in the classroom
Student Josh Bargebos ( right ) said he hoped Principal Sam Woods ( left ) didn ’ t get a detention for being on his phone during class . Picture : Supplied / ACC Hume`
Head of the class
Victorian principal goes back to school for a day
By Erin Morley
A
Hume Australian Christian College ( ACC ) principal shadowed a student around school for a day in September as part of the Shadow a Student Challenge , an international initiative designed to transform school culture through ‘ deeper learning ’.
Deeper learning encourages students to adopt ‘ academic mindsets ’ through understanding elements of a subject , instead of just its surface features . This way they learn to draw connections from one issue to another and apply the same problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to different contexts .
Principal Sam Woods shadowed year nine student Josh Bargebos as part of the School Retool challenge , a professional development fellowship that ‘ opens up school leaders ’ equity and hacking mindsets , and activates them to transform the culture of their school to achieve equally high deeper learning outcomes for all .’
This helps them to understand their student ’ s experiences and needs as best they can , so they can then implement efficient changes .
“ I ’ m eager to experience the timetable from a student ’ s perspective and understand if we ’ re just running with an outdated model or if there are creative ways to make the timetable serve the school community better ,” Mr Woods said . “ I ’ m also looking forward to gaining a better understanding of the cognitive load that students experience throughout the day and find out how taxing a whole day of learning is .”
Mr Woods followed the challenge ’ s four key steps – prepare , shadow , reflect and act – and met Josh at his bus stop at 8am .
After their bus ride to school , the pair attended three double ( 100 minute ) periods of English , Maths and Science , which Mr Woods said he preferred to regular single-period lessons in his reflection .
“ My mind only had to be in three different spaces ( not five or six ) throughout the day . It made the day feel more consistent than I remember my general day in high school feeling all those years ago ,” he said .
Mr Woods also remembered how complex student-teacher relationships are , acknowledging that part of being a student is being a kid , who is navigating how relationships with adults work .
“ Both [ students and teachers ] have different expectations of their relationships .
I ’ m also looking forward to gaining a better understanding of the cognitive load that students experience throughout the day and find out how taxing a whole day of learning is
Students also have complex relationships with each other , which is evident both in the classroom and the yard ,” he said .
“ It has never been more evident to me that explicit teaching about positive relationships , resilience and emotional intelligence should be part of our normal curriculum .”
He added that relationships at school are make-or-break , and teachers often expect “ adult-levels ” of emotional maturity from students , which is misplaced .
Mr Woods and Josh went to lunch together then did an outdoor science experiment before their bus ride home . The principal said he was exhausted and noted Josh ’ s long commute to school as an out-of-town student .
“ The bus picked us up at 8am and we didn ’ t get [ home ] till after 4pm .
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