Consolarium

August 15th, 2011: The Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: Parental Involvement 4/5; Derek Robertson; Comments: noneTags: cfe, curriculum for excellence, game based learning, Land of Me, parental involvement

When I first chatted with Janice McRae about her plans for using The Land of Me one of the first things she made reference to was her desire to encourage parental involvement in the project. Having a strong belief that parents should be as good a partner as possible in helping children learn she was very keen to create ways in which this could happen. A letter of information was sent out to all parents asking for help with building some of the class scenes as well as telling them about the opportunity to come and in to the classroom to support some learning activities.. This desire is very much in concert with that of Scottish Government’s views on parental involvement:

Parents who take on a supportive role in their child’s learning make a difference in improving achievement and behaviour. The active involvement of parents in the life of the school can help promote a learning community in which pupils can engage positively with school staff and their peers.

I was keen to get an overview from some parents about what their perception of this project had been and what impact, if any, they felt that it had had on their children. One mother I spoke to talked of her delight at being asked in to the classroom to help in the first place but also of her sense of amazement at the spread and range of
curricular activity that was happening. She also commented on the information letter that went home from the school being something that immediately captivated her attention and at her delight of how the project helped make relevant learning about her daughters own community and environment.

On the day that I visited the class a writing activity had been planned that involved parents coming in to help the children with a story about the characters in The Land of Me. There were quite a number of parents in the room that day and the atmosphere was focused and industrious. Following on from the stories that can be read when the player/learner visits Granny Olive in The Land of Me the guidance given to the children and the teacher was
that their story would be in three parts, would contain one of the main characters from The Land of Me and that it would have either a happy, sad or funny ending. The parents acted as scribes where appropriate and worked with their child to encourage the telling, drawing and writing of their own Land of Me story.

I also took time to interview some of the parents that took part in this writing session. The parents were hugely impressed with the open and visual nature of the learning environment and they were delighted to be playing such an active part in their children’s learning in school as well as out of school.

Parent Interview 1

Some of the points of made by this parent about this experience included:

“This approach to learning is completely different, it really leaves it open to their imagination.”

“The reading, the writing and the arithmetic is all in here..the kids are making it all themselves.”

“It’s been great getting in here and seeing them working…the classroom is so vibrant and busy!”

Parent Interview 2

Some of the points of made by this parent about this experience included:

“This is fantastic, lovely…I like that we’re involved in it all.”

“It’s fantastic because they can get so involved in it. It’s not like just picking up a book and putting it away-they are part of it every day.”

“My husband and I coming to help has been significant for us…we know what she is talking about when she comes home because we have been involved.”

Port Ellen PS clearly view the parents of their children as a valuable resource and as allies in helping to take children forward. It was clear from my discussions with the parents that such willing encouragement for them to be part of the life of learning really made them feel god about being a partner in their child’s development. What I saw in my time there is testament to this approach-happy children and happy parents working together with thoughtful and committed teachers in a vibrant and inquisitive learning space.

Categories Argyll & Bute, Curriculum for Excellence, Parents, writing