Innovative Learning Environments
– organisation, approaches and
learning dynamics
Czech Republic
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Presented ILEs
 Selected for the INVENTORY
 Gymnasium Přírodní skola („Nature School“), Prague (age 1119)
 exceptional elements of teaching and learning
organization: a fan of inspiration
 Fakultni zakladni skola profesora Otakara Chlupa, Prague
(age 6-15)
 Zakladni skola Dr. Jana Malika, ZS Chrudim (age 6-15)
 the two basic schools together – a best practice example:
a model for the compulsory part of schooling- system
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Examples of Shared Features
 significant role of school leadership („charismatic and
enthusiastic leader“)
 schools on the move, shared concept of quality and
shared visions about the further development
 community and family involvement based on mutual
respect
 openness and self-presentation (web, TV, press)
 teachers avoid mutual comparison of learners by their
attainment
 team teaching, co-operative learning, supervision and
patronage
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Examples of Shared Features
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building on prior learning
project-based and cross-curricular education, often
in age-mixed learning groups, often in nature
emphasis on critical thinking and individual
development
students held responsible for their own learning
learners‘ self evaluation and mutual evaluation
students MUST assess what the school means for
THEM by their choice of facultative subjects
strategies used in the ILE do not exist separately but
they complement each other
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Examples of Shared Features
(pairs of schools)
 school parliaments
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(Gymnazium & ZS Prague)
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(Gymnazium & ZS Chrudim)
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(ZS Prague & ZS Chrudim)
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(ZS Prague & ZS Chrudim)
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(ZS Prague & ZS Chrudim)
 students are tested when ready
 lesson finished by a teacher, not by a bell
 students create and check fulfilling of the rules
of behaviour
 school piloting the Framework for School
Education Programmes for Compulsory
Education
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…and more of what is shared.
But in addition…
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Gymnasium Prirodni skola
(Nature School), Prague
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Gymnasium Prirodni skola (Nature
School), Prague
 lower and upper secondary (age 12 – 19 y),
since 1994, www.prirodniskola.cz
 Motto: „The Journey is the Aim“
 curriculum divided into thematic areas –
compulsory + compulsory-facultative
 clear standards of achievement
 learning process: partly lessons in
classroom, partly cross-curricular projects
 model of effective learning community–
concept of traditional large family
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Gymnasium Prirodni skola (Nature
School), Prague
School Expedition = regular month-long project:
students‘ own research (3 phases)
1: teachers and students together choose a destination and
topic of their work – biological, cultural or mixed;
literature search, design of the methods and preparation
work (funding and equipment)
2: research work (two weeks in the chosen destination)
3: analyzing and interpreting data, presentations
 examples of research topics in the history of ILE:
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mortality of animals on the roads,
forest diversity and diversity of species,
history of the monastery in Tepla,
Shoa
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Fakultni zakladni skola
profesora Otakara Chlupa,
Prague
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Fakultni zakladni skola profesora
Otakara Chlupa, Prague
 primary and lower secondary (age 6 – 15y),
since 1993, www.fzs-chlupa.cz
 Motto: „Our Education - Chance for
Everyone/Desire to discover, Joy to
find“
 key question: how to teach (not what to
teach)
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Fakultni zakladni skola profesora
Otakara Chlupa, Prague
 students´ option to choose the form of activity
and its difficulty level + to choose members of
their work team
 students framing the size and depth of the
projects
 students forming questions for which they want
to get answers
 workshops for pre-schoolers and their parents
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Zakladni skola Dr. Jana
Malika, Chrudim
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Zakladni skola Dr. Jana Malika,
Chrudim
 primary and lower secondary (age 6 – 15 y),
since 1992, www.zsmalika.cz
 Motto: „To know and to know how, so
we can work in our life"
 school with diverse population for ALL
children, avoiding external differentiation
 emphasis on (and tools for) giving each
student opportunity to experience success
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Zakladni skola Dr. Jana Malika,
Chrudim
 over 20% of students with disabilities and
learning difficulties
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but no special classrooms and no levelling off,
 work of every student at a personal maximum
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everybody including a star ‘pupil‘ can improve
 set of facultative subjects updates every year,
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composed as much as possible on the basis of students’
wishes and plans for their future
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