A comment from Mark Treadwell

kia ora (greetings) Karen

The paradigm shift in education we are currently experiencing requires both an understanding of the fundamental reasons that are driving it and the ability to predict the changing role of educators and what constitutes an effective curriculum. The implications for change we have been talking about in the sessions in Adelaide require systemic change that need to be strategically directed through the leadership of the school in a manner that is well planned and is based on multiple changes happening concurrently within the school. Managing change on this scale requires a new sense of vision for education and a discrete set of capabilities in order to implement those changes within a system that has undergone little substantive changes in hundreds of years.

We now understand much more about how the brain learns and we have a good idea about what competencies are now required for students to be effective learners but those same competencies are also the key capabilities for all members of a society where change is endemic and everyone has to become an independent learner. The competencies/key capabilities can be categorised under the headings of thinking, communication, managing self, collaboration and engagement. These competencies/key capabilities are required to be taught explicitly via a suitable set of cognitive developmental sequences.

Concurrent with this is the need to leverage the power of the internet via the wide range of devices that now serve to deliver those services. The technology is not the chasm that everyone needs to cross in order to enter this new paradigm but rather it is having the competencies to appreciate the learning process and be able to engage in an inquiry approach to learning that allows learners to learn Just In Time (JIT) rather that Just in Case (JIC).

The JIC model worked fine when most people were told what to do and when they worked in mechanistic and highly controlled work and societal environments but when both society and the workplace demands initiative, creativity, innovation and ingenuity, everyone almost needs to be able to learn new understandings on demand. School is where these new capabilities need to be learners and practiced. School is the place where learners need to increasingly hold greater agency (control) over their own learning and to do that they need to be taught how to learn.  Mark Treadwell www.marktreadwell.com

ka kite ano (farewell)

Mark Treadwell

Plato’s Cave- finding the exit!

When I was in my late 20’s, I was blessed with two beautiful children who were the centre of my universe. I considered myself to be a good and loving parent, and I spent many hours talking to them, reading to them, playing in the park, going to the zoo and the beach, encouraging questioning and honesty, and teaching them about life and all the wonderful things around them. I took them to playgroup and Kindergarten, had friends over to play,  taught them to be respectful to adults and other children, and show compassion for people who were not as fortunate as we were. I then sent them off to school with all the hopes and dreams of any parent: that their teachers would care about them and help them to learn and be successful, while valuing their unique little personalities.

I soon became somewhat disillusioned with an education system that could not identify a learning disability, yet was quick to label a child ‘a lazy learner’ at age 6. I became frustrated and angry with an education system that dismissed prolonged bullying as a natural part of growing up and that it would help build character for life.  These were my children; they were hurting and I felt so disempowered.My mum always said don’t whinge about a problem-get off your backside (I have modified my mum’s more colourful terminology) and do something about it. I couldn’t change my children’s experiences with school, but I could try and make sure that it would be a far different experience for someone else’s child. And so began my journey in 1998 when I resigned from my job in the finance industry and enrolled in a Bachelor of Education at Flinders University.

I am not suggesting for one moment that I imagined I was going to be an education superhero and ‘change the face of education’ but I had so much drive and passion to make a difference that I knew if I worked hard, researched widely, engaged in deep, and sometimes personally challenging conversations, and learned from those whose practice I valued, then surely I could be a good (hopefully better than good) teacher.

I must say that 12 years on I still have drive and passion, I work harder, research more, still engage in critical conversations with my peers, students and parents, and learn from colleagues and kids every day. Teaching is as much about learning as it is about teaching, and I have so much to learn!

I know that as a parent I was very quick to judge my children’s teachers without having any background as to their experiences, their beliefs or their practice; however I still believe that my children should have expected and deserved a whole lot more. This was my ‘call to action’ back then, and it still drives me now. It will be time to hang up my hat when I no longer feel that passion.

End note: The problems that my children faced in their formative years of education had a lasting impact throughout their schooling in various ways. School was not a good fit for my son and he didn’t last beyond Year 10, and while my daughter did extremely well at high school completing Year 12 and topping her class in 2 subjects, her ongoing issues with anxiety became quite debilitating at times. My children are now adults, both working in personally rewarding, if not always satisfying jobs. They have travelled overseas, had many life experiences, have a fantastic network of friends, and are independent and active members in their communities. I am infinitely proud of the people my children have turned out to be- I just wish that I could say that their school experience had helped shaped their lives in a more positive way.