The Digital Learning Plan for Salesian Secondary College is formulated with the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020, Enhancing Teaching, Learning and Assessment at its core. This strategy  recognises that digital technologies can play a central role in transforming learning, teaching and assessment practices for teachers and students in a high-quality 21st century education system. 

For the purposes of this document, ‘Digital learning’ refers to the embedding of digital technologies within learning, teaching and assessment practices in a school.

This document records the outcomes of our current digital learning plan, including targets and the actions we will implement to meet the targets.

Our aim is to embed technology into the student’s educational experience and foster an environment within our school of support and innovation. School leaders will contribute their energy, direction and skills of leadership to cultivate a collaborative teaching and learning environment for integrating technology as a meaningful and effective part of the educational process. 

We will use digital technology in the classroom in the following ways:

We periodically review the elements of our subject plan. This review will happen 4 -5 times per year. As part of this review, we meet weekly in our timetabled department meeting to discuss the implementation of the classroom strategies outlined above and use the opportunity to share with colleagues any resources we have tried and how they worked or otherwise in the classroom setting. 

Systematically, as a dept we reflect on how the implementation of the plan is progressing and consider any successes (wins) as well as identify areas for development. In doing so it helps us ensure that each element reflects the teaching and learning priorities agreed by our team.

“the process of teaching and learning is a collective endeavor in which teachers and students are partners in creating knowledge ….. 

The pedagogy proposed by Freire opposes traditional forms of teaching and learning that aim at domesticating the student, subsuming the Other into the Self, and neglecting the voice of the oppressed. Through dialogue, educators abandon the "banking model of education" in which the student is seen as an empty recipient that must be filled with teachers' knowledge and worldviews (Freire, 2000, p. 72).

According to the Freirean framework, education becomes the tool through which teachers and students learn and teach simultaneously, without submission or knowledge hierarchies. Paulo Freire

Introduction

Student collaboration can add much-needed variety to the classroom. Teachers are continually looking for ways to enhance student collaboration in the classroom, to listen to the student voice and engage in a process of teaching to ensure increased motivation, student engagement and self-confidence. 

By engaging and listening to students we can differentiate our lessons to ensure we target 97% of students at different stages of our lesson.  Classroom collaboration also encourages communication and cooperation among students and in effect allows them to teach one another. In some instances, students actually understand the material better when it is explained by their peers. Student act as active agents in the construction of knowledge and meaning. 

Collaboration firstly needs to have build good relationships and this takes time

Related School-Wide Initiatives

How do we incorporate Student Collaboration throughout the school 

·        Diverse student Council 

·        Subject and programme planning 

·        Literacy & Numeracy policy

·        Student Wellbeing policy 

·        DEIS (Student Attendance & Participation) policy 

·        Inclusion and SEN policy

·        School Self-Evaluation policy 

·        Digital Learning Technologies policy

What does it mean for Business Studies?

The curriculum and assessment arrangements in the new Junior Cycle will provide students with learning opportunities that strike a better balance between learning knowledge and developing a wide range of skills and thinking abilities. The Business Studies curriculum will further promote an appropriate focus on active and collaborative learning and will enable learners to investigate issues, to explore, to think for themselves, to be creative in solving problems and to apply their learning to new challenges and situations. The implementation of these curriculum and assessment arrangements must, of course, take into account the needs of the students and the context of the school.

Classroom Strategies in Action

Flipped classroom as an approach where students read the material at home and discuss it in the classroom collaboratively.

Co-operative learning strategies like: 

Think Pair share – used to facilitate students to summarizing and paraphrasing information, this is a different ways of representing knowledge to cater for all learners (Visual learners, Auditory learners, Kinesthetic etc). 

Exit passes 

Peer and self-assessment 

It is necessary to have clear success criteria  

Peer assessment where students use one star and a wish etc. 

Self-assessment – where students can use a rubric to self-assess. Use of the Nurture App – Jump a grade which focuses on the learning rather than a grade. 

Teams/Groups each with a role (leader, time keeper, note taker, reporter): question a case study by  coding the text, what are the very important points (VIP’s), which areas do they need support in, critical reflection. KWL.

Ask students for their opinions/thoughts: using mentimetre, google forms, post its on exit, class discussion on different forms of teaching and assessment. 

Collaborate to develop the key skills of the Junior Cert like creativity.  Find alternative ways to represent knowledge.  Students could create individual power points near each other in a classroom but assist and observe each other throughout the lesson. 

They could create posters, debates, brochures, blogs, performances, presentations etc. 

Further Supports/Resources

Ø  Andy Hargreaves: Deep Collaboration for students and teachers (professional learning communities) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyuTujJMgho

 

Ø  colab_guidelinesforassessingcollaborativelearning_2018_pub.pdf

Ø  Leadership | CPD Supports | Student-centred Strategic Planning | Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT)

Ø  NIC report from NCCA on Vimeo (The Negotiated Curriculum)

 

Periodic Review

We periodically review the elements of our subject plan. As part of this review, we discuss the implementation of the classroom strategies outlined above and explore how they have supported students’ learning as well as broader school initiatives. We reflect on its implementation and consider the successes as well as identify areas for development. Ongoing and periodic reviews help us ensure that each element reflects the teaching and learning priorities agreed by our team.

 

 | Date of Review | 
| Discussion How effective have the above classroom strategies been? |


| Actions What actions are required to improve or to better implement this element?  |


| Who? Who is responsible for implementing the agreed actions? |