions
Susan Sutherland adds that her school has since adopted some of the principles from the guidance. 'We have now adapted the start of day routine in primary one to reflect the nursery morning,' she says. 'For example, rather than the children gathering together on the carpet, we have introduced 'Soft Start', where the children have 20 minutes free play. Here they are able to choose from planned play activities, which has proved to be very effective in primary one and primary two.'
Christian Robertson, Head Teacher at St Peter's Primary School in Galashiels and a member of the working party, firmly believes that the guidance will be helpful in smoothing the transition between nursery and P1. 'Our nursery nurse has been working alongside teachers in the infant department, supporting them in taking active learning into the primary one and two classrooms,' she says. 'It has proved very successful.'
Eleanor and her team have worked hard to produce a comprehensive set of guidelines that will continue to support the early years in creating more active learning experiences. This guidance is expected to be with nurseries and schools in the Scottish Borders for the start of the 2009/2010 session. Initially, this guidance will only be distributed in the Borders region, but Eleanor will be happy to share this guidance with other local authorities in the future.
What is active learning?
'Active learning is learning which engages and challenges children's thinking using real-life and imaginary situations. It takes full advantage of the opportunities for learning presented by:
spontaneous play
planned, purposeful play
investigating and exploring
events and life experiences
focused learning and teaching supported when necessary through sensitive intervention to support or extend learning.
All areas of the curriculum can be enriched and developed through play.'
Building The Curriculum 2, page 5
More information
Fore more information email Eleanor Byrne at EByrne@scotborders.gov.uk
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