ENRICHED LEARNING AND TEACHING POLICY

1. Introduction

This policy has been produced to guide teachers in the appropriate and useful application of communication and digital technology as an enhancement to teaching as well as defining the nature and expectations of Ziauddin Schools’ and Colleges’ ‘resource-rich’ focus for education. Whilst this focus enriches teaching in the Ziauddin Education System and so enhances student engagement in learning, it is also recognised as providing ZSC with a comparative advantage compared to other schools and colleges.

To ensure that this enrichment is truly impactful, this policy outlines how teachers can use contemporary understandings about how learning and teaching can be enriched with technology  and facilitated by resources. As such, this policy is a reference for good practice aimed at assisting ZES teachers to meaningfully incorporate communication and digital technology, and other learning/material resources into their practice in ways that are sustainable. This underpins the Ziauddin commitment to providing the most engaging learning for our students.

Through active consideration of what and how to use communication and digital technology to facilitate learning, and how to create and use study materials and other resources, teachers will be aligning their practice to the Professional Standards Framework for teachers (see Ziauddin Schools and Colleges Teaching and Learning Policy). This will underpin the quality of facilitated learning in the Ziauddin Education System.

 

2. Aims of this Policy

  1. To promote, support and embed the effective use of communication and digital technology for learning and teaching in Ziauddin Schools and Colleges
  2. To provide the framework for the creation and use of student-centric learning resources and materials
  3. To enrich the ZES student learning experience
  4. To provide a clear structure for the effective and relevant use of communication and digital technology in Ziauddin Schools and Colleges, by:
    1. Promoting innovative use of communication and digital technology across subject areas in the curriculum
    2. Encouraging the sharing of effective practice with respect to communication and digital technology within and across all Ziauddin Schools and Colleges
    3. Suggesting strategies for flexibility in curriculum implementation and widening opportunities for learning in and beyond schools and colleges through the use of student-centric learning resources
    4. Suggesting how students can use digital technology to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information responsibly and creatively

 

3. The Role of the Teacher in Enriching Learning

For ZES, all teachers contribute to the development of enriched learning using communication and digital technologies and student-centric resources throughout the whole education system.

Where it is feasible and teachers have been properly prepared through PD, communication and digital technologies (CDT) can be incorporated into teaching and learning. Teachers can use CDT to:

  • Monitor the progression of students’ learning in their class
  • Assess students’ knowledge and understanding in all subject areas
  • Support the development of student autonomy in learning
  • Nurture students’ skills of enquiry, questioning and information seeking required for lifelong learning
  • Differentiate learning, so that lessons are adapted to cater for individual learner needs
  • Support students to communicate, collaborate and manipulate information electronically

All teachers should create and use student-centric self-access (SA) resources and materials. The following guidelines should be adhered to:

  • All printed materials should be prepared and distributed well in advance of their use
  • All printed materials MUST include clear directions for use (i.e. students must know how to use the materials/ resources and which materials they are expected to access and by which timeline)
  • Despite having access to student-centric learning materials, students still require planned and focused interactions with teachers; communication and interaction regarding learning from, and progress through, learning resources is key to their success
  • A timeline should be provided to students to help them organise the use of the materials and their study time
  • Materials can serve as either the primary source for facilitating learning/activities or as a supplementary source to course textbooks and workbooks
  • Communication via phone or email or other electronic means should be used for student questions, assignment submissions, and teacher feedback.
  • Sufficient materials should be included to support students’ self-assessment of progress and for teachers to monitor the progression of students’ learning

To ensure that learning is enriched in Ziauddin Schools and Colleges, it is the responsibility of teachers to:

  • Contribute to whole-school/college planning for CDT/ learning resources
  • Create contexts for the use of student-centric (SA) learning materials and create student-centric (SA) learning/ study materials
  • Integrate CDT/ learning resources into curriculum planning, classroom activities and the assessment of student’s learning
  • Ensure that any CDT resource used in the classroom is appropriate to student’s learning needs
  • Make use of CDT resources as widely as possible in their teaching
  • Provide opportunities for increasing the complexity of contexts in which CDT is used
  • Provide access to the following (wherever feasible):
    • Computers, Laptops and tablets
    • The Internet and E-mail
    • Recording devices – Microphones
    • Headphones
    • Television
    • DVD Player
    • Calculators
    • Cameras – including digital video cameras
    • Programmable Toys
    • Interactive Whiteboard/ projected resources
    • Scanner
    • Webcams
    • Softwares and online resources

 

4. Core Principles that Support Enriched Learning

4.1 Monitoring and Reporting

Evidence must be kept to record students’ progress using CDT and SA learning resources. This can include:

  • Clear linkages to lesson planning and schemes of work for how students completed the tasks set and achieved the learning objectives
  • Photographs and short video clips of students using CDT and SA materials
  • Students’ saved work after using CDT/ SA learning materials
  • Tracking sheets which record usage and completion for each student

4.2 Progress of students’ CDT and SA learning experiences and outcomes should be shared with parents

4.3 CDT and SA learning experiences should:

  • Be considerate of individual student’s learning needs
  • Increase access to the curriculum content
  • Support the development of skills for communication, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration

4.4 Online Safety

  • Students must be instructed not to place online (or give to anyone) information that can identify their identity or location (e.g. address or telephone number) or those of anyone else in school/college
  • Students must be instructed to inform a teacher immediately if they come across any inappropriate material whilst online
  • Any recording of students (video, photographs or audio) will only be done with the express permission of the student and only during a learning activity under the supervision of a teacher
  • Students must be informed that all CDT material is for ZES students’ own educational use (i.e. it must not be shared with anyone outside the ZES system, placed in the public domain via social media or other means)

 

5. How Teachers Can Enrich the Curriculum

Students should be given opportunities to use CDT/ SA as resources (whether as primary resources or supplementary resources) to develop their knowledge and understanding of curriculum content and beyond (i.e. the socio-cultural, scientific, mathematical, economic, environmental, historical and language/vocabulary components of being a student in Pakistan) and to develop digital skills and presentation skills when presenting or displaying their work.

Incorporating the “Five E’s” into learning using CDT and SA

Across all curriculum content, at a functional level based on their ability, students should use CDT/SA materials to:

Engage

Using CDT/SA materials, students should:

  • Be able to make connections between previous learning and current experiences
  • Be stimulated, interested and curious
  • Be able to generate their own questions about what they are studying

Explore

Using CDT/SA materials, students should:

  • Learn how to access and manage data and information
  • Develop skills for research and investigation
  • Carry out their own self-directed hands-on activities
  • Be able to select and interpret data and information
  • Be able to make predictions, inferences and solve problems

Explain

Using CDT/SA materials, students should:

  • Learn how to create and present ideas and information which is to be accessed by others
  • Create a range of information resources and multimedia/ digital products
  • Communicate using a range of methods and equipment

Elaborate

Using CDT/SA materials, students should:

  • Share, exchange and develop ideas collaboratively
  • Be able to apply what they have learned to new situations and so develop a deeper understanding of what they have learned

Evaluate

Using CDT/SA students should:

  • Be enabled to talk about and consider improvements to their work by reflecting on the processes they used and the outcomes they achieved
  • Reflect on the efficacy of the sources and resources they used
  • Provide evidence for changes to their understanding and skills

Where appropriate, students should be given opportunities to use CDT/SA resources for:

  • Individual work/ study
  • Group activities/ collaborative endeavours
  • Pair work/ pair learning

When working at a computer, it is important that all students are engaged on task and can see the screen comfortably. Therefore no more than three students should work together at one computer.

 

6. Development of Learner Competences

The supposition of enriching learning with CDT/SA is that a ‘resource-rich’ learning experience will support the development of key competences for 21st Century learners. These competences include:

6.1      Learning as a lifelong attribute

Ziauddin students should appreciate that learning is a continuous process. They should understand that learning is not confined to the classroom and that learning can take many forms and occur in many different contexts and locations.

6.2      21st Century skills

Students should develop their ability to communicate, problem-solve, think and reason critically, think and reason critically, and use their creativity.

6.3      Curiosity

ZES students should have the confidence to  ask questions and explain their thinking. Students should develop a mindset that seeks out opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom, to explore beyond the curriculum objectives.

6.4      Adaptability to change

Students must learn to cope with, and adapt to, changes to practices and processes as technologies develop. Students should have a positive approach to changing situations and social dynamics.

6.5      Being goal-oriented

Students should become clearer about their personal goals for learning and how these relate to future opportunities

6.6      Being persistent

Students should learn to be persistent (i.e. not to give up), knowing that life’s challenges need persistence in order that they may be overcome.

6.7      Self-management

Students should develop an independent approach to learning and life, being able to self-direct their own learning and manage their time and study efficiently in order to be autonomous learners in the future.

6.8      Being open-minded

Students should learn about the diversity of the world and learn to accept difference and diversity across cultures and societies.