Mont Albert PS:
Challenge Based Learning
Source: Apple Inc, 2011
Introduction and
Context
High achieving yet…
Mont Albert Primary School is situated
on a commanding elevated site in the
leafy eastern suburb of Melbourne for
which it is named. The school currently
has approximately 700 students with
75% of families in the top quarter for
socio-advantage. In recent times, the
school’s English as an Additional
Language (EAL) student population has
increased to 31, mostly from families of
Chinese origins.
Sharon Saitlik, the principal, has been
at the school since 2009. On her arrival
at Mont Albert, the strength of the
school was perceived to be students’
high academic capacity and their
parental support.
expectations and to engage in quality
professional conversations.
Despite this, she observed a need for
greater role clarity, improved data
analysis, an updated sense of school
direction and enhanced curriculum
knowledge at the leadership level.
Students at Mont Albert generally
‘come from privileged, knowledgeable
backgrounds and have many
opportunities to learn and develop
beyond school.’ Given this, the
principal was conscious of the need to
‘invest in, and then trial best practice,
so that students could engage and be
extended to think like global citizens.’
Having arrived a year earlier, Andrew,
an Assistant Principal, also noticed that
some teachers were content in the
knowledge that the school ‘was doing
well’. He saw a need to strive for higher
Accordingly, the leadership team is
vigilant about leading teacher learning
to foster ‘continual improvement for
student gains. Teachers aspire to
students becoming more confident,
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
independent, self-managed and driven
learners.’
Soon after the Principal’s arrival,
external consultants were engaged to
work with the leadership team and
teaching staff. Together they
developed a new strategic plan. The
process was designed to empower all
staff to have a voice.
School strengths and specific areas of
need were identified, and appropriate
resources were allocated for external
and in-house professional learning.
Staff were encouraged to share Mont
Albert’s successful teaching practices
and also to visit other schools.
This review identified a need for
greater consistency in the school’s
approach to teaching and learning
which was subsequently earmarked for
attention.
The first teachers to trial the model in
the school were very carefully selected
to be drivers of this innovation. As well
as being keen to translate the model
into their own practice, they also had
high-level capacity to activate and
support their peers as CBL became
more widely implemented across the
curriculum.
As a result of the collective efforts of
these teachers and the leadership
team, together with rigorous
professional enrichment, the wholeschool vision for thinking creatively
about future possibilities and
opportunities to improve student
learning is now firmly focused on
refining and expanding CBL beyond the
initial Years 5 & 6.
CBL is a multidisciplinary approach to
teaching and learning that ‘encourages
learners to leverage the technology
they use in their daily lives to solve
real-world problems.’
Teachers returned from this visit
excited and empowered to share their
learning. They were motivated to work
purposefully, despite feeling that
‘there was no clear process to follow,
or knowing how it would grow’.
Teachers embraced the opportunity to
reframe their established teaching
approach and to explore contemporary
pedagogical practices in line with the
school’s Strategic Plan.
‘Learning to enable real-life
links and a sense of equity
and participation.’
Teachers became active designers and
participants in the school’s professional
learning program. Emphasis was placed
on expanding the prevalence of
professional conversations – both
formal and informal, internal and
external to the school. This in turn
invited reflection.
‘…students becoming more
confident, independent, selfmanaged and driven learners.’
The learning and teaching model
adopted at Mont Albert PS is Challenge
Based Learning (CBL). This model was
identified as a result of leaders and
teachers investigating the success of
CBL in a similar school.
Based Learning to enable ‘real-life’ links
and promote a sense of equity and
participation.
How did teachers
learn about and
engage with the
model?
CBL is both collaborative and hands-on,
inviting students to work with peers,
teachers and experts in their
communities and around the world.
Learning from other
schools, experimenting
and reframing
This way of learning requires students
to learn how to ask good questions,
develop deep subject area knowledge,
identify and solve challenges, take
action, and communicate and share
their learning experiences.
A strategic focus on improving the
overall learning culture created a need
for a teaching and learning model.
Professional investigations at the
neighbouring school where CBL was in
use saw the potential for Challenge
Teachers were also afforded the
professional trust to experiment, make
decisions and try new approaches. They
used their knowledge of the school
community and the strategic priorities
to shape the course of Challenge Based
Learning at Mont Albert.
School-wide forums for sharing best
practice were given time to emerge and
consolidate. The leadership team were
also active, showing respectful and
genuine interest in their teachers, the
ideas they developed and every
individual’s demonstrated strengths.
Achieving the transformation in
teaching and learning at Mont Albert
has required teachers to redefine
themselves as active facilitators of
students’ learning, where trust in
student capacity is critical. Over a
period of two years, a collaborative
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
approach to planning and embedding
CBL at Mont Albert has emerged.
Leaders have carefully monitored and
responded to the observable
transformations in teacher practice,
student confidence and deep learning.
How does the model
inform the way
teachers at the
school work?
Seven essential elements
There are seven ‘essential elements’ of
the Challenge Based Learning model
which inform the way teachers work at
the school. Students cycle through
these seven elements over a ten week
period or term.
1. Students are initiated into the
challenge via engagement with ‘big
picture’ concepts, which provide an
overarching stimulus for their
learning. Each Unit is framed by a
Big Idea and Essential Question,
which are designed to engage and
hook students’ interests and create
a need for higher order thinking. An
example is, “The challenge is to
promote equality in our society. Do
you accept?” A visual stimulus is
often offered at this stage to help
set up the challenge.
2. Students accept the challenge and
discuss ideas in set groups - roles
and responsibilities are defined.
3. Each group’s focus draws on
external resources and expert
opinion to help students scope out
their challenge. Video Reflections
are created, where students
consider questions such as: What
interests you most about this
challenge? What problems do you
think you might have along the
way? How might you overcome
these problems? How is your group
working so far?
4. Groups begin to address the
challenge by formulating and
responding to guiding questions,
undertaking learning activities, and
gathering resources.
5. Groups undertake research,
formulate and clarify responses to
guiding question & brainstorm
possible solutions.
6. Groups identify and discuss three
potential solutions, with one
solution being implemented.
7. Individuals and teams engage in
reflection to support evaluation of
their learning.
Prior to commencing each challenge or
unit of work, teachers re-focus on the
particular characteristics and attributes
of their student cohort. They adapt
their learning design to consider a
global orientation, and check
alignments with AusVELS standards and
the strategic direction of the school.
Throughout the ten week process,
students are required to continually
‘check in’ with teachers, seven of
whom are circulating or delivering
targeted workshops in the communal
learning space.
Teachers, who oversee the progress of
four separate groups, make a range of
evaluations and assessments
throughout the unit, guided by the
seven elements of the CBL model.
School priorities such as collaborative
program design, shared learning and
assessment activities, pedagogy that
reflects evidence-based best practice,
and an emphasis on leveraging the
positive outcomes of strong studentteacher relationships inform the way
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
teachers and students engage with CBL.
As a result, CBL has led to a more
coherent alignment between teaching,
student needs and the school mission.
The graphic at the end of this story,
Figure 1, illustrates the significant areas
that teachers attend to while working
through a unit of CBL. These ways of
working enable them to differentiate
the curriculum and learning pathways
to cater for the diverse interests and
needs of students in order to achieve
desired learning outcomes.
What has been the
impact of engaging
with the model?
Expanding students’
horizons
Prior to the introduction and emphasis
of inquiry focused learning and CBL,
teachers reflected that their practice
was mostly ‘teacher directed’ and
somewhat ‘fragmented and disjointed’.
There were high levels of variation
between different classes within a set
curriculum. Teachers also reflected that
they were more about ‘ticking boxes’ as
they covered aspects of the curriculum
rather than attending directly to the
needs and progress of students.
CBL teachers were now utilising
teaching approaches that are more
collaborative and encompassing of
contemporary pedagogical research.
There is a much stronger emphasis on
global citizenship and more
opportunities for student directed
learning, peer discussion, reflection,
self-management and both peer and
self assessment.
Teachers shared that their teaching and
learning approach is now more
cohesive and consistent. There are real
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life learning connections during CBL,
with student’s horizons expanded to
consider broader global implications.
appreciation of the quality of the
relationships they had forged.
‘…we are trusted by the
teachers who are organised
and expect us to be mature.’
Sharon, the principal, has observed her
staff becoming increasingly innovative
and inquiry focused. They take risks and
‘learn from what they do’. In-school
professional learning is grounded by
reflection on practice in light of each of
the elements of CBL. This in turn builds
professional knowledge and
confidence.
The teachers of CBL see this approach
to learning and teaching as providing a
‘network with the world’, allowing both
students and teachers to engage in a
more flexible and open-minded
approach to learning.
The teachers of CBL all meet weekly to
analyse and discuss student progress
and the impact of their teaching. This
‘united approach’ is a ‘huge mental
shift’ compared to past practices.
Teachers report that the CBL approach
has provoked students to wonder,
‘How can I be of use to the world?’ This
evidence of growth that goes beyond
the standard curriculum is highly valued
in this school community and in line
with their vision to prepare young
people for life in the world.
Students at Mont Albert PS were very
positive about learning through the CBL
approach. Zac stated that CBL has
encouraged him to work cooperatively
while Maella commented that it has led
to better understanding and empathy.
Students also reported that they felt
well supported and encouraged by
their teachers and expressed
What might other
schools learn from
the Mont Albert PS
experience?
the school. A need to extend students
well beyond expected curriculum
standards also meant that CBL was a
good fit for Mont Albert.
The design of CBL addresses both the
content and processes of learning with
parallel implications for teaching. The
identification of Big Ideas and Essential
Questions are important drivers of this
way of learning. This requires careful
discernment by teachers in terms of
understanding what will engage and
motivate students throughout a
challenge. Teachers therefore
formulate and offer students
challenges around significant ‘real
world’ issues. Such challenges
successfully open up learning
possibilities and pathways for students
to explore.
Challenging high
achievers to go beyond
what they know
The Mont Albert experience highlights
the importance of considering the
needs of students when investigating
and identifying an instructional model.
In this case, the fact that students were
high academic achievers meant that it
might have been possible for everyone
at the school to simply ‘rest on their
laurels’.
Instead, the school’s vision and mission
for students, together with their
strategic planning process, helped to
define what a new instructional model
or teaching and learning approach
needed to achieve for their students.
Confident, independent, self-managed
and driven learners whose schooling
would prepare them to be global
citizens underpinned the choice of
Challenge Based Learning as a way of
stretching and challenging learners at
The teaching processes and structures
that guide CBL enable students to work
through a scaffolded, collaborative
inquiry that results in action and
application of new learning. They can
access support from their peers and
teams of teachers who closely monitor
and evaluate progress.
Targeted teaching workshops are
crucial to the success of CBL and
highlight the important role of the
teacher to provide just-in-time teaching
and input based on their assessments
and observations.
The CBL approach requires teachers to
enact many of the teaching capabilities
identified in the e5 instructional model.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Teachers constantly monitor learners
during the course of each challenge to
determine their readiness for learning
and the next ‘stretch’ or area of
development needing attention.
The structure of the essential questions
prompts student investigations and
promotes questioning, while the seven
essential elements of the CBL scaffold
inquiry and contribute to maintaining
learning momentum.
The high levels of student-student and
student-teacher interactions built into
each cycle are designed to foster
dialogue, challenge existing thinking
and create opportunities for more indepth conversations.
This model provides a scaffold and
pathway for teachers to engage
students with higher order concepts. It
also prompts teachers to attend to
personal and interpersonal
development and to the general
capabilities of students while pursuing
disciplinary learning.
The Mont Albert story also highlights
the importance of leaders who are
inquiry-minded themselves and
prepared to say ‘there is more we can
do’ in the quest to challenge and
nurture all learners in their community.
The recruitment of key teacher leaders
was also highly significant to success in
this context. They made a major
contribution by initiating change in
their own classroom practices, then
created and maintained energy and
momentum as their colleagues
engaged in professional learning.
The decision to introduce CBL at the
Year 5 and 6 levels enabled a trial with
enthusiastic and capable teachers who
could weather the uncertainty of early
design and implementation. Starting
small, building enthusiasm through
gathering and sharing evidence of the
impact on students, and creating a
strong learning culture for both
teachers and students were critical to
the overall implementation and use of
the Challenge Based Learning Model.
Figure 1
To learn more about Challenge Based Learning, refer to the following white paper published by Apple Inc:
https://www.challengebasedlearning.org/public/admin/docs/CBL_Paper_October_2011.pdf
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development