The Walker Learning Approach at Longburn School

The Walker Learning Approach at Longburn School...

Longburn School is trail blazing as the first NZ school to adopt the Walker Learning Approach, following on from successful implementation of the approach in schools across Australia.

Our school community is proud to have, at the beginning of 2015 and after researching various pedagogical models, adopted the ‘Walker Learning Approach’ (WLA) as the best fit teaching approach for our school and learners. It is an exciting and innovative approach to teaching with huge benefits for children’s’ learning and development. It is the result of many years of research and practice in Early Childhood development, Educational Psychology and teaching and learning by Kathy Walker and Shona Bass, both of whom we are now privileged to be mentored by as we implement the approach schoolwide.

The Walker Learning Approach is a developmental play-based approach (WLA). The Walker Learning Approach was developed and designed to engage children in authentic and meaningful ways so that children would enjoy their learning. It draws upon evidence from neuroscience and human development and reflects and respects the uniqueness of culture, family and relationships. It uses play-based and personalised learning theories as its basis and retains explicit instruction of literacy and numeracy.

The early years (New Entrant to Year 3)

As an overview, the children spend the morning working on their own personal projects and investigations within various learning centres e.g role play, collage, construction, sensory area, reading/writing areas. Teachers work as facilitators, recording detailed notes on focus children, observing individual developments, and providing scaffolding and support for children to challenge and extend themselves through their chosen investigations. Focus areas in literacy and numeracy are incorporated into the morning sessions, so that students have a real and immediate point of reference when we come to explore these concepts in a more formal, explicit setting. Each morning, children are given specific roles and responsibilities to record, observe and report upon their findings. These recordings are then shared through whole-group discussion after the investigations, when students have a chance to reflect on and further develop their learning and experiences.

Formal targeted teaching sessions in literacy and numeracy, along with planned and explicit teaching in all other areas of the NZ Curriculum, remain as part of our daily teaching and learning programme over and above the Walker Learning part of the day.

Many years of research across Australia and our own experiences have shown:

·         Higher levels of engagement and motivation

·         Higher oral language skills

·         Increased writing

·         Increased pro social skills

·         Decreased behavioural problems

Wider ScopeThe Primary and Middle Years (Years 4 to 8)

The Walker Learning Approach for our middle to upper primary students (our Senior HUB) aims for maximum engagement from students and includes these key components:·         empowering and student-focused learning environment

·         student-teacher-parent communication boards

·         electronic media

·         focus students

·         focus groups

·         explicit instruction teaching sessions

·         student-teacher class meetings

·         student project work (education research projects known as ERPs)

·         expo

·         teacher, self and peer assessment

·         planning, documentation and reporting.

More information for parents

We offer Parent Information Sessions run by our staff and Walker Learning associates. In the meantime we recommend you have a look at the Walker Learning website www.walkerlearning.com.au or ask the HUB Lead Teachers or Principal for more information about the approach.