New Learning – Week Seven

New Learning Blog – Week Seven

 Write a blog entry on this week’s learning journey, e.g. new theoretical horizons, work on the Learning Element, links between the theory and classroom practice.

This week was a hectic week at school. We had theatre restaurant on Wednesday and Thursday night, leaving school after 12 each night.

Tonight, yes it’s finally Friday! I sit here nursing my laptop, reading my emails, checking my facebook and watching the sex and the city. Learning is far from my mind or is it the closest thing. Working and watching the students at theatre restaurant reminded me that I am working with fantastic people. Theatre restaurant is an excellent way of displaying the students talents, it is applying appropriately all the things they have learned throughout the semester/year.

After posting my extract on PBWiki about Kohn’s theories on progressive education I got to thinking…

 What sort of educator am I?

In January 2007 I began my first teaching job, I was given my first learning element and I taught it to my first ever students! Now, in November 2008 I have written over ten learning elements collaboratively and individually.

The learning by design process is very much embedded into the English curriculum at Lanyon. We are seeing students improving in their thinking and stretching their minds. The students are becoming more familiar with our strategies and welcome the new ones. They enjoy collaboration that they have with the other students and staff.

Am I a didactic teacher?

I agree with Cope and Kalantzis when they say that there can be a place for didactic education, I have used it maybe two or three times this year. I remember using it when showing a PowerPoint presentation on the Cronulla Riots. In small groups the students did a placemat activity asking them what they knew about the Cronulla riots experiencing the known. The students lacked very little knowledge, so we moved experiencing the new. I guess you could say it was/began as a lecture style presentation. But I found unlike the bad didactic teaching strategies discussed on the PBWiki page, my students began to engage and discuss moving in a circle time discussion. I think I probably failed as a didactic educator.

Am I a progressive teacher?

After reading through Kohn’s article on progressive education, I identified with many of the values of progressive education. I loved the idea of working with student, the deep understanding, the social justice and many more. However I guess you could say I feel daunted about working with the students creating the curriculum. The year ten group work hard to create engaging curriculum, we are forever developing and working with the students and curriculum. If the students are heading in a certain direction and it isn’t in the LbD we don’t stop them, but we go continue learning with the students. We re-write, change, develop and scaffold the learning. I think I am inclined to agree with the values of progressive education, but I am not a progressive teacher.

So what am I…?

With three weeks to go before my classes end and my students graduate I am an activie participant in my classroom. Throughout the year I have worked with the students; we have discussed, debated, theorises, questioned and criticised everything from Shakespeare to short Australian films to American novels. Now the students become the teacher. Each student presents a ten minute seminar on a subject that has changed the world. They are applying appropriately not only the things they have learned in the learning element but also throughout the year. I am currently a participant in my classroom.

This week…

My classes are going to begin working on digital stories. This is the first draft of my placemat activity learning element and it will be interesting to see how it goes. We will begin on Monday with experiencing the known what is a story? What forms do stories come in? with a placemat activity. Then we will experience the new watching some examples of digital stories and analysing their purpose.

I am not sure if this is what we are supposed to do, if not I’ll be back with some even more exciting blogging!

Thanks,

Prue