Teach the Teacher

Before making a change, it’s important to identify what at the school needs changing! The group may already have some ideas, but as student representatives it’s important for them to find out what other students think too. They can create a survey to help identify issues or get more detail about the issues that have been identified.

Some ways to survey students include: using survey monkey or google docs, school email, paper surveys, student focus groups or finding people to ask at lunchtime.

Not every student in the school needs to be surveyed but try to capture opinions across year levels. Don’t forget to ask students who are more difficult to reach – like students who are away a lot, in detention or involved in learning outside the school.

Include a question about what year they are in but don’t ask for names – people will be more honest if they’re anonymous.

Ask open questions to get more detailed responses or write a statement and give students a few responses to choose from.

Once survey data is collected, it needs to be organised. This will assist in identifying the main topic or issue that will become the focus of the workshop. Surveys provide evidence that what is being said is important and relevant to the majority of students.

The workshop is a forum for conversation and shouldn’t simply focus on the ‘problems’ presented by the data but promote solutions-based discussion. Ask questions that build understanding of the issue, consider why it is important and generate ideas for positive change.

Consider the order of workshop activities: a welcome that introduces the topic, presentation of data, questions and discussion, sharing ideas and a reflection/evaluation.

Workshop time! This will probably go for about an hour but it may take longer.

A seating plan will help to settle everyone in and make sure the groups are a good mix for discussion. Maybe run an icebreaker activity to set a relaxed and friendly tone.

For any planned activities, it’s good to have anything the teachers might need (including instructions) on their tables. It’s also a good idea to include paper and pens to make sure those good discussions and ideas are captured!

Finish up with a reflection or evaluation to get an idea of how everyone felt. Indicate what the next steps toward action will be.

After the workshop the group should get together and consider the notes and ideas for positive change. There may be some good actions to take from the workshop but the notes can also be used to generate more ideas.

Choose an idea to turn into action. But don’t discard the rest of the ideas – they can be worked on at a later date.

Think about what might make this change difficult and brainstorm some solutions.

Think about who can help make the change and invite them to talk to you about it.

Plan roles for students and helpers and work out the timeline – when should each step be done by?

Take action!

While the steps towards change are happening and after they’re implemented, it’s important for the group to keep meeting to reflect on how things are going and make any changes necessary to improve the process and outcomes.

Now the group can share what has been achieved with the whole school community!

This can be achieved through creating a report, which might be a written account or video, a poster, an infographic or in any medium that can communicate with others the steps taken to create positive change.

Don’t forget to let us know! VicSRC would also to love to learn about what you have done so that we can share it with our community!

An Overall How-To Guide: By HundrED Spotlight on Victoria