Curriculum for Excellence: Case study 1
Jean McGhie, Headteacher of London Road Nursery School in Glasgow, explains how the nursery school’s ethos and use of ICT fit with the purposes and principles of Curriculum for Excellence.
London Road Nursery School has been providing education in the East End of Glasgow for 58 years and has a reputation for ‘doing the best for the weans’. As headteacher, I would agree with parents that achieving ‘the best’ is the right of every child and we use ICT as one of many contexts to scaffold children on that pathway to achieving excellence. Our philosophy is that positive attitudes and dispositions are vital for lifelong learning and we are committed to ensuring each and every child develops an ‘I can try’ approach. The frequent response of ‘Ah cannae’ is gently countered with ‘You can try . . . let’s try together.’
Peer-to-peer learning, for both children and staff, is a well established practice and the success of this strategy has been most apparent in learning together about ‘things ICT’.
Four-year-old Aaron has astounded us with his ‘speed of light’ mouse skills and spatial abilities, which enable him to construct complicated, creative drainpipe chutes to ‘rescue’ Bill and Ben (© BBC) – no other child (or adult) can yet match his abilities. Fortunately he is happy to offer advice.
Working towards expertise in ‘things ICT’ has helped to strengthen a reflective, self-assessment approach to learning, where it is acceptable for both staff and children ‘not to know’; to make and/or acknowledge mistakes; to ask for help and to be seen to be learning from a more skilled individual. These supportive relationships are evident across the whole curriculum but are highlighted particularly by the increased use of digital still and video cameras.
Digital photography, more than anything, has bridged the gap between home and school because it is so easy to share events as they happen. Children are able to retell events and show their parents and friends in real time. Children routinely take photographs of their construction models, current interests, art work, or favourite books. The photographs, plus their comments about ‘what they are good at’, help to document their learning and children know for example that they are able make a photocopy of a drawing/photo so that they have a copy for their ‘folder’ (assessment profile) and the original for home.
Photo displays, together with short movies and slideshows, enable children, staff and parents to talk about and share good practice about children’s learning, creating better home–school links. The SMART Board’s larger screen facilitates large group viewing and interaction as well as providing a tool for collaborative learning.
A by-product of digital photography has been the ‘Guess who’ albums filled with out-of-focus and/or accidentally cropped ‘body parts’ photos – the children are surprisingly accurate in their identification!
Electronic and programmable toys are another growth area which has enabled confident young learners to share their expertise and to coach in context. Remotely controlled toys are easily portable and somehow the outdoor environment lends itself to more opportunities for interactive role-play! Emergency service role-play, with the addition of a blue flashing light prop, led to investigations, both about people who help us and our roles and responsibilities as ‘citizens’.
ICT is used to support learning and to develop confidence across all areas of the curriculum, and the electronic keyboards, drums and graphics-enhanced audio music have enabled children to broaden their music and drama skills. Experiences with ‘music making’ lead naturally to performances which are enhanced by singing and playing loudly via the PA system . . . with lots of microphones attached. The local community was entranced and delighted by the children’s confident performance at their Christmas show.
Today’s young learners require a curriculum which is responsive, flexible and reflective of their world. Embedding ICT into our curriculum helps facilitate those aspirations and that of Curriculum for Excellence.
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