Leading academics and entrepreneurs are to take classes at Scotland’s first full-time innovation school, which advocates hope will transform education.
Kelvinside Academy wants to open a building on its Glasgow campus where pupils will learn coding and robotics from world-renowned experts.
Ian Munro, rector at the private school, said that the methods could help address a nationwide skills gap in digital technology and engineering as part of a shift away from structuring the curriculum around passing exams.
It follows the agreement of an exclusive partnership with NuVu, a Boston-based innovation school, where experts from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) teach 11 to 18-year-olds.
Under this model, which will be integrated into Kelvinside’s curriculum, children learn in open space “studios” and with “coaches” not teachers. Pupils can spend two weeks learning to solve one problem.
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However, the plans could fall foul of regulations which require teachers to be registered and approved by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). A summer school last year was staffed by academics and entrepreneurs, some from the US, and a second expanded school will run this summer.
Mr Munro said: “Does this mean that we will need to have a ‘real’ teacher working alongside our NuVu teaching fellows? It seems odd that we would have to do this, but we might, even though it may prove problematic to recruit registered teachers with the skill set required for an innovation school. Through our NuVu partnership we see individuals from Harvard and MIT, many of whom incidentally teach degree students, show our pupils how to write meaningful code, 3D print and think beyond a traditional curriculum.”
Mr Munro believes that other parts of Scottish education can learn from innovative approaches. Traditional subjects will still be taught at Kelvinside and how the innovation school will be integrated is still under discussion. Pupils may spend a few weeks there at a time, instead of their usual classes.
Last month Kelvinside became the first in the UK to win a digital skills award and has begun investing in 3D printers and a laser-cutting machine.
Mr Munro said: “Trying new things and learning from them is surely at the core of education. We expect this curiosity and agency in our pupils, so we should also expect it in ourselves.”
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The school is planning for the changes to be in place by the 2019-20 academic year. The GTCS said it had not been approached by Kelvinside, but all teachers in independent schools in Scotland must be registered with GTCS by law. “Non-registered teachers should not be leading classes and must deliver the curriculum alongside a registered teacher,” a spokeswoman said.
Two of the best
Two Scottish schools have been named among this year’s best state schools in Britain by Tatler magazine (Hamish Macdonell writes). Earlston High School, in the Scottish Borders, was praised for the high quality of its extra-curricular activities, particularly drama, and for its head teacher Justin Sinclair’s plans to make it the best in Scotland.
North Berwick High School was the best equipped in Scotland, Tatler said, and it won plaudits for excellent academic results and fostering a real sense of community in the East Lothian town. It was also lauded for the links it has established with a school in Malawi. The other 17 schools on the list were in England.