Time for new thinking about education
By Allan Alach
I welcome
suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
Schools are supposed to help students master the dominant information
landscape of their time
‘Our new information landscape is digital bits in the ether instead
of ink dots on paper. There is no
How Playing With Math Helps Teachers Better Empathize With Students
‘Unlike other professional development opportunities, the focus of
these circles is not on lesson plans or pedagogy. Most of the time is spent
working on and discussing a problem that the facilitators bring, with the hope
that teachers will rediscover what they love about math and how it feels to be
a learner.’
Teaching
kids philosophy makes them smarter in Math and English
‘Nine- and 10-year-old children in England who participated in a
philosophy class once a week over the course of a year significantly boosted
their math and literacy skills, with disadvantaged students showing the most
significant gains, according to a large and well-designed study.’
Piaget’s Constructivism, Papert’s Constructionism: What’s the difference?
‘What
is the difference between Piaget's constructivism and Papert’s “constructionism”?
Beyond the mere play on the words, I think the distinction holds, and that
integrating both views can enrich our understanding of how people learn and
grow.’
Skinning Cats Alive.
Phil
Cullen:
 |
| Schools as 'testing factories' |
‘A toxic form of managerialism hit the fan in the mid-80s; and we
lost sight of the kids. These aliens organised and started running testing
factories replacing real people who’d been-there-done-that ,organising schools
of learning and mentoring others on the way. These good guys were cunningly
dominated by absurdists who forced fear-laden testing on kids and have now done
more damage to Australia than the Japanese could ever have done. Fear-laden
swotting of a kind never known before has replaced decent teaching. The load on
small pupils during normal learning time, the likes of which no previous
generation has had to tolerate. is enormous. Kids are still our future, but you
wouldn’t think so.’
Okay campers rise and shine and don’t forget your booties
Want to
be an artist? Watch Groundhog Day.
‘Here’s a popular version of “The Creative Journey”: A genius comes
to the end of his trip, closes his eyes, concentrates, and then the idea comes
to him, fully formed.
When I’m working on my art, I don’t feel like Don Draper. No, when I’m
working, I feel more like Phil Connors from the movie Groundhog Day.’
Contributed by Bruce
Hammonds:
The
HeART of the Matter - the Gordon Tovey Experiment.
‘The
film was about the programmes Gordon Tovey implemented, while under CE Beeby,
as the head of Arts and Crafts in the Department of Education from 1946 until
1966. You may be familiar with the work of Elwyn Richardson at the Far
North school Orauti, which was part of what was known as the Far North project
or experiment. Part of the essence of the experiment was to nurture the
creativity of children and allow them to explore and express themselves. It
was part of the child centred driven philosophy that emerged from the First
World War and the Depression in the first Labour government's education policy
to give children better opportunities.’
What
Would Be a Radically Different Vision of School?
‘In
his vision of this third narrative, reformers would focus on creating an
education system that supports inquiry-based, student-centered learning, where
students are encouraged to find entry points into the mandated curriculum in
ways that are meaningful to them. Technology is an integral part of Richardson’s
vision because it allows students to create and demonstrate their knowledge.’
Task
Library
Great
ideas for Maths
Provided
by Dan Murphy (ex Winchester School PN/NZ)
 |
| Such great ideas |
‘A
school without tasks is like a school without books.Students investigate books
to explore literature and develop language concepts and skills in context.
Students
investigate tasks to explore mathematics and develop mathematical concepts and
skills in context.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
Slow learning needed for fast times!
‘Slow learning they believe is essential for our lives and learning
by giving depth to our experiences and providing insight for creativity and
ingenuity. All too often, in contrast, students are rushed through learning to
cover curriculum material. First finished is best seems to be the order of the
day. As a result ‘slow learning’ is neglected in schools.’
A future Vision for Education
Ideas
for schools developing modern or innovative learning environments
 |
| For modern learning environments? |
Imagine a school where every child would see themselves as an
investor in their own learning. Older children would frequently coach and
mentor younger children. Those who were more advanced in a subject would help
those lagging behind. Children would help teachers design learning programmes,
their parents would be parties to these discussions .The children would see it
as their responsibility to learn in their own time, often using online tools
provided by the school .Although every child would have a personalized learning
plan, most learning would be practiced in groups but these would not be
organized into rigid year groups, class membership would be in part determined
by aptitude and appetite’.
What the modern world has forgotten about children and teaching. and
solutions to ensure all students learn
Is our ‘modern’ education
system harmful to students?
‘Modern Western learning and teaching based on 'collecting data on
human learning of children's behaviour in school is like collecting data
on killer whales based on their behaviour at Sea World.’
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