FEEL

WE EXPERIENCED

While Riverside was built with the intentionality of seeding content and character in children, we felt the need to make this promise explicitly visible everyday and not leave it to chance.

Watch Kiran share the incident which sparked the re-design and implementation of the Agenda Setting & Closing the Loop process.

2:51

The Empathy Exercise:


As a teacher team, tell yourself that at 12 O’clock the world is going to end!


Then think –

  • What would be the last lesson you will teach?
  • What will you time table for?
  • Where will you teach it?
  • What will be the core focus of your session?

Now reflect back to see whether the time-table you are following in school matches this reflection.

Try the empathy lens

OUR INSIGHTS

  • The practice of Conglom or the morning meeting at school was a wonderful opportunity to set the tone for the day.

  • We noticed that though many conversations amongst the teacher team and with children were around character and content building, we were not explicitly articulating our choices everyday.

  • When the school began to grow and children were interacting with multiple teachers, the thread of who they were choosing to be as learners from the start to the end of the day, sometimes got lost.

  • On the days when we actually were sharing the plan for the day with children and also ‘Closing the Loop’ at the end of the day, we saw them leave feeling that they had grown in their knowledge of the content and also of themselves as learners. The value of instituting this as a daily practice was clearly visible.

IMAGINE

WHAT IF...

seeding Content and Character everyday was not left to chance and was done by design?

WHAT DOES RESEARCH SAY

WE DESIGNED

a protocol of Agenda Setting and Closing the Loop which:

  • Allowed the Conglom to become an opportunity to co-create the tone for the day that included intentionally timetabling for ‘Who will we become as learners?’ and ‘What will we learn through the day?’

  • Ensured that this particular promise for the day was explicitly made visible on the board serving as an anchor for students and teachers;

  • Offered multiple ways to audit ourselves through the sessions in the day with a tick or a smiley face;

  • Helped students and teachers to book-end the day by reflecting on their learning as well as their behaviours.

The fallout of this process was that over time children also realized that the school’s values are built on equally developing content and character.

DO

HERE IS WHAT WE DO

This process video makes visible how students and teachers can begin the day at school with ‘Agenda Setting’ and bookend it with ‘Closing the Loop’.

4:49

In the above video, you will get a glimpse of how the home room teachers across the Key Stages conduct the morning Conglom and then co-create with children the tone for the day and agenda. Do notice how the teacher team continues to reiterate the tone and agenda through the sessions, and concludes the day with a reflection and Closing of the Loop.

  • 10:06

    Case Study 1

    See the role the process plays in a typical day in Key Stage 2

  • 09:28

    Case Study 2

    See the role the process plays in a typical day in Key Stage 1

STAKEHOLDER INSIGHTS

In this section, Riverside edu-heroes share strategies and insights from their experience of the process and how the process has impacted their practice.

  • 05:41

    FAQ Video

    Watch Mira share some insights on how to set the ‘Agenda for the Day’ and book-end it by ‘Closing the Loop’ through reflection.

  • 04:11

    Impact Video

    Watch how the regular practice of ‘Agenda Setting & Closing the Loop’ impacts Mira’s practice and helps her to seed Character and Content every today.

Resources

Checklist Board sample POSSIBLE IDEAS STRATEGIES

TIPS FOR THE LEADERS

  • Ensure your teacher team keep doing spot checks by asking the children ’What’s your tone for the day?’ If it’s not clear, then remember to go back and re-align it with the class.

  • If, in the beginning you find it difficult to set the tone every day, start with setting the tone for a week and close the loop with it every Friday.

  • Make it a practice to set the agenda and also bookend all your team meetings with character and content and you will soon find your meetings richer and more inspiring!