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4 Nov 2021

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Here’s how learners are becoming leaders at this Scottish primary school.

Are leaders born or made? At Rochsolloch Primary school in Scotland, they’re nurtured and empowered.

 

There are so many ways to use Kahoot! as part of a learning experience, even beyond the topics and questions addressed within a particular kahoot. We love seeing how teachers integrate the tool into their larger initiatives to support deep learning and skill-building! 

This year among all the #BackToSchool tweets about buzzing classrooms, eager learners and plenty of kahoot’ing, one that stood out to us came from a primary school class in Airdrie, Scotland, a small town just 25 miles from the country’s most populated city, Glasgow. 

Here, older students take responsibility for leading technology-based activities with younger students, including exciting Kahoot! sessions. Through this experience, they build skills around organization, communication and collaboration—things we know will serve them well wherever the future takes them. Let’s take a look at how this program works!

Fact facts: Rochsolloch Primary School

Located Airdrie, Scotland
Established 1902
School size 297
School motto Sapientia (wisdom)
Vision Everyone achieves their potential
Values Respect, Achievement, Happiness
Using Kahoot! since 2013
Favourite way to use Kahoot! Great way to round off the day, while assessing daily knowledge.

New tools for ‘unsettling times’

When Rochsolloch Primary School opened in 1902, laptops and learning apps weren’t exactly the order of the day for students and teachers. These days, of course, it’s a very different story, as we heard from Rochsolloch’s teacher of Primary 7, Mr Dean Rodman.

“I’ve been using Kahoot! for several years, as have some of my colleagues,” Mr Rodman tells us. “In the beginning, we used it more as a brain break tool or prize task as it’s so engaging, and helps motivate the children with their learning.

“Later, this began to develop into a more substantial tool for teaching and learning. We’ve used it to assess the children’s knowledge on a particular concept in an engaging and practical way, and we’ve found that it has really helped in reducing anxiety some children feel when confronted with a ‘test.’ Furthermore, as the teacher, it gives me really useful insights.”

...we’ve found that it has really helped in reducing anxiety some children feel when confronted with a ‘test.’

Mr Dean Rodman

Of course, Rochsolloch, just as any school around the world, has not been immune to the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. For Mr Rodman, who used the platform during home school video sessions, “It proved a positive addition to the toolkit in engaging learners during unusual and unsettling times.”

Those, however, aren’t the only ways in which Mr Rodman and his students have been using Kahoot!. In one unique respect, they have been leading the way.

Learners to leaders

Another element in Rochsolloch’s tweet was the supportive presence of some older students, standing by the lime-green desks, patiently guiding and instructing their younger peers. These students are well-known members of Rochsolloch’s Digital Leadership Group. Mr Rodman explains:

“The Digital Leadership group was inspired by courses I attended which promoted the importance of pupil engagement, pupil voice, responsibility and leadership over their own learning. In addition to that, we have a long-term goal to achieve the Digital Schools award, part of which includes having a well-established Digital Leadership group.”

Read about Kahoot!’s Learners to Leaders approach to pedagogy

Inspired by this and the pandemic-generated urgency for both learners and staff to develop their digital skills, Mr Rodman and his colleagues established a pilot Digital Leadership group with some of the P7 pupils. 

“First and foremost, the Digital Leaders have made us very proud. They have taken ownership and displayed genuine maturity, even in these early stages.” Not only that, but their dedication has laid the foundation for the growth of the concept. 

“This year, we’ve added new P7 and P5 pupils with the target of having each senior class represented. This team has assumed leadership of our digital devices. They take responsibility to charge, deliver to classes, and maintain the devices. They are now supporting our infant department with their ICT lessons and planning sessions to present to senior classes, allowing them to pass on their skills and knowledge.”

Leadership in action

Click/tap the image to view in full size

Students passing on skills and knowledge to the next generation? That’s what we call leadership. Experiences like this one, where learners take on the role of facilitators, not only help the school but also provide valuable opportunities for youth leaders to build skills that will serve them well in the future. This is a great example of how learning can happen around the Kahoot! platform as well as on it.

A huge thank you to Mr Rodman for taking the time to share his experiences. We can’t wait to follow the progress of Rochsolloch Primary’s Digital Leaders in the future!

Learn how you can help students at your school go from learners to leaders with Kahoot! EDU

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