Stirling Council - Mysteries Inc

Education officers agreed that the next steps to support sustainability of the initiative would be to:

• create a support resource for other schools to develop with guidance from the local authority
• further develop a planning format which would promote a collaborative and responsive approach to teaching and learning anchored in the experiences and outcomes 
• encourage other schools to take interdisciplinary learning forward 
• capitalise on the success of the staff development method used, to build capacity within schools to support and collaborate as professionals
• evaluate impact on pupil learning experience in terms of wider achievement.

Challenges 

Some challenges emerged as the project developed and the following were identified: 

• Parents need to be informed of the purpose and process of the project to avoid misunderstanding.
• Planning needs to be a shared process, with scope for learner direction and choice. It also needs to be well thought through without being overcomplicated and time-consuming.
• Greater flexibility is required by the teacher to adapt to increasing pupil involvement and independence in the process, sharing responsibility and facilitating a problem-solving approach.
• Providing motivating activities and learning experiences requires creative thinking and innovative use of resources.
• Groups need to be carefully considered in order to engage all pupils in the learning activity.