Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton in Brno Presentation of Czech Dalton Association Dalton_FINAL-bila-bez pozadi Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) What is Dalton? nDalton is no method, no system. It‘s an influence. nHelen Parkhurst n nEducational way concentrating on development of an individual child in means of „guided self-education“ nIntroduced by Helen Parkhurst in Dalton (Mass.,USA), 1920 nUsed in the UK during the 1930s (connected to educational psychology of J.Dewey and P. Příhoda) nSpread all over the world (the Netherlands, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Japan, China etc.) n Speaking about Dalton, we have to say that since it has appeared as an educational concept, introduced by Helen Parkhurst in her book Education on Dalton Plan (1922), introducing her newly developed educational way she used in her classes and school, it was changed in various means: the basic concept remains untouched. Parkhurst school was moved from Dalton to New York, where it over lasted more than eighty years. From the US it spread throughout the globe, reaching the UK, where it took attraction of Dutch and other Old-Continental reformists. It also inspired Mrs. Margaret Bailey who founded first Dalton school on the Australian Continent, on Ascham School in Sydney. The Czechs had several Dalton schools founded in Zlín, under the patronage of Tomáš Baťa, world-known shoe-maker. The theories attracted Příhoda, who belonged among school of J. Dewey and his educational pedagogy. Evolution of Dalton schools in Czech Republic was stopped by the WWII and communist takeover in 1948. The year of 1989 brought need for vital change in education and Dalton became one of the renewal methods for several teachers in Brno, who started to use Dalton elements in their classes in 1994. Since then, the Dalton seems to root in Brno and slowly influences teachers throughout the whole Czech Republic. We will speak more about Czech Dalton Association further in our presentation. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Basic facts on the Dalton Plan nThree basic principles: n •Freedom •Independence •Cooperation • Helen Parkhurst decided three most important principles to be respected in educational process. These three principles should be taken in account when any lesson, assignment or activity is prepared or planned. For the child is supposed to be educated continually, not by various approaches or methods. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) [USEMAP] Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Freedom nThe most discussed principle of today, for it gives an impression of „no rules at all“. nOften replaced by responsibility nDalton education allows teacher to create atmosphere which invites the pupil to take the responsibility for education nUsing given assignments, the pupil learns both about the freedom and how to deal with it nIt teaches basic needs of their future professional lives: they learn to be able „to stand on their own“, to be responsible not only for themselves, but also for their surround etc. Speaking about freedom in Dalton education, many of the listeners become mislead that Dalton allows every child to do what he wants. Thus the Dalton lesson is supposed to be an unorganized mess resulting in un-systematical amount of knowledge. Contemporary Dalton theorists understand the term freedom as a freedom within clearly specified borders. The child is invited to participate in education. The teacher resigns to be the only leading element in educational process and give the child responsibility for an amount of work to be done. Result is that the child learns about freedom of activity and also learns how to handle the freedom. The child learns to stand on his own. Nevertheless, unlike in real life, there is still teacher to give help if asked. So the Dalton freedom does not mean no system at all. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Some means of Freedom nPupil‘s Freedom nchoosing the working-place nchoosing the way of work – either alone, or in group nchoice in asking/not asking for help nchoosing the most suitable tools nchoice in planning and timing nchoice in handling the leisure time nTeacher‘s freedom nchoice in the program – amount of activities, types of activities nchoice of materials, textbooks, tools offered to pupils nchoice in evidence of done work nchoice in preparing the pupils for independent work nchoice in way of checking pupil‘s knowledge Talking about assignment of responsibility/freedom to child is much clearer with these examples. You can notice the principle of freedom goes also for the teacher, not only just child. Speaking about teacher‘s freedom, there appear first demand on the school management, resulting in much more opened, relaxed school climate. As for the child‘s freedom, you may recognize the duty of school / teacher: specify the work, allow child to stand on his own and supply him with whatever materials / room he needs to carry on the work. It is up the child how, where, with whom he will do. The teacher (or more likely teachers together) the basic call for freedom means an independence of work, being aware that I am given enough space to work with children my own way, not in the way the management asked me (or more strongly, forced me) to. Speaking of the freedom of evidence is little misleading though. As we will present later, each Dalton school in Brno has evolved a method suitable for their „Dalton“ and this method should be applied throughout the whole school. Reason for this is simple: we want our pupils to proceed not only with their knowledge, we want them to succeed also on the field of studying skills (planning, evaluation etc.). Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Independence n„We learn the most when we succeed alone, nwhen we figure something out.“ nProblems of motivation is solved – child has autonomy of learning for which it‘s being responsible. nWorking alone/in small groups demands finding own ways/methods of solving problems – it supports both creativity and ability to think nIt teaches the skill of planning the work and leisure time nDifferent types of activities offer enough space to everyone nPupil‘s independence allows teacher to differentiate n The principle of independence means give student enough space to proceed alone, release him from the teacher‘s lead. Given autonomy solves the problem of motivation (meaning: Look, I can work without you. I‘m like an adult!“) and teaches responsibility. The student must be aware of the amount of demanded work, he has to know what to do in order to plan not only working time, but also a leisure time. The principle of independence gives almost a priceless opportunity to the teacher: throughout suitably prepared assignment, the teacher can offer enough work for each student, inviting their best skills to work with. Independence allows us to differentiate between those gifted and less gifted. Education thus become much personal thing; it is, literarily, neither slowing down with the snails, nor catching the wind, both with no sense at all. It is about keeping progress following my own pace, using my own time, fulfilling my own schedule. It also demands much on preparation of teacher, something of which I am going to speak about later. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Cooperation n„Dalton is a way of relating to others.“ nLearning to respect other members of society became one of the most important needs of the world today nAbility to cooperate must be learned nDalton invites everyone to take a place in the work of the group, at the same time guarantying the basic social-needs of every human being nBasic models of relationships: •pupil « pupil; •pupil « teacher; •teacher « teacher. n It is said that „no man is an island“. We are born to a group of people, to a family, which educates us, later we have some classmates, who influence us. All the people we meet give an impact on us; either good, or less good. The school long pretended to be passing knowledge of those older and wise to those younger, who needed their education badly. All the educational impact we connected with the person of the teacher: either he was a good one, who made us to love the topic, or a less good, who showed us how looks the wrong way. Unfortunately, we had no choice to pick. From the point of view of the parent, it was the teacher to be blamed for child‘s failure: he was either able or unable. The principle of cooperation clearly specifies that education is not one way process. It is two-way dialogue of one who influences other and is influenced in response. The fact is that cooperation with others must be taught. We must know how to work independently; we also must know how and when we can ask for help. The more we work together, as a whole class lead by the teacher, the less we socialize. Dalton way of teaching cooperation differs from prepared activities for groups of children, over mentor-teaching to various other activities connected with the school. (It is not place here to discuss cooperative learning, so there is just a little mention.) Inviting children to cooperate with one anther highly influences their attitudes to other individuals. Children from children learn not only better (for sometimes they find out explanation you would never thought about), they also learn to respect one another, they recognize there are some ways they need to behave to become full-time participants of a group-work. They learn how to express their feelings, how to discuss staff or how to ask for help. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton means of work namong many others, some interesting means of work: n •Assignment •House •Laboratory •Delayed Attention n Talking more about Dalton requires some basic description of specific ways of Dalton work. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) [USEMAP] Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Assignment nDalton principles are realized through the means of an assignment nAssignment serves the pupil to recognize an amount of work to be done in a precisely specified time nA well-prepared assignment is more than just a long list of activities, its an educational project nWork on an assignment is cooperation of pupil and teacher – the teacher knows the pupils and the pupils know the teacher‘s requirements nWork on assignment needs thorough planning – it teaches the basic skills of progress organizing n Dalton assignment is basic mean of Dalton work. It allows to change passing information or skill into a process, organized both by the teacher and pupil. It clearly specifies what is demanded and invites the pupil to organize the process of realization individually, independently upon the teacher. However, the teacher is there to help with work, planning and evaluation of finished work. Together, the teacher and the pupil create an educational project that is based on the assignment and through which the individual of each pupil becomes more independent and self-reliant. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) [USEMAP] Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Contents of an assignment nCore material •Minimum educational goals every pupil has to learn nOptions •Differentiation activities which allow an individual pupil to pursue his/her own goals. Options should either enlarge the core material or offer extra-curricular topics nExtra-activities •Invite pupils to both entertain and learn in non-traditional ways (chess game, special computer educational programs, the Internet, etc.) • nEvery assignment is closed by test/exam period The core material (or compulsory work) means basic information or skills defined usually by educational standards. Each pupil is responsible to deal with this part of an assignment; the teacher usually demands information hidden in this part for tests and exams. Optional activities invite pupil to pursue individual goals of education. This section of an assignment allows the pupil to pick the most suitable work to fulfill long-term educational goals he has defined. This part allows the teacher to input more information to the assignment for students interested, additional activities on various problems might by also included (e.g. some activities which help with problems that revealed in previous exam-period). Extra-activities (some teachers calls it extra-work, which I don‘t like much) gives the pupil the opportunity to „relax“ (or self-educate) in more relaxing way. It is necessary to allow each pupil to do an extra-activity per one assignment. For it increases motivation - pupils usually feel more relaxed – they can play at school. Speaking about elder pupils, even those are happy to be invited to spend some time „on their own“ dealing with non-traditional topics or work. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) House nLesson designed for root-classes nPupils meet every day in the morning to discuss actual topics, they learn organizational information nPupils learn to participate in discussion on topics important for their life, for the life of school community, for society nUsed highly especially at Dalton School in New York Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Laboratory nA special lesson made for a pupil to work independently on the given assignment in own speed and pace nTime of laboratory must be planned in advance, the pupil enters the teacher‘s lessons also for consultations n “Laboratory“ is not used within Czech Dalton Schools. The reason seems to be one: there is no possibility to vary in the schedule, which must be clearly stated. Thus a laboratory became a part of any Dalton lesson : pupils are given time to work alone (with some schools, pupils have to plan to work independently in advance), with the possibility to consult a teacher. But again, Czech schools do not use laboratories in a way Helen Parkhurst designed them. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Delayed Attention nSpecial time of a lesson defined by a teacher nIt enables the pupil to work independently for a specified amount of time – ”the teacher does not exist“ nIt teaches pupils the ability to work independently upon the teacher, to be able to ask classmates for help, nThe teacher has time to help less gifted pupils nAs for primary schools, the delayed attention section is often specified by a special toy placed on a visible place Delayed attention is a part of a Dalton lesson (usually marked by a given symbol), in which pupils must work alone. They know they must follow some ways of behavior to ask for help, but it is clearly stated: the teacher does not exist in this time. Reasons for delayed attention are various. The main one is to “force“ students to rely on themselves, to build confidence in themselves. Time the teacher gains may be given to those pupils who need special care. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) [USEMAP] Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton teacher nCrucial in application of Dalton principles nGood cooperation of the staff is essential nResignation on a domination in the classroom nCreativity n n How dare you teach your pupils to be responsible when you are unable to take charge of your responsibility? How dare you indoctrinate independence while you do not work independently? How dare you teach collaboration when you cannot cooperate? Teacher is crucial in application the Dalton principles. Good cooperation of teachers in staff is essential for any Dalton school. I know from my own experience that this field is a very problematic one. I speak about situation when there is a group of Dalton teachers working with this method for some years and others are joining the group step-by-step. It is the frame that it cannot continue the “uniting” new Dalton colleagues without passing some materials and experience. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Basic responsibilities of a Dalton teacher nDiscuss with pupil continuously during the lessons and apart from them (in group or individually) nGive advice for study nPrepare the work-plan with the pupils nPrepare for the exams together with the pupils nBe aware of problems in other subjects and be able to react when it’s necessary nTake care of unusual absence nAllow parents to come to school nPropose the future pupil’s education together with the pupils and their parents (after the discussion with the educational advisor) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Czech Dalton Association nBasic facts nEstablished in 1996 in Brno nDalton schools in Moravia and Bohemia (contacts also in Slovakia) nEnthusiastic teachers and supporters throughout the Czech Republic nActivities nWorkshops and Conferences nTranslation of textbooks nContacts with Dalton Schools in New York, Sydney, Utrecht, Vienna, Bergen, Moscow, Portadown, Nagoya and Tokyo nCooperation with CERNEDA (Central European Network of Dalton Schools in Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia) n Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Cooperation of CDA The Netherlands state schools approx. 230 short-term attachments materials conferences Dalton School New York private school prestigious materials conferences Ascham Sydney private school girl school short-term attachments materials conferences Dalton Japan Nagoya, Tokyo private schools materials conferences [USEMAP] Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton Moscow Ecopolis 1080 state school succesful conferences CERNEDA Austria Slovakia Hungary Germany (Gerwish) state schools short-term attachments materials conferences Universities Utrecht, Linz, Brno, Pardubice, Praha materials workshops, seminars Cooperation of CDA Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Czech Dalton Schools nTill today, teachers from more than 131 school visited Dalton conferences organized by CDA n nPilot Dalton Schools * •Chalabalova Dalton School •Křídlovická Dalton School •Husova Dalton School •Mutěnická Dalton School • nToday, more than 25 schools apply Dalton elements in education * Pilot schools mean those schools which were first in introducing Dalton elements in education around 1994. These schools founded Czech Dalton Association. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Basic information on the curriculum organization in Czech Republic nCzech Republic still has defined a national curriculum/ national standards nthe schools are bound to follow given topics, which allows to vary not in the contents, but in form of education nthe schools are not “full” Dalton schools, where pupils pursue only their own fields of interest – our pupils have an amount of compulsory work to be done and mastered, they can differentiate and pursue own goals in options na less specified standards planned for the next year – problems of entrance exams for secondary schools Talking about national standards (and a change planned) brings an important problem: entrance exams for secondary schools. The main problem is the schools decide their own versions of entrance exams, so sometimes you teach some topics just in case they appear there. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Organization of a Dalton work ndifferent models used at the schools: •Chalabalova Dalton School nCampaign model – Dalton lessons in various subjects in a specified period – stresses planning the work and time organization •Křídlovická Dalton School nBlock lessons – several subjects decided to take participation in Dalton education for the whole school year, blocks repeat in a given timetable, stresses pupil‘s portfolios •Husova Dalton School nSubject model – defines Dalton assignments within one subject, stresses planning and evaluation of work Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton lesson: A Description nInstruction nCompulsory activities nOptional activities nDelayed attention nIndependent work nAdministration/Paper work nEvaluation nSelf-evaluation nEvaluation following a book nHanding handouts etc. nOther activities nSummary + teacher‘s evaluation n A Dalton lesson differs from a traditional lesson in several significant ways. In comparison with traditional lesson, where the atmosphere is said to be tense (testing, exams, silence necessary for teacher‘s lecture, class forced to progress in the same pace no matter the differences between individuals, loss of motivation etc.), the Dalton lessons invites everybody to participate through meaning of the assignment. The Instruction part is vital, the clearer the instruction, the better the lesson, for the students do not need other discussions/consultations (that make too much noise and appear every time you want to discuss something you consider highly important). The Delayed attention part invites student to think about work to be done. The student must think about individual activities, plan work on separate exercises, read instructions and decided if he understands them – it is definite that some questions appear so the student is demanded to be able to ask for help, clearly stating the teacher is the last instance for the case. The ability to communicate, basic social skills are needed, the student solves the problem in cooperation with others. The student have to be also able to formulate what the problem is, so it also develops individual independence. Independent work – (often enjoyed part of a lesson both by students and teachers). The students think they may do whatever they can, they follow their lesson-plan, their decision for cooperation etc. so they feel highly independent on the teacher. The teacher feels happy for (in ideal state) the gifted students work and there is enough time for those less gifted. The time he can spend with them multiplies – the effect thus must be clearer. Administration is somewhat one of the most important (and sometimes almost hated) part of a Dalton lesson. The independent work of individuals or groups breaks the assignment into pieces so both the teacher and the pupil must know what was done. The ways of paper work differ: depending on the age, there are first magnetic boards which give quite easily visible lesson-results (in terms of discussed topic). Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton lesson: Evaluation Behavior self-evaluation Classmates‘ behavior evaluation Behavior evaluation Whole class Group Individual Evaluation Teacher Student Work evaluation Work self-evaluation Whole class Evaluation of classmates‘ work Group Individual Means of evaluation differ, when we try to compare traditional way of teaching with Dalton method. Even though the diagram looks somewhat strange, it looks more like a constellation. In a literal way, all the little starlets, which create it, cooperate to highlight one, the most important star - the individual. In a traditional lesson, the teacher is considered to be the only one to give evaluation through means of marking tests or exams. As it is in a real life, where we learn from one another, the Dalton model invites all lesson participants to take part in the final evaluation. The teacher is responsible to evaluate what the student did in topic and in a way of behavior, either in a group, individually or within the whole class. The student then is invited to cooperate in creating the evaluation. We can say that even in traditional lesson, this model seems to be an ideal – the pupils are asked to learn from teacher’s corrections, not automatically replacing the wrong answer for the correct one, but to reconsider what and why there was a mistake. However, the Dalton model demands the evaluation to be created from the beginning in cooperation of both subjects, the student and the teacher. Thus it is not just just teacher, who gives the final verdict, it‘s more that the student is being led to the it by the teacher. Since the first talk about Dalton principles, we can see it is not the teacher who is being fully responsible for the students education, even in terms of evaluation we see strong image of partial responsibility, divided between the teacher and the student. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) [USEMAP] Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton lesson: Primary school Discussion in circle Listening center Computer Work with paper Sand-table Painting board Construction center The scheme shows circulation of activities in a Dalton lesson on primary level. The main difference from a traditional lesson is the possibility of choice in schedule of activities. After a discussion in circle the pupils are asked to work` its up to them where, with whom or at what sequence. To monitor finished work, there exists so called Dalton boards. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Ways of monitoring finished work Cards with activity-symbols Work with paper Compu-ter Listening center Painting board Sand-table Const. center Tony O O O John O O O O Petra O O O Jane O O O Usually with a colored magnets – day colors, subject colors etc, pupils mark not only what is done, they also reveal the sequence of activities, which allows the teacher to diagnose not only working habits of the individual pupil, but also preferences. Moreover, one glance on the board gives an overall picture of the pace of the whole group, so the teacher knows in every moment, what does the situation look like. The pupil learns not only to mark down what was done, the way to the board allows the pupil to relax before taking another activity. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) IMG_0331 Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Dalton Lesson: Lower Secondary nBasic sections of Dalton lesson organization remain nRealization differ school from school according to the “model“ of Dalton work the school uses nDespite the different ways of realization, the principles of Dalton are being respected, as well as the demand for individualized learning As for the higher levels of Dalton schools, the basic parts of lesson remain, though, they differ in realization. Speaking about instruction, it is common for longer assignments that it takes almost the whole lesson dedicated to work with the assignment to explore and plan the whole work. The same applies for evaluation. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Husova Dalton School ukol_list n n nTask List nDalton Organizer n Two basic means of monitoring the student’s planning of work and its fulfilling at Husova Dalton School – Task List and Dalton Organizer. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Portfolio – Křídlovická Dalton School n Křídlovická Dalton School uses Dalton Portfolios. Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Vladimír Moškvan, Lukáš Bajer (Brno, 2004) Contacts nDalton International •www.daltoninternational.org nCzech Dalton Association •www.chalabalova.cz nPilot Schools: •Chalabalova Dalton School: www.chalabalova.cz •Křídlovická Dalton School: www.zskridlovicka.cz •Husova Dalton School: www.zshusovadalton.cz •Mutěnická Dalton School: