September2015InfinityLearningMapstoGrowStudentAgency
ByBrianAnnan(PhD)&MaryWoottonContactusatinfo@infinitylearn.orgforsupporttouseInfinityLearningMapsInfinityLearningMapsareavehicletogrowstudentagencybyconnectingstudents, teachingprofessionals,familieswithoneanotherandtoglobal trendsinlearning. Theyarealsoausefulevaluativetooltoreviewthegrowthof agencyandthemovementstowardsfuture-focusedlearning environments.Afewquotesprovideaninsightintothepowerof InfinityLearningMapsasanexciting andengagingnewevaluativetool.
Student: “TheInfinityMapshelpedmebeamoreactive,connectedlearner.”
Teacher: “InfinityLearningMapsmademerealiseIhadtochangemypractice.”
SchoolLeader:“InfinityLearningMapswerethecatalysttochangeinourschool.”
Parent: “SinceInfinityLearningMaps,Ineedtotakea‘guideontheside’kindofrole andpraiseherforbeinganactivelearner.”Areyourstudentswhoarechallengedbyacademiclearninggrowingmoreagency? Howdoyou,yourstudentsandtheirfamiliestrackthe growthofstudentagencyovertime? Isthatgrowthpatterncontributingtothedevelopmentofafuture-focusedlearningenvironment?InfinityLearningMapsprovidesupporttoanswerthosequestions.Wehaveseenthelearningmapssupportthosestudentstobecomefarmoreactive,morecollaborative andstartinnovatingtoresolvethechallenges surroundingtheirlearning.Wehavewitnessedgroupsofstudentsstepupinthiswayinvariousprojectsoverthepastfewyearsandtheresultsareremarkable. Projects, however,comeandgo. Ouraimistodiffusethe mappingexerciseintosystem-wideeffortstocreate future-focusedlearningenvironmentsasthenorm.A‘future-focusedlearningenvironment’meansmuchmorethanmodernbuildingspacesanddigitaltechnologies. Theyareaboutlinkingwithglobalmindsetandpracticeshiftsaroundmovingfrom:theknowntotheunknown,fromschool-centrictoecological;fromindividualtoconnected;frompassiveto interactive;fromcompetitivetocollaborative,andfromdeficittoappreciative. Silo wallscomedownaslateralconnectionsformwithinandacrossschools, communities,businesses,governmentagenciesandthephysicalenvironment. Theseshiftscreatearichanddiversetapestryoflearningactivitythatismerging formalstructuredlearningwithinformalinterest-basedandauthenticlearning.
Wheredothestudentswhoarechallengedbyacademiclearningandtheirfamiliesfitintothispicture? Studentsandtheirfamiliesneedtoknow,andinfactwanttoknow,abouttheglobalshiftsthatareoccurringfrompasttofuture-focusedlearning.Theygrowinconfidencebyreviewingwhere theyareinrelationtothoseshifts. Thenwiththatnewfoundconfidencethe studentscananddotakeresponsibilitytomakechangestotheirstrategising aroundacademiclearning,well-supportedbytheirteachersandfamily.InfinityLearningMapsStudentsdrawtheirInfinitylearningmapstoshowelementsoftheircurrentlearning environment. DrawingtheInfinitymapsisadisciplinedprocessthatalsoinvites flexibilityandadaptability. StudentssharetheirInfinitymapswithoneanotherandanalyzethemtoidentifypatternsthatpointtochangepriorities. Eachstudent thenentersexplanatorydataabouttheirInfinitymapintoapersonalizedonline-database. Thestudentsidentifyoneortwochangeprioritiestomeetdesiredacademicgoals.WhatamIgoingtododifferentlytoimprovemylearningsituation?Thestudent’steacherandfamilymembersalsorecordwhatthey intendtododifferentlytosupporttheirchildrentomakethechanges.Students thenproducea2-minutevideothatdescribestheirInfinityLearningmapandthechange prioritiestheywillmaketocreatetheacademiclift. Teachersandfamilyalsodocumentonlinewhattheywilldodifferentlytosupporttheir student/child.
AnexampleofaStudent’sInfinityLearningMapsHereisan exampleof twoInfinityLearningMaps designedbyTeAwhitu,a10-year-oldindigenousstudentatRataStreetSchoolinNZwhowasworkingbelowNationalStandardsinreading, writingandmathatthetimeofdesigninghisfirstInfinityLearningMap.InfinityLearningMap1,FebruaryInfinityLearningMap2,October
TeAwhitushowedhehadthecapabilitytoexplainhisTime1andTime2InfinityLearningMaps.Heself-recordedavideowithalittlesupportfromhis teacher, thenshareditwithhisDadforreviewandcreatedasecondrecordingbasedonhisDad’sfeedback. TeAwhitugrewconsiderableawarenessofhis learningenvironmentandtookfargreaterresponsibilitytochangethingsto achievehisacademicgoals. Thisisanexcellentexampleofstudentagencyinaction.AshisTime2InfinityLearningMapshows,heisnowfarmoreconnectedtopeopleandlearningtools thatenablehimtotakemorecontrolofhislearning.
TeAwhitu’steacheralsoadjustedheragencybasedonherchangesinpracticetoenableTe Awhitutobecomemoreinteractiveandconnected.HisDadalsochangedthewayheinteractedwithTeAwhituandhislearning. Boththeteacherandthe familyintroducedtechnology,whichenabledTeAwhitutogrowhisagencyand tocreatecloserlearningconnectionswithschoolandhome.FiveideasunderpinningInfinityLearningMapsInfinityLearningMapshavebeeninformedbyfiveideasthattheauthorsexperiencedduringtheircareers.Theymanagedtolinktogetherthoseideasinrecentyearsastheygrappledwithmakingmindsetandpracticeshiftsfrompasttofuture-focusedlearning.Thesefive ideascreateatheorythatdespitesomestudentsbeingchallengedbyacademiclearning,itcanbeapleasurefor themtoidentifythosechallengesandusetheirstrengthsandsupportoftheirteachers,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).
TheInfinityLearningMapspromptstudentstodrawtheirviewofwhatishappeningintheirlearning currentlyandthentothinkabouttheiraspirationsforthefuture.Withareal-timepictureonthetable,students,teachersandfamilieshaveatangibleframetostop,reflectandthinkdeeplyaboutchangesthatwouldmostlikelycreatebetterconditionsforlearning.
Asthosegroupsmakeagreementsaboutchange, thereisnecessarilyagencyre-adjustmentoccurringamongthem.Studentagencytendstoimmediatelyrise,asthestudentstakeownershipofthemapping exerciseandtheydecideonnewwaysforward. Teachersandfamiliesadjusttheiragencyastheylearntosupportthestudents’moreself-determinedwaysoflearning.
Idea3. Positiveenergyandnewhopeforsuccessgrowswhenchildrenaresupportedtoexternalisetheirchallenges(Epston&White,1992).Itisnotthechildwhoisthechallenge. Rather,itisthepracticesandinteractionsbetweenchildrenandtheirenvironmentsthatcreatechallenges.Whenchildrenlearntoexternalisetheirlearningchallenges,theygrowconfidenceintheirstrengthandabilitytotakeresponsibilitytoaddressthosechallenges,particularlywiththesupportoftheirpeers,teachersandfamilies.Idea4. EachInfinityLearningMapispersonalizedtothestudent.TheInfinityLearningMaps,explanatoryvideosandconversationswithteachersandfamilymembersarecreatedbyandhenceuniquetoeachstudent. ConversationsabouttheInfinityLearningMaps arecompletelyjargon-freebecausetheyaregeneratedfromstudenttalkfirst.Theentire experiencegoestotheheartofhoweach studentviewstheirlearningandwhattheyneedtochangetolifttheiracademiclearningexperiences.Therearealsospin-offpersonalisedmindsetandpracticeadjustmentsforteachersandfamilies.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).
Hereinliesadilemma. Termssuchas‘new’,‘exciting’and‘hungryforsuccess’aretypicallydiscountedas‘promotional’inthefieldsofschooleffectivenessandimprovement.Yettheyareessentialforinnovationthatcreatesshiftsfrompast-focusedschool-centrictofuture-focusedecologicallearning.Thedilemmafor
schools,communitiesandgovernmentsistodecidewhataspectsofpast-focusededucationareworthholdingontoandjusthowinnovativetheyarepreparedtobetostepintothefuture.InfinityLearningMapsareusefulasatoolforthosegroupstomake thosedecisions.
ResearchintoInfinityLearningMapsOurresearchprojectearlierin2015aimedtoassesstheperceivedvaluetoparticipantsofInfinityLearningMapsandtoidentifythetypesofactivitythatparticipants chosetosupportstudents’learning(Annan,J.,Annan,B.,&Wootton,M,inDraft). Theresearchinvolvedover300students,theirteachersandfamily.Thestudytookplaceovera4-monthperiodinwhichstudents,teachersandfamiliescametogetherthreetimestodraw,redraworrevisetheirInfinityLearningMapsandtoplananddiscusschangestotheirlearningenvironments.Studentsentereddataintoanon-linedatabasewithintheInfinitywebsiteasthey workedthroughtheInfinityLearningMapprocess. StudentscapturedtheirInfinityLearningMapsdigitally, videoedtheirdiscussionabouttheirInfinitymapsandnotedthepeople,places,toolsand relationshipsthatsupportedtheirlearning.Theyalsosetchangepriorities,listedthe actionstheywouldtakeandrecordedtheirprogressinmakingthechanges.Teachersandfamiliesmadecommentsonthestudents’informationand notedtheactionstheywouldtaketohelptheirchildorstudentachievetheirgoa l .Inaddition,moredetaileddatawerecollectedthroughfocusgroupsanda surveyoftheperceivedusefulnessofInfinityLearningMaps.Informationwascollectedafterthefirstandlastmappingssessions.FindingsfromtheresearchindicatethatInfinityLearningMapsareprovingtobeusefulina numberofwaystogrowstudentagencyandadjusttheagencyofteachersand families.Bytheendofthethree-monthperiod,theresults fromthemultipledatasetsshowedthatallparticipantgroupsfoundInfinityLearningMapshelpful foravarietyofreasons(seetablebelow).
Figure1.PerceivedhelpfulnessoftheInfinityLearningMapstosupportspecifiedlearning.
InfinityLearningMapsSurvey
4 Veryhelpful3 Helpful2 Abithelpful
STUDENTS PARENTS TEACHERS 1N o t helpful
4
3
2
1
Thefindingsbelowshowpositiveinallthreegroupsofparticipants-students,teachersandfamilies
StudentsStudentssoughttobecomeactivelearnersandtoshareresponsibilityfordirectingtheirlearning.Themajorityofstudentsaddressedtheirchangeprioritiesorwere‘nearlythere’. Strategiestheyselectedatthelastmappingsessioninvolveddevelopinglearningrelationshipsandextendingtheirlearningenvironmentsincontrastwiththebaselinestrategiesofmanagingtasksandpracticing.
• 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
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.