Join our principal as he takes us on journey explaining the teaching and learning methods that will be part of our life at the new site.
There is no doubt or question that KingsGate School will deliver a Christ-honouring curriculum based on the principle that everything is done in the name of the Lord Jesus. The learning environments will be marked by love and filled with care and respect, and teachers will continue to love their students and seek to help them fulfil their potential in Christ. But I know some of you are curious about what “teaching and learning” will look like in the new flexible learning environments, so I intend to help colour your picture here.
Flexible Learning Environments (or FLEs) require a new approach to teaching. Gone are the days where one teacher will stand in front of the class and tell the students what they need to know. This was okay for an industrialized, mechanical, assembly-line era of life, but this is not our children’s future; rather, it was our past. Teaching, therefore, has evolved to match and keep pace with the demands of a much different future that we are preparing our children for. In this sense, our children will identify and categorize the word “teacher” much differently than we ever did.
Please take the time to read the information below and watch the videos. These will help illustrate to you how our teachers will be engaging with their students in their learning journeys next year. I will add to the strategies
Our students will experience various forms of teaching in their new flexible learning environments. One of the most obvious from the start will be “team teaching”. In team teaching, the FLE teachers are in the learning space at the same time but take turns teaching the whole group (or, in our case, Gateway). Team teaching is sometimes called “tag-team teaching.” The team teachers are a bit like co-presenters at a conference or the Oscars, so when one of them makes a point, the other can jump in and elaborate if needed. Some of the benefits of team teaching are as follows.
In parallel teaching, the teaching team splits the class into two or three groups depending on the number of teachers in the Gateway. Each teacher teaches the same information at the same time. Parallel teaching works well to differentiate instruction when the content being taught is particularly challenging, and students benefit from learning complex material in smaller groups.
For teachers new to the collaborative environment, parallel teaching can be a comfortable way to start co-teaching. The teaching team plan together to make sure they’re covering the same material.
The Benefits of Parallel Teaching
In station teaching, the Gateway is divided into three or more groups and the LIFE space has multiple learning centres. As the students rotate through the stations, the teachers teach the same material in different ways to each group. For example, fractions may be taught with a fraction line at one and with cubes at another. If there are more stations than teachers, some stations may be student-led and at least one will focus on independent work or practice opportunities.
Benefits of Station Teaching are
What Station Teaching looks like in the LIFE space
Different learning stations are set up in various areas of the LIFE space, one for each teacher and at least one for independent student work.
In alternative teaching, one teacher instructs most of the class and the other teacher teaches an alternate or modified version of the lesson to a smaller group of students. Alternative teaching is also sometimes described as “big group/small group” teaching.
Small groups are often put together based on students’ learning needs. Teachers take time to look over student data to help them figure out which students need support filling in gaps in background knowledge, which students need remediation, or which students could benefit from accelerated learning because they already know the content or have mastered the skills of the large group lesson.
Benefits of Alternative Teaching
What Alternative Teaching looks like in the LIFE space.
One teacher is at the front of the room or roaming providing large group instruction, while the other teacher works with a small group of students in a different space.
In the “one teach, one assist” model of co-teaching, one teacher teaches a full group lesson, while the other teachers roam and help individual students. This is sometimes called “one teach, one support,” because the second teacher often provides additional support for learning or behavior management . Prior to the lesson the Gateway teachers will know which students need extra support during the lesson, what that support looks like, and what each student is struggling with.
Benefits of One Teach One Assist
What One teach One Assist looks like in the LIFE space.
The lead teacher is at the front of the room, where all students can see, while the other teacher roams among students and assists as needed.
In a “one teach, one observe” setting, one teacher serves as the primary instructor, while the other teachers simply observe students’ learning and collecting data, which can be useful in:
Benefits of One Teach One Observe
What One Teach One Observe looks like in the LIFE space.
The instructing teacher is at the front of a learning space teaching all the students, while the other teachers are stationed somewhere inconspicuous to make observations.