Educating today for tomorrow
Why at St Columba Anglican School are we implementing Deeper Learning?
To inspire and empower each other to create a better world.
Deeper learning puts the joy back into learning and it is meaningful, gives purpose, and unleashes potential. With the internet at our fingertips, knowledge and content can be googled by even our youngest students. This change has occurred over the last 20-30 years so education needs to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of our learners. Research shows that conventional schools across most systems in the world are increasingly irrelevant for the majority of students. Here at St Columba Anglican School we are preparing our students for a rapidly changing world whilst maintaining our high academic standards. Educators are tasked with preparing our students for this fast evolving world and a future in careers that do not yet exist.
What is Deep Learning?
Deep Learning is a set of student educational outcomes including acquisition of robust core academic content using real life problem solving, higher-order thinking skills, and learning dispositions.
Deep Learning is quality learning that sticks with you for life. The first step in reimagining learning has been to identify six global competencies (6Cs) that describe the skills and attributes needed for learners to flourish in today’s complex world.
Character
- Proactive stance toward life and learning to learn
- Grit, tenacity, perseverance and resilience
- Empathy, compassion, and integrity in action
Citizenship
- A global perspective
- Commitment to human equity and well-being through empathy and compassion for diverse values and worldviews
- Genuine interest in human and environmental sustainability
- Solving ambiguous and complex problems in the real world to benefit citizens
Collaboration
- Working interdependently as a team
- Interpersonal and team-related skills
- Social, emotional and intercultural skills
- Managing team dynamics and challenges
Communication
- Communication designed for audience and impact
- Message advocates a purpose and makes an impact
- Reflection to further develop and improve communication
- Voice and identity expressed to advance humanity
Creativity
- Economic and social entrepreneurialism
- Asking the right inquiry questions
- Pursuing and expressing novel ideas and solutions
- Leadership to turn ideas into action
Critical Thinking
- Evaluating information and arguments
- Making connections and identifying patterns
- Meaningful knowledge construction
- Experimenting, reflecting and taking action on ideas in the real world
| Traditional | Deep Learning |
|---|---|
| Teacher driven | Student led - teacher framed |
| Transmits existing knowledge | Connects students to real-world, authentic problem solving |
| Compliance oriented | Builds new relationships between and among learners, teachers, families, and community |
| Student is receiver of knowledge | Student is an inquirer and builds knowledge |
| Learning is impersonal | Learning connects meaningfully to student interest and voice |
| Student agency is unclear | Deepens human desire to connect with others to do good |
Here at St Columba we are striving for “results plus”. That is, keeping our high academic standards whilst at the same time preparing our students for the developing and changing demands of our world.
 | Julie Chambers Deputy Director of Teaching and Learning |