The B.D. Somani Learning Framework guides all members of the school community, parents, teachers, and students, in sharing a vision of learning. This learning framework consists of the Principles of Learning that drives all the activities in school, the Principles of Assessment, and the 3Cs that foster the development of the values we uphold.
The visual displays the Curriculum Continuum Overview across the school. Soon, the Subject Area Overview that maps each subject’s scope and sequence across stages and years will be published, and in 2022 a Skill Development Matrix that showcases the development of skills from Grade 1 to Grade 12 in all subject areas.
Principles of Learning
Learning involves some kind of change in attitude, idea or understanding and comes about via doing. It is a step-by-step process in which we experience lasting changes in knowledge, behaviour or ways of looking at the world. It is using our skills, talent, and experiences to move beyond who we are today. It is to broaden our horizons and become better than we were yesterday. At B. D. Somani we believe that learning is:
- MEANINGFUL: Learners are encouraged to develop and use appropriate skills to be lifelong learners and tackle real-world issues.
- ENGAGING: The learning environment encourages the active construction of knowledge that is personally meaningful and fosters inquiry, questioning, predicting, and exploring.
- COLLABORATIVE: Learning takes place in a social and collaborative environment where opportunities are designed for learners to engage in diverse social interactions with peers, adults, and communities.
- CONNECTED: Learning experiences are created to guide learners to both make connections and transfer new knowledge and skills to real-life situations.
- REFLECTIVE: The learning environment provides the time and space to observe, think, analyse and wonder.
- ASSESSMENT-INFORMED: Learning is reflective and dependent on ongoing, qualitative and constructive feedback that leads to further learning.
- DIGITALLY-RICH: The learning community uses a variety of technological tools to create, enhance, and reinvent knowledge.
- FUTURE-FOCUS: Learners embrace and anticipate constant change and evolution.
Principles of Assessment
Assessment plays an important role in promoting learning and growth in students. It is a tool used in the classroom to gather relevant information about a student’s performance to determine their interests in their learning process. Student’s assessment experience benefits from an ongoing, qualitative, and constructive feedback that enhances their sense of self-efficacy and agency in the process. We believe that learning, teaching, and assessment should effectively inform and support one another.
At B.D. Somani, we acknowledge that assessment practices are good when:
- RELEVANT: assessment is relevant when support learning objectives and curriculum aims.
- MEANINGFUL: we assess what is important to assess in terms of content and skills, and not just what is easy to measure.
- AUTHENTIC: we consider, and reflect on, the ways in which our students may encounter these activities outside the classroom.
- MULTI-MODAL: we design assessment tasks and activities so that students are encouraged to demonstrate their knowledge and skills using a variety of modes.
- EXTEND LEARNING: assessment should create opportunities for students to develop wider competencies and use self-assessment as a way to grow.
VALUE STATEMENT
CURIOUS
- We are creative learners who think outside the box
- We value inquiry as a way to explore, and make sense, of our life and the world around us
- We connect local to global communities through our learning
- We take pride in applying our knowledge to real-world problems
COLLABORATIVE
- We show adaptability when working with others and facing challenges
- We respect each person and the contribution they make to our growth
- We communicate our ideas with confidence in different contexts
- We are open-minded learners who reflect and engage with diverse point of views
COURAGEOUS
- We take responsibility for our work and understand the consequences of our actions
- We express our ideas and celebrate different opinions
- We learn from our mistakes and persevere when experiencing difficulties
- We take action in our community and strive to make a positive impact
