HAIS Learning Walk

On Friday last week I visited Le Jardin Academy (LJA) in Kailua as part of the HAIS learning walk designed to encourage communication between independent schools. Visiting other schools is such a healthy way to get new ideas for the classroom--I loved it.  In each room a student “classroom ambassador” came up to us and explained the unit question, the area of interaction, and a brief summary of the work at the moment--the teacher just kept teaching.

LJA is doing so many things well it was nice to just walk around and observe them in action.  Things going well:

 1. An environment of collaboration
Several teachers had breaks between classes and shared lesson plans, book lists, summative assessments, and rubrics with our group. 

 2. Classrooms you can decorate
Many of the rooms we visited seemed to be inhabited by only one teacher and they put up student work, rules, and decorations that made the space unique and fun. At the brain conference speakers argued that what is on the classroom walls does affect students’ aptitude for learning.

 3. Printing access for students in every classroom
 We watched students write an in-class essay on their computers and print it in the same room. Very efficient.

4. Maximum 16 students to a classroom
 The classrooms themselves were small, but they fit the manageable number of bodies there.

 5. An administration firmly in favor of 21st century skills
 I don’t know if any school ever has all faculty members, parents, and administration personal moving together towards just one objective, but it appeared that this was very high on the school's list of priorities, and it showed in the student's focus on the material.