23rd February 2008: “Teaching and Learning”
I have just returned home from the 2008 Learning@School conference. One of the major messages hinged around changing our focus to teaching to learning. Traditionally teachers have thought primarily about the content to be taught and then how it will be taught and this guides their classroom practice. The challenge is to think first about the learning that is to happen and how children learn then let this govern child/teacher interaction. It is interesting to see how this approach fits so well with the broad aims of the 2007 NZ National Curriculum yet in most Ministry of Education document the phrase that occurs continuously is “teaching and learning”. Surely this phrase passes messages like:
- teaching is more important than learning
- learning always results from teaching
- the focus is on what and how we teach rather than the learning.
This is more than mere semantics because words convey messages. I would love to see this phrase turned round in Ministry of Education documents and a more consistent message being sent to teachers and communities.
Hi Trevor, just been looking at your website regarding Inquiry learning and the SAUCE model, and then followed the links to your blog. I am the ePrincipal of the Volcanics cluster and the EHSAS project co-ordinator. I so agree with your comments on the “Teaching and Learning” thing. My whole focus is ICT and learning and improving achievement and I suppose seeing how the “new curriculum” will allow us tochange how we teach in schools.
Hi, thanks for the feedback. I hope the material has been of some use!
I find the new curriculum very exciting and am really enjoying the work I am doing with schools and clusters in implementing the new curriculum, thinking and inquiry in ways that engage students and move them towards developing learning skills.
I look forward to catching up with you somewhere as I work around the country.
It sounds as though you’re wanting the Ministry to be in the vanguard of educational development and progress. Maybe to take a lead in promoting exciting forms of practice and the focus on learners’ learning. If only that were so! Ah well. Keep up the good commentary and motivational guidance.