Too often we get bogged down by mandates and 'getting through' the curriculum that it is very easy to become compliant and 'do things the way they've always been done.' But where is the student voice and agency in compliance? Where is the passion, curiosity and fire that students have, in our classrooms?
Learning is messy. The path to understanding our world is a complex one. It is a journey that is not linear and doesn't always go from A to B. The way we guide and teach students on this journey matters - Pedagogy trumps Curriculum. Katie Martin states that "If we truly value learners as individuals and want students to be able to find and solve problems, communicate effectively, and develop other necessary skills, we can no longer simply prepare kids for tests or the next grade, we need to EMPOWER them to learn how they learn. We need to equip them with skills that they can use to solve real problems - not just made-up test problems - to be successful in life and work as contributing citizens." We must rethink how and what we teach in schools.
My classroom is rarely quiet. Yes there are times when a quiet learning space is needed but generally speaking, my classroom is buzzing with an abundance of student's questions, discussions amongst learners about their thinking, and explanations and justifications as to why they think that. As I said earlier, I love this noise! In my classroom today student's have choice over how we explore concepts and how they show their understanding. Their passions and curiosities are respected and honoured through Genius Hour projects and using an inquiry approach to our learning. In today's educational environment the tradition of quiet classrooms, student's passively absorbing information and the teacher being the keeper of all knowledge is outdated. We need to move beyond this and allow our classrooms, schools, districts to be places where curiosity and passions drive learning, and were RELATIONSHIPS come first!. Discussion Points:
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AuthorHi, I am Alice. I am a primary teacher and leader in New South Wales, Australia. I have been teaching for the past 14 years in both the Public and Catholic school systems. I am passionate about supporting and mentoring colleagues to think deeply about their efforts to cultivate thinking and learning opportunities for students. Read more Archives
August 2023
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