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| Art from Elwyn Richardson's students |
Education
Readings
By Allan Alach
Every week Bruce Hammonds and I collect articles to share with
teachers to encourage a creative approach to teaching and learning. I welcome
suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz
Why
Adults Need Social and Emotional Support, Too
‘We
learned quickly that educators must consider themselves and their own care in
order to
Modern
classrooms won’t fix education
‘Unless
educational leaders recognise that significant changes in practice require
time, ongoing support, and effective use of evidence and data for future
improvements, modern learning environments may well be a multi-million dollar
missed opportunity.’
Thinking
about Thinking about Howard Gardner
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| Howard Gardner |
‘Is
Howard Gardner the most misunderstood and misappropriated educationalist (his
preferred term) in the world today or he just the only theorist most
educators have heard of?’
Secret
Teacher: the exodus of older teachers is draining schools of expertise
This article is from England but applies to New Zealand and most
likely many other countries.
‘There
is an experience vacuum being created in our schools that robs junior teachers
of the role models they need to help them improve. Formal teacher training is
the equivalent of being told how your parachute works before being chucked out
of a plane at 12,000 feet. Becoming a teacher takes years: it’s a lifelong
apprenticeship, with best practice passed from experienced colleagues to new
recruits.’
Contributed by Bruce Hammonds:
The
key to fixing inequality in education? Teach kids to be curious
‘The
team at Michigan defines “curiosity”
as “the joy of discovery, and the motivation to seek answers to what is
unknown.” Some kids might be naturally curious about dinosaurs or ancient
history. But parents and educators can also teach kids to have a curious
outlook on learning, notably by having them “engage in activities that are
personally meaningful.”’
Technology :Don’t add. Make better.
‘Having
just received an email from someone starting a new “technology” position in
their school, they asked me what advice I would give. I shared the
following advice:’
Ten
obvious truths about educating kids that keep getting ignored- Alfie Kohn
‘There
is no end to the debate about school reform, but there are certain things about
education that seem like no-brainers. The problem is that they continue to be
ignored by policymakers and in schools. Alfie Kohn lists 10 of them in the
following post, which he first published in the American School Board Journal
in 2011, but which holds as true today as it did then.’
Design
Thinking – What is it and how can it support 21st century education?
‘Design
thinking is a methodology which encourages creativity and innovation through
rapid (and cheap) prototyping early in the design process. It encourages risk
taking, accepts failure and depends on testing and feedback in order to reach
the best final outcome. But perhaps the most important aspect of design
thinking is its human-centric focus. The design thinking process focuses
on reconnecting to a person or community and to truly understanding their
fundamental needs.'
An
Integral Curriculum at Amesbury School
‘Ensuring
that learning is real life and takes place in an authentic learning context is
one of the
Sir
Ken Robinson on the Power of the Imaginative Mind (Part One)
The internationally renowned innovation consultant calls for
transformation, not just
‘It's
the most unique capacity that human beings possess, and it's the one thing
we'll rely upon to take us safely forward into the twenty-first century. And
the irony is that I believe in education we spend most of our times-- most of
our time trying to stifle it, or to inhibit it in some way. Not deliberately,
but systematically. What I mean is the power of imagination.’
From Bruce’s ‘goldie oldies’ file:
Creative
teaching - timeless
Kelvin Smythe reflects on Elwyn Richardson - pioneer New Zealand creative teacher
1950-60s.
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| An excellent book (NZCER) |
‘Forget
the research and current conformist 'best practice', go back and see what
teachers like Elwyn did that we have forgotten about. According
to Kelvin Smythe, and I agree with him, creative 'teaching in its fundamentals
has hardly changed, nor is it likely to change.' Kelvin has written widely
about Elwyn Richardson, a pioneer New Zealand teacher from the 1950/60s on his
site and, for those curious, it is well worth reading what he has to say.’
‘The
other day I had the opportunity to visit a school I began my career in 1960
During a discussion with the principal
she mentioned the classrooms had been developed into innovative ( or flexible)
learning environments. I couldn't help suggest that I bet the daily classroom
programmes/timetables haven't changed much since I first visited the school 40
plus years ago .If anything the current emphasis on literacy and numeracy had
reinforced the timetables of earlier times taking up the morning time with the
rest of the Learning Areas squeezed into the afternoon period. Hardly flexible
teaching? Hardly progress?’
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| Large painting from Elwyn Richardson's NZ class 1950s |
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