College Street Normal School .::. Education in the 21st Century

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EDUCATION IN THE 21st CENTURY

Education in the 21st Century at College Street Normal School is a dynamic process

that fosters reciprocal partnerships within a variety of communities who

strive to develop lifelong learners.

CSNS Vision for Teaching and Learning
Continued Excellence through Inspired Participation
Go for Gold!

CSNS Curriculum
Authentic curriculum at CSNS is a creative and innovative approach to developing deep understandings and intelligent patterns of behaviour through deliberate acts of teaching and learning. Our curriculum is a learner-centred curriculum because it is:

Relevant to the world the children live in
Fosters children’s interests and passions
Integrated Approach
Context Rich
Providing learning experiences for the whole child
Active participation
High standards in Literacy and Numeracy
e-Learning

WHAT DO WE BELIEVE ABOUT TEACHING AND LEARNING AT

COLLEGE STREET NORMAL SCHOOL?

We believe that teaching and learning in the 21st Century requires a curriculum that challenges us to:

Have a ‘so what’ justification – so that everything we teach is meaningful to students.
Provide multiple learning opportunities that allow students to USE and APPLY their learning in authentic contexts.
Continually help students to make links and connections to their world. To assist students to develop their understanding of the ‘joined up’ nature of knowledge (big picture understandings).
Ensure that all students are literate and numerate.

What do we as a learning community really value in education?

Empowered, engaged learners who are inspired to participate in all learning opportunities.
The development of dispositions that assist students to be successful, life long learners.
Involving students in powerful learning that is relevant for the 21st century.

Teachers who inspire students and who are themselves

inspired will make the difference between mediocre

and exceptional achievement by students.

Mason Durie

Our priority values guide our behaviour in the way we think and act.

We aim for Continued Excellence through Inspired Participation.
We aim to Go for Gold!

At College Street Normal School we teach the ‘Key Competencies’ of the New Zealand Curriculum document by teaching students the ‘Habits of the Mind’. The ‘Habits of Mind’ are the habitualised behaviours of highly successful people. The sixteen ‘Habits of Mind’ are infused by teachers into all the children’s learning. Essentially the Habits of Mind are a very pupil & teacher friendly, powerful way of teaching the ‘Key Competencies’.

Example: Our beliefs about teaching the Habit of Mind ‘metacognition’ (thinking about your thinking)

If you want to improve what people do you have to first improve what and how they think.
Get the thinking right and you get the actions right
Quality thinking precedes quality action
We need to teach students how to produce (develop) knowledge. We want independent and interdependent thinkers
Thinking is like any other skill, it can be taught and it can be learnt

At C.S.N.S. the Habits of Mind provide us with a common language to glue together everything we do.

They provide

Focus
Direction

Cohesiveness

Consistency

in everything we do as a learning community they make our work complimentary irrespective of year group or syndicate.

Students who are more confident in their learning ability learn faster and learn better.

Guy Claxton

THE NEW ZEALAND CURRICULUM

New Zealand Curriculum Vision:

As well as teaching the knowledge component of the New Zealand Curriculum schools are charged with ensuring that students become:

Confident – positive in their own ability
Connected – able to relate well to others
Actively Involved – participants in a range of life contexts
Life Long Learners – literate & numerate; active seekers and users of knowledge

New Zealand Curriculum Principles:

The Principles put students at the centre of teaching and learning, assuring that they should experience a curriculum that engages and challenges them, is forward-thinking and inclusive, and affirms New Zealand’s unique identify. The Principles relate to how the curriculum is formalised in schools through the processes of curriculum planning.

These include:

Treaty of Waitangi – Acknowledging the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand
Cultural Diversity – Reflecting New Zealand’s cultural diversity
Inclusion – Ensuring that students’ identities, languages, abilities, and talents are recognised and affirmed and that learning needs are addressed
Learning to Learn – Encouraging all students to reflect on their own learning processes and to learn how to learn
Community Engagement – A meaningful curriculum for students that connects with their wider lives, and engages the support of families, whanau, and communities
Coherence – Providing students with a broad education that makes links within and across learning areas
Future Focus – Encouraging students to look to the future by exploring significant future-focused issues eg: sustainability, citizenship and the like

New Zealand Curriculum Values:

The values outlined in the curriculum encourage students to value:

Excellence
Innovation, inquiry, and curiosity
Diversity
Equity
Community and participation
Ecological sustainability
Integrity
Respect

Our priority values guide our behaviour in the way we think and act. By holding these values and acting on them we are able to live together and thrive. At College Street Normal School we use the “Habits of Heart” as a way to teach some of these values. The three ‘Habits of Heart’ are infused into all aspects of our school learning community. The “Habits of Mind” also allow us to teach some of these values.

New Zealand Curriculum Key Competencies:

Managing Self, Using Language Symbols & Texts, Relating to Others, Thinking, Participating & Contributing

At College Street Normal School we do this by teaching students the “Habits of the Mind”. The sixteen ‘Habits of Mind’ are infused by teachers into all the children’s learning. Essentially the (HOMs) are very pupil & teacher friendly and are a powerful way of teaching the ‘Key Competencies’.

At College Street Normal School we have developed our own curriculum that reflects the
needs of the learners in our school community.
Our curriculum is based on the New Zealand Curriculum as stated above, but tailored to,
and unique to the College Street community and our school vision:
Continued Excellence through Inspired Participation / Go for Gold!