A Catholic secondary school in New South Wales has made a permanent change to create a flexible timetable that allows its senior students to spend one day each week learning remotely at home.
The move follows a year-long trial that has seen the board of Chevalier College adopt what it describes as a future-facing model of student schedules.
A suite of changes will include all students involved in ‘self-directed learning’ every Monday, with senior students having the option to learn from home.
The research program that ran throughout the 12-month trial found the changes helped students improve their time management and become more independent.
But for younger students, some parents were left questioning the suitability of the scheduling shift.
“We didn’t land it as well as we could have and there is more work to be done when doing this moving forward,” says Chevalier College principal Greg Miller.
“Certainly, the parent feedback added weight to what was evolving as we observed and interviewed students and reviewed their survey data as well.”
Independent learning ‘boring’ for younger students
Feedback from younger students, who have a half-day each Monday when they work out of the school hall, highlighted a desire for more interaction and clearer instructions.
Parents of students in years seven and eight at the school shared feedback that their children struggled with the “lack of structure and support” offered on Mondays, when school time includes a half-day spent working in the school hall.
The younger students themselves reported a desire for clever instructions and more interaction.
Lead researcher Dr Phil Cummins says younger students can often find self-regulated learning “a bit boring”, adding that, in the short-term, “it might not be as fun as sitting down and having a chat with your mates”.
“It might be a little bit more stressful that you don’t have your teacher there to hold your hand all the time and you actually have to work your way through and do it,” he says.
Only a small number of parents were totally against the school adopting full-time flexibility.
“There are more than enough people, students and parents, who are encouraging us moving forward to do it better and get it right,” says Miller of the school’s push to help children prepare for an evolving world.
Informed by all the feedback received, the school’s year seven students will take part in an induction program around flexible learning, while all junior students will receive training in time management and self-regulation.
Suits senior students best
The majority of Chevalier College students surveyed throughout the trial reported improvements in both their organisation and self-regulation.
These benefits were especially noticeable for senior students.
“Data gathered across the research period suggests that learning from home has been very successful for senior students who took up this choice,” the report stated.
Extra time welcomed by teachers
The flexible program’s design also aims to help teachers juggle time demands, with the change to the timetable meaning that Mondays deliver staff an opportunity for professional development and co-planning lessons.
Of the107 staff surveyed, more than three-quarters believed the extra planning time was beneficial.
“Teachers are really supportive of the program,” says Cummins.
“Quite often teachers can be quite sceptical of really significant innovations, but the teachers are seeing the value of it for themselves with their own preparations for this and their own professional expertise is growing.”
A brave new world of flexible learning options
For other schools considering a similar approach, Chevalier College will make its research publicly available.
Miller says adapting school timetables reflects changes in the modern world.
“The industrialised education model is not serving our students as well as it has done in the past because the world has changed.”
