Main Curriculum Focus
Science
Context
This year 8 class had been identified by Monica (the class teacher) as one of her most disengaged and behaviourally challenging classes. The class is dominated by boys, several of whom are regularly suspended from school and there is very poor attendance by most of the Aboriginal students. There has also been a regular intake of new students throughout the term.
However, both Monica and I have a good relationship with every student individually and increasingly as a group.
We believe in the potential of these students and there are a number of really delightful students in this class. They had become entrenched in behaviours that were destructive or marked by a refusal to engage. The key to turning this around has been using the creative habits and practical activities that demanded their engagement! They are quietly appreciative of any positive feedback and this has been key to developing more positive attitudes and an interest in the science curriculum. Equally successful has been exploring Aboriginal scientific knowledge in parallel with their normal curriculum. I believe this is rare in a scientific context and they have shown incredibly deep and focused listening skills when learning about Aboriginal knowledge that is complex and intertwined.
Project overview
We aim to work with the students by developing creative science projects that are experiential, discovery/ inquiry based that explicitly develop critical and scientific thinking. We aim to consciously develop the creative habits of the mind to allow for deep learning of the science curriculum and develop ways of thinking and behaving that create engaged and inquisitive community members. We aim to explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scientific knowledge and its contribution to contemporary science.
How did we make the curriculum come alive?
The initial sessions were an exploration of a variety of practical activities designed to discover what the students would engage with. For example, a STEM project that involved building a bridge using only sticks and twine that could hold 15kg of water based on a “real world” situation in an African refugee camp. In the first few weeks there were always a group of students who refused to participate and several regularly left the classroom.
As the term progressed, we moved onto the topic of geology and students became fascinated with the comparison between Aboriginal scientific knowledge and Western knowledge. For example, we learnt about the creation story of Uluru from both points of view.
Every session was largely built around practical and creative activities that directly related to the science curriculum. From erosion experiments to creating a playdoh rock cycle with a lava volcano. Every activity directly related to the teaching of geology or the creative habits. Monica and I worked very closely to ensure that my activities were a practical way of learning the content that she was covering in class.
This has had a massive positive effect on both the engagement and attitude of the students as a class.
How did we make the Creative Habits of Mind come alive?
From the outset, I built the creative habits into every activity, sometimes explicitly, and sometimes covertly. The students are very receptive to learning more about the research and neuroscience that informs the creative habits. We would like to explore this in greater detail next term and build towards increasing students’ communication and collaborative skills.
Monica had already identified that these students struggled with persistence, discipline and collaboration. We addressed this by building their self-esteem and resilience through the activities.
They needed to feel safe before we could do anything else. Since week 4, I have used both Aboriginal and other cultural “teachings” about the importance of self-regulation and the need for the entire class to work towards ensuring that no one person dominates an entire group. They have always listened carefully to these messages, and it may be coincidental, but there has been an immensely positive change in both behaviour and attitude. This is not always a consistently upward trajectory, as would be expected.
How did we activate student voice and learner agency?
This only now becoming possible. It has been a huge journey to keep students in the class (no one has left for 5 weeks), for them to be willing to participate in every activity (which they all do) and for students to seamlessly rotate between activities and locations (almost effortless). Of particular importance was a student feedback survey. We discovered that a few of the boys, who were still difficult to engage, were keen to do a Minecraft session. Monica developed a Minecraft activity based on mining and resources which fitted well with the curriculum and their interests. The day before, I worked on the collaborative skills that were necessary for this task. We hope to continue these discussions with the class to tailor the sessions more closely to their own interests, while continuing to push them gently out of their comfort zones!
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT?
Students
“The impact on the students has been mostly positive. There are still some students who choose not to be involved with every activity, but they generally do not disrupt the rest of the class. The other impacts are outlined in the previous sections.” (Teacher)
The creative school’s program has so far been incredibly insightful for me as an educator to observe and reflect on the best practice for learning. It has highlighted the challenges that we need to overcome, such as improving teamwork, encouraging deeper thinking in the classroom, and limiting disruptive behaviours so these more interesting activities can even take place. While also showing the progress that can be made from encouraging creative habits for learning and the successful implementation of teaching traditional knowledge alongside the science curriculum. I have observed improvements in student engagement, listening skills, problem solving skills and in the student’s ability to understanding concepts quicker. We have also seen some social skills being developed, with students who would normally not interact with others, now starting to work with their peers. Next term it would be great to see if we can show the student’s progress reflected in their grades.
Creative Practitioner
The class, Monica and I have been on a huge journey together. The term began with class distrust, disengagement, negativity, rudeness, and a general unwillingness to try new activities and has ended with the students happily working in carefully selected groups, rotating between activities, and following quite complex instructions. There are many examples, but the most significant shows a vast improvement in problem solving skills. In week one, students found it difficult to solve basic problems (energy transfer cannot happen if dominoes are too far apart), to being able to immediately solve a reasonably complex erosion experiment. They are ready for more challenges!
School
There has been continual support from the Vice- Principal, who has attended several sessions. This has made a massive difference in terms of student engagement and a willingness to co-operate. The science department as a whole is very supportive and interested in the progress of the program. I understand there are now meetings taking place to discuss rolling out creative schools on a broader level across the science department and school.
Parents
Monica has had the opportunity to give positive feedback (emails and phone calls) to parents about some of the previously disengaged students’ participation and positive work in creative schools and other science lessons.
School Leadership
The success of Creative Schools has been a team effort. To turn around a class like this requires the support of the Principal, Vice-Principal, class teacher, Education Assistants, and the Creative Practitioner.
“Today's session went really well. I was fortunate to be there for the entire session and Melanie's preparation, enthusiasm and management of the task was impressive. She put a lot of thought into how to engage the class and cater for their needs. The 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' theme gave purpose and context to the lesson. She is really mindful of where these kids are at and the steps needed to get them there. She also gave them a sense of the big picture and how privileged they are to be a part of The Creative Schools program. Thank you for your support. We felt really positive at the end of the session.”
(Nigel Bateman Deputy Principal, Clarkson CHS)
“Creative Schools is so good. Our Deputy wants this across the whole school. We are going to start with Y7 so that they can build on these skills when they first get to high school.” (Monica Chamizo, Teacher, Y8 Science)
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