Learning and teaching are not the same thing
As the rhythm of teaching and lessons has begun, there have been many reminders this week of our wider understanding of learning. Teaching is when someone plans a specific set of experiences, often in a classroom, that hopefully lead to new knowledge, conceptual understanding and skill - and perhaps dispositions. Learning is something much wider. Our mission is to help create global citizens, and to develop these competencies a much wider range of learning experiences is required than simply being in a great classroom with a talented teacher - and that explains the flurry of opportunities you have seen this week in your inboxes.
The activities programme offers a huge range of hand, heart and head opportunities for learners to develop team work, physical literacy, confidence, friendships, and build community. Much of the most important learning is not explicitly taught - it happens when negotiating with others in the journalism club about which story to run, or which strategy the team should use next in volley ball. It might be about self management and determination in the gym, or developing emotional literacy whilst learning to use your body to express feelings in dance.
Likewise the residential trips and Duke of Edinburgh's award letters have gone out - inviting your child to learn to navigate away from the secure routines at home, and explore different parts of the country or even venture to Ireland to explore culture, peace-building and history. There is also a local option for those not quite ready to explore, but I would encourage wherever possible and appropriate for you to support your child to embrace these opportunities for learning to be a global citizen.
And finally, Grade 9 start their self directed learning unit on Fridays this week, learning to manage their own learning progress over an extended period, project managing, setting goals and monitoring their own progress with support from a teacher acting as a mentor.
You may be thinking, 'well of course, that is exactly what I do in my job and my pro bono and voluntary work - It is rare that I just sit down and am taught something. I make new communities and teams, I travel to different contexts and have to get projects up and running, and I have to manage my own learning and progression - that's what I do as a global citizen'. And that would be exactly the point.
Comments
Post a Comment