Pulling no punches: change management at Oakhill College

Prior to 2013 change at Oakhill College in terms of pedagogy and technology was slow. In 2013 the Innovative Learning Team (ILT) was formed, consisting of a leader in middle management and two classroom teachers. One of the team’s main tasks was to plan for a future of student-centered learning, supported by technology. The research involved visiting other schools, literature review, auditing current school infrastructure and surveying the school community. As a consequence of this investigation, the ILT recommended pedagogical change at Oakhill to be driven by (1) a clear message and modelling of good practice from the Principal and his leadership team and (2) tapping into an existing grassroots movement of innovative pedagogy to help facilitate personalised professional development across all staff. A pilot program called REAL (Relevant, Engaging, Active Learning), developed by the ILT to implement these changes, commenced at the start of 2014. This article marks the half-way point of the pilot program and reports upon the progress made to date.