Last year, The Geelong College set up its Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation. The learning community involves students, parents, teachers and the broader community. Director of professional learning Christine Shannon says: "We want to open the doors for discussion with the whole community about the best way to educate our children. We don't think that schools and teachers have the only answers and solutions."
Consequently, the centre reaches out to other schools, research institutes, businesses and organisations. "Places that know what the world is like beyond school so they can help us inform our teachers about the best way to prepare our kids," says Ms Shannon.
"It's about looking out into the world for solutions. There is a wealth of information out there – what we want to teach is how to discern which information is valuable, which is based on evidence, which sits with a student's values and what they want to do when they leave school. We want to give them the ability to filter the information rather than simply get the information."
The centre is not run from a single building – it operates from wherever it needs to. For example, it is actively engaged in numerous research programs with Deakin University at its Waurn Ponds campus.
"It is a hub of ideas that might be housed in the creative art department or in the school up the road – it's a core group of thinking, investigating people," says Ms Shannon.
All learning and research projects, as well as upcoming events such as guest speakers, are published on the centre's website. Most are open to the public. The idea is that there is information exchange on a number of levels.
"Education is at a crossroad where we're starting to think 'now that information is so accessible, what is our role in schools?' We're examining ourselves, retaining the things that work, like students and teachers being together and exploring ideas, but adding in some innovative practices that will help them be better prepared," says Ms Shannon.
Being able to start such a centre is an example of how an independent school can meet the particular needs of its community.
"It's vital you understand your own community because what works for us won't necessarily work for another school," says Ms Shannon. "There are fundamental values and beliefs that all schools hold, but you have to tweak things.
"The important message is that schools are not closed environments, they have the potential to create networks and that's how the world operates. Independent schools need to look outside of their own school buildings and their own personnel and engage with networks across the whole range of communities around them.
"We feel that as a well-resourced organisation if we can't open our doors and let people in then who can? Most of our events are free and our purpose is to get people engaged. It shakes us up to be more creative and innovative. It's about seeding those conversations."
