Open day – Saturday 15th June – 10 am to 2 pm
On Saturday June 15, our school will be open from 10 am to 2 pm. A great opportunity to discover (or rediscover) our beautiful grounds, talk to our wonderful teachers and meet our community.
We will have a series of talks throughout the day exploring facets of the BIS unique educational approach:
10am – What’s it like to be a kid at BIS?
with current Year 7 and past students
Come and find out what it’s like transitioning to high school from BIS
11am – The Prep classroom at BIS
with Nene Pretorius
Prep teacher Nene will talk about the experiential and child-centred nature of the early childhood classroom at BIS
12 pm – What’s it like to be a kid at BIS?
with current Year 7 and past students
Come and find out what it’s like transitioning to high school from BIS
1 pm – Self-directed learning: the core of the BIS curriculum
with Jen Haynes
Principal of BIS Jennifer Haynes will talk about the importance of emotional intelligence, social skills and moral development in becoming a self-directed learner.
Our students will also be showcasing BIStopia from 11 am to 12 pm and from 1 pm to 2 pm, the micro-economy that has been the central point of this term’s learning. All visitors will be given BISmarks (BIStopia currency) on entry to spend on the goods and wares on offer.
Come and join us for a fun filled day!
Come and See Morning Tea – June 5th – 10 am
Meet our principal Jen Haynes, see the classes in action and ask all the questions you need to.
Please RSVP by calling 3378 5466 or emailing office@bis.org.au.
Tuesday 21st of May – INTRODUCTION TO MINDFULNESS – Free Talk
FREE TALK
Tuesday 21st of May 6.30 pm to 8 pm
Brisbane Independent School
2447 Moggill Road Pullenvale
RSVP 3378 5466 office@bis.org.au
Come and See Morning Tea – May 1st – 10am
Meet our principal Jen Haynes, see the classes in action and ask all the questions you need to.
Please RSVP by calling 3378 5466 or emailing office@bis.org.au.
Tuesday 23rd of April – PREP: WHERE DID PLAY GO? – Free Talk
FREE TALK
Principal of BIS Jennifer Haynes will talk about the importance of play-based learning in Prep, the recent changes in the early years curriculum, and which questions to ask when you are choosing a school for your child. See also
Tuesday 23rd of April 6.30 pm to 8 pm
Brisbane Independent School
2447 Moggill Road Pullenvale
RSVP 3378 5466 office@bis.org.au
Behaviour Development Part 3 – What it looks like at BIS
Part 1 introduced the idea of “Behaviour Development” as opposed to “Behaviour Management”, based on Kohlberg’s staged development theories.
Part 2 described Kohlberg’s theories in more detail and outlined the different developmental stages.
So, what do Kohlberg’s findings mean in terms of Behaviour Management—or as we prefer to call it, behaviour development—at BIS?
Difference in response to rule “breaking”
Understanding Kohlberg’s developmental approach means that rule development is a very different process for students at the pre-moral versus conventional stage. Stage 3 students will find the lack of “rule” following in their stage 1 younger friends very frustrating. “But they cheated!” they will complain whilst the stage 1 child seems utterly bewildered about what they are talking about (If you need a refresher on Kohlberg’s stages of development, a description can be found here).
Teaching staged development to our students at late stage 3 can be a very effective way to help them understand what is going on. It also means that whilst pushing another child at stage 1 and 2 is not considered okay, it is far less worrying than pushing another child when at stage 3. Earlier stages need guidance about other ways of dealing with frustration that will work whereas at stage 3 it is likely to represents loss of control and deep confusion about a relationship. You can see this reflected in recovery time to such an incident: stage 1 or 2 children will usually recover very fast whereas the stage 3 child will hold onto the incident with simmering fear or resentment.
Varying levels of responsibility
BIS has some standard rules about acceptable behaviour but the bulk of our rules are developed at our whole school meetings or within the classroom through discussion of rules and consequences. Once a child starts to display reasoning at a conventional level we can start to assume that they can enforce their classroom rules alone. Prior to that level we know that they will always need an adult to help with that, or that they need experience in applying the rules alone and then help to make it work well for a positive outcome.
Conflict Resolution adapted to the developmental level
This process of resolving conflicts is a big part of the behaviour development program at BIS. Talking about feelings and needs and identifying patterns of thinking is a big ask for stage 1 and 2 students so the conflict resolution process is quite different to that of the stage 3 and 4 child; less about empathy and understanding and more about forgiveness and sharing.
Exploring further
Staged Moral Development lends itself to a long journey of discovery for the individual child and their carers. We need to learn to balance allowing them to discover their own path whilst ensuring that we provide them with guidance and modelling to their next level of development. A fascinating process.
Prep: where did play go?
In Queensland many kindergartens have a play-based program, because play is the most suitable form of learning for young children. Parents who have a kindy-aged child watch as their child’s confidence skyrockets during the year. Their curiosity about the world expands; they learn to ask adults for help and also how to take care of their own needs; and they develop social skills through play with their peers. But if you ask the child what they learnt on any given day, they would probably reply, “I played all day!”
Prep was originally introduced in 2007 to ensure kids had acquired a minimal set of skills by year one. In 2013 you could be excused for thinking the set of skills only includes proficient reading and counting, but originally that was not the intention. The program had simple goals: being able to interact with peers, follow instructions, and sit quietly for a while. Most importantly, Prep was designed to develop a passion for reading, writing and working mathematically. Instead, in an increasing number of schools Prep kids are now asked to sit still for long periods of time—a difficult task for an energetic child of four—and to tackle formal learning tasks that their brains may not yet be ready for. Then they are graded and judged.
Why the change? Although the evidence shows that play-based learning is the most suitable for young children, it is harder to assess. If you give a child a worksheet to complete about the life cycle of a chicken, you may end up with clear evidence of what the child has or hasn’t learnt. Weave a theme of joyful activities around the same topic—counting the days that are left until the chicks hatch from eggs; holding the frail and fluffy balls when they emerge from their shells—and it is much harder to evaluate what each individual child has specifically learnt. And yet, what is typically left out of formal assessment is how much the child has connected to the experience, how much he is likely to retain, how much he has enjoyed it, and if he will continue to expect enjoyment from learning as he grows. It is not only how much a child has learnt that is important, but how his developing brain has perceived and recorded the experience that links directly to how much he will want to learn in the future. Prep is meant to build love and passion for learning, not fear and anxiety.
That doesn’t mean assessment is unnecessary. Children need to be able to read and count when they leave school and assessment helps schools to measure how this process is happening. Assessment can, however, take into account the developmental capability of the child and ensure they feel safe and nurtured through the process. As children move towards middle primary, rules become easier for them to learn; and in upper primary they learn to deal with more abstract ideas, therefore it becomes easier to merge assessment seamlessly with the learning process.
Another reason cited nowadays to explain the move away from play-based learning is the introduction of the National Curriculum. Some schools’ interpretation of the Australian Curriculum seems to have focused on prioritising academic outcomes and NAPLAN results rather than play based learning. This, however, is not the only interpretation of the National Curriculum and at BIS we have found that the National Curriculum has given us an excellent opportunity to incorporate new depth to the Early Years Curriculum while retaining our play-based learning focus.
If your child is starting Prep soon think about what you are looking for in a school. How do you want your child to feel about learning? The Prep program you choose will have a lifelong impact on your child’s attitude to learning.
If you want to find out more about the importance of play-based learning in Prep, and which questions to ask when you are choosing a school for your child, come to the talk BIS is running on Tuesday April 23rd at 6.30 pm — “Prep: where did Play go?”
BIS hosts free workshops for parents
This term, BIS continues with its successful education program commenced last year. Based on developmental psychology, the program runs on Tuesday evenings and aims to help parents better understand and support their children at home and at school.
This year the program will also feature talks by the Pathways to Resilience Trust.
6.30 pm February 26th: Introduction to Kohlberg and Staged Development – How Kohlberg and his stage development theories, as enacted at BIS, can help parents deal better with conflicts at home.
6.30 pm March 5th: Neuroscience and Puberty – Speaker from the Pathways to Resilience Trust to share recent research in Neuroscience. Come and enjoy this “brain talk”.
6.30 pm March 19th: “Beyond behaviour” – The Pathways to Resilience Team is presenting a public lecture on looking at “behaviour” from a new perspective.
6.30 pm April 23rd: “Prep – Where did play go?” – Understand the importance of play-based learning in Prep; the recent changes in the early years’ curriculum; and which questions to ask when you are choosing a school for your child.
Check out our calendar throughout the year or subscribe to our newsletter to get updates about upcoming events.
Come and See Morning Tea – March 6th – 10 am
Meet our principal Jen Haynes, see the classes in action and ask all the questions you need to.
Tuesday 5th of March – NEUROSCIENCE AND PUBERTY – Free Talk
FREE TALK
A speaker from the Pathways to Resilience Trust will come and share recent research in Neuroscience – come and enjoy this “brain talk”.
Tuesday 5th of March 6.30 pm to 8 pm
Brisbane Independent School
2447 Moggill Road Pullenvale
RSVP 3378 5466 office@bis.org.au
