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Primary School Poznávání is a private primary school established in 2019 when we opened our first classes. We are gradually building a complete primary school from the first to the ninth grade, currently we have seven grades. Our school is the second laboratory school in the country. We are also in contact with laboratory schools in Europe and America. This concept was introduced more than a hundred years ago by the American educator, psychologist and philosopher John Dewey. At that time, the aim of laboratory schools was to work closely with universities and the academic world. Today, in addition to universities, we are also in close contact with experts from the art, industry, business, sports and many other fields. The ambition of all the laboratory schools is to incorporate various innovations into the learning process as well as be in contact with experts from different branches of science and disciplines, and to show together with the children how what they have learned can be applied in life and in the working process. The word 'laboratory' also means that the school is a smaller version of the world outside the school walls. The learning always tries to connect recognition and discovery to how it all works in the real world, with pupils being active 'experimenters' who learn by exploring these connections.
Overall impact
Skills Builder has become an integral part of our school. We talk about the skills included in the programme at teacher meetings, these ideas have become part of our everyday language (sometimes even used jokingly). Ultimately, teachers are now recognising and highlighting how their work applies the skills. We integrate elements of the programme into everyday life at school and in the lessons with our pupils. We make them aware that they are developing essential skills in a targeted way, and we give them purposeful feedback when we see that they have used a particular essential skill appropriately in a particular situation.
Keep it simple
By concentrating on one essential skill at a time for set periods - often one or two months - we create a specific focus and ensure teachers do not feel overwhelmed. This way the plan is very clear and transparent. To ensure ongoing attention to these skills, we explicitly name them in our daily interactions. All classrooms have an assembly every morning where pupils prepare for the daily agenda but also discuss topics related to classroom life and/or promoting a positive classroom atmosphere. In most classes, each assembly addresses a particular topic. Skills Builder activities are now an integral part of our weekly assemblies. Once a week, the staff morning meeting is devoted to the program, ensuring teachers provide students with opportunities to practise essential skills, discuss them collectively, and clarify expectations.
Start early, keep going
Before the start of the school year, when we decided to implement Skills Builder systematically into the curriculum, we allocated enough time during the preparatory week to plan how we would integrate the programme and its activities into teaching and school life. As soon as the new school year started in September, we began to practise the first set of skills. We chose an essential skill that we practise more intensely each month of the school year. We also have a plan for the entire school year that we regularly follow to ensure all year groups have regular and planned opportunities to learn the essential skills.
Measure it
Before we start teaching a particular skill, class teachers always determine the current level of the pupils in their class. They observe pupils in specific situations, they reflect what they know about the pupils and what experience they have with the pupils. Class teachers spend several hours per day with their pupils - they have a frequent and thorough experience with them, which they can use in the process of assessment. The teachers then compare their knowledge and experience with pupils with the Skills Builder steps and determine the correct level. In case of uncertainty, teachers organise a relevant activity to provide the opportunity to observe students’ skill levels. They are also encouraged to discuss with other teachers and/or teaching assistants. This information is shared with other teachers who teach the class. It also allows the teachers to define next steps. We also share the list of steps with the pupils, which shows them what they need to practise and what they need to focus on. We give them feedback during the programme activities, in lessons. At the end of each month they receive an evaluation of each subject, which includes a description of their progress in the essential skills.
Focus tightly
We focus on one particular skill every month of the school year, twice a year for two months (December + January, which is a period shortened by Christmas holidays and also accompanied by the end of midterm; May + June when the school year ends and it is usually enriched by a number of special events and activities). At the beginning of each month, the class teachers first assess the class accurately and determine the level at which the pupils are. The plan is then implemented through focused teaching and targeted student activities. We carefully select activities and identify specific steps to develop within each class
Keep practising
Regular practice of the skills takes place within individual subjects. Sometimes teachers purposefully choose activities that combine both skill development and learning, on other occasions they reflect with pupils on how the previous activity has not only reinforced their knowledge of the subject, but also practised different essential skills (specifying each one). Such activities and reflections have various forms - sometimes these are whole-class discussions; on other occasions the skill reminder is implemented in learning instructions (i.e., the pupils are given written and/or oral instructions on their learning activities and apart from the subject-specific information, the instruction also involves ideas and suggestions how the pupils can develop a particular skill). The reflections are also sometimes recorded in written form (when they are a part of a task and/or weekly/monthly learning aims - we have special form for these learning aims) or documented in photographs from class life, which the teachers take.
Bring it to life
Our pupils are often involved in projects that take place outside school, in different institutions, in collaboration with experts on different topics. Pupils have the opportunity to practise a whole range of essential skills by interacting with people outside school. The class teachers always accompany their classes on these occasions. Teachers’ link these experiences with the educational process and also use the relevant Skills Builder vocabulary. Visits to various events are always linked to monthly topics (including skills practised that month). Discussion with pupils and further work based on their participation in these trips follows the school curriculum. Therefore, it is our teachers’ task to mediate to pupils how their experience from the activities outside the school is linked to further learning at school (this is one of our laboratory school principles). We have consistently communicated with parents about Skills Builder, introduced the programme to them, and in collaboration with Schola Emprica we have also prepared a parent workshop. They gained a thorough understanding of the programme principles. Now we inform parents every week in weekly newsletters how and what the pupils have learned. We encourage pupils and parents to focus on developing relevant essential skills at home.
What's next
We consider soft skills to be a natural part of the curriculum, and included in long term plans. We intend to link the programme with other evidence-based programmes to enrich each other, e.g.(our teachers have also been trained in the first two): PBIS - Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, aART - Aggression Replacement Training, which a Norwegian programme which aims at children and adolescents with certain behavioural difficulties , Kiva - a Finnish anti bullying programme. https://ceskarepublika.kivaprogram.net/
