Tony Dickenson believes the relationship between teacher and student is evolving. Today, a more holistic approach, centred on inquiry requires a “collective approach,” with teacher and student exploring these concepts side by side.
If your brain hurts as you read this article about thinking, teaching and learning, Ian Gilbert has done his job. Go on – have a go, but you’ll have to think for yourself – he won’t give you the answers.
Blending on-line and in-class learning has clear advantages for international schools. But how can it be sustained in practice? Catherine Brandt and Neil Hardy-Johnson report from Dubai.
When working to develop a new concept school in Bali, Indonesia, maths teacher, Stephen Powell-Peterson wanted to introduce a truly functional flipped classroom. His goal? To enable students to learn theoretical information independently in class or at home and then apply what they learn during lessons. Now at Lucaya International School in the Bahamas, he reflects on where this idea has taken him.
According to Elly Tobin. the needs of learners in international schools have changed dramatically over recent years and at Consilium we have seen a shift from school populations being largely English speaking expats to host national students with limited inital English proficiency seeking an international education through the medium of English.
Susan Hamilton, Executive Director at educational youth opera organisation ‘Performability’, thinks it’s high time the curriculum was broadened, and talks about the company’s ground breaking, immersive creative projects in schools – both in the UK and overseas.
For Nick Chaddock, a student’s life skills are as important as academic achievement when it comes to making a university application. He also thinks that the International Award for Young People or “Duke of Edinburgh Award” has a profound impact on both.
Proofreading is generally considered the last part of the editing process during which students check for errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling. Chris Jay believes it can be so much more.
Language curricula in international education place increasing significance on student ability to produce and analyse a range of text types. The Language Acquisition and Language B Courses of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years and Diploma Programmes are good examples of this trend.
Chris Jay reports how the “Field-Tenor-Mode” analytical approach can build understanding of English texts.
Educational technology is central to the construction of a modern program of learning, argues Matt Harris. To be properly implemented and sustained over time it must have the committed support of a transformational leadership team.
The digital revolution has brought many benefits, but librarian Uma Shankar Singh argues it can also pose a significant threat to cultural diversity in an international school.
A consequence of the ever-increasing popularity of international schools is the growth in the number of children learning in a language other than their first. This can open opportunities for the individual but, as Carolyn Savage explains, continuing to develop the mother tongue is vital to enhance learning.
Despite widespread concerns over declining library usage, the impact of instant access technology and budgetary constraints, Uma Shankar Singh believes libraries are of vital importance and are set to remain exciting and innovative areas in school.
Grace Kelly firmly believes that Franklin’s maxim, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I will learn” holds true when investigating the benefits of collaborative learning.
Andy Homden suggests that unless students acquire the habit of academic independence, they will neither fulfill their potential nor be ready for the expectations of higher education and the world of employment. But – they have to be shown how.
In our efforts to define 21st Century learning, Andy Homden thinks it is worth revisiting a question we all discussed when we were trainee teachers: what knowledge is worth having? If we then widen this out a little to consider what skills are worth developing and what kind of understanding we wish our students to acquire, I think we have a good place for taking the discussion about 21st Century learning forward quickly.