Learning First November eNews

Welcome from the Minister for Education, The Hon. Diallo Rabain JP, MP

Welcome to the Learning First newsletter. In this monthly email, you will be able to learn about the work being undertaken in Bermuda to realise our vision that all students are educated to lead personally and professionally, compete locally, and contribute globally.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend some of the prototyping sessions to test features of the new Signature Learning Programmes with parents, community members, educators and industry representatives. It was brilliant to see new ideas in action, and to hear robust feedback from those who participated. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the development of an improved school system so far.

What's been happening?

Prototyping Signature Learning Programmes

Over the past two months, School Transformation Teams have been developing Signature Learning Programmes for Bermuda’s Senior Schools, and last week began sharing and testing the features of these new programmes with the community. More than 180 community members registered to participate in prototyping events across the week, coming together to watch demonstrations of ideas in action and offer feedback for how they could be improved.

Who has participated in prototyping so far?

A snapshot of last week's Signature Learning Programme prototypes

Demonstrating how virtual reality simulations could be used to help young people achieve micro-credentials. Virtual reality offers young people the chance to engage with technical concepts and practice 'hands on' techniques anywhere, anytime, and have their skills recognised.

Exploring how learning advisory should look and feel for young people as they engage in Signature Learning Programmes.

Understanding how schedules and timetables might work for new school-based and real-world Signature Learning Programmes using puzzle prototypes to navigate the complexity that schools face when making decisions about how Signatures could operate.

Did you participate in one of last week’s prototyping events? Let us know what you thought on the Learning First Facebook Group.

Learning First on Education Connection

Curious about the approach Learning First is taking to develop new Signature Learning Programmes with the community and what their impact might be? Watch last week’s Education Connection, where members of the School Transition Team talk about using co-design methods to develop new ideas and partnerships that meet people’s needs and the diverse contexts they live and learn in.

Minister’s Remarks at the Throne Speech

School transformation played a central role in the Minister for Education’s remarks to this year’s Throne Speech. Minister for Education Diallo Rabain set out the progress that has been made over the past year of Education Reform, and the programmes, processes and people that have played key roles in moving Bermuda further towards its goal of a better, fairer and stronger education system for all. You can find the transcript of the Minister’s speech here.

PL Matters!

Bermuda College has developed a National Educators’ Institute (NEI), a place of professional learning that enriches, invests in and supports education professionals to become highly skilled. Their bi-monthly newsletter PL Matters! aims to build the repertoire of the profession and strengthen the value of quality professional learning. Read the first edition of PL Matters! here, which includes the National Educators' Institute vision for a culture of professional learning, and an update on the development of NEI Tiers, such as Pedagogy and Practice and Social Emotional Cultural Competency.

What has been your most significant professional learning experience? What happened, and what was the difference it made to you? Share your thoughts using the #learningfirstbda hashtag on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Creating a world-class system

For our Signature Learning Programmes, Signature Schools and Parish Primary Schools to ensure that each and every young person can lead personally and professionally, compete locally, and contribute globally, we have to create the right enabling environment.

So, building on and learning from the great work of the School Transformation Teams, we are stepping up the work to develop the new policies and procedures, regulations and ways of working that will enable our schools and our young people to flourish. This will include redesigning the frameworks for curriculum, teaching and learning, and graduation and putting in place the necessary professional development for our teachers, school leaders and system leaders. It will involve redesigning the Department of Education so that it supports schools in the best possible way and developing and establishing an Education Authority to oversee the performance of the system and ensure that it is accountable to the public and to Government.

If you would like to help with any of this work or have any comments, please email us at schoolredesign@moed.bm.

Interested in getting involved?

There are a number of ways you can participate in Learning First and help to redesign education in Bermuda.

Share this newsletter or the Learning First website with someone who you know is interested in the future of learning, and the futures of Bermudian young people

Follow Learning First to share your thoughts about the future of education in Bermuda on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook

Host a conversation about education reform. If you are a school, sporting or community group that would be willing to bring your community together for a discussion about the future of education, please contact schoolredesign@moed.bm to discuss further!

Thanks for reading and we look forward to sharing more with you next month!

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