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InfinityMapstoGrowStudentAgency

ByBrianAnnan(PhD)&MaryWootton

Contactusatinfo@infinitylearn.orgforsupporttouseInfinityLearningMapsInfinityLearningMapsareavehicletogrowstudentagencybyconnectingstudents,teachingprofessionals,familieswithoneanotherandtoglobal trendsinlearning.Theyarealsoausefulevaluativetooltoreviewthegrowthof agencyandthemovementstowardsfuture-focusedlearning environments.Afewquotesprovideaninsightintothepowerof InfinityLearningMapsasanexcitingandengagingnewevaluativetool.

Student: “TheInfinityMapshelpedmebeamoreactive,connectedlearner.”

Teacher: “InfinityLearningMapsmademerealiseIhadtochangemypractice.”

SchoolLeader:“InfinityLearningMapswerethecatalysttochangeinourschool.”

Parent: “SinceInfinityLearningMaps,Ineedtotakea‘guideontheside’kindofrole andpraiseherforbeinganactivelearner.”

Areyourstudentswhoarechallengedbyacademiclearninggrowingmore agency?Howdoyou,yourstudentsandtheirfamiliestrackthe growthofstudentagencyovertime? Isthatgrowthpatterncontributingtothe developmentofafuture-focusedlearningenvironment?InfinityLearningMapsprovidesupporttoanswerthosequestions.Wehaveseenthelearningmapssupportthosestudentstobecomefarmoreactive,morecollaborative andstartinnovatingtoresolvethechallenges surroundingtheirlearning.Wehavewitnessedgroupsofstudentsstepupinthiswayinvariousprojectsoverthepastfewyearsandtheresultsareremarkable. Projects, however,comeandgo. Ouraimistodiffusethe mappingexerciseintosystem-wideeffortstocreate future-focusedlearningenvironmentsasthenorm.A‘future-focusedlearningenvironment’meansmuchmorethanmodernbuilding spacesanddigitaltechnologies. Theyareaboutlinkingwithglobalmindsetandpracticeshiftsaroundmovingfrom:theknowntotheunknown,fromschool-centrictoecological;fromindividualtoconnected;frompassiveto interactive;fromcompetitivetocollaborative,andfromdeficittoappreciative. Silo wallscomedownaslateralconnectionsformwithinandacrossschools, communities,businesses,governmentagenciesandthephysicalenvironment. Theseshiftscreatearichanddiversetapestryoflearningactivitythatismerging formalstructuredlearningwithinformalinterest-basedandauthenticlearning. Wheredothestudentswhoarechallengedbyacademiclearningandtheir familiesfitintothispicture? Studentsandtheirfamiliesneedtoknow,andinfactwanttoknow,abouttheglobalshiftsthatareoccurringfrompasttofuture-focusedlearning.Theygrowinconfidencebyreviewingwhere theyareinrelationtothoseshifts. Thenwiththatnewfoundconfidencethe studentscananddotakeresponsibilitytomakechangestotheirstrategising aroundacademiclearning,well-supportedbytheirteachersandfamily.

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InfinityLearningMapsStudentsdrawtheirInfinitylearningmapstoshowelementsoftheircurrentlearningenvironment. DrawingtheInfinitymapsisadisciplinedprocessthatalsoinvites flexibilityandadaptability. StudentssharetheirInfinitymapswithoneanotherandanalyzethemtoidentifypatternsthatpointtochangepriorities. Eachstudent thenentersexplanatorydataabouttheirInfinitymapintoapersonalizedonline-database. Thestudentsidentifyoneortwochangeprioritiestomeetdesired academicgoals.WhatamIgoingtododifferentlytoimprovemylearningsituation?Thestudent’steacherandfamilymembersalsorecordwhatthey intendtododifferentlytosupporttheirchildrentomakethechanges.Studentsthenproducea2-minutevideothatdescribestheirInfinityLearningmapandthechangeprioritiestheywillmaketocreatetheacademiclift. Teachersandfamilyalsodocumentonlinewhattheywilldodifferentlytosupporttheir student/child.

AnexampleofaStudent’sInfinityLearningMapsHereisan exampleof twoInfinityLearningMaps designedbyTeAwhitu,a10-year-oldindigenousstudentatRataStreetSchoolinNZwhowasworkingbelowNationalStandardsinreading, writingandmathatthetimeofdesigninghisfirstInfinityLearningMap.InfinityLearningMap1,FebruaryInfinityLearningMap2,October

TeAwhitushowedhehadthecapabilitytoexplainhisTime1andTime 2InfinityLearningMaps.Heself-recordedavideowithalittlesupportfromhis teacher, thenshareditwithhisDadforreviewandcreatedasecondrecordingbasedonhisDad’sfeedback. TeAwhitugrewconsiderableawarenessofhis learning environmentandtookfargreaterresponsibilitytochangethingsto achievehis academicgoals. Thisisanexcellentexampleofstudentagencyinaction.AshisTime2InfinityLearningMapshows,heisnowfarmoreconnectedtopeopleandlearningtools thatenablehimtotakemorecontrolofhislearning. TeAwhitu’steacheralsoadjustedheragencybasedonherchangesinpracticetoenableTe Awhitutobecomemoreinteractiveandconnected.HisDadalsochangedthewayheinteractedwithTeAwhituandhislearning. Boththeteacherandthe familyintroducedtechnology,whichenabledTeAwhitutogrowhisagencyand tocreatecloserlearningconnectionswithschoolandhome

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FiveideasunderpinningInfinityLearningMapsInfinityLearningMapshavebeeninformedbyfiveideasthattheauthorsexperiencedduringtheircareers.Theymanagedtolinktogetherthoseideasinrecentyearsastheygrappledwithmakingmindsetandpracticeshiftsfrompasttofuture-focusedlearning.Thesefive ideascreateatheorythatdespitesomestudentsbeingchallengedbyacademiclearning,itcanbeapleasurefor themtoidentifythosechallengesandusetheirstrengthsandsupportoftheir teachers,familiestoaddressthem.Idea1. InfinityLearningMapscapitaliseonthehumaninterestandaestheticpleasureofdrawingpicturesinthemodernworld.Humanshaveenjoyeddrawingpicturesindiversewaysforvariousreasonsformillionsofyears. Experimentationwiththeideaofstudentsdrawingpicturesoftheircurrentlearningsituation,inclusiveofitschallenges,indicateditcouldbealiberating experience.Mostchildrenthoroughlyenjoyedtheexercise.Addingadigitalvideoanddatagatheringexercisestothenon-digitaldrawingtaskheightenedenjoyment.Wediscoveredthatthecombinationofalong-standingnon-digitaltaskwithmodern-daydigitaltasksgeneratedauthenticengagement andexcitementaroundaddressinglearningchallenges. Itwasapositive alternativetoadult-drivengap-analysesandproblemidentificationaround learningchallengesthattypicallycausedfeelingsofconcernanddisappointment amongstudents,teachersandfamilies.Idea2. Itisbettertoanalysethecurrentlearningsituationthanjumpstraighttosolutions(Annan,J.,Annan,B.,Wootton,W.,&Burton,R,2014).

TheInfinityLearningMapspromptstudentstodrawtheirviewofwhatishappeningintheirlearningcurrentlyandthentothinkabouttheiraspirationsforthefuture.Withareal-timepictureonthetable,students,teachersandfamilieshaveatangibleframetostop,reflectandthinkdeeplyaboutchangesthatwouldmostlikely

createbetterconditionsforlearning.Asthosegroupsmakeagreementsaboutchange, thereisnecessarilyagencyre-adjustmentoccurringamongthem.Studentagencytendstoimmediatelyrise,asthestudentstakeownershipofthemapping exerciseandtheydecideonnewwaysforward. Teachersandfamiliesadjusttheiragencyastheylearntosupportthestudents’moreself-determinedwaysoflearning.

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Idea3. Positiveenergyandnewhopeforsuccessgrowswhenchildrenare supportedtoexternalisetheirchallenges(Epston&White,1992).Itisnotthechildwhoisthechallenge. Rather,itisthepracticesandinteractionsbetweenchildrenandtheirenvironmentsthatcreatechallenges.Whenchildren learntoexternalisetheirlearningchallenges,theygrowconfidenceintheir strengthandabilitytotakeresponsibilitytoaddressthosechallenges, particularlywiththesupportoftheirpeers,teachersandfamilies.Idea4. EachInfinityLearningMapispersonalizedtothestudent.TheInfinityLearningMaps,explanatoryvideosandconversationswithteachersandfamilymembersarecreatedbyandhenceuniquetoeachstudent. ConversationsabouttheInfinityLearningMaps arecompletelyjargon-freebecausetheyaregeneratedfromstudenttalkfirst.Theentire experiencegoestotheheartofhoweach studentviewstheirlearningandwhattheyneedtochangetolifttheiracademiclearningexperiences.Therearealsospin-offpersonalisedmindsetandpracticeadjustments forteachersandfamilies.Everyonehastore-thinkandadaptforallchildrentosucceed.Idea5. TheInfinityLearningMapsprocessshiftsthestudentsfrombeingpassengerstodriversoftheirlearning.Thisisourgame-changertheorywherebystudents expandtheirlearninghorizonsthroughtheirowninternaldesires,withpositive andpatientsupportfromteachersandfamilies.Teachersandfamiliesarenotpushedintothebackground;rathertheyarejoinedatthehip withthestudents. ButthestudentshaveclearresponsibilityandagencytodesigntheirownInfinityLearningMaps,toanalyzetrends,toidentifyandmakechangesandtoassesstheimpactofthatchangeontheirlearning.

ItisOKtogetexcitedUseofInfinityLearningMapsovertimeiscreatingunprecedentedconfidenceandengagementinacademiclearningamongstudents,teachersand families.Asoneteachercommented recently,itcreatesahungerforsuccessinlearning amongthosestudents:“theybelieveinthemselvesnow...theybelievetheyCANdo it!Andoncetheytastethatsuccess,evenifitwasonlyalittlebit...theybelievedevenmore,andwanteditevenmore!”(GlendaStewart, personalcommunication,18/12/2014).

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Hereinliesadilemma. Termssuchas‘new’,‘exciting’and‘hungryforsuccess’ aretypicallydiscountedas‘promotional’inthefieldsofschooleffectivenessandimprovement.Yettheyareessentialforinnovationthatcreatesshiftsfrompast-focussedschool-centrictofuture-focussedecologicallearning.Thedilemmaforschools,communitiesandgovernmentsistodecidewhataspectsofpast-focusededucationareworthholdingontoandjusthowinnovativetheyarepreparedto betostepintothefuture.InfinityLearningMapsareusefulasatoolforthosegroupstomakethosedecisions.

ResearchintoInfinityLearningMapsOurresearchprojectearlierin2015aimedtoassesstheperceivedvaluetoparticipantsofInfinityLearningMapsandtoidentifythetypesofactivitythat participants chosetosupportstudents’learning(Annan,J.,Annan,B.,&Wootton, M,inDraft). Theresearchinvolvedover300students,theirteachersandfamily. Thestudytookplaceovera4-monthperiodinwhichstudents,teachersandfamiliescametogetherthreetimestodraw,redraworrevisetheirInfinityLearningMapsandtoplananddiscusschangestotheirlearningenvironments.Studentsentereddataintoanon-linedatabasewithintheInfinitywebsiteastheyworkedthroughtheInfinityLearningMapprocess. StudentscapturedtheirInfinityLearningMapsdigitally, videoedtheirdiscussionabouttheirInfinitymapsandnotedthepeople,places,toolsand relationshipsthatsupportedtheirlearning.Theyalsosetchangepriorities,listedthe actionstheywouldtakeandrecordedtheirprogressinmakingthechanges.Teachersandfamiliesmadecommentsonthestudents’informationand notedtheactionstheywouldtaketohelptheirchildorstudentachievetheirgoal.Inaddition,moredetaileddatawerecollectedthroughfocusgroupsandasurveyoftheperceivedusefulnessofInfinityLearningMaps.Informationwascollected afterthefirstandlastmappingssessions.FindingsfromtheresearchindicatethatInfinityLearningMapsareprovingtobeusefulina numberofwaystogrowstudentagencyandadjusttheagencyofteachersandfamilies.Bytheendofthethree-monthperiod,theresults fromthe multipledatasetsshowedthatallparticipantgroupsfoundInfinityLearningMapshelpful foravarietyofreasons(seetablebelow).

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Thefindingsbelowshowpositiveinallthreegroupsofparticipants-students,teachersandfamilies

StudentsStudentssoughttobecomeactivelearnersandto shareresponsibilityfordirectingtheirlearning.Themajorityofstudentsaddressedtheirchangepriorities orwere‘nearlythere’. Strategiestheyselectedatthe lastmappingsessioninvolveddevelopinglearningrelationshipsandextendingtheirlearningenvironmentsincontrastwiththebaselinestrategies ofmanagingtasksandpracticing.

� Iusuallyhelpothersandusedtotellthemanswerbutnowgothroughthingsstep bystepandlearnfromthemaswellbyseeingwhatstrategiestheyuse

� Learnatlotsofplaces,doactivitieseveryday-musichelpswithmath,guideshelps withcraftsandmath,school,library,museumtolearnhistory,learnfromhockey, computercodingclass

TeachersThenatureofthestrategiesusedbyteachersstartedwiththeprovisionofadditionalexposuretoschoolwork(e.g.longertime)andmonitoring. Bytheendoftheproject,teacherstrategieshadgenerallyshiftedtosupportingstudentstoco-constructnewstrategies,connectwithotherpeopleandengagein personalisedlearning.

� Itisaboutchangingperceptions,gettingtoknowfamiliesandhowtheyare connectedtoeachother.

� Noticedthatthekidsaremoreengaged� Confidenceinsomehasincreased.[theyare]moreswitchedontotheirlearning� Kidsmorearticulatewitheachotheraboutwhattheyarelearning

outsideof school.FamiliesFamilystrategies,initiallyinvolvedgeneraloffersofhelp.Traditionalhomeworktasksbecameincreasinglyfocusedonsupportingactiveandpersonalisedlearningandprovidingfeedback.Familiesindicatedthatpreparingtheirchildrenforanewandunknownfutureworldwasahighpriorityforthem.

� [I]hadn’ttakenasteptothinkabouthoweducationhadchangedinschoolsyet,gaveanopportunitytodothat,tostopandthinkabout howtheylearn

� Workenvironmentshavealsochangedsowhywouldn’titbedifferentinschools� Nowmoreawarethatinteractionsandsharinginformationarekeyto

learning, learningoutsideofschoolandbeingexplicitinhighlightingitisanareafor learning.Makingconnectionsbetweencommunitysituationsandlearning

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Insummary,theresearchfoundthatparticipantsconsideredthattheInfinityMappingprocesswasusefulforexaminingandextendingthestudents’currentlearningenvironmentsandsupportingtheiractiveinvolvementinlearning.Overthefour-monthperiodofthestudy,thestrategiesselectedbystudents,teachersandfamiliestoaddresstheirchangeprioritiesshiftedfromroutine,traditionalpracticestothosethatsupportedactive,personalisedandfuture-focusedlearning.ConclusionInfinityLearningMapshaveproventobeausefultooltoengagechildrenandfamiliesnewandauthenticlearningpartnershipswithteachingprofessionals.Theyarealsoprovingtobeausefulevaluativetoolforthosegroupstoassessthegrowthofstudent agency and themovementtowardsfuture-focusedlearningenvironments.ThesetwodevelopmentsaroundnewpartnershipsandnewmetricsarecriticaltoNZ’sschoolingsystemmakingsomeseriousin-roadsintotheeducationequitychallenge.AcknowledgementsThetwoauthorswishtoacknowledgethefollowingpeopleforshapingtheInfinityLearningMaps:

• themanystudentswhoutilizedearlyversionsofInfinityLearningMaps;• themanycommittedteachers,familiesandgovernmentofficialswho

supportedthosestudents;• governmentinvestmentandsupporttodevelopearlyversionsofInfinity

Learning Mapsvia;o theDepartmentsofEducationinHobartandNewSouthWales,o theCatholicDioceseforEducationinParramatta,ando theMinistryofEducationinNewZealand,and

• Internationalcolleagues’constantcritiqueandchallengeintheGlobalEducationLeadersPartnerships(GELP)programinclusiveofthoseintheOECDInnovativeLearningEnvironmentsproject.

ReferencesAnnan,B.(2015).LearningandChangeNetworksMilestoneReport5. UniServices&theFacultyofEducation,TheUniversityofAuckland.Annan,J.,Annan,B.,Wootton,W.,&Burton,R,(2014). FacilitatedNetworksofLearning. SeminarSeries237,CentreforStrategicEducation. September.Melbourne.Epston,D.,&White,M.(1992).Experience,contradiction,narrativeandimagination:SelectedpapersofDavidEpson&MichaelWhite,1998-1991. Adelaide,SouthAustralia:DulwichCentrePublications.