At the start of this semester we moved into our brand new flexible learning spaces. Not part of the BER, but funded by the state government as part of a regeneration project, these spaces, or villages, are purpose built to facilitate more inquiry based learning with flexible delivery options. In non-education jargon, we're stepping away from the teacher being seen as the one with all the knowledge ready to give to kids who know nothing, and don't have the access to the information. This is not your traditional classroom. It is not (usually) about standing up the front lecturing. This is not about copying notes down from a book. Yep, skill and drill is sometimes necessary, i think particularly with maths, but there are times and subjects where things need to be different. I went and saw QI live last night, and in the opening monologue Stephen Fry spoke about the availablity of knowledge. He expressed frustration at people exclaiming they didn't learn whatever at school, pointing out that learning didn't stop the moment you stopped being in a classroom. The thing that stuck with me was this:
"People complaining about not knowing something, not being taught something, is like living in a society where you have to wade through gold coins to get up the street and being approached by a beggar asking for a dollar. Knowledge is everywhere. Stop and pick it up"
That's what we're aiming to do. Skill kids in a way that they pick up the interesting knowledge, seek out the things they want to seek out, and know where and how to look to get an accurate idea of what is knowledge, what is opinion and what is propaganda. We want to give them the skills to be able to convey this knowledge and understanding to other people.
While i knew this was possible, or more possible, for Investigate (our inquiry based subject that incorporates English, Science and the Humanities in Project Based Learning) i've always found it more of a challenge in Maths. Yeah, somethings can be project-based, but sometimes it just feels like the kids need to practice something. To be able to apply their understanding to situations they first need to have an understanding. Skill them up.
But the best thing that has come from the new spaces is the way they're skilling up. It's not coming from me. I walk into our investigate space, mark the roll then the kids divide themselves up. I have four groups of kids in four different spaces. Two bigger groups of about 10 in bigger areas, 2 groups of about three in our planning rooms. I give them all a whiteboard marker and am blown away. Kids who either need constant feedback in class or have zero confidence in their maths ability are teaching the others. And correctly too. Accurately drawn diagrams that are then used to solve the problems. They do it in their own way of speaking and explaining that allows their classmates to 'get it' faster than they probably would have if i was out the front explaining it to 24 kids.
They take it in turn of writing on the boards, they correct each others mistakes and encourage each other when they get things right. They come out not feeling like a complete idiot for not getting things.
And it makes me excited for what we do. To keep doing what i'm doing.
But (coz there always is one) it makes me just as frustrated with the people so quick to dismiss the way we're doing things. The people who bemoan "losing the ability to teach" or it not being academically rigorous enough, or being too different. From the people who are scared to let go of the fact that just because you're not up the front doesn't mean that they're not learning.
Which skills are going to be more useful? Problem solving as a group, talking and explaining in front of a small cohort of peers, reflecting and correcting work as a group OR sitting quietly and listening for hours on end. (overly simplistic? Maybe).
I like what we're doing. I see what it does to kids beyond their academic understanding. And it makes me happy to be where i am.
