Preparing for Future Learning

According to a recent research study by a Schneider et al.(2013) students who were initially engaged in open-ended exploration before reading new information outperformed students who used traditional textbook materials before solving a problem. The researchers found that the students who were first presented with an abstract problem to solve and then engaged in open exploration before reading became more productive. It was assumed they used their prior knowledge and intuitions.  Consequently, they were more likely to fully grasp the newer concepts.   

The implication for the COR Literacy Framework (or any other instructional program) is that a series of lessons (around a theme or topic) should first start with an open ended question (or a problem to solve). Students problem solving and suggesting possible solutions will help elicit  personalised learning goals which will test the sufficiency of their prior knowledge. This process will enable students to determine what else they might need to adequately solve the problem.    

Bertrand Schneider, Jenelle Wallace, Paulo Blikstein, Roy Pea, "Preparing for Future Learning with a Tangible User Interface: The Case of Neuroscience," IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 117-129, April-June 2013, doi:10.1109/TLT.2013.15

Corporal Punishment in Our Schools: Should we blame the victim?

In my last blog, 'Equity - the real issue in falling education standards.' I proposed that as our society becomes more unequal we can expect that the standards in education will continue to fall. One simple but ill informed approach is to blame the teachers or the quality of teacher training. An even worse tendency is to blame the learner for the failings in the education system. For example, often a failing student will be labelled as being 'unmotivated', 'lazy' or even 'uninterested'. Many of these students quickly become frustrated and give up trying to achieve in school. They develop self-protective behaviours: they learn that it is better not to expend effort when failure is the expected result. Some students misbehave in class to avoid doing activities that they believe will lead to failure. The disruptive behaviour not only helps them avoid failure but it also protects their self esteem by gaining inappropriate attention from other students. Traditionally a common response was to use corporal punishment in the form of the cane or the strap. Another typical response for continued disruptive behaviour is suspension from school. 

Recently Kevin Donnelly, the co-chair of the Australian Federal Government's national curriculum review has suggested the use of corporal punishment for disruptive students as long as the local school and community support it. This view by a prominent educationalist has sent shock waves throughout the community. Most people understand that using the cane does not address root causes or problems and will more than likely reinforce inappropriate behaviours. Donnelly's statement  seems to indicate some very outdated views which are not in line with current thinking and research findings. According to Jacqueline Maley, (parliamentary sketch writer for the Sydney Morning Herald) in her newspaper article 'Kevin Donnelly on hiding to nothing' (19th July, 14) Donnelly  is "... a critic of political correctness in schools, and he advocates the restoration of more traditional ways of learning and curricular subject matter; he is big fan of Shakespeare, the classic novels and phonics. He is a strong critic of the post-modern, theory-based lens through which literature and history is sometimes taught in modern schools." Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/kevin-donnelly-on-a-hiding-to-nothing-20140717-zu81z.html#ixzz37u3X43uS

In terms of suspension, Linda J. Graham, in her commentary in The Conversation entitled"Help disruptive students, don't just suspend them." proposed .".. that academic difficulties lead to task avoidance which leads to teacher-student conflict which leads to the use of time-out, which is followed by an escalation in disruptive behaviour, which is met by repeat long-suspension, leading to further escalation, and eventually referral to special educational settings." Read more: http://theconversation.com/help-disruptive-students-dont-just-suspend-them-28919

Simple responses such as corporal punishment or suspensions tend to blame the victim rather than addressing their complex academic, social and emotional needs. Good teachers who know, understand and spend time interacting with their students can make a difference. Trevor Cairney, in his recent blog Thursday, July 17, 2014), stated that, "Good teachers change children as they develop love and respect for their students and want the best for them. It seems to me that this is the starting point for effective teaching and parenting not corporal punishment. Read more: http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com.au

Equity - the real issue in falling education standards.

Are we burying our heads or is equity the real issue in falling standards?

There is an increasing gap in Australia between the rich and the poor. It has been suggested that the recent federal budget will further increase inequality in Australia. In Australia and Britain, as of 2007,  the wealthiest 1% of the population earned 20% of all income. In Canada the top 1% earned 37% while America set the bar at an alarming 47%. According to Richard Wilkinson, these advanced societies are not only less equitable but have greater problems, not only in wealth distribution, but also in educational standards, health, substance abuse, social problems, and consequently have have larger prison populations. 

This situation is typically reflected in the educational performance of the Australian states and territories. It is not surprising that the most equitable states do better on PISA and national tests while the states and territories that have a bigger gap between rich and poor and lower educational opportunity do less well.  Despite this inequality, the Australian government's response is the promotion of a market driven approach whereby public schools will be able to have more autonomy in such matters as the hiring and firing of staff and possibly with staff renumeration. However, this can only increase the inequity of our education system and result in the further decline of our educational standards.

The OECD conducts a series of international student surveys in more than 70 countries to assess the knowledge and skills of 15 year olds in Mathematics, Science and Reading.  The PISA results show that in the year 2000 Australia performed 2nd only to Finland in reading on the PISA international tests. The Finnish school system has been less affected by family backgrounds than in most other countries and has been considered to be one of the most equitable among the OECD countries.  However, even in Finland, there is an increasing inequality and, as a consequence their PISA test scores are slipping. Australia's scores on PISA are also noticeably in decline, in 2012 the reading scores slipped to tenth position. According to Peter Job the performance of Australian education has been put at risk due to a politicisation of education and a declining respect for teacher professionalism. 

There has been a push for the publishing of league tables for the national testing (NAPLAN) results and also a push for higher performance pay. This is despite international evidence that such schemes are less than productive. There seems to be an assumption that poor teacher quality is the reason for falling standards. The continued promotion of this assumption can only lead teachers to believe that they are not appreciated and deter others from entering the teaching profession. Instead of creating a system that rewards some and punishes others it would be better to remove the inequalities within our society and in the education systems. 

See the links below for more on the topic:

Joe Hockey's budget beyond the concept of fair: The Age newspaper:  1st June, 2014

A Teacher's guide to PISA reading literacy

Australia's PISA slump is big news but what is the real story?

Why markets cannot improve education http://theconversation.com/why-markets-cant-deliver-excellence-and-equity-in-schools-25711

Blind ideology putting Australia's education at risk.

Washington Post - A response from Finland

ABC news http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-14/1-in-8-australians-living-in-poverty/4312154
China's response

Richard Wilkinson TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7LzE3u7Bw

Increasing gap between the rich and the poor in Australia http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/aussies-trapped-by-disadvantage/story-fn3dxiwe-1226445744314

Visualisation and Imagery - Reading Comprehension

"This book explores the many dialogues that exist between the arts and literacy. It shows how the arts are inherently multimodal and therefore interface regularly with literate practice in learning and teaching contexts. It asks the questions: What does literacy look like in the arts? And what does it mean to be arts literate? It explores what is important to know and do in the arts and also what literacies are engaged in, through the journey to becoming an artist. The arts for the purpose of this volume include five art forms: Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts. The book provides a more productive exploration of the arts-literacy relationship. It acknowledges that both the arts and literacy are open-textured concepts and notes how they accommodate each other, learn about, and from each other and can potentially make education ‘better’. It is when the two stretch each other that we see an educationally productive dialogic relationship emerge." Georgina Barton PhD

Chapter 13: Using Visualisation and Imagery to Enhance Reading Comprehension

"Reading comprehension is a dynamic process that requires readers to construct meaning while they are decoding text. During the reading process readers do not normally retain verbatim text information but develop other, more flexible knowledge structures. Skilled readers do this by constructing a mental model incorporating both visual and verbal information in the form of a cohesive representation of the meaning. The construction of a mental model is formed by the integration of the reader’s prior knowledge with the text structure or story content. For example, good readers tend to make bridging inferences by incorporating their own relevant background knowledge to fill in the gaps when important information is not given in the text. When readers are taught to visualise story events they are able to make appropriate inferences because visualising enables them to draw on their own prior knowledge and life experiences. As readers visualise while reading they become more engaged with the text, enjoy what they are reading, and often imagine themselves as if they are actually in the story. Imagining story ideas during reading links information in working memory and makes the encoding and recall of information more efficient. This chapter discusses how visual imagery techniques such as drawing, manipulating objects, forming mental imagery, developing characterisations, and using story structure can improve reading comprehension performance." Dr Gary Woolley PhD

Developing Literacy in the Primary Classroom

'Primary literacy involves many different learning processes, which can make it challenging to teach, particularly in diverse classroom environments.
 
Combining an examination of theory and research with practical case studies and real examples of teaching practice, this book shows trainee and early career teachers how to engage and motivate children to develop a range of primary English skills.
 
Chapters incorporate broader aspects of primary teaching such as active learning, self-regulation and assessment, and activities and discussion points explore how to apply important principles to your own teaching. 
 
Drawing from international research and aware of policy developments in different countries, the book covers key topics on primary teacher education courses, including:

• The foundations of reading, writing and oracy skills

• Planning, assessment and classroom organisation

• Using new technologies and social media as tools for learning
• Engaging with the literacy needs of diverse learners.' 

Sage Publications Ltd 

Publication date late June 2014

'Gary Woolley’s new book gives us a comprehensive overview of what we mean by both literacy and literacies in our modern world. It is thoroughly researched and offers student and practising teachers, and those working in Higher Education, a balanced and informed overview of the theory behind our present teaching practices.'

Howard Cotton

Lecturer in Language and Literacy, Plymouth University, UK

'Highly recommended. The author has left no stone unturned in this extremely comprehensive exploration of how best to develop students’ literacy skills. Beginning teachers, and those with experience, will find much here to influence their positive thinking and their classroom practices. A truly 21^st century perspective.'

Peter Westwood

Education Consultant and Author, Australia

'Developing Literacy in the Primary Classroom is a comprehensive overview of the critical topics all teachers need to understand and apply to be effective literacy educators.  Teachers need to know and understand what literacy is, how students learn and advance in their literacy skills, and how to direct, structure, monitor and adapt their literacy instructions and practices, as required for different purposes. This book is strongly focussed on developing teachers’ pedagogical knowledge across the different elements of literacy and across the changing demands of students’ literacy enhancement across the school years.'

Professor Ian Hay

Past Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania