“I just love this quote - picked up from the Icelandic Ministry of Education: “do then think”. It helps create the pathway to change and innovation.”

Engagement is the key

People ask what is 21st century learning. It is an interesting question because I am tempted to say that we shouldn’t try to define it. It definitely involves respect and engagement. There has to be mutual respect. At every point the teacher needs to strive to get the students take ownership of their learning and have global engagement as the objective. A car will not move an iota if the gears are not engaged. Teachers have to target this for every student. Once achieved, like a car, learning should move forward. I think the best description of the role of the teacher within this new context is as teacher-leader and teacher-mentor.

Why change?

The more I think of this - the more I am convinced. Teachers not only revert to the default position provided through our colonial / industrial heritage in schooling, but they also misunderstand their role in the classroom. Teachers have traditionally fallen somewhere on what I would label as the teacher-as-entertainer axis. Some are good entertainers - but even in this circumstance, not all students like all entertainers. Most teachers will exhaust themselves trying to be successful within this axis. It is a very risky model. A poor entertainer will revert to trying to control the audience. This is a very dangerous model for learning - so much is at risk. We need to alter the axis of learning.

What if?

What if classrooms were no more and learning spaces were created across a campus? What if these learning space avoided the chair & desk model altogether?

Imagine Learning

Imagine what learning could be like.

What if schools were designed around spaces for learning, suited to a range of intelligences, rather than a sequence of classrooms?

What if the focus of learning became a carefully created sequence of instruction, construction and creativity - ultimately driven by the learner depending on their need?

What if every teacher ‘got it’ that the model needs to change and there was consistency of engaged learning?

What if?

This blog will seek to track the ‘what Ifs’ of my mind.