Teaching methods at Hagaskóli

Hagaskóli has been systematically developing teaching methods for years. The school policy states about teaching methods:

  • Students at Hagaskóli acquire knowledge and skills and adopt work practices that promote ongoing education and development.
  • School activities lay the foundation for students' independent thinking and train their ability to collaborate.
  • The school environment encourages students to adopt good ethics, show respect, and be diligent.

Teaching methods and assessment

  • Emphasis is placed on each student receiving a comprehensive education suited to their abilities and encouragement to study according to their development and interests.
  • The focus is on developing diverse teaching methods and assessments.
  • A strategy is formed to ensure each student's academic progress aligns with their ability and development.

Development projects related to school culture and teaching methods have been an important part of the school's work. Currently, the following projects are most prominent in developing teaching methods:

Friendship, respect and equality

The Friendship - Respect - Equality project aims to increase positive interactions between students both within and across grade levels, as well as promote a good and positive school culture in various ways.

  • 10th grade students apply to be student representatives. Those chosen provide peer education in 8th, 9th and 10th grade. Students can approach them with various issues, and the student representatives listen and direct them to appropriate resources.
  • In the fall, student representatives attend a course at the school to learn more about their role and tasks, as well as to strengthen the group socially.
  • Buddy classes across grade levels meet several times during the year when possible.
  • Project participants organize one or two theme days during the school year. In recent years, the project has overseen world cafe events and education-related theme days.
  • Student representatives regularly hold solidarity days throughout the school year, such as Pink Day in October, Red Day in December, and Pajama Day.
  • In the fall semester, all students prepare for the Good Cause charity event, raising funds for a chosen cause.


     

Team teaching in 8th grade

Since fall 2018, the teaching arrangement in 8th grade has changed. The eight classes in the grade are divided into two groups. Each group has specific teachers working as a team, teaching all academic subjects. Each group has a hallway with four classrooms, increasing flow between teachers. Teachers also provide support teaching during classes.

The goals of this arrangement are:

  • Increased oversight of students as fewer teachers are involved in their instruction and get to know them better.
  • More opportunities to break from the traditional schedule and offer more diverse teaching methods with theme projects and other activities.
  • Strengthen collaboration and professional development of teachers working in teams.

This project is a continuation of team teaching that began in fall 2018, taking into account what worked well and what could be improved.

LITERACY

The LITERACY (I. LÆSI) - reading, practice, understanding, diligence development project grew out of the Let's Read and Understand project started in 2008. That project was a Comenius project in collaboration with Romania and Turkey and led to collaboration between schools in Vesturbær on literacy and reading comprehension called Vesturbær Reading. These projects have received several grants, including a Comenius grant and most recently a 500,000 ISK grant from Reykjavík City.

The main objectives of the LITERACY project are:

  • To enhance literacy and develop teaching methods in all subjects at Hagaskóli.
  • To be a role model and guide for other schools.

Literacy is one of the fundamental aspects of the new national curriculum for primary schools. The methods available in schools to enhance students' literacy have increased, and they now have access to various technologies for communication and learning. Therefore, emphasis is placed on students learning to use the latest technology to improve their reading and comprehension, in addition to focusing on traditional reading and writing training.

As research results have shown, there is a significant need to improve reading comprehension at the adolescent level. Many students do not read effectively and give up soon after entering upper-secondary school. At Hagaskóli, we want to do everything possible to ensure our students are prepared for what awaits them after completing primary school.

It is necessary to engage all teachers in enhancing the literacy of all students in the school. For this to work, it is important that teachers learn about and adopt the best available methods to achieve this goal. Teachers need to be aware of students' special needs, learning styles, and that not all students learn the same way. It is important that they gain the ability to teach students to apply effective reading methods that increase reading comprehension and enhance their literacy skills.

Teachers should adopt new methods for enhancing literacy in a broad sense and teach students to apply modern technology and use media in their studies.

Emphasis will be placed on all types of literacy, such as reading for learning, pleasure reading, information literacy, and visual literacy.

Teaching methods affect literacy, so each teacher at Hagaskóli will examine their teaching methods with the aim of enhancing literacy in their subject. Teachers will work together both within subjects and across subjects. Emphasis will be placed on what students learn rather than what should be taught. Students will be assisted in finding their learning style and determining which method suits them best for studying.

UNICEF Rights Respecting School

Hagaskóli became a UNICEF Rights Respecting School on November 20, 2019, on the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The implementation process had been ongoing for over a year. It aimed to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into all school activities at Hagaskóli. The Rights Respecting Schools project is an international certification project that has been successfully implemented in thousands of schools worldwide over the past decade. Schools, after-school programs, and youth centers participating in the project can receive recognition from UNICEF Iceland as Rights Respecting Schools and Rights Respecting After-School Programs.

The first step in the project was to establish a rights respecting council to oversee the project. Children are the majority in the council, which also includes a parent, staff, and management representative.

Leiðsagnarnám

Í Hagaskóla höfum við trú á því að allir nemendur geti náð árangri. Unnið er að innleiðingu leiðsagnarnáms og markmið þeirrar innleiðingar eru meðal annars að:

  • efla námsvitund nemenda
  • auka seiglu nemenda í námi
  • gera námsmarkmið og viðmið um árangur sýnilegri

 

Hugsandi kennslurými

Stærfræðikennsla í Hagaskóla byggð á kennslfræði hugsandi kennslurýma. Í því felsts að nemendur vinna mikið að þrautalausnum í samstarfi og samtali. 

Markmiðið með hugsandi kennslurýmum er að efla sjálfstæða vinnu nemenda, hæfni þeirra í þrautalausnum, draga úr óþarfa ótta við að gera mistök. 

Það sem einkennir vinnu nemenda í hugsandi kennslurými er

  • vitsmunalegar áskoranir í stærðfræði við hæfi
  • tilviljanakenndir hópar nemenda vinna saman
  • nemendur reikna á töflur eða veggi en ekki í bók

Hlutverk kennara fer frá því að leggja inn útskýringar í að vega og meta niðurstöður verkefnavinnu með nemendum, finna nýjar áskoranir í samræmi við stöðu nemenda og hvetja til vaxandi hugarfars í stærðfræði.