What lies beneath Learner Agency?
When we witness learner agency, it is truly thrilling. Students are alive with purpose, passion and confidence. We should remember that many unseen, but important, educational practices create the conditions for autonomous learning. Beneath the iceberg lies powerful pedagogy.
Read MoreWhat I learned by returning to the classroom
Discoveries abound!
I learned about skill development, leadership impact, student agency, collegiality and emotional vulnerability.
I might even go back for more!
Connection Precedes Cognition
But I don’t want to be a number!
In our quest for efficiency, let us never overlook human connection. Brains cannot learn in the absence of relationships. Whatever you’re teaching, take time to connect. Show students they are known, noticed and important – for connection precedes cognition.
The Disconnect Between Schooling & Learning
It’s time to stop preparing children for school.
Instead, let’s prepare our schools for the powerful minds of children!
Let’s create cultures of thinking, creativity and student-agency so students know that we are visitors in their learning; they are not visitors in our schools.
Read MoreConfessions of Great Teachers
Great Teachers are precious gems, formed and reformed throughout a career. They are hard-working, highly reflective, and often, exhausted. Great Teachers need colleagues, friends and leaders who “see” their pedagogy and affirm their practice, especially when they doubt their own impact on student learning.
Read MoreParent Priorities: “I want my child to be creative.”
Educators understand the value of creativity in the 21st Century. We are all striving to build flexible, inspiring schools where creativity flourishes. Parents also prioritise creativity as a goal of their child’s education. So how can we foster creative thinking in children? City Weekend magazine generated this question, and more, for our consideration.
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