Norwegian Mental Models

Now that there are 15 schools and nurseries in Norway in the Community Designed Education network, with 6 more due to join this summer, I thought it about time I posted a Norwegian blog (for the English version, use the translator at the bottom of the page). And how fitting that the picture should come from Hogsnes oppvekstsenter, the first school in Norway, and indeed in Scandinavia, to join the CDE network.

Sentralt i CDE-prosessen står undervisning av de mentale modellene som er nødvendige for å virkeliggjøre skolens (eller barnehagens) visjon. Mentale modeller er de dypt forankrede antakelser, generaliseringer eller bilder vi har, som avgjør hvordan vi forstår verden, og hvilke valg vi gjør, hvilken praksis vi velger.

For eksempel, hvis en lærer mener at barn lærer best hvis de får motta informasjon som de siden skal huske, vil denne læreren legge opp sin undervisning ut fra det. En annen

lærer, som mener at barn lærer best når de får stille spørsmål, tenke gjennom sine begrunnelser og trekke sine egne konklusjoner, vil gjennomføre en helt annen type undervisning. Begge disse lærerne handler ut fra god tro, ut fra en tro på at deres praksis gir gode muligheter for læring, men de befinner seg i svært forskjellige virkeligheter. Dette er grunnen til at mentale modeller har så stor betydning, og grunnen til at de "riktige" mentale modeller må identifiseres og undervises i, hvis skolen (eller barnehagen) skal kunne realisere sin felles visjon.

Da personalet ved Hogsnes Oppvekstsenter skulle identifisere de mentale modellene som var nødvendige for at de skulle kunne realisere visjonen sin, gjennomførte de først en brainstorming. Deretter stemte de fram de viktigste, blant de mentale modellene de hadde identifisert ut fra visjonen sin. (Resultatet kan dere se på bildet.) Utfordringen deres ble deretter å modellere, snakke om å undervise i disse mentale modellene, hver dag, med alle medlemmene i læringsfellesskapet.

Det gleder meg å kunne si at de har gjort store fremskritt! Faktisk så store at Ragnhild Isachsen, rektor på Hogsnes, er invitert til å holde et foredrag (keynote speech!) på den 14.Internasjonale Tenkekonferansen i Kuala Lumpur neste måned!

Variation on the Hot Air Balloon

Following on from the 3 Apples experiment, here's another contribution from Ian McKenzie at Viscount School in Auckland. He's been working with a class of 12-year-olds on values, using a variation of the hot air balloon scenario (a balloon's going to crash unless a few people are ejected from the basket). As Ian explains:

We began with a discussion about where ideas of 'good' and 'bad' come from, and how these 12-year-olds had picked up values without ever thinking about them (this was their realisation rather than something I told them). We then decided to explore their values a bit more using the old hot air balloon debate. We seated ourselves in a pentagonal, with a chair in front of each bench. The students on chairs were nominated as the talkers, though anyone could give them a suggestion, and those on the benches were the listeners. Whenever someone was persuaded by an alternative view from someone else, then they were encouraged to move seats to show they had changed their mind, or at least were wondering whether this counter-argument might be worth considering more.

In this variation, the groups were asked to represent drug addicts, teenage mums, homeless people, ex-convicts, disabled people and so on. The students then challenged each other's assumptions about those people, as is the case with most debates, but the physical fluidity of students literally moving their positions helped to challenge stereotypes and lazy assumptions. And, as the dynamics of the groups changed, so too did the dynamics of the inquiry.

Mostly, I find this an excellent vehicle for students to have to use some ALTERNATIVE thinking. What always seems to happen though is that kids get stumped when someone has the courage to ask them WHY they have a certain value or assumption. The real thinking begins then!

Core Values

At the heart of the Community Designed Education process is the identification of a set of Core Values. Though most schools have a set of "virtues posters" dotted around the place, this approach is different in that a) it identifies just 3 or 4 of the most important ones, b) focuses attention on these top values so that they are far more likely to be embedded, and c) ensures that the chosen values become part of the curriculum and the culture of the school, and not just a topic for assemblies now and again.

For one school in the CDE network, the effect of this was remarkable. All of the staff voted for the top 3 values, with "Everyone feels valued" coming out as the top one. At the time of the vote this was a primary school doing a good job in a challenging area; they had lots of posters around the school extolling various virtues and the staff were trying their best to teach a whole range of positive behaviours. But by their own admission, not everyone was feeling valued. So they challenged themselves over the coming weeks to ensure that everyone they came into contact with, children, colleagues, parents (even Mrs Smith who is making her 5th complaint of the week) would be valued. Within a few months, the school felt a different place: more positive, supportive and more caring than ever before.

If you're considering this approach, then remember that pretty posters are not enough! Core values need to be modelled, articulated and taught. As you can see in the photo of Cambewarra's display, they have not only identified their main values but described each one as well as listed behaviours one would expect to notice when these values are being practised/maintained. They also teach these values through form tutor time, in assemblies and throughout the curriculum.

For more information and ideas about core values, I recommend the CDE website and Bill Martin's Leadership Blog.