a zinneke approachto curriculum development

Presentation by Luís PintoMSc Educational SciencesVrije Universiteit Brussel

Opportunity• Conversion of Federal

Police Barracks

• Urban reform of one of the cities priority poles

• International “Learning Hub”

• Bringing together education, research, business and communities

• A multilingual primary school?

relationships

environments

policies

Ideologies

students

Bronfenbrenner, 1980

Brussxelles:City of Contrasts

students• Language

- Schooling language

- Home language

- Bilingual households

• Cultural heritage

- Meaning making

- History and Science teaching

• Socio-economic status

- Geographic distributed

- Poverty = early school leaving

relationships• Teachers

- Torn between demands

- Isolated

- Biased or disconnected

• Parents

- Variable engagement

- Stress

environments• School

- Overloaded

• Neighbourhood

- Diverse venues

- Community-based organisations

- Universities

policies & ideologies• Educational policies

- Standardisation

- Competition

- Education = Panacea

• Political agendas

- Language communities

- Communitarism?

• Worldview

- Fragmentation

- Bias (urban, privilege)

- “Deficit” mentality

ZinnekeA word in Brussels dialect describing a mixed-breed mutt.

Claimed by Brusselers – as to celebrate their multicultural background and current ethnic diversity.

DNA of a Zinneke:

• Celebrate diversity

• Turn weakness into strength

“Diversity: the art of thinking independently together”

— Malcolm Forbes

Theoretical Background

holistic education

area-based curriculum

multilingual education

inquiry learning

Living Systems Pespective

Information

Living System

Identity (DNA)

Maturana & Varela, 1980Geisen, 2013Essence of Learning

in a Living System

Information

Information

Living System

Identity (DNA)

Maturana & Varela, 1980Geisen, 2013Essence of Learning

in a Living System

Information

Role of Teacher:facilitates learning process with tools and activities.

Principles of Living Systems

Implications in Education

Interdependence

Integrity

Feedback (Energy Flow)

Purpose

Generative Diversity

• Every learner is unique.

• Locus of learning is in the learner, and engages the whole person.

• Quality of relationships with human and physical environments are foundational.

• Everyone is a learner.

• Diversity is a given and essential for sustainability.

• We learn as individuals and as communities, in a constant interplay with the systems we inhabit.

• Every learner constantly seaks meaning and purpose in their learning.

• Continuous feedback offers a sense of direction to the learner. It comes from every element in the system.

Nested

Holistic Education• Interconnectedness (Wholeness)

• Pluralism and uniqueness

• Quality of relationships

• Participation, and centrality of experience

• Spirituality

Area-based Curriculum

Multilingual Education• Abrupt and premature transition from

mother tongue to schooling in second language increases the chances of losing first language and hinders learner’s self-confidence, eventually leading to loss of motivation and early school leaving;

• Second language learning is not affected by instruction in mother tongue. Fluency and literacy in mother tongue constitute an important cognitive and linguistic foundation supporting a quicker acquisition of a second language (Ball, 2011);

• Learning in mother tongue increases school attainment (Kosonen, 2005) and parent engagement in school community (Benson, 2002) - particularly for disadvantaged groups;

• address the specific history, socio-economic context, needs and resources of the locality

• co-designed and co-developed by the students and school in partnership with community partners (including parents)

• students are engaged as partners in curriculum development (specially those least engaged)

• teachers take responsibility for ensuring statutory curriculum requirements

• critical approach to the relationship between the local, national and global dimensions of learning

• everywhere in the locality can be a learning environment. Area is seen as resource, not “deficit”.

Reflection

Paying Attention

Empathy

Relaxation(Holistic)

Sensory Awareness

Discerning Patterns &

Systems

Listening

Subtle Sensing

Inquiring

Holistic Learning

Literacy

• N

umeracy • W

ell-being •

Learning toKnow and Learn

Learning to Do

Learningto Live Together

Learning to Be and Become

Zinnek

e Learning Community

Nation

al Learning Standards • European core compete

nce f

ram

ewo

rk f

or

Lif

elo

ng

Lear

nin

g

Are

a-ba

sed C

urriculum

Multilingual E

ducati

on

Inquiry/Project-based learnin

g

Creating a TeamRecruitment of teachers, student support, secretariat reflects local knowledges and identities.

The team includes a parent and community engagement coordinator, student support staff and inclusive/special education specialists.

Connecting to the EnvironmentThe school staff creates gatherings to listen to students, parents, community-based organisations about the school curriculum.

Creating a Meaningful CurriculumTeachers develop the curriculum in a retreat, to define instructional strategies, exchange methods and select school-wide themes.

They also Wdefine decision-making processes, and structures of support for professional and personal development.

Building the FoundationThe first weeks are dedicated to creating ties between all school members, and planning the year with the students, including self-monitoring mechanisms.

Inquiry LearningLearning happens through collaborative projets around focus and context questions.

Subject-mater at the service of student’s research process.

School-wide ThemesWhole school develops the same theme, at different levels of complexity

Different grades have vertical alignment around underpinning patterns

Local PartnershipsParents as teacher support, community-based organisations delivering workshops, university students delivering part of curriculum, experts offer input to teachers on specific cases.

Holistic AssessmentPortfolio-based assessment, with end of the year project presentation to committee with parents, teachers, peers and external guest;

Continuous conversations about learning, with qualitative feedback;

Complying to requirements of standardised testing

Closing a CycleFinal teacher retreat to evaluate the school year, celebrate achievements, letting go and planting the seeds for the next year.

Celebrating LearningLooking back to take stock of the learning but also evaluate the process for oneself, peers and teachers.

Community of PracticeTeachers meet regularly to discuss student cases, instructional challenges and seek emotional support.

Parents are seen as partners in the co-education of students.

A Year at Zinneke School...

Focus Question

Learning to Learn & Know(Cognitive Skills)

Learning to Do

(Resolute Skills)

Learning to Live Together

(Relational Skills)

Learning to Be and Become

(Interpretative Skills)

Inquiry-based Learning

How do communities

work?

What is a community?What is the history of

my community?

How do communities help make lives better?

e.g., volunteer day in a community-based centre

e.g., research books and old newspapers with help of university

students or older students.

What connects me to my community?

What do I share?

What is my place in my community?

e.g., interview elders and

family. Talk about shared

qualities.

e.g., personal collage, text (or

other) about purpose and

belonging

Pitfalls• Overwhelmed teachers

• Resistance to change (teachers and parents)

• Partial engagement of parents and communities

• Lack of access to expertise (e.g., inclusive education, language)

• Trend towards standardisation

• Political landscape

Thank you.

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”

— Chinese Proverb