New brochure with modules for Dalton training

The new training program
2012 - 2013 came out.

More than 30 different modules to support teams of teachers with the implementation of Dalton education.

Wenke Dalton Consultants / KPZ is the main Dutch institute with a high level of Dalton expertise.

Some of their consultants are working in other countries with several modules from this program.

Dalton Ninefield 3

The school needs places where pupils can work together and in the classroom the tables are arranged in groups. Schools can make choices for a mate model: every pupil is doing some activities during one day/week with another in a circulation system. Or the school works with a mentor or tutor model.
In all cases a structural co-operation is organized. Learning with each other and from each other has been proved to be effective and it gives extra motivation.
But who takes the initiative to arrange the groups and how many pupils are in the group? This depends on the situation and the attitude of the group, but groups with much experience can organize it themselves. Kagan speaks about teams instead of groups.
All members of the team have special roles.


Important is that enough material in available to make the group work possible.
The assignments consist special tasks in which collaboration is necessary.



Organizing a variance in cooperative learning is a modern way of teaching, but finds the roots in the Dalton concept of Helen Parkhurst. Much information about cooperative learning is available nowadays. Pupils must learn to take initiatives to find out together, the teacher stimulates the action of them instead of being active the whole lesson hour. The teacher in the role of coach in a group process.
We wrote about this topic in our book ‘Hallo Dalton’ and gave several suggestions.



Co-operation starts with paying respect to each other, to accept each others differences. The willingness to help each other finds the soil in a good social atmosphere in the class.
Written rules and regulations have no effect on the creation of another attitude of the pupils. Co-operation has to be trained step by step. All measures has to be explained in advance and discussed in the process evaluation direct after each work period.
Pupils must get the opportunity to make regulations themselves, because it is easier to fulfil the demands of their own rules. But rules and regulations has to change into routines.
A consequent process evaluation will be the best platform to give the grow of another attitude a real chance.

How to make a success of the implementation of the Dalton concept?
1. A strong educational management with the director of the school as the stimulating leader of the process.
2. A professional planning, initiated and controlled by a ‘Dalton coordinator’.
3. The drawing up of the Dalton competences for teachers with the consequence of a personal development planning for all the individual teachers.
4. Laying down the educational development in a ‘Dalton Policy Plan’.

The Dalton Ninefield 2

Pupils are co-responsible for the classroom and the working areas outside the classroom.
A good method is working with a ‘household assignment board’. Pupils organize their own planning of work and they are responsible for their assignment administration. They make own choices in the frame of the assignment. Self correction is an important aspect in the process of taking responsibility for the own learning.




Teachers must learn to recognize individual differences not only on the cognitive level, but also the differences in learning styles. They have to adept different ways in instructional design in order to give the pupils the chance to make own choices. Effective instruction is not the teachers action to explain the subject, but is giving the impulses to find out. Experimental learning, and challenging assignments stimulate the motivation of the pupil. More motivation gives better results.
Teachers must create situations in which the pupil is challenged to practice self evaluation and self reflection.




Taking responsibilities must be learned, because it is not a self evident attitude for every human being. If in the school or classroom prevail an unnatural atmosphere, there is no pupil who takes responsibilities. Teachers have to create situations in which pupils feel responsible. For example : pupils can be tutor or mentor of others, pupils can prepare parts of the curriculum and give a presentation to others. In that way the pupil is partly in the role of the teacher.
Pupils can be the mediator in a conflict situation. Responsibility for the school or the class can be learned by taking part in a pupil council, sport or art club.
As long as the teacher wants to be the leader of the process, the pupils can’t take responsibilities. The whole strategy depends on a strong educational management. All teachers of the school must accept the pedagogical atmosphere connected with the Dalton concept.

Last part tomorrow.

The Dalton Ninefield

With this instrument we try to give an indication which elements are most relevant for the implementation of the Dalton concept. The three main Dalton premises has to be worked out in the three levels that mould education into concrete form.
The ‘Dalton nine field’ is a model to get grip on the development of the Dalton level in the school.



First of all Dalton has influence on the school organization. The three Dalton premises has to be accepted by all teachers in the school.
It means that on school level several aspects has to be worked out : how many Dalton hours – the timetable – new mentor function – special places for individual work – the monitoring system – the lay-out of assignment forms/boards – a school model for structural training in self reliance.
(see : “Training self reliance in 20 agreements by Roel Röhner)
On class level: a good class management with pupils working independently – clear assignments on different levels – self correction – action guides – training ‘delayed attention’



The role of the teacher must change from leader to coach of the process. Pupils must be trained in working independently. Less teaching and explaining, more stimulating to take own initiatives. Pupils has to be teached in learning strategies. The teachers has to take the pupils’ different learning styles into account. Differences in instructional design are necessary. After each working period a short process evaluation.




We educate all children to be more or less independent. That is a question of confidence in the capacities of children and also a close observation of the process of growing up.
The training in self reliance is a structural process. The individual results give the indication for the measure of independency.
It means concrete that there are many differences in independency. We can speak about pedagogical differentiation.

TO BE CONTINUED LATER

Hier bestellen : Daltonplan Pädagogik

Dalton Junior Highschool 'Vogelweide' Wels

After the audit on March 23. 2012 this school is an official
International Dalton School.
More about this great school later here in this Dalton Blog.

Proud to present

Our latest book is published in the German language.

Order at:
www.arko.nl/Daltonplan

Comenius network in Ireland

Teachers from
Czech Republic
N.-Ireland
Poland
Spain
are in Ireland now
for the second meeting of
Blogging in Europe

Regards to all!

Dalton Management Training

Just preparing the menu of a two-days-training for the management of Dalton schools.
Actual topics are brought together in a culinary setting.
Every school has to persuit the highest level, such as restaurants strive for a Michelin star. The title of this happening is : 'My dive is top'

During 'The Dalton Laboratory' the participants give a tour in their own kitchen and show their top products and ideas.

Implementation after inspiration

After the publication on March 12. of the structure in which the 'helpers' or 'specialists' can be visualized, Agata Juljanska from School 4 Child in Lodz have sent me her interpretation.
It is nice to discover the effect of this Dalton Blog.
This is the design of Agata Juljanska.

News from Poland

Robert Sowinski, member of the new board of Dalton International, have sent me following message.

Yesterday we saw for the first time a short film about Dalton at School4Child!
We are very proud of that production. It will be first shown during conference in Łódź next Saturday.
Now we have only short 10 minute reportage from classes, where we can see how children work, there are few entrances with teachers.
Later it will be translated into English, and we hope that after receiving acceptance from parents we can send it on all over the world, in cooperation with Dalton International.
There will be also a longer film to use during training seminars

We made also agreements about training and certification process for preschool and schools.
In the end we can say that Dalton in Poland feels good and we have hope for sustainable development of Helen Parkurst idea in Poland

Visualizing

Sometimes education can be very simple !

Nestor Diatta on Dalton tour

Together with Nestor Diatta I visited today one of the best
Dalton schools in Holland, 'De Achtbaan' in Amersfoort.

Pupils were our guides and Nestor took much inspiration
with him, but also concrete ideas to work out in his Dalton
school in Senegal.

First step in co-operative learning

Several activities are visualized with a symbol.
Children can apply for the role of helper.

Sign in as a member of this blog.

Visualizing the wrong way

Yes we promote to visualize the organization in a classroom.
I found on internet an example of a behaviour - controll - system.
In my opinion a demonstration of weakness and pedagogical objectionable.


I prefer to stimulate the competence feeling instead.

Self reflection

In addition to the report with the progress during the preceding term,
the pupils in a Dalton school write their own enclosure with the title
'Report about myself'.

In this case the topics are focused on the main Dalton elements.

This is one aspect of the self - reflection procedure I like to stimulate.

All kind of
learning techniques
can be summarized
in this kind of
Action guides.

Another 'Action guide'

I created many of such
Action guides.

Action guides are tools
in the context of
effective instruction.

This is an Action guide
in the catogery of
STUDY guides









A complete set is
published in
the Netherlands
as a handy
guide for pupils.


Some other Action guides later in this site.

What to do before you ask ?

Children has to learn
when they ask for help.

Action guides are needed
to visualize the process.

Writing down the question
give teachers the opportunity
to visualize a creative solution.


See the complete pictures
on DALTON PUBLICATIONS

This overview I developed to categorize different kinds of ACTION GUIDES.

Action guides

Action guides are tools to visualize a process step by step.
We developed in Dalton education many of these action guides, because in many cases it is much better to visualize a proces than to repeat it verbally.
In the coming period I like to bring some examples I created, here in this blog.

This is a procedure children can use when they work independently on their week assignment.

Presentation of a Dalton teacher

Last week I've got a nice presentation of a colleague from Poland.
She summarized the Dalton implementation in her classroom and
I brought her PowerPoint presentation here in three pictures.
Perhaps it is an inspiration for others to send me comparable material.

New Member of Dalton International

This school will be visited by Hans Wenke and Roel Röhner
for an official audit.
The school should be the first official International Dalton Junior School in Austria.

Dalton publications

Dalton publications is a Facebook site.

But since today also on
Scoop.it

For the younger children
the Dalton organization must be visualized.

With such a day program the children feel that they are involved.

New magazine ESHA

European School Heads Association



Agenda2012
March 2–3
ESHA Spring meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia
March 15–16
AVS - Master classes & Conference in Utrecht
March 7–12
NAESP Conference, Tampa, USA
March 22–24
NAESP Conference, Seattle, USA
March 23–24
ASCL Annual Conference in Birmingham
March 28–29
Nordic School Leader Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden
May 4–6
NAHT conference in Harrogate
October 29–31
13th ESHA Biennial Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland
E S H A M A G A Z I N E F E B R U A R Y 2 012 9