Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2013

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‘...education is fundamentally a preparation for the future,

not a veneration of the past’

From 2014 the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative will be another catalyst for fundamental and transformational changes in teaching and learning. It will allow Girls Grammar to bridge formal learning in school and informal learning outside of school through ubiquitous access to laptop or tablet devices for all students. Devices will typically be used by students for both educational and personal use, and the students’ affinity with their own personal devices creates a high level of familiarity and a powerful learning tool. Teachers recognise that every device is different and will no longer be able to provide step-by-step instructions for specific applications; instead, they will focus on outcomes and what the student must accomplish using the device. Finally, amidst all of the exciting developments and innovative change, there must still be at the core of our School the space for stillness and reflection. To develop our capacity to consider the bigger questions of life, and to strengthen the relationships that will always form the foundation of our School, requires space — both physical and metaphorical. A Girls Grammar education is preparation for the future, but also celebrates a joyful appreciation of the here and now as we nurture the interests, character and spirit of each girl and consider who we want them to be , not just what we want them to do . The values of a Girls Grammar education remain steadfast, as noted by Professor Erica McWilliam in the School’s new publication Educating Girls . Professor McWilliam reflects on Miss Milisent Wilkinson, Principal of Girls Grammar from 1900–1912 (2013, p. 46): In 1901 Wilkinson, like many of her counterparts since the school’s inception, defended staunchly the relevance of the cultural values of a grammar education for the new century, insisting that it instilled a sense of dignity and calm that she saw as altogether lacking in the culture of the times: ‘This is a hurrying age, too impatient in its expectations of results, intellectual activity and [that] rapidity may increase and flourish at the expense of strength and dignity, and care is needed lest, in the haste to grasp the commercial and the utilitarian, we lose the calm atmosphere which is essential to true character.’ Miss Wilkinson’s words are as relevant today as they were over a century ago.

on how mindset and our beliefs about learning impact on academic success. Creative thinking, for example, requires a preparedness to take risks and even failing. Philosophy of Learning seeks to build such intellectual resilience in our girls and provide them with the tools to understand how they learn, enabling them to become more effective learners. Dispositions of Scholarship is an interdisciplinary subject designed to develop critical thinking and the skills of analysis. It draws on content, concepts and teaching expertise from across all of the academic faculties, which girls will apply to abstract, philosophical and investigative problem-solving tasks. This foundation of skills will support the girls to succeed during their time at school and well beyond. Our new Research and Innovative Learning Centre, to be opened for the start of the 2015 school year, has encouraged us to review our approaches to research, technology and classroom design. We have drawn on the research of leading educators such as Valerie Hannon who, in her presentation to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Anticipating the Future symposium in Melbourne this year, articulated four important platforms of learning. 1. A significant part of students’ learning will be Project Based Learning . A powerful question that matters inspires research, drafting, redrafting and critique. Public exhibition of the completed work reinforces to students its significance and value. 2. The notion of Extended Learning Relationships reminds us that young people require a matrix of learning relationships, which includes teachers, family, peers and external experts. These learning connections are essential to the development of empathy and the healthy relationships that form the basis of a meaningful life. This is why, for example, this semester we invited parents of Year 11 and Year 12 girls to bring their daughter for parent–teacher interviews to be part of an open discussion about their learning. 3. School as ‘base camp’ recognises that education is not just about what happens in the classroom, and promotes learning relationships with outside institutions and experts. The collaborative Drama project between teachers, students and playwright Lachlan Philpott to produce The Chosen this year is a good example. Girls Grammar is the base from which our girls build their learning story within a structured, planned approach to holistic, life-wide learning and think collectively about their place in the world. 4. School as a Learning Commons requires each member of our School community to have an explicit identity as a learner. Mrs Marise McConaghy’s article in this Gazette highlights what exemplary role models our teachers are in this regard.

REFERENCES Bright, J. (2013, August 3). Now you’re thinking. The Age . Claxton, G. (2007, June). Expanding young people’s capacity to learn. British Journal of Educational Studies , 55 (2), 1–20. Hannon, V. (March, 2013). Learning futures. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu. au/learning-frontiers.html McWilliam, E. (2013). Educating girls . Brisbane: University of Queensland Press.

SPRING ISSUE / 2013