Case Study: Making the Shift at Mackellar Primary
Mackellar Primary School provides a stimulating learning community where all learners feel a strong sense of connectedness to teachers, peers, and school. Mackellar provides exemplary programs in a vibrant, dynamic, and technologically rich environment where learners are empowered to become responsible citizens of the global community. Learn more at mackellarps.vic.edu.au/
Simon McGlade knows all about change. After becoming principal of Mackellar Primary School in late 2020, he discovered Future Focused Learning’s 10 Shifts of Practice. He knew then he was on to something for marshalling positive change in his new school.
“I recognised early on the eagerness and readiness of the students to take greater ownership and empowerment of their learning,” he recalls. “I also recognised in the staff a high degree of teaching skill and emotional intelligence. Having worked with Lee Crockett previously, I saw how these two existing strengths could be catapulted to greater heights through the power of the 10 Shifts of Practice, with their emphasis on innovation, connection, meaning, and mindfulness.”
How It All Began
As with any kind of transformation, there is a measure of anticipation and apprehension, and it was no different for the staff at Mackellar PS. The trick was adopting a methodical yet non-linear approach to empowering learners using Future Focused Learning’s “Lesson Zero” strategy.
“With meaningful change comes challenge, and with great challenge such as we had, brings inspiration and rewarding outcomes.”
The students’ enthusiasm was on full display when creating essential questions, and they connected deeply to the framework of Solution Fluency, using the 6Ds to find solutions to real-world problems.
“Students were able to define who they are and how they contribute to the wider community by exploring their greatness as citizens of Mackellar Primary School,” says FFL Leader Brenda Elliott. “The results have been impressive as they present their learning in a range of ways with the teacher forever mindful of the assessment available to them through this.”
Lesson Zero and the Shifts of Practice
Getting Unpacked
Lesson Zero is what happens before any other lessons begin, with unpacking the learning intentions and clarifying success criteria. Here the learners discussed the requirements of the standard and made sense of it in a way that suited their understanding.
Essential and Herding Questions
The essential question used was:
How can we share the greatness of us through our history and community?
Students learned about their family history by asking their parents and grandparents what country they were born in, and we placed their names on the world map. They interviewed family members asking what their life was like when they were the same age. The purpose was to understand that everyone belongs at Mackellar, regardless of differences.
The Three Cs
When they explored the 3Cs they found most students were curious about technology and toys. They were also concerned about people not having enough money or food to eat. This led to creating a shop idea and then a “Pay it Forward” idea, where unwanted toys and tech were donated instead of going into landfills. They pulled apart old laptops and created pieces of art, and students also loved making phones using two cans and string.
Connection Through Context and Relevance
Toys were chosen as the medium by which learners expressed their desire to assist others. Being of an age where toys are such an important part of growing up, they understood and could empathise with others who may not have toys to experience similar joy.
Learning is Personalised
By up-cycling a toy of their own, or someone they know, learners shared an emotional connection to the gift of giving; a monetary donation would not have provided the deep meaning that up-cycling a loved toy brings. Thus the choice of what to up-cycle to another in need was both very personal and very individualised for each learner.
Process Oriented Using the Fluencies
By using the 6Ds of Solution Fluency, the learners could see a framework and solution for what they were trying to achieve. Having explored the essential and herding questions, they were now able to define what their problem was and from there discover the realities of this problem and dream possibilities for its solution in a local context but with wider implications.
The design of their eventual project required subject matter experts—in this case, parents—from the class who were well in tune with toy needs of learners. This was a wonderful segue in having parents involved in the delivery aspect of the project, along with others in the community, notably the Salvation Army accepting the money raised with an explanation of how this money would make a difference to those in need within the community.
As they all debriefed the project, the learning from the students was both highly impressive, and at times quite unexpected. They were able to see lines of connection between their up-cycled toys and the joy they could bring to another, underscoring the vitality of supporting those in the community less fortunate than them.
“Many of our staff were eager yet apprehensive of wholesale change to what for some has been well-entrenched ways of operating over many years. ”
What Did Mackellar's Progress Look Like?
“Our expectations were exceeded, as students were intrigued by the origins of historical events and the hardships of what life was like in the past,” they reported. “Our seven-year-old students were involving families in their learning by conducting interviews and understanding how things change over time including themselves.”
As a result of their Pay It Forward project, the toys they collected were sold with the proceeds going to the Salvation Army, for which they raised $500. Students realised that they had influence in multiple ways by up-cycling toys to both reduce landfill and contribute to the lives of those less fortunate. The students delivered the funds directly to Captain Chad from the Salvation Army, and helped him reach the Red Shield Appeal goal for their local church.
What's Next for Mackellar?
So what did the staff of Mackellar feel were the most significant benefits of their latest learning adventures?
The Grade One team states it has been, “The development of the students’ inquiring minds and the opportunity it provided them to make discoveries about technology, their families’ past as well as themselves as this shapes who they are today. The learning has been a purposeful and student-led experience as they made real-life connections … they experienced intrinsic success whilst meeting our requirements of the Victorian Curriculum.”
As for the next steps, Principal Simon McGlade is already looking ahead. “The next exciting step for our school is to extend and broaden this work across the school to deepen everyone’s understanding and use of the 10 Shifts”, he says. “In time, we will also be incorporating Lee Crockett’s next body of work moving our students from agents of their learning to having agency in their learning.”
