Enquire Conference - Achieving Excellence with Additional Support February 28, 2008
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , 2comments
I attended and presented (using the above model as a framework- click for all the slides) at one of the break-out sessions today at the above conference run by Enquire , The Scottish Advice Service for additional Support for Learning. Impressive presentations throughout the day. The pupils presentations were excellent and I particularly enjoyed the North Ayrshire presentation on the inclusive club run by pupils within a school - very powerful. A lot to learn from all involved including the post event conversations
One of the keynote speakers was Dr Carol Craig, again very powerful. I may just have to get hold of her book; Creating Confidence: a handbook for professionals working with young people.
Thanks again to Gavin for inviting me to talk and Sean and Colin for being so easy to present with on our session “Risky Business” - which was fully booked out.
Can East Lothian Schools be Learning Organisations? February 18, 2008
Posted by Bill in : Dissertation, Learning Organisations , 2comments
I have been taking some leave to get some work done on my MSc dissertation. I have finally put finishing touches on proposal and have been working on the methodology for the study . During my reading i have noted that many works consider that schools are “institutions of learning” however they are often “incapable of innovation”(Senge) due to structural barriers and are unable to become learning organisations themselves. As an EL education employee you may disagree..
What I hope to do is (In summary);
” The author intends to in this study examine and identify the key characteristics of learning organisations and select an appropriate diagnostic tool to collect data within the author’s organisation (Scottish Local Education Authority) and by further analysis examine the question of whether educational establishments can become learning organisations. The findings will also consider the application of the selected diagnostic tool in terms of it’s potential to support Outdoor Management Development Courses”
I intend to use a diagnostic tool in the form of a questionnaire which will give holistic data on where the organisation (East Lothian Education) measures up on some of the key traits of learning organisations. The sampling will be on purposive basis i.e. non probability and I intend to the questionnaire out to a;
- Secondary School
- Primary School
- Education support staff and management (JMH)
I realise it will be with school or department approval and will of course keep the questionnaire to a manageable form and hopefully get it in staff in trays at an appropriate time - I realise the timing will be unique for all of the above.
The data could prove to be useful for future training and development within East Lothian as well as for my own aim in identifying whether educational establishments can become learning organisations and whether findings could support content on OMD style courses. It may also assist helping shape future revolutions / visions of EL Education?
Although I have approached in principal with Education Management it will be up to the schools as to whether they will allow me to distribute the survey. I have had one or two agree on principal but would welcome any volunteer schools.
IS YOUR SCHOOL A LEARNING ORGANISATION?
Uk Via Ferrata in The Lake District February 7, 2008
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , 2comments
Whatever your thoughts on the activity in terms of outdoor learning the clip is quite interesting.
Is it outdoor education?
Parliamentary Debate - Scottish Outdoor Education. February 4, 2008
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , 5comments
“Outdoor learning is not just something that is done in five special days of schooling; it should be part of where and how children and young people learn on a day-to-day basis”
Maureen Watt - Minister for Schools & Skills.
Below are links to last weeks debate in the Scottish Parliament on the below motion that the above quotes are taken from. Once again it seems there is great enthusiasm for the delivery of outdoor learning in Scotland, but the continuity of need and supply on the ground prompted this comment;
“The extraordinary thing is that, in the 1970s and 1980s, there were more young people in education and less was spent on it but we still found the money for outdoor education. Now, we have fewer pupils, more money, but no outdoor education”
Robin Harper MSP.
More details below but definitely some opportunities here for SAPOE members to provide further briefing to better inform a positive future debate.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the vital contribution that taking part in extra-curricular activities makes in developing our young people; notes that extra-curricular programmes help our young people to learn new skills, to enjoy new responsibility, to appreciate the work of other people and to learn about leadership; notes the success of projects such as Crieff High School’s Community Awareness Project, and considers that, in an age when too many of our young people are in the headlines for the wrong reasons and when there are increasing concerns about school discipline and the numbers of youngsters involved in incidents of antisocial behaviour, extra-curricular activities in schools and five days outdoor education for every school pupil in Scotland should be supported.
Full Parliament Debate details.
Coaching CPD - Activley Untaps Potential. February 3, 2008
Posted by Bill in : Coaching, Outdoor Learning , 1 comment so far 
This week as part of CPD I attended a Coach course run by Lynn from Nurture HR. I would highly recommend the course. This one of several coaching courses being rolled out by the region. It was great as always to meet other staff from the region and discuss many of the benefits of running coaching programmes as well as trying out the techniques skillfully taught by Lynn. Many corporate organisations have involved the principles of coaching in their HR management to great effect and as this gathers pace in east Lothian I am sure it will contribute. I hope that as this programme rolls out it will help improve the EDR process. Coaching has many benefit. Lynn provided us with plenty of material and further reading. This list below I found at the Coaching and Mentoring Network I particularly like the first bullet point. I also loved the VAK session which I had not used before.
- Actively untaps potential.
- Fine tunes and develops skills.
- Development activities are designed to suit client’s personal needs and learning styles.
- Eliminates specific performance problems.
- Can focus on interpersonal skills, which cannot be readily or effectively transferred in a traditional training environment.
- Provides client with contacts and networks to assist with furthering their career or life aspirations.
- Performed in the ‘live’ environment
- Highly effective when used as a means of supporting training initiatives to ensure that key skills are transferred to the ‘live’ environment.
- Coaches and mentors transfer the skills to the client rather than doing the job for them.
I believe that this is the way forward for EDR sessions as the “paper based” system of running through a review often seen by some managers to be “something they have to do once a year”. By attending sessions such as these managers can see just how rewarding skillful EDR can be. Yes embedding coaching will take more time but the region would reap the benefits in the long run.
A recent post on Don’s blog mentions future training and the use of coaching in threes.
