The MAGNEVOL® raison d’être and research product portfolio

In the previous edition of MAGNEVOL MINDSET, we discussed the significance of the “nature versus nurture” debate and reflected on the many forms of nurturance depending on the subject and setting. We explored the construct of “developmental nurturance” that schools and educational institutions need to impart to children. In addition, we outlined the six preconditions that schools need to bring to bear in order to nurture children. Finally, we highlighted how “developmental nurturance” is a superset of and a more exalted goal than imparting a “wholesome education” (https://nirsanconnect.com/09/05/2019/magnevol-mindset/development-nurturance-in-schools/). In this edition, we bring developmental nurturance to the forefront through MAGNEVOL® – our research category aimed at enhancing nurturance in schools. We profile the six research products within the category, and review the synergy benefits provided by the MAGNEVOL® platform that overlay the benefits that schools get from individual products.

The MAGNEVOL® platform hosts research products that help schools strengthen, understand and leverage their learning environment, vision and values, teacher leaders, parent and community leaders, the master planning process, and student learning modes. LEARNVIRON® drives research to profile the learning environment of schools; EDUVIZ® aims at strengthening the school’s vision and values; TOLEAD® explores opportunities to strengthen and leverage “teacher leaders”; COMPAR® analyses opportunities for partnership between school and parents; STRATMAST® enquires about the strategic usage of the school’s master planning process; MODE-L® identifies modes of learning preferred by students.

The school environment is an amalgam of varied aspects of school design and management, and is potentially the most important determinant of children’s nurturance. LEARNVIRON® profiles the school’s environment along its four constitutive domains and their eleven components; and provides principals and school leaders with a clear in-depth view of strengths and gaps, and the impact on the school’s student learning and community partnership goals. LEARNVIRON® obtains inputs from intrinsic entities such as school leadership, teachers and students, and also from extrinsic partners such as parents, caregivers and partner organisations.

An explicitly laid out vision statement helps integrate and align major functions with the school’s student learning goals and community partnership objectives. It also spells out the school’s pedagogic choices, thereby providing direction to teachers, students and parents. EDUVIZ® helps principals and governors assess the extent to which different constituents are informed of, understanding of and aligned with the school’s vision. EDUVIZ® also obtains content from teachers, non-teaching staff, students and parents in the nature of suggestions and reactions, which can be used to create a vision statement in case one does not exist.

Your teachers need to go beyond being ‘classroom educators’. They need to take on administrative roles outside of their classrooms to assist in the functioning of the school system. Have such leadership opportunities been identified? Is the school making the best possible use of its valuable teacher resources? And most importantly, which teachers have the potential to grow from being ‘classroom educators’ to being ‘teacher leaders’? TOLEAD® obtains inputs from school leadership, teachers, non-teaching staff and even parents to identify ‘teacher leadership’ opportunities. TOLEAD® creates teacher leadership profiles for your teachers based on 360-degree inputs.

‘Parent leaders’ are parents who have the knowledge and skills to function in meaningful leadership roles, and help shape the school’s direction and student learning outcomes. Schools need to identify, engage and motivate such ‘parent leaders’ to share responsibility in areas that are of interest to them. Has the school identified partnering opportunities? Does the school know which parents might be able to play the ‘parent leader’ role? COMPAR® obtains inputs from parents, teachers and school leadership in order to identify parent leadership opportunities. COMPAR® shortlists potential ‘parent leader’ candidates, and helps the school understand their motivations and constraints.

The master schedule lies at the heart of the school’s organisation. However, developing the schedule can end up being a mechanical exercise in quantitative optimisation. STRATMAST® allows you to use the master schedule as a strategic tool and an anchor resource. STRATMAST® assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of the current master schedule, by obtaining and analysing inputs from school leadership, teachers, non-teaching staff, students and parents. You in turn get the inputs you need to schedule the next term or year – inputs that will allow you to set priorities early, allocate resources to the priorities, and ensure that student needs remain the prime driver of resource allocation.

Individuals differ in their learning preferences. Such ‘modality of learning’ – from different types and presentation of stimuli – changes through an individual’s lifetime. These preferences are particularly unclear in the case of a child, given that self-awareness and metacognition is typically low. Yet, the teacher has to understand, within a short time period, the learning modalities of children in her new class. MODE-L® develops ‘learner profiles’ of students based on inputs from teachers, parents and students themselves. MODE-L® learner profiles are added to student portfolios and become a ready reckoner for new teachers. It helps to reduce start-up times and make instruction plans differentiated.

Clearly, each of the six products within MAGNEVOL® researches for insights while being underpinned by a unique belief or affirmation that serves as its pedagogic backbone. LEARNVIRON® explores the school’s learning environment along its four constituents, while EDUVIZ® assesses the school’s vision based on learning goals, partnerships, pedagogic choices and participation. While TOLEAD® helps the school in leveraging teacher leadership, COMPAR® believes in the potential of parent leadership. Meanwhile, as STRATMAST® advocates the strategic usage of the school master plan, MODE-L® upholds the power of metacognition in understanding students’ learning modes. The MAGNEVOL® platform generates synergies over and beyond the impact of individual products by engendering the principles of “developmental nurturance” in all research under its aegis.

In the next edition of MAGNEVOL MINDSET, we begin our journey to explore individual research products on the platform. We start by understanding the construct of the “school learning environment”, discussing its four constituents, and examining how LEARNVIRON® profiles these environmental aspects for schools.