Beliefs, Principles and Practices

Last week we had the pleasure of working with Julia Atkin; a wonderfully inspiring lady who was able to lead us through discussions and challenge our thinking as we continued to design the learning at out school. 

 Developing practices congruent with
values and beliefs - Julia Atkin

The most valuable tool I have picked up in the past year has been the BPP (Beliefs, Principles, Practices) concentric circles.  Julia, and Simon Sinek more recently refer to the 'WHY'. If there is no reason/ why/ belief then it does not need to be pursued. Everything that the leadership team have been working on over the past 6-8 months has started with this model...  The rich thought and discussion that has come from using this tool can not be over-rated.  

Here's a simple task to get you thinking as you begin the new year....

1. What are your core values or beliefs about learning? 
2. How do you work towards these beliefs or values?
3. What practices do you use in the learning environment to achieve this?

We have used this model as a team for almost everything we do at our school including developing our beliefs around appraisal, assessment, learning environments, communication and our learning values. I thoroughly recommend that everyone stops and thinks 'WHY?'