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A New Way to Learn

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By MILLER, Grant

Imagine a school where the pupils are passionate about learning. Feilding Intermediate School has radically remodelled itself to try to make it happen. Grant Miller reports.

STUART Trembath can scarcely contain his excitement. Almost two years after radical changes were introduced, the charismatic Feilding Intermediate School principal is eager to report on developments.

Amid controversy and families walking out early in 2004, he established a new approach to keeping students motivated and passionate about their learning.

Four interest centres were set up for teaching and learning--Nga Toi (arts), Wananga (thinking and learning), Hauora (health and physical education) and Nga mahi-a-ringa (hands on).

Students and parents chose the centre that best fitted each student's needs.

Now the scheme may well become a model that other schools follow.

"It's an attempt to make it fun to come to school again," Mr Trembath says.

"We're grouping kids with similar interests together."

The focus is still on numeracy and literacy, but the programme caters for the students' interests two afternoons a week.

Students in the sport interest centre might read All Blacks coach Graham Henry's comments about rugby in the newspaper, for example.

All students do physical education, but the sport group has an extra focus on it.

Next year they will organise referees and draws for sporting competitions.

While there is an art centre to extend the more creative students, all students can audition for the school production.

Mr Trembath says there has been a dramatic improvement in student behaviour.

"They're surrounded by kids with the same passion as them and a teacher with the same passion. It's changed the whole atmosphere."

It appears change was needed.

In September 2003 the Education Review Office reported that the quality of education at the school was variable.

Area manager for the chief review officer, Diana Anderson, said the quality of curriculum implementation varied considerably.

A number of students were achieving at low levels in reading, she noted.

The report also identified that the school needed to consult with the school's Maori community on plans and targets for improving Maori student achievement.

It seems ERO was unconvinced about the merits of the new interest centres scheme a year later.

In November 2004, Ms Anderson commented that the school lacked "sufficient evidence to demonstrate school effectiveness".

After this year's report, the school is back on ERO's regular review cycle.

Ms Anderson said students learn in a style that suits their strengths and motivation.

"Students are highly engaged, motivated learners," she said.

"Each interest centre reflects a different style, in order to best cater for their students' needs.

"This student-centred culture leads to positive interactions between staff and students in classrooms, and in the playground."

She also commented that a clear plan for new initiatives to improve Maori student achievement is regularly monitored and progress evaluated.

Mr Trembath says not everyone took to the interest centres idea at the start.

Some parents were worried that some of the centres weren't academic enough.

Staff also had to be persuaded of the scheme's merits.

"We had to sell it," Mr Trembath says.

"A lot of parents were questioning it and we had to reassure them the centres would be academic. Parents asked what right we had to do this."

However, with backing from the board of trustees, the school stuck with the idea.

"We made ourselves super-available to answer questions," Mr Trembath says.

"Initially, a couple of families decided to leave--they left with our blessing."

November's ERO report has the school roll at 287, compared with 307 in 2004 and 295 in 2003.

Board of trustees chairman Stuart Campbell says the decline in the roll has been arrested.

"We've picked up kids from other schools and the roll is above the Education Ministry's expectations."

Mr Trembath says since the interest centres were set up parents have become more involved in the school and their children's education.

"The staff have jumped on board. They've taken it on. It couldn't be dictated upon them."

Self-review was also important, Mr Trembath says, in the context that it was all right to fail, so long as changes were made if things weren't working.

The school commissioned consultant Doug Thwaites to conduct a review this year.

The review looked at to what extent teaching methods were compatible with child development and learning theories.

"It is recognised that the extent to which a teacher is, or is not, passionate about a topic can be a key determinant in the achievement of academic excellence," he said.

"Considerable importance is given to providing every opportunity possible to follow interest and achieve excellence, in this case, academically."

Mr Thwaites said the experiment with interest centres has been well received.

"It is still developing, but staff, the principal, parents and students report high satisfaction with the idea.

"The main advantage seems to have been that teachers have been enabled to excite and encourage involvement, engagement and deeper learning."

Mr Campbell says the school took a gamble and is reaping the rewards of its risk.

"We knew we had to do something different. We wanted better, happier kids who want to learn--I think we've achieved it."

The proof lies in what the students think.

Year 8 pupil Jason Lardner and Year 7 pupil Eleanor Mason are eager to talk about how students make different items for technology.

Art students may make puppets, while sports students make waterproof jackets, Jason says.

It beats everyone being forced to make a pencil case.

Jason and Eleanor are both into sports, but they are in the Wananga (thinking) interest centre.

Eleanor plays soccer, rugby and badminton and she enjoys running and walking.

"My mum wouldn't let me go in the sport one," she says.

"I won't be a sports star. I play sport for fun and you need learning for later life."

Jason is into swimming, cricket, soccer and squash.

He considered the sport option, but says he enjoys thinking about things a lot.

"Everyone in class is interested in the same things. We all do basically the same amount of learning, just in different ways."

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Source: Evening Standard; Palmerston North, New Zealand

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