Pedagogy and Curriculum

The clip I chose this week was a good example of mimetic knowledge as the student in Good Will Hunting clip recites the information with out any thought given to original ideas or opinions.  The scary thing is that this was in many ways the same form of education I received at the University I attended.  There was a lot of emphasis put on our ability to recall facts and remember information for exams.  We did not often get the opportunity to think critically about what we were being taught let alone think of new ways of doing things.  In fact it was intimidating to step outside the norm and suggest new ideas as this was often met with negative feedback.  I feel like the most worthwhile learning I engaged in was the practical placements at schools where I had the opportunities to develop my teaching style. 

Knowledge Repertoires

It was difficult this week to think of a practical example where I have seen elements of LbD being used in other curriculum design formats.  The Exhibitions program at Lanyon High school is a fantastic initiative. When it originated It used elements of Learning by Design.  Students often have opportunities to experience the known and new in the topics studied.  The also were given the chance to apply what they had learned creatively during their individual project and presentations to parents and friends.  At Lanyon we now use the LbD format in Exhibitions to ensure all essential learning areas are covered and to help prevent gaps in the students learning and teacher preparation.  Exhibitions has offered students at Lanyon High the opportunity to take responsibility of their learning and choose a creative path to develop and use their knowledge.

Committed Knowledge

For some reason, when discussion committed knowledge and thinking of examples for my wiki I always reverted to religion.  I was educated in a Catholic school but always failed to understand the meaning of religion and it purpose in my life.  I felt like it was something that could never be questioned and as a consequence I never gained a satisfactory understanding of God.  I believe the reason that it was not appropriate to discuss religion, its relevance and authenticity in my school is because the teachers did not have the answers.  It was something that we were expected to believe and follow regardless of our curiosities.  I think religion offers comfort to people as it attempts to answer some of the big questions.  How did the world begin? And what is the meaning of life? I guess my problem is that I don’t think religion offers a logical explanation for these questions.  However, Science also struggles to do this. I’m Confused.  

Brain Development

I love looking at the physiological reasons for why things might happen in human development.  This week it was interesting to see that the reasons why Adolescents respond and react in certain ways is in part because of the stage of development their brain is at.  The adolescent brain in not capable of reasoning and making decisions based on what future outcomes of situations might be. This explains a lot for me.  Some of the quick and inappropriate comments that my students make may be a result of their brain development.  However, I wonder why students in other cultures don’t suffer from this problem.  A colleague of mine has recently returned for Japan and he commented on the impeccable behaviour of his students there.  This posed a question for me…. Is it brain development or is it what is tolerated in our societies?

The Excluding or Assimilating School

This week I chose look at a specific aspect of assimilation and exclusion.  In Australia and other countries the dominant races have often tried to ‘civilise’ other cultures by removing their identity.  This was done through assimilating languages and significant events celebrated by the Indigenous people to that of the dominant race.  You would think these events were a thing of the past and only happened when Australia was first colonised/invaded.  But it has been brought to my attention that in Australia there have been very opposing decisions made about learning in your first language. Only a couple of years ago, the Howard government tried to enforce teaching literacy in English in Indigenous schools. And then some Indigenous communities agreed on the ground of economic opportunities for their children. Luckily others saw the importance of forming cultural identities in their Indigenous languages first and teaching English second. 

 

 

 

 

Language is such an important part of peoples Identity.  I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like if I was forced to learn another language and was forced to be educated using a foreign language.  It makes you feel shame that the founders of this country thought that this was a good idea and forced it upon the Indigenous people of this land.

The Beginnings of Recognition

I have worked in and seen many situations where teachers begin to recognise diversity and difference.  One of the things that I know many schools attempt are multicultural days where students might bring in a food that they eat or share a special cultural events that is celebrated.  I think these methods fall short of truly valuing opinions and ideas from minority groups.  It would be great to see all students having input into the curriculum and in class discussions and debates.  As teachers we strive to ensure every ones experiences and life worlds are Incorporated into our teaching and lesson planning. 

Another example I can think of is the recognition Indigenous students.  In the schools where I have worked these students are often excluded from class in an attempt to recognise their cultures and backgrounds.  I have seen indeginous students taken out of the mainstream class to develop team building skills or to recognise the contributions they make to society.  It is interesting to see that the people who run these events often think they are creating something special for these students and recognising and valuing their differences.  However after reading more about inclusion and talking with colleagues it is interesting to see that they are actually removing them from their peers who would benefit from hearing their stories and perspectives on class curriculum.

Inclusive Schools

I don’t think there is a simple answer or example that describes what a truly inclusive school looks or operates like.  I like to think of all the small things that schools do to cater for individual student differences and perhaps collectively they start to form inclusive schools.  Inclusive environments are big concepts that seem impossible to cover with one idea or theme.  Groups of people are diverse and there is further differences within groups to the point when we are considering each person and their individual backgrounds and opinions. 

Australian School Based Apprenticeship are great for many reasons.  Students who are disengaged or have behaviour problems can benefit from getting head start with a career whilst at High School.  This program is good for students who may not be academically minded or for students who are having problems surviving in a conventional school setting.  These pupils appreciate being given the choice to start Vocational study at school. 

ASBAS often help student’s attitudes towards their learning and as a result their behaviour can improve.  The program is meaningful and relevant and as a consequence many of the disconnected students experience more success and interest in study.

This is one aspect of our school that caters for diversity amongst the students.  This in conjunction with other programs and curriculum structured and delivered using the LbD format improves the inclusivity of our school.

 

 

 

Women and Inclusive Education

This week I decided to focus on a general group of people who are being included in education for the first time in their lives.  The Afghan women have and still face horrific living conditions.  So it was interesting to see that for the first time they are studying at school and working towards professions that were once exclusively male.  One of the most intriguing points was that despite the imminent danger these women face by going to school they still valued their education over what may happen to them.  These people face the very real danger of violence and even murder if they are caught by the Taliban.  So it was amazing to see that the women have a united approach to their education.  I think they see it as the only real possibility of change and improved living standards so they are prepared to make huge sacrifices in return. 

 

 

This is an extreme example of a group of people who have moved from exclusion to inclusion in education.  I know it is not specific example of how a western classroom has evolved to become more inclusive for the diverse range of students we teach but it is a good example of how gender still plays a huge role in what people are expected and allowed to do in different cultures.  Nations like Afghanistan are still breaking the ground that westernised countries broke many years ago. 

CGLearner

It was an exciting experience to use the new program for writing learning elements.
One of the things that I didn’t like about writing elements in the past was using the old program to document them.  I found it difficult to navigate around and all the tools seemed to cumbersome and hard to use.  I also found with the old program that I would run into programming glitches and would often lose work and found it time consuming. 

The C G Learner program was much better to use.  I found it user friendly and easier to navigate between the different learning areas.  It also made it clear to see where we were missing content and areas that needed development.

We did encounter some minor problems with the program.  Formatting the content as to how we wanted it was tricky.  Some of the tools were difficult to use and on occasions we could not get the final result we were looking for.  We also found it difficult to manipulate the overview of activities and change the order.  The program simply did not allow us to do this. Also when we viewed the learning element on our screens the information was compressed to one side making it difficult to read.  

Overall I think C G Learner is a great program that will encourage people to work in the LbD format.  Imporved time efficiency aided the LbD process with user friendly and easy to navigate pages and links.

Citizenship and Education

Schools and teachers have a responsibility to teach civics and citizenship.  Unfortunately, it has and is taught in a dull, dry and uninteresting way which often leads to students being disengaged with the content and often missing the point.  Citizenship needs to be about providing inclusivity for all students and valuing input for all ethnic, social and economic groups.

 

Recently Australia has faced problems in disadvantaged areas such as Macquarie Fields and Rosemeadow.  These people have been placed in the cheap housing estates and often given little choice and no voice.  These are invariably people who had poor education and little opportunity to develop and learn skills to improve their life, the life of their families and the community.

 

Obviously the problems in the Western Sydney suburbs are diverse and multifaceted. Providing students with the tools and skills to appropriately challenge decisions and legally fight for improved economic and social conditions is an empowering tool.  These skills give people non confrontational and non violent avenues to improve living conditions. 

 

How do we do this? 

 

A school in London has had success with their teaching of citizenship and managed to regain student interest in this area.

Students learn how to mount campaigns and challenge decisions. They go out on to the street, make trips to prisons and police cells, and write to their local MP. As part of their coursework, some of Bhargava’s GCSE students set out to improve the way sex education was being taught in school. They identified the problem, trained as sexual health mentors and eventually taught a group of year 8 students. “I want them to have the willingness to transform their society,” he says. “I think it has to be that grand aim. If they don’t come out feeling that they have the ability to change society, then we haven’t done our job.”

 

 

 

http://www.educacionenvalores.org/article.php3?id_article=1239