New model of schooling launched at Delany College

Brendon Riley Group Executive, Global Enterprises and Services, Telstra, Naura Achi her daughter Year 7 student Taleen Salicioglu-Achi, Greg Whitby, Executive Director of Schools, Catholic Education Parramatta; Buddy Wehbe;Kata Collimore Year 7 teacher, Kaia Brown, Peter Wade, Principal Delany College

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta has partnered with Telstra to create a ‘connected classroom’ to support a new approach to learning and teaching at Delany College, Granville. The Delany Connective is delivering a new model of schooling to meet the needs of today’s learners and equip them with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a connected, global world.

Three traditional classrooms have been opened up and modernised to create a contemporary learning environment with technology-optimised furniture designed to facilitate small group collaboration.

The connected classroom brings together video conferencing, wireless mobile devices, interactive desks and cloud-based software applications. When combined these enable teachers, students and parents to collaborate to deliver a personalised learning environment to suit the individual needs of learners in Year 7 (2014) and Year 8 (2015).
The new learning space was officially launched on Wednesday 3 September by Episcopal Vicar for Education, Fr Chris De Souza VG EV at a ceremony attended by Executive Director of Schools, Greg Whitby, Group Executive Global Enterprise and Services at Telstra, Brendan Riley, Member for Parramatta Geoff Lee MP, Member for Granville Tony Issa MP, Delany College Principal Peter Wade and invited guests from the school community.

In welcoming students and guests to the launch, Principal Peter Wade said that teaching had changed along with the world’s technology and skill demands.

“The Delany Connective has given us the time and space to go back to the craft of being good teachers,” Peter said. “Liberating us, as well as the students to take risks and change our patterns of behaviour. We haven’t thrown out the three Rs, we are seeing them through the lens of the four Cs - communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.”

The Delany Connective approach is based on the ‘Learning Wheel’ drawn from the original work and research of Dr Miranda Jefferson.  The approach is designed to meet the needs of today’s learners and foster deeper engagement enabling students to apply knowledge and skills from any given subject in more complex and meaningful ways. 

It enhances students’ understanding, the way they communicate and interact with others and their ability to know, understand and manage their own emotions. The social interaction skills our students develop throughout their learning are the foundations of a successful future career.

“The wheel is not just about the learners, it is also about the teachers,” Miranda said. “Teachers have to model the behaviour for students.”

“In the last 9 months, teachers have had a massive cultural change and a complete mindset change,” she said. “For teachers, it is not about teaching but about learning processes.”

Executive Director of Schools, Greg Whitby, thanked Telstra for their generous support of the Delany Connective, and the teachers, students and parents who embraced the initiative.

“Our future as a nation, which contributes to the greater good of the world, depends on innovation and creativity - and this is what the Delany Connective initiative is all about,” Greg said.

Telstra’s Group Executive Global Enterprise and Services, Brendon Riley, said that the four pillars of connected learning at Delany College – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity – are qualities that are also important for personal success.

“At Telstra, we are all about creating brilliantly-connected future, and there is no better example of this idea than the Delany Connective,” Brendon said.

Since it’s introduction earlier this year, the Delany Connective has already proven to be very popular with students.

Year 7 student Jamal Swalah McDahrou said the Delany Connective encourages creativity. 

“I think our teachers are helping us think in more creative ways,” Jamal said. “In other high schools the information is just fed to you – you do this, you write, you do a test. Here, it has changed and we have to find the information ourselves; be curious about it; and this builds our knowledge.” 

For more stories and ABC TV story go to www.delanygranville.catholic.edu.au

Greg Whitby speaks to Dr Miranda Jefferson about how students and staff have responded to The Delany Connective, the shift in mindset and culture at the school, and the changes that have occurred since the model’s conception.