Teaching : making a difference [Fourth edition.] 9780730363453, 0730363457

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CHURCHILL | GODINHO | JOHNSON | KEDDIE | LETTS LOWE | MACKAY | MCGILL | MOSS | NAGEL | SHAW WITH JESSA ROGERS

TEACHING MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

FOURTH EDITION

Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Teaching Making a difference FOURTH EDITION

Rick Churchill Sally Godinho Nicola F Johnson Amanda Keddie Will Letts Kaye Lowe Jenny Mackay ` McGill Michele Julianne Moss Michael C Nagel Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Kylie Shaw with Jessa Rogers

Fourth edition published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064 Typeset in 10/12pt Times LT Std © John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2011, 2013, 2016, 2019 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted. A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia. Reproduction and communication for educational purposes The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of 10% of the pages of this work or — where this work is divided into chapters — one chapter, whichever is the greater, to be reproduced and/or communicated by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL). Reproduction and communication for other purposes Except as permitted under the Act (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher. The authors and publisher would like to thank the copyright holders, organisations and individuals for the permission to reproduce copyright material in this book. Every effort has been made to trace the ownership of copyright material. Information that will enable the publisher to rectify any error or omission in subsequent editions will be welcome. In such cases, please contact the Permissions Section of John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. Cover images (top, then bottom left to right): © antart / Shutterstock.com; © Olesia Bilkei / Shutterstock.com; © wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock.com; © Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com; © wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock.com; © Denis Kuvaev / Shutterstock.com. Typeset in India by Aptara Printed in Singapore by C.O.S. Printers Pte Ltd

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS Dedication xi About the authors

CHAPTER 2

xii

Historical insights into teaching 40

PART 1

The teaching profession

1

CHAPTER 1

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Introducing teaching as a profession 2 Introduction 4 1.1 Teaching in the twenty-first century 5 The ‘apprenticeship of observation’ 6 Teaching as a profession, teachers as professionals 6 The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 8 Continuity and change 9 Teaching matters: a new era for teaching and learning 12 1.2 Developing your teacher identity 16 Storying teaching 16 Theorising teaching and identity 17 Enacting beliefs and values 18 Transforming personal identity 18 1.3 Pedagogy 20 Pedagogical knowledge 20 Pedagogical renewal in Australia 22 The Australian Curriculum 26 1.4 Reflective practice 28 1.5 Doing teachers’ work to trouble whiteness 29 Entering the profession 29 Assessment of pre-service and graduating teachers 30 Contributing to the professional knowledge base 31 Summary 34 Key terms 34 From theory to practice 35 Websites 35 References 36 Acknowledgements 39

Introduction 42 2.1 A critical perspective and transformative teaching 43 The value of a critical perspective 44 2.2 Social, political, economic and cultural factors shaping education 45 Stakeholders and educational interests and needs 47 Governance 49 Shaping the profession 51 2.3 Discourses of education 53 Discourses of the child 54 Theory and practice in educational discourse 56 2.4 Pedagogy, curriculum, classroom management and technologies 57 Pedagogy 57 Curriculum 59 Classroom management 62 Technologies of schooling 64 2.5 Teachers’ work, teachers’ lives, teachers’ identities 69 The challenges of professional decision making 70 Professional standards, teaching and ‘us’ 71 Summary 73 Key terms 73 From theory to practice 74 Websites 75 References 75 Acknowledgements 78 PART 2

Understanding learning and learners 79 CHAPTER 3

Student learning 80 Introduction 81 3.1 Domains of learning 82 What is ‘learning’? 83 Theoretical perspectives of learning

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3.2 New insights into learning 92 How the brain learns — contemporary scientific insights 93 Retaining what is learned 99 3.3 Enhancing learning 103 Multiple intelligences 104 Emotional and social intelligences 106 Summary 111 Key terms 112 From theory to practice 113 Websites 114 References 114 Acknowledgements 117 CHAPTER 4

Understanding and motivating students 118 Introduction 120 4.1 Understanding students 120 The twenty-first century learner 121 Talkin’ about a new generation? 124 4.2 Motivating students 127 Theories of motivation 127 Emotions and motivation 129 The problem with rewards 132 4.3 Motivation to learn 134 The impact of stress, anxiety and learned helplessness 134 Limiting stress and enhancing success 135 4.4 Engaging motivation and learning in the twenty-first century 139 Fostering motivation 139 Summary 143 Key terms 144 From theory to practice 144 Websites 145 References 145 Acknowledgements 148

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CHAPTER 5

Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity 149 Introduction 151 5.1 Understanding diversity and difference 152 Naming equity groups in Australian policy 154 Explaining student diversity 157 5.2 Professional knowledge and educational equity 158

Special education: three decades of critique 159 Discourse in everyday practice 161 Who is responsible for equity? 163 High-quality, high-equity curriculum and pedagogy 163 5.3 Teaching all students 166 Supporting learner diversity 167 5.4 Planning multilevel curriculum and inquiry 170 Negotiated and inquiry learning in Australia 170 Essential questions 170 Inquiry learning and activist teaching 171 5.5 How equity works in practice 173 Investigating practice and taking action 174 Developing a supportive and productive learning environment 177 Pedagogies to look for 177 Using supports in the classroom to ensure curricular justice 181 5.6 Understanding the needs of Indigenous students 182 Summary 186 Key terms 186 From theory to practice 187 Websites 187 References 188 Acknowledgements 190 PART 3

Preparation, practice and process 191 CHAPTER 6

The curriculum 192 Introduction 193 6.1 Exploring the notion of curriculum 194 Differentiating curriculum from syllabus documents 195 A pedagogical view of curriculum 196 Curriculum as lived experience 197 Pondering the Australian Curriculum 198 6.2 Curriculum as cultural construction 201 Whose knowledge is of most worth? 201 Who sees themselves within the curriculum? 201 6.3 Models of curriculum 203 Integrated curriculum 203 Inquiry-based curriculum 205 Arts-based curriculum 205

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Emergent curriculum 206 Outcomes-focused curriculum 207 6.4 The hidden curriculum 208 Hidden curriculum as implicit and unintended 208 6.5 Teachers as curriculum workers 209 Teachers as critical consumers and creators of curriculum 210 6.6 Curriculum as praxis 211 Curriculum exceeds the textbook 211 Curriculum as a shared understanding 212 Summary 214 Key terms 214 From theory to practice 214 Websites 215 References 215 Acknowledgements 217 CHAPTER 7

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Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 218 Introduction 220 7.1 Curriculum, pedagogy, assessment 221 Curriculum 221 Pedagogy 222 Assessment and reporting 222 7.2 Layers of curriculum planning: macro to micro 224 The Australian Curriculum and state curriculums 225 International Baccalaureate and school programs 227 7.3 Some guiding principles for planning 229 Planning begins with knowing your students 230 Planning requires attention to intellectual engagement 230 Planning entails a critically reflective stance 230 Planning must retain a degree of flexibility 231 Planning should include entry points for student input and negotiation 232 7.4 Planning at the micro-level: individual lesson plans 233 Strategic planning for lessons 233 7.5 Planning a unit of work: a sequence of lessons 238 What might a unit planner look like? 239 Learning experiences 243

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CONTENTS

7.6 Inquiry-based pedagogy 245 Inquiry as a systematic, sequenced study 246 7.7 Planning to differentiate the learning for student diversity 247 Individual learning plans and contracts 249 Summary 252 Key terms 252 From theory to practice 254 Websites 255 References 256 Acknowledgements 259 CHAPTER 8

Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 260 Introduction 261 8.1 Connectedness: knowing yourself 262 The discipline of noticing 263 Storying your practice 264 Cycles of personal development 265 8.2 Pedagogies of practice 266 Pedagogical frameworks 267 Critical pedagogy 268 Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) 268 Technological pedagogies 270 Instructional pedagogy: explicit teaching 271 What distinguishes the practice of expert teachers? 273 Rethinking a definition of pedagogy 274 8.3 Pedagogy: learning places and spaces 275 Place-based pedagogy 275 The physical environment 276 Reggio Emilia schools 278 8.4 Collaborative pedagogy: establishing the classroom culture 279 Classroom discourses 280 Building relationships 281 Working as a group 281 Cooperative learning 282 Teacher-facilitated group work 284 8.5 Dialogic pedagogy 285 Learning to question: questioning to learn 286 Framing questions 286 Student questions 287 Substantial conversations 288 8.6 Dispositional thinking pedagogy 291 Critical, creative and reflective thinking 291

Summary 295 Key terms 295 From theory to practice 296 Websites 297 References 297 Acknowledgements 301

10.2 Approaches to ICTs in schools 338 Attitudes to ICTs 338 Funding 340 Behind the times 341 10.3 Planning for teaching with ICTs 342 Persistence and attitude to ICTs 343 Access 343 Skills 345 Functionality 345 Confidence 346 Concerns and restrictions 346 Letting go 347 10.4 The Digital Technology Impact Framework 348 Transforming the curriculum 350 10.5 Curriculum transformation 352 Examples in practice 352 Summary 359 Key terms 359 From theory to practice 360 Websites 360 References 360 Acknowledgements 362

CHAPTER 9

Organising the learning environment 302 Introduction 304 9.1 Creating effective classroom learning environments 304 A focus on professional knowledge 305 Proactive planning 305 Applying your professional knowledge in context 306 9.2 A model for organising the learning environment 307 Examining the model 308 Learning-friendly classrooms 309 9.3 Sociocultural principles 309 Safe and supportive school environments Implementation 310 Planning for teaching in an ILFE 319 9.4 Challenge and engagement 321 Facilitating learning 321 Challenging and engaging? 323 Classroom practice 324 9.5 Tools and issues 324 Putting it all together 324 Summary 328 Key terms 328 From theory to practice 329 Websites 329 References 329 Acknowledgements 332

309

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CHAPTER 10

Teaching with information and communication technologies 333 Introduction 334 10.1 The nature of technology and ICTs 335 Educational technologies 335 Technological pedagogical content knowledge 336

CHAPTER 11

Interactive student engagement and management 363 Introduction 365 11.1 Establishing an effective learning environment 367 Basic behaviour responsibilities 368 Proactive management 369 Behaviour guidelines 371 11.2 Planning for student engagement and management 375 Understanding student behaviour 377 Working from a positive mindset 380 Planning for behaviour 382 11.3 Strategies and skills to effectively engage and manage students 385 Managing behaviour 386 Six-step strategy for taking control 387 Applying interactive skills and strategies 391 11.4 Reflecting on your management 401 Reflecting on a teacher’s role 401 Reflecting on student management 402 When it’s working 402 When it’s not working 404

CONTENTS

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Behaviour management plan 409 Summary 412 Key terms 412 From theory to practice 412 Websites 415 References 415 Acknowledgements 416 CHAPTER 12

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Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 417 Introduction 419 12.1 Assessment in learning and assessment audiences 422 Equity and culture-fair assessment 424 Evidence-based learning 425 Assessment for learning 428 Theoretical frameworks for conceptualising student achievement 429 The link between assessment, curriculum, teaching and learning 430 Assessment can be problematic 431 12.2 Assessment concepts and terminology 432 Informal and formal assessments 432 Diagnostic assessments 434 Summative and formative assessments 435 Assessment for, of and as learning 437 Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment frameworks 439 Outcomes, standards, benchmarks and performance measures 440 12.3 Assessment design, strategies and techniques 441 The assessment process: quality issues 442 Selecting and implementing assessment strategies and techniques 444 Authentic assessment 447 Rubrics 449 Portfolios 450 Self-assessment and peer assessment 452 Assessment and digital environments 453 12.4 Assessment feedback 454 Why feedback is important 455 Feedback techniques 456 12.5 Monitoring and recordkeeping 457 Forms of records 457

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CONTENTS

12.6 Reporting on student learning 459 Expectations on schools 459 Expectations on teachers 459 Sample report — primary 461 Sample report — secondary 463 12.7 Assessment and reporting: future challenges and dilemmas 464 The system and the individual 464 Empowering the student 465 Focus of learning and operational changes 467 Summary 469 Key terms 469 From theory to practice 470 Websites 471 References 471 Acknowledgements 475 PART 4

Effectiveness, professionalism and the future 476 CHAPTER 13

Reflective practice

477

Introduction 478 13.1 Reflecting on reflection: beyond the gaze 479 13.2 Thinking differently about thinking 480 Reframing thinking 480 Reflection on action 481 Reflection in action 481 Reflective practice in teacher education 481 13.3 Mobilising reflection 483 Making reflection manageable 483 13.4 Autobiographical reflection 485 Autobiographical writing 486 Why use multiple data sources to reflect upon? 487 13.5 Critically reflective practice 488 Understanding ‘critical’ 488 Critically reflective teaching 488 13.6 Technologies of reflection 490 Notes/written reflections 490 Reflective journal 490 Portfolio or e-portfolio 490 Blogs and wikis 491 Audio and video recordings 491 Observation by a critical friend 491 Pedagogical documentation 492

Practitioner research 492 Professional learning communities 493 13.7 Reflexivity and teaching: beyond the self 494 Reflexivity fosters insights 494 Reflexivity in action 495 13.8 Teachers as critically reflective practitioners 496 Why does this matter? 496 Teachers as leaders 497 Summary 499 Key terms 499 From theory to practice 499 Websites 500 References 500 Acknowledgements 502 CHAPTER 14

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Theorising about teaching practice 503 Introduction 504 14.1 Tacit knowledge 506 14.2 A teacher’s practical theory 509 How do I build it? 510 14.3 Components of a teacher’s practical theory 512 Beliefs 512 Values 513 Principles 514 Rules 514 Aims and goals 515 Strategies and tactics 516 Student cues 516 Teacher attributes 516 14.4 Images and metaphors 516 14.5 Contextual variables 517 14.6 Novice to expert 518 The novice 518 Advanced beginner 519 Competence 519 Proficient and expert 519 Effective teachers continue to grow in expertise 520 14.7 Process of critical reflection 522 What is critical reflection? 522 Becoming a critically reflective practitioner 526 Unpacking and applying the critically reflective model to our practice 528

14.8 Investigating your own practical theories 531 Journal keeping 531 Personal narratives 532 Critical incidents 536 Summary 539 Key terms 539 From theory to practice 540 Websites 542 References 542 Acknowledgements 544 CHAPTER 15

Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 545 Introduction 547 15.1 The nature of teachers’ work 548 Conceptions of teachers’ work 548 What constitutes good teaching? 550 15.2 Teachers’ thinking about their work 551 Teachers’ thinking through the career life cycle 551 Other perspectives on teachers’ thinking 552 Teacher culture 552 15.3 Professionalism and accreditation 554 The development of professional standards in Australia 555 The implications of professional standards for teachers 556 15.4 Ethical frameworks and codes of conduct for teachers 558 The Melbourne Declaration 559 15.5 Teachers and the law 563 Teachers, accountability and the law 563 Schools, accountability and the law 564 Issues in duty of care in practice 566 Implications — sufficient and reasonable 568 Issues in duty of care revisited 569 15.6 Professional learning for your career 571 Ongoing professional development 571 Professional associations 573 Summary 577 Key terms 577 From theory to practice 578 Websites 578 References 579 Legal authorities 580 Acknowledgements 580

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CHAPTER 16

The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change 581

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Introduction 583 16.1 The purposes of schooling 583 Schools in crisis? 584 Can schools be neutral or apolitical? 585 16.2 Equity: a mandate of schooling 586 A brief history of the purposes of mass schooling 586 16.3 Contemporary teacher practice: realities and constraints 588 A snapshot of contemporary teacher practice 589 Attempting to address inequity through education 590

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CONTENTS

16.4 The broader social change context 592 Political–economic trends impacting on schools 592 16.5 Teachers making a difference 594 Teacher practice: critical and socially just pedagogy 595 16.6 Supporting equity and justice: a whole-school approach 600 Relationships at the core of teachers’ work 602 Summary 604 Key terms 604 From theory to practice 605 Websites 606 References 606 Acknowledgements 607 Index

608

DEDICATION

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This book is dedicated to Peter Ferguson (1951–2017), one of our founding authors on Teaching: Making a difference. For decades before his career as an academic, he was a much-loved teacher in Tasmania. He will be remembered for his great contribution to science education and as an author who inspired thousands of learners across Australia.

DEDICATION

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Rick Churchill After two decades of teaching and curriculum leadership in South Australia, Rick Churchill was appointed as a teacher educator in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania, where he completed his Doctor of Philosophy in 1998. He has since worked in pre-service and postgraduate teacher education at three universities in Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria. Included among his roles in teacher education have been coordinator of professional experience at both the University of Tasmania and the University of Southern Queensland, coordinator of graduate entry programs at USQ and La Trobe University, coordinator of pre-service programs and Associate Dean (Academic) at USQ, and Associate Professor in Teacher Education and Associate Dean (Academic) at La Trobe University. He taught a variety of pre-service teacher education programs, particularly in the areas of classroom management, beginning teacher professionalism and transition into the profession. Rick retired from his position at La Trobe University and relocated to the East coast of Tasmania in 2014, but maintains an active involvement in doctoral supervision and in consultancy and volunteer activities.

Sally Godinho Sally Godinho is an Honorary Fellow at Melbourne University’s Graduate School of Education. She has over 30 years’ experience in education, having taught in primary schools and lectured undergraduate and postgraduate students in curriculum and pedagogy. Sally completed her Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Education degrees at the University of Melbourne. Her research and publications have focused on teachers’ pedagogies, students’ classroom interactions, integrative approaches to curriculum design, and two-way learning environments.

Nicola F Johnson Nicola F Johnson is an Associate Professor in the School of Education in the Faculty of Education and Arts at Federation University Australia. Nicola obtained her Doctor of Philosophy from Deakin University, and her undergraduate qualifications were earned at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute in New Zealand. Nicola’s research concerns internet over-use, the social phenomena of internet usage, technological expertise, and the use of information and communication technologies to enhance teaching and learning. Nicola is the author of The multiplicities of internet addiction: The misrecognition of leisure and learning (Ashgate, 2009) and Publishing from your PhD: Negotiating a crowded jungle (Gower, 2011), and co-editor of Critical perspectives on technology and education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). Her latest co-authored book is entitled Everyday schooling in the digital age: High school, high tech? (Routledge, 2018).

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Amanda Keddie Amanda Keddie is a Professor of Education within REDI (Research for Educational Impact) at Deakin University. She obtained her Doctor of Philosophy from Deakin University. She was awarded a Bachelor of Education at the University of Tasmania and has worked as a primary school teacher. In her career, Amanda has predominantly held research positions — previous to her current position she held an ARC Future Fellowship at the University of Queensland, a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Queensland, a Leverhulme Fellowship at Roehampton University (London) and a Research Fellowship at Griffith University. She is a leading researcher in the fields of gender, cultural diversity and social justice, and has published extensively in these areas. She is the author of Educating for diversity and social justice (2012), Leadership, ethics and schooling for social justice (2015 with Richard Niesche) and Supporting and educating young Muslim women (2017).

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Will Letts Will Letts is Associate Dean Academic in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, NSW. Will earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (Science Education) from the University of Delaware and his BA in Biology from Bates College in Maine, USA. His research interests include the cultural studies of science and science education, especially with respect to sex, gender, and sexuality; interrogating subjectivities in ECE/teacher education; and the enactment of pedagogical documentation in tertiary settings. You can reach Will at [email protected].

Kaye Lowe Kaye Lowe is Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra and Director of Read4Success. Since completing a PhD at Indiana University, she has been an academic at the University of Kentucky (US), James Madison University (US), University of Western Sydney and Charles Darwin University. She was the Chief Investigator and Evaluator of Reading First in Kentucky. She has worked in many learning contexts including P–12, parent education, adult education, jails and juvenile justice. She works with education systems to bring about change in literacy instruction. She is author and creator of i-READ: Literacy Intervention for Middle and Secondary Schools and regularly conducts parent education courses throughout Australia. Her research interests include literacy and language learning, supporting Indigenous learners, parent education, technology and literacy learning, boys’ education, adult literacy education and inspiring reluctant writers. She has written four books and numerous articles on literacy learning, reading and writing. She has been the recipient of many grants, three of which were projects of national significance.

Jenny Mackay Jenny Mackay is an author and internationally recognised specialist in behaviour management and student–teacher interactions. Following extensive research analysis into classroom dynamics she has originated a methodology that conveys comprehensive, practical student management skills and guides teachers in their classroom practice. She travels widely, delivering seminars for her educational consultancy, and is based in Melbourne where, until recently, she taught in the Department of Education at Deakin University.

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` McGill Michele Mich`ele McGill has been engaged with pre-service and postgraduate teacher education for over three decades in Tasmania and Queensland as well as in Alberta, Canada. Her primary focus has been working with beginning teachers (undergraduate and postgraduate) and with experienced teachers to uncover their personal pedagogies. As the world of the real and the virtual are rapidly merging and learners and their contexts are rapidly changing, the ways in which teachers understand and express their personal pedagogies are becoming critical. Her research interests are in working with teachers and the processes through which teachers determine their personal narratives and case studies to uncover their personal pedagogies and how they influence and guide their teaching practice. Mich`ele is the co-author with Associate Peter McIlveen of Unpacking the case: Designing for learning, 3rd edition (Pearson, 2015). Mich`ele has now retired from the University of Queensland with the role of Honorary Lecturer and is continuing her research into teachers’ personal pedagogy through publishing, conference presentations and working with a research group to focus on assisting teachers to uncover and acknowledge their own personal pedagogies.

Julianne Moss Julianne Moss is Professor in Education, holds a personal chair in Pedagogy and Curriculum at Deakin University and is an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Currently she is Director of REDI (Research for Educational Impact), Deakin University’s strategic research centre in education. She is a past President of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) and was Course Director of Deakin’s Master of Teaching from 2013–2015. Julianne obtained her Doctor of Philosophy ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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from Deakin University and her postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications were earned at the University of Tasmania. She began her career as a teacher of visual arts in secondary schools in the Northern Territory. Following this she taught in secondary and primary schools in Tasmania and held leadership positions as a regional support officer in literacy and later as a principal in the Tasmanian government school system. Her research interests centre on curriculum reform, curriculum theory, teacher professional learning (particularly in the context of issues of understanding student diversity), educational exclusion and social inclusion. She has contributed over 100 academic and professional publications. Over the past ten years, Julianne has been researching and developing visual methods for researching education. Her recent book, edited with Barbara Pini, Visual research methods in education (2016, Palgrave Macmillan), explores these issues in depth.

Michael C Nagel Dr Michael C Nagel is an Associate Professor within the School of Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast where he researches and teaches in the areas of human development and learning. A prolific author, he has written many journal articles and thirteen books related to child development with a particular interest in the developing paediatric brain, behaviour and learning. Along with being a contributor to a number of textbooks used in undergraduate and postgraduate education courses throughout Australia, Dr Nagel has also been nominated as ‘Australian Lecturer of the Year’ each year since 2010. Dr Nagel is a member of the prestigious International Neuropsychological Society, the Queensland Director of the Australian Council on Children and the Media, and is a feature writer for the Jigsaw and Child series of magazines, which collectively offers parenting and educational advice to more than one million Australian readers. When he is not busy professionally, he spends his time learning the important lessons of adolescence and life from his own children, Madeline and Harrison.

Kylie Shaw Kylie Shaw is the Deputy Head of Research in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle where she lectures in a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Kylie obtained her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Newcastle in the area of student experience in higher education. She has been a teacher for twenty years and has taught in primary and middle school contexts. She has been the Academic Coordinator of Middle Years and Coordinator of Learning Support K–12 in the independent school system. Her research interests include innovative approaches to teaching and learning and her expertise has been sought in this area through consultancies with Microsoft and Pearson International. She is currently Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Centre (ARC) Discovery Project examining the learning profiles and wellbeing of doctoral learners and on a NSW Department of Education research project exploring the impact of physical activity interventions on literacy learning in primary schools.

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Jessa Rogers Dr Jessa Rogers is Project Director — Indigenous Education and Research Strategy in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Innovation) (PVCAI) at the University of New England (UNE). The PVCAI portfolio is responsible for teaching and learning quality and academic innovation. Jessa’s role in this portfolio is to oversee the reform of the university’s curriculum in order to embed Indigenous perspectives across the university’s course offerings, enrich current Indigenous research practices, and increase support of Indigenous researchers and higher degree research (HDR) students at UNE. Prior to joining UNE, Dr Rogers was a Fellow at Harvard University in the Department of Anthropology. She is on the Federal Expert Group for the English Language Learning for Indigenous Children (ELLIC) program and recently completed her 3-year term on the National NAIDOC Committee. Jessa’s PhD at the Australian National University looked at the use of Indigenous research methods and methodologies with young Indigenous women to understand their experiences of education away from home. Jessa xiv ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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previously opened Australia’s first boarding school for Aboriginal young mothers and babies and was the youngest Aboriginal principal in Australia. Jessa is a Wiradjuri woman with cultural connections to Cootamundra and surrounding areas of NSW, and wh¯anau connections (through marriage) to Ng¯ati ¯ Kauwhata, Ng¯ati Raukawa in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her current research looks at Kanaka ‘Oiwi youth experiences attending Indigenous boarding schools in Hawai‘i using Indigenous visual research methods. Dr Rogers was brought onto this edition of Teaching: Making a difference to include a greater inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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BRIEF CONTENTS Dedication xi About the authors

xii

PART 1: The teaching profession

1. Introducing teaching as a profession 2. Historical insights into teaching

1

2

40

PART 2: Understanding learning and learners

3. Student learning

79

80

4. Understanding and motivating students

118

5. Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity 149 PART 3: Preparation, practice and process

6. The curriculum

191

192

7. Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 218 8. Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 260 9. Organising the learning environment 302 10. Teaching with information and communication technologies 333 11. Interactive student engagement and management 363 12. Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 417 PART 4: Effectiveness, professionalism and the future

13. Reflective practice

476

477

14. Theorising about teaching practice

503

15. Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 545 16. The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change 581

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Index

608

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PART 1

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THE TEACHING PROFESSION 1

Introducing teaching as a profession 2

2

Historical insights into teaching 40

CHAPTER 1

Introducing teaching as a profession LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 1.1 describe teaching as a twenty-first century profession 1.2 begin to understand and analyse your own professional identity 1.3 discuss key aspects of pedagogical knowledge 1.4 describe reflective practice and its importance in ongoing professional development 1.5 recognise that personal and professional beliefs impact on pedagogical decision-making and teacher agency.

OPENING CASE

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Why teaching? Tory has just landed his first full-time ongoing teaching job. The position is in a middle school in rural Australia, in a town of less than 10 000 people. He accepted the job after applying unsuccessfully for more than 40 positions in the metropolitan area close to where he completed his teacher education. With a double degree and qualifications to teach in early childhood settings and primary schools, he has won a position in a P–12 school with an enrolment of just over 300 students. The school ICSEA (Index of Community SocioEducational Advantage) is 950. Tory has had one placement in a school where he taught a multiaged class of Year 5 and 6 students. While his new position will involve teaching Year 7 and 8 students, he is feeling confident, as during his course he chose electives in integrated curriculum and science education. This school was in an area where students had a positive view of themselves and their learning. Tory had gleaned from the interview that this may not be the case in his new school. School attendance and retention were key issues that the school had identified in the school plan as key priorities over the next three years. Nonetheless, Tory is thrilled to have finally secured a full-time position with a regular salary and school holidays, providing time to fulfil his long-held travel plans. He has completed endless days of casual teaching and two short-term contracts of six months each, and received lots of encouragement from teachers and principals. In his last contract position, he had hoped to secure at least a one-year contract, but there was a long list of teachers who had to be reassigned in the region, and associate teachers on government-funded initiatives who were ahead of him each time a vacancy arose. He greatly appreciated the encouraging feedback he’d received from his colleagues, but it was challenging to explain to his family and friends why he was not able to secure an ongoing teaching position. Tory, like many people who join the teaching profession, was the first in his family to attain a degree. After all the long hours he’d spent studying while holding down a full-time position in a hardware chain, having to move away from his family and friends to take up this full-time position was not necessarily seen as a win by those close to him. Like many people who go on to become successful teachers, Tory’s choice of career was inspired by some of his own brilliant teachers. He particularly recalls his Year 3/4 teacher, Ms Rossi. Ms Rossi, he had imagined as a nine year old, was ‘pretty old’. Later, when he returned to his old primary school for a five-week professional experience, he realised that Ms Rossi had been in her early thirties when she taught him. The sorts of things he recalls her doing, and that he observed her still doing in her classroom, was the curriculum planning that included student access to a range of before-school activities. Outside the classroom were boxes of class sporting equipment, an early morning computer roster, a table in the hallway for revising and catching up on tasks, a bowl of fresh fruit that had been donated by FoodSavers, and a compost bucket for the leftovers. There was also a list of classroom monitors for general clean-up and kitchen garden duties. While he knew that he would be teaching older students, he also knew that central to the foundation for education is the need for all students to develop a sense of belonging to their school community, and strong relationships with their teacher. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. What influenced you to be a teacher? 2. Think about how you remember your school teachers. How would you like your students to think of you? 3. How are expert and beginning teachers similar and different? 4. Consider how culture and family impact on education. 5. What career progression and leadership options are available for teachers today?

CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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Introduction The commitment to teaching that beginning teachers like Tory bring to their studies and their careers affirms that teachers today — as those who have gone before them — have a love of learning and a genuinely felt passion for teaching. An enthusiasm for learning and a deep commitment to humanity and making a difference in the lives of the next generation are among the qualities of people drawn to a career in teaching. The authors of this text welcome you to the profession and what is ahead. As you browse through this text, some chapters or headings may immediately jump out at you based on your current understanding of what it means to learn to teach. Initially you may think that all you need to know is something about student learning, planning and managing classroom behaviour. However, from the moment you first enter a school as a teacher and take a look at twenty-first century education from the other side of the desk, so to speak, the complexity and extent of the range of knowledge required to be a highly skilled teacher will become apparent. This chapter (outlined in the diagram below) will introduce you to teaching as a profession and, we hope, provide you with a starting point from which to explore the many themes presented in this text. This text is designed to support you and help you develop throughout your initial teacher education and your early teaching years. You will also be exploring the big questions about the purposes of education and your professional identity, values and beliefs and how you can shape your career as a leader in education. When you arrive at your first class at a school, take a few minutes to consider why so many people retain powerful memories of their teachers. Years later, a particular teacher may still be recalled with respect and admiration. For some students, a teacher is remembered as someone who helped them completely turn their lives around. In the words of an experienced teacher and teacher educator, ‘Whatever the situation, the influence teachers have on their students is long lasting and can be profound. Good teaching makes a difference in the lives of children and young people’ (Pugach 2009, p. 1). Through school and classroom experiences, students discover possibilities for their futures, gain the knowledge and skills to pursue their hopes and dreams, and develop beliefs, attitudes and behaviours towards society. Consider the experiences of a pre-service teacher, recounted next. The narrative describes the initial experiences of a pre-service teacher and is a snapshot of how an accomplished and outstanding teacher works in today’s classrooms, which are rich in student diversity. Introducing teaching as a profession

Teaching in the twenty-first century The ‘apprenticeship of observation’

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Teaching as a profession, teachers as professionals The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

Developing your teacher identity Storying teaching Theorising teaching and identity Enacting beliefs and values Transforming personal identity

Continuity and change Teaching matters: a new era for teaching and learning

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Pedagogy

Reflective practice

Doing teachers’ work to trouble whiteness

Pedagogical knowledge

Entering the profession

Pedagogical renewal in Australia

Assessment of pre-service and graduating teachers

The Australian Curriculum

Contributing to the professional knowledge base

Before commencing on her initial professional placement in her teacher education program, Ly is asked by her cohort leader to prepare a detailed context statement on the school where she is going to be placed for one day a week for the first semester of her course. The starting point for her research is the school’s website. The Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) score of 1018 reported on the mySchool website shows the distribution of the scores is relatively even. The school has a strong emphasis on sustainability and the environment, and is culturally and socio-economically diverse. The suburb is in the inner city and contains many new arrivals, as well as professionals who are eager to live close to the city. Bottom quarter 30%

Middle quarters 20%

25%

Top quarter 24%

At the end of her first day of professional experience, Ly is required to complete an online post for members of her cohort. She writes, ‘in the school environment, and within the classroom and playground there does not appear to be a divide between the students’. However, as she waits with her school mentor at the end of the day, she notices something striking. Parents who are waiting to collect their children after school are gathering in very different ways to what she has observed in the playground and in class. She concludes her 300-word post with the following: ‘out of the school there is a more apparent racial divide’. In her professional subject taught in the following week by her university lecturer each member of the cohort group is required to present to each of their group members an analysis of their initial observation and experiences of their school placement. Ly and her group are encouraged by their lecturer to delve further and to look up the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data for their respective schools. Ly reports to her group that while the ABS data shows an ethnically diverse area that reflects the make-up of the school, there is also a staggering variety of birthplaces, with no dominant foreign birthplace, or even a dominant continent of origin. Ly does not have time to debrief with her tutorial group that day, so she posts again on the discussion board that night. She writes, ‘I now understand why my classroom teacher allowed the students to choose their own topic for their survey. At first I thought it would be much easier if all the class were surveying the same thing. One student decided to survey the class on their ethnicity. He counted 13 different ethnic backgrounds in a class of 21. I learnt a lot about the school and the students’ needs, interests and backgrounds by the use of an open-ended task. I am looking forward to going back next week and discussing these issues with my mentor teacher. I am learning a lot already from her, I think she is a great teacher.’

How did Ly’s teacher become accomplished? When teachers and schools do their jobs well, students from all life circumstances, in every community, attain their potential. The day-to-day choices and judgements teachers make directly affect the quality of learning that takes place and also the lives of their students. In other words, good teaching matters — it matters a great deal. Once you make the commitment to teach, you agree to take responsibility for the quality of the experiences each of your students will have in your classroom during formative times of their lives and to honour the richness that is in every classroom.

1.1 Teaching in the twenty-first century Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1.1 Describe teaching as a twenty-first century profession.

Research in education endorses the idea that there is no single variable that improves student achievement more than the introduction of a great teacher. Teacher quality and teaching quality go hand in hand. ‘Teacher quality — what teachers do’ (Riley 2009, p. 7) comprises the identity of the teacher, their knowledge and their ability to develop strong skills in pedagogy, content and theory in order to plan for the learning of all students. ‘Teaching quality — what students learn’ (Riley 2009, p. 7) focuses on the teaching and learning that teachers put in place on a daily basis to improve student achievement. Teaching quality is dependent on: r the personalisation of learning and respect for diverse learners r building positive student–teacher learning relationships CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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r the capacity to implement curriculum relevant to the twenty-first century r the continuous monitoring and evaluation of student learning. This text is designed to help you become a high-quality teacher who practises teaching in accordance with professional standards and through an ethic of respect and care. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) provides national leadership for the Australian, state and territory governments for the teaching professional and school leadership. The website will provide you with a wealth of ideas and information about the profession of teaching that will guide you through both your initial preparation and throughout your career in teaching or leadership of teaching. The aim of this text is also to support you to develop a critical perspective on learning and teaching and on the professional theories you will encounter during your studies and your work. A critical perspective is a way of viewing information, ideas and practices that refuses to take them for granted. This also involves critical self-reflection and self-evaluation to find any ‘blind spots’ that we may overlook due to our worldview and background. Coming to know your blind spots, examples of which may be your whiteness or resistance to other viewpoints, is critical to developing your understanding of professional knowledge, practices and your identity and engagement as teacher.

The ‘apprenticeship of observation’ What do you remember of your schooling? Do you think it has shaped your views on learning and teaching? Dan Lortie, an eminent American sociologist of education, coined the term the ‘apprenticeship of observation’ (Lortie 1975, p. 61). The phrase refers to the fact that people who choose to study education begin their course having already experienced more than 12 years of continuous contact with teachers. Lortie argues that the apprenticeship of observation may lead to the assumption that ‘anyone can teach’ (p. 62). This assumption originates, in part, in the proposition that every student can make a reasonably accurate portrayal of a classroom teacher’s actions. There is little doubt that people wanting to become teachers begin their studies with much more experience of education than a student choosing to enter some other profession. They have, however, as a student experienced only one aspect of teaching — and without an understanding of the knowledge or skill behind their teachers’ practices. It is important, therefore, that now — and indeed throughout your career — you take a critical perspective on your prior knowledge of schooling. The notion of the apprenticeship of observation is widely used to explain the apparent lack of influence exerted by teacher education programs on teachers’ practice and may help explain the historical reluctance to invest in pedagogical research. It is crucial, however, that, as a profession, teaching possesses and articulates a high degree of specialised theoretical knowledge — and methods and techniques for applying this knowledge in day-to-day work. This also means keeping up to date with recent research and policy changes. As someone new to the study of education and teaching, you might be surprised to learn that despite much public debate regarding how best to fund education in Australia, Australian education is still funded by a model introduced by the Howard government in 2001.

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Teaching as a profession, teachers as professionals The view of teaching as a profession and of the type of knowledge and skills that teachers must possess continues to evolve. Figure 1.1, drawn from the findings of an Australian analysis of teacher education (Reid & O’Donohue 2004), illustrates how approaches to teaching and teacher education differ. Figure 1.2 shows the building blocks of professional identity and the expertise required of teachers in the twenty-first century. You will encounter these themes throughout your studies. Think ahead a year or two and, like Tory from our opening case, consider the excitement and challenges you will face in your first year of teaching. You may be aspiring to be a school curriculum or year level coordinator or a leader in community education such as a childcare centre or a not-for-profit organisation. Your course of study will help you recognise and question the loosely formed, or ‘tacit’, knowledge developed through your own experiences of education. It will help you improve your knowledge and skills throughout your career in teaching, which may end up being in a leadership role. 6

PART 1 The teaching profession

FIGURE 1.1

The continuum of teacher professional knowledge

The basic knowledge and skills approach Teachers are technicians: a teacher’s role is to convey a narrow core of knowledge.

The skilled artisan Teaching is a skilled, practical activity, best learned on the job.

Educators as enquirers into professional practice Educators are engaged in the process of accessing and producing new knowledge and making their own professional meaning.

The professional competency standards approach Teaching is a profession with accountability and which should be subject to professional self-regulation.

Source: Based on information from Reid and O’Donohue (2004, pp. 561–63).

FIGURE 1.2

Professional identity and expertise in the twenty-first century

Reflection and noticing Recognition and respect Networking

Mentoring and induction

Disciplinary knowledge

Cross-disciplinary knowledge Professional ethics

Values

Self-assessment

Professional standards

Lifelong learning

Problem solving

Teacher research

Professional membership

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Professional activism

Partnerships

Equity and social justice

Relationship building

Twenty-first century curriculum

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At this point, you are likely to be a pre-service teacher, a graduate teacher or perhaps someone just considering teaching as a career. The term pre-service teacher refers to students enrolled in a course of study intended to satisfy requirements for employment as a teacher. Graduate teacher (or beginning teacher) refers to a teacher in the first and subsequent early years of their professional life. An accomplished teacher is an educator who typically has more than five years of teaching experience and can demonstrate expert performance through tangible evidence such as a teaching portfolio or a leadership position. This professional progression is summarised in figure 1.3.

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FIGURE 1.3

The continuum of teaching practice: pre-service to accomplished teacher

Pre-service education

Graduate teacher

Accomplished teacher

1–4 years

1–5 years

5 years onwards

Teaching, as you might have already understood, is a dynamic profession. In the twenty-first century change is a constant and every teacher lives and learns through social and professional change. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) develops national policies and highquality tools and resources to support improvement in teaching and school learnings, and in turn student learning. On 14 October 2011, Australian education ministers endorsed the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. In 2014 a major report, Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers (TEMAG 2014), recommended significant changes for the preparation of pre-service teachers, including selection requirements and literacy and numeracy requirements set down for entry to the teaching profession. The seven Australian Professional Standards for Teachers remain unchanged, but greater attention is now required to ensure that teachers in all Australian schools can identify what teachers need to know and be able to do in order to teach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and to teach all students about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, history and culture. Teaching is a key focus of AITSL. Areas that are of importance to pre-service and beginning teachers include: r the promotion and embedding of the Australian Professional Standards for all teachers r high-quality induction for early career teachers r evaluation of the use and impact of the Teaching Standards r tools and resources to support teachers to engage in practices that improve learning. Australian Teacher regulatory authorities register teachers in each state and territory. Registration requirements vary between Australian states. Although AITSL does not register teachers, they can give you information on registration, and some tools and resources to help you prepare for registration. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) career stages are defined as graduate, proficient, highly accomplished and lead. The AITSL website has a large section that demonstrates these career stages through illustrations of practice. To progress through these four career stages you will need to evidence your practice and growth as a teacher over time.

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers The Australian Professional Standards (APS) for Teachers comprise seven standards that outline what teachers should know and be able to do (see table 1.1). The AITSL website contains detailed information on the APS and also acknowledges the crucial role of teachers in Australian society and their contribution to a high-quality education system.

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Keep up to date on what is happening with teacher standards by visiting the AITSL website regularly. Like all such attempts and long-standing examples of teacher standards, such as those developed by the Ontario College of Teachers in Canada in 1997, developing teacher registration standards aims to capture the key elements of quality teaching. The APS show what teachers are expected to know and be able to do at four career stages: graduate, proficient, highly accomplished and lead. When you look at the Standards you will notice that they are grouped into three domains of teaching: professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement. However, teachers with expert professional knowledge recognise that these elements of teaching practice draw on aspects of all three domains and will overlap and interconnect. TABLE 1.1

The Australian Professional Standards

Domains of teaching

Standards

Professional knowledge

1. Know students and how they learn. 2. Know the content and how to teach it.

Professional practice

3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning. 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments. 5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning.

Professional engagement

6. Engage in professional learning. 7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community.

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Source: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Within each standard, focus areas provide further illustration of teaching knowledge, practice and professional engagement. These are then separated into descriptors at the four professional career stages. When you enter an accredited teaching program, by the end of your course you will be expected to meet a number of requirements. These requirements include standards for the graduate career stage; proficiency in literacy and numeracy; teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and engaging with parents and communities to teach Indigenous content in and across the Australian Curriculum. Following graduation, provisional registration is the first step towards full registration. Once you are provisionally registered, and have started teaching, you can work towards full registration, which is against the proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The timeline to achieve full registration varies, so check with your teacher regulatory authority. Beginning teachers are required to move from provisional to full registration in the early years of their career. Preparing for full registration should be aligned with and supported by your induction within a school. The Australian teacher regulatory bodies are: r Australian Capital Territory — Teacher Quality Institute (www.tqi.act.edu.au) r Australasian Teacher Regulatory Authorities (www.atra.edu.au) r New South Wales — NSW Education Standards Authority (http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au) r Northern Territory — Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory (www.trb.nt.gov.au) r Queensland — Queensland College of Teachers (www.qct.edu.au) r South Australia — Teachers Registration Board of South Australia (www.trb.sa.edu.au) r Tasmania — Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania (www.trb.tas.gov.au) r Victoria — Victorian Institute of Teaching (www.vit.vic.edu.au) r Western Australia — Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia (www.trb.wa.gov.au).

Continuity and change Teaching is a profession that has a long history, with traditions dating from Socrates (c. 469–399 BCE), Plato (c. 424–348 BCE) and Aristotle (c. 384–322 BCE). CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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Australia’s educational history is overwhelmingly influenced by Western traditions. Australia, like many other nations, has established schools, structures and education systems that maintain and contribute to our social fabric and culture. Many changes in education have been linked to major historical events or shifts, such as the two world wars and globalisation. Some of the events that have been most influential in Australian education and the educational context are listed in figure 1.4. This summary shows in brief how the Australian history of education has, in the main, been told through the colonisation of Australia, with the place of Aboriginal Australian history and education ‘whitewashed’. Darker parts of the history of education, such as the experiences of the Stolen Generations, are invisible. As Patrick Dodson says in his Foreword to The State of Reconciliation in Australia, ‘There is a discernible lack of appreciation by settler Australia about the grievances and sense of historical injustice that Indigenous people feel. This must be addressed for Australia to be reconciled’ (Reconciliation Australia 2016). FIGURE 1.4

Historical influences on Australian education

2018

National Quality Agenda for Early Childhood Education and Care (NQS) commences in all states and territories, including Western Australia

2017

Gonski 2.0 school funding package passes through the Senate

2015

Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum is implemented in all states of Australia

2009

Proposed reform of Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation — one law proposed

2008

National apology to Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations

1992

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cwlth)

1986–93

Initial attempt to implement a national curriculum

1985

Reform of education legislation — education extended to students with disabilities from 1985 onwards

1973

Disadvantaged Schools Program — a Commonwealth program to reduce the effect of poverty

1946–60s

Post-war baby boom and waves of immigration — rapid growth of school enrolments

1939–45

World War II

1917–30s

Expansion of secondary education, but by 1946 still only 88% of 13–14-year-olds were in full-time education

1914–18

World War I School compulsory for ages 6–13. Many left at the primary level as secondary schooling was fee-based

1860s–1870s

Compulsory education legislated, e.g. Public School Act NSW (1866); Public Schools Bill, Tasmania (1868); Education Act Victoria (1872)

1788–1901

Settlement of Australia — Colonial period

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Figure 1.5 provides a snapshot of some of the changes that have occurred in approaches to teaching and learning over time. A comprehensive discussion of the history of education, and what we can learn from it, is provided in chapter 2.

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FIGURE 1.5

How approaches to teaching and learning have changed over time

Move away from

Move to

Emphasis on what is being taught

Emphasis on what students are learning — the learning outcomes

Separate curriculum areas — compartmentalised knowledge

Integrated learning areas — knowledge schemes are linked to help students make meaning

‘Clairvoyant pedagogy’ when program plans are made for a month, term or year in advance

Ongoing assessment is used to develop plans that respond to learners’ competencies, interests and needs

Assessment at end of teaching

Assessment to begin planning and teaching

Learning is an individual process

Learning is a social process

Teachers must meet children’s needs

Learning experiences build on children’s strengths, competencies and interests

Teachers must assess observable behaviours and products of learning

Assessment should include higher-order thinking skills such as problem solving and creative thinking needed by citizens of the twenty-first century

Source: Corrie (2002, p. 27, figure 2.1).

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Over the last decade researchers from the University of Newcastle, Australia have argued that ‘Quality Teaching is not a series of teaching skills which, if practised enough, will yield good outcomes for students’ (Griffith, Gore & Ladwig 2006, p. 11). The continuing program of research conducted at the University of Newcastle into the Quality Teaching framework (Bowe & Gore 2017) has some important implications for teachers at all career stages, and especially pre-service teachers, no matter which framework for teaching (and there are many) you may be introduced to. The statement above is a useful point to consider as you begin to formulate your understanding of ‘teaching quality’ and ‘quality teaching’, and how you will progressively curate your ‘professional’ rather than ‘lay’ notions of teaching and learning, and learning to teach. Knowledge of teaching tactics, such as group work, cooperative learning and routines for thinking, for example, do not add up to teaching quality, and are not key to the Quality Teaching framework. Teaching and learning to teach requires a specific knowledge base that includes teachers’ lessons, classroom repertoires and knowledge of your students. Research evidence from both Australia and the United States grounded in the study of many hundreds of teachers’ lessons (Bowe & Gore 2017; Newmann & Associates 1996), however, shows that teaching quality is multidimensional and requires deep curriculum knowledge, the building of classrooms that are positive learning environments, and rich learning experiences that have meaning over time ‘beyond doing school work for the sake of getting through school’ (Griffith et al. 2006).

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So, questions to keep in mind as you enter schools as a pre-service teacher include: How have the built environment and learning spaces changed in Australian schools? To what extent have images of learning and teaching changed over time? In what ways are active learning and well-being for all students promoted and achieved? What integration of ICT into learning and teaching is used by teachers and students? And finally, is an education revolution through deep learning visible?

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Teaching matters: a new era for teaching and learning

Schooling is shaped by the past, the present and the future. So how do we embrace the future, understand our past and teach effectively now? As Deborah Britzman (2003, p. 20) has stated, learning to teach is a constant struggle between the ‘biography of the structure called schooling and the biography of the learner’. Her analysis draws attention to the extraordinarily complex nature of learning and teaching and how every learner is different. Putting the student at the centre of the learning and teaching relationship is a critical component of successful teaching, and forms the basis of the chapters in part 2 of this text. Another important building block is to plan, prepare and practise teaching based on a strong knowledge of curriculum, pedagogy, effective learning environments, technology, assessment and feedback. These topics are discussed in detail in the chapters in part 3 of this text. The final pieces of the puzzle are reflection, professionalism and transformative teaching practice, discussed in part 4 of the text. Throughout the text and across all of its topics, seven basic ideas about the learning and teaching process are evident. 1. You, like each student you will teach, are a learner. 2. While common practices among teachers exist, practices will vary from teacher to teacher. 3. Storying accounts of learning and teaching are a valid and accessible way for pre-service and graduate teachers to reflect upon various events and perspectives that inform their beliefs and decision making. 12

PART 1 The teaching profession

4. Conceptions of teaching taught to pre-service teachers represent contemporary theories of knowledge, but none is absolute. In time they will be replaced, revised or reformed. 5. Personal and professional beliefs arising from research, theory, experience and reflection are the drivers of ongoing change. 6. A career in teaching will involve ongoing workplace and allied professional learning. 7. In Australia, teachers have a responsibility to learn about, and include in their classrooms, respect for Indigenous peoples, including students and Indigenous knowledges. It is evident then that becoming a teacher is a commitment to lifelong learning. Consider some more words from Anthea and her colleague Mark, who is teaching in another school. These comments were made in the early weeks of their first year of teaching.

The much anticipated first weeks of teaching have finally arrived and, now in week three, I think I need another holiday. I am loving teaching most of the time, but feel like I have been hit by a train — an express train. My first class was a Year 11 English class and they were angels; they sat there quietly just wanting to learn. I had been so nervous about teaching in the weeks leading up to the first day and this allowed me to relax a bit. However, this euphoric feeling of happiness was cut short when I met my Year 8 Humanities class; if my Year 11s were angels, this class was definitely sent from Lucifer. They tested all my classroom management skills, moving students, rearranging furniture, I even had to kick the entire class out of the room to line up again, but finally, by week three, they join the Year 11s with divine status. ANTHEA, GRADUATE TEACHER I recall that towards the end of my second placement last year, I felt comfortable enough to shift the focus from my own aptitude to a focus on student learning. This came after a settling-in period and a feeling of comfort in my classrooms. But I am sure that this is a product of time, and am not worried that it has not happened yet this year. But I am sure that I cannot be a good teacher until I spend my time thinking more about what the students are taking in, as opposed to my need to feel competent at the front of the class. MARK, GRADUATE TEACHER

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Learning in the twenty-first century The constructivist theory of learning is one of the most debated and influential theories of education. In essence, constructivism suggests that everything a person learns is mediated by their prior experiences and understandings. This means that people build their own knowledge and understanding — they do not simply absorb what they are ‘taught’. Constructivist explanations of learning echo the contributions of well-known theorists such as Jean Piaget (1896–1980), John Dewey (1859–1952), Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934), Maria Montessori (1870–1952) and Jerome Bruner (1915–2016). These are theorists you will hear more about in your teaching studies and in the later chapters of this text. As someone who will be a lifelong learner, it is important to commence your course of study engaging with constructivism and the associated theories that guide views about learners and learning in the twenty-first century. You need to understand that how you perceive ideas and information is substantially influenced by your past experiences and learning. Personal beliefs, once acknowledged, must be continually held up for scrutiny as learning to teach commences. The report, The State of Reconciliation in Australia (Reconciliation Australia 2016), provides educators with a working framework of five key dimensions (historical acceptance, race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity and unity) that are of immediate use in both learning about and demonstrating the significance of recognition and respect in learning for all students. You also need to know that the learning of each of your students is similarly influenced by their place-based context and social milieu. This goes to the heart of the concept of ‘teaching quality’, described earlier in the chapter. Each learner has different needs. Deborah Britzman’s (2003, p. 20) earlier stated words highlight the struggle between the ‘biography of the structure called schooling’ and the ‘biography of the learner’ and further hint at some of the issues you will CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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meet. For example, in the 2009 admission to Australian universities, students from the lowest socioeconomic quartile obtained just 15 per cent of places, and only 11 per cent were accepted at the most prestigious universities. This suggests that student achievement is affected by socioeconomic status. As an editorial in The Age (2009) noted, ‘that is a damning disparity for a “fair go” society’. The current state of play in student equity data can be found by accessing the link at the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (see http://data.ncsehe.edu.au). The state-by-state display enables comparisons to be made to illustrate that the above ratios still hold. Education has been tasked with the challenge of building and creating futures for its citizens. While it is a given that schooling, school attendance and a rich curriculum matter, schools are only one site of childhood. Young people, including early childhood and primary school-aged students, are constantly negotiating multiple spaces of their worlds. Boocock and Scott (2005, p. 137) refer to the places between schools and neighbourhoods as ‘kids’ spheres’. Julian Sefton-Green and colleagues (Sefton-Green et al. 2016) have also pointed out that children do not just learn about their world through formal education. A range of informal and non-formal learning spaces shape the engagement of young children and young people with the world through digital literacy, both online and offline. Other possible sites of learning include places such as clubs, libraries, museums and galleries. This team of researchers points to the way that, for contemporary children, online and offline boundaries are fluid, as their play and literacy practices cross physical and ‘virtual’ and material and immaterial domains. They do so in fluid and dynamic ways. When children and young people are not in school they are often found in pairs or groups of peers, and are both formally and informally learning through conscious and unconscious exchanges. Therefore, core to teachers’ work is ensuring teaching and schools include, rather than exclude, unique learner perspectives. Indeed, the ‘never-ending struggle for social justice’ (Lather & Smithies 1997, p. 50) is an issue for all Australians. This struggle is well illustrated in the educational disadvantage that continues to impact some Indigenous families.

Every student is unique, with unique learning needs.

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Australia is a diverse country. It has a range of socioeconomic conditions, varied geographical and climate characteristics and it is one of the most multicultural countries in the world. Indigenous knowledge and patterns of immigration have profoundly defined Australia as a nation. However, as noted earlier in this chapter, entrenched discrimination at a systemic and social level persists for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our identity as a nation has shifted and is constantly shifting. The influence of globalisation and technological changes in particular are at the forefront of many changes. Teachers are being continually confronted by the differences between the globally ‘relevant’ and ‘irrelevant’ societies in their classrooms (Castells 1999). These are broad factors that need to be acknowledged in teaching all learners. In addition, each learner’s unique, individual characteristics affect learning outcomes. With all this in mind, as Baird and Love (2003) state, approaches to teaching and learning that recognise constructivism often include: r ‘real-life’ activities r access to expert performance and the modelling of processes r multiple roles and perspectives r reflection r collaborative construction of knowledge r articulation of personal values and beliefs r coaching and scaffolding. Since Baird and Love (2003) formulated this position, much research evidence has been generated that highlights the significance of understanding that learning is highly situated and must be continuously evaluated and refined in the context of the whole school learning environment. Changing how teaching and learning gets done is often encapsulated by the term ‘school change’, and Hall and Thomson (2017a, p. 176) suggest that inspiring and enacting school change can be thought of as a process of ‘redesign’ through the creative work of ‘redesigning’ whole schools. ‘Redesigning is a process of working on and working over existing school practices, cultures, structures and so on, so that they are (re)produced and transformed’. As a beginning teacher, you have a key role in adding new ideas and resources to schools. Hall and Thomson (2017a, p. 177) also affirm that pedagogy is at ‘the heart of redesign’. Teachers’ work requires you to balance your students’ learning needs with your own learning, typically developed in the workplace. In essence, you will witness and juggle the contemporary debates about learning as you experience learning to teach and beginning to teach. John Holt (1964, p. 173), an American educator who coined the term ‘unschooling’, returns us to the heart of teachers’ work: Since we can’t know what knowledge will be most used in the future, it is senseless to try and teach it in advance. Instead we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.

It is in this spirit that you have taken on the task of learning to teach and teaching to learn. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

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According to Joyce, Weil and Calhoun (2004, p. 7), successful teachers are not simply charismatic and persuasive . . . [but] engage their students in robust cognitive and social tasks and teach the students how to use them productively. Effective learners draw information, ideas and wisdom from their teachers and use learning resources effectively. Thus, a major role in teaching is to create powerful learners.

What is your definition of a successful teacher? Do you disagree with anything in the first section of the chapter? Why? What have you learned from the discussion of teaching as a profession in this chapter so far? How do you think it will affect your approach to teaching? Look up the AITSL Illustrations of Practice. Get to know this section of the website: www.aitsl.edu.au/ teach/standards/illustrations-of-practice.

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Select Standard 1 ‘Know students and how they learn’, and choose an illustration of practice relevant to you. You may choose to do this as a group task. If you work in a group of six pre-service teachers, you can allocate one dimension of the standard to each group member. Watch the video and change the discussion questions to the future tense, so that they are appropriate to the stage of your pre-service course. Post your responses to other members of your tutorial group and discuss the responses. Create a pedagogy postcard by developing an online blog that can be shared with others. A pedagogy postcard, as the name suggests, is a short account of a single and specific element of teaching practice and learning practice. Think of this activity as either being able to be completed in an online forum that begins with an image that resembles a postcard. A guide to creating pedagogy postcards can be found by looking up: https://teacherhead.com/2014/05/11/the-pedagogy-postcard-series-all-in-one-place.

1.2 Developing your teacher identity LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1.2 Begin to understand and analyse your own professional identity.

The discussion in the first part of this chapter emphasised the need for each teacher to bring a critical perspective to teaching’s professional knowledge base in order to construct a personally relevant understanding of teaching. This is part of the process of a teacher developing their ‘teacher identity’. Trevor Hay suggests that a teacher’s self-concept of their ‘teacher identity’ is formed by four processes: 1. narrating identity: stories about teaching and identity 2. imagining identity: contemporary theoretical approaches to teacher identity and identity through metaphor 3. acting out identity: examples of teacher values and beliefs in action 4. integrating identity: personal transformation (Dixon, Ferguson, Hay, Moss & White 2004, p. 16). We will discuss each process in turn, but it is important to recognise that the processes are simultaneous and ongoing.

Storying teaching

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A teacher’s identity is strongly shaped by the ‘story of teaching’ — both the teacher’s own stories of their experiences and the stories of colleagues, peers and mentors. These stories will act as guides in the initial stages of your personal and professional identity making. Your colleagues will share short, personal narratives with you, describing critical instances encountered within their own lives and professional careers. For example, the thoughts of graduate teachers Anthea and Mark, recounted earlier in this chapter, are examples of stories of teaching. You may have recognised familiar thoughts or experiences by reading their accounts. Your reflection on the experiences and stories of others will form part of your identity. At the same time, your stories will contribute to the changing stories and discourses of teaching. Dixon et al. (2004, p. 15) note: Teacher discourse is . . . a matter of structured thinking, analogous to the kind an author uses in transforming a sequence of events into a story. This form of thinking, and the language derived from beliefs, attitudes, values and theories constitute a story of teaching. Biography, autobiography and even fiction are part of a theoretically valid, ‘story-ed’ approach to the examination of teachers’ lives and teachers’ work.

Media provide another way that we can readily access and analyse constructions of teaching. The Australian television series Summer Heights High provides a story about secondary schooling and the identity of individual students and teachers. First Day, the now seminal documentary produced by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, likewise provides significant insights into how teachers teach in differing contexts and support parents’ and caregivers’ expectations as children make the transition to formal school entry. 16

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Sharing stories is an important part of developing a teacher identity.

It is important to also recognise that narratives and discourses can have a constraining effect. For example, while language on the one hand allows us to share stories, it also often serves to regulate who can speak with authority, who must listen, whose social constructions are important and whose are erroneous and less important.

Theorising teaching and identity Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. Socrates (c. 469–399 BCE) Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

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WB Yeats (1865–1939)

Descriptions of professional practice and conceptions of teaching and learning often use metaphors. Metaphors help capture and describe abstract concepts, making them more practical. Do you as a pre-service teacher have an initial metaphor for teaching? For some time, educators and educational researchers have appreciated that metaphors for teaching and learning are not simply about the world, but also help construct our overarching expectations and understandings of education. Many pre-service teachers, when invited to generate an initial metaphor for teaching, cite metaphors of growth and change: the teacher as ‘gardener’ or teaching as ‘planting seeds’, ‘growing a future’ or ‘nurturing young flowers’. By analysing the conceptions of teaching and observing the history of education embedded in these metaphors, teachers are representing traditions of education that echo the child-centred perspectives of Dewey in the United States, as well as the progressive education movement. Progressivism aims to work towards creating a better society and is attributed to the European CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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tradition of education led by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), followed by Johann Pestalozzi (1746–1827), Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776–1841) and Montessori. According to Socrates, the teacher was a ‘midwife’. Freire (1972) referred to the metaphor of ‘banking’ to sum up how education is overly governed by teachers who ‘fill’ the students by making ‘deposits’ of information that he or she considers to constitute true knowledge. Others apply the metaphor ‘teacher as artist’. The metaphors you choose will shape your actions as a teacher (Tobin 1990). It is vital at the early stage of your initial orientation to the profession that you are highly sensitised to the language you may use to define your work and your perception of the students you teach. As a teacher you need to identify and clarify the teacher talk that serves to both regulate and dominate the teacher you are becoming. For example, teacher talk such as, ‘In term 3 my students really blossomed’, ‘On Friday afternoon my classroom is like a zoo’ or ‘She is one of the top students’ contains several metaphors — ‘blossom’ suggests growth and development; ‘zoo’, of course, likens students to animals and a less than respectful relationship; and ‘top students’ suggests a vertical orientation and a hierarchy of learning and learners — and perhaps even teacher bias towards high academic achievement. Judith Lloyd-Yeo (2001–02) points to common metaphors used in education such as A lesson is a journey; knowledge is a landscape, and, for example, the high frequency usage of the word ‘cover’. Teacher statements that apply the word ‘cover’ include such assertions as, ‘I covered Newton’s Laws last week’, ‘There is so much to cover in the curriculum’ and ‘He is covering up what he does not know’. Lloyd-Yeo’s review of recent research concludes that the metaphors teachers use profoundly affect their work, behaviour and perceptions.

Enacting beliefs and values The third part of the process of developing a teacher identity involves putting values and beliefs into practice. It involves making decisions about what to teach and how to teach based on professional knowledge. This is explored in much greater depth in the next major section of this chapter. It also involves deciding how to respond to students and issues in the classroom. Further, teacher identity is also reflected in interactions with colleagues and stakeholders such as parents. Mason (2002) uses the term ‘the discipline of noticing’ — being mindful of the elements that are drawn into our practice.

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Transforming personal identity Teachers’ work lives are in perpetual motion between: r teachers and learners (the who) r subject matter (the what) r instructional methods (the how). There is more to teacher identity than this ‘didactic triangle’ (Klette 2007, p. 147), however. As the model in figure 1.6 suggests, identity, beliefs and action continually interact with each other, both directly and via engagement with the processes of awareness, reflection and response. The shape of identity and belief formation, professional thinking and decision making (i.e. deciding what actions to take) will be unique for each of us. Further, our identity will change over time in response to reflecting upon our professional knowledge and practice, the learning outcomes our students achieve, and the ideas we are exposed to from colleagues, researchers and other stakeholders in education. In this way, teachers come to transform their own beliefs, knowledge and practice.

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FIGURE 1.6

Shaping personal and professional identity

Awareness

Reflection

Identity

Noticing

Beliefs

Action

Response Source: Based on Dixon et al. (2004, p. 20).

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Consider the following common metaphors for teaching. What interpretations of teaching and learning do they represent? What aspects of teaching and learning are obscured? r The teacher opens doors r The teacher as coach r The teacher as student r The teacher as tour guide r The teacher as artist r The teacher as a lighthouse r The teacher as gardener r The teacher on a journey with the students r The teacher as the chess grand master r The teacher as company director r The teacher fills the empty vessels r The teacher as jazz musician r The teacher as video game designer r The teacher as a clinician and analyst Consider, for example, that if a teacher is a gardener then students are plants; if a teacher is a clinician, students are patients or clients; if a teacher is a video game designer, students are part of the gamers’ network; if a teacher is a jazz musician, the teacher is adept at improvisation. If the teacher is the grand chess master, as masters they have approximately 50 000 patterns in their repertoire, but the ‘difference is that, in chess, only one player moves at a time and the pieces only move when the player moves them. Teachers are not that lucky; their chess pieces think and move on their own’ (Bennett & Rolheiser 2001, p. 6). Go to the Teacher Feature section of the AITSL website: www.youtube.com/channel/UCWHluxZguKs 9rclMlUmS1zQ. Here you will find many examples of teachers from all career stages discussing their passion for teaching. Watch at least three videos from the Most Popular Teacher Feature link. Select your number one teacher from the AITSL Most Popular Teacher Feature. Write down the name of the teacher, and from the video and any other information you may be able to research about the teacher, write a short case study of 350–500 words about their beliefs and values and how they represent their professional identity. Listen, look closely and consider factors such as gender, age, race, geographic place of work, current position and their professional history in your case study.

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Define your metaphor for teaching in around 300 words. Add to this your understanding of how your gender, age, race, geographic place of work, previous education and career background may or may not impact on your developing teaching metaphor and identity. Upload your video, mp3 file or written case study to your professional blog or e-portfolio on the learning management system used in your course. Remember this is a professional task and should follow professional protocols. Once material is in the public domain, anyone can access this information. The understanding and application of the use of metaphors reflects the growing body of research that draws from ides about situated learning (e.g. Lave & Wenger 1991), which challenges traditional views on learning as the acquisition of or changes to concepts or schemata. As recent research indicates, this position is ‘Born of the realization that there is only limited transfer of knowledge and that learning is always embedded in a context, ideas developed that focused on knowing as a process, rather than knowledge as an entity’ (Wegner & Nuckles 2015, p. 625). Teaching metaphors are a window to your conception of ¨ teaching that reflect your cultural context. Conceptions of learning equally can be built on misconceptions of learning. Teachers who teach all students also need to understand that both lenses are available at the same time and one of these lenses ‘can be more dominant than another in each instance of action’ (Wegner & Nuckles 2015, p. 625). ¨

1.3 Pedagogy LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1.3 Discuss key aspects of pedagogical knowledge.

Pedagogy is a term that you will hear and meet many times in learning to teach. Some simply define pedagogy as the ‘art and science’ of teaching (Bennett & Rolheiser 2001). For others, pedagogy is regarded as ‘teaching method’ or the ‘how’ of teaching, as opposed to the theory of teaching. As Canadian educator and researcher Max van Manen (1991, p. 31) states:

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pedagogy is not just a word. Pedagogy is not found in observational categories, but like love or friendship in the experience of the presence . . . pedagogy is cemented deep in the nature of the relationship between adults and children.

Pedagogy is fully explored in a later chapter of this text. At this stage, it is important to appreciate how theory and practice interact and to consider the complexity inherent in the development of pedagogical knowledge. Theory on pedagogical practices is informed by a range of educational philosophies and values and by the different assumptions that are held about learning, student development, appropriate styles of teaching and curricula. Current influences on understandings of pedagogy range from cognitive psychology (see, for example, Eggen & Kauchak 2001) to sociology (see, for example, Bernstein 1996), to feminism (see, for example, Luke & Gore 1992; McWilliam 1999), to workplace learning (see, for example, Fuller & Unwin 2002), to creative and placed-based pedagogy (see Hall & Thomson 2017, pp. 120–137; Somerville & Green 2015). Pedagogy is more than just acquiring a set of teaching skills for use in the classroom. Pedagogy may be considered ‘effective’ depending on the level of student acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm 2006). It is apparent, then, that effective pedagogy is closely related to high-quality teaching, described earlier in this chapter.

Pedagogical knowledge Lusted raises the question ‘Why is pedagogy important?’, followed by the response, ‘It is important since, as a concept, it draws attention to the process through which knowledge is produced’ (cited in Britzman 2003, p. 53). Ball (2000, p. 241) raises two pertinent questions relevant to the contemporary context of understanding the term pedagogy. 20

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1. On one hand to what extent does teaching and learning to teach depend on the development of theoretical knowledge and knowledge of subject matter? 2. On the other hand, to what extent does it rely on the development of pedagogical method?

Policy makers and practitioners continue to debate the respective merits of general pedagogical knowledge (i.e. knowledge of how to teach) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (i.e. knowledge of specific content to be taught and how to teach that specific content). An overarching problem that Ball (2000, p. 242) notes is that teacher’s learning is being organised and formalised into concepts, theories and/or ideas to the point where their practice of teaching becomes fragmented. This leaves teachers to deal with integrating subject matter and pedagogy into their work on their own, while assuming this integration is simple and will happen naturally as teachers become more experienced. Ball notes that this is not an easy integration and, therefore, sometimes does not happen at all.

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The respective merits of general pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge can be a matter of much debate.

Lee Shulman’s seminal work (1986, 1987) continues to guide the research, policies, programs and practices of local, national and international work on pedagogy. For Shulman (1987), knowledge is viewed as multifaceted, covering myriad interrelated dimensions. His categories of professional knowledge include: r content knowledge r general pedagogical knowledge, with special reference to those broad principles and strategies of classroom management and organisation that appear to transcend subject matter r curriculum knowledge, with particular grasp of the materials and programs that serve as ‘tools of trade’ for teachers r pedagogical content knowledge, that special amalgam of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the province of teachers, their own special form of understanding CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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r knowledge of learners and their characteristics r knowledge of educational contexts, ranging from the workings of the group or classroom, to the governance and financing of school districts, to the character of communities and cultures r knowledge of educational ends, purposes, and values, and their philosophical and historical backgrounds (p. 8). Researchers such as Hall and Thomson have also been exploring Shulman’s term ‘signature pedagogies’ (Hall & Thomson 2017b) to better understand what happens when cross-curriculum studies are being taught by teachers and other creative practitioners such as artists. The research team has found that there are distinctive ‘habits of mind’, ways of thinking, doing and being — for example, for a mathematician, an artist or a geographer — that are important parts of teaching discipline knowledge and make visible the ‘pedagogical practices that were distinctive across individual or small clusters of disciplines’ (Hall & Thomson 2017b, p. 108). So it is no surprise that we need to continually focus and question teacher knowledge.

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Pedagogy informed by knowledge of learners and learning and curriculum change There is consensus that teachers need to be active participants in continuously improving their pedagogy in order to improve student outcomes. Equally, research and policy endorses that the curriculum reform requires pedagogical change. Students develop deep understanding of important concepts when their learning is built on previous concepts and experiences, and ideas are connected to one another. Linda Darling-Hammond (1998) proposes that an understanding of child and adolescent development supports growth in various domains — cognitive, social, physical and emotional — and can enable teachers to shape productive experiences for students. Some research studies have documented a moderately strong correlation between what learning theories teachers know and what students learn (see, for example, National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future 1996; Dalton 1998; DarlingHammond 1998). What teachers must learn about and teach to their students is affected by this changing knowledge; its permeable character and teacher flexibility are viewed as constituting effective teaching practices (Hill 2003, p. 6). Researchers such as Lucas, Claxton and Spencer (2013) have foregrounded the importance of creativity in education and the metacognitive dimension of learning, that is, learning how to learn. This research and the recognition in schools of the need for an explicit focus on pedagogy has led to the development of any number of schools and systems adopting or developing whole-school pedagogical frameworks. The Thomas Tallis School in London, for example, has formulated a schoolwide pedagogical design that is founded on what they term ‘Threshold Concepts, Powerful Knowledge and Habits of Mind’ (see www.thomastallisschool.com/tallis-pedagogy-wheel-guide.html). Schools like the Thomas Tallis School, along with most of those you will get to know during your professional experiences, will display a working pedagogical model. It is important to note that these will vary across schools and the states and territories and countries. As is stressed throughout this chapter, the co-construction and relational work that teachers enact is critical in enabling students to develop the skills and confidence they need to become highly effective independent learners. Pedagogical frameworks alone do not add up to success for learners, or measures of quality teaching. As a professional, ultimately you are required to describe and analyse the pedagogical work enacted in your classroom and how your planning, pedagogy, curriculum and assessment practices engage and impact on student learning. More about how you begin this element of your professional work follows in the next section of the chapter.

Pedagogical renewal in Australia Early in your teacher education program, pedagogy and curriculum are important concepts for you to understand. The interrelationships and networks between and across these two core concepts are critical to generating orientations for thinking about learning and teaching, and for understanding how curriculum decision-making and enactment takes place. Accomplished teachers will tell you that these apparent ‘lock step’ practices are not the reality of curriculum enactment. The Australian Curriculum is Australia’s 22

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‘live’ case in point. The history of Australia’s curriculum shows a lack of national agreement on what should constitute curriculum for all young Australians, and hence many inconsistencies and exclusions can be traced across the various states and territories. Among these exclusions are the needs of groups of students who have been marginalised and excluded from schooling, such as students with disabilities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In the early 1990s, the federal government attempted to establish a national curriculum. Following extensive consultation with state policy makers and teachers, the Curriculum Corporation (now Education Services Australia) published 16 documents: The Statements and separate Profile documents for eight key learning areas (mathematics, English, the arts, technology, science, studies of society and environment [SOSE], languages other than English [LOTE], and health). These documents influenced the development of state curricula over the following years, but fell well short of replacing the traditionally conservative and bureaucratically driven state-based curricula (Green 2003) and the need to be inclusive of all learners. In 2008 the National Curriculum Board was established in another attempt to align curriculum across the states and territories. Before looking at this most recent attempt to establish a national curriculum, it is worthwhile briefly exploring some of the states’ approaches to develop an understanding of the definitions of pedagogy that have had currency in Australia. An overview of how pedagogical knowledge is accorded in three Australian states — Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria — follows in this section. The trend in recent years has been to articulate broad principles of classroom organisation and practice that appear on a surface reading to transcend subject matter. These system-wide positions are representative of Lee Shulman’s (1986, p. 5) questions, proposed over two decades ago, which ask what the domains and categories of content knowledge are in the minds of teachers. How, for example, are content knowledge and general pedagogical knowledge related? In which forms are the domains and categories of knowledge represented in the minds of teachers? What are promising ways of enhancing acquisition and development of such knowledge?

Implicit in recent Australian approaches is that pedagogy is developed in the workplace and is the practice or craft representing teachers’ understanding and accumulated wisdom acquired over many years. The need for continuing learning about pedagogy has not lessened. As teachers who will be graduating during the implementation of the Australian Curriculum, expect to hear more, not less, about the importance of pedagogy and change in teachers’ work. Below is a snapshot of the history of these reforms and the approach to pedagogy, which to varying degrees continue to influence the policy frameworks and practices in Australian education. Some states are making changes to their pedagogical frameworks, others are not, so as we have stressed earlier it is important to keep abreast of these changes.

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New Basics The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (QSRLS) (Lingard et al. 2001), and its associated New Basics project (Education Queensland 2000) and Productive Pedagogies framework (Hayes, Mills & Lingard 2000), conducted at the beginning of the twenty-first century, aimed to focus on the underlying dimensions of pedagogy that have meaning in authentic classrooms and can be sustained organisationally by schools. QSRLS was and remains a landmark study in the history of pedagogy and curriculum in Australia. New Basics asserted ‘improved pedagogy is at the heart of this agenda’ (Education Queensland 2000, p. 5). Teachers were urged to mentor one another as pedagogues, to open their classrooms to their colleagues, to swap strategies and to talk about pedagogy (Luke 1999). Education Queensland’s ‘Five principles of effective learning and teaching’ (State of Queensland [Department of Education] 1994, p. 4) then stated effective learning and teaching: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

. . . is founded on an understanding of the learner. . . . requires active construction of meaning. . . . enhances and is enhanced by a supportive and challenging environment. . . . is enhanced through worthwhile learning partnerships. . . . shapes and responds to social and cultural contexts. CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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These principles were expected to underpin learning and teaching practices across all school sectors in Queensland. These principles claim to stand against a single view of pedagogy and isolate the independent effects of any one specific teaching technique or learning skill. These principles entrust teachers with responsibility for a repertoire of ‘pedagogical strategies’ to implement in their classroom. Rich tasks are a component of the New Basics framework (State of Queensland [Department of Education and Training] 2004) and were designed so that students can display understandings, knowledges and skills through performance on transdisciplinary activities that have an obvious connection to the ‘real world’. The emphasis on the ‘real world’ draws from the literature in ‘authentic pedagogy’. A close examination of some published examples of rich tasks identifies the connections with the thinking of John Dewey (1859–1952), Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934), Paulo Freire (1921–1997) and Ted Sizer (1932–2009), all of whom published widely in relation to authentic learning. Rich tasks were supported by the Productive Pedagogies framework (State of Queensland [Department of Education and Training] 2002). Productive pedagogies are deemed to exhibit: r intellectual quality (e.g. higher-order thinking, deep knowledge, deep understanding, substantive conversation) r connectedness (e.g. knowledge integration, background knowledge, connectedness to the world, problem based curriculum) r supportive classroom environments (e.g. social support, academic engagement, explicit performance criteria, self-regulation) r recognition of difference (e.g. cultural knowledges, inclusivity, narrative, group identity, active citizenship). The key components of the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s integrated approach to teaching, learning and assessment, including equity and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, are now framed through K–12 policy advice and resources (see www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/ k-12-policies). The resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives are very instructive, regardless of the state or territory that you are preparing to teach in. It is important for you to access these and build them into your planning for teaching and learning in order to ensure that, by the end of your course, you can show evidence of your professional knowledge to meet AITSL Standards 1.4 and 2.4. Each school is required to have a pedagogical framework that is collaboratively developed with the school community. This acknowledges the evidence that research-validated pedagogy implemented consistently across a school setting and supported by instructional leadership improves student performance.

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Quality Teaching The influences of the New Basics framework and program of research are still visible in the development of the Quality Teaching framework in New South Wales. The commitment of the NSW Department of Education and Training to develop fully the talents and capacities of all students in the public-school system prompted the development of the Quality Teaching framework of pedagogy. Developed by James Ladwig and Jenny Gore in consultation with and on behalf of the NSW Department of Education and Training, this model acknowledges that it is the ‘quality of pedagogy that most directly and most powerfully affects the quality of learning’ (Department of Education and Training [NSW] 2003, p. 4). Although the model encourages conversations on pedagogy from all relevant stakeholder groups, the model also advocates for individualised and personalised pedagogical approaches from the teacher. Similar to New Basics, the ‘generic qualities of pedagogy’ identified in the document are in pursuit of the individual differences teachers take into account in their teaching, and across all the different styles of and approaches to teaching. The Quality Teaching model proposes that the following three dimensions of pedagogy and classroom practice have a positive effect on students’ learning and improving student outcomes: 1. promoting high levels of intellectual quality 2. promoting a quality learning environment 3. developing in students a sense of the significance of their work. 24

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Quality Teaching builds on what many teachers already know, understand, value and do in terms of high-quality teaching practice. It begins from the premise that all teachers can teach well and all students can learn. A ‘self-styling’ approach to pedagogy by every teacher is intended to allow teachers to regain control of their teaching by defining their teaching goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them. A key component in ‘self-styling’ is ‘reflective thinking’ about ways for teachers to modify and refine their learning and pedagogy. This is designed so that every teacher can think more carefully about what their students will learn. To engage in ‘self-styling’, Quality Teaching encourages teachers to pose the following four questions (Gore, Ladwig & King 2004, p. 4). 1. What do you want your students to learn? 2. Why does that learning matter? 3. What do you want your students to produce? 4. How well do you expect them to do it? The dimensions and elements of the Quality Teaching framework are outlined in table 1.2. TABLE 1.2

Dimensions and elements of the Quality Teaching framework

Intellectual quality

Quality learning environment

Significance

Deep knowledge Deep understanding Problematic knowledge Higher order thinking Metalanguage Substantive communication

Explicit quality criteria Engagement High expectations Social support Students’ self-regulation Student direction

Background knowledge Cultural knowledge Knowledge integration Inclusivity Connectedness Narrative

Source: Adapted from Bowe and Gore (2017, p. 357).

Since the development of the Quality Teaching model, Jenny Gore has continued to further research and focus on the issues that are barriers to pedagogical practice and research. This pedagogical framework has more recently been paired with a structured teacher professional learning model, Quality Teaching Rounds (see Bowe & Gore 2017), to strengthen directly oriented professional learning and enhanced classroom practice. To learn more about these issues you can follow up by viewing an online lecture given by Gore at www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1_f7-sRVBc.

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The Principles of Learning and Teaching in Victoria The Principles of Learning and Teaching P–12 initiative provides a structure to help teachers focus their professional learning (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development 2008). In brief, the principles are: 1. the learning environment is supportive and productive 2. the learning environment promotes independence, interdependence and self-motivation 3. students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests are reflected in the learning program 4. students are challenged and supported to develop deep levels of thinking and application 5. assessment practices are an integral part of teaching and learning 6. learning connects strongly with communities and practice beyond the classroom (Department of Education and Training [Victoria] 2004; Department of Education and Early Childhood Development 2008; Department of Education and Training [Victoria] 2017). The principles build on earlier work that shows that different teaching approaches often result in substantial differences in both the ways students approach their learning and the quality of that learning. They essentially provide a basis for schools and teachers to ‘review their own practice’ (Department of Education and Training [Victoria] 2004, p. 2) rather than advocating a ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to teach. The principles recognise the importance of collaborative reflection on pedagogy and creating classrooms that can be characterised as ‘learning communities’.

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The principles reflect a view of pedagogy that centres on the following tenets (Department of Education and Training [Victoria] 2004, pp. 2–3): r interacting with students (i.e. asking and responding to questions, using students’ ideas and responding to students’ diverse backgrounds and interests) r creating a social and intellectual climate r framing the content around a series of tasks to be completed or as key ideas and skills that are revisited and built upon r creating and operating as professional learning teams, which will enable rich and productive conversations. The Principles of Learning and Teaching P–12 are intended to: r develop a shared language of pedagogy based around the principles r develop insights into the classroom strategies and activities appropriate to each principle r discuss instances of the particular principle in their current practice r develop a process or plan to extend the principle in their school, as a potential initiative or set of initiatives (Department of Education and Training [Victoria] 2004). As the momentum of the Australian Curriculum develops, teachers in all states will be part of national initiatives designed to improve teacher quality through models of school partnerships and centres of teaching excellence.

The Australian Curriculum

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The federal government in 2008 announced the introduction of an ‘education revolution’. Since that time the national landscape has changed significantly, with a focus on key principles that would underpin a nation-wide approach to education. The development of a shared curriculum was guided by the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, which committed to ‘support all young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens’ and to provide students with ‘the essential skills, knowledge and capabilities to thrive and compete in a globalised world and information rich workplaces of the current century’ (ACARA 2009).

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One of the outcomes of the declaration and the federal focus on the education revolution has been the earlier noted development of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA 2014), which is being implemented across all states and territories. On 18 September 2015, the Education Council endorsed the Australian Curriculum in eight learning areas. The endorsed Australian Curriculum includes: r the revised Foundation–Year 10 Australian Curriculum for English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, The Arts, Technologies, and Health and Physical Education r Foundation–Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish and Vietnamese r Australian Curriculum: Work Studies Years 9–10 (an optional subject designed to ready young people for work) r Across Foundation–Year 12, curricula for 43 learning areas and subjects which are published on the Australian Curriculum website (ACARA 2017). ACARA is continuing to develop languages curriculum and materials to support teachers as the curriculum is being implemented. To learn more about curriculum development for each learning area, go to the Learning areas/subjects page. In the Australian Curriculum, as well as core subjects, teachers will be expected to teach and assess ‘general capabilities’ and ‘cross-curriculum’ perspectives. Decisions on curriculum can often be announced unexpectedly, so remaining up to date on the current state of play in your context is critical. To access the most recent updates to the Australian Curriculum see the Australian Curriculum website (ACARA 2017).

Education Minister Simon Birmingham and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

In 2014, a review of the Australian Curriculum was commissioned by the Abbott government. This followed a change of government at the federal level and increasing concerns about recommendations made in the Gonski Report on the review of funding for schooling not being actioned by the new government CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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(DEEWR 2011). The review was headed by Dr Kevin Donnelly and Professor Ken Wiltshire and a final report was released at the end of 2014, including a recommendation that the curriculum is too crowded (Department of Education 2014). The process of moving to the Australian Curriculum, with inclusion of all stakeholders in education, has had many complexities. Currently, the guidance of the curriculum at the national level will continue. Over the next decade in a plan dubbed ‘Gonski 2.0’, announced by the Turnbull government in 2017 and led by Education minister Simon Birmingham, schools across Australia are expecting their funding to be boosted by an extra $18.6 billion. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

How do you learn to teach? Using the framework for this chapter, Introducing Teaching as a Profession, draw up a concept map that uses the five pillars of understanding to record your initial insights on becoming a teacher. As your course progresses, revise and update your knowledge. List what has changed over time in the Foundation–Year 10 Australian Curriculum (https://acaraweb .blob.core.windows.net/resources/Changes_to_the_F-10_Australian_Curriculum.pdf) in your subject specialisation or interest. Conclude by adding a critically reflective response to each of the following questions: What do I value most? What experiences have shaped who I am as a person? How do these impact the way I see the world? How do my values impact my teaching practice? How do I notice and respond to white privilege and exclusion in planning for teaching and learning the Australian Curriculum? Review the AITSL teaching standards that focus on teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, histories and cultures Standards 1.4 and 2.4, and visit www.narragunnawali.org.au/curriculumresources. Draw up a list of key elements you will need to include in your lesson planning proformas. Develop three reflective questions that you can use to continuously demonstrate what and how you are learning about Indigenous peoples, cultures and histories through your course. Explain what it is expected that you will teach and assess under the ‘General Capabilities’ and ‘Crosscurriculum’ perspectives in your specialisation. If you are preparing to be a secondary teacher, choose one school subject. If you are preparing to be an early childhood or primary teacher, choose either science or the arts as your focus.

1.4 Reflective practice

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1.4 Describe reflective practice and its importance in ongoing professional development.

Teacher educators have a responsibility to ensure that graduate teachers enter the profession with confidence and enthusiasm. Pre-service education is your initial socialisation and induction to the profession and can play a vital part in your ongoing learning. A graduate teacher, ready to enter the profession of teaching, is able to describe and demonstrate: r key principles of pedagogical knowledge r high-order communication skills — an analytical and critical disposition are central to developing skills of reflective professional practice r the ability to incorporate innovative approaches into their professional knowledge base, including new technologies, new media and other innovative approaches such as arts-based methods r ethical practice r curricular and pedagogical designs that meet the needs of all students. Developing deeper understandings of pedagogy requires a reflective teacher stance. Reflective practice is both a common process in everyday life and a prominent part of teacher education programs and teaching practice. It involves constantly reviewing one’s beliefs and practices, the theories and ideas underpinning them, and the outcomes observed, in order to learn from them and improve upon them.

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The concept of the reflective practitioner was described by Donald Sch¨on as ‘the expert who was wide awake to, and aware of, their practice, not just immersed in it’ (cited in Mason 2002, p. 15). Think back to the opening case and the way that Tory was reflecting about his students, their learning and why he decided to take up teaching as a career. There are a number of ways that you can reflect on your practice. You may develop a reflective journal, visual diary or blog, mp3 audio file or post to a discussion board. Each approach aims to improve your work as a teacher and to support you to put forward dilemmas and resolutions to issues. Reflection can use both formal and informal methods. Informal approaches such as staffroom or corridor conversations are a necessary part of building professional communication and relationships. However, to be useful and support you in monitoring your professional learning over time, the spoken word and records of the spaces and places where you teach should be documented and analysed. The theory, issues and practices of reflection are further discussed in chapter 13.

1.5 Doing teachers’ work to trouble whiteness LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1.5 Recognise that personal and professional beliefs impact on pedagogical decision-making and teacher agency.

1. Plan a lesson for your professional experience placement that uses a yarning circle. Resources to assist you can be found at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/k-12-policies/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-perspectives/ support-materials/yarning-circles. In your plan, identify how you will use the strategy to build respectful relationships and to preserve and pass on cultural knowledge. 2. What are the barriers to increasing the number of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples joining the teaching profession? 3. Connect with a local elder in your region. What insights do they offer teaching professionals to ensure that in our practice evidence for Standard 2.4 ‘Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, which will demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages’ is met?

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Entering the profession Very quickly as a pre-service and graduate teacher you assume responsibility for independent teaching. Typically, over a course of study, phased periods of school experience occur. The extent and length of practicum experiences depend on the design of your program. Upon securing your first teaching position you will commence independent teaching. The autonomous entry you experience is a defining feature of the teaching profession but also brings many challenges. It is well known the first year of teaching can be highly stressful, particularly if graduate teachers have come from a shorter graduate course and have not had the advantage of a substantial internship within their program. Such teachers have never been alone in a class without a mentor teacher, and they have generally only had to teach two sessions a day. Suddenly the graduate teacher is expected to take complete control and teach a full load. A great deal of significant — but largely unsupported — learning happens in the induction year. It is well established in the research literature and certainly part of the rhetorical teacher talk and socialisation that some teacher education omits much of the real world of classroom teaching and everyday school life. The rejection of academic training (to greater or lesser extents) experienced by many pre-service and graduate teachers at some stage after experience in schools was recognised by Zeichner and Tabachnick (1981) in the United States over thirty years ago. Their work acknowledges the tension between university-based learning and school-based learning, suggesting that the effects of universitybased teacher education are ‘washed out’ by the process of socialisation of pre-service or graduate teachers into the teaching profession.

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Assessment of pre-service and graduating teachers As noted earlier in this chapter, Australia has a set of Australian teaching standards. These standards refer to the domains of teaching: professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement. Although the approach to assessment of Australian teaching standards is under development, as a graduating teacher you will be required to participate in a formal system of teacher accreditation. In your course, over time, you will be prepared to develop an understanding of these processes. Take another close look at the AITSL Graduate Standards Overview. Current expectations are that the graduating teacher will be expected to show interconnected understandings of theory, practice and reflection. The assessment used will therefore reflect these dimensions. In Australia and internationally the use of evidence-informed practice and the role of teacher inquiry and/or research to inform future teaching and assessment plans has changed over time. The next section of the chapter discusses how these practices have been evolving, beginning with the teaching portfolio. The teaching portfolio has for some time been regarded as a passport to the teaching profession. In some states of Australia the evidence portfolio is already a part of teacher registration requirements. As Rieman (2000, p. 3) states, ‘a portfolio is more than your best teaching efforts; rather, a portfolio is a demonstration of your growth and improvement’. The literature on portfolios includes definitions that range from ‘summary of accomplishments’ to ‘a comprehensive self-reflective record of a teacher’s strengths and weaknesses’ and ‘a way to assess teacher quality’ (Wolf 1996). The Standards Council of Victoria (1997, p. 3) stated that a portfolio is ‘a quality record of a teacher’s practice selected for a particular purpose’. Wolf (2000) identifies three broad categories for professional teaching portfolios: (1) learning, (2) assessment and (3) employment. He describes a teaching portfolio as ‘a depository of artefacts or assorted documents . . . that require a written reflection by the developer on the significance of or contributions of these artefacts’ (p. 36). A different definition by Wolf and Dietz (1998, p. 13) describes a teaching portfolio as ‘a structured collection of teacher and student work created across diverse contexts of time, framed by reflection and enriched through collaboration, that has as its ultimate aim the advancement of teacher and student learning’. On the other hand, Retallick and Groundwater-Smith (1996, p. 13) define a portfolio in more generic terms as ‘a compilation of evidence which demonstrates the acquisition, development and exercise of knowledge and skills in relation to your work practice’. More recently, e-portfolios — with digitised documents and hyperlinks — that provide connections to evidence and standards of teaching have become widely advocated in teacher education. As mentioned earlier, a portfolio is not merely a collection of everything you do or have done — teaching portfolios are important in capturing the essential elements of your practice and providing the place where you can readily develop reflective teaching practice. Building a portfolio is an essential part of developing and maintaining professional status. Throughout your professional life the portfolio may be used in: r preparation for internship and job interviews r documentation of your philosophy of teaching supported by curriculum and assessment practices r teacher registration r attaining accomplished teacher status through detailed reflective documentation. Typically, evidence of teaching will be required in specified domains and reflect the everyday work of teaching. Authentic assessment, sometimes also referred to as performance assessment, aims to improve understanding and critical thinking. Usually it is based in real work applications, clearly shows what is required of the learner and is intended to be assessment for learning. Therefore, assessment for graduating teachers will aim to capture the complex and multifaceted nature of teaching and assessment and will align with both goals of the curriculum (teaching and learning) and professional standards (teacher occupational knowledge). This sounds complex, and it is. Meeting such outcomes generally occurs towards the end of your course and occurs in what are sometimes referred to as capstone subjects. Authentic or performance learning of graduating teachers usually has a number of parts and will confirm that the graduate is ready to teach by a judgement that is made on the evidence of practice described as:

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r r r r r

learning and its context planning teaching and assessment teaching students and supporting learning assessing student learning reflecting on teaching and learning. As part of the recommendations of Action Now: Classroom ready teachers (TEMAG 2015) AITSL is tasked with a number of responsibilities, including a robust assessment of graduates to ensure classroom readiness. All providers are required to have a teaching performance assessment in place by 2018. The form of assessment will be performance based, with graduating teachers being required to align their evidence to the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching. Cohorts of students who have completed these forms of assessment already have commented that the process has led them to be well prepared for applying for advertised teaching positions and eases their preparation for state-based teacher registration. They reflect that they have been supported to: r focus thinking on different areas of teaching r think about practice, why do they do what they do, how they would articulate this to their students/ colleagues/parents and principal r show what they have understood as a teacher r reveal their strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan for future changes r define professional learning goals based on what worked and did not work r develop an increased awareness of assessment of student learning linking to curriculum standards r be a reflexive teacher, to see the big picture of teaching and the importance of continuous learning. Julie White and Trevor Hay (2005) summed up the distinctions in the way that portfolios as a form of authentic assessment get used in the teaching profession as being either ‘Are you good enough?’ (i.e. standards and accountability models) or ‘Who are you?’ (i.e. approaches that reach into the process of developing the personal professional knowledge of teachers). It is important to recognise that you will be required to provide ongoing evidence of your professional learning. Teacher professional learning is a constant in teachers’ lives. It is both rewarding and enjoyable. Good professional learning will engage you in any number of practices, including school-based workshops, teacher conferences, online communities and personalised forms of inquiry where you may investigate your classroom practice or work collaboratively with other teachers through face-to-face and virtual means. The graduate teacher assessment task and then the evidence portfolio is now regarded as a major component of becoming and being a professional and lifelong educator.

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Contributing to the professional knowledge base To understand, construct and analyse our professional knowledge and our theories of teaching and learning, teachers are required to read and understand contemporary research and over time to develop the skill of conducting or participating in systematic and rigorous educational and teacher research (Clarke & Erickson 2003). The purposes behind particular classroom practices are as important as the practices themselves, and there is ‘neither a simple formula to be adopted by unthinking or disenfranchised teachers, nor a framework that stipulates a singular approach to effective teaching (Gore, 2007)’ (Bowe & Gore 2017, p. 358). Teacher research therefore ensures teachers are contributing to their professional knowledge base and are acknowledged as being significant voices in the shaping of professional decision-making and professionalisation. There are any numbers of approaches to practitioner research. As Jean McNiff (1993, p. 18) suggests: r each individual may legitimately theorise about their own practice and aim to build theories r theorising as a process is appropriate to educational development — people change their practices and their practices change them

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r the interface between person and practice is a process of theory building, which involves a critical reflection on the process of ‘reflection in action’, and which legitimates the notion of a changing individual interacting with the world. Reflection upon formal professional knowledge, developed through research and theory, is the best way to initially develop and refine a professional belief system that analyses your conceptions and misconceptions of teaching and learning. A teacher who shapes their theory in this way will have a professionally defensible approach to their teaching. There are any number of differing approaches to teacher research and inquiry. However, it remains that teacher reflexivity — that is, the capacity to refer to one’s actions — is crucial in accounting for the multiplicity of elements that constitute the teaching self and the act of teaching. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

File your school experience reports. Select a focus area based on the school-based assessor’s comments for your immediate and ongoing professional learning. Write a short autobiographical piece that will form the starting point for your professional portfolio or graduating teacher assessment document. Keep in mind the purpose and audience for your work (e.g. internship, employment application, graduate teaching standards, reflective practice). Develop a checklist for the development of evidence-informed practice over time. Here are some suggested headings: r Title page that indicates the purpose of the assessment (internship, graduating teacher) r Brief autobiography r Belief statement: an informed, evolving position on a personal professional theory r Planning: establishing a balanced instructional focus. How do the plans support student learning? r Pedagogy and student diversity. How do the plans make the curriculum accessible to all students? r Curriculum and assessment: designing assessments, monitoring and analysis r Reflection: use of research, theory and reflections on teaching and learning to guide practice r The teaching professional: investigating practice r Appendices. Remember that graduating teacher assessments are not just printed documents. Increasingly, multimedia stored on a secure YouTube link may also be an important part of your evidence. Audio or video recordings of lessons may also provide useful material for your reflective practice. Open and maintain a professional learning log. List the title, date and summary of the event attended and include a section for Reflections that links to your current practice and describes what changes you intend to make.

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

Teacher education

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What do we learn about schools, teaching and learning by analysing school marketing materials? Over the last five years Trevor McCandless has been asking, why do ‘local schools’ now feel the need to market themselves? He has also asked, do schools with higher proportions of boys market themselves differently to schools with a more equal balance of the sexes? And does having large numbers of students from non-English speaking backgrounds impact on how schools want to be seen? [I]nternational research has concluded that school marketing is ‘uniform and formulaic’ (Gewirtz et al. 1995, p. 137), with schools engaged in ‘playing to preferred customers’ (Lubienski 2007, p. 132), generally meaning the children of middle-class parents . . . Schools derive advantages if they can attract the ‘right’ students (Ball 2003, 2006b; Ball & Gewirtz 2010; Bonnor & Caro 2007; Brantlinger 2003; Gorur 2013; Ho 2011; Nash 2010; Smedley 1995; Teese 2011) and these ‘right’ students are the ‘kids that bring cultural capital to the school that will increase its results (girls, high socio-economic background families, academic ability, sporting or creative prowess)’ (Bonnor & Caro 2012, pp. 83–4) . . . Other research has shown that students receive differential attention given their likelihood to contribute to

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school improvement on government mandated measures and assessment instruments (Ball 2006a; Ball, Maguire & Braun 2012). Others have stressed that the students likely to receive additional attention is highly gendered and raced (Ball et al. 2012; Youdell 2006). The coincidence of these factors has been used to explain the apparent commonality of school marketing materials. Research has shown that overwhelmingly it is middle-class parents who are the active choosers in the school marketplace (Ball 2003, 2006b; Ball & Gewirtz 2010; Ball et al. 2012; Campbell et al. 2009). If all schools seek to attract the same students — that is, students already holding the habits and dispositions that ensure academic success — then school marketing will appear similar no matter which school produces it, because it is marketing to the same people: the white, mostly female, children of middle class parents . . . Furthermore, Australian research has also considered the nature of white flight from schools deemed to have too many none [sic] Anglo-Saxon background children (Ho 2011). That school marketing might not take any of these issues and concerns into consideration while trying to attract students — given their own student populations — seemed improbable. TREVOR MCCANDLESS PhD (2017, pp. 2–3)

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LECTURER AND RESEARCH FELLOW, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

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SUMMARY No single variable improves student achievement more than the introduction of a great teacher. Teaching is supported by a wide and deep body of professional knowledge that continues to evolve. As you prepare to join the teaching profession you will be exposed to both theory and practice. It is important to bring a critical perspective to ideas, theories and practices to ensure you construct a personally relevant understanding of teaching. Teachers tend to form and develop a ‘teacher identity’ over time through four processes: storying teaching, theorising teaching and identity, enacting beliefs and values, and transforming professional identity. The shape of identity and belief formation, professional thinking and decision making (i.e. deciding what actions to take) is particular to each person. Teacher identity changes over time in response to reflection upon professional knowledge and practice, the learning outcomes students achieve, and ideas from colleagues, researchers and other stakeholders in education. In this way, teachers come to transform their own beliefs, knowledge and practice. Pedagogy is a term that describes the art, science or strategies of teaching based on professional knowledge and reflective practice. General pedagogical knowledge is knowledge of the theories of effective teaching. Pedagogical content knowledge is knowledge of specific subject matter to be taught and how to teach that specific content. Pedagogy is closely related to curriculum, which describes the educational content that is to be taught. The Australian school system has been characterised by somewhat divergent curricula in different states, but recently a national Australian Curriculum has been developed in core subject areas to bring greater consistency to Australians’ schooling and includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, which are embedded throughout the entire curriculum, at every age and in every subject. Becoming an accomplished teacher requires the adoption of reflective practice, which involves constantly reviewing one’s beliefs and practices, the theories and ideas underpinning them, and the outcomes observed, in order to learn from them and improve upon them. Reflection is also an important component of continuing to build teaching’s professional knowledge base. Teacher performance assessment is an important part of reflective practice, as well as providing tangible evidence of achievement and development as a teacher, and of your students’ learning.

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KEY TERMS accomplished teacher An experienced educator who can demonstrate expert performance through tangible evidence, such as a teaching portfolio or a leadership position. constructivism An approach to teaching that recognises that everything a person learns is mediated by their prior experiences and understandings; thus individuals construct, rather than absorb, new knowledge. critical perspective A way of viewing information, ideas and practices that refuses to take them for granted, and instead asks what are the implications, and for whom, of this idea or this way of doing things. general pedagogical knowledge Knowledge of the theories of effective teaching. graduate teacher A teacher in the first and subsequent early years of their professional life. ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) ACARA provides a definition of ICSEA. The definition and method of calculation is found at: https://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/ resources/About_ICSEA_2014.pdf. ICSEA is one of any number of statistical calculations that have parallels across the world and attempt to measure students’ socio educational backgrounds for policy and funding purposes. mentor One who supports professional learning, typically during pre-service experiences, on entry to the profession or for a specific need. 34

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pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) The teacher’s unique amalgam of content and pedagogy. pedagogy The art, science or strategies of teaching based on professional knowledge and reflective practice. pre-service teacher A student enrolled in a course of study intended to satisfy requirements for employment as a teacher. professional standards A set of statements intended to articulate the knowledge, skills and understandings that define good teaching. reflective practice The commitment to constantly review one’s beliefs and practices, the theories and ideas underpinning them, and the outcomes observed, in order to learn from them and improve upon them. teaching portfolio A collection of work, framed by reflection and enriched through collaboration, that has as its ultimate aim the improvement of teacher and student learning.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 1.1

LO1

Develop a visual essay on teaching as a profession. The essay may take a historical perspective or be a contemporary account of a defined period. Be sure to capture teachers and students at work (but ensure you seek permission to photograph and/or identify students and teachers you observe and interact with). 1.2

LO2

Reflect upon your personal metaphor for teaching. How culturally situated are your beliefs? In what ways will you subject your cultural background to critical scrutiny as you are learning to teach and getting to know your students? 1.3

LO3

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a national curriculum? What are some of the challenges in implementing changes to curriculum across different jurisdictions? 1.4

LO4

What is a Reconciliation Action Plan? Sign up for the Narragunnawali site to learn more about RAPS and how to develop and evaluate a RAP. 1.5

LO4

Join some professional networks to receive regular updates on issues in education. Some ideas might be to follow appropriate Twitter accounts, to sign up for updates to the Australian Curriculum or to get a student membership for a professional organisation such as the Australian College of Educators (ACE).

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1.6

LO5

Review AITSL Standard 2.4 ‘Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians’. Analyse the Twitter feed on @indigenousx in recent weeks. What issues and perspectives dominate? What is being said, and what is not being said? What can you take into the classroom from the analysis to provide the evidence required to meet AITSL Standard 2.4?

WEBSITES 1 The Australian Council for Educational Research, better known by its acronym, ACER, is an inde-

pendent not-for-profit Australian body that has a long association with the teaching profession. Established in 1930 with five staff, the organisation now has 380 staff, and offices worldwide. ACER publishes evidence-based resources and information sources of interest to practitioners and CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

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researchers. They provide a number of no-cost resources, including the publication Teacher: evidence, insight and action, a magazine that contains links to podcasts, research articles and stories written by teachers: www.teachermagazine.com.au 2 Reconciliation Australia was established in 2001 and is the lead body for reconciliation in the nation. As an independent not-for-profit organisation that promotes and facilitates reconciliation by building relationships, respect and trust between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the organisation’s vision is to enable all Australians to contribute to the reconciliation of the nation. Their vision of reconciliation is based on five interrelated dimensions: race relations, equality and equity, unity, institutional integrity and historical acceptance. The website details programs for schools, and also provides resources that are invaluable to improving your professional knowledge base and helping you as a teacher and your students become an integral part of Reconciliation Australia: www.reconciliation.org.au 3 The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) website provides you with information on the national requirements for teaching and leadership. Keep up to date with a range of resources and information for your entire teaching career, and perhaps in the future a leadership career, by regularly visiting this site: www.aitsl.edu.au 4 Together for Humanity is a multi-faith not-for-profit organisation that is helping schools, organisations and communities respond effectively to differences of culture and belief. They do this by bringing students, teachers and those in the community into contact with people from diverse backgrounds in an open and supportive setting. The website has a large number of resources, including the open access interactive online resource ‘Difference Differently’. Difference Differently is suited to individuals as well as school-based professional learning, and has been trialled and evaluated as part of recent research in schools (Halse, Mansouri, Moss, Paradies, O’Mara, Arber & Denson et al. 2015): www.togetherforhumanity.org.au

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REFERENCES Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2017, Australian Curriculum website, www.acara.edu.au/curriculum, viewed 29 September 2017. —— 2014, Australian Curriculum website, www.australiancurriculum.edu.au, viewed 30 November 2014. —— 2009, www.acara.edu.au, viewed 15 April 2010. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2017, www.aitsl.edu.au. Baird, J & Love, K 2003, ‘Teaching purposes, learning goals, and multimedia production in teacher education’, Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 243–66. Ball, D 2000, ‘Bridging practices: intertwining content and pedagogy in teaching and learning to teach’, Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 241–7. Ball, SJ, Maguire, M & Braun, A 2012, How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools, Routledge, London. Bennett, B & Rolheiser, C 2001, Beyond Monet, Bookation, Toronto. Bernstein, B 1996, Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity, Taylor & Francis, London. Bonnor, C & Caro, J 2012, What makes a good school?, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. Boocock, SS & Scott, KA 2005, Kids in context: The sociological study of children and childhoods, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, New York. Bowe, J & Gore, J 2017, ‘Reassembling teacher professional development: the case for Quality Teaching Rounds’, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 352–66. Britzman, D 2003, Practice makes practice: A critical study of learning to teach, State University of New York Press, Albany. Campbell, C, Proctor, H & Sherington, G 2009, School choice: How parents negotiate the new school market in Australia, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW. Castells, M 1999, ‘Flows, networks and identities: a critical theory of the informational society’, in M Castells, R Flecha, P Friere, H Giroux, D Macedo & P Willis (eds), Critical education in the new information age, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham. Clarke, A & Erickson, G 2003, Teacher inquiry: Living the research in everyday practice, Routledge Falmer, London. Corrie, L 2002, Focus on learning relationships. Investigating troublesome classroom behaviour: Practical tools for teachers, Routledge Falmer, London.

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Dalton, SS 1998, Pedagogy matters: Standards for effective teaching practice, Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence University of California, Santa Cruz, California. Darling-Hammond, L 1998, ‘Teacher learning that supports student learning’, Educational Leadership, vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 6–11. Department of Education 2014, ‘Review of the Australian Curriculum: final report’, www.education.gov.au, viewed 30 November 2014. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development 2008, ‘Principles of learning and teaching’, training information, www.education.vic.gov.au, viewed 12 January 2010. Department of Education and Training [NSW] 2003, ‘Quality teaching in NSW public schools’, discussion paper, www.det.nsw.edu.au, viewed 12 January 2010. Department of Education and Training [Victoria] 2017, ‘Practice principles for excellence in teaching and learning’, www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/practice/Pages/principlesexcellence.aspx, viewed 26 September 2017. —— 2004, Principles of learning and teaching P–12: Leading change, Department of Education and Training, Victoria. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (former Australian government) 2011, ‘Review of funding for schooling: final report’, www.education.gov.au, viewed 30 November 2014. Dixon, M, Ferguson, P, Hay, T, Moss, J & White, J 2004, ‘Moving your story forward: frameworks for thinking about learning and teaching’, in M Dixon, R English, P Ferguson, S Godinho, T Hay, L Longaretti, J Moss, F Sanjakdar, J White & J Wilson, Invitations and inspirations, Curriculum Corporation, Carlton South. Education Queensland 2000, ‘New Basics project’, technical paper, www.education.qld.edu.au, viewed 12 January 2010. 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Green, B 2003, ‘Curriculum inquiry in Australia: toward a local genealogy of the curriculum field’, in WF Pinar (ed.), International handbook of curriculum research, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 123–41. Griffith, T, Gore, J & Ladwig, J 2006. ‘Teachers’ fundamental beliefs, commitment to reform, and the quality of pedagogy’, paper presented at Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, Adelaide, 26–30 November. Hall, C & Thomson, P 2017a, Inspiring school change: Transforming education through the creative arts, Routledge, Oxon. —— 2017b, ‘Creativity in teaching: what can teachers learn from artists?’, Research Papers in Education, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 106–20, doi: 10.1080/02671522.2016.1144216. Halse, C, Mansouri, F, Moss, J, Paradies, Y, O’Mara, J, Arber, R, Denson, N . . . Wright, L 2015, ‘Doing diversity: intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools’, An Australian Research Council Linkage Project Final Report, Deakin University, Geelong. Hayes, D, Mills, M & Lingard, B 2000, ‘Productive pedagogies’, Education Links, no. 60, Winter. Hill, P 2003, ‘Pedagogy for deep learning’, paper presented at the Curriculum Corporation Conference ‘How to teach better’, Perth, Australia. Ho, C 2011, ‘“My School” and others: segregation and white flight’, Australian Review of Public Affairs, www.australianreview.net/digest/2011/05/ho.html, accessed 17 February 2016. Holt, J 1964, How children fail, Penguin, Harmonsworth. Joyce, B, Weil, M & Calhoun, E 2004, Models of teaching, Allyn and Bacon, Boston. Klette, K 2007, ‘Trends in research on teaching and learning in schools: didactics meets classroom studies’, European Educational Research Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 147–60. Lather, P & Smithies, C 1997, Troubling the angels: Women living with HIV/AIDS, Westview Press, Harper Collins, Colorado. Lave, J & Wenger, E 1991, Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Lingard, RL, Ladwig, J, Mills, MD, Hayes, D, Luke, A, Gore, J & Christie, PH 2001, ‘The Queensland school reform longitudinal study: A strategy for shared curriculum leadership’, in AR Thomas (ed.), Teachers’ Manual, State of Queensland (Department of Education), Brisbane. Lortie, DC 1975, Schoolteacher, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Lubienski, C 2007, ‘Marketing Schools: consumer goods and competitive incentives for consumer information’, Education and Urban Society, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 118–41. Lucas, B, Claxton, G & Spencer, E 2013, ‘Progression in student creativity in school: first steps towards new forms of formative assessments’, OECD Education Working Papers, no. 86, OECD Publishing, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k4dp59msdwk-en.

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Luke, A 1999, ‘Education 2010 and new time: why equity and social justice still matter but differently’, paper prepared for Education Queensland Online conference, www.education.qld.gov.au, 20 October. Luke, C & Gore, J 1992, Editors, feminisms and critical pedagogy, Routledge, New York. Mason, J 2002, Researching your own practice: The discipline of noticing, Routledge Falmer, London & New York. McCandless, T 2017, ‘Schooled into place: a mixed methods social semiotic analysis of school marketing materials’, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Deakin University. McNiff, J 1993, Teaching as learning: An action research approach, Routledge, London. McWilliam, E 1999, Pedagogical pleasures, Peter Lang Publishing, New York. National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, ‘Equity ratio reports’, http://data.ncsehe.edu.au, viewed 12 September 2017. National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future 1996, What matters most: Teaching for America’s future, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Newmann, FM & Associates 1996, Authentic achievement: Restructuring schools for intellectual quality, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Pugach, MC 2009, Because teaching matters: An introduction to the profession, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken. Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority 2017, ‘K–12 Polices and resources’, www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/k-12-policies, viewed 28 September 2017. Reconciliation Australia 2016, The state of reconcilliation in Australia: Our history, our story, our future, foreword by Patrick Dodson, www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/The-State-of-Reconciliation-report_FULL_WR.pdf. Reid, A & O’Donohue, M 2004, ‘Revisiting enquiry-based teacher education in neo-liberal times’, International Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 559–70. Retallick, J & Groundwater-Smith, S 1996, The advancement of teacher workplace learning, Centre for Professional Development in Education, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW. Rieman, P 2000, Teaching portfolios: Presenting your professional best, McGraw Hill, Boston. Riley, C 2009, ‘Teacher quality vs teaching quality: what’s the difference’, Innovations, no. 8, pp. 6–9. Sefton-Green, J, Marsh, J, Erstad, O & Flewitt, R 2016, ‘Establishing a research agenda for the digital literacy practices of young children: a white paper for COST Action IS1410’, http://digilitey.eu/. Shulman, LS 1987, ‘Knowledge and teaching: foundations of the new reform’, Harvard Educational Review, vol. 57, pp. 1–22. —— 1986, ‘Those who understand: a conception of teacher knowledge’, American Educator, vol. 15, pp. 4–14. Somerville, M & Green, M 2015, Children, place and sustainability, Palgrave Macmillan, UK. Standards Council of Victoria 1997, Preparing a professional portfolio, Standards Council of the Teaching Profession, Victoria. State of Queensland [Department of Education] 2004, ‘The New Basics project’, www.education.qld.gov.au, viewed 30 July 2010. —— 2002, ‘Productive pedagogies’, www.education.qld.gov.au, viewed 11 January 2010. —— 1994, ‘Principles of effective learning and teaching’, Education Resources Information Centre, www.eric.ed.gov, viewed 11 January 2010. Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) 2015, Action now: classroom ready teachers, 13 February, www.studentsfirst.gov.au/teacher-education-ministerial-advisory-group. —— 2014, Action now: Classroom ready teachers, Australian Government, Canberra, https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/action_now_classroom_ready_teachers_print.pdf. The Age 2009, editorial, 21 January. Tobin, K 1990, ‘Changing metaphors and beliefs: a master switch for teaching?’, Theory into practice, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 122–7. van Manen, M 1991, The tact of teaching: The meaning of pedagogical thoughtfulness, SUNY Press, Albany, New York. Vaughn, S, Bos, CS & Schumm, JS 2006, Teaching exceptional, diverse, and at-risk students in the general education classroom, Allyn and Bacon, Boston. Wegner, E & N¨uckles, M 2015, ‘Knowledge acquisition or participation in communities of practice? Academics’ metaphors of teaching and learning at the university’, Studies in Higher Education, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 624–43, doi: 10.1080/03075079.2013 .842213. White, J & Hay, T 2005, ‘Passport to the profession: standards-based portfolios’, in T Hay & J Moss (eds), Portfolios, performance and authenticity, Pearson Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest, pp. 61–73. Wolf, K 2000, Leading the professional portfolio process for change, Hawker Brownlow, Cheltenham, Victoria. —— 1996, ‘Developing an effective teaching portfolio’, in K Burke (ed.), Professional portfolios: A collection of articles, Hawker Brownlow Education, Cheltenham, Victoria. Wolf, K & Dietz, M 1998, ‘Teaching portfolios: purposes and possibilities’, Teacher Education Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 9–22. Youdell, D 2006, Impossible bodies, impossible selves: Exclusions and student subjectivities, Stringer, Dordrecht. Zeichner, KM & Tabachnick, BR 1981, ‘Are the effects of university teacher education “washed out” by school experience?’, Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 7–11.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Emma Tunbridge/Norfolk, UK, 2014 / Corbis Images Photo: © michaeljung / Shutterstock.com Photo: © DGLimages / Shutterstock.com Photo: © MBI / Alamy Photo: © Rob Marmion / Shutterstock.com Photo: © News Ltd / Newspix Photo: © Nils Versemann / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Ross Schultz / Newspix Figure 1.5: © Corrie, L 2002, Investigating troublesome cassroom behaviour: Practical tools for teachers, Routledge Falmer, figure 2.1, p. 27. Reproduced with permission from Taylor & Francis Group UK. Table 1.1: © 2011 Education Services Australia as the legal entity for the Education Council. ISBN: 978-0-9871650-2-2. Text: © McCandless, T 2017, ‘Schooled into place: a mixed methods social semiotic analysis of school marketing materials’, Doctor of Philosophy, Deakin University.

CHAPTER 1 Introducing teaching as a profession

39

CHAPTER 2

Historical insights into teaching LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 2.1 explain how a critical understanding of the requirements of teachers included in the various statements of professional standards might enable teachers to better meet the needs of all learners in their classes 2.2 explain how social, political, economic and cultural factors shape educational histories, knowledges and practices, as well as the teaching profession itself, including the marginalisation of Indigenous knowledges and peoples from schooling 2.3 describe how discourses of education might shape your capacity to think creatively and critically about your professional practice 2.4 describe how pedagogy, curriculum, behaviour management and educational technologies have been shaped historically and how understanding this might inform a transformative approach to your work 2.5 explain how developing a personal–professional identity as a critical, transformative teacher might help you more effectively support all your students (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students) to use their schooling to improve their life chances and wellbeing as people, and identify key responsibilities of Australian teachers in rectifying institutional disadvantage.

OPENING CASE

Engaging with professional practice It was the final week of the Foundations of Education course and Emily was working on the collaborative group assignment with classmates Kirra and Oskar. The task was to critically reflect on a demonstration lesson they had just observed in a small rural school using the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (see table 2.1). Emily admitted that she was a bit nervous about being critical of the teacher, as she was unsure about how qualified she was to make judgements on the lesson. Oskar suggested that instead of judging the teacher they should think about some of the theories they had learned in the course and approach the observation from that point of view. Then they could share insights gained through the lesson in relation to educational theories rather than the teacher’s practices. Kirra agreed, adding that she saw the standards as a guide, rather than a set of rules that teachers must follow.

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TABLE 2.1

Authorities that oversee the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

Jurisdiction

Authority

Australia (national)

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership — www.aitsl.edu.au

NSW

NSW Education Standards Authority — https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au

Victoria

Victorian Institute of Teaching — www.vit.vic.edu.au

Queensland

Queensland College of Teachers — www.qct.edu.au

WA

Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia — www.trb.wa.gov.au

SA

Teachers Registration Board of South Australia — www.trb.sa.edu.au

Tasmania

Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania — www.trb.tas.gov.au

ACT

ACT Education Directorate — www.det.act.gov.au

NT

Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory — www.trb.nt.gov.au

The group then looked at the standards together and discussed how curriculum, pedagogy and classroom management were important to being an effective teacher. The lesson they observed was part of a literacy program the school had adopted, and the combined Year 1/2 class, with 20 girls and 4 boys, had been working in small literacy groups. Oskar noticed that most of the boys were not engaged in the lesson and wondered if the reading books had been selected with boys in mind. Perhaps the female teacher did not know how boys learn (Standard 1 ‘Know students and how they learn’). Emily disagreed, adding that if the teacher had been doing a better job she would have focused them back on the task (Standard 4 ‘Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments’). Kirra noted, that in relation to Standard 4, the teacher had established clear expectations and had organised routines so the rest of the students worked independently; it was the boys who continued to appear disinterested in the literacy tasks. She had noticed that the boys came from different cultural backgrounds, and thought this may explain their difficulties in reading the books provided. Oskar added that he thought it was important to understand different perspectives about teaching, pointing out that they were basing their observations on their own ideas of what makes a good teacher. He thought that being critical of different theories about education and how these theories help to shape professional practice would help them better reflect on the lesson using the standards. The teacher in this

CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

41

lesson facilitated rather than directed the learning, which Oskar felt was more aligned with twenty-first century approaches. Maybe the issue was also related to intellectual development theories, as they had learned in their lecture on Piaget and Vygotsky. Through discussions with her peers, Emily realised that there was a lot to learn about becoming a teacher and that she may be called upon to teach in very different contexts to those she had herself experienced. At first she was worried about judging the teacher but then, when discussing the lesson, her first thought was that the teacher was to blame for the boys being off-task. Teaching was more complex than she had thought. Oskar and Kirra were both thinking critically about the lesson in relation to the theories they had been exploring in class, rather than relying on what they already knew. She could see that she would need to stop taking her past experiences for granted and start to engage in more critical discussions. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. What do the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers say about knowing students and how they learn? 2. Why do you think the standards might ask teachers to be ‘critical’? 3. Are there any parts of the standards that are difficult to reflect on in this scenario? 4. How do you think each member of the group would approach Standards 1.4 and 2.4 given there were no Indigenous students in their observation class?

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Introduction This chapter will help you develop a critical perspective on your work as a teacher. It does not provide you with a particular critical perspective; rather it helps you learn techniques to develop your own. This involves two basic elements. 1. Learn how to question taken-for-granted histories, knowledges and practices. 2. Gain enough basic knowledge of education to begin to see alternative ways to think about and deal with issues and to see the consequences of different practices. The critical perspective it will help you develop will have three dimensions, all of which will involve learning and asking questions about: 1. teachers’ ‘obvious’ core classroom work 2. other aspects of teachers’ work, such as engaging with families and communities, and engaging with the teaching profession and professional learning 3. how family, community and broader social contexts and teachers’ classroom work interact to shape learning outcomes and life chances of children. Why? If schools worked well for everyone — or perhaps just for most students, families and communities — it would not matter if the established ways of doing things were simply taken for granted and reproduced. For many, however, schools do not work especially well. They do not accomplish what they set out to achieve. They fail large numbers of students, who do not become competent in reading, writing and mathematics (see, for example, State of Queensland 2002). Further, they fail in ways that concentrate their failure and its consequences in sections of the population that are already politically marginalised, financially disadvantaged and socially stigmatised (James 2002, 2008; Teese & Polesel 2003), despite governments’ own commitments to equity (Ministerial Council on Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs [MCEECDYA] 2008; Watson 2003). In Australia, this has resulted in the marginalisation of students and cultural groups who have historically not been welcomed within education, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. This is a powerful argument for the need for a critical perspective. This chapter (outlined in the diagram below) provides insights from history to help you develop a critical perspective on information, ideas and practice in education. History reveals how previous 42

PART 1 The teaching profession

generations understood and attempted to resolve particular issues. It highlights the importance of context in shaping educational ideas and practice. It reveals different approaches and the quite different consequences of those approaches, including positive and negative implications for teachers and for teaching and learning. History can show, for example, how different approaches to education affect the capacity of different groups in society to benefit from schooling, as well as how they can demand different attitudes and behaviours of teachers themselves (e.g. a ‘do as you’re told’ approach or a ‘make professional judgements’ approach).

Historical insights into teaching

A critical perspective and transformative teaching

Social, political, economic and cultural factors shaping education

The value of a critical perspective

Stakeholders and educational interests and needs Governance Shaping the profession Marginalisation of Indigenous knowledges and peoples

Discourses of education

Pedagogy, curriculum, classroom management and technologies

Teachers’ work, teachers’ lives, teachers’ identities

Discourses of the child

Pedagogy

Theory and practice in educational discourse

Classroom management

The challenges of professional decision making

Curriculum

Technologies of schooling

Professional standards, teaching and ‘us’ Identifying key responsibilities in rectifying institutional disadvantage

2.1 A critical perspective and transformative teaching

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2.1 Explain how a critical understanding of the requirements of teachers included in the various statements of professional standards might enable teachers to better meet the needs of all learners in their classes.

To understand the importance of developing a critical perspective, let us explore your assumptions about teachers and teaching. By now, you have lived through at least 12 years of teaching and experienced at least a dozen teachers — probably many more. Based on this extensive experiential knowledge of schools: 1. list the characteristics of a good classroom 2. list the characteristics that define good teaching. Your lists may include something like the following: 1. good classroom: teacher and students; desks and chairs; books; whiteboard (possibly an electronic whiteboard) and computers 2. good teaching: clear explanations and good classroom management (or, perhaps, discipline or behaviour). Take some time to consider the extent to which your lists are consistent with what happens in most of the classrooms you have experienced or know about. You will probably find that your lists reflect widely shared images and understandings of what classrooms and teaching ‘look like’. It is likely that your view of good teaching reflects normalised practice — practice that is accepted as more-or-less the CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

43

only way, or at least the standard proper way, to do things (Vick 2008). Normalised practice is the result of taken-for-granted professional knowledge and practice as usual. The problem is that we are likely to think and teach within the limitations of normalised practice unless we deliberately cultivate ways of thinking differently about teaching and find different ways to teach — that is, unless we develop a critical perspective. As Oskar explained to the group in the opening case, a critical perspective is a way of viewing information, ideas and practices that refuses to take them for granted. Instead, it examines each idea and each way of doing things and asks, ‘What are the implications and for whom?’ A critical perspective is crucial to developing approaches to teaching that enable teachers to better meet the needs of those being taught, recognising that many students have not been served well by practice as usual or the taken-for-granted professional knowledge that informs such practice.

The value of a critical perspective

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The value of a critical perspective is in what it might offer in developing transformative teaching practice that will best serve the needs of all those you teach. To be useful to you as a teacher, you must relate a critical perspective to your own knowledge and practice. For example, the group in our opening case needed to develop a critical perspective on professional standards and then make connections between their consequent understanding and their own practice. In developing a critical perspective, history offers much insight. For example, we can study how unequal educational outcomes were understood and addressed in different times and contexts. We can also understand the way in which particular approaches had quite different implications for the ways teachers taught and for the different social groups they taught. Insights such as these can allow for an understanding of how an idea such as ‘best practice’ might not always be ‘best’ for everyone — a first step towards finding ways that might work well for those you teach.

What are your assumptions about teachers and teaching?

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A critical perspective also helps build an understanding of how different stakeholders have conflicting views of the purposes education should serve. It is with this understanding that teachers negotiate a path between the requirements of the system or school they work in and the needs and wants of the families their school serves. Such understandings will prompt teachers to ask how well schools and teaching practices actually serve children, families and the community, to find out what their needs and interests are, and to look for what practices work best for them. This is at the heart of transformative practice, informed by a critical perspective on histories, knowledges and practices. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Think about the assumptions you bring with you to teaching based on your own experiences. What is your background? What barriers to learning have you overcome in your journey to becoming a teacher? The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers require teachers to work in ways that offer rich learning experiences and high-level learning outcomes for all. How would you approach teaching in a context with which you were not familiar? How could you ensure that your understandings about teaching incorporate the perspectives of all students, irrespective of aspects such as location of the school (i.e. rural or metropolitan), cultural background of families (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families) or socioeconomic status?

2.2 Social, political, economic and cultural factors shaping education

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2.2 Explain how social, political, economic and cultural factors shape educational histories, knowledges and practices, as well as the teaching profession itself, including the marginalisation of Indigenous knowledges and peoples from schooling.

Schools did not always hold the central position in society that they do now. Until about 200 years ago, most people attended school for just a few years. Moreover, the schools they attended were very different from the schools we are familiar with today. Mostly, they were accommodated in multipurpose buildings (e.g. churches and teachers’ homes). They were small, often with only a handful of children, and those children were taught individually, often by rote, with no set curriculum (Barcan 1980; Miller 1986; Vick 1992). Anyone could establish and operate a school as long as they could attract paying customers. In Indigenous societies, schools were unnecessary: the education of children was built seamlessly into the structure of daily life and social obligation. Now, most schools are large, formal institutions in purpose-built accommodation, organised into ageand attainment-graded classes, with set curricula and group teaching. Governments make strong claims on children’s time and families’ rights in respect of their children, and urge a commitment to ‘lifelong learning’ (MCEEDYA 2008) and the ‘pedagogisation’ of the whole of life (Bonal & Rambla 2003). Understanding how schooling has evolved will help you develop an appreciation of the significance of many aspects of education. Until about the 1850s schools in Australia were provided by a mix of the following: individual school teacher initiatives, churches and local ad hoc school committees. From about 1850 to the 1870s the government played a small but significant role by subsidising some schools to ensure that schools operated in every community (Vick 1992). From the 1870s the states (starting with Victoria in 1872, through to Western Australia in 1896) began to establish powerful departments of education to provide secular primary schooling to ‘every child’ (Austin 1972). In practice, however, they showed little interest in the education of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children, who were left largely to the missionaries until the 1970s (Foley 2007). The Catholic Church took exception to the state’s secular approach — what the church saw as a ‘godless education’ — and set up a rival system, using unpaid orders of religion such as Mary MacKillop’s Sisters of St Joseph (Chapman & O’Donoghue 2007). Secondary education continued CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

45

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to be provided by churches, independent school trusts and private teachers. Federation in 1901 left responsibility for education with the states, and the system remained largely unchanged until the early twentieth century. At that time, the states began to move into secondary schooling (Sherington, Peterson & Brice 1987), although state systems did not rival private secondary school provision until the 1950s (Teese 1983). The development of kindergartens, starting in the late 1800s and expanding considerably in the early 1900s, took place outside the mainstream school system, largely through the philanthropic work of middle-class women. In the 1970s, the Whitlam federal government took an increasingly major role in funding and shaping educational policy, although it had no powers to directly establish schools. Its funding arrangements had a major impact on the rapid growth of Catholic systemic secondary schools and a range of other religious primary and secondary schools. These developments are summarised in table 2.2. (For a more comprehensive overview, see Barcan 1980, 2010.) This pattern of provision and the changing importance of education are inseparable from the changing social, cultural and economic contexts of education and the different purposes to which those contexts give rise for different educational stakeholder groups. Across the history of schooling in Australia, as elsewhere, education gradually developed four distinct purposes: 1. ensuring social and political stability 2. building a national culture 3. contributing to the economy 4. enabling social, cultural and economic improvement on the part of individual parents and children, and contributing to the development and wellbeing of young people as they grow into adults. In the earliest days of white settlement of Australia, a major purpose driving the provision of schools, especially by the churches, was to ensure a stable, orderly society by moralising the children of convicts. Considerably transformed, this purpose continues in the form of values education, often embedded in the social studies and related curricula (Fraenkel 1973; Selman 1971; Toomey & Lovat 2007). By the 1850s, with the prospect of democratic colonial government, this social purpose shifted to ensuring that the population at large could use their voting power ‘sensibly’ to promote the common good. After World War II, schools also took on the important additional role of facilitating a more just and equal society (Connell 1993; Miller 1986). At the same time, schools took on the purpose of creating a sense of common identity and interest among the wide range of national, ethnic and religious groups that already comprised Australian society. In the nineteenth century, this common culture was built around British imperial identity and loyalty, totally ignoring Indigenous cultures. This transformed into national loyalty in the 1900s with Federation. This, in turn, changed from a sense of the nation as essentially British until the 1970s (with Indigenous and non-British immigrant children deliberately assimilated into Anglo-Australian culture) to a sense of the nation as harmoniously multicultural from the 1970s onwards (Selleck 1982). From around the 1900s, as economic productivity became more dependent on education, schools took on an explicit economic purpose. This accelerated from the 1950s with the rise of a much larger administrative and professional sector of the economy and, more recently, with the rise of the globalised ‘knowledge economy’ (State of Queensland 2002). This trend has also been boosted by the national and international comparisons now widely used to measure states’ and nations’ educational performance; for example, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) (Masters 2009). Additionally, there has been increased awareness and knowledge within state and federal education about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educational policy and practices. This is evidenced through the Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools (EATSIPS) framework (DET 2011) and the development of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy. From the outset, one purpose of education was self-improvement. Initially this took the form of participating more fully in an increasingly literate culture. With the growing economic role of education, however, it also offered opportunities for economic advancement. 46

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TABLE 2.2

Historical development of provision and governance of education in Australia

Period

Provision

Governance

To 1850

Schools provided by churches, local communities, individual teachers

Governance at individual school level; many teachers empowered through ownership of their schools

1850–1870s

School provision continues as before, but with some government financial support

Governments begin to intervene in school governance by tying funding to inspection and limited regulation

Government-supported schools form the basis of emerging public school systems 1870s–1900

Comprehensive state departments formed to fully fund and control secular public primary schools

Tighter governance of schools by education departments empowered to regulate in detail all aspects of schooling

Middle and secondary schools continue as private ventures

Direct disciplinary powers over teachers

Catholic Church establishes its own separate, church-funded system 1900–1950

Parents often empowered through school committees with power to employ teachers

States begin to provide secondary schools Most secondary schooling still provided by private schools

Governments make school attendance compulsory for ages 5 to 11 or 12 Parental involvement in governance removed Governance of public schools continues unchanged Private and secondary schools come under increasing regulation by government, enforced by power to close schools Minimal formal regulation of curriculum Governments raise school leaving age to 14 or 15

1950–1970

State schools begin to dominate provision of secondary places Rapid growth in secondary school participation

1970s–2000

Systematic Commonwealth funding for education, including private schools Rapid growth of private sector, including Catholic systemic secondary and other religious schools

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2000–present

Governance as for previous period, but senior secondary curriculum governed by independent public examinations boards dominated by universities Increasing role of Commonwealth government in shaping schooling purposes and policy, exercised through education budget allocations to states Raise effective school-leaving age through restricted access to social security

Funding for public schools largely through state education departments

Restoration of minimum governance role for parents in state schools through school councils; governance of private schools remains with school councils, constrained by government policy

Systematic Commonwealth funding for education, including private schools

National governance of curriculum and teacher professional standards

Rapid growth of private sector, including Catholic systemic secondary and other religious schools

State-level teacher registration bodies with teacher representation exercise governance of teachers through accreditation of teacher education and regulation of teachers through registration and professional standards

Funding for public schools largely through state education departments

Stakeholders and educational interests and needs The growing importance of education, the different purposes of education and the structure of educational provision underpinned the emergence of different educational stakeholders and, in turn, tensions between their various interests in education. CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

47

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Governments as stakeholders were interested from the outset in the social and cultural purposes of education. From the early 1900s, and accelerating through the post-war period into the present, they were also interested in the contribution of education to national economic growth. Business as a stakeholder group has shared with government a core interest in the economic role of education, but with a distinctive twist: in the 1800s employers were interested in schools’ capacity to instil habits (e.g. self-discipline and punctuality) and values (e.g. respect for authority) that would make people better workers. In the early 1900s they became particularly interested in having schools stream people into curricula that would fit them for different types of occupations on the basis of gender and ability (McCallum 1990). Families as stakeholders share an interest in education for individual self-improvement — both culturally and economically. However, families make up a very diverse stakeholder group. Not all families were or are equally well placed to take advantage of the opportunities schools offer. Across the past century, the social group most successful in capitalising on the opportunities schools offered for social and economic advancement of their children were urban, middle-class parents (Campbell & Sherington 2006). Indigenous families and parents of low socioeconomic status were, from the start, effectively excluded from the sort of engagement with schools that would have made advancement of their children possible (Vick 1992). Students are also stakeholders independently of their families. They have particular interests in the ways schools are organised, the social relations of schooling, the regimes of teaching and learning, and the codes for regulating behaviour. As young children in early childhood and primary settings, they experience the tensions between the regime of home and the regime of school. As young adults, many middle, secondary and senior secondary school students experience the tensions between their semi-adult outof-school lives and their regulation as legal children in school, as well as between their sense of the purposes schools should serve and the teaching and learning they actually experience. It is crucial, as Starrenburg (2011) argues, to listen to what students say about their experiences of schooling and the place of education in their hopes and dreams for their lives. Teachers are clearly a major stakeholder group. They have a major interest in their working conditions, their status as a profession, and issues of quality and social justice in education. They have been highly organised into teacher unions and associations for most of the history of mass schooling and have consistently battled for improvements on each of these fronts (Hyams 1979). It is important to note that teachers often develop a sense of themselves as professionals, which leads them to understand themselves as educational experts (see ‘Shaping the profession’ later in this chapter), and regard their professional knowledge as meaning that they do not need to listen attentively and consider seriously the knowledge, insights, values, and hopes and dreams of the young people they teach and their families. Advocacy groups are also key stakeholders, representing particular groups of students such as Indigenous students (Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated, South Australian Aboriginal Education and Training Consultative Body, ACT’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Consultative Group), refugee children (Australian Refugee Association) and children and young people with disability (Children and Young People with Disability Australia) to name a few. There is a move to establish peak community advocacy and advisory bodies, such as the nationwide network of Indigenous Education Consultative Bodies (IECBs), which represents the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia on education. IECB delegates hold positions on local, state and national boards and advisory groups in education. For 150 years the media have acted as a stakeholder group, holding themselves up as representatives of public opinion, expressing and guaranteeing ‘the public interest’. However, contemporary business pressures have escalated the media’s interest in education for its capacity to provide a good story, which has compromised its capacity to present a balanced view. Over the past decade, the wide uptake of new technologies and social media has given voice to individuals and entities through platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, with the potential to influence key stakeholders across a range of educational issues.

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Key stakeholder interests in education over time are presented in table 2.3. A consequence of the proliferation of stakeholder groups, and the diversity of their interests, is that education and schooling are highly contested, as different stakeholder groups struggle to ensure that their voices are heard and their own needs and interests are served. In this context, the structures and systems of governance of education are most important. TABLE 2.3

Stakeholders’ interests and voices Stakeholder

Period

Government

Business

Media

Families

Teachers

Students

1850–1875

Unifying common culture, forming citizens

General work-related disciplines and attitudes

Speak for public interest

Direct control in schooling

Working conditions

Promote values associated with government and (post-1900) business

Education for self-improvement

Professional status

Directly subject to school practices

Increasingly marginalised

Professional standards and educational quality

1875–1900

Self-improvement 1900–1970

National economy added to common culture and citizenship

Work-related skills and knowledge; preparation for differentiated labour market

1970–2000

2000–

Increased oversight from federal government, rhetoric of minimum standards and global rankings

Knowledge and creativity for competitive global knowledge economy

Education for socioeconomic advancement of children

Directly experience home–school tensions No voice

Voice through unions

No formal voice

Continue to speak for public interest, but also sensationalist ‘beat up’ issues

Socioeconomic advancement

Social media enables individuals to exert influence and disseminate personal opinion

Increased voice for families from marginalised communities through advocacy groups (ATSI, refugees)

Subject to school practices

Some voice through school governance

Experience home–school tensions Some voice through school student councils Increasing legal rights

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Governance Classrooms are, of course, parts of schools, which are in turn parts of larger organisational structures. Those structures and all elements within them are shaped in different ways by systems of governance. Governance refers to the policies, regulations and procedures used to manage a system or organisation. In the context of schools, governance refers to the methods used to achieve the broad purposes for which governments support education, in the case of public schools and publicly funded aspects of private schooling, and the more specific outcomes that are sought by particular school systems, and school councils in the case of independent schools. Recall the group from the opening case. They would not be able to fully understand the significance of professional standards without understanding the current system of governance of education. They would not be able to understand the significance, strengths and limitations of that system without some knowledge of alternatives, such as those that a historical survey of the governance of education might reveal. CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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Private school providers have always necessarily established their own systems of governance internally, but historically these have been institution-specific, depending on the particular way the school was established — whether by boards of trustees, churches or entrepreneurial individual teachers. With the introduction of government support for schooling — and the beginning of public school systems around the 1850s — came formal systems of governance (Vick 1992). Government boards established fairly minimal sets of regulations that determined the broad scope of the curriculum, the number of students needed and the standards required of school premises. The regulations required that teachers be of good character and indicated that teachers had to meet certain ‘standards’ of teaching in order to secure funding (though they did not attempt to define these ‘standards’). The government boards enforced the regulations through: r their capacity to grant or withhold funding r a team of school inspectors appointed to report on quality and compliance. The education departments established from the 1870s regulated all aspects of schooling in fine detail. One infamous but short-lived regulatory mechanism was the ‘payment by results’ scheme, whereby the inspector conducted a surprise visit to a school and tested classes in various subjects; up to one-quarter of a teacher’s salary depended on the students’ results in those tests. The Catholic systems adopted a similar approach, reinforced by religious authority. These developments involved changes in both the mode of governance (from indirect governance — largely dependent on market forces, underpinned by general financial incentives — to very direct governance) and the intensity of governance (from minimal regulation of, for example, curriculum or the scope of teachers’ duties, to minutely detailed specification of what was required of teachers). This system of governance expanded after 1900 to cover the growing state and private secondary sectors and lasted until the 1970s. From the 1950s, the Commonwealth government began growing a new layer of governance over the top of the existing layers. Initially, it used ad hoc financial incentives to promote particular improvements — for example, in school libraries and science laboratories. In the 1970s, however, it brought all schools within a national framework of governance. Administratively, for the most part, the processes of governance of state schools continued to operate largely through the state systems. (There was a brief exception in the 1970s when the Whitlam government sought to promote innovations at the school level by bypassing the state departments, which it saw as deeply conservative.) For non-government systems, governance at a national level has tied funding to specific policy objectives and has been implemented through accountability procedures. Whatever the formal administrative channels, it is clear that the capacity to shape education has shifted significantly from state to federal level (Barcan 1980). From the 1970s there were significant changes in the direct governance of teachers within state systems. The detailed inspection of teachers’ work was abandoned and the inspectorate itself was dismantled. The various teacher registration bodies (see table 2.1), operating independently of governments and education departments, and usually with significant teacher representation, took the place of the inspectorate. Such bodies have the power to define professional standards (for all teachers, public and private), accredit programs (such as the one you are studying in) and establish requirements for continuous updating of professional knowledge after graduation. For the purposes of this text, the significance of these systems of governance is twofold. First, different governance arrangements have differing impacts on teachers, teachers’ work and student learning, as illustrated in the three examples outlined in table 2.4. Second, they empower different stakeholders differently. In practice, government is overwhelmingly dominant, but teacher representation on teacher registration bodies may give teachers a voice in shaping the profession. It should be noted though that even the establishment of school councils with parent representation as part of local school governance has not given parents any effective role in shaping the work teachers do with their children.

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TABLE 2.4

The impact of governance on teachers and their work

Payment by results (1880s)

Teachers pressured to push classes to mindlessly rote learn testable facts and processes

The Commonwealth scheme to provide school libraries (1960s)

Provided the resources that enabled teachers to require students to engage in independent learning

Schools Commission Innovations Program (1970s)

Teachers and schools enabled to bypass their state departments for projects that would transform teaching and learning in a multitude of ways

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Shaping the profession The modern profession of teaching was created at about the same time as the first school systems. It was created in competition with other quite different understandings and practices of teaching, and ways of becoming a teacher. Until the late 1800s, anyone who had something to offer in the way of learning, from rudimentary skills of reading to the most advanced scientific, literary, artistic or ‘practical’ education, could open a school or apply to the local community to teach in its school. They were not required to have ‘teaching qualifications’, and such formal qualifications were rare. Rather they were subject to market forces — if parents were satisfied with the education of their children, the school stayed in business, or the teacher stayed in employment; if not, children’s attendance dropped and they went out of business, or they were sacked. This changed dramatically with the rise of the ‘modern’ classroom and the beginnings of formal, systematic governance of education. Prospective teachers for the emerging public school systems were now required to read the growing education literature and undertake some training in the ‘approved’ methods. Entry to the occupation was regulated by examinations set by employers. Many of the teachers who had already been trained in England or elsewhere actively promoted the new ways, including a vision of teaching as a social mission. They argued that teaching should be seen as a profession, with powers to develop standards and regulate entry to the profession. Governments partly supported these views. Establishing school systems was costly, however, and their strategy in practice was to attract two groups for whom any salaried position would be better than most alternatives open to them: women and workingclass men. Any moral and educational ‘deficiencies’ could be offset by tight regulation, strict discipline and brief training in ‘model’ schools (Hyams 1979). Thus, teaching was created as a low status, low paid, highly regulated, gendered occupation. Women were paid substantially less than men, and worked mostly in the teaching of very young children and in rank and file rather than higher-level positions. Overall, the profession came to be numerically dominated by women, but organisationally dominated by men. In this context, the early focus of teacher unions was on ‘professional self improvement’ (Hyams 1979). In many important respects the teaching profession today continues to reflect these origins — in its social and gendered composition, its struggle for professional status, and the strength and focus of its unions (Connell 1985; Mackinnon 1997; Rousmaniere 1997; Theobald 1996). Attempts to improve the standing of teachers as professionals led to the preparation of teachers in teachers’ colleges and university departments of education after 1900. Programs combined academic study of education, technical studies of curriculum, school systems and departmental regulations, and practical experience in schools. Academic study meant that incoming teachers were introduced to understandings of teachers’ work by the writings of the most internationally renowned scholars, researchers and theorists. This provided an authoritative knowledge base for teachers, not only informing their work but giving them claims to professional expertise. This led to tensions between the colleges and the departments, as academic research highlighted significant problems in mass schooling: tensions between narrow disciplinary and occupational preparation, the broader moral and cultural growth and (from psychology) the development of the whole individual (Vick 2006a). Such work included research on individual differences, sponsored by the Australian Council for Educational Research, and on a range of curricular and pedagogical matters, conducted by staff at Sydney Teachers College and disseminated through the Education Society. CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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Additionally, some studies highlighted the role of play in learning, especially for younger children, in ways that challenged normal classroom practice. Such considerations led teachers’ colleges to view their role not just as preparing teachers who were ready for work and could take their place in schools, but as the new generation of teachers of vision, who might undertake the work of transforming existing practice for the better. These tensions were heightened from the 1970s, when the Commonwealth government intervened to turn the education departments’ teachers’ colleges into independent colleges of advanced education. Teacher education is now predominantly carried out in universities, where pre-service teachers are challenged to learn the scholarly knowledge required to be an educator, while also applying what they learn to current practice. It is important to recognise that, as with schooling, universities historically have not always been places that have welcomed people with diverse backgrounds such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. No Aboriginal people graduated from university until the late 1960s: Charles Perkins was the first male to graduate (from the University of Sydney) and Margaret Valadian the first Aboriginal woman (from the University of Queensland). As with other professions, teaching therefore has a shortage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators. Teachers’ attempts to shape their work, in terms of teaching and learning and industrial conditions, have been constrained by governance regimes. They are also subject to competing demands from different stakeholders, some of which are built into governance, but others of which emanate from outside. Educators need to decide how to balance the competing interests of stakeholders with their own understandings of how to be a quality teacher — a matter of ethical and political judgement as well as a technical matter of deciding how best to achieve those purposes. It is worth noticing that the development of professional standards in Australia has involved consultation with teachers, and that the bodies that govern teacher registration include teachers, with an aim to include representation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is also worth asking to what extent this gives teachers a significant voice in governing our profession, to what extent this incorporation of teachers works to align teachers with government, and to what extent the incorporation of teachers might reinforce taken-for-granted practices on the one hand, or critical understandings on the other. Balancing the purposes of different social groups is complicated by the fact that not all stakeholders are equally placed to express their views or have them heard — a minister of education, for instance, has a much greater voice than a parent with minimal education and a deep insecurity in dealing with the school but who is desperate for their child to succeed. One way the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers seek to ensure that parents are included as stakeholders is through Standard 7 ‘Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community’. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

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As a beginning teacher, one of the challenges you will face is being able to effectively communicate your decisions, based on professional judgement, to other educators and parents/caregivers. Your underlying beliefs and principles about teaching will frame the way you respond to issues, such as classroom disruptions or student behaviour. How will you work towards overcoming historical disadvantage in your classroom with your Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students? Access the website www.strongersmarter.com.au and reflect on your approach to this complex challenge. In particular, read about establishing high expectations relationships. How does this approach differ from a deficit discourse, which suggests that Indigenous children are less able to learn than their non-Indigenous counterparts because of their background and their need to ‘catch up’ to other children? Explore how and why our own beliefs and assumptions impact on interactions with Indigenous peoples and how this translates into a classroom environment between teachers and students.

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2.3 Discourses of education LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2.3 Describe how discourses of education might shape your capacity to think creatively and critically about your professional practice.

The development of a body of research and theory that constitutes the core knowledge of the teaching profession has been integral to the development of modern schooling and the profession. The body of research and theory comprise discourses of education. Referring to them as ‘discourses’ indicates that they are a structured, highly organised body of ideas, principles and ways of establishing credibility that is largely taken for granted as being the authoritative knowledge of the field. From the beginning of mass schooling, its advocates and developers generated general principles of teaching. Many of these related to the social purposes of education — building a national culture and inculcating disciplined habits — for which governments and business stakeholders promoted mass schooling. Later, when it became clear that schools might make a contribution to the economy, economic purposes began to figure in educational discourse. These understandings of the purposes of education shaped ideas about the curriculum, teaching and the management of classrooms (including students’ behaviour and the characteristics of the ideal teacher). The realities of schools also forced new issues into consideration; for example, the fact that children subject to various contagious diseases were now brought together daily forced matters of health into educational discourse (Vick 1997). As school systems became more extensive and more comprehensive, and as training in teachers’ colleges became better established, there was a transformation in the discourses of education. They shifted from in-principle arguments about what should work and philosophical arguments about children’s needs, to arguments based on empirical observations and statistical data, increasingly theorised from within the frameworks of psychology (and later sociology) and couched in the authoritative language of science (McCallum 1990; Vick 2006b). FIGURE 2.1

The circular relationship between school systems and the discourses of education

Schools — structures, practices, outcomes

Make recommendations about what should be

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Growth of educational knowledge/discourse

Site for research

Presents findings about what is

The relationship between school systems and the discourses of education is, in fact, circular. (This idea is illustrated in figure 2.1.) Schools need better knowledge about how to make them work (for the purposes already established). They provide the sites for observations and experimental comparisons. The departments’ own records provide statistical data about what children of different ages know and do. University departments of education provide a need and a market for such literature. They employ a group of people whose jobs give them opportunities to systematically and formally study educational practices and outcomes, and whose claims to academic authority are boosted by producing such studies. CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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In an important sense then, education discourse describes existing educational arrangements and the issues arising within them. At the same time, the use of the authoritative language of science, research and theory, and the use of these discourses to derive ideas for practice makes them normative — discourses about what ought to happen. A crucial feature of mainstream discourses of education is that they shape our capacity to think about educational issues and practices. They enable us to think about such things as ‘children’s needs’ or ‘best practice’, but they also limit the ways we can think about them. In this way, dominant discourses in education are linked to taken-for-granted understandings and to ‘practice as usual’. One of the ways this happens is by maintaining the view that, as professionals, we know what is best for others; it positions us as ‘experts’ about other people’s needs (Baker 1999), so that we continue to do what has become taken for granted as good practice, and cannot listen to the young people in our classes, their families and communities. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

For Indigenous students, mainstream discourses of education are problematic due to the lack of representation of their own cultures. If, as is outlined above, teachers as professionals take good practice for granted and don’t draw on the input of Indigenous students, families and communities, this can impact on inclusive teaching practices. Read the report by ACER on Critical pedagogies and improving Indigenous learning outcomes through cultural responsiveness (Krakouer 2015). Reflect on the hidden curriculum, even within your own education. What aspects can you identify and share? How does the lack of representation of people from their own culture in school communities impact Indigenous learning outcomes? How can you, in your role as a teacher, address marginalisation of Indigenous knowledges and peoples from schooling?

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Discourses of the child One important strand within the discourses of education concerns the nature of ‘the child’. From the earliest days of mass schooling, education discourse constructed ‘the child’ as different from ‘the adult’. In particular, the child lacked capacities that characterised the adult, needed protection and was unable to engage in meaningful decisions about what they should learn or how they should behave. Such notions underpinned, and continue to underpin, the presumption that ‘the teacher’ or other adults should determine the curriculum, construct learning experiences for the child and be responsible for the social, behavioural and moral order of the classroom (Baker 1998; Tyler 1993; Whitehead 2006). Equally, however, such discourses stressed, across the history of modern schooling, the importance of the ‘whole child’. The whole child is commonly understood as including body, mind and spirit or heart. Such discourses had implications for the role of the teacher not only in imparting knowledge and skills, but in engaging the child’s intelligence, providing nurturance and pastoral care, and developing habits and attitudes of self-discipline and proper subordination (Hunter 1988, 1994; Patterson 2002). With the growth of educational research, theories of the child became more differentiated. Differentiation involved the division of general theories of the child into specific subfields; for example, motivation and behaviour, cognitive and moral development, intelligence(s) and personality, and how the child learns. Each subfield was further divided into rival theories with different implications for teachers. This body of research also led to theories of differences between individual children. The establishment of ‘intelligence’, in particular, as a measurable attribute of each child gave researchers, school and system administrators, and teachers the means to differentiate between individual children. Of course, teachers had always differentiated between children based on perceptions of different abilities, but had done so in intuitive, ‘commonsense’ ways, using vague notions such as ‘bright’ and ‘dull’. The development of scientific definitions and measurements gave precision to the task and enabled educationists to make scientific decisions about the social, occupational and educational needs and capacities of individual children. 54

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Once individual differences could be established and reliably measured, it was a short step to exploring other aspects of children; for example, their physical, emotional and behavioural characteristics, and their backgrounds (i.e. gender, social class and ‘race’ [widely used as a term, but used in a wide variety of ways]).

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Discourses of education often focus on the nature and role of the child and the teacher.

Thus, a growing body of internationally circulated psychological research, including that by Cyril Burt in England and a range of researchers strongly supported by major philanthropic foundations in the USA, ‘proved’ that poorer classes were less intelligent than wealthier classes; that the olive-complexioned European races were less intelligent than the paler north-western Europeans; and that the coloured races were less intelligent again, with the Australian Aboriginal race constructed as perhaps the least intelligent race on the planet (Karier 1972; Miller 1986; McCallum 1990; Wooldridge 1994). Of course, these claims were highly problematic and have been discredited, but the fact that they claimed the authority of science meant that they were widely accepted at the time, and this encouraged racist and discriminatory views of Indigenous peoples that continue to be present in society. However, Australian classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, with many students coming from overseas as well as being raised by parents of different cultural backgrounds. Discriminatory views and stereotypes are increasingly being addressed in schools, with more diverse stakeholders being involved in education (i.e. through parent and teacher associations, professional organisations and advocacy groups), resulting in more inclusive policies and practices. There are media campaigns that highlight these inequities, such as the Beyond Blue Invisible Discriminator social media campaign, which helps schools unpack discriminatory views and practices. Additionally, resources are available for teachers to help them understand and cater for student differences in the classroom, such as how Indigenous students are distinct from non-Indigenous peers (Martin 2005; Martin 2007). CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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Normal and alternative educational ideas While much educational discourse focused on, and took for granted, the prevailing normal arrangements of schooling, theoretical studies of children and their learning and other needs led to a body of discourse critical of existing schooling and articulating a range of alternatives. These included the kindergarten movement from the late 1800s, with an emphasis on play, self-expression, and the artistic and emotional dimensions of learning and personal development; the Montessori approach to early childhood education; and a range of ideas (and schools) that drew on Freudian psychoanalysis to prioritise the working out of children’s emotional conflicts as a precondition for academic learning (Lawson & Petersen 1972). Similarly, sociological studies of educational outcomes brought about education discourses that focused on social participation as a central concern of education, advocating school-level democratic principles and practices, reconceptualising the social justice role of school, and exploring models of teaching, learning and curriculum that might facilitate that role (Connell, Ashenden, Kessler & Dowsett 1982).

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Theory and practice in educational discourse Discourses of education had always stressed that theories of education were fundamental to good practice. Indeed, teaching not grounded in and driven by theory was described as ‘mere empiricism’, ‘tricks of the trade’ or ‘recipe’ teaching. This presumed a relationship between educational theory and teaching practice in which theoretical knowledge, derived from observation of and reflection on practice, was considered more important than ‘mere’ practical knowledge. The implication of this was that practice should be based on theory (Vick 2006a). Two factors led to the relationship between theory and practice becoming looser. First, the production of theoretical knowledge was increasingly generated by people not teaching in schools. Second, the methods for developing theory focused increasingly on the development of fully articulated theories. Thus it became increasingly difficult to see how theory and practice were related — a common complaint raised by pre-service and graduate teachers (Ramsey 2000). The distance from the daily problems of practice in existing classrooms, however, created greater capacity to identify problems within the school systems and to offer transformative strategies. It enabled theory to be critical, in the sense the word has been used in this chapter. For pre-service and graduate teachers, this produced tension between wanting to transform, on the one hand, and the daily pressures to perform according to the established demands and routines and commonsense understandings and practices of schooling as usual, on the other. Several important issues arise from this understanding of educational discourses. First, however important and valuable these discourses might be in constituting a body of professional knowledge about teaching, they are problematic for several reasons (Griffin 2008; Zeichner 1989). r Many of the things that were taken for granted as scientifically established truths about education have turned out to be reflections of social values or, worse, prejudices in relation to class, gender, ethnicity, race or culture. r Rather than knowledge of ‘education’ or ‘children’, education discourses reflect knowledge of educational practices and children’s learning and behaviour in schools — and not just any type of school, or school as an abstract concept, but schools organised and conducted in very specific ways. r The status of teachers’ professional knowledge base often leads teachers to disregard the knowledge and insights of parents and to marginalise them as partners in the education of their children. Second, discourses of education do not comprise a single systematic or coherent body of thought. Rather, they include a widely diverse array of theories and highly divergent views, and address varying aspects of education. This makes it very difficult to find a simple theoretical answer to the complex practical problems encountered in educational endeavours. Third, discourses of education limit the capacity to think ‘outside the square’. The particular intellectual tools they provide guide thoughts in some particular ways and not in others. For example, discourses of education may focus thought on the rational mind and not on the emotions. Further, in so far as they offer sociological explanations for different aspects of educational participation and outcomes, they can lead 56

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to a strong sense of how little can be achieved, which in turn can foster defeatist attitudes in relation to engagement and learning on the part of rural, Indigenous and low socioeconomic status students (Cook 2008). We have seen, then, that it is important to adopt a critical perspective on the discourses of education. Nonetheless, they offer exceptionally powerful means to think through complex educational problems and thereby form the basis for making richly informed professional judgements in a wide range of situations and contexts. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

The fact that discourses of education do not form a neat, self-consistent or unified whole presents you as a teacher with significant challenges. In implementing Standard 3 (Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning) and Standard 4 (Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments) you are likely to be under considerable pressure to adopt practice as usual. Critical discourses can help us understand the ways practice as usual produces poor outcomes for many students. One implication for all of us as teachers is that, as we ‘engage in professional learning’ (Standard 6), we should explore the ways critical discourses can help us develop ways of seeing the limits of practice as usual, and classroom strategies that go beyond those limits. For you as a pre-service teacher, this might mean identifying and reading, re-reading and thinking carefully through chapters and articles that offer critical perspectives on curriculum, pedagogy, classroom management and technologies of schooling. Taking it further: Conduct some research on a pedagogical practice called ‘8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning’. Would you consider it best practice for Indigenous students? Discuss the benefits of using Indigenous pedagogy in a classroom featuring students of many different cultural backgrounds.

2.4 Pedagogy, curriculum, classroom management and technologies LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2.4 Describe how pedagogy, curriculum, behaviour management and educational technologies have been shaped historically and how understanding this might inform a transformative approach to your work.

Pedagogy, curriculum, classroom management and technologies of schooling are — and always have been — key areas of concern for stakeholders in education. In this section of the chapter, we discuss each of these in turn, looking at how they have been shaped over time and how a critical perspective on these topics can help you achieve a transformative approach to your work as a teacher.

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Pedagogy From well before the 1850s and the birth of mass school systems, moralists, other social commentators and educators had become interested in the question of how best to teach children (Hunter 1994). Notice the focus here on the teacher teaching, as distinct from the student learning. Teacher-centred pedagogy continues to be widespread, dominated by the content of what teachers say, and the amount of time taken up by teacher talk. This focus has remained a major centre of attention. The focus on the teacher was only challenged — with limited success — by the rather different focus on children’s learning into the twentieth century (see, for example, Cole 1932). A problem with the focus on teaching, at the expense of a focus on learning, is that it reduces teaching to a matter of technique. This can easily slip into a ‘one size fits all’ approach or — a close variation on this — an approach that sees different techniques applied in blanket fashion to whole social categories of children, such as the recommendation ‘don’t look Indigenous children in the eye’. Until quite recently, such approaches were widely accepted, despite the crude generalisations they rested on. CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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The term pedagogy has become popular again in recent years as part of an attempt to integrate a proper recognition of the important role of the teacher and their teaching with the equally important recognition that instructing a class does not necessarily produce learning. Pedagogy captures not only what teachers do, in the form of teachers’ actions, but also their role in making judgements and decisions that take into account a wide range of understandings of students and their needs (Brady 2003; Foley 2007). The focus on the teacher is associated with a repertoire of activities and actions that have been central to the collective images of teaching for more than 150 years: the teacher standing at the front, talking, writing on the board and controlling (at least in intent) virtually everything that takes place in the classroom. The fact that it is so dominant is a powerful indication of its hold over the imagination. Unless teachers deliberately choose and cultivate the capacity to do otherwise, it is likely to dominate their own classroom practice (Vick 2008). In this scenario, the teacher is the active agent; the students are passive. The focus is on the teaching, not on the learning. This approach is closely tied to the social technologies embedded in school architecture, and to the normalised and normalising discourses of education noted earlier in this chapter. It is the almost overwhelming power of this taken-for-granted view of teaching, reinforced by the factors noted above, that makes it so universal, so difficult to resist and so difficult to do otherwise. Across the history of mass schooling, it has been unusual to describe what teachers do, in terms of the actions they perform (e.g. speaking, pointing and writing on the board). It is also unusual to talk about how these actions involve the exercise of power and control in the classroom (except when referring specifically to discipline and the management of classroom behaviour). Rather, teachers’ intentions are spoken of: ‘settling the class’ or ‘establishing proper conditions for learning’. Thus, a lesson plan might say the teacher will ‘settle the class, introduce anticipatory set; exposition of new concepts and content; consolidation exercise — individual practice, check and revise student understandings; settle class, tidy room and dismiss’. What happens in practice is that teachers walk into the room, stand at the front and talk. Some of the talk will be about asserting control over the other people in the room; for example, persuading them to sit down in particular places, and not to talk, or listen to their iPods or text each other on their mobile phones. Some of it will be telling the other people in the room what they should know — even what they should ‘make’ of what they know (information and understanding) or what they should be able to do with what they know (the ‘what learners know and can do’ or outcomes-based approaches). Later it will be telling them what activities to do (e.g. write, draw or calculate). It may be telling them that they may now ask questions — giving them an opportunity to talk, but under particular rules and conditions. While this might not be a ‘nice’ or comforting way to talk about what teachers do, it does allow thought to be given to the ways ‘pedagogical strategies’ are based on teacher control, rather than on student learning. Noticing this allows us to consider other ways of doing things — ways that might focus more on student learning (Vick & Martinez 2011). Underlying this discussion is the recognition that pedagogy involves the exercise of power. Often power is thought about as simply repressive, so that the only good thing to do with it is to get rid of it. However, a quite different understanding sees power as productive — it can shape the development of particular capacities (McHoul & Grace 1993). This lets us ask what particular capacities different forms of pedagogy lead to: capacities to engage in independent decision making and effective social action? or capacities only to accept and to follow? The problem with practice as usual is that it is more likely to teach how to accept and to follow than how to be an independent decision maker and effective social actor. A critical perspective on pedagogy, and how it has remained largely unchanged over the history of mass schooling, reveals how professional practice might be severely limited by the capacity to understand what is being done, and lets us imagine what might be done differently. Understanding how thinking as usual constrains teachers in their practice offers the possibility of asking what different pedagogical practices might be available or possible, how teachers might engage in them and what sorts of consequences such different practices might have for students’ own learning. Such an approach is crucial if teachers are to shape practice and engage in educational transformation.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

High-stakes national testing, such as NAPLAN, can result in pressure for teachers to engage in teachercentred teaching. This pressure is increasing given the rhetoric surrounding teacher quality and the implication that teachers will be judged by how their students perform in these tests. While transmission pedagogy is an efficient means for providing a basic overview of content, it is not effective as a way of developing the rich and complex understandings of the issues that specific content is intended to facilitate. Recognising the historical, contextual and social pressures to focus on transmission of content and the limitations of transmission pedagogy for effective/deep learning will help you to appreciate the importance of concrete strategies to take into your classroom. How can you design learning opportunities that allow students to cover core content without you telling them? Think about: r authentic learning opportunities r long-term activities that integrate content from more than one discipline area r opportunities for students to be involved in collaborative decision making r the cultural bias that exists in high-stakes testing such as NAPLAN for students who do not speak English as their first language.

Curriculum Of the three core aspects of teachers’ work — pedagogy, curriculum and classroom management — it is curriculum where changes over time can be most easily seen and tracked. This task is, however, complicated by the fact that most curriculum histories deal with only one curricular (subject) area and thus lose sight of the broader features of the curriculum as a whole in any given period. Consequently, the best overviews of curriculum developments as a whole are provided by general historical accounts, rather than by specialised studies. Such overviews point to the broad social processes shaping curriculum and to the broad social purposes curricula serve (Green 2003; Vickers 2010). The following overview draws on two contrasted examples of such general histories (Barcan 1980; Miller 1986). General overviews, however, mask the differentiation between curricula in different parts of the school system (e.g. private colleges versus state high schools), the status of such different curricula, the capacity of the different sectors to shape curriculum, and the status and ‘market value’ of different areas of study (Teese & Polesel 2003). They also readily overlook the significant differences between the experiences of ‘mainstream’ students and those from a diversity of social and cultural backgrounds, such as Indigenous students (Williamson 1991).

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Early curricula (1850–1900) Prior to mass schooling, teachers taught what they wished and what they were able to teach — and what would attract students and their parents’ fees. Not only was there no standard curriculum, but there was no strong notion that such a thing might exist or be desirable. However, the purposes for which mass school systems were established produced a curriculum that would teach morals, ‘good’ social values, some basic skills and some basic knowledge that would help students understand their place in the world. The curriculum, then, focused on reading, writing and arithmetic, and some knowledge of the ‘mighty British Empire’ and of the ‘natural’ hierarchies of society. The curriculum itself was initially not much more than a mere list of subjects. With the development of the education departments, this rapidly transformed into highly specific and detailed lists of subject matter for each subject at each grade level. This form of control over what was taught was supported by the distribution of mandated textbooks and enforced by a regime of examinations to ensure that children had learned what was required (Barcan 1980; Miller 1986).

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In taking a critical perspective on curricula, it is important to study both a broad overview and the significantly different experiences of students from a variety of backgrounds.

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Early twentieth-century curricula By the early twentieth century, this detailed curriculum changed in two important ways. First, it was extended from primary schooling to secondary schooling. Second, as secondary schooling began to expand, it abandoned the common curriculum model of primary schooling in favour of a curriculum that was divided into several parallel streams: academic (for professional and other white collar/clerical occupations), technical (for working class boys to encourage the development of manual trade skills and knowledge to improve workforce productivity) and domestic (for girls to be more efficient wives and mothers — and, as women were increasingly accepted as legitimate participants in the paid workforce, for female occupations) (Mackinnon 1997). In doing so, it borrowed largely from developments in the model progressive economies of the United States and Germany, influenced for the first time by the notion that education might be directly related to specific work-related knowledge and skills. A focus on such developments masks the educational marginalisation of Indigenous students and Indigenous knowledges in the curriculum (Austin 2000; Foley 2007; Partington 1998). The distribution of students into these streams was guided by the newly developed ‘scientific’ notions of intelligence and merit, which held that certain occupations required different levels of intelligence, that different forms of intelligence required different forms of education and that the role of schooling was to match intelligence to curriculum to working futures (McCallum 1990).

Late twentieth-century curricula By the 1970s, a different view had emerged — that education (and life futures) should be based on interests rather than measured intelligence, and that far more people were capable of a far wider range of educational experiences and learning outcomes than had been recognised by the previous approach. In the name of equity there had to be far greater equality of opportunity and a wider range of choices. The 60

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streamed curriculum was replaced by a full range of subjects from which students could pick and choose with minimal constraint (White 1987). At the same time the curriculum was, in most states, becoming less centrally controlled. The old detailed syllabuses for each subject at each year level were being replaced by much broader indications of the sorts of things that might be studied and the sorts of benefits that they might seek to produce. This was driven by two major influences and one minor one. The first major influence, which kickstarted the shift in emphasis, was the desire to build a better society after the horrors of World War II. The second was the growing influence of educational sociology, often left-wing in orientation and committed to the belief that education should transform society rather than maintain social inequalities. The third, at this stage minor, influence was human capital theory, which held that not to educate all members of society to the best of their ability was a waste of their economically valuable potential. Sociology of education was particularly influential in curriculum and equity policy. A wide range of sociological studies of culture and education argued that the curriculum inherited from the past embodied the culture of the elite, that cultures were largely relative, and that marginalised social groups would succeed better if the curriculum embodied more of the culture they were familiar with. Accordingly, the curriculum expanded with a dazzling array of subjects that owed less to the standard academic disciplines and that were more open to the notion (largely from Vygotskian educational psychology; see chapter 3) that students constructed their own knowledge rather than ‘absorbing’ it in any authoritative predetermined form from teachers or textbooks. This flourishing of diversity reflected, in part, the dramatic sense of social change that accompanied the anti–Vietnam War, civil rights, feminist and other movements for reform. It was certainly accompanied by a dramatic reduction in the central regulation of schools and teaching. It also reduced the domination of central examination systems in favour of school- and teacher-based assessment (Aspland, Brooker & O’Donoghue 1993).

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Recent developments The recent movement towards establishing an Australian curriculum has to some extent challenged the states’ traditional and constitutional control of education. While there has been no return to the detailed prescriptive syllabuses that spelt out long lists of facts or skills to be demonstrated, there have been concerted attempts in all states to determine the outcomes students at different levels should achieve and/or the key learning they should undertake. This can easily be seen as a move against the laissez faire approach of the 1960s to 1980s. There are three factors driving this shift. r Educational and cultural conservatives have argued, especially through the mass media, that the educational ‘radicals’ from the 1970s onwards have abandoned or destroyed educational standards. By this they mean both the content of the curriculum (‘meaningless postmodern mumbo jumbo’) and the assessment of students’ learning. r The inheritors of the radical educators of the 1970s and 1980s continue to challenge the exclusive value of the ‘classic’ curriculum advocated by the conservatives. They emphasise the importance of rich learning tasks and intellectual engagement across disciplines with knowledge that directly relates to contemporary social, political and cultural realities. r Economic rationalists and neoliberals — inheritors of the earlier social capital theory — argue that the major role of education is economic in nature. They argue that competing in a globalised economic environment requires the intellectual flexibility and inventiveness promised by engagement in the types of learning indicated by ‘rich tasks’, especially when accompanied by the development of high-level ICT skills. Despite the changes in the detailed forms that the curriculum has taken over the past 150 years, it should be noted just how much of it has remained the same, including its focus on reading and writing (‘literacy’), arithmetic (numeracy), science and the studies of society (traditionally history and geography, but also civics, social studies, SOSE and the like). However, there has been a philosophical shift towards CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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fairly and equitably reflecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and peoples in the current Australian Curriculum.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

As we noted earlier, there are many things you can do to make use of the insights that a critical understanding of educational history might offer. For early childhood settings: Historically, early childhood education has always recognised children’s own agency in their learning and the role of play, and adopted a holistic focus on children’s development. A problem of mainstream schooling, derived from practice as usual in primary and secondary settings, concerns the increasing pressure to engage quite young children in a curriculum that focuses on content and the mastery of specific skills, in particular skills in the use of Standard Australian English. A critical understanding of the multiple purposes of education and the ways they play out in the curriculum will help you take into the classroom an appreciation of the importance of developing strategies for facilitating quality learning for all students in your classroom that recognise that different social groups use different variations in forms of English, but also take into account that mastery of Standard Australian English is crucial for success in school and later life. How will you develop such strategies? Think about: r how you might take into account children’s skill in using ‘other’ variants of English (e.g. Creoles or Aboriginal Englishes), when judging their capacity to use Standard Australian English r how you might be making ‘deficit’ judgements of them on the basis of their use of languages other than Standard Australian English as their first (or second or third) language r how you might make use of children’s confidence in using ‘other’ variants of English as a resource, both for your general teaching across the curriculum and for your specific work in helping them also develop confidence and mastery in the use of Standard Australian English. Access the article Indigenous culture: it’s everybody’s business from www.earlychildhoodaustralia .org.au for more information about cultural competence in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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Classroom management From the beginning of mass schooling, both descriptive and normative accounts of good education have stressed the management of the school and classroom. During the late 1800s, management concerns focused on a range of issues: organisation of students into classes, organisation of the curriculum and timetable, management of student behaviour, and organisation of classroom space to facilitate learning and behaviour management. By the end of the nineteenth century, the first two of these were effectively solved at the level of system-wide regulation. The latter two — management of behaviour (or ‘classroom discipline’) and the management of the classroom to promote learning — became major concerns for teachers and other stakeholders (Vick 1992). It is not difficult to see why. For 150 years, most schools have brought large numbers of children (at least some of whom did not particularly want to be there) together into a single room, under the authority of a single teacher charged with getting them to learn things that are determined by others and may or may not have any intrinsic interest to the students themselves. Perhaps this is why so many films about teaching, teachers and schools portray classrooms and schools as sites of struggle for order — if not battlegrounds. While contemporary educational policy stresses that the primary focus should be on learning, in practice, taken-for-granted knowledge understandably insists that without order and control it is impossible to teach. Consequently, much discussion of classroom management, historically and now, focuses on ‘discipline’. Early discourses of education stressed what they saw as rational, scientific methods of discipline and the establishment and maintenance of classroom order. Central to these strategies were what one early advocate of rational discipline summarised as ‘detention and ridicule’. From today’s perspective such approaches can appear crude, although we should reflect on the extent to which these two techniques 62

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remain central to the teacher’s ‘armoury’ (noticing, of course, how such a choice of term reflects the sense of the ‘classroom as battleground’, introduced above). This needs to be seen in perspective. The schools that the modern mass school systems sought to replace typically only survived if they enjoyed a level of parent satisfaction. Many of them were, by modern standards, not good places for children. For example, we would not accept today that discipline should involve beating a child. Yet, in the past, the acceptance of corporal punishment reflected the taken-forgranted understanding that the primary responsibility of a teacher was to establish control. Whatever the strategy, a discipline-focused approach stressed the authority and capacity of a teacher to secure effective authority. It put pressure on teachers to act forcefully. Alongside this focus, a parallel approach stressed the moral authority of the teacher and the importance of cultivating the students’ affections, loyalty and desire to do the right thing. Consequently, David Stow, a Scottish educationist whose writings were influential across the English-speaking world, articulated an approach in which the teacher observed carefully children’s ‘free’ playground activities and used examples from their own play to engage them in (strongly guided) moral reflection on their behaviour, with a view to cultivating a moral self-discipline (Hunter 1988, 1994; Patterson 2002). From the beginning of organised schooling, the capacity of teachers to establish and maintain order was a primary concern within the systems of governance. Hence, inspectors’ report forms asked them to observe and comment on the ‘orderliness etc.’ of the classroom. This official emphasis on the importance of establishing order came to be paralleled by pressures from parents, other teachers and even students. A number of studies report that teachers who ‘fail’ to keep an orderly, quiet classroom are often seen by their colleagues as unsatisfactory. This is partly because their failure is seen as evidence of a lack of a key professional competence. In addition, it disrupts others’ classes and teaching (especially where classrooms are in close proximity to one another). Further, a failure to establish ‘standards’ of behaviour is seen to weaken the school’s discipline as a whole and to have flow-on effects to other teachers and classes — to the point where many teachers are deeply nervous about being observed at work by others (Clunies-Ross, Little & Kienhuis 2008).

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Alternative approaches to classroom relations While the ‘control’ approach is dominant in schools and popular culture, it is the ‘engagement’ approach, broadly speaking, that has come to be dominant in the normative research and policy discourses of education. In part, this development has been fuelled by understandings, often rooted in psychology and psychoanalysis, of the relationships between the fundamental needs of children and their behaviour. Put simply, if teachers meet the basic needs of children (from material needs for food and shelter to less tangible needs such as respect and being valued) the behaviour of students is unlikely to be problematic (Lawson & Petersen 1972). However, in the context of pressures to prioritise order, these approaches are often seen as ‘wishywashy’, ineffectual and a sign of the disconnectedness of policy makers and pre-service teacher education programs from the real world of teachers and teaching. The ‘real problem’, in this view, is that such approaches have tied the hands of teachers so that they are unable to establish the conditions under which they can do their (other) core work of teaching. There is little chance a teacher can escape the tension between the daily pressures of class teaching and the ideals of humane and child-centred teaching. This makes it all the more important to develop a critical understanding of the complex issues involved. This will not provide simple generic answers, but it will give you a basis for making on-the-spot judgements that reflect a deep — rather than superficial — appreciation of the issues to be balanced and the options available to you.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

There is increasing focus on implementing more ‘innovative’ approaches to teaching and learning for future schooling. An example is open-space learning environments, where often classes are combined into larger groups. This impacts the way teachers work, as their teaching practice is more visible to colleagues. Often teachers working in an open-space learning environment are asked to participate in team-teaching, collaborative planning and to develop more integrated approaches to curriculum. Bearing in mind the many things you can do to make use of the insights that a critical understanding of educational history might offer, consider how the history of schools and classrooms can inform how we understand and approach issues of classroom behavioural and interactional style in such environments. How would you structure classroom activities and respond to children’s behaviours in ways that take the learning environment into account? Think about: r the assumptions you make about ‘good’ classroom behaviour r how you may vary expectations for students who experience learning difficulties or have special needs r how you would incorporate technologies, such as laptops or tablets.

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Technologies of schooling One of the powerful aspects of schooling that almost invisibly shapes much classroom practice (in particular pedagogy and classroom management) — and is, of course, also powerfully shaped by the broader forces shaping education generally — is the technologies of schooling. When people talk about technology in the classroom, they are usually referring to the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) — laptops, tablets, smartboards, googling information online, using word-processing programs for written assignments and PowerPoint or Prezi for orals, and using blogs, wikis, Facebook and Twitter to share or work collaboratively. Teachers are supposed to use these technologies and educate students on how to use them (although in this field many teachers have students who are at least as knowledgeable as they are). Teachers also need to be aware of the dangers and risks associated with ICTs — from predatory uses of the internet to the opportunities to plagiarise work. Some teachers may be concerned about the unfiltered character of the ‘knowledge’ available on the web — where science and good scholarship rub shoulders with misinformation, wild claims and untested opinion. Schools also respond differently to other aspects of technology in the classroom, such as students’ use of mobile phones when they are supposed to be concentrating on their work, and the potential for cyberbullying. The issues previously described, however, tend to reduce ‘technology’ to just ICTs and treat it as though ‘technology’ were a new thing. In fact, the classroom itself and virtually everything in it (books, pens, paper, photocopiers and so on) are educational technologies — tools and processes for doing particular educational tasks in particular ways. In this sense, technology in the classroom is not new; it is as old as the classroom itself. Discussions focused on ICT often talk about technology as if it is the material or virtual objects themselves (e.g. the smartboard, the whiteboard or the blackboard) that are the technology. However, any discussion of technology should also recognise social technologies — the organisation and use of spaces, relationships, procedures, artefacts and so on to facilitate some things and make others difficult, to give some individuals greater capacity for action and control than others, and to constrain relationships and behaviour (c.f. Lawn & Grosvenor 2003). If you think of technologies in the classroom as only ICTs, you will fail to see or understand how other technologies help shape the quality of classroom life, effective participation in learning and educational outcomes.

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Buildings as technologies The idea that education should take place in spaces designed specifically for, and dedicated exclusively to, learning and teaching was fundamental to the development of mass school systems. Early classrooms were purpose-designed and built with rows of desks facing the front. This was intended to shape the activities within the school, make the teacher the focus of attention, and allow the teacher to observe all students and monitor their behaviour. The creation of dedicated classrooms displaced arrangements that, for example, allowed children to talk and share their work with each other. Early purpose-built classrooms were a powerful social technology that emphasised the prerogative of the teacher to decide what should be learned and how it should be learned. The classroom provided a different type of desk for the teacher, along with cupboards and material resources, and, importantly, rules about who could go where and when, and who controlled the cupboards, the blackboard, the distribution of textbooks and so on. The provision of such specialist school buildings was also a technology for structuring relations with the school’s communities — informing the community that this was the teachers’ domain, and that parents and other members of the community were outsiders (Rockwell 2003). Similarly, the structuring of school grounds, with toilets discretely located and carefully screened, and the marking off of distinct play areas for boys and girls, and for older and younger children, was a social technology for both ordering behaviour and associating particular social and moral messages with particular human activities (Vick 1993). The most common early form of specialist school building was the single classroom school. Within such a classroom, students might be grouped according to ‘level’, ‘grade’ or ‘standard’, but there was little formal architectural differentiation of internal space, except for the occasional division into boys’ rooms and girls’ rooms, or infants’ rooms and rooms for the others. Larger schools comprised a number of separate rooms, one for each class with its own teacher. Such spatial technologies corresponded with the age–grade lock-step curriculum, often subdivided according to individual differences (notably, of ‘intelligence’) and structural differences (of gender, class and race), to provide them with different treatments and experiences. As schools became larger and more complex, so too did the differentiation of space and the work different spaces did in organising social relations and behaviour. For instance, the introduction of staff rooms created another exclusive area for teachers, further marking out the social differences between teachers’ status and power as adults and professionals and children’s inferior and subordinate position in the school (Vi˜nao 2003). An interesting move towards reducing differentiation, with clear implications for social relationships, has been the reduction of separate boys’ and girls’ spaces in schools. The classroom plan from the Dana Street National School shown in figure 2.2 depicts what once was considered a normal division between genders.

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Social technologies: shaping teaching, learning and behaviour So far this chapter has focused on technologies for shaping broad boundaries of behaviour and the power relations that go with them. Other equally powerful technologies shape teaching and learning. Many of them have been present since the birth of the modern classroom. Textbooks are a prime example. Part of the discourse of modern schooling was the value of class teaching and its complement — the highly structured and planned curriculum. There were two obvious ways to facilitate this. One was by whole group oral instruction, where the teacher used a ‘repeat after me’ approach to tell students what they should know, then required them to regurgitate that knowledge. The other, which quickly established itself as fundamental to the modern classroom, was the textbook. For school systems, textbooks allowed central control over the content of instruction. For teachers, they eased the pressures of oral instruction, provided a tangible material focus for student learning (without seriously compromising their control over both content and process) and forced children to do some of the work of learning for themselves, rather than merely parroting back what the teacher had just said. As university students, you will be well aware that textbooks have remained one of the staples of education to the present day. CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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FIGURE 2.2

The design of the Dana Street National School exhibited the once-normal division between genders

Front elevation Verandah

Mistress’s chamber 14ʹ × 13ʹ

Hall

Master’s chamber 14ʹ × 13ʹ

Girls’ school 45ʹ × 25ʹ

Boys’ school 45ʹ × 25ʹ Mistress’s sitting RM 15ʹ × 11ʹ6ʺ

Entrance hall

Master’s sitting RM 15ʹ × 11ʹ6ʺ

Verandah

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Plan

Another standard technology from the earliest years of mass schooling was the copybook. Copybooks provided models of writing, which students had to reproduce exactly. The layout of the copybook — the copy line at the top of each page, with dotted lines underneath for the student copy — was designed to facilitate accurate reproduction and to allow the student and the teacher to check the accuracy of the copy. Such a technology for learning to write did not focus on the functionality of writing (that it could be read clearly and easily) but on the discipline of (behavioural and cultural) conformity (Jones & Jenkins 2000). While primary school teachers are still required to teach children how to produce a particular script, and still often stress the general value of neatness, the mechanism for enforcing minutely detailed 66

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exactness — in particular the annual formal inspection by the Inspector — has gone. One result is a much-reduced emphasis on the importance of attention to what is now considered mindless detail. Worksheets are a more recent technological innovation in the classroom. Their use depended on the invention of cheap and easy means for teachers to reproduce pages of material (e.g. information, questions, exercises and instructions). These were not widely available to individual teachers until the middle of the twentieth century. Although various stencil duplicators were available from the early twentieth century, some were messy to use, while others were time consuming and more difficult to use and were thereby better suited to larger runs of core teaching materials (e.g. topic outlines in secondary schools and universities) than to ‘throwaway’ classroom materials. Like the copybook, worksheets are not simply a means for learning. They ensure teacher control of content and the learning process, engaging students in superficially ‘independent’ learning that is the same for all members of the class. Also like the copybook, worksheets often focus on low-level cognitive functions such as recall of detail, focusing students on busyness rather than thinking, and limiting the opportunity for students to ask questions for themselves. Timetables are another technology introduced from the beginning of mass schooling. Timetables regulate the school day, dictating what is to be done, when and for how long. Timetables are linked to the structure of curriculum. Together they define how much time is to be devoted to particular subjects. They control teaching and learning in ways that make intrinsic interests and processes irrelevant. From the beginning of mass schooling, homework was seen as a means of extending the disciplines and moral messages of school into the home. The school diary, an invention popularised by the mid-twentieth century, was a particular technological innovation that strengthened the capacity of schools to engage parents and regulate students’ out-of-school activity. When fully enforced, homework required parents to at least see what their children were being asked to do and provided explicit guidelines to parents as to what constituted an appropriate commitment to learning on the part of the child. While part of the intent of the diary was to draw parents into the behaviour patterns of ‘good’ families, it also sought to enlist parents in the school’s management of children beyond the limits of the school day. All these technologies shape the lives of students and teachers. They both constrain teachers and students and enable particular practices and the development of particular capacities. The timetable, for instance, constrains the organisation of learning activities. It also teaches both teachers and students the importance of imposed priorities over individual interest, and teaches students the time discipline, punctuality and organisation required by a modern economy. However, it is not just the individual technologies that are so powerful in shaping what teachers and students do and how they do it; it is locking them together into ensembles (timetable + curriculum + textbook + rows of desks and chairs + examination) that makes practice as usual so difficult to change, partly because it becomes difficult to imagine individual elements apart from the whole, and partly because changing one element seems to have flow-on effects, requiring change in other elements of the ensemble.

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‘Progressive’ technologies There were exceptions to technologies that helped shape ‘normal’ school practice (Lawson & Petersen 1972). Kindergarten and Montessori education, for example, focused on children’s self-directed, playlike, sensuous learning activities, and this required a different organisation of space and different learning technologies in the form of hands-on learning materials (Petersen 1983). There is a stark contrast between the construction of space, discipline, order and control in a Montessori classroom and in a ‘normal’ classroom. This can be seen in photographs of Montessori methods: Children are not lined up in rows, are not overtly directed by the teacher, are not all engaged in the same activity and are using concrete learning materials rather than the more abstracted learning from textbooks (Vick 2009). In this context, computers and the internet offer diverse ways of enabling and/or controlling independent learning. On the one hand, they offer the possibility of highly structured, teacher-controlled CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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learning activities, essentially functioning as technically sophisticated textbooks. On the other, they open up the possibility of students constructing their own learning and exploring their own questions and issues. Teachers are often acutely aware of and concerned about this possibility. Computers and the internet offer access to diverse information and provide for student decision-making about where to go and what to do. It is difficult to police student activity on a detailed, minute-by-minute level in a school computer lab or library. The important point here is that the significance of particular classroom technologies lies not only in the material technologies themselves, but in the ways they are used as social technologies — technologies for shaping social activities and relations. As schools increase the use of mobile devices and introduce policies such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), there is the potential for increased equity issues between those students who can afford to access current technologies, such as laptops and tablets, and those who cannot. Additionally, as homework is given to students through 24/7 software platforms such as Moodle and Edmodo, families are increasingly required to provide internet access at home, which can be costly and unaffordable for families from a low socio-economic background. This is creating a digital divide in schools between those who have access to technologies and those who do not.

Montessori education focuses on children’s self-directed, play-like, sensuous learning activities. The Montessori approach is still popular today.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

As teachers, we make choices every day about what to teach and how to teach it, including how to relate to and organise children and cultivate respectful relations among them, and use the various classroom technologies available to us. Often these choices don’t appear to be choices, but just a matter of implementing decisions about curriculum, pedagogy and classroom management made by others. One of the implications of a critical historical understanding of these aspects of teaching is that we should make these decisions consciously, knowing that there are different ways to organise curriculum, teach and manage classrooms, and that these have different consequences for different children’s learning. As a pre-service teacher, this suggests that you should be exploring widely the different approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, and classroom relations and technologies, and developing your critical understanding of how different choices might affect the learning outcomes of different groups of children. How would you approach planning to teach in a rural classroom with a high proportion of Indigenous students? Would this approach differ if you were placed in a metropolitan school with a high proportion of students who were refugees? Share and compare your ideas with another pre-service teacher.

2.5 Teachers’ work, teachers’ lives, teachers’ identities

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2.5 Explain how developing a personal–professional identity as a critical, transformative teacher might help you more effectively support all your students (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students) to use their schooling to improve their life chances and wellbeing as people, and identify key responsibilities of Australian teachers in rectifying institutional disadvantage.

Many of the features that characterised the teaching profession in the past continue into the present: r the centrality of pre-service teacher education to teachers’ knowledge base and the standing of the profession r the strength of teacher organisations and their focus on both industrial and educational issues r the sense, shared by many teachers, that teaching is a vocation, not merely a job r the sheer challenge of daily classroom teaching. There are significant changes as well. These include: r the emergence of national educational and professional frameworks r the re-assertion of control over teachers and teaching by governments and their agencies after the ‘looseness’ of the 1970s and 1980s r the change in form of such regulation, from direct regulation by employment agencies, to professional self-regulation by bodies on which teachers have strong representation and that cut across the various educational stakeholder groups. Each of these issues poses new challenges for teachers to understand and engage with, so that they continue to be active in shaping their profession and the conditions that govern it. All these aspects of schooling are central components of teachers’ work. All of them shape teachers’ lives — their working lives, their personal lives and their identities (Connell 1985). The complex interaction of what teachers do and the conditions under which they do it form an integral part of who teachers are — their identities. This sense of not simply ‘doing teaching’, but being a teacher, means that teachers commonly invest heavily in their work in terms of time and emotional commitment. A sense of professionalism is one of the important continuities that characterises teachers. One important element in this sense of professionalism, from the earliest days of mass schooling, has been that teachers do not simply do a job, but have a vocation — a mission — and that they want to make a difference. As has been seen, however, this places them at the difficult interface between conforming to and reproducing existing norms and practices, and the need to help transform schools that research shows are failing so many children. This is made more challenging by the fact that many of the norms that dominate the teaching profession and practice are reinforced in multiple ways: professional CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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codes, legislative and judicial requirements, media publicity and a range of traditional (e.g. books and professional magazines) and non-traditional (e.g. websites) sources of advice, support and resource materials, and parents and students. These involve not just teachers’ ideas but also their bodies: the ways they teach, the ways they manage children, the ways they occupy classroom space and mobilise classroom technologies, and the ways they conform or otherwise to normalised understandings of what a teacher should look like and how a teacher should act.

Being a teacher seeking transformative teaching practice involves a heavy investment of time and emotion.

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The challenges of professional decision making Returning again to the task the group had to address at the beginning of this chapter, a number of things are observable. r Their task is not merely an academic, abstract in-class exercise or a piece of intellectual knowledge about aspects of teachers’ work. Rather it is part of a journey towards developing a rich, complex understanding of not just how to run an efficient classroom, but of how to develop the critical understandings that will enable them to be transformative teachers. r Professionalism for the most part involves a commitment to making a difference; in particular, by actively enabling all children to achieve their potential. r While it is possible to see the current professional standards as a set of regulations with which to comply, it might be useful to look for the ways they support a transformative approach to professional practice. This approach, in light of even a brief knowledge of the historical development of the profession, will help you gain a richer, more subtle and more complex appreciation of how teachers have, collectively as a profession, striven to make their work of real social value, to really serve the needs of the children they teach and the families they come from. This approach highlights the possibilities for transformative practices that challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and knowledge and do not simply repeat practice 70

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as usual. Such an approach can help teachers face the challenges of their professional lives with resilience and creativity.

Professional standards, teaching and ‘us’ At this point in the chapter you should be able to help the group from the opening case frame a critical response to the professional standards. Naturally, it would not be ideal to try to tell them what their response should be in detail; rather to assist them with some of the questions that will help frame their own critical perspective. A good starting point would be the Charter for the Australian teaching profession (Teaching Australia 2008). We bring to the role high levels of professional knowledge, expertise and ethical commitment. Our practice reflects the essential balance between conserving and renewing what is, and anticipating and building what can be. We work in partnership with colleagues, families, other professionals and the wider community. We take responsibility for the development and renewal of our profession. We act to advance the quality and reputation of teaching through professional learning and reflection. We are specialists in teaching and learning. We have expertise in student development, including how young people gain knowledge, learn to think critically and develop creativity. The teaching profession sets itself demanding standards. We act with judgment, integrity and respect to build the trust and confidence necessary for successful learning.

This chapter helps us observe that the notions of professionalism have been hard won, but also limited in ways that set teaching aside from the ‘model’ professions such as medicine. Notions of ethical commitment, integrity and respect are the inheritance of the early push for teaching to be seen as a mission, rather than a job. This inheritance has prompted teachers to look beyond mere money, but has also allowed exploitation in the work of teachers. It makes clear not only an issue of balance, but also of difficult tensions between conserving the systems as they stand and transforming them, as well as the difficulty of imagining how they might really be transformed. The chapter lets us see how claims to expertise not only provide a platform for proper recognition of the unique contribution teachers make to the development of children, but also make it easy for teachers to see themselves not as partners with parents, but as judges of their views and practices. An appreciation of history also facilitates recognition and formation of a stance on the complex challenges facing education and the teaching profession. It helps contextualise the questioning of the claim that ‘A model for national professional standards has been agreed by the teaching profession.’ (These standards can be found at www.aitsl.edu.au.) It enables teachers to reach a considered recognition of how professional standards might simultaneously enhance their standing and give them greater collective control over their own profession, while also strengthening the detailed regulation of their working lives. Also, it allows them, with their colleagues, to decide how they weigh the pros and cons of initiatives that bypass the historically established understanding that both the individual competence of teachers and the collective standing of the profession depend heavily on formal professional education (The World Today 2008).

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Standard 1 of the Australian Standards requires you as a professional teacher to ‘Know students and how they learn’. In part, this involves knowing their individual strengths and weaknesses, individual interests and learning styles, and individual emotional needs, but in part it involves knowing children’s social and cultural backgrounds. One implication of this for you as a teacher is to recognise children’s social and cultural backgrounds, not in terms of what they lack but as assets for you and for their own learning. A further implication for you as a teacher is that you will need to get to know your students’ backgrounds by listening to them, their families and others in your school community, so that you appreciate the things

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they value, the place education has in their plans and the kinds of learning they understand will be of value — this means not thinking of yourself as the expert about your students. Read the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples document at www.reconciliation.org.au. Consider how you will ensure the Indigenous students in your classroom are taught with respect for their rights as Indigenous people.

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

The views in this chapter are, inevitably, those of the author. Most authors find it easy to see the value in what they write. Not everybody agrees with any author — either with what they have to say or with the value of what they have to say. This can be especially true where the author is writing about history and the reader is interested in issues of professional practice in the present. Given this, it might be interesting to know what other experienced professionals think. One person — another academic researcher — read this chapter and commented on the historical approach to teaching it adopts: . . . the exploration and examination of the development of education and schooling shatters the rosetinted lenses on supposedly ‘progressive’ or ‘effective’ approaches to improve schooling, pedagogy and education systems. It does so by revealing systematically the complex purposes of schooling and the manifestations of these purposes on institutional as well as daily, almost mundane, practices of teachers. In so doing, it punctures the hope of seeking ‘education revolution’ and, at the same time, steadies the intent towards reviewing, refining and re-engaging teaching as a productive practice of power. The historical approach re-frames the consideration of what constitutes teaching, and effective teaching, and offers insights in re-thinking the purposes of education, and shaping ‘innovative’ pedagogy or strategies to attain them.

Another, a final year undergraduate education student with a richly diverse experience of life, education and work before studying to become a teacher, commented:

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What this chapter has to offer is a critical historical perspective on our work — something vitally important to bring to that work we do as teachers. As a final year education student, who will be teaching soon, it helps to bring a whole range of things I’ve learned into perspective . . . helps me understand perhaps some of the ‘why’s and how’s’ of schooling and the way it works so badly for so many kids. This was so clear in many of the situations we encountered on prac, and for me, also in a series of interviews I did with high school kids in my recent research project. What a historical and critical perspective gives to us as teachers goes beyond simply ‘a good way’ to think about teaching, it helps to clarify what our aims might be in a way that affects how we relate to our students — our ‘classroom management’. We all make assumptions about kids, their lives, their families, their communities, their hopes and dreams, but we can not teach — or live — on assumptions alone. This chapter is an argument against such deterministic thinking. Putting the present into historical perspective also helps me see how the things we all tend to take for granted are just one way to do things, one way to understand and do things, and that they are still affected by the values — often elitist and exclusive, and incredibly judgemental about kids and families who are marginalised in all sorts of ways — that were built in from the start, and how we can’t just want to do the right things by the kids we teach . . . we need to learn, think and understand . . . yes, there’s that word again . . . critically . . . how schools work. I guess the other thing I want to say that I liked about the approach here was how it picked up on the standard about engaging with parents — and this also appeals to me as a parent with two kids in school. Not just reporting back to them our judgements of their kids, but actually listening to them, being interested in who they are, their knowledge of their kids, their views of what their issues are . . . what their needs are. But moreover, making communities and their opinions guide our personal accountability agendas more than numbers on a NAPLAN table.

These comments suggest that while an historical perspective might not provide a flood of useful practical tips, it can offer insights into teaching practice that enable teachers to engage with their daily classroom practice in the critically reflective ways the professional standards expect of them.

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SUMMARY A critical perspective is a core element of professional teaching, built into the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. A critical perspective lets us recognise that many of our educational ideas and practices we simply take for granted from our deep immersion in the experience of schooling without ever considering where they come from or whether they promote quality learning for all the students we teach. A critical perspective enables us to ask questions such as ‘Whose cultural practices does this school practice reflect?’ and ‘For whom might this practice not promote quality learning?’ The first step in your journey towards developing a critical perspective is to recognise that current teaching practices are, in fact, the result of particular historic choices, and are shaped to a large extent by the different capacities of different stakeholder groups in society to determine the purposes school serve. A critical perspective makes it possible to notice the continuity and inertia of schools and their resistance to fundamental change. A substantial part of this continuity is grounded in the discourses of education — the ways of talking and thinking about education that have been learned, especially with the growth of a literature and science of education, and the universalisation of experience of schooling. This historical resistance to change on the part of schools can be seen in virtually all aspects of classroom practice: the curriculum, the ways teachers teach and engage students in learning, and the ways they organise and deploy both the material and the social technologies available to them. As teachers, we have a responsibility to learn about and to respect all students, including Indigenous Australian students, within Australian schools. Curriculum, pedagogy and resources all speak volumes about what is, and isn’t, considered valuable and important. An exploration of the different dimensions of schooling, and the factors that shape it, make it possible to develop an enhanced capacity for critical reflection — one of the characteristics of good teachers commonly built into statements of professional standards. It helps develop a capacity to see what familiarity makes difficult to see: that the particular ways teachers do things now have both strengths and weaknesses, and enable some things and inhibit others; and, given the seriously problematic outcomes of present schooling practices for many, that there are options for practising differently, in ways that might produce better outcomes for more of the children they will teach. This is at the heart of transformative teaching practice.

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KEY TERMS critical perspective A way of viewing information, ideas and practices that refuses to take them for granted, and instead asks what are the implications, and for whom, of this idea or this way of doing things. discourses of education The body of research and theory that constitutes the core knowledge base of the profession; a structured, highly organised body of ideas, principles and ways of establishing credibility that is largely taken for granted as being the authoritative knowledge of the field. economic rationalists Advocates of a policy approach that favours a deregulated free-market economy, privatisation of state-owned resources and a reduction of the size of the welfare state, including government education spending. educational technologies Tools and processes for doing particular educational tasks in particular ways. equity A concept concerned with, and committed to, fairness for all groups within a society. governance Policies, regulations and procedures used to manage a system or organisation in order to achieve goals. neoliberals Advocates of neoliberalism — a view of the world based on the belief that the optimal economic system is achieved by giving free rein to market forces, emphasising twin political goals of economic growth and political liberty. CHAPTER 2 Historical insights into teaching

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normalised practice Practice that has, through social processes, become established as what one should do (or think). pedagogy The art, science or strategies of teaching based on professional knowledge and reflective practice. power The capacity to shape situations, ideas and/or actions. It can take the form of physical or material force, law, ideas or discourses, and practices or procedures. practice as usual The practices educators usually enact as a matter of routine. Practice as usual is the practical equivalent of taken-for-granted knowledge. social technologies The organisation and use of spaces, relationships, procedures, artefacts and so on to facilitate some things and make others difficult, to give some individuals greater capacity for action and control than others, and to constrain relationships and behaviour. stakeholders Individuals or groups that are affected by and concerned with an issue or organisation. Different stakeholders often have competing needs and interests. taken-for-granted professional knowledge Educational ideas accepted so readily that assumptions, values or implications for different groups of students and their families are not questioned. transformative teaching practice Teaching that deliberately seeks to enhance students’ learning outcomes and consequent life chances by explicitly addressing barriers to learning arising from a range of social and individual disadvantages, as a fundamental and integral part of pedagogy.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 2.1

LO1

Think about what you understand by ‘critical understanding’ and why it might be important to your practice as a teacher. Hint: How can you reflect on your own experiences to unpack your beliefs and understandings about teaching as a profession? With members of your tutorial group or study group, formulate a short paragraph explaining what you understand by ‘critical understanding’ and why it might be important for your practice as teachers. Hint: Focus on one marginalised social group and identify ways that ‘practice as usual’ might not work for students from that social group. 2.2

LO2

List the social, political, economic and cultural factors the chapter identifies as shaping educational practices; explain how these factors might combine to work against the valuing of the cultural practices and educational views and values of marginalised social groups. Hint: Think about how one socially marginalised group might be seen by dominant groups in education (e.g. politicians, media and teachers) in negative rather than positive terms. 2.3

LO2

Explain how the exclusion or devaluing of the cultural practices and educational views and values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples might result in poorer educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students. Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

2.4

LO3

Briefly summarise what you understand by ‘discourses of education’. Outline one way such discourses might lead teachers to consider that they do not need to value parent and community input into their classrooms. Hint: Consider what the chapter says about (1) the scientific nature of professional discourses and (2) the ways discourses of education construct teachers as experts. 2.5

LO4

With members of your tutorial group or informal study group, identify three major classroom management issues. Identify the main reasons you consider them to be important. Critically discuss the extent to which your reasons reflect ‘taken-for-granted’ assumptions from ‘normal’ discourses of education. For one of your chosen issues, discuss alternative ways of thinking about the issue that 74

PART 1 The teaching profession

focus on quality learning outcomes for all students. Hint: Approach this last task by focusing on students from one marginalised social group. 2.6

LO4

Identify one way in which the curriculum has evolved historically to privilege white, middle-class, masculine cultural values. Explain how this might work against the engagement of children from Indigenous families in quality learning. Suggest one way to incorporate the cultural values of Indigenous students and families in one subject within the curriculum. Hint: Consider the possible role of negotiating curriculum content with students and community members. 2.7

LO4

Identify how teaching and learning in the twenty-first century draws on historical views about education. With your tutorial group or informal study group, discuss whether new technologies have shaped contemporary approaches to teaching. Hint: Consider how the use of computers and tablets in the classroom is impacting how curriculum is taught. 2.8

LO5

List, and number in order of importance, the ten things you consider the most important elements of being a professional teacher. Have you included ‘engaging with parents’ (or something similar), ‘being critical’ (or something similar) and ‘transformative teaching’ (or something similar)? Where have you listed them in your order of importance? Write a short paragraph or list of bullet points explaining where you have ranked them (or why you have not included them). Hint: Consider how your responses have addressed the issues and arguments raised in this chapter.

WEBSITES 1 The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) website explores the

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Australian Professional Standards for Teachers through career stage and domains of teaching. Here you are able to download the Teacher Standards that are referred to in this chapter and view illustrations of practice (video case studies) for each standard. Information about AITSL is also provided, as well as guidelines for preparing to teach: www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards 2 Reconciliation Australia is an independent not-for-profit organisation established in 2001 that promotes and facilitates reconciliation by building relationships, respect and trust between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community. This website provides information, programs and resources for teachers: www.reconciliation.org.au 3 The children’s book My Place was written by Nadia Wheatley and illustrated by Donna Rawlins. Originally written to celebrate the 1988 bicentenary of Australia, it presents the stories of 21 fictional children, one for each decade since 1788. Each story draws on a decade of Australian history seen through the eyes of children. The ABC developed the stories into a TV series. This website provides a decade-by-decade timeline and resources for teachers: www.myplace.edu.au/home 4 The National Film and Sound archive is a great place to find resources based on the history of teaching in Australia. It is a rich source of historical resources, including print media, radio and video, exploring the history of schooling in Australia: www.nfsa.gov.au

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Baker, B 1999, ‘The dangerous and the good? Developmentalism, progress, and public schooling’, American Educational Research Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 797–834. —— 1998, ‘Child-centred teaching, redemption, and educational identities: a history of the present’, Educational Theory, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 155–74. Barcan, A 2010, ‘Public schools in Australia from the late 1970s to the late 1980s: the seeds of change’, Education Research and Perspectives, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 1–37. —— 1980, A history of Australian education, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Bonal, X & Rambla, X 2003, ‘Captured by the totally pedagogised society: teachers and teaching in the knowledge economy’, Globalisation, Societies and Education, vol. 2, pp. 169–84. Brady, L 2003, ‘Changes in school teaching in Australia’, Educational Practice and Theory, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 5–16. Campbell, C & Sherington, G 2006, The comprehensive public high school: Historical perspectives, Palgrave Macmillan, Sydney. 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Griffin, R 2008, ‘Early reading partnerships: a parental perspective’, unpublished BEd(Hons) thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland. Hunter, I 1994, Rethinking the school: Subjectivity, bureaucracy, criticism, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. —— 1988, Culture and government: The emergence of literary education, Macmillan, London. Hyams, BK 1979, Teacher preparation in Australia: A history of its development from 1850 to 1950, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne. James, R 2008, Participation and equity: A review of the participation in higher education of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous people, Universities Australia, Canberra. —— 2002, Socioeconomic background and higher education participation: An analysis of school students’ aspirations and expectations, Australian Government Publishing, Canberra. Jones, A & Jenkins, K 2000, ‘Disciplining the native body: handwriting and civilising practices’, History of Education Review, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 34–46. Karier, C 1972, ‘Testing for order and control in the corporate liberal state’, Educational Theory, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 154–80. Krakouer, J 2015, ‘Literature review relating to the current context and discourse on Indigenous cultural awareness in the teaching space: critical pedagogies and improving Indigenous learning outcomes through cultural responsiveness’, ACER, https://research.acer.edu.au/indigenous_education, viewed 24 November 2017. Lawn, M & Grosvenor, I 2003, ‘Introduction. The materiality of schooling’, in M Lawn & I Grosvenor (eds), Materialities of schooling: Design, technology, objects, routines, Symposium, Oxford. Lawson, MD & Peterson, RC 1972, Progressive education: An introduction, Angus and Robertson, Sydney. Mackinnon, A 1997, Love and freedom: Professional women and the reshaping of personal life, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Martin, K 2007, ‘Making tracks and reconceptualising Aboriginal early childhood education: an Aboriginal perspective’, Childrenz Issues, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 15–20. —— 2005, ‘Childhood, lifehood and relatedness: Aboriginal ways of being, knowing and doing’, in J Phillips & J Lampert (eds), Introductory Indigenous studies for education, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW, pp. 27–40. Masters, GN 2009, A shared challenge: Improving literacy, numeracy and science learning in Queensland primary schools, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne.

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McCallum, D 1990, The social production of merit: Education, psychology, and politics in Australia, 1900–1950, Falmer Press, London, New York. McHoul, AW & Grace, W 1993, A Foucault primer: Discourse, power and the subject, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. Miller, P 1986, Long division: State schooling in South Australian society, Wakefield Press, Adelaide. Ministerial Council on Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) 2008, Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians, www.mceetya.edu.au, viewed 15 January 2010. Partington, G 1998, ‘In those days it was that rough: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and education’, in G Partington (ed.), Perspectives on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, Social Science Press, Katoomba, New South Wales. Patterson, A 2002, ‘Installing English at the “hub” of early twentieth century school curricula in Australia’, History of Education Review, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 45–57. Petersen, RC 1983, ‘The Montessorians — MM Simpson and L de Lissa’, in C Turney (ed.), Pioneers of Australian education, vol. 3: Studies of the development of education in Australia 1900–50, Sydney University Press, Sydney. Ramsey, G 2000, Quality matters: Revitalising teaching: Critical times, critical choices. Report of the Review of Teacher Education, New South Wales, Department of Education and Training, www.det.nsw.edu.au, viewed 15 January 2010. Rockwell, E 2003, ‘Walls, fences and keys: the enclosure of rural Indigenous schools’, in M Lawn & I Grosvenor (eds), Materialities of schooling: Design, technology, objects, routines, Symposium, Oxford. Rousmaniere, K 1997, City teachers: Teaching and school reform in historical perspective, Teachers College Press, New York. Selleck, RJW 1982, ‘State education and culture’, Australian Journal of Education, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 3–19. Selman, RL 1971, ‘The relation of role taking to the development of moral judgment in children’, Child Development, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 79–91. Sherington, G, Petersen, RC & Brice, I 1987, Learning to lead: A history of girls’ and boys’ corporate secondary schools in Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Starrenburg, E 2011, ‘Rethinking research: travels through the discourse of higher education participation’, unpublished BEd(Hons) thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland. State of Queensland 2002, Queensland the smart state: Education and training reforms for the future: A white paper, State of Queensland, Brisbane. Teaching Australia 2008, Charter for the Australian teaching profession, Teaching Australia, Canberra. Teese, R 1983, ‘The growth and decline of the Victorian government secondary school, 1954–1981’, in R Teese & G Wickham (eds), Melbourne working papers 1983: Papers in contemporary Australian education, culture and politics, University of Melbourne, Sociology Research Group in Cultural and Educational Studies, Melbourne. Teese, RV & Polesel, J 2003. Undemocratic schooling: Equity and quality in mass secondary education in Australia, Melbourne University Publishing, Carlton, Victoria. The World Today 2008, ‘Gillard’s teacher training plan meets with resistance’, www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/ s2358296.htm, viewed 15 January 2010. Theobald, M 1996, Knowing women: Origins of women’s education in nineteenth-century Australia, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne. Toomey, R & Lovat, T (eds) 2007, Values education and quality teaching: The double helix effect, David Barlow Publishing, Terrigal, New South Wales. Tyler, D 1993, ‘Making better children’, in D Meredyth & D Tyler (eds), Child and citizen: Genealogies of schooling and subjectivity, Faculty of Humanities, Griffith University, Brisbane. Vick, M 2009, ‘Re-imagining teachers’ work: photographs of Blackfriars School, Sydney, 1913–1923 as representations of an educational alternative’, History of Education Review, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 81–93. —— 2008, ‘Imagine (like) this: the work the representation of teachers’ work does’, in Teacher Educators at Work: What works and where is the evidence? Papers from the 2008 ATEA Conference, Sunshine Coast, 8–11 July 2008. —— 2006a, ‘It’s a difficult matter: historical perspectives on the enduring problem of the practicum in teacher preparation’, Asia–Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 181–98. —— 2006b, ‘Texts and contexts: international sources and universalistic discourse in Australian teacher education 1900–1950’, Australian Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 12–18. —— 1997, ‘Normalisation in 19th century Australian education’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 113–26. —— 1993, ‘Building schools, building society: accommodating schools in mid-nineteenth century Australia’, Historical Studies in Education/Revue D’Histoire De L’Education, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 231–50. —— 1992, ‘Community, state and the provision of schools in mid-nineteenth century South Australia’, Australian Historical Studies, vol. 25, no. 98, pp. 53–71. Vick, M & Martinez, C 2011, ‘Teachers and teaching: subjectivity, performativity and the body’, Educational Philosophy and Theory, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 178–92. Vickers, M 2010 ‘Curriculum’, in R Connell, C Campbell, M Vickers, A Welch, D Foley & N Bagnall (eds), Education, change and society, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

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Vi˜nao, A 2003, ‘The school head’s office as territory and place: location and physical layout in the first Spanish graded schools’, in M Lawn & I Grosvenor (eds), Materialities of schooling: Design, technology, objects, routines, Symposium Books, Oxford. Watson, L 2003, Lifelong learning in Australia, Department of Education, Science and Technology, Canberra. White, D 1987, Education and the state: Federal involvement in educational policy development, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria. Whitehead, K 2006, ‘Re-viewing the “ideology of adolescence” in middle schooling’, Curriculum Perspectives, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 62–6. Williamson, A 1991, ‘Learning “White Way”: curriculum, context, and custom in schooling Torres Strait Islanders before World War II’, Australian Journal of Education, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 314–31. Wooldridge, A 1994, Measuring the mind: Education and psychology in England, c. 1860 – c. 1990, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York. Zeichner, K 1989, ‘Teachers for democratic schools’, Action in Teacher Education Journal, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 5–10.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Neda Vanovac / AAP Images Photo: © News Ltd / Newspix Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Figure 2.2: © Dana Street National School, Ballarat, 1857 [Victoria] [picture] / Laurie Burchell. State Library of Victoria. H2006.165/56. Text: © Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL)

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PART 2

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UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND LEARNERS 3

Student learning 80

4

Understanding and motivating students 118

5

Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity 149

CHAPTER 3

Student learning LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 3.1 describe and discuss the term ‘learning’ in conjunction with theoretical perspectives of learning 3.2 explain basic aspects of neural development and processes related to learning and memory 3.3 discuss the relationships between different forms of intelligences and learning, as well as environmental factors that influence learning.

OPENING CASE

New times . . . new learning? Jordan is enjoying her first year of teaching, and is excited to be involved in the professional development seminar her principal has organised for all staff. She has read the materials provided, but has found them to be a bit confusing. The first reading asks teachers to consider what learning means to them, given the difficulties in defining such a broad and complex term. The first task seems like a worthwhile endeavour, but later the materials present a learning inventory for each staff member to complete. The goal is for staff members to determine whether they are visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learners. This activity is known as a VAK inventory. For Jordan this presents a philosophical dilemma, in that during her years at university she was exposed to a number of theories about learning, along with a number of myths. One of those myths was the existence of individual learning styles. In fact, Jordan recalls one educational psychology course she undertook that specifically debunked any notion of individuals being visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learners. To try and gain some clarity, Jordan discusses her views and understandings of ‘learning styles’ with one of her colleagues, only to find that he is a huge supporter of the VAK inventory and believes that learning and teaching activities could be improved if all teachers used learning styles models to plan their teaching. Another colleague completely disagrees with any notion of VAK learning styles and feels like the professional development will be a waste of time. The scenario presented above is not uncommon in educational contexts. Many teachers participate in various professional development activities to enhance their pedagogy and, by association, the learning outcomes of their students. Concurrently, the range of professional development activities is almost as expansive as the number of theories associated with how people learn. In order to engage with such activities now and in the future, it is important to reflect on the following questions. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. What does learning mean to you and what are your understandings of how students learn? 2. How do we know when something has been learned and how do we measure learning? 3. Is all learning measurable, or is it possible to learn something without demonstrating it overtly? If you believe this to be true, what might that mean in terms of your own personal philosophy of learning and your practice in the classroom?

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Introduction In the opening case, Jordan questions her, and her colleagues’, understanding of ‘learning’ and their associated understanding of an impending and seemingly contentious professional development seminar. Many teachers often find themselves in similar situations due to new research and studies into learning. Questions such as what it actually means to learn something, or how learning occurs, have been given new life due to advances in science and technology. Indeed, greater insights into learning have never been more available than they now are and the works of many important theorists of the past are now being broadened and expanded upon, thereby providing future teachers with a better understanding of what lies at the foundation of their work. This chapter is about learning — in particular, learning that occurs in schools. If asked to define the word ‘learning’ you may find it somewhat difficult or ambiguous, for it is a term people often take for granted without considering all of the intricacies and idiosyncrasies behind any possible definition. While finding a definition for learning can be difficult, there are three important characteristics of learning to CHAPTER 3 Student learning 81

keep in mind as you work through this chapter and prepare for a career as a teacher. First, learning starts long before students enter a school or any other institution of instruction. Neuroscientists would argue that learning begins about 17 days after conception when the neural tube in the brain closes and neurons begin to generate, migrate and communicate. (We will look at this in greater detail later.) Second, learning is part of the human condition and every day — throughout our lives — we learn. In other words, it is undesirable to suggest that learning only happens in certain contexts or that learning is simply a process of acquiring knowledge from a teacher. Learning occurs through complex interactions with others and via various environmental stimuli and activities. Third, learning is not always easily measured or something attributable to a select group of individuals. We are all capable of learning and there is research to suggest that not only do we continue to learn, but that we can learn to learn more effectively and teachers can be part of this process. Therefore, as a future educator you must remember that you too are learning, and this chapter (outlined in the diagram below) is offered as an avenue for that endeavour in conjunction with being set out for you to start acquiring the attributes necessary to enhance and engage positively with student learning.

Student learning

Domains of learning

What is ‘learning’? Theoretical perspectives of learning

New insights into learning

How the brain learns — contemporary scientific insights

Enhancing learning

Multiple intelligences Emotional and social intelligences

Retaining what is learned

3.1 Domains of learning

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3.1 Describe and discuss the term ‘learning’ in conjunction with theoretical perspectives of learning.

What is learning? Is it a process or the product of some type of endeavour? How do we know if something has been learned? While most people would say they know what learning means, the term itself is ambiguous. Some might say that learning is an attempt to create a lasting memory of something. Others might argue that learning occurs when the brain puts pieces of information together to develop a concept, an idea, some level of understanding, proficiency in some sort of skill or something more esoteric such as a ‘state of being’. While there may be many facets to learning, one thing is relatively certain: learning is the core concern of teachers and of education. After all, don’t children go to school to learn? One of the difficulties in developing one’s understanding of learning, and indeed student learning, can be found in historical approaches to learning and teaching in schools. Traditional classroom endeavour typically focused on teaching, not learning. In Australia and most other Western countries, education was premised on a factory model of production whereby a teacher’s role was to progressively fill in the blank slates of student minds with the information necessary for a successful future. The factory model of education is a remnant of the industrial age and literally assumes that teaching and learning are synonymous with a production line: start with a raw product (student), add information vis-`a-vis an expert 82

PART 2 Understanding learning and learners

(teacher) and learning and knowledge will be the end product. The two fundamental premises behind this idea of education are that students arrive without any prior knowledge or skills and that for every bit of teaching that occurs there is an equal amount of learning by the student. What follows then is a view that learning can be accurately measured, usually at the end of study of a particular subject, topic or program. In the end, this model has proven to be highly problematic, in that learning is not always easily measured and a one-size-fits-all production line of learning and teaching does not adequately address the range of individual learning styles and learners in one classroom, let alone one school. Moreover, a factory model approach to education arguably misplaces the primary objective of education by emphasising teaching instead of learning. Interestingly, many schools, especially secondary schools, still practise a factory model of education without truly questioning the nature of human learning. In the twenty-first century a more comprehensive understanding of learning founded on contemporary and earlier theoretical perspectives is warranted. In order to gain greater insights into student learning it is important to look at different, equally important, understandings of learning. This is achieved in the following sections where notions of learning are discussed in an open framework and then placed against theoretical perspectives. As you read through each section it is important to continually take note of your own learning by reflecting on your own assumptions and beliefs. A fundamental aspect of teachers making a difference in the lives of their students is the notion of their development as reflective practitioners. Donald Sch¨on (1983) is widely credited for coining this important term, which describes teachers who continually examine their beliefs and practices along with their origins and the impacts they have on the learning process. A primary focus of such endeavour is personal growth and development. Therefore, looking at ‘learning’ and theories of learning while reflecting on your own beliefs is part of a larger process of your own growth, development and learning.

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What is ‘learning’? As noted earlier, trying to distinctly define ‘learning’ is an arduous task. It was also noted that in educational contexts, and indeed elsewhere, learning has often been seen as a product of some endeavour. Often learning has been demarcated as an outcome or an objective, suggesting that some aspect of change in an individual has occurred. Moreover, the benchmark for change has often narrowly focused on behaviour and/or some quantifiable measure — often structured as an examination. In the last couple of decades some learning theorists have moved away from an arguably simplistic notion of understanding learning as a product only to looking at learning as changes in the way people ‘understand’, ‘experience’ or ‘conceptualise’ the world around them. A view of learning encompassing this approach suggests that learning is both a product and a process. Within this framework, learning is also recognised as both something external (something that happens as a result of an experience) and something internal (something an individual does in order to understand the world). In his overview of some of the earliest works regarding the internal and external characteristics of learning, Paul Ramsden (1992, p. 92) cites a detailed framework from the research of Roger Saljo, who is considered by many as a pioneer in the field of learning. In his research, Saljo found that students conceptualised learning as falling into the following five categories. 1. Learning as a quantitative increase in knowledge: Learning is acquiring information or ‘knowing a lot’. 2. Learning as memorising: Learning is storing information that can be reproduced. 3. Learning as acquiring: Learning is acquiring facts, skills and methods that can be retained and used as necessary. 4. Learning as making sense or abstracting meaning: Learning involves relating parts of the subject matter to each other and to the real world. 5. Learning as interpreting and understanding reality in a different way: Learning involves comprehending the world by reinterpreting knowledge. CHAPTER 3 Student learning 83

Careful examination of the above conceptions offers evidence of two important aspects of learning that help frame our understanding of learning in this chapter. First, it is apparent that, taken in total, the categories identify learning as both a process and a product. Therefore, teachers must continually bear in mind that the object of their craft cannot be based entirely on some tangible piece of concrete evidence at the end of some predetermined time frame; inputs and time do not easily equate to a preconceived output. Second, while the first three categories delineate learning as a measure of something that happens externally to an individual, the last two categories clearly identify learning as something qualitatively different in that learning is also something that occurs within each individual. Again, this is important for teachers to remember. What is taught is not always the same as what is learned and students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled, but rather individuals who bring with them a diverse set of experiences and skills that are always part of any learning experience. With a view to learning being both a product and a process, a further important consideration is our own and collective beliefs about learning. These beliefs are products of our experiences and impacted upon by society, culture, ethnicity and other factors. For example, Indigenous Australian students may possess different beliefs about, and understandings of, learning and knowledge compared to non-Indigenous people. Such perspectives about learning and learning environments have been shown to both help and hinder Indigenous students (Ockenden 2014), and, as such, it is important for teachers to remember that belief systems play an important role in learning. Guy Claxton, a renowned author and Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Bristol Graduate School of Education, states: ‘how well people learn is shown to be a function not only of the learning tools they possess, but the implicit beliefs they have picked up’ (Claxton 1999, p. 33). Our personal and cultural beliefs are often used to support taken-for-granted assumptions about learning — and we all make assumptions about learning, whether we realise it or not. We assume what is important for students to learn, who can learn and why, and what strategies can be used to enhance our own learning and that of others (Darling-Hammond & Bransford 2005). Claxton (1999) suggests that Western societal assumptions about learning have been too narrowly defined and we would be better placed as educators and learners to reconceptualise our beliefs if we are to prepare students for a future that is as ambiguous as the word ‘learning’ itself. Table 3.1 is derived from Claxton’s (1999) work, which identifies traditional beliefs about, and newer understandings of, learning. TABLE 3.1

Traditional beliefs and newer understandings of learning

Traditional Western assumptions of learning

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Learning is the acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge is true. Learning is for the young. Learning is simple. Learning involves teaching. Learning proceeds calmly. Proper learning involves understanding.

A new look at learning Living is learning. We learn many different kinds of things. We can get better and worse at learning. Learning is multifarious. Learning to learn is developmental. Learning involves the discovery of relevance. Learning tools are in the world as well as in the mind. Learning involves self-knowledge and self-awareness. Learning is always a gamble. Learning is not always fast and smooth. Learning power develops through culture, not through instruction. The development of learning power is a matter of belief. Learning matters now.

When looking at table 3.1 it is important to remember that as learners we will see validity in some of the points but scrutinise others. Perhaps that is the essence of learning in itself: take what you know, pull it apart, add to it and ultimately form new ideas, understandings and conceptions. Indeed, within 84

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some theoretical frameworks for understanding learning, this is a primary consideration and as such is looked at later in this chapter. To summarise, in order to develop our understanding of learning and, by association, student learning it is pertinent to know that we need to actively: r examine theories of learning r question our experiences of learning r reflect on ideas underpinning our understanding of learning r develop our understanding of learners r think about our own beliefs regarding learning. You have already begun some of the processes above, but at this stage it is timely to look at some of the philosophies and theories that have shaped our understanding of learning.

Theoretical perspectives of learning The preceding section offered a view of learning as maintaining the characteristics of both a product and a process. However, looking at learning as a ‘process’ provides us with a good starting point for examining the various theoretical perspectives identified below: r behaviourist orientations to learning r cognitive orientations to learning r humanistic orientations to learning r social/situational orientations to learning r constructivist orientations to learning. It is important to note while looking at each of these perspectives that there exists a degree of overlap between and among them. They are separated in order to focus on specific details and ideas within each, but as you read on you will see commonalities and points of convergence as you develop your own understanding of learning. In relation to the theoretical orientations noted above, it is also important to remember that learning and human development are intimately intertwined, and while studying human development is beyond the scope of this chapter, we must always remember that individual development and maturation impacts on learning. The following theories offer implicit perspectives on this important consideration, but the overall purpose is to present the reader with an overview of theoretical positions for developing an individual framework of understanding learning.

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Behaviourist orientations to learning In order to understand behaviourist approaches to learning, a bit of history is required. The term behaviourism was initially coined by John Watson (1914, 1925), who believed that the key to understanding learning could be found in analysing behaviour. Much of this early work built on studies of animal behaviour. Behaviourists believed that observable stimuli produced observable behaviours and as such learning was ‘conditioned’ through external stimuli. Watson’s work was further developed by others, most notably by BF Skinner (1953, 1963), who described learning as an enduring change of behaviour resulting from external events, be they conscious or unconscious. Skinner described this process as operant conditioning. Skinner believed learning occurred when some kind of event or condition (stimulus) triggered an action (response) and those actions that were rewarded in some manner were likely to be repeated (learned). According to this perspective those actions or responses that were ignored or punished also resulted in a change of behaviour. While behaviourist explanations of learning include a plethora of technical terms, ‘operant conditioning’ is arguably the one that stands at the forefront of educational practice. Therefore, for learning to occur in an educational context the role of the teacher was to create an environment of optimal conditioning: provide the appropriate stimulus vis-`a-vis curriculum and follow this with some form of reward or punishment.

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In many respects this view towards learning is still observable in schools, particularly in the context of behaviour management. However, this particular orientation to learning does have a number of limitations, especially in relation to the overall learning process. First, behaviourism tends to neglect the contribution of cognition and cognitive skills to any learning process, especially for more complex forms of behaviour such as problem solving. Second, there are a number of concerns about the impact of long-term dependence on extrinsic, rather than intrinsic, forms of reinforcement, along with philosophical and ethical issues surrounding the use of punishment. Finally, a behaviourist orientation places little, if any, emphasis on sociocultural or environmental factors that impact on learning. At best, this orientation offers a starting point or a single component for unpacking a wider perspective regarding learning.

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Cognitive orientations to learning Cognitive orientations to learning are built on aspects of human development, particularly cognitive development. For cognitivists, learning is intimately intertwined with developmental changes and a gradual increase in the sophistication of mental processes. Simply stated, we know that the mental processes of a two-year-old child are vastly different from those of a thirteen-year-old adolescent and that this impacts on learning. Therefore, the process of learning for cognitivists focuses on internal mental processes, which include such things as insight, information processing, memory and perception and that are directly related to stages of development. For some cognitive theorists, an understanding of learning is couched in a framework known as the ‘information-processing model’. The information-processing model sees children actively making sense of their experiences and modifying their own thinking in response to environmental demands. The model itself initially portrayed cognitive endeavour as being similar to how computers process information, but this view was criticised for being overly simplistic in that human thinking and learning cannot be easily explained in the same 86

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manner as the rigid algorithmic framework found within a computer (Ormrod 2008). There are, however, a number of important strengths of this model, most notably in its focus on understanding how memory works and in the development of teaching interventions to assist in advanced problem-solving skills. A detailed look at memory is included later in this chapter. The cognitive orientation to learning focuses on how learners manipulate information during learning and how learners make meaning out of information and experience. Learning itself often becomes defined or delineated as the acquisition of new information. There have been a number of influential theorists in the area of human development and cognition, most of which work in the field of psychology. In the context of education, two names that continue to surface and influence our understanding of learning and teaching are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Until the early 1980s the work of Piaget (1896–1980) was arguably the dominant explanation of cognitive development and provided an overarching framework for pedagogy and curriculum. In the mid-1980s the research and work of Vygotsky (1896–1934) gained greater exposure and began to influence collective views of learning and education. This influence continues today and underpins much of contemporary educational practice. The following descriptions of each man’s work may appear somewhat unrelated but it is significant to note that their work is quite complementary and during their lives Piaget and Vygotsky communicated with one another, sharing their ideas while building their theoretical perspectives (Pass 2007). There are a number of important aspects of Piaget’s work that impact on how educationalists view learning and teaching. However, all of these components are premised on Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, which to this day impact on pedagogical and didactic decision making. For a summary of Piaget’s stages, see table 3.2, adapted from the works of Vialle, Lysaght and Verenikina (2005) and O’Donnell, Reeve and Smith (2009). Table 3.2 is but a brief summary of Piaget’s work and it should be noted that while it is, and has been, an influential approach to understanding learning and development, it is not without its critics. First, many would argue that Piaget underestimated many childhood capabilities and overestimated adolescent capabilities. Contemporary neuroscientific research supports these criticisms and is discussed later. Moreover, Piaget’s work has also been criticised for some of its ambiguity surrounding vague explanations of cognitive growth and for its omission of cultural and social influences on development and learning. Vygotsky offers a complementary approach to Piaget by taking into account the impact of culture and social interaction on development. Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development is often referred to as a sociocultural theory (Wells 1999). This term reflects the view that learning and development is not just a process of increased mental sophistication but is also mediated through social and cultural interactions. For Vygotsky, an integral component of child development is how children grow into the culture to which they belong. Cognitive development is an outcome of interaction between a child, its carers and the environment, and much of this is mediated through language and other cultural tools including counting systems, works of art and writing. Vygotsky also believed that a central tenet of the learning process was the distance between a child’s current level of competence on a task and the level the child can achieve with support or guidance. He labelled this distance the zone of proximal development (ZPD). For Vygotsky, interaction with peers and adults helps learners to bridge this gap. This theory is evident in contemporary educational practice in the form of ‘scaffolding’ learning — providing the support necessary for learners to enable them to accomplish a task and learn more independently. The detail and specificity of the combined works of Piaget and Vygotsky are beyond the scope of this work. From the notes above, however, it should be evident that each has had a profound impact on how we understand learning and on how we educate children. Significantly and by way of summary it is important to note that both theorists highlight the need for teachers to: r observe children and design learning experiences from those observations r match learning experiences with the level of cognitive development r recognise the contributions and impact that social, cultural and physical environments have on learning. CHAPTER 3 Student learning 87

TABLE 3.2

Piaget’s stages of development

Stage

Approximate age

Sensorimotor

0–2 years

Key characteristics

Types of behaviour and thinking

Develops an understanding of the world through sense and motor activities

Reaching for objects

Goal-directed activity increasingly replaces reflex actions Development of object permanence occurs — the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen Preoperational

2–7 years

Development of language and other symbol systems Egocentricity Logic applied in one direction only

Concrete operational

7–12 years

Ability to apply logic in hands on activities Concrete experiences used to solve problems but unable to mentally manipulate conditions unless they have been experienced

Imitation and memory processing becomes evident Looking for lost objects

Intuition at problem solving Inability to empathise Uses gestures, signs, sounds and words to represent and convey meaning Games are rule governed Development of the idea of conservation — the ability to recognise that certain properties (e.g. volume) stay the same despite a change in shape or appearance Development of the idea of irreversibility — the mental ability of reversing physical or mental processes

Formal operational

12 years and older

Able to think abstractly, form hypotheses, solve problems in a systematic fashion and engage in mental manipulations

Development of scientific, rational thought Concern about identity and social issues becomes evident

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Humanistic orientations to learning The notion of a humanistic orientation to education was born out of humanist psychology, which emerged in the 1950s as a reaction to behaviourism’s overly ‘scientific’ methods and to psychiatry’s focus on mental illness and disturbance. Humanism in its own right is a system of thought that is predominantly concerned with the human experience with a general orientation to life or a personal philosophy that recognises the uniqueness of human beings and the qualities of life that contribute to our humanity. Not unlike the orientations discussed above, humanistic orientations to learning have been influenced by some key individuals, most notably Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Perhaps Maslow’s greatest contribution to humanist psychology and our understanding of learning in that context is his position that people are driven to satisfy their needs and these needs can be organised into a hierarchy. For Maslow this hierarchy consisted of five levels and he presented this model as a pyramid, suggesting that the highest levels of need cannot be attained or given due consideration unless the basic needs at the foundation of the pyramid are met (Maslow 1943, 1954). Figure 3.1 identifies the needs Maslow attributed to human endeavour. While critics of Maslow argue that there are limitations to his work, primarily with being able to determine if and when needs are met and the ambiguous nature of the term ‘self-actualisation’, there is little doubt that it has had a significant and continuing impact on education and our understanding of learning. Perhaps most importantly, it asks educators to focus on student needs in a learning situation rather than those of the teacher or curriculum. Carl Rogers has also been very influential in shaping education and approaches to learning in terms of meeting the needs of students. 88

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FIGURE 3.1

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Self-actualisation (e.g. maximising one’s potential)

Self-esteem (e.g. competence, approval, recognition)

Belongingness and love (e.g. acceptance, affiliation, affection)

Safety (e.g. security, protection, nurturance)

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Physiological needs (e.g. food, water, oxygen)

Rogers was one of the most influential psychologists in American history. He made outstanding contributions to the fields of education, counselling, psychotherapy, peace and conflict resolution. For Rogers, learning is about personal change and growth. His view was that human beings have an inner drive towards self-fulfilment and maturity, and a natural potentiality for learning. Rogers also stressed that the best learning comes from ‘doing’. He also stressed the importance of freedom and choice in learning and advocated that schools should provide a nurturing environment where learners can follow their interests. Echoing Maslow’s work, Rogers believed that within nurturing environments, learners are free to learn, explore and reach their full potential. His ideas were to become known as learner-centred education, whereby students develop their capacities to reflect upon their needs and seek information for themselves, and the teacher acts as a facilitator of this process (Rogers 1969). Rogers’ influence on education is no less significant than Maslow’s and even today his philosophies are evident: much of contemporary educational rhetoric espouses the teacher’s role as being that of a learning facilitator. Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of Rogers’ work can be found in teachers having positive views of children and actively listening to their needs. When looking at the intricacies of a humanistic orientation to learning it should become apparent that those who adopt this approach to their teaching would aim to enhance learners’ personal and emotional development within a caring and supportive learning environment. Interestingly, strong advocates of humanist education believe that their aims cannot always be achieved in mainstream educational contexts. That being said, any environment that is genuinely concerned with learning would likely adopt principle tenets of humanism whereby students’ needs and desires, personal values, self-perceptions and motivations are addressed.

Social/situational orientations to learning The next theoretical perspective focuses on social/situational orientations to learning. This particular approach encompasses what has become known as social learning theory (Bandura 1976). Social learning theory could be described as an extension of the behaviourist and cognitive explanations of learning. CHAPTER 3 Student learning 89

Arguably, it could be considered a transition between behaviourist learning theories and cognitive learning theories. Albert Bandura is generally considered to be the principal architect behind social learning theory. Social learning theory suggests that people can learn by observing the behaviours of others and the outcomes of those behaviours. A point of departure from behaviourists, however, is that learning can occur without a demonstrable change in behaviour. Remember that according to the behaviourist orientation learning has to be represented by a permanent and observable change in behaviour. For Bandura and others who align to a social/situational orientation to learning, people can learn through observation alone, and their learning may not necessarily be shown in their performance. In other words one may observe and learn but not necessarily imitate the behaviours observed. Importantly, observations are also influenced by four important processes — attention, memory, rehearsal and motivation — and, as such, social learning theorists also recognise that cognition plays a role in learning (Hergenhahn & Olsen 2005). Moreover, personal characteristics including mental and emotional factors (e.g. goals and anxiety), self-perceptions and individual beliefs related to self-efficacy impact on learning. Over the past 30 years, social learning theory has become increasingly cognitive in its interpretation of human learning and is now often referred to as social cognitive theory. A third important factor that impacts on learning and is recognised in the social/situational orientation is the role of the environment. For social learning theorists both physical and social environments influence learning. For example, the nature of a task given to a student, the reinforcement and/or punishment of certain behaviours, and the dynamics of small group and whole class interactions in relation to the actual size of the classroom will all impact on learning. Consequently, the environment, behaviour and individual personal characteristics shape and are shaped by interactions, which in turn shape individual learning. Bandura (1986) refers to this model as triadic reciprocality, which offers a succinct summary of this orientation through figure 3.2. FIGURE 3.2

Triadic reciprocality

Behaviour

Environment

Personal characteristics

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Constructivist orientations to learning Our final look at a theoretical perspective is a brief overview of a constructivist orientation to learning. In itself this orientation encompasses an array of related perspectives that, because of their specificity and detail, are beyond the aims of this chapter. Ernst von Glaserfeld, a leading theorist in this area, describes it as ‘a vast and woolly area in contemporary psychology, epistemology and education’ (von Glaserfeld 1997, p. 203). There is no one constructivist theory but in its simplest terms constructivists assume that learning is a process of constructing meaning and much of this is derived from how individuals make sense of their experience (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner 2007). Two prominent versions of this orientation that require some elaboration are cognitive constructivism and social constructivism. Cognitive constructivism may be considered an extension of the work done by Piaget in that the ‘making of meaning’ alluded to above relies on an individual’s cognitive capacities and abilities to assimilate new information within existing schemes or frameworks of understanding. In essence this framework involves a progressive adaptation of existing schemes to the physical environment whereby meaning is constructed vis-`a-vis a person’s previous and current knowledge structure. Learning is therefore the 90

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product of an internal cognitive activity and learners actively construct knowledge (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner 2007). In contrast to the role of cognition in learning, social constructivists view knowledge as the product of learning whereby individuals engage socially through conversations or shared problem-solving tasks and/or activities. According to Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer and Scott (1994, p. 7), the making of meaning ‘is thus a dialogic process involving persons-in-conversation, and learning is seen as the process by which individuals are introduced to a culture by more skilled members’. This approach resonates well with the work of Vygotsky given that he proposed that learning was an activity socially mediated through the symbols and language of a culture. In an educational context, constructivists view learners as self-regulated and active participants in their learning, and active ‘constructors’ of meaning. The learning environment in turn encourages social networks and/or experiential opportunities where individuals are encouraged to make sense of information for themselves. Methods of attaining a constructivist approach in this context might include inquirybased learning or problem-based learning. The focus of this type of approach is the student and equally important is the fostering of positive student–teacher relationships. For some, however, encouraging student-centred learning may be time-consuming, especially for secondary teachers who face pressures regarding curriculum coverage, which may limit their ability to implement constructivist principles. Moreover, developing group work skills takes time and experience; students need specific skills, and not all group work is efficient and effective. Finally, those teachers who operate as the purveyors of knowledge in a didactic model of teaching are often daunted by classroom-management concerns when managing group work.

Some final thoughts on orientations to learning After reading about the orientations above, it becomes apparent that each maintains some positive characteristics but also problematic concerns. What is important in this context is for you, the reader, to CHAPTER 3 Student learning 91

recognise that the orientations provide evidence of Claxton’s (1999) view that learning is multifarious. Learning is not a simply stated taken-for-granted notion of the interactions that exist in a school. Learning is a process that occurs each and every day in formal educational contexts and beyond. For future educators, the task then is to adopt approaches that suit one’s individual philosophies while continually reflecting on practice and making changes where necessary. It is also important to remember that theories of learning and theories of teaching (pedagogy) do not always fit comfortably with one another and, as such, each educational context requires pre-service teachers to think about learning and teaching within the environment in which they find themselves. The following sections of this chapter offer further ideas about learning as part of becoming a reflective practitioner.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

When you visit a school for a practicum placement, take time to observe how your supervising teachers engage their learners. Do their approaches to teaching and learning incorporate any or all of the orientations discussed in this chapter? Some might argue that the age or year level of a group of students may shape a teacher’s approach. Within the particular context of your practicum, do you witness one approach as dominant over others? If so, why do you think that is? Depending on the location of your practicum placement, you may have students from a range of diverse backgrounds, including Indigenous students and students from different ethnic backgrounds. Can you observe any differences in how students might engage with the learning process? If your mentor teacher feels it is appropriate, discuss with the students what learning means to them and reflect on their beliefs about learning. Do any of their beliefs appear different to your own? If so, what might this mean for your teaching?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

After reading through the work above, can you write a personal definition of ‘learning’? What approaches to learning have you experienced and what approaches would you like to adopt as part of your own repertoire of personal practice as an educator? If you are having difficulty, try starting with the following prompt: As a future teacher, which do you think is more important: that students do well in their studies or that they feel good about themselves and enjoy the school environment? After identifying your ideas, try to align them with the orientations discussed in the first part of this chapter and reflect on why you have adopted a particular position(s). Can you think of a teacher you had who followed a particular orientation to learning that may have had a significant impact on your own perspective?

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3.2 New insights into learning LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3.2 Explain basic aspects of neural development and processes related to learning and memory.

Historically, much of what we understood learning to be and how to engage learners in an educational context was premised on observing behaviour, trial and error, and intuition. The earliest days of education relied heavily on shallow interpretations of learning experiences and limited understandings of how the brain actually works. As a future educator you are now living in a time when our collective understanding of the intricacies of the brain grows exponentially every day. With these insights we are also gathering some equally important information on how the brain works, what might enhance learning and, significantly, what might hinder learning. 92

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There is little doubt for many people that while looking at theoretical perspectives regarding learning there should be opportunities to focus on the inner workings of the brain. After all, it is a safe assertion that understanding how the brain matures and works offers educators an opportunity to better understand learning and what is arguably at the core of their business. It is also a fairly safe assumption that a majority of today’s teachers know little about the neurological foundation of their practice. In all likelihood teachers who did their training some years ago have had few opportunities to study aspects of neural development due to the limited amount and scientific nature of the information available at the time. Indeed, much of their training focused primarily on the behaviourist orientation whereby understanding what might be happening inside a brain was done by observing outside behaviour (Sousa 2001). However, with advances in technology, researchers have been able to theorise how the brain works and evolves into the marvel that it is. This information is being passed on to the general public in a number of different media. For current and future educators this is an exciting time given that the last decade has seen neuroscience, psychology and education merge boundaries and provide important insights into the workings of the human brain. The following sections of this chapter look to unpack what we do know about the brain and how this might influence our understandings of learning and, by association, our practice as teachers.

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How the brain learns — contemporary scientific insights When do you think learning begins? Historically this has often been a question of guesswork and intuition. Not all that long ago very little was known about learning and in particular how the brain learns. Even as late as the 1970s, developmental psychologists believed that newborn babies were not able to think and were actually capable of little more than simple automatic responses; in essence, newborns were considered not much more than ‘carrots that could cry’ (Gopnik, Meltzoff & Kuhl 1999; Nagel 2008). Advances in technology in conjunction with new scientific and medical procedures tell us that from a neuroscientific perspective learning starts around 17 days after conception. This is the time when neurogenesis begins. For neuroscientists, learning originates within neurons and neural connections. Indeed, if you are going to understand how the brain learns then you must begin with an understanding of neural development. Neurons (or nerve cells) are integral to behaviour and learning and, as shown in figure 3.3, are comprised of a nucleus with dendrites, axon and axon terminals (Howard 2006). As noted above, it is very early in life that the brain begins to produce neurons and by the seventeenth week of pregnancy the foetus will already have approximately a billion neurons. The production of neurons occurs at a rate of about 50 000 per second and at birth a newborn will actually have twice as many neurons as necessary. Later in life this excess is actually pruned back. Neurons are different from other cells in the body in that they have sophisticated mechanisms for transferring information to one another. Most people have heard of the term ‘synapse’ and this term is jokingly used to explain lapses of memory or seemingly silly behaviour. In actuality, a synapse is the site of the electrochemical impulse that occurs when the dendrites of one neuron pass information through the axon terminals of another. The passing of information from one neuron to another involves a great deal of complexity and in many respects is still a bit of a mystery to scientists. What scientists do know is that this type of communication occurs when our senses receive information from the external world around us and the brain reacts accordingly. This passing of information leads to the development of long-term, hardwired neural circuitry, which, for neuroscientists, is the essence of learning. Moreover, this process of hardwiring visa` -vis synaptic transmission reveals that, from a neuroscientific standpoint, learning is actually a use it or lose it process. As the brain responds to the environment it lays down connections that, over time and through repetition, may become hardwired pathways for behaving in a certain way. Conversely, those connections that are not repeatedly used are often discarded or pruned away during various stages of development (Diamond & Hopson 1999; Ratey 2001). CHAPTER 3 Student learning 93

FIGURE 3.3

The anatomy of a neuron

Dendrites

Cell body

Nucleus

Direction of nerve impulse Myelin sheath Axon

Axon terminals Synapse

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Postsynaptic neurons

As a future educator, you may be saying to yourself that all of the above is interesting, but why is it so important to know in terms of learning and teaching? The answer to this question is simple. Although a great deal of the brain’s architecture is put into place in utero, it is after a child is born that learning really begins to flourish with a prolific rate of growth in neural connections. These connections are influenced by individual experience in the world around us and, as such, children at all ages need appropriate environmental stimuli to facilitate their learning and neurological development. Stimulating experiences activate certain connections, repetition consolidates these connections and the brain learns. A factor of considerable importance with regards to stimulating environments is that scientists have recently discovered that regions of the cerebral cortex increase in size when exposed to stimulating conditions and the longer the exposure the greater the growth. In fact, the research available tells us that stimulation increases the overall number of dendrites in each neuron, which in turn enlarges or thickens cortical cells (Diamond & Hopson 1999; Shore 1997). Another important consideration is that the brain does not mature in a linear fashion and regions of the brain responsible for our survival, emotions and capacity to engage in abstract or highly sophisticated cognitive endeavour develop along different timelines. This is 94

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why we don’t ask eight-year-old children to engage in complex algebraic equations or expect two-yearold infants to always respond rationally when they are told they can’t have a chocolate biscuit. This is also why we must look at aspects of neural development within significant time frames of growth and maturation.

Early development and learning From the information already presented it should be apparent that a great deal of neural activity, growth and development occurs in the early stages of life. Neurons provide the raw material for learning by building connections, but these connections and the neurodevelopmental timeline that exists from birth into adulthood is mediated by various processes. Through early childhood and into adolescence this timetable is significantly influenced by myelin, a material that insulates the axon of a neuron. Myelin appears as white fatty material and is often referred to as the white matter of the brain. As an insulator, myelin aids in the transmission of information from one neuron to another and the more ‘myelinated’ axons in the brain, the greater opportunity for neural information to be passed quickly. The result of all of this is that certain activities may be easier to learn when regions of the brain are sufficiently myelinated or when brains become ‘fatter’. In terms of early development and learning, myelination is very important for children, due to the fact that when we are born we have very few myelinated axons. This is one reason that vision and motor coordination are so limited at birth — the neural networks responsible for facilitating vision and movement are not working fast enough, but barring any unforeseen circumstances they will become much more efficient when myelin increases. Furthermore, as we grow older different regions of the brain myelinate at different times. For example, when Broca’s area (the region of the brain responsible for language production) myelinates, children are then able to develop speech and grammar. These times of myelination have become referred to by neuroscientists as learning windows and amazingly a healthy brain knows which areas need to be myelinated first and that myelination cannot happen all at once (Diamond & Hopson 1999; Herschkowitz & Herschkowitz 2004). Figure 3.4 offers a graphical overview of some of the known ‘learning windows’. FIGURE 3.4

Learning windows — key periods of neural connectivity

Motor development Emotional control Peer/social skills Binocular vision Habitual ways of responding

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Vocabulary development Language development Symbol recognition Instrumental music 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Age (years) Source: Adapted from Chugani, Phelps and Mazziotta (1987, 1989); Chugani (1994, 1996); Diamond and Hopson (1999); Eliot (2000); Herschkowitz and Herschkowitz (2004); Hirsch-Pasek, Golinkoff and Eyer (2004).

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While the neurobiological aspects of ‘learning windows’ may appear rather straightforward, a number of other determining factors also influence neural proliferation. In conjunction with the timelines noted above, stimulation from the environment is influenced by cultural and social factors. In other words, ‘the exact web of connections among neurons at a particular moment is determined by a combination of genetic makeup, environment, the sum of experiences we have imposed on our brains and the activity we are bombarding it with now and each second into the future’ (Ratey 2001, p. 26). In this sense nature and nurture are not dichotomous entities, but actually work in tandem to facilitate learning and shape the mind. For Dr Harry Chugani, one of the world’s leading authorities in this particular field, nurturing in an educational context is incredibly important, and he suggests that education systems ‘would do well to exploit biological windows of opportunity while learning is theoretically more efficient and easily maintained’ (Nagel 2006, p. 33). There are other important considerations to remember when looking at ‘learning windows’. When scientists first uncovered this important aspect of optimum times for neural stimulation they referred to them as ‘critical’ periods. This terminology led to a misconception that once the window closed learning was not possible. It is important to remember that not all learning is ‘critically’ influenced by ‘learning windows’. The type of ‘learning’ that happens in educational contexts occurs over a lifetime, unconstrained by any window of opportunity. The key with the concept of a learning window is that these timelines provide an optimum time for stimulation. Some of these windows do require the necessary stimulation to hardwire the brain (e.g. sight requires early visual stimulus), but the brain allows for the traditional notions of learning that exist in schools to occur; it just might be somewhat more difficult to achieve certain skills later in life (e.g. second language acquisition). You might think that if experience and activity are indeed significant factors in neural development then surely the earlier the stimulation (e.g. ‘enrichment’) the greater the propensity for learning and early success. This idea has led to some very worrying trends in early learning contexts. In Australia over the last 20 years, the notion of enriching the lives of young children to ostensibly give them a competitive edge at school success has witnessed an alarmingly increasing trend of extra tuition and curricular activity. For most people, trying to gain some measure of success for their children may not appear as such a bad thing. After all, most would agree that parents and educators are only trying to do their best to enhance the options and futures of the children around them. However, when doing their best encompasses a ‘more is better’ approach without any measure of understanding regarding child development, the end result could be that more is less. Experience is important, but so too is each child’s individual developmental timeline. Learning windows provide a guide, not an absolute, and trying to educate and enrich a child too early has led to what child development expert Professor David Elkind refers to as the ‘hurried child’ (2001). For Elkind and others, the prevailing message in today’s world is that it is no longer sufficient for children to learn independently as they have for millennia. However, unless you live in extreme poverty, isolation or social and emotional deprivation, the natural everyday environments children find themselves in promote strong neural development (Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff & Eyer 2004). The important message here regarding learning is that, although scientists are aware of the fact that once a prime time has passed the ability of the brain to forge certain kinds of neural pathways diminishes substantially, this does not mean learning cannot occur. What is significant is the type of learning being done — and in most cases only those experiences that have robbed the brain of important early stimuli appear irreversible. For the majority of children, the day-to-day experiences of life are often enough to ensure a healthy start to development and learning. It is important to emphasise that healthy development is also the product of nature and nurture, and as such, the experiences children are exposed to can both enhance and hinder all aspects of development and learning. For pre-service teachers it is also important to recognise that, in terms of early learning in an educational context, children must be allowed opportunities to explore their environments freely and selfregulate their behaviour, and be encouraged to ask questions. During the early years the brain is not always receptive to carefully organised or sterilised, sequenced material. It tends to run on more of an emotional trajectory, which is why ‘play’ is such an important component of formal and informal early 96

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learning. Individual experience fosters new brain growth and refines existing brain structures, and there is nothing more naturally individual for children than opportunities to learn via playing. There is a growing body of neuroscientific research identifying that children who do better academically and socially throughout their school lives come from home and early learning environments that provide substantive opportunities to explore and play (Eliot 2000; Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff & Eyer 2004). The importance of play cannot be understated or overemphasised. This is especially true for those who see play as something to be done when all the hard work of ‘schooling’ has been achieved, or assume that learning in children and adults occurs in a similar fashion (Sunderland 2008). The importance of play in terms of social, emotional and cognitive development has a long history and is well established in the research literature (Nagel 2012). For example, studies tell us that self-directed and open-ended play can be linked to better language and problem-solving abilities, better social skills, enhanced memory capacities, expanded creative endeavour and less stress in children (Medina 2010). For early development and learning, extensive opportunities for children to explore the world around them and play are integral components of early childhood education and complement the rationale that institutionalised learning prior to Year 1 has traditionally been referred to as preschool. Contemporary research also tells us that it is only after their fifth birthday that a child’s brain is emotionally and cognitively ready for the type of formal learning and teaching that exists in a primary school. The capacity to follow adult reasoning, use memory in a deliberate fashion, begin to grasp abstract concepts and have enough self-control to sit for long periods of time and attend to what is being taught ‘starts’ around the age of six. During the primary years much of the brain then goes through a process of neural consolidation until adolescence engages the brain in some significant neural restructuring.

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Adolescence and learning Many people would probably agree that some measure of consideration regarding early development and learning be provided for future teachers. There is, and has been, widespread agreement that the early years are very important in terms of development and learning. Much of what has happened in traditional education has focused on the unique learning needs of young children. This has arguably been part of the work of Piaget and others who believed that all of the important processes of the mind were in place by around the twelfth birthday. From the past decade, however, a great deal of research now tells us that when children enter adolescence the brain undergoes some major restructuring and development that ultimately impacts on behaviour and learning. Recall from the previous section that according to neuroscientists learning occurs when neurons ‘talk’ to each other. Much of this communication occurs without any conscious attention to thinking as the body absorbs a never-ending supply of sensory stimulation from the environment. However, when we are asked to attend to a particular experience such as a maths lesson in school, the brain is more likely to be stimulated if the information and experience it is immersed in maintain a high level of relevancy, currency or curiosity. These types of experiences are more likely to engage the emotional part of the brain, which we now know is an integral link to cognition and learning. The significance of this during adolescence is even more stark and revealing given how the brain matures and changes. Before looking at the neurological reality that parents and teachers face when their children begin to mature into adults, it is important to articulate what we mean by ‘adolescence’, which is actually a socially constructed term. For example, many Aboriginal cultures have different understandings of what constitutes an adolescent, while other cultures might focus on some aspect of age as a benchmark for the beginning and end of adolescence. In the context of this work the word ‘adolescence’ is situated with the word ‘pubescence’, which is a medical term denoting a change in an individual’s reproductive organs. The reason for placing adolescence in this framework is that a change in reproductive capacity closely aligns with changes to the brain and, as such, provides some clarity regarding when the transition from child to adult actually begins. For some children, this change is occurring well before they become teenagers, resulting in some amazing neurological transformations before the second decade of life. CHAPTER 3 Student learning 97

There is an abundance of literature available describing adolescent neurological development that goes beyond the scope of this chapter (see for example, Andersen 2003; Giedd 2004; Giedd et al. 1999; Nagel 2004, 2005, 2014; Strauch 2003). At the risk of oversimplifying this important developmental milestone, we will limit this discussion to broader and perhaps more general perspectives, starting with some structures of the brain and how their maturational timeline may impact on behaviour and learning. When looking at a human brain, scientists generally describe it as maintaining three major structures. The brainstem or region closest to the spine is responsible for functions not under conscious control and where fight-or-flight survival responses are activated. The limbic system or central part of the brain harbours and processes our emotions. And finally the uppermost region of the brain known as the cerebrum maintains what is often referred to as the ‘thinking’ centre of the brain (Hardiman 2003). The cerebrum generally refers to the combined right and left hemispheres of the brain that house the occipital, temporal, parietal and frontal lobes and the cerebral cortex, the uppermost grey layers of the brain where thinking, consciousness and further responses to environmental stimuli take place. Most people identify the brain with this region because of its most obvious characteristic — its wrinkly surface, which is highly convoluted and purposeful in design for it increases its own surface area without increasing its overall volume or size (Berninger & Richards 2002; Hardiman 2003; Ratey 2001). For each person there exists some measure of variation in the surface landscape of the cerebrum, but overall the regions themselves are similar for everyone in terms of their design and function. The main structures of the human brain are shown in figure 3.5. FIGURE 3.5

The human brain

Cerebral cortex Corpus callosum

Limbic system

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Brainstem

Spinal cord

One of the most important considerations regarding structures of the brain is that the brain actually matures from the bottom up and around to the front. In other words, the brainstem and limbic system, areas responsible for survival and emotions, mature before areas of the cerebrum and most notably before the prefrontal lobes are fully firing. The prefrontal lobes often attract the most attention in terms of developing an understanding of learning due to the fact that this area of the cerebrum is the brain’s thinking centre or what some refer to as ‘the brain’s chief executive officer’. This important region of the brain allows us to be consciously aware of our thoughts and actions and is responsible for aspects of abstract thought, memory, higher order thought processes, problem solving, decision making, planning, creativity, judgement, language and the mediation of inappropriate emotional responses. While it is significant 98

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to remember that this area of the brain does not fully mature until the third decade of life, it is equally important to remember that we are born with more neurons and develop more neural connections than we actually need. During adolescence the brain also travels down a pathway of deconstruction whereby it discards unused synaptic connections or prunes itself as it works towards becoming more efficient (Giedd et al. 1999). The experiences that are provided to children are very important but become increasingly so during adolescence when synaptic pruning may cut back 7 to 10 per cent of the brain’s grey matter, with some smaller regions losing as much as 50 per cent (Sowell et al. 1999). In other words, it is during this time in our lives when the adage of ‘use it or lose it’ noted earlier is most prolific. The activities that adolescents engage in repeatedly will be most successful at developing the neural circuitry of the brain; consequently this process, along with the other developmental phases noted above, has a profound impact on adolescent emotions, thought processes and, by extension, learning. If, as the research suggests, areas of the brain responsible for emotive and survival responses (the limbic system and areas of the brainstem) mature and develop sooner than areas responsible for higher order thinking and other executive processes, then one of the ways to enhance learning and hold attention for adolescents is through engaging in relevant activities that allow for sensory motor experiences (Davis 2001; Kolb 2000). Inquiry-based learning or problem-based learning may offer such opportunities in that they allow students to engage their emotions in the context of problems that interest them and also allow for the continued building of neuron connections discussed earlier (Kwon & Lawson 2000). Indeed, the emotional part of the brain may be the key to learning during adolescence whereby we recognise that when the brain perceives the information it is receiving to be important and emotive or stimulating enough, synaptic communication occurs. As noted earlier, neuroscience is telling educators that relevancy, currency and novelty can act to stimulate the brain’s innate drive to learn and find meaning (Caine & Caine 2001). Finally, it is fairly safe to assume that most educators who work with adolescents know that they are dealing with an interesting blend of emotions and behaviours that often seem at odds with adult perceptions and opinions. It is therefore important to remember that the adolescent brain is a work in progress and helping to nurture that development is as important, if not more so, as attaining various levels of academic prowess. Indeed, when one thinks of adolescence and learning it is a safe assumption that failing to educate with the developing brain in mind may in fact hinder a young person’s ability to succeed academically, emotionally and personally. While engaging in learning with adolescents it is important to always bear in mind that you are dealing with biological beings in culturally designed institutions — and to design your practices around this notion (Sylwester 2003). Such reflection and planning would also need to take into account the important neurobiological aspects of memory and its role in learning.

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Retaining what is learned For many people the barometer for indicating whether learning has taken place or not is how well someone remembers something. Attempts to understand human memory and how it works as a function of the brain and a product of learning have captured the imagination of scientists and philosophers for over a century (Nelson 1995). However, much of the work done in the past has operated within an incomplete understanding of the neurobiology of the brain. Since the turn of the century a great deal of scientific progress into understanding memory has occurred with the advent of new technologies for improved brain imaging (Kandel 2006; Sylwester 2005). Because of these advances we now have a greater understanding of memory, learning and the retention of new information.

Memory In itself ‘memory’ is not dissimilar to the term ‘learning’ in that it is often a taken-for-granted notion of human endeavour. Indeed, the two terms are so inextricably linked that studying one without the other CHAPTER 3 Student learning 99

is arguably impossible. Nonetheless, it is important to note that while learning refers to the acquisition of knowledge, information and/or skills, memory is the term used to describe how and where our brain stores learned information and skills (Sylwester 2005). Concurrently, many people often think of memory as a video camera whereby events are recorded as they happen, stored in a particular place and then played back later when needed. This view of memory is problematic in that memories are not a unitary trait; rather they are stored in various pieces throughout the cerebrum and dependent on various structures and their interconnections (Cycowicz 2000). The shape, smell, colour and taste of a lemon, for example, are categorised and stored in different neural connections; activating these sites simultaneously unites a recollection of our experiences and thoughts involving a lemon and we remember (Sousa 2001). Moreover, while we are capable of learning many things, it is important to recognise that memories are far more malleable and fallible than we would like to think, and retaining what is learned is not always a fait accompli. This may appear somewhat disconcerting, but while memory must have some aspect of stability so that we can learn vis-`a-vis building up experiences, it also has to be flexible enough to adapt to our changing environment (Ratey 2001). It should be evident that the formation of a memory via learning is a highly complex neurological process that is often taken for granted because it appears to happen quite naturally. The totality of the processes and structures in the brain that help to shape our memories are too innumerable and multifaceted to discuss here. In the context of learning there are, however, some important considerations to remember. Firstly, our memories are shaped by our experiences and, as such, the environment and our senses are the starting point for memory creation. Each and every new experience causes the neural firing across synapses noted earlier to become either stronger or weaker, and this is dependent on how often these pathways refire. The concept of ‘use it or lose it’ is highly applicable here; the more a path is refired, the more permanent the message or learning becomes (Ratey 2001). Importantly, this process is not a standardised routine, and motivation and emotion play a role in determining the strength of a memory given that we generally attend to information or stimuli that is personally meaningful or elicits some emotional connection. Finally, it is important to note that — not unlike the multifarious and innumerable neurological aspects of learning — there are different stages and types of memory that are integral to understanding both learning and memory. Immediate/short-term memory, working memory, long-term storage and types of memory

Although short-term memory is as easily distinguishable from long-term memory as the words themselves suggest, the process by which short-term memories make the transition to long-term storage is far more complex. To better understand the role of memory in learning, figure 3.6 provides a starting point for describing the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of memory. FIGURE 3.6

The ‘what’ and ‘how’ of memory Stages of memory

Types of memory

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Implicit Environment and experience

Immediate/shortterm memory

Working memory

Procedural memories

Long-term memory Explicit

Episodic and semantic memories

Source: Adapted from Sousa (2001).

In order to understand ‘immediate’/short-term memory, think of a time you looked for a telephone number in a phone book, put the book down, then went and dialled the number. That information would 100

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likely be stored for a very short time and if there was no answer to your call or the line was busy, by the time you went to redial it you would have probably forgotten it. Immediate/short-term memory can last a few seconds or a few minutes — depending on the importance and significance of the data — and operates on a conscious and subconscious level (Cowan 2008; Howard 2006; Sousa 2001). For many years short-term memory was considered to be synonymous with working memory, but contemporary understandings of memory now tend to separate the two. Working memory is part of the executive function of the prefrontal cortex and improves with age. It allows us to carry out the hundreds of tasks we do each day and ensures we avoid overloading our neural system by forgetting unimportant and insignificant events. Working memory operates on a conscious level and registers our current activities while retrieving information from long-term storage when necessary. There is some debate as to how long memories might be held in this stage, but what is known is that working memory is temporary and wanes quickly unless there is a change in focus or context. This helps to explain why learning and teaching with young children require shifts in activity duration and style. That being said, it is significant to note that although working memory improves as we get older, even for adults the likelihood of shifting items from working memory to long-term storage is enhanced when the focus of instruction or interaction is varied and activates as many of our sensory perceptions as possible. In other words, varied approaches to instruction or interaction require shifts in attention and cognition, and neuroscience tells us that working memory is closely associated with attention and linked to cognitive aptitude (Cowan 2008; Vergauwe & Cowan 2015). Working memory is also currently recognised as complicit in those who struggle with poor evaluation and anticipation of consequences or action disorders. Those who have neurological difficulties with their working memory often have difficulties with coherent thinking, attention, social interactions and long-term storage of events. Long-term memory is a fairly self-evident term. This is the final stage of memory processing and long-term memories appear to be scattered throughout various regions of the brain. It also appears that the amount of information that the brain can store in long-term memory is somewhat limitless, and after we memorise something we can direct our attention to other things for a few minutes or even years and then retrieve the first item again at will (Klingberg 2009). As yet, neuroscientists would generally agree that much of what we know about how the brain stores memories is still a mystery but they may agree that in some sense long-term memory is also like the hard drive of your computer — information stored is only done so when the ‘save’ button is hit. Usually the shift from working memory to longterm storage occurs when an event is emotive, makes sense, provides an epiphany or has some meaning attached to it. Events that elicit a strong emotional response or survival instinct are almost always stored for future reference. The emotional part of the brain, or limbic system, appears to be the relay station for much of the brain’s memory-processing capabilities and the stronger the emotion or the more an event causes an emotional response, the more likely it is to be transferred from the relay station to other regions for future use. This is one level of learning that focuses on emotion and survival. On another level of learning — that occurring in educational contexts — for information to be moved to long-term memory, an experience has to make sense and have meaning. Information that has both is more likely to get stored; however, one of the difficulties in this process is that having meaning is a personal component of learning. Again, the terms relevancy, currency and novelty are important. When a person identifies that something is relevant to their lives, is current to them or happening in the present and/or is novel, it is more likely to be shifted into long-term storage because the limbic system then gives it an emotional tag and moves it accordingly. When someone queries why they have to learn something, that is the first sign that it will in all likelihood be forgotten unless some relevancy or meaning is provided. In that sense, some types of memories are more easily stored than others. As noted in figure 3.6, there are two types of memory: implicit and explicit. Implicit memory is responsible for the laying down of skills and habits, which are often engaged on a subconscious level, while explicit memory encodes factual knowledge. Eating, walking and riding a bike are implicit memories, whereas names, faces and dates are characteristic of explicit memories. Another important aspect of understanding implicit and explicit memory is the subcomponents of each. CHAPTER 3 Student learning 101

Within the framework of implicit memory lies procedural memory. Procedural memory encompasses the steps or procedures for doing something; in essence it is the ‘how’ of doing something. Procedural memory includes the how of riding a bike, driving a car, swinging a cricket bat, walking and tying a shoelace, and becomes more automatic with practice. Conversely, explicit memory includes episodic and semantic memory. Episodic memory is the memory of life experiences and the capacity to place facts and events in time and refer to them freely. Once again, it should be noted that emotion plays a prominent role in ensuring the long-term encoding of episodic memories. Semantic memories on the other hand are arguably more cognitive and are memories about information and knowledge of the world around us. Semantic memory allows for the retention of facts and everyday functions. It differs only slightly from episodic memory in that semantic facts are removed from a specific moment and place. Another important difference between semantic and episodic memory is that episodic memory is far less reliable and easily distorted by any number of distractions including fear, anxiety and stress (Howard 2006; Ratey 2001). This is one of the reasons that eyewitness testimony to crimes can be very problematic in terms of accuracy of detail and clear recollection of events; the emotionally laden nature of a crime-related episodic memory is likely to induce strong and vivid recall regardless of its accuracy and, as such, maintains the potential to distort the overall recollection of the experience (Pink 2010). Semantic memories, on the other hand, given their nature, are far less flexible but arguably more difficult to attain in the context of learning in schools. Quite often the permanent acquisition of information through rote learning or any other form of memorisation is not achieved. Again, the criteria for long-term memory storage must be heeded in that the acquisition of factual information without some measure of relevancy or emotional stimulus is unlikely. Language depends on semantic memory and — barring any form of impairment — is easily acquired because it is a meaningful and relevant endeavour for our survival and emotional and social wellbeing. Learning the periodic table of the elements, on the other hand, may not garner the same measure of enthusiasm or urgency. An important question for future teachers then is how can learning be transferred and/or retained effectively.

Transfer and retention

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A good portion of teaching in schools centres on delivering facts and information to build concepts that explain a body of knowledge. We teach numbers, arithmetic operations, ratios and theorems to explain mathematics. We teach about atoms, momentum, gravity and cells to explain science. We talk about countries, famous leaders and their trials and battles to explain history and so on. Students may hold on to this information in working memory just long enough to take a test, after which it readily decays and is lost (Sousa 2001, p. 84).

If you think back to the opening of this chapter, we explored the notion of learning as a product and process. We can continue to use this framework in the context of how the brain transfers and retains information. At the risk of appearing repetitive it is important to remember the following points. r Brain maturation and development is a lengthy process stretching from early conception into the second decade of life. r During the brain’s developmental journey there are windows of opportunity for learning particular things. r The environment is an important component of neural development and learning — and nature and nurture operate in tandem, not as ‘two horses trying to win the brain development cup’. r Much of what goes on in an adult’s head is vastly different to what goes on in the mind of a child or adolescent. As such, many of the skills and cognitive abilities adults take for granted, students are yet to possess with the same efficiency and expediency. r There exist different stages and types of memory, yet some of the underlying principles in terms of shifting short-term memories to long-term storage parallel each other (i.e. relevancy and meaning, emotional content, novelty and currency are all powerful mediators of learning and memory storage). With those ideas in mind it is also essential to recognise that while we know that the environment plays a role in learning and shaping the brain, in itself the brain is not primarily an experience-storing device 102

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but is a dynamic computing device that is primarily rule driven (Gazzinga 1998). Learning occurs via synaptic transmissions, is hardwired into the brain through repetition, and is more likely to be retained if it engages more than just the cognitive capacities of the mind. This is the art and science of learning and teaching. It requires educators to look beyond traditional views of classroom endeavour while simultaneously thinking of enhancing learning through new paradigms of thought and emerging frameworks of learning in the twenty-first century. In order to further our understanding of transfer and retention, those ideas are presented in the last section of this chapter.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

In 2009 the term ‘neuroeducation’ emerged out of a series of conferences in the United States. The intent of those gatherings was to bring together some of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of education, psychology and neuroscience with a focus on linking educational practice with neuroscientific research and vice versa. Today, a growing number of educators and schools are looking to neuroscience to help better understand ‘learning’, ‘behaviour’ and inform what they do in school environments. In your experience, have you witnessed any evidence of schools or teachers incorporating brain research into their curriculum or teaching endeavours? Should they? Will you and if so how? Perhaps a good place to start would be to explore in greater detail how memories are stored and how they can be enhanced. For example, there are important links between emotions and memory and we are more likely to remember things that have some emotional value to us. Emotions can also shut down learning when a person is anxious and/or stressed. What might that mean in terms of how you design and deliver a learning and teaching episode?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

When Jean Piaget developed his theories of cognitive development he did not have the luxury of being able to see the brain in action as researchers do now, nor did he have empirical data outlining the developmental trajectory of the human brain. Consequently, some aspects of his theories are not entirely accurate, especially in regards to the full maturation of the brain’s frontal lobes. We also now know that as children move through the teenage years, their brains are undergoing some significant aspects of reconstruction which in turn impacts on all aspects of learning and behaviour. Importantly, and as noted earlier, emotions play an integral role in learning, suggesting that meaningful learning and long-lasting memories are more likely to occur when learning experiences and content are relevant, current and novel. How do you ensure that the content you are going to deliver is relevant, current and/or novel to the life of the students? Remember, students are required to learn many things, but without a sense of connection between those things they are not likely to retain what they have learned.

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3.3 Enhancing learning LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3.3 Discuss the relationships between different forms of intelligences and learning, as well as environmental factors that influence learning.

Along with concepts of memory and memory retention, people often associate learning or one’s capacity to learn with the term ‘intelligence’. Indeed, intelligence is often linked with a general aptitude and capacity for understanding and learning — and for many people, intelligence is valued in terms of ‘the more the better’. In everyday usage, intelligence has traditionally been conceived as a mental ability that is present in different amounts and is measurable using various tests. The results of these tests produce an ‘intelligence quotient’ or IQ score that is then often used as a label for denoting levels of intelligence. While intelligence tests are not uncommonly used in psychological contexts, their value with regards to CHAPTER 3 Student learning 103

educational contexts is highly contested. On a positive note, intelligence tests may be useful for identifying students who are at risk of problems in learning as a result of impaired intellectual abilities or conversely can be useful for identifying students who are intellectually gifted. Consequently, the result of intelligence tests may guide the planning of appropriate educational programs for learners. Notwithstanding the potential benefits of intelligence testing, there are a number of issues. First there are questions concerning the reliability and validity of scores derived from tests. There are also issues of cultural bias and the one-dimensional nature of identifying intelligence found in tests. It is not uncommon for minority and economically disadvantaged students to score lower than other students. In terms of student wellbeing, there is a risk that information about an individual student’s performance on an intelligence test will lead to expectations that have an adverse effect on that student’s achievement and self-concept. Finally, the idea of intelligence as mental agility or mental speed is a Western notion. In other words, the skills valued by a society are likely to represent the skills that are useful in that society, which in turn contribute to the content and structure of tests. Consider, for example, that in some Pacific Island communities, skills of navigation may be associated with intelligence, but these same skills may not be represented in Western intelligence tests. Over time, definitions of intelligence have evolved, resulting in new models of understanding the links between ‘intelligences’ and learning. Therefore, although some of the earliest pioneers developed important frameworks for understanding intelligence, it has only been in the past 20 years that learning and learning in educational contexts have begun to embrace new and important insights related to intelligence, with a common thread among theorists that there are in fact multiple forms of intelligence. One of the primary contributors of these new insights is Professor Howard Gardner of Harvard University and his theory of ‘multiple intelligences’.

Multiple intelligences

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In the heyday of the psychometric and behaviorist eras, it was generally believed that intelligence was a single entity that was inherited; and that human beings — initially a blank slate — could be trained to learn anything, provided that it was presented in an appropriate way. Nowadays an increasing number of researchers believe precisely the opposite; that there exists a multitude of intelligences, quite independent of each other; that each intelligence has its own strengths and constraints; that the mind is far from unencumbered at birth; and that it is unexpectedly difficult to teach things that go against early ‘naive’ theories of intelligence that challenge the natural lines of force within an intelligence and its matching domains (Gardner 1993, p. xix).

Howard Gardner, a world-renowned author, academic and developmental psychologist, is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Gardner has had and continues to have a tremendous influence on our understanding of intelligences. His work has been widely accepted and applied in educational contexts throughout the world. In his earlier work Gardner viewed intelligence as the capacity or ability to solve problems or develop products that would be valued in more than one cultural setting (Gardner & Hatch 1989). These ideas underpinned his initial model of a theory of multiple intelligences (MI), which consisted of seven intelligences. In 1999 Gardner revised his model to include an eighth intelligence and these are presented in table 3.3. As previously noted, Gardner has been very influential in shaping an understanding of intelligence. That being said, his work is not without its criticisms. One of the foremost of these is whether what has been noted as an ‘intelligence’ could more accurately be described as a ‘talent’ or ‘ability’. In that sense, Gardner is not the first to generate a list of human abilities, and he has acknowledged that articulating his theory as one of ‘intelligences’ has probably garnered greater attention than if he had developed a theory of multiple ‘abilities’ (Willingham 2009). Indeed, it could be argued that any call to enhance teaching or design curricula around notions of ‘intelligences’ receives greater emphasis than those espousing the enhancement of ‘talents’. This may not necessarily be a limitation in that it suggests that learning is multifaceted and teaching should take this into account. 104

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TABLE 3.3

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

Intelligence

Characteristics

Logical–mathematical intelligence

The capacity to analyse problems logically, and the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively, think logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically.

Musical intelligence

Skill in the performance, composition and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognise and compose musical pitches, tones and rhythms.

Spatial intelligence

The potential to recognise and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.

Linguistic intelligence

The ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically, and remember information. Sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals.

Bodily–kinaesthetic intelligence

The potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems and the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements.

Interpersonal intelligence

The capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people.

Intrapersonal intelligence

The capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one’s feelings, fears and motivations.

Naturalist intelligence

The capacity to recognise, categorise and draw upon certain features of the environment.

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Source: Adapted from Gardner (1993, 1999).

A further criticism of ‘multiple intelligences’ can be found, not in Gardner’s theory, but in how it is often applied or presented. In trying to apply Gardner’s work there is often a misguided notion that the application of his model always necessitates that the teaching of any new content should encapsulate a pedagogical approach touching on all ‘intelligences’. For example, if students are to learn about some aspect of punctuation then perhaps they should do so through singing (musical intelligence). Gardner, and indeed many cognitive scientists, disavow this idea, for the intelligences (or abilities) are not interchangeable . . . grammatical concepts have to be learned grammatically and skill in music will not help (Willingham 2009). It is therefore important to keep in mind that some learning experiences are not easily applied across all of the categories provided by Gardner. It is also important to recognise that attempts to use Gardner’s work, or any other similar framework, as a mechanism for suggesting that teaching to a particular ‘intelligence’ or preferred learning style can improve individual educational achievement is not yet readily supported by empirical evidence. Learning style approaches to enhancing academic achievement have become popular and prevalent across many educational sectors (Pashler et al. 2008). Unfortunately, and as noted above, beliefs about learning styles enhancing educational practice are often just that — ‘beliefs’ that have not yet been supported with any substantive research evidence (Pashler et al. 2008; Willingham 2009). What we do know about learning in an educational context is that teachers almost always want their students to remember how to do things and/or what things mean. What must be taken into account therefore is that children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn, and in a school context the vast majority of learning experiences for imparting meaning require visual and auditory modalities (Willingham 2009). This in turn suggests that while teachers should indeed think of the best modality to present material, the goal should be to find the content’s best modality rather than searching for each student’s best modality or learning style (Willingham 2009). Until there is a sound body of evidence linking learning styles to academic achievement, teachers should take caution in trying to ascertain every student’s learning style and then label and teach them accordingly. While all students may have some capacity for ‘kinaesthetic CHAPTER 3 Student learning 105

learning’ or learning by feeling or movement, the concept of democracy is not something easily touched. Criticisms aside, it is significant to note that what Gardner has described as ‘intelligences’ are not something that he discovered per se, rather something he has refined that helps to extend our understanding of how people learn particular forms of content and/or ideas. In an educational context Gardner’s work has helped to extend traditional ideas about intelligence to include a wider range of abilities, and each intelligence is specialised for acquiring knowledge and solving problems in different areas of cognitive activity. Importantly, how individuals perform in one area is distinct from how they may perform in another, and content also varies from one discipline to another. And while some might argue that the intelligences identified are single uniform entities, they rarely operate independently, may be used simultaneously, and tend to complement each other as people develop skills or solve problems (Gardner 1993). This chapter is based on the view that the labelling of his work as intelligences as opposed to talents has actually had a beneficial outcome in terms of educating young minds; teachers can use the notion of ‘intelligences’ as evidence for carefully examining the content and meanings they wish to impart and thereby differentiate pedagogical and didactic endeavour. In terms of enhancing our understanding of learning, a theory of multiple intelligences also reminds us that traditional ‘schooling’ has often viewed and valued particular types of intelligences and knowledge over others. Most notably logical–mathematical and linguistic intelligence have maintained a central focus in school endeavour — and, while important, they represent the types of learning and teaching often associated with content and educational goals from earlier generations. The twenty-first century, however, may require schools to invest time in other aspects of Gardner’s framework and, as such, ‘intelligences’ are arguably better placed as a launch point for reviewing how to impart curriculum rather than labelling students. In this sense the categories he has provided offer current and future educators with a framework for designing contemporary educational experiences that encompass a broader perspective of teaching as well as learning. That being said, the theory of multiple intelligences is but one piece of an emerging puzzle for enhancing learning.

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Emotional and social intelligences In 1995 Daniel Goleman published a book that would become an international bestseller and driving force behind understanding and appreciating emotions and the ‘emotional’ brain. Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ drew on what at that time was groundbreaking neurological and behavioural research to remind us how important our emotions are in everything we experience and do (Goleman 1995). In 2006, Goleman added to this important work on emotional intelligence with a new offering focusing on ‘social’ intelligence. This added substantially to his initial writings and provided the general public with an increasingly important picture of the connections between our emotional, social and cognitive wellbeing (Goleman 2006). Goleman’s work helps to highlight another important change in our collective view of intelligence and learning. The notion that emotion plays a role in learning has been part of educational discourse for many years; however, it was not often given much attention. Fortunately, what first appeared in education in the 1960s as ‘affective education’ is seeing somewhat of a renewal in schools in various forms including ‘social development’, ‘life skills’, ‘social and emotional learning’ and ‘emotional literacy’. There are direct links with Gardner’s work in that he identifies this area as ‘inter and intra personal intelligences’ and argues that it is no less important than any other aspect of intelligence (Gardner 1999). Indeed, a child’s emotional development and emotional state can ultimately facilitate or hinder their learning ability and play an important role in academic outcomes (Zins et al. 2007). Emotional intelligence and development is also intimately linked with social intelligence and development, and both are integral to long-term school success and overall wellbeing. Moreover, the most recent advancements in neuroscience provide education with greater impetus for developing programs like these further and also add empirical evidence to the anecdotal experience of generations of parents and teachers alike. 106

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It is a safe assumption that the majority of parents and educators are aware that every child is made up of a complex mix of emotions, which in turn impact on their social world. Until recently, however, the potential for the emotional part of the brain to impact on our thinking and cognitive performance was not well understood because cognition and emotion were considered to operate in isolation from one another (Caine & Caine 2001). Some of the most recent research and scholarly writings available have identified that our previous understanding of the links between emotion and cognition were hugely problematic. Various research disciplines have provided significant evidence that emotions play an integral role in a person’s capacity to learn and the whole process of learning and coming to understand something is actually driven and/or hindered by emotion (Caine & Caine 2001; Damasio 1999; Goleman 1995; LeDoux 1996). Scientists have identified that our limbic system or emotional part of our brain can actually shut down cognition or our ability to think clearly. Studies examining the role of fear and anxiety have demonstrated that negative responses to the environment due to some measure of stress can directly impact on a student’s neurological capacities to learn (Lupien et al. 2007; McEwen 2002; Sapolsky 2004). For example, consider a time when you were experiencing a heightened emotional state resulting from an argument with someone. This type of event often signals an emotional transaction in the brain, facilitating a primal survival mechanism of releasing powerful hormones to prepare for a fight-or-flight response. Now think back to sometime after the event when you appear to regain clarity of thought and suddenly an epiphany or light bulb moment takes place and you ask yourself repeatedly, ‘Why didn’t I say this?’ or ‘How come I didn’t say that?’ The simple truth is that when hormones are released as a result of anger, fear, anxiety or stress your capacity to think is diminished because you are in a fight-or-flight response and your brain’s main agenda is survival. Only after a period of time has passed, allowing for hormones to balance themselves, do you begin to have clarity of thought. Researchers refer to this experience as ‘downshifting’, whereby individuals lose a great deal of access to higher order thinking, creativity and some of our normal cognitive capacities so that we can deal with the immediacy of the emotional moment (Caine & Caine 2001).

A child’s emotional development and emotional state can ultimately facilitate or hinder their learning.

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The importance of understanding the powerful role emotions play in learning cannot be understated. Earlier, we identified how important it was to engage the emotional part of the brain in learning, given that this region matures earlier than the higher order thinking regions of the brain. It is equally important to consider that while many would suggest that a school is a place where learning should enhance cognitive capacities and prepare students for the future, schools and the learning activities that take place are also responsible for developing healthy emotional and social minds. In other words, any environment where learning takes place must be cognisant of ensuring that time is allocated to social and emotional development in tandem with enhancing cognitive capacities. Concomitantly, there is an abundance of research showing that emotional literacy programs not only enhance the personal lives of students but also improve academic achievement and school performance (Goleman 1995). Learning environments willing to take this important aspect of intelligence on board need to contextualise the format of any emotional intelligence program, but they might include assertiveness training, development of coping skills, conflict resolution strategies, understanding the perils of negative self-talk, ‘rites of passage’ exercises, team-building skills, cooperative learning, time management training and studies in how the brain grows and matures. A learning environment embedding such approaches in its construction of learning will be better equipped to deal with the environments and world that students currently find themselves in. Such environments also assist in helping to develop students’ social intelligence and interactions. During the first half of the 1900s, Edward Thorndike proposed the idea and formulation of social intelligence, which focused on describing, defining and assessing socially competent behaviour (Crowne 2009; Goleman 2006). Over time and with advances in technology the earliest understandings of social intelligence have been enveloped under various descriptors including social neuroscience (Cacioppo & Berntson 1992), interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences (Gardner 1993, 1999), interpersonal neurobiology (Siegel 1999) and social cognitive neuroscience (Ochsner & Lieberman 2001). In the context of this work the term ‘social intelligence’ is used to encapsulate fairly consistent parameters found throughout each of the above labels. Specifically, social intelligence (SI) is characterised as knowledge of social situations and the skills to perceive and interpret those situations accurately in order to allow one to behave successfully in those situations or, more succinctly, the ability to interact effectively with others (Crowne 2009). An important question, then, is how and why would SI be important to learning. Paralleling the importance of emotional intelligence, social intelligence is closely related to cognition and, as such, maintains important considerations for future teachers. Take, for example, the social intelligence of students who have been identified as falling within the spectrum of autism. Approximately one in two hundred children will have one of the autistic conditions found on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continuum. Quite often they are identified as having Asperger’s syndrome and can be found in mainstream classrooms (Attwood 2007; Baron-Cohen 2003; Greenspan & Wieder 1998). Children with Asperger’s syndrome can have normal to exceedingly high IQs, yet are seen as socially ‘odd’, may struggle with communication and find it difficult to form relationships with other children (Baron-Cohen 2003). Teachers often focus on understanding and developing aspects of social intelligence over many other activities in a classroom and school environment as they see this as being of greater benefit to these children. Notwithstanding the diverse needs of children who may possess some of the characteristics of ASD, many mainstream children also benefit from teachers who are attuned to the importance of ‘social intelligence’. Relationships drawn from social awareness and positive engagement with others can have a direct impact on a child’s emotional status, physical wellbeing and overall capacity to function in any learning environment. To that end, it is important to remember that emotional intelligence and social intelligence are intimately connected: they can be nurtured through the types of activities noted earlier and they share no less importance in the day-to-day activities of school than those activities set out to engage the ‘thinking’ part of the human mind. After all, learning and teaching are, at their foundation, human endeavours, and part of being human means meandering through emotional states and social situations. 108

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Since Goleman (1995, 2006) introduced the terms ‘emotional intelligence’ and ‘social intelligence’ to the public domain there has been greater recognition of the links between the two, and their collective importance in terms of student wellbeing and academic achievement. Indeed, much of the current psychological and educational nomenclature now couples those two terms under the label ‘socio-emotional’ wellbeing, development and/or intelligence. In an Australian context, socio-emotional considerations are highlighted even further when considering Indigenous students and students from diverse backgrounds, who may experience ‘schooling’ in very different ways given their own social and cultural contexts. Reflecting on what you have learned thus far, what might be some important things to remember related to student learning when considering social expectations, behaviour and emotional understandings? As a teacher, what might you need to learn in terms of supporting students of all backgrounds?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

There is evidence to suggest that students today are dealing with increased levels of anxiety and stress associated with an educational culture of performativity. This is evident in studies in Australia noting how standardised testing, for example, has resulted in students experiencing an array of anxiety and stressrelated conditions (Wyn, Turnbull & Grimshaw 2014). Significantly, a focus on performativity, standards and outcomes often has a negative impact on learning and, paradoxically, on student achievement. Within your developing philosophy and pedagogical skill set, what things can you do to ensure that the learning environment you create optimises learning, diminishes anxiety and/or stress and embraces the diverse range of students you have in your classroom? How will you cope with your student’s socio-emotional needs in the context of a rapidly changing and global world?

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

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Knowledge of how the brain learns could, and will, have a great impact on education. Understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie learning and memory, and the effects of genetics, the environment, emotion and age on learning could transform educational strategies and enable us to design programs that optimize learning for people of all ages and all needs. Only by understanding how the brain acquires and lays down information and skills will we be able to reach the limits of its capacity to learn (Blakemore & Frith 2005, p. 1).

It is an exciting time to be an educator. While the training of previous generations of teachers was embedded with many sound theories of learning and behaviour, today’s pre-service teachers are being offered far greater insights into how the brain matures and develops, and the implications this has for learning. For example, neuroscientific researchers are now able to show that when you learn something new and/or consolidate previous information there is an actual physical change to the brain (Doyle & Zakrajsek 2013). Such information is becoming increasingly important in terms of learning and the science of teaching. And while trying to fully understand and describe the term ‘learning’ is not an easy task, research into the brain at the nexus of the psychology of learning is increasingly informing and changing what occurs in the classroom and school. This information is also affirming and modifying previous theories related to learning and hopefully adding to a greater understanding of the skills and attributes required by a teacher in the twenty-first century. The information in this chapter has been offered to help develop your understanding of learning and your developing skillset as a future teacher. Exposure to a variety of early theoretical frameworks and contemporary insights into learning can assist in your planning of learning experiences. Although the work described in this chapter may not offer innumerable practical strategies, this is purposeful in that theories guide and give meaning to what we see and those that can be verified by research can serve

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as a basis for practical action. When a theory helps us to understand learning we are in a much better position for knowing how to improve our craft as teachers and how to maximise learning opportunities. As reflective practitioners, theoretical frameworks shape our understandings and world views. Your ideas and experiences will also add to and shape your theoretical and philosophical approaches to learning and teaching. Equally important, theoretical frameworks also shape educational, social and public policy. This chapter was designed to give you a greater understanding of learning and the connections of this learning in an educational context. Learning is, in fact, both a process and a product depending on the task at hand and the desired outcome. Learning is also not something easily described. As noted earlier, learning is developmental and multifarious. As you have worked through this chapter you have developed your understanding of learning while learning many different things about something you may have taken for granted. Hopefully you have learned something in relation to earlier theoretical perspectives and newer insights into learning. Equally important in the context of twenty-first century educational practice, an understanding of neural development and the role of environmental stimuli will also have proven relevant and become ingrained in your own memory systems. With those foundational theoretical and developmental perspectives in place, the next part of your own developmental learning process is making the links between those perspectives and newer understanding of intelligences and emotions. When you are able to do this then you will have developed your own set of learning tools to enhance your practice as a teacher. Finally, your own self-knowledge and self-awareness of learning will have made some of the work above appear more relevant and novel than others and will have undoubtedly shaped your learning in, and of, this chapter. The key for you now is to reflect on what you have learned — for the overall intent of this chapter is best summarised in a quote attributed to Socrates, who said: ‘I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.’

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SUMMARY Learning is an ambiguous concept. Various theoretical perspectives have been proposed over the years to help provide different ways to view and understand learning. While none of these perspectives can offer a complete explanation of learning, an understanding of each helps teachers become reflective practitioners — to continually examine and critique their own beliefs and practices and how those beliefs and practices affect their students’ learning. Reflection is an important part of every teacher’s own growth, development and learning. The key theoretical perspectives on learning include behaviourist orientations, cognitive orientations, humanistic orientations, social/situational orientations and constructivist orientations. Recent advances in technology have enabled researchers to theorise how the brain works and changes. This has seen neuroscience, psychology and education merge boundaries and provide important insights into the workings of the human brain. These insights influence our understandings of learning and our practice as teachers. For example, we have learned that the brain does not mature in a linear fashion. Regions of the brain responsible for our survival, emotions and capacity to engage in abstract or highly sophisticated cognitive endeavour develop along different timelines, suggesting that there are particular times to engage with various activities, and these activities need to be both developmentally appropriate and pedagogically sound. ‘Memory’ describes how and where our brain stores learned information and skills. The formation of a memory via learning is a highly complex neurological process. First, our memories are shaped by our experiences — the environment and our senses are the starting point for memory creation. Second, motivation and emotion play a role in determining the strength of a memory. Third, there are different stages and types of memory. Immediate/short-term memory stores information for a very short time and then forgets it. Working memory allows us to carry out the hundreds of tasks we do each day and ensures we avoid overloading our neural system by forgetting unimportant and insignificant events. Working memory also allows us to draw on long-term memories when we engage in new activities or need to recall past experiences in order to achieve new goals. Long-term memory is like the hard drive of a computer — information stored is only done so when the ‘save’ button is hit. Usually the shift from working memory to long-term storage occurs when an event is emotive, makes sense or has some meaning attached to it. Information that has both is more likely to be stored; however, one of the difficulties in this process is that having meaning is a personal component of learning. When a person identifies that something is relevant to their lives, is current to them or happening in the present and/or is novel, it is more likely to be shifted into long-term storage. Memory may also be thought of as implicit or explicit. Within the framework of implicit memory lies procedural memory, which encompasses the steps or procedures for doing something — things that become automatic with practice. Explicit memory includes semantic and episodic memory. Episodic memory is the memory of life experiences and the capacity to place facts and events in time and refer to them freely. Semantic memories are memories about information and knowledge of the world around us. Semantic memory allows for the retention of facts and everyday functions removed from a specific moment and place. ‘Intelligence’ has traditionally been conceived as a mental ability that is present in different amounts and is measurable using various tests. Over time, definitions of intelligence have evolved, resulting in new models of understanding the links between ‘intelligences’ and learning, particularly that there are in fact multiple forms of intelligence, such as logical–mathematical, musical, spatial, linguistic, bodily–kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist intelligences. Emotional and social intelligence are also important concepts related to students’ personal lives and their academic and school performance.

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KEY TERMS behaviourism A branch of psychology based on the idea that all the actions of living things — including acting, thinking and feeling — can and should be regarded as behaviours. cerebral cortex A structure within the human brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language and consciousness. cognition The inner actions, processes and products of the mind that lead to knowing, including paying attention, remembering, categorising, planning, reasoning, problem solving and thinking creatively. cognitive constructivism Constructivist learning theory suggests that learning is a process of constructing meaning. Cognitive constructivism emphasises the role of cognition in this theory vis-`a-vis the accommodation of new information in existing conceptual frameworks or schemes. cognitive development Most commonly regarded as the development of the thinking or rational part of the conscious and subconscious. emotional intelligence An aspect of intelligence dealing with emotional self-management; developing and understanding emotional intelligence is an integral component of learning and wellbeing. explicit memory Memory of factual experiences (episodic memory) and information and knowledge (semantic memory). factory model A great deal of educational practice in the twentieth century was structured like an assembly line whereby students came into schools, received knowledge from the teacher and then became learned individuals. To some extent this is still evident, especially in secondary schools where students come into class in a large group, teachers stamp them with a lesson and then they move on. implicit memory Memory responsible for routines, skills and habits. inquiry-based learning An approach to learning that focuses on creating learning experiences in which students ask questions and work together to arrive at solutions to their problems; the teacher acts as facilitator rather than instructor. intelligence Traditionally, a general aptitude and capacity for understanding and learning. learner-centred education Model where learning focuses on what students identify as their needs and the teacher’s role is to facilitate a process to assist students in seeking the information they need to succeed. learning windows Optimum periods of maturation when the brain requires certain types of input in order to create or stabilise long-lasting structures; during the learning windows, the brain is most receptive to particular stimuli. multiple intelligences (MI) A categorisation of intelligences that are specialised for acquiring knowledge and solving problems in different areas of cognitive activity. myelin A white fatty substance that grows as a sheath around the axon of a neuron and acts as an insulator and conduit for transmitting information from one neuron to another. The thicker the myelin, the greater the expediency of neural transmission. Myelin is often referred to as the white matter of the brain and grows in volume throughout the first two decades of life. myelination The process of myelin growth. neurogenesis The process by which neurons are created that is most active during prenatal development. neurons Cells in the nervous system and core components of the brain that process and transmit information by electrochemical impulses. operant conditioning The use of positive and negative consequences to strengthen or weaken voluntary behaviours. problem-based learning An approach to learning in which students work collaboratively to solve challenging, open-ended, practical problems and reflect on their learning experiences.

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reflective practitioners A desired attribute of teachers in the twenty-first century, the notion of a reflective practitioner suggests that teachers continually examine their beliefs and practices in order to enhance their teaching practice and learning. self-efficacy An internal belief of being capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals. social cognitive theory An extension of social learning theory giving greater emphasis to the cognitive aspects of social learning. social constructivism Constructivist learning theory suggests that learning is a process of constructing meaning. Social constructivism emphasises the use of cultural tools (e.g. language) as a major influence on meaning construction. social intelligence (SI) Closely linked with emotional intelligence, social intelligence focuses on being intelligent ‘about’ and ‘in’ relationships through sensing and feeling the emotions of others in order to engage in positive interactions. social learning theory Developed by Albert Bandura, the theory of ‘social learning’ suggests that individuals learn by observing other people’s behaviours and the outcomes of those behaviours. synapse The site of the electrochemical impulse that occurs when neurons pass information to one another. Synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the brain and central nervous system. triadic reciprocality A theory that suggests a person’s behaviour both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment. zone of proximal development (ZPD) A concept developed by Lev Vygotsky identifying the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. This has translated into mainstream education in terms of ‘scaffolding’ learning or facilitating experiences that allow students to move through the ZPD.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 3.1

LO1

Behavioural explanations of learning focus on learners’ behaviours, observable actions or activities. While some aspects of behavioural principles can appear controversial, they are still widely evident in contemporary learning and teaching endeavour within educational contexts. Describe and discuss some of the strategies teachers may implement that are influenced by behaviourism. In your discussion identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of this theory and its application to the classroom context. 3.2

LO1

In relation to question 3.1 above, behaviourist approaches to learning have limitations in terms of social and cultural context. Consider the potential differences in how Indigenous and nonIndigenous students might perceive rewards and punishment, and how this might impact on classroom endeavour. Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

3.3

LO1

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a good framework for considering the needs of students at the nexus of positive learning experiences. This is also important when considering the ethnic and cultural diversity that is evident in many Australian classrooms. List some ways in which you might be able to help students meet basic and psychological needs at school. Also, what must you do, or need to know, in order to help students move up Maslow’s hierarchy and develop positive notions of self-esteem? 3.4

LO2

The concept of ‘learning windows’ offers key insights into the links between nature and nurture. Can you think of ways that schools could embrace this important framework for understanding neural development and make systemic changes to enhance formal educational endeavour? CHAPTER 3 Student learning 113

3.5

LO2, 3

When learning something new it is most helpful for a learner to be interested in what is being learned, to see value in it, to pay a lot of attention to it and, when possible, to practise it a great deal. Moreover, it should not come as a surprise to know that emotional arousal organises and coordinates brain activity in the areas of the brain that form memories. Now consider the diverse nature of many classrooms and how this might impact on the planning of learning activities. For example, for the Indigenous people of Australia, relationships and connections that link social, physical and spiritual parts of life help to shape learning and knowledge. What might this mean in terms of planning learning activities and how might teachers tap into their students’ emotions with a view to ensuring that all students are included in the process of learning and potential successful completion of learning outcomes? 3.6

LO3

There is little denying the links between emotions and relationships. As a future teacher can you list at least five ways you can enhance social intelligence in the classroom or school environment? What can you do specifically to enhance the social relationships of the students in your class or to develop positive relationships between you and your students? 3.7

LO3

There has always been a great deal of debate regarding the nature of intelligence; however, most theorists now believe that intelligence is a product of both heredity and the environment. If intelligence is only partly explained by genetic factors, how might educational environments restructure their learning experiences to enhance newer understandings of intelligence? Do you believe that educational environments need to rethink intelligence? If so, how can environmental influences be manipulated to develop capacities of intelligence in schools?

WEBSITES 1 The DANA Foundation is a private philanthropic organisation based in New York and committed

to advancing brain research and educating the public. This website has links for educators, and provides information and resources for teachers and students alike: www.dana.org 2 This website offers teachers resources and ideas for engaging twenty-first century learners. The site was developed with input from teachers, education experts and business leaders, with a goal towards defining and illustrating the skills and knowledge students need in order to succeed in work, life and citizenship: www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework 3 This website offers an online resource that teachers, administrators and school staff can visit each day to find high-quality and in-depth original content, along with resources and information related to learning and classroom endeavour: www.educationworld.com

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REFERENCES Andersen, SL 2003, ‘Trajectories of brain development: point of vulnerability or window of opportunity?’, Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 3–18. Attwood, T 2007, The complete guide to Asperger’s syndrome, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London. Bandura, A 1986, Social foundations of thought and action, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. —— 1976, Social learning theory, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Baron-Cohen, S 2003, The essential difference: The truth about the male and female brain, Basic Books, New York. Berninger, VW & Richards, TL 2002, Brain literacy for educators and psychologists, Elsevier Science, San Diego. Blakemore, SJ & Frith, U 2005, The learning brain: Lessons for education, Blackwell Publishing, United Kingdom. Cacioppo, JT & Berntson, GG 1992, ‘Social psychological contributions to the decade of the brain: doctrine of multilevel analysis’, American Psychologist, vol. 47, no. 8, pp. 1019–28. Caine, G & Caine, RN 2001, The brain, education, and the competitive edge, Scarecrow Press Inc., Lanham, MD. 114

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Chugani, HT 1996, ‘Neuroimaging of developmental non-linearity and developmental pathologies’, in RW Thatcher, GR Lyon & J Rumsey (eds), Developmental neuroimaging: Mapping the development of brain and behavior (pp. 187–95), Academic Press, California. —— 1994, ‘Development of regional brain glucose metabolism in relation to behavior and plasticity’, in G Dawson & KW Fischer (eds), Human behavior and the developing brain, Guilford Publications, New York, pp. 153–75. Chugani, HT, Phelps, ME & Mazziotta, JC 1989, ‘Metabolic assessment of functional maturation and neuronal plasticity in the human brain’, in C von Euler, C Forssberg & H Lagercrantz (eds), Neurobiology of early infant behaviour. Wenner-Gren international symposium series, vol. 55, Stockton Press, New York, pp. 323–30. —— 1987, ‘Positron emission tomography study of human brain functional development’, Annals of Neurology, vol. 22, pp. 487–97. 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Greenspan, SI & Wieder, WS 1998, The child with special needs: Encouraging intellectual and emotional growth, Perseus Books, Reading, Massachusetts. Hardiman, MM 2003, Connecting brain research with effective teaching: The brain-targeted teaching model, Scarecrow Press, Maryland. Hergenhahn, BR & Olsen, MH 2005, An introduction to theories of learning, 7th edn, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Herschkowitz, N & Herschkowitz, EC 2004, A good start to life: Understanding your child’s brain and behaviour from birth to age, Dana Press, New York. Hirsch-Pasek, K, Golinkoff, RM & Eyer, D 2004, Einstein never used flashcards: How our children really learn — and why they need to play more and memorize less, Rodale, New York. Howard, PJ 2006, The owner’s manual for the brain: Everyday applications for mind–brain research, 3rd edn, Bard Press, Texas. Kandel, ER 2006, In search of memory: The emergence of a new science of mind, WW Norton & Company, New York. 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Lupien, SJ, Maheu, F, Tu, M, Fiocco, A & Schramek, TE 2007, ‘The effects of stress and stress hormones on human cognition: implications for the field of brain and cognition’, Brain and Cognition, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 209–37. Maslow, AH 1954, Motivation and personality, Harper, New York. —— 1943, ‘A theory of human motivation’, Psychological Review, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 370–96. McEwen, B 2002, The end of stress as we know it, John Henry Press, Washington, DC. Medina, J 2010, Brain rules for baby: How to raise a smart and happy child from zero to five, Pear Press, Seattle. Merriam, SB, Caffarella, RS & Baumgartner, LM 2007, Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide, 3rd edn, John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco. 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Ramsden, P 1992, Learning to teach in higher education, Routledge, London. Ratey, JJ 2001, A user’s guide to the brain: Perception, attention and the four theatres of the brain, Vintage Books, New York. Rogers, CR 1969, Freedom to learn: A view of what education might become, Charles E Merrill Company, Ohio. Sapolsky, RA 2004, Why zebras don’t get ulcers: The acclaimed guide to stress-related diseases and coping, 3rd edn, Henry Holt and Company, New York. Sch¨on, D 1983, The reflective practitioner, Basic Books, New York. Shore, R 1997, Rethinking the brain: New insights into early development, Families and Work Institute, New York. Siegel, D 1999, The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are, Guilford Press, New York. Skinner, BF 1963, ‘Operant behavior’, American Psychologist, vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 503–15. —— 1953, Science and human behavior, The MacMillan Company, New York. Sousa, D 2001, How the brain learns, 2nd edn, Corwin Press, California. Sowell, ER, Thompson, PM, Holmes, CJ, Jernigan, TI & Toga, AW 1999, ‘In vivo evidence for post-adolescent brain maturation in frontal and striatal regions’, Nature Neuroscience, vol. 2, no. 10, pp. 859–61. Strauch, B 2003, The primal teen: What the new discoveries about the teenage brain tell us about our kids, Doubleday, New York. Sunderland, M 2008, The science of parenting, DK Publishing, New York. Sylwester, RA 2005, How to explain a brain: An educator’s handbook of brain terms and cognitive processes, Corwin Press, California. —— 2003, A biological brain in a cultural classroom: Enhancing cognitive and social development through collaborative classroom management, 2nd edn, Corwin Press, California. Vergauwe, E & Cowan, N 2015, ‘Attending to items in working memory: evidence that refreshing and memory search are closely related’, Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 1001–1006. Vialle, W, Lysaght, P & Verenikina, I 2005, Psychology for educators, Thomson Social Science Press, Victoria. Von Glaserfeld, E 1997, ‘Amplification of a constructivist perspective’, Issues in Education: Contributions from Educational Psychology, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 203–9. Watson, JB 1925, Behaviorism, WW Norton and Company, New York. —— 1914, Behaviorism: An introduction to comparative psychology, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York. 116

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Wells, G 1999, Dialogic inquiry: Towards a sociocultural practice and theory of education, Cambridge University Press, New York. Willingham, DT 2009, Why don’t students like school? A cognitive neuroscientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom, John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco. Wyn, J, Turnbull, M & Grimshaw, L 2014, The experience of education: The impacts of high stakes testing on school students and their families, The Whitlam Institute — University of Western Sydney, Sydney. Zins, JE, Bloodworth, MR, Weissberg, RP & Walberg, HJ 2007, ‘The scientific base linking social and emotional learning to school success’, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 191–210.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © bikeriderlondon / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Caiaimage / Getty Images Photo: © bikeriderlondon / Shutterstock.com Photo: © michaeljung / Shutterstock.com Figure 3.1: © Maslow, AH 1998, Toward a psychology of being, 3rd edn, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

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CHAPTER 4

Understanding and motivating students LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 4.1 describe contemporary perspectives and issues related to the characteristics of twenty-first century learners 4.2 discuss the term ‘motivation’ in relation to theoretical perspectives and research into motivation 4.3 describe the importance of motivation in terms of learning and school environments 4.4 explain and discuss past conceptualisations of motivation in relation to twenty-first century learning and ‘schooling’.

OPENING CASE

Wanting to learn

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Jake is finding it difficult to pay attention in class. Since moving from an Aboriginal community some months ago and starting in his new school he has made new friends, but his motivation in the classroom is very low. He tries to engage with the material, but his mind wanders and he loses track of what he is doing and what he needs to get done. He wonders what his friends and cousins are doing back home, and finds the schoolwork uninteresting. At times he feels like he can’t do well, and his confidence is only elevated when he is doing sporting activities. Jake’s teacher, Mrs Hart, is concerned about his progress and believes that if he just worked harder and put more effort into his classroom endeavours he would do very well. She tries to entice Jake with rewards, and assigns him a buddy to help with his work in the hope that this might inspire him to try harder. The rewards and buddy seem to work for a short time, but Jake ultimately reverts to his previous behaviours. Mrs Hart wonders if Jake might have a learning difficulty or if his problems are strictly related to his attitude. Because he does not present any behavioural or discipline-related problems, Mrs Hart decides to leave Jake alone for the time being in the hope that things will improve in the future. It is not uncommon for teachers to face similar scenarios to that of Mrs Hart. There are times when students seem very uninterested and unmotivated. Student motivation is an important consideration for all classroom teachers, and teachers often employ a range of strategies and methods to engage their students in classroom activities and assignments. However, strategies for motivating students do not always work, and motivation is also impacted upon by factors outside of the classroom. In terms of learning, engagement and academic outcomes, however, some would argue that if teachers are interested in promoting meaningful learning then they must also be interested in priming a learner’s motivation to learn (Mayer 2008). Fortunately, questions surrounding what motivates students have been the focus of extensive scientific and psychological research, given that motivation is a key behavioural component related to enjoyment and success at school. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. Can you define the term ‘motivation’? What does the word mean to you? Do you think motivation is an individual trait? What factors do you think might impact on a person’s motivation? 2. As a student can you recall when you were most motivated and what led to such high levels of interest? Can you remember how a particular teacher or teachers were able to motivate you to do things, even those things that did not originally interest you? Can you also remember times when you were not motivated and what may have contributed to that sense of lethargy or inaction? 3. Can you recall students in your classes who seemed unmotivated? What did the teacher do, if anything, to help with those students’ level of motivation? Were rewards and punishment used, or can you recall other methods teachers used to get students motivated? 4. Understanding motivation is arguably one of the most important factors for engaging deep learning and limiting behaviour problems. A key question for pre-service teachers, then, is what can be done to ensure a high level of motivation in their students? What are your thoughts about this question? When you have read the chapter, return to this question. Have any of your ideas changed?

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Introduction The importance of student motivation cannot be underestimated. Students who are motivated to learn generally have higher rates of academic success, present fewer behavioural problems and have less tendency to view school in the same light as visiting the dentist. Motivated students enjoy being at school and teachers enjoy teaching motivated students. Researchers, teachers and parents are often baffled by why some students seem to thrive and learn with the requisite amount of motivation while others struggle to find the will to engage with their learning. Concurrently, there is an equal amount of circumspection related to what role and requisite skills a teacher has in motivating those students who find themselves bored, restless or simply not engaged in the learning and teaching process. Understanding motivation is not a simple task and too often motivation is bantered around as a taken-for-granted aspect of the human condition. But what is motivation and how is it that some are more motivated than others when approaching various tasks? This chapter looks to provide insights into this important question at the nexus of learning and ‘schooling’. It also looks to unpack the latest research revolving around students and learning in the twenty-first century. The intent is to provide a broad overview of the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of how students may be motivated to learn and more importantly how teachers might trigger student engagement via motivation. The structure of the chapter is shown in the diagram below.

Understanding and motivating students

Understanding students

The twenty-first century learner Talkin’ about a new generation?

Motivating students

Theories of motivation

Motivation to learn

Emotions and motivation

The impact of stress, anxiety and learned helplessness

The problem with rewards

Limiting stress and enhancing success

Engaging motivation and learning in the twenty-first century

Fostering motivation

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4.1 Understanding students LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4.1 Describe contemporary perspectives and issues related to the characteristics of twenty-first century learners.

To understand the importance and power of motivation in the context of contemporary educational endeavour it is useful to start by looking at some of our current understandings of twenty-first century learners. After all, the focus of this chapter is motivating students, and without carefully considering twenty-first century students and their ‘lifeworlds’ it would be impossible to have a breadth of understanding of this important aspect of learning and teaching.

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The twenty-first century learner In terms of learning and educational endeavour, an important question to consider is to what extent, if any, students of the twenty-first century differ from those of previous generations. Quite often media representations of students suggest that today’s learners are different. In many instances they are portrayed as deficient. Newspapers run articles on student disengagement, truancy and discipline problems. Teachers can be heard lamenting about students not appreciating learning like they used to in ‘the good old days’ and politicians lead a cacophony of voices suggesting that things would be better if we raised and measured predetermined notions of standardised learning outcomes. Perhaps some of this criticism is valid, but could it be that the problems presented are also part of an egocentric belief that students should learn in the same manner as previous generations? After all, things have not changed that much, have they? Learning is still learning, isn’t it? Schools are the bastions of learning and where ‘good learning’ occurs, aren’t they? Students still learn in the same way that their parents and grandparents did, don’t they? The short answer to all of these rhetorical questions is that learning and twenty-first century learners do appear to be quantifiably and qualitatively different from previous generations. There is mounting evidence that today’s students have a very different relationship to information and learning compared with previous generations — and it would seem that the winds of change have been blowing for some time now. In the early 1900s the challenge of mass education led to a system of teaching and learning analogous to mass production in factories, whereby children were regarded as raw materials to be processed by technical workers (teachers) to reach an end product (Bransford, Brown & Cocking 2000). A great deal has changed since the early days of ‘schooling’ and, while there has been some progress in pedagogical and didactic decision making due to greater emphasis on understanding learning as a process and the realisation that children are not empty vessels to be filled, issues surrounding motivation and learners in the twenty-first century are equally evident. Fortunately, the last decade has witnessed a great deal of interest and research surrounding educational endeavour and contemporary learners.

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Digital natives The extent to which students of today may be different to those of previous generations is often presented in terms of generational labels. For example, ‘Baby Boomers’ are positioned as those born post–World War II and into the 1960s. ‘Baby Boomers’ are ascribed various characteristics derived from the era in which they grew up and the associated values, morals and culture that shaped their beliefs and actions. Since the latter part of the 20th century, however, terms such as the ‘Generation Y’ and ‘Millennials’ have been used to acknowledge those born in the 1980s and after the turn of the century, respectively. Most recently, the term ‘iGen’ has been added to the generational nomenclature, and encompasses those born when the internet became commercialised and those who have grown up with an iPhone or iPad (Twenge 2017). Millennials and those belonging to the category of ‘iGen’ make up the school student population in Australia today, and a useful label for these students, coined at the turn of the century but still applicable today, is digital natives — people who have never known a world without computers, 24-hour TV news, the internet or mobile phones (Prensky 2001). In 2006, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, digital natives represented about 39 per cent of the population, and many of them were currently enrolled in various levels of schooling (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006). That number may have shifted somewhat in the last decade, but the nature of the students in schools today has not, whereas primary and secondary students throughout Australia today are arguably quite different from those of previous generations. The fundamental aspect of what separates these individuals from previous generations is that they have been raised in an era of affluence aligned with expansive and pervasive technological change. Their world has revolved around digitisation and their experience of the world is shaped by the technology they adeptly manoeuvre through on a daily basis. Many students who fall into this group rarely enter a conventional library, let alone look CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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something up in a traditional encyclopaedia; instead they use Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia and other online resources (Small & Vorgan 2008). They tend to assume that all necessary information can be gathered instantaneously, and they are not satisfied with only acquiring and utilising information; they seek to create it through blogs, interactive media, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter and other social networks (Dannar 2013). Conservative estimates suggest that by the age of 21 digital natives will have spent at least 10 000 hours playing video games, sent more than 200 000 emails, watched 20 000 hours of television and spent 10 000 hours on a mobile phone. Children under the age of 6 years will spend 1.58 hours per day using a computer compared to 2 hours a day outside playing and 40 minutes of reading or being read to (Oblinger & Oblinger 2005). A recent study identified that people 8 to 18 years of age expose their brains to more than 8 hours of digital and video sensory stimulation each day (Roberts, Foehr & Rideout 2005). Interestingly, that figure appears to be growing, given that much of the time spent doing homework and other activities falls under the umbrella of ‘multitasking’, where technology is used simultaneously while engaging in more mundane or less-interesting activities (Twenge 2017). Students and children today are texting, blogging, tweeting, chatting, gaming, shopping and socialising in a digital world with which they are intimately connected, and doing so in multiple contexts and across multiple tasks and opportunities. They describe technology as being embedded in society, really helpful, making things faster, an opportunity to connect with friends, a way to get help on anything and everything, and a tool for learning as much as they want about virtually any topic (Bransford, Brown & Cocking 2000). For them, learning and access to information occurs in bytes and nanoseconds, and they appear to be prolific multitaskers as they move from one virtual space to another while manipulating an ever-increasing array of technological wizardry. As table 4.1 suggests, there can be little doubt about technology’s influence on twenty-first century learners and education.

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TABLE 4.1

Technology now and then

Characteristics of ‘schooling’ and ‘learners’ Cognition and ‘learning’

That was then

This is now!

Finding information

Seeking, sieving and synthesising disparate sources of data

Sequential assimilation of a linear information stream

Multitasking among disparate experiences and information sources Focus on associative interconnections among chunks of information Constant reflection on and sharing of experience via virtual spaces Mind extended via distributed cognition, sensation and memory

Identity

Identity groomed and expressed in the context of face-to-face groups interacting with local resources

Virtual identity unfettered by physical attributes such as gender, race or disability The self is continuously reformed via an ever-shifting series of distributed networking with others and with technological tools The self as an electronic nomad, no longer needing a local physical infrastructure to articulate identity

Instruction

Educators design and deliver one-size-fits-all content, pedagogy and assessment

Learners influence design of content, pedagogy and assessment based on individual preferences and needs

Students are passive recipients

Knowledge sharing among students as a major source of content Guided social constructivism and situated learning as major forms of pedagogy Case-based participatory simulations complement presentational/ assimilative instruction

Assessment

Student products, generally in some form of print medium or artefact including tests, projects and papers Grading regularly focuses on individual performance

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Students provide summative feedback on instructional effectiveness

Student products often involve nonlinear, associational webs of representations (e.g. authoring a web page to express understanding of a topic rather than authoring a paper that synthesises expert opinions . . . in a virtual world there are many experts) Peer-developed and peer-rated forms of assessment complement grading, which is often based on individual accomplishment in a team performance context Assessments provide formative feedback on instructional effectiveness

Source: Adapted from Oblinger and Oblinger (2005).

Another interesting characteristic at the nexus of technological advancement and new generations of learners is the evolution of new language systems for communication. For digital natives, printed text is something to be tolerated when they are not able to get online, Google, text or tweet. Abbreviations (‘chat acronyms’ or internet slang) and graphics are integral aspects of communication and even or . Moreover, for older emotions themselves are sent via cyberspace to see if the recipient is CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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generations and older educators, students who are mobile, tech-savvy, digitally literate and ‘connected’, living experientially and socialising in a virtual world of multiple identities and avatars, present new and different challenges in terms of learning and motivation. Indeed, there is some research suggesting that those who have grown up in a digital world may not only be shaping their social and emotional worlds differently, but may also be having their cognitive processes and neural architecture wired very differently from those born long before computers became household items: . . . the brain circuitry of today’s high school and college students represents the culmination of a lifelong exposure to technologically mediated sensory stimulation. In many instances, these young people can comfortably manage a frequency and intensity of stimulation that earlier, less technologically inclined generations would experience as sensory ‘flooding’, or sensory overload (Restak 2001, p. 90).

Talkin’ about a new generation? Flashback . . . it’s 1982 . . . Argentina goes to war with England over the Falkland Islands; Barney Clark is the first recipient of an artificial heart; Michael Jackson releases ‘Thriller’, the biggest selling album of all time; the Cable News Network (CNN) is launched; Venus Williams, Grant Hackett and Steven Gerrard celebrate their second birthday; the world meets Rambo, Conan the Barbarian, Tron, the Man from Snowy River and Tootsie; ET phones home; and Time magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ is a computer. Only ten years after CNN made its first broadcast the World Wide Web made its debut. For most of you and all of your future students, these things will seem like ‘ancient history’, but the rate of technological advancement continues and students can be heard pontificating that email is for old people while they navigate the web and social networking tools in the palm of their hand. Generational changes within and across societies are nothing new and there is nothing unusual in one generation identifying that the next may have different ways of viewing and making sense of the world around them (Young 2008). Generational differences have been investigated within various frameworks and continue to be fodder for a great deal of research endeavour (see, for example, Edmunds & Turner 2002; Grose 2005; Lovely & Buffum 2007). In the twenty-first century, however, there is mounting theoretical and empirical evidence to suggest that those born into the world of digitisation may be neurologically different and much of this is attributable to the technological environment in which they are immersed. For the first time, scientists are looking into the real possibility that the brains of one generation may actually be firing differently to the brains of previous generations (Restak 2003; Small & Vorgan 2008; Tapscott 2008). These changes in neurology suggest that ‘what used to be simply a generation gap that separated young people’s values, music and habits from those of their parents has now become a huge divide resulting in two separate cultures’ (Small & Vorgan 2008, p. 3). In order to comprehend why this may be happening, an introductory understanding of aspects of neurodevelopment is required.

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Neuroplasticity Much of what we have historically ‘known’ about the brain has now been proven to be problematic. This is especially true with regards to our understanding of neuroplasticity — the changes that occur in the organisation of the brain as a result of experience. During the twentieth century it was believed that much of the brain’s architecture did not change after the third birthday. The eminent psychologist Jean Piaget himself suggested that all aspects of neurodevelopment finished during adolescence. Current understandings of the brain suggests that full maturation of the brain does not occur until the second decade of life and during adolescence the brain goes through some major restructuring (Giedd et al. 1999; Giedd 2004; Nagel 2005; Spear 2000). Moreover, advances in technology and neuroscientific research have identified that various kinds of stimulation actually change brain structures and affect the way people think, and that these transformations go on throughout life (Diamond & Hopson 1999; LeDoux 2002; Ratey 2001). Equally significant is the myth that we possess a fixed number of brain cells that die off 124

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one by one as we grow older. In fact, our supply of brain cells is replenished constantly, and the brain changes and organises itself differently based on the inputs it receives from the environment around us and via our senses. The brain’s capacity to reshape and reorganise itself is the phenomenon now known, and identified above, as neuroplasticity.

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Neuroplasticity and environmental stimuli

Another important aspect of neuroplasticity is the role of culture and environmental influence. We now know that brains that undergo different developmental experiences develop differently, but social psychologists have also identified that individuals from different cultures think differently (Nisbett 2004, 2009). In other words, a longstanding debate about which is more influential, nature or nurture, is now becoming a moot point in the eyes of neuroscientists and social psychologists. Our experiences not only shape our neural architecture but also the very cognitive processes that we often take for granted, including logical and analytical reasoning, memory and perception. Although there has been little opportunity to directly observe the brains of digital natives to see whether they are physically different, recent studies looking at brain activity, along with indirect and anecdotal evidence, are extremely persuasive. A recent research project in the United States offers intriguing and compelling insights regarding the impact of technology and the brain. Gary Small is a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioural sciences, the director of the UCLA Centre on Aging, and one of the world’s leading scientists in the fields of memory and longevity. Professor Small and colleagues published an astounding piece of research where they found differences in brain activity between internet-na¨ıve and internet-savvy individuals. Small and his colleagues monitored the brains of 24 adults as they performed a simulated internet search and again as they read a page of printed text. While engaging with the internet, the researchers found that those individuals who used the internet regularly showed twice as much activity in regions of the brain responsible for decision making and complex reasoning compared with those who had had limited exposure to the internet. The research concludes by suggesting that internet use enhances the brain’s capacity to be stimulated, and that internet reading activates more brain regions than printed words (Small et al. 2009). Importantly, the researchers also suggest that these types of differences are likely to be even more profound across generations because digital natives have been exposed to more technology than previous generations. They also acknowledge that technology has, in all likelihood, made the brains of digital natives particularly adept at filtering information and making snap decisions, but less capable of reading facial cues or picking up on subtle physical gestures. The potential impact of technology on the neuro-circuitry of humans should not come as a surprise given what we know about the brain’s plasticity. Research work done prior to that noted above has shown that professional musicians have more grey matter in brain regions responsible for planning finger movements and that musical training impacts Areas of activation are indicated in blue for the net-na¨ıve on regions of the brain and brain activity differ- group and in red for the net-savvy group. The left images are ently in musically trained and non-musically for a reading task and the right images are for an internet task. CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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trained individuals (Gaab & Schlaug 2003; Gaser & Schlaug 2003; Trainor, Shahin & Roberts 2003). Moreover, research conducted at the Chinese Academy of Sciences by Wei Gaoxia and Luo Jing (2009) during the Beijing Olympics found that elite athletes like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps had greater grey matter density in regions of the brain responsible for movement. This work furthers the notion that long-term experience and exposure to particular stimuli and training triggers changes in related brain regions. Therefore, it would seem to make sense that the brains of people who process a constant stream of digital information while focusing and shifting attention in a virtual world may be structured and work somewhat differently than the brains of those who are not immersed in that technology on a regular basis.

Neuroplasticity and ‘educating’

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The prospect of changes in neural hardwiring due to technology raises interesting questions for educators. Presumably changes in the brain result in changes in perceptual, cognitive and communicative styles. This, in turn, suggests that the types of mediated instructional strategies used to motivate today’s students will require revision and renewal. It almost goes without saying that methods of engaging learning and motivating students in the past would be problematic in a digital world. How digital natives behave in terms of attending to and working through tasks may be very different to that of their twentieth century counterparts. ‘Hyperlinked’ minds that are intimately connected with their immediate and virtual worlds — where gratification and success can happen in nanoseconds — may not be all that interested in gold stars and incentive plans. Motivation and engagement in learning may also require pedagogic techniques that can take advantage of multitasking and a continual shifting of focus. The twentieth-century teacher’s catch cry of ‘time-on-task’ may also require a complete reconceptualisation in terms of what that might mean for twenty-first century learners. Given the research cited above and the anecdotal realisation by most individuals that technology has a tremendous impact on all of our lives, it is self-evident that teachers will need to carefully consider the role of motivation in a learning context. It is equally important to note that the changes discussed above are not necessarily something to be viewed as negative or entirely problematic. Some of the latest research available suggests that technology may actually be improving cognitive ability, mental response times, specialised attention skills and multitasking skills (see, for example, Flynn 2000; Kearney 2007). Moreover, if we lament that digital natives appear to have shorter attention spans or ‘digital ADD’, perhaps we should question what we are asking them to attend to in educational contexts or, more importantly, how we are asking them to pay attention. Consider, for example, the television viewing habits of young children where research has identified that children attend to television ‘in bursts’ — they tune in just enough to get the gist of what is going on and be sure it makes sense. Children’s television programs (e.g. Play School and Sesame Street) follow this formula, and children as young as five are able to garnish enough understanding from snippets of viewing while attending to other tasks as children who attend to a program’s entirety (Gladwell 2002). In other words, shifting focus from one medium to another appears to be something children are not only capable of doing, but do strategically and purposefully. Bear in mind that digital natives spend a great amount of time shifting from medium to medium as they navigate their way through technology.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

When you visit a classroom, take note of the learning and teaching dynamics. Quite often, twenty-first century learners — who are empowered in so many ways outside their schools due to the communication technologies available to them — have little or no meaningful voice at all with regards to their learning and/or the dynamics of the learning environment. In a world where young people can create digital content using various platforms, such skills are often ignored or underutilised in schools.

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What strategies are in place to take advantage of the skills and knowledge brought to the classroom by students? How are the learning activities that are set out to engage students delivered? Is technology used purely for gathering information and producing Word documents? Do students have input into the learning, and how does the teacher maintain student interest and attention? How can teachers use technology with their students in a meaningful way?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Given the information provided in this chapter, can you list some ideas about how you might accommodate the skills, attributes and learning styles of twenty-first century learners to ensure that you connect with their worlds? As a future teacher, how are your own skills in the digital world? What can you bring to the learning environment that resonates with the world of digital natives? Given the diverse nature of Australian classrooms, how can new technology assist you, as a future teacher, to embed Indigenous content and perspectives, along with those of other groups, in meaningful ways for digital natives? List the technologies you are comfortable with and then do a bit of research to see what you might be omitting or unaware of. After jotting down what you are capable of doing with technology, list how you might motivate your students by giving them a ‘voice’ in their learning. As an example, are you prepared to ask questions such as ‘Does anyone use the internet in a way that is relevant to what we are doing?’ or ‘Can you think of examples of this type of problem in any of your computer games?’ Tapping into the contemporary lifeworlds of students and having them shape the learning experience is a powerful motivational tool.

4.2 Motivating students LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4.2 Discuss the term ‘motivation’ in relation to theoretical perspectives and research into motivation.

The first part of this chapter described some of the latest research and insights into students of the twentyfirst century. There can be little doubt, and indeed the growing body of research suggests, that students today are very different from those who wandered school hallways in past generations. Students today see the world differently and have engaged with technology in such a profound way that it may be changing the very neuro-architecture of their mind. It is therefore crucial to have a sound understanding of the interrelationships between motivation, student learning and behaviour. The following text provides theoretical and historical understandings of motivation, followed by practical considerations for positively influencing student motivation. After all, part of being an effective teacher means knowing what encourages students to become and remain engaged with their learning (Darling-Hammond & BaratzSnowden 2005).

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Theories of motivation There are a number of ways to describe and define ‘motivation’. The word itself comes from a Latin root, movere, meaning to set in motion. Broadly defined, motivation is a person’s internal instigation and direction that influences their behaviour. In simpler terms, motivation relates to our drive to do something or our will to set things in motion. In this sense it is important to note that motivation is influenced by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, family, culture, health and prior physical, social, emotional and environmental learning experiences (McInerney & McInerney 2006). In an educational context, motivation may be described as a student’s desire, intention and behaviours directed to learning and achieving their optimum educational outcome. Motivation plays a significant role in student interest and enjoyment, is subject to influence from peers, teachers, parents, subjects and schools, and is informed by ethnic and cultural backgrounds (MacCallum 2001; Martin 2007, 2008). Motivation is, then, influenced by a wide CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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variety of complex personal, social, emotional, cultural and environmental interactions, resulting in a number of theories or views of motivation. Not unlike various theories of learning, behaviourists, social cognitivists and humanists present varying perspectives on motivation. Each of these has its critics and advocates, and it is beyond the scope of this chapter to delve into a detailed debate of each. Instead, each perspective is broadly discussed in the following sections. Where applicable, fundamental concerns about the perspectives are presented. Following a brief examination of these perspectives, we examine a contemporary model that further acknowledges the work of cognitivist researchers in linking the powerful role emotions play in motivation. This is purposeful in that regardless of ethnicity, gender, culture or other factors, emotions play a central role in motivation and, by association, behaviour.

Behaviourist views of motivation For behaviourists, motivation to do something is derived from past experiences and influenced by rewards and/or punishment. For example, when students are rewarded with praise they look forward to learning and anticipate further rewards. Rewards may be something tangible or something that elicits a positive emotional response. A behaviourist view emphasises extrinsic reinforcement to stimulate learners’ engagement (e.g. praise or a smile). In the eyes of behaviourists, the desire to do something is derived externally and, as such, school activities and learning are enhanced through extrinsic motivation. Importantly, the removal of undesirable behaviour also functions on this model with the use of negative reinforcement or punishment. Behaviourism has had a tremendous influence in educational contexts and is still evident in contemporary school settings. There are, however, a number of important issues surrounding this perspective on motivation and we discuss these later in the chapter.

Social cognitivist views of motivation In contrast to behaviourist views, social cognitivists suggest that children should be seen as innately active learners. As such, rewards may not be necessary. Indeed, some cognitivists argue that there is little need to focus on the place of motivation in the classroom. For social cognitivists, motivation is often described as goal-directed behaviour that is closely linked to feelings of personal effectiveness and develops as children develop an intrinsic desire to learn. For cognitivists, students study something or learn to do something because it produces personal positive consequences such as knowledge, competency or a sense of independence; in other words, learning is linked with intrinsic motivation. Importantly, those who experience success are more likely to value their own competence than are those who regularly experience failure. As such, motivation is intimately linked with one’s sense of self and self-efficacy. This sense of self is influenced by peers and significant others. In the context of educational environments, it is a fundamental component of motivation, emotional wellbeing, learning and success.

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Humanist views of motivation Humanist theories of motivation are linked to achievement and education, but also to student welfare and wellbeing. Abraham Maslow (1999) perceived motivation in terms of a hierarchy of needs, the components of which act as motives whereby particular types of human endeavour (i.e. learning) are contingent on meeting those needs. According to Maslow (1999), once basic physiological needs have been met, people are motivated to meet needs associated with safety, love and belonging. As individuals meet those needs they are then motivated to engage in different levels of human endeavour. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was presented in chapter 3 (see figure 3.1). For many humanists, alternative views of motivation present a number of difficulties in educational contexts given the innate nature of human endeavour in the classroom. That being said, each of the theories presented above presents a variety of strengths and limitations as a whole. It could be argued that each theory highlights the positive impact of motivation on students’ achievement, self-confidence and 128

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independence. They also draw attention to the need for educators to recognise the range of student needs, including those associated with sociocultural context, indigeneity, physical and personal wellbeing, and acknowledge the importance of learners’ attributions of personal success and failure. Conversely, it is important to note that, taken individually, some aspects of the theories noted above may have a limiting effect on learners. For example, they may encourage surface rather than deep learning if extrinsic rewards are overemphasised. Concurrently, terms such as ‘self-actualisation’ lack clarity and are not easily described or measured. In addition, the link between motivation and emotions is often understated or tacitly implied. Therefore, it is important to look beyond the theories presented above and examine some of our newest understandings of motivation derived from contemporary cognitive and neuroscientific research. An appropriate avenue for doing so can be found by looking at the links between emotions and motivation.

Emotions and motivation Over the past 20 years much of the research regarding motivation has been dominated by cognitive theories and most recently by advances in neuroscientific research. Each year we gain greater understanding of how motivation works and how the emotional part of the brain plays an integral role in energising or limiting motivation in students. Four of the most prominent cognitive theories regarding motivation also provide a framework for linking emotion, motivation and learning in an educational context. These theories are presented in table 4.2. While looking at the table, the links between emotion and motivation should be evident. It is important, however, to bear in mind that motivation is not an emotion per se but a process that links emotion to action (Ratey 2001). It is also significant to note that each of the theories below further supports an emphasis on intrinsic motivation for learning. TABLE 4.2

Motivational theories and the implications for learning

Theory

Implications for motivation

Implications for learning

Interest theory

Motivation is enhanced because the student values the experience or finds it important.

Learning is improved when students are highly engaged with what they are being taught.

Self-efficacy theory

Motivation is enhanced because students feel capable.

Learning is improved when students see themselves as competent for the given task.

Attribution theory

Motivation is enhanced if students believe the outcome of what they do is a result of the effort they make.

Learning is improved when students associate success or failure with the effort they make as opposed to their ‘ability’.

Goal orientation theory

Motivation is enhanced when the value of understanding material presented is linked to students’ personal objectives or values.

Learning is improved when students want to understand the material.

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Source: Adapted from the works of Pintrich (2000, 2003a); Elliot et al. (2005).

From table 4.2, it is apparent that educators interested in promoting meaningful and engaging learning experiences must also be prepared to prime an individual’s motivation to learn — and arguably do so on a level beyond extrinsic rewards. The importance of this cannot be over-stressed and is articulated nicely by Ryan and Deci (2000, p. 56) when they state that: In humans, intrinsic motivation is not the only form of motivation, or even of volitional activity, but it is a pervasive and important one. From birth onward, humans, in their healthiest states, are active, inquisitive, curious, and playful creatures, displaying a ubiquitous readiness to learn and explore, and they do not require extraneous incentives to do so. This natural motivational tendency is a critical element in cognitive, social, and physical development because it is through acting on one’s inherent interests that one grows in knowledge and skills. CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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Emotions play an integral role in student motivation.

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Arguably, everyone is innately motivated to search for meaning and such endeavour is profoundly emotional in design and purpose (Caine & Caine 2001). Aspects of learning — including perceiving, thinking, interpreting and understanding — are driven by emotion and, as such, motivation and emotion are inextricably linked (Damasio 1999). It is apparent then that in an educational context motivation depends on an individual’s interactions with any material to be learned at the nexus of their interpretations, memories, beliefs and attitudes to the learning situation. Moreover, a lengthy and substantial body of research tells us that students are more likely to actively engage in an activity, persist in it over time, work hard to achieve an outcome and actively strive to understand what they are learning when they value the activity on a number of levels (e.g. interest and/or utility) (Jang 2008). The fundamental point of consideration derived from these studies is that seeing value in what is to be done serves as an example of the importance of emotion in motivation. When people are motivated to learn they engage their emotions with educational endeavour in a deeper, more meaningful and longer lasting way that is also transferable to new and/or novel situations (Mayer 2008). In other words, motivation and learning are not purely cognitive endeavours but are linked to the limbic system or emotional part of the brain.

The limbic system The limbic system sits above the brain stem, in the middle of the brain (see figure 4.1). This central part of the brain harbours our memories, processes our full range of emotions and connects the lower regions of the brain responsible for motor and automatic functions with the higher regions responsible for cognitive thought. The limbic system occupies about one-fifth of the brain’s volume and is not only responsible for generating and processing emotions, but also motivates and directs us to behave in particular ways — most notably to engage in survival behaviours such as eating, fighting, fleeing and sex (Carter 2000; Medina 2008; Nagel 2008; Ratey 2001). 130

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FIGURE 4.1

The limbic system

Amygdala Hippocampus

Aside from the survival functions of the limbic system, it also plays a role in sleep, attention, regulation of bodily functions, hormones, smell and the production of most of the brain’s important chemicals (Howard 2006; Sylwester 2005). The structures in the limbic system that appear to have the greatest influence on motivation and learning are the amygdala and hippocampus.

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The amygdala

The amygdala has been described as the neural basis of emotion and has been the object of growing interest in most brain-referenced theories of emotion, behaviour and learning (Berridge 2003; LeDoux 2000, 2002). Amygdala is actually the Greek word for almond and there are two of these almond-shaped structures located in the lower area of the temporal lobes. One of the many interesting characteristics of the amygdala is that our feelings are dependent upon which parts of it are activated. Stimulate one part and you get a fear response; stimulate another region and you create what has been described as a ‘warm floaty feeling’; while a third region can result in outbursts of sheer rage (Carter 2000). The range of emotional responses housed in the amygdala are but one indication of the brain’s ingenious design. In packing all of these types of mechanisms in one area, we can shift from appeasement to fight or flight very expeditiously when necessary; if a smile will not deter an aggressor, then flight or attack is easily triggered (Nagel 2008). Importantly, the amygdala is intimately linked with the frontal lobes of the brain and these regions act in concert in terms of mediating emotion and attending to interesting stimuli. These areas also form part of the brain’s dopamine reward system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in motivation, reward seeking, feelings of wellbeing and switching our levels and duration of attention (LeDoux 2002). This powerful chemical works in tandem with the amygdala and frontal lobes. Research has identified that when the reward system of the brain is engaged in tasks that are challenging and meaningful with low risk of failure, motivation to succeed is increased and connections between brain cells are dramatically enhanced (LeDoux 2002; Smith 2004). Meaningful learning engages powerful emotions, especially if there is some small measure of risk. It is important to emphasise this point: High challenge with low risk of failure enhances motivation and neural connections. In other words, the risks associated with high stakes assessment, such as examinations, may not only limit motivation and hinder learning, but may also only provide surface-level indicators of any learning that has taken place. CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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Another important characteristic of the amygdala is its role in the consolidation of some long-term memories throughout various regions of the brain because of its capacity to label an experience with some form of emotional tag. Generally speaking, the amygdala appears to add various measures of emotional significance to an experience and it also works in tandem with the hippocampus towards assessing the emotional relevancy of an event and then storing the memory of that experience (Sylwester 2005; Wolfe 2001). Tangential to the amygdala’s influence on memory formation is evidence demonstrating that the amygdala intimately responds to stress and fear and, as such, memory and learning can be impeded by these emotions. There is a growing body of research indicating that stress, fear, anxiety and other emotional responses to environmental stimuli can directly impact upon motivation, cognition and learning (Arnsten & Shansky 2004; Lupien et al. 2007; McEwen 2002, 2006). Because of its importance, the impact of stress on motivation is covered in greater detail later in the chapter. The hippocampus

At this stage it is prudent to look at another important component of the limbic system — the hippocampus. Not unlike the amygdala, the hippocampus performs a number of essential functions. As noted above, the hippocampus works in conjunction with the amygdala. The amygdala attaches an emotional tag to an event and the hippocampus then acts as a filter deciding which information goes where. During this process the hippocampus determines the level of engagement an individual may have in the activities around them by monitoring events as either novel or ordinary. For educators, the significance of this lies in remembering that educational experiences that might excite these parts of the limbic system due to their novelty or emotive content have a greater possibility of intrinsically motivating students and facilitating long-term memory storage in various regions of the brain. In other words, novelty or connecting with the emotional centres of the brain — and not some measure of extrinsic reward — may provide the greatest catalyst for motivating students. Neuroscientists are therefore offering evidence of what critics of behaviourism have argued for some time: rewards are problematic and may be detrimental to motivation.

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The problem with rewards What would you say if someone were to tell you that rewards and punishments were one and the same? Has it ever occurred to you that each operates on basically the same premise — do this and you will get that? Rewards and punishment can never be separated, and the most significant problem with using rewards as a motivational tool is that they rely on the decisions of others. It is also important to note that handing out rewards is premised on a behaviourist model whereby humans are passive beings whose behaviour must be elicited by external motivation in the form of an incentive. This model is, by most measures, antiquated (Kohn 1999). Conversely, intrinsic motivation is derived from within. As such, each individual has greater control and autonomy over their actions and approaches to learning — they do things for the joy of doing it or because they want to discover something, answer a question or experience a feeling of accomplishment (Walker-Tileston 2004). That being said, rewards are still common in many educational contexts and we should explore why this might be and what, if any, are the alternatives. Before looking at the problems with rewards in the educational context, it must be acknowledged that our society as a whole functions with rewards and punishments. We are rewarded for work with a salary and abide by laws to avoid punishment. Students learn of this system long before they enter a school, but shouldn’t education be about engaging learning in a way that derives its rewards from within through fun, enjoyment and a sense of achievement? Neuroscientists would probably say yes given the power of emotions and our innate tendency towards intrinsic motivation (Caine & Caine 2001; Ratey 2001). Nonetheless, rewards are often regarded as integral to classroom and school endeavour — but why? One of the principal reasons for employing reward systems is their perceived effectiveness in eliciting particular behaviours. This is apparent in many areas of work and schooling, but in terms of motivation 132

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and learning, rewards generally work best in the short term only and seldom lead to lasting change. In other words, when the rewards disappear so too does the behaviour, or when the rewards are no longer ‘rewarding’, they must be enhanced. The focus in this entire endeavour then becomes the reward and not the learning experience at hand. Moreover, in many situations, rewards actually inhibit intrinsic motivation in that they can be demotivating in the long term due to the fact that others decide who gets rewarded and how. Another premise for the justification of rewards is the view that they might enhance performance. However, not unlike the short-term benefits noted above, rewards seem to improve performance only at extremely simple and quantifiable tasks (Caine & Caine 2001; Kohn 1999). In fact, rewards may actually hinder motivation and learning given the inherent difficulties that arise when someone never receives a reward or when anxiety levels increase while attempting to attain a reward. In this sense rewards can have the same emotional impact as punishment by engaging a stress response that is not conducive to higher cognitive functioning. It is significant to note that the rational premise underlying a belief that people will always work for rewards rarely takes into account that this is not the case; sometimes rewards work and sometimes they do not. Finally, there is little empirical data to support the notion that rewards or extrinsic motivating factors engage learning in a deep and meaningful way. Indeed, much of the research evidence available supports the notion that intrinsic motivation is conducive to productive classroom behaviours, creative thinking, higher level problem solving and long-term memory capacities (Caine & Caine 2001; Kohn 1999; Ormrod 2008; Walker-Tileston 2004). Perhaps this is linked to a seemingly inherent tendency in human beings to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capacities, to explore and to learn, and as such anyone who is interested in enhancing intrinsic motivation in children and students should not focus on external control systems such as rewards (Deci 1971, 1972). The question, then, is how best to engage intrinsic motivation and what might you do to ensure optimum opportunities for fostering a motivation to learn.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Much of what occurs in schools in terms of behaviour management and learner engagement still relies a great deal on behaviourist notions of motivation. Can you think of times as a student when your teacher(s) followed behaviourist traditions and if so what did they do? When you next visit a classroom can you find evidence of similar behaviourist practices occurring? Do they appear successful or are there observable problems in such an approach? What would you do differently to elicit the desired behaviour or outcome you would like to achieve?

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Earlier it was asserted that human beings have innate tendencies to seek out novelty and challenges, extend and exercise their capacities, and explore and learn. If such innate tendencies do exist, this suggests that emotion and motivation are indeed intimately linked and that intrinsic drivers are powerful tools for learning and achievement. As a future teacher, and considering curriculum content, what do you think are important things you will need to do to tap into the intrinsic drives of your students? Some researchers suggest that knowing your students and relationships might be keys for success in this endeavour. Do you agree, and if so what will you do to reach attain such knowledge and attributes?

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4.3 Motivation to learn LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4.3 Describe the importance of motivation in terms of learning and school environments.

Teachers are interested in and would like to know more about the factors that may facilitate or hinder students’ deep involvement in learning. Motivation is one of those key factors. According to Pekrun (2009, p. 575): Emotions are ubiquitous in school settings. Learning and achievement are of fundamental importance for students’ educational careers implying that achievement-related emotions such as enjoyment of learning, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, or boredom are frequent, pervasive, manifold and often intense in academic situations. The social nature of these situations also contributes to the emotional character of school settings . . . emotions are functionally important for students’ motivation, cognitive performance and personality development.

To motivate students in a productive and meaningful way, a teacher must carefully consider how to tap into students’ emotional lifeworlds. Motivation affects the amount of time students devote to any learning activity. As such, both the cognitive and the affective regions of the brain are important components of motivation and learning. People think and feel simultaneously and learning can be both enhanced and jeopardised by these endeavours. Given the information presented earlier and related to a new generation of learners, teaching twentyfirst century learners may require new pedagogical strategies and a greater appreciation of the impact of the digital world in which young people are deeply immersed. An equally important aspect of developing pedagogical skills for enhancing motivation is the realisation that, like other aspects of development, motivation changes with age and is the product of an individual’s persona and environment. The remainder of this chapter explores some key considerations, strategies and issues surrounding motivation in the classroom. The first part of that exploration is a look at those factors that limit motivation.

The impact of stress, anxiety and learned helplessness Earlier we identified how rewards can be problematic in terms of long-term outcomes and depth and breadth of learning. Moreover, the emotional part of the brain was noted as an important component of motivation and intrinsic motivation was identified as being a powerful avenue for meaningful learning. It is important to recognise, however, that the experiences students bring to the classroom and their views of themselves as learners can have a detrimental impact on their emotional state and therefore their motivation to learn. This is particularly evident with students who are stressed, anxious or have very low opinions of themselves.

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Good stress, bad stress In itself, stress is not always negative, nor is it always the same for each person. Some things can be labelled absolute stressors in that they create a stress response in all individuals. Other events initiate a stress response in a particular person due to individual circumstances and are referred to as relative stressors (Lupien et al. 2007). An earthquake could be considered an absolute stressor, while being late for work due to transportation issues might be a stressor for some individuals but not others. Absolute stressors generally evoke the greatest physiological response in the body but are rare. Relative stressors, on the other hand, vary in their physiological impact given that such responses depend on the individual and the mechanisms individuals have in place to help them cope with any situation. Generally speaking, relative stress occurs when an event is interpreted as being threatening, novel, unpredictable and out of one’s control and in such circumstances the fight or flight mechanisms designed to save oneself from an earthquake are also engaged, releasing powerful reactions in the body and mind (Lupien et al. 2007; McEwen 2006). Importantly, some stress is good and often mediated through competition and 134

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other aspects of school and life. Indeed, optimum levels of stress (eustress) are often powerful empathetic, motivational and creative forces allowing individuals to achieve success in a variety of demonstrable ways, while negative, chronic or traumatic stress (distress) can be very problematic given how it engages the body’s physiology (Nagel 2009). Quite simply, too much stress, or more worryingly a chronic overreaction to stress, overloads the brain with powerful hormones and ignites an evolutionary response designed to enhance our survival through fight or flight mechanisms. Therefore, it is important to restate something mentioned earlier: high challenge and low risk are positive aspects of motivation and learning, but when stress is chronic or a contributing factor towards anxiety then different outcomes are likely. Anxiety refers to feelings of tension, uneasiness and apprehension. It is generally considered to have a negative impact on children’s motivation and achievement. Some level of anxiety in the form of arousal or alertness and attentiveness can be helpful, provided it does not impede performance. Excessive arousal, on the other hand, is often associated with high anxiety, which can lead to limited cognitive capacities, poor academic achievement and low self-esteem. Moreover, one of the most worrying characteristics of low self-esteem is its link to ‘learned helplessness’.

Learned helplessness In the mid-1960s, a group of researchers led by Martin Seligman (1972; see also Seligman et al. 1968; Peterson, Maier & Seligman 1993) developed the theory of ‘learned helplessness’, a consequence of some surprising results encountered while studying the relationship between fear and learning in dogs. In a controlled study, these researchers inflicted electric shocks when dogs attempted to leave their cages. Some time later when the dogs were provided a way out without any form of hindrance, the dogs made no effort to escape. Apparently, the dogs had learned that they were helpless in this situation and that attempts at escape were futile. These results were later transferred to theories of human behaviour. This saw the emergence of cognitive psychology, suggesting that what a person thinks plays a determining role in their behaviour. In terms of classroom endeavour and motivation, learned helplessness can contribute to an expectation, based on previous experience, that learning efforts will lead to failure. If previous learning experiences have contributed to low self-esteem then a student will believe that no amount of effort will lead to success. As such, ‘So why bother trying?’ becomes the banner of learned helplessness. For teachers, this means that to enhance motivation, it is crucial that activities are relevant to students, premised on their interests and the experiences they bring to the classroom, and allow for measures of individual success.

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Limiting stress and enhancing success While the activities and intentions of individual teachers are important influences on a student’s motivation, it is also important to recognise how some aspects of ‘schooling’ and teaching may contribute to student stress and diminish motivation. Arguably one facet of education that stands out the most in terms of both stress and diminished motivation is assessment. It is a fairly safe assumption that most people see assessment as an integral aspect of school. After all, teachers and parents alike have a vested interest in seeing how their students and children are doing in school and how their learning might be progressing or faltering. Students themselves are also interested in many aspects of assessment. Assessment has, and always will be, part of mainstream educational endeavour. This text acknowledges the importance of assessment and contains valuable insights into assessment and contemporary theory in that aspect of schooling. Within the context of stress and motivation, however, it is important to look at two aspects of assessment that present an array of tensions related to those important aspects of learning. These include homework and standardised testing. Before visiting links between homework, standardised tests, motivation and stress it is significant to note that opinions on homework and standardised tests are often founded on belief and intuition rather than empirical evidence. Homework and standardised tests also facilitate passionate debates regarding their intent, efficacy and outputs. The full extent of these debates is too numerous to articulate and, as CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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such, what follows is a brief look at how homework and standardised tests may produce stress and anxiety and by association diminish motivation and aspects of learning.

Homework

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One of the most predictable aspects of school, which almost every adult has an opinion of and can attest to experiencing, is that of homework. In his work analysing homework studies, Harris Cooper (1989, p. 7) offers a clear and succinct definition of homework as those ‘tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during nonschool hours’. Overall research on homework has a long history, arguably characterised as political, contradictory and often inconclusive; for every advocate expounding homework’s merits there is a critic decrying its disadvantages. Homework policies can be found on government websites, in school-based documents and on the walls of many classrooms and, as such, are often taken for granted as part of sound educational endeavour. Parents will often judge a school’s effectiveness on the presence or volume of homework prescribed to its students. Although it is beyond the scope of this chapter to examine all the available research related to homework, there are some issues worthy of consideration regarding homework’s efficacy and its overall impact on learning and motivation. One of the first areas of concern regarding homework is a tendency by policymakers, researchers and educators to generalise about the amounts of homework students should do and its efficacy in raising scholastic achievement and ‘positive’ life skills such as time management. To date there is very limited empirical evidence to support homework as a significant mechanism for improving achievement and no evidence that it enhances time management skills or other associated attributes (Hattie 2009; Trautwein & Koller 2003). Homework may assist learners in terms of reviewing or consolidating some aspects of learning and it may provide communication platforms between teachers and parents. However, it should not be taken for granted as integral to learning, but rather as something negotiated between teachers, students and parents. A second noteworthy concern is that, although homework may be assigned with the best of intentions, teachers and parents alike frequently cite it as a source of difficulty and conflict at home and at school (Warton 2001). For teachers and parents there is often a mismatch between teacher expectations and parental input that, in turn, can create tensions between teachers and parents, parents and children, and teachers and students. Too often these types of conflicts result in a great deal of anxiety or stress for all involved and, as noted earlier, too much stress can impact negatively on motivation and achievement. Finally, research linking homework to academic achievement and many other aspects of school endeavour may best be described as scant, inconclusive and fraught with difficulty. Perhaps the major contributing factor to such difficulties is that, not unlike other aspects of education research, the subjects of such research (i.e. students) are not a homogenous group. Homework may be a positive activity for one set of students but completely disastrous for another. Consequently, any discussion or policy related to homework must also take into account sociocultural factors that may impact negatively on students engaging in any type of homework activity (Buell 2004). For some students, life outside of the confines of a school may not be conducive to hours of homework. This is also an important aspect for consideration in any discussion of standardised testing.

Standardised testing Like the subject of homework, standardised testing is now evident across an array of educational policies and activities at national, state and local levels. Students experience standardised tests throughout primary school and various iterations of tests are used in secondary schools to not only note levels of student achievement and articulate future study choices, but also serve as a marketing mechanism for schools to promote their excellence. Examinations and testing have a long history in education as a tool for determining what students have learned, and standardised tests have gone through various eras of fashionability. The popularity of standardised tests often fluctuates depending on political contexts or calls for increased accountability. Currently there are a number of opportunities for students to 136

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participate in standardised tests, and the intent and outcomes of those tests are often fodder for much rhetoric, critique and debate (see, for example, Bennett & Kalish 2006; Buell 2004; Caine & Caine 2001; Kohn 2000). And again, similar to homework, standardised testing is not something that should be immune to critique; rather, it should be analysed across a number of parameters including any potential negative impact on learning and motivation. One of the most prevalent challenges at the nexus of standardised testing and learning is that testing can be limited in determining what a student actually knows and/or has learned. Much of this has to do with how tests are administered and how feedback is provided. Too often, the guidelines for administering standardised tests place students in contexts vastly different from mainstream classroom endeavour and, therefore, can invoke negative reactions such as stress or anxiety. Importantly, high levels of test anxiety have been shown to negatively impact on aptitude, problem solving, memory, grades and overall academic achievement in reading, English, maths, natural sciences and foreign languages in students ranging from Year 3 to university (Cassady & Johnson 2002). A secondary problem with standardised testing is that feedback from the tests is often presented long after the actual test was taken and, as such, is ineffective as a tool for enhancing learning. Many studies have demonstrated that feedback and, in particular, immediate feedback derived from engagement in a task are important considerations for learning and overall academic achievement (Hattie 2009). Feedback in the form of test scores long after the test was actually taken serves limited purposes and is too often ineffectively used as some way of comparing students and/or schools. Many standardised tests overemphasise memory for isolated facts and procedures and, if used to judge a teacher’s efficacy, tests can become a focus of school endeavour that emphasises memorisation above deep and meaningful learning (Bransford, Brown & Cockin 2000). In that sense, contemporary research suggests that tests can be administered as formative assessment strategies and thereby are best used as mechanisms for pedagogy and learning, not of pedagogy and learning (Carey 2014; Storm, Bjork & Storm 2010).

What a person thinks plays a determining role in their behaviour.

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Finally, it is important to note that standardised tests, and indeed many types of testing and assessment, are often culturally biased, thereby disadvantaging some groups of students while privileging others. Indeed, there is much evidence to support the suggestion that specific test items, test administration and reporting formats actually discriminate against Indigenous Australian students on the basis of linguistic and culture-specific background (Tripcony 2002). Given the potential for such discrimination, it should be apparent that any use of standardised tests should be done with a great degree of caution, and only for individual purposes, rather than comparative measures. It is significant to acknowledge that parents and teachers alike should be interested in some notion of standards, and standardised tests can prove useful in certain circumstances. Knowing that a particular student is above or below average in a particular academic area via a diagnostic tool such as a standardised test can be helpful in designing learning experiences and providing support mechanisms where necessary. However, when standardised tests are positioned as markers of success — used in isolation from other types of assessment or to garnish greater emphasis than other aspects of ‘schooling’ — they can contribute to a culture of ‘high’ stakes assessment, emphasising academic achievement over everything else and delivering worrying degrees of stress and anxiety to students, parents and teachers (Kohn 2004; Nagel 2009). Moreover, too much emphasis on ‘how’ students are doing can undermine any meaningful discussions and/or engagement on ‘what’ they are doing (Kohn 2000).

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Schools often underestimate the impact of stress on students and student learning. Can you remember a time when some aspect of school created stress for you and how this impacted on your learning and/or behaviour? When you visit a school as part of your practical placement, see if you can identify similar situations that you experienced and whether or not this is having a negative impact on any students. Discuss with teachers their experiences with students who presented anxious behaviour or signs of stress and how they mediated that behaviour to promote learning. If possible, talk to students about aspects of school that they find stressful, or what might make them feel anxious and see if they have any mechanisms or strategies for dealing with those relative stressors in their school lives. This would be particularly useful if you are able to discuss stress and stressors with students from different ethnic backgrounds or with Indigenous students. Finally, see if the school has any programs to assist with stress and anxiety, such as meditation, relaxation times, resilience programs, or other support mechanisms, and note what they do for future reference.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

The expression of emotional states comes naturally to all human beings regardless of age. However, depending on age and context, children of all ages are generally unaware of how negative emotions such as anxiety may manifest themselves until they are in a state of emotional upheaval. It is impossible for any teacher to prevent all events that may cause anxiety or distress, but it is possible to teach students how to monitor their own emotional states. It is also possible for teachers to proactively combat stress and anxiety in their students. For example, a growing body of research cites humour as a valuable tool for regulating anxiety and stress. Some studies have demonstrated that the small act of telling or ‘getting’ a joke results in widespread activation of the frontal brain regions involved with emotional regulation, attachment and the resolution of novel and incongruent information (Cozolino 2014). Perhaps one of the most valuable tools you can have, or need to foster and develop, for alleviating stress in your students is the capacity to make them laugh . . . part of the ‘art’ of teaching supported by science surrounding the brain.

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4.4 Engaging motivation and learning in the twenty-first century LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4.4 Explain and discuss past conceptualisations of motivation in relation to twenty-first century learning and ‘schooling’.

Individual success is very important in terms of motivation, but so are expectations, both real and perceived. Early models of motivational theory have identified that when individuals expect to do well they tend to try hard, persevere and perform better. Concurrently, students who believe in their ability to do well are much more likely to be motivated in terms of effort, persistence and behaviour (Pintrich & Schunk 2002). Confidence (arguably a product of the emotional part of the brain) is also an important component of motivation, and research tells us that confident students will be more cognitively engaged in their learning than those students who doubt their capabilities (Caine & Caine 2001; Pintrich 2003b). This suggests that enhancing motivation necessitates the provision of tasks that are within the range of competence for students but do offer some degree of challenge. This also allows students to use whatever they bring to the classroom in terms of prior experiences (Pintrich & Schunk 2002). It is also significant to mention that, while positive feedback is often promoted as integral for enhancing self-worth, it is more important to ensure that students are provided with accurate and realistic feedback. This will help them understand what they can and cannot do and assist them in acquiring the expertise needed to learn (Pintrich & Schunk 2002). Simply offering positive feedback for the sake of being positive can be counterproductive with regards to motivation and learning in that it may appear patronising or as a form of ‘dumbing down’ the overall learning experience.

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Fostering motivation The overall implication of the information presented above is that there is no single right way to design experiences or environments to foster motivation. Not all learning opportunities have to be designed, organised and structured in the same way. It is also important to bear in mind that motivation is intimately linked with individual and/or situational interests within learning, curricula, family and cultural contexts (McInerney & Van Etten 2001). In essence, motivation is highly complex and affects the amount of time and energy a student is willing to devote to learning and positively engaging with the classroom and school environment. To that end, there is no magic formula for motivating all students all of the time, but there are some important things to consider when planning for engaging students. Planning to motivate students should include: r designing learning experiences that are at an appropriate level of difficulty, challenging and specific r providing strategies and ideas for students to succeed r providing ongoing and informative feedback r providing scaffolding to ensure successful outcomes are within the grasp of the student. There are a number of other elements for enhancing the motivation to learn that teachers can use for positively engaging students. These elements are provided below as a set of tools for the teacher. Some of the points noted below focus on the learning environment itself. A starting point would be to continually engage with the following questions, adapted from the work of Walker-Tileston (2004), which put the learners centre stage and require the teacher to consider student needs and desires. In other words, what will you do to: 1. ensure that students feel accepted by the teacher and their peers (to enhance self-esteem and selfworth) 2. provide opportunities for students to self-reflect and articulate their own ideas and feelings about learning (to enhance self-esteem and self-worth) 3. ensure that students know what to expect and have some sense of predictability (to diminish stress and anxiety)

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4. ensure that students perceive the learning environment as a comfortable, orderly, safe and secure place (to diminish stress and anxiety) 5. ensure that students perceive the learning environment as their space for learning and that they are part of all learning activities (to enhance self-esteem and self-worth, and diminish stress and anxiety) 6. ensure that students believe that they have some control over their learning (to enhance self-esteem and self-worth and diminish stress and anxiety)? The questions above provide an important starting point for considering the needs of students and engaging motivation. Table 4.3 provides a framework for enhancing the design of learning experiences with a view to intrinsically motivating students. There are developmental patterns and characteristics related to intrinsic motivation in school tasks and, prior to looking at specific strategies, it is important to keep the following in mind. r Student perceptions of ability become increasingly realistic as they get older. r Personal interests gain greater significance and coincide with perceived strengths as students get older. r Task selection becomes less tied to personal interest and more to self-efficacy and/or long-term goals. TABLE 4.3

Designing learning environments with motivation in mind

Motivational characteristic

What it means for teachers

What it suggests for teaching

Adaptive self-efficacy and competence beliefs motivate students.

Students who expect to do well are much more likely to be motivated to, and tend to, try harder, persist and perform better.

Provide clear and accurate feedback regarding competence and self-efficacy; focus on the development of competence, expertise and skill.

Students who feel they have more control over their learning and behaviour are more likely to do well and achieve higher results than are those suffering from learned helplessness.

Provide feedback that stresses the process of learning rather than focusing on assessment. Stress the importance of effort, strategies and potential self-control of learning.

Adaptive attributions and control beliefs motivate students.

Design tasks that offer opportunities to be successful but also challenge students — high challenge, low risk!

Provide opportunities to exercise some choice and control. Build supportive and caring personal relationships in the community of learners in the classroom.

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Higher levels of interest and intrinsic motivation motivate students.

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Aside from beliefs of competence and self-control, interest and intrinsic motivation are more likely to motivate students and are associated with more cognitive engagement, enhanced memory and higher levels of achievement. The brain is attuned to novelty and curiosity and, as such, motivation to learn is enhanced when what is to be learned draws on personal and situational interest.

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Know your students and design learning activities that connect to them on a personal level — engage the emotional part of the brain! Provide stimulating and interesting tasks, activities and materials, including some novelty and variety in tasks and activities. Provide content material and tasks that are personally meaningful and interesting to students. Display and model interest and involvement in the content and activities.

Motivational characteristic

What it means for teachers

What it suggests for teaching

Higher levels of value motivate students.

Although interest is important, so are perceptions of value or importance.

Provide tasks, material and activities that are relevant and useful to students, allowing for some personal identification with school. Classroom discourse should focus on importance and utility of content and activities, and not always focus on outcomes.

Goals motivate and direct students.

Different goal constructs motivate students. Importantly, social goals have been shown to be as important to motivation, effort and learning as academic goals. As such, social engagement is not necessarily a distraction from learning. This further illustrates the important links between the emotional parts of the brain with higher order cognitive endeavour.

Use organisational and management structures that encourage personal and social responsibility and provide a safe, comfortable and predictable environment. Use cooperative and collaborative groups to allow for opportunities to attain both social and academic goals. Classroom discourse should focus on mastery, learning and understanding course and lesson content. Use task and evaluation structures that promote mastery, learning, effort, progress and self-improvement standards, and rely less on social comparison or normreferenced standards.

Source: Adapted from the work of Wentzel (2000); Pintrich (2003b); Vialle, Lysaght and Verenikina (2005).

One final consideration related to fostering motivation in the classroom focuses on the importance of positive relationships. There is ample evidence demonstrating that positive relationships between teachers and students positively impact on emotions, motivation and academic/school success (Cozolino 2013; Tokuhama-Espinosa 2011). Teachers who display warmth and enthusiasm towards their students and ensure that they are fair and accepting of all students’ ability, background, commitment and personality traits instil equity in their practice and a sense of safety, security and belonging in their classroom (Nagel & Scholes 2016). This is an important consideration for Australian teachers who must work to meet the needs of a students who come from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

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Consider the following quote (Caine & Caine 2001, p. 45). Emotion lies at the heart of the motivation that children have for learning . . . if a child is intrinsically interested in math or history, that interest is a gift to the child and teacher. However, there are always deeper, less obvious motives that every child has . . . the drive to connect and belong to a group and find a place in the world . . . the drive to communicate with people who are important . . . the drive to thrive and succeed and survive in whatever world a child finds itself.

Classrooms are complex environments of human interaction and endeavour. As you visit various classroom settings, take note of how the emotional lives of students are accommodated and nurtured with a view to enhancing an innate desire to learn. If you see students who are not prepared to engage in learning, are you able to identify why and think of ways to tap into the emotional part of the brain? Two words to always keep in mind when trying to motivate are ‘currency’ and ‘relevancy’: how current is the material to the student, and how relevant is it to the world they live in? Can you bring their outside experiences to bear on the curriculum being delivered?

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

In his book, Teaching for tomorrow, Canadian teacher Ted McCain (2005) proposes some especially practical ideas for engaging independent and higher order learning for twenty-first century learners. His ideas also tie in nicely with the suggestions offered above in that they provide further impetus for engaging the emotional part of the brain in order to motivate students. r Resist the temptation to ‘tell’. r Stop teaching decontextualised content. r Stop giving students the final product of our thinking. r Make a shift in our thinking — problems first, teaching second. r Progressively withdraw from helping students. r Re-evaluate evaluation.

Given all of the information in this chapter and McCain’s (2005) ideas above, what strategies can you start building on as a pre-service teacher to enhance motivation and give greater ‘voice’ to your students? Think back to the opening case presented in this chapter and outline what you might do to motivate Jake. As you embark on your career as a teacher, it is highly likely that you will encounter a number of students like Jake, and part of your craft will be to find ways to engage Jake’s intrinsic motivational circuitry. Past educational practices may not provide the best model for twenty-first century learners — so what will you do differently? Remember, if you teach the way you were taught then you and your students may find your motivation levels waning. INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

Consider the following quotation.

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The academic lives of children are challenging and complex. In line with the mission of schooling, children are expected to engage in academic activities, learn from instruction, and meet standards of intellectual competency established by others. Each day at school children also are expected to adhere to classroom rules, maintain and establish new relationships with classmates and adults, and participate in activities as part of their school community. Central to understanding children’s success at these activities is motivation, that is, the energy they bring to these tasks, the beliefs, values and goals that determine which tasks they pursue and their persistence in achieving them and the standards they set to determine when a task has been accomplished (Wentzel & Wigfield 2009, p. 1).

The quotation highlights how important motivation is to the educational lifeworlds of children. Motivation affects the time and energy students are willing to put into learning. Generally speaking, learners of all ages are motivated when they see the usefulness of what they are learning, when they can connect their learning to their day-to-day lives and when they can use what is being learned in a meaningful and purposeful way. To that end it is imperative to take into account the integral role emotion plays in motivation and, by extension, learning. Classroom ‘learning’ cannot be discussed solely in terms of cognition. Our growing understanding of the brain provides evidence of how emotions might enhance or impede learning. For those entering the profession of teaching the key is to maintain your own motivation by: r always looking for ways that your students can have a voice in how their learning occurs r striving to ensure learning experiences are challenging and relevant to the learners r supporting learners when needed. In the end, a fundamental attribute for powerful teaching and positive learning environments is doing all that can be done to ensure learners are motivated and engaged.

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SUMMARY Student motivation — and the capacity to motivate students — is one of the most crucial components of engaging students. Connections between motivation and the characteristics and/or needs of twenty-first century learners have been explored within a framework suggesting that students today are very different from those of past generations. The growth and pervasiveness of technology demonstrates that students today experience the world and their approaches to learning in a very different way. Indeed, much of the research currently available suggests that the neuro-architecture of contemporary students’ brains may actually be changing due to neuroplasticity. In itself neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to hardwire and rewire itself as it responds to the environmental stimuli around it. Importantly, not all environments outside of schools are identical, so careful consideration must be given to what students bring to the classroom at the nexus of a rapidly changing world. Furthermore, the implication of the brain’s capacity for change is that what happened in classrooms of the past may not be entirely motivating for students of today. Theories of motivation have a lengthy history and the views of behaviourists, social cognitivists and humanists continue to offer important ideas surrounding motivation. Underlying each of these theories is the positive impact motivation can have on student achievement, self-confidence and independence within the context of meeting a range of student needs associated with physical and personal wellbeing. In itself, personal wellbeing is deeply connected with emotions. This suggests that attention should be given to any aspects of educational endeavour that might limit motivation and learning vis-`a-vis stress and anxiety. Some aspects of contemporary ‘schooling’ may diminish a sense of wellbeing and, as such, should be scrutinised. Where necessary, these aspects should be changed to ensure that learning environments do not inadvertently diminish individual success through negative emotions such as anxiety, fear or apprehension. In the past 20 or so years greater attention has been paid to the emotional part of the brain and its relationship to motivation. Human beings are curious about the world around them and a great deal of natural inquisitiveness originates in the emotional part of the brain — the limbic system. The limbic system consists of a number of important components. In the context of motivation, the most notable are the amygdala, the hippocampus and the neurotransmitter dopamine. Each of these works in concert and provides links between emotions, motivation and, by association, memory and learning. The key point is that intrinsic motivation — the motivation that comes from within oneself — thrives on heightened emotional status and with regards to learner engagement is far more powerful than extrinsic motivation or rewards. In themselves, rewards are not always problematic, but teachers too often rely upon them for substantive change when they are mainly short-term solutions. Sustained motivation is linked more directly to intrinsic variables and a positive emotional state. Moreover, rewards are subjective in nature and as such, cultural factors, especially for Indigenous Australian students, must be included in considerations regarding rewards and all aspects of student motivation. Stress and anxiety can impede a student’s positive emotional state. Stress can not only limit a student’s motivation, but also literally shut down thinking. The powerful chemicals that are released when we are stressed shift us into survival mode. As such, fight or flight responses override the ‘sit and think’ mechanisms of the mind. Prolonged stress can even result in anxiety problems or learned helplessness, which inevitably hinder motivation even further. Fortunately, teachers can play an important role in alleviating stress. For future teachers an understanding of motivation must be placed within the realisation that — because each student is an individual — there is no all-purpose method that will motivate all students. There are, however, a number of components of classroom practice that can assist a new teacher and are worthy of constant reflection. These components include scaffolding, timely and informative feedback, challenging but low risk experiences, safe and supportive environments, and opportunities for students to self-reflect.

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KEY TERMS digital natives Individuals who have grown up with digital technology such as computers, the internet and mobile phones. distress A negative form of stress that overloads the brain with powerful hormones and triggers fight or flight mechanisms. eustress A positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in a person’s life such as the exhilaration that occurs from competition. It can act as a powerful empathetic, motivational and creative force. extrinsic motivation Motivation derived from external incentives, usually in the form of a reward and not necessarily linked to a particular activity. intrinsic motivation Motivation derived from engagement in a particular activity that also fosters some form of a positive consequence as a result of the overall endeavour. neuroplasticity Changes that occur in the organisation of the brain as a result of experience vis-`a-vis stimulation from the environment (also referred to as brain plasticity, cortical plasticity or cortical re-mapping). scaffolding Providing any necessary resources and support to promote learning. This is especially important when concepts and skills are introduced for the first time so as not to frustrate or discourage students.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 4.1

LO1

Increasingly, technological devices are becoming much more pervasive in our lives. Many young people carry the world of information and media in the palm of their hands while schools look to embrace technology in a positive way. As a future teacher, how will you use technology to support learning? With regards to the case study presented at the beginning of the chapter, can you think of ways that technology could be used as a tool for embedding Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into activities and lessons? 4.2

LO2

Motivation is a key factor in school success for students. At times, even the space we occupy can be motivating or demotivating. How would you design a classroom and what rules and/or procedures would you have to promote greater engagement in learning and opportunities for your students to feel a sense of autonomy and mastery? 4.3

LO2

Referring to humanist orientations and the work of Abraham Maslow in this chapter and chapter 3, what is the significance of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in an educational context? How might motivation be impacted upon by factors within each level of the hierarchy? Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

4.4

LO3

How does motivation impact on achievement? Is motivation the same for all people? List some of the things that motivate you to succeed in your own studies, label them intrinsic or extrinsic, and compare them with what motivates your peers. Take note of some of the similarities and differences, and see if you can create a list of factors that appear universal and, as such, potentially able to shape your practice as a future teacher. 4.5

LO3

Stress, in the form of distress, can be a very negative influence on behaviour, motivation and learning. Quite often, schools contribute to student stress and anxiety. Many students experience anxiety and other aspects of negative stress at school. List some things that may stress students and how 144

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these can be avoided. It is important to remember that factors that might contribute to stress will vary with age. Keeping this in mind, make your list according to the age of students you are hoping to teach. For example, test anxiety is more common in high school than in early childhood settings. 4.6

LO3

As discussed in the chapter, some aspects of stress or, perhaps more accurately, stressors, are individualistic in nature and referred to as relative stressors. In other words, some things might stress one individual and not another. Given the likelihood that you will work in classrooms with students of Indigenous or diverse ethnic backgrounds, what are some things you will need to know and do to ensure students feel safe, secure and devoid of stress within the learning environment? 4.7

LO4

Traditional behaviourist orientations to motivation focus on reinforcing desirable behaviours through the use of punishment and/or rewards. Considering that the underlying framework behind rewards and punishment is similar — do this and you will get that — how might rewards diminish intrinsic motivation? Moreover, how might an individual’s culture and belief systems influence the efficacy of rewards and punishment? As a future teacher, and looking back over this chapter, what considerations might you need to make when using a behaviourist approach to enhancing motivation?

WEBSITES 1 Teach Hub is an American website offering resources and ideas for practising teachers in early

childhood, primary and secondary education. Their link to motivation provides some good ideas for helping to motivate students: www.teachhub.com/top-12-ways-motivate-students 2 CreativeSpirits is an Australian website offering contemporary information about all aspects of Australian Aboriginal culture, including practical advice and resources for working with Indigenous students. This section of the website provides ideas for engaging Indigenous students: www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/education/teaching-aboriginal-students 3 This website from Vanderbilt University provides detailed background into extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and strategies for engaging motivation in the classroom. The site itself is a subset of a larger site, full of helpful resources and ideas for teachers: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-subpages/motivating-students

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McEwen, BS 2006, ‘Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators: central role of the brain’, Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 283–97. —— 2002, The end of stress as we know it, John Henry Press, Washington DC. McInerney, DM & McInerney, V 2006, Educational psychology: Constructing learning, 4th edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest. McInerney, DM & Van Etten, S 2001, Research on sociocultural influences on motivation and learning, Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, Connecticut. Medina, J 2008, Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home and school, Pear Press, Seattle. Nagel, MC 2009, ‘Mind the mind: understanding the links between stress, emotional well-being and learning in educational contexts’, The International Journal of Learning, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 33–42. —— 2008, It’s a girl thing, Hawker-Brownlow Education, Heatherton, Victoria. —— 2005, ‘Understanding the adolescent brain’, in D Pendergast & N Bahr (eds), Teaching middle years: Rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 65–77. Nagel, MC & Scholes, L 2016, Understanding development and learning: Implications for teaching, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Australia. Nisbett, RE 2009, Intelligence and how to get it: Why schools and cultures count, WW Norton & Company, New York. —— 2004, The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently and why, The Free Press, New York. Oblinger, DG & Oblinger, JL 2005, Educating the net generation, EDUCAUSE Inc., Boulder, Colorado. Ormrod, JE 2008, Human learning, 5th edn, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pekrun, R 2009, ‘Emotions at school’, in KR Wentzel & A Wigfield (eds), Handbook of motivation at school, Routledge, New York, pp. 575–604. Peterson, C, Maier, SF & Seligman, MEP 1993, Learned helplessness: A theory for the age of personal control, Oxford University Press, New York. Pintrich, PR 2003a, ‘Motivation and classroom learning’, in WM Reynolds, GE Miller & IB Weiner (eds), Handbook of psychology: Educational psychology, vol. 7, John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 103–22. —— 2003b, ‘A motivational science perspective on the role of student motivation in learning and teaching contexts’, Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 95, no. 4, pp. 667–86. —— 2000, ‘Multiple goals, multiple pathways: the role of goal orientation in learning and achievement’, Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 92, no. 3, pp. 544–55. 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Seligman, MEP 1972, ‘Learned helplessness’, Annual Review of Medicine, vol. 23, pp. 407–12. Seligman, MEP, Maier, SF & Geer, J 1968, ‘The alleviation of learned helplessness in the dog’, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, vol. 73, pp. 256–62. Small, GW, Moody, TD, Siddarth, P & Bookheimer, SY 2009, ‘Your brain on Google: Patterns of cerebral activation during internet searching’, The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 116–26. Small, G & Vorgan, G 2008, iBrain: Surviving the technological alteration of the modern mind, Harper Collins Publishers, New York. Smith, A 2004, The brain’s behind it: New knowledge about the brain and learning, Hawker-Brownlow Education, Heatherton, Victoria. Spear, LP 2000, ‘The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations’, Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 417–63. Storm, BC, Bjork, RA & Storm, JC 2010, ‘Optimizing retrieval as a learning event: when and why expanding retrieval practice enhances long-term retention’, Memory and Cognition, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 244–53. Sylwester, R 2005, How to explain a brain: An educator’s handbook of brain terms and cognitive processes, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California. Tapscott, D 2008, Grown up digital: How the net generation is changing your world, McGraw-Hill, New York. Tokuhama-Espinosa, T 2011, Mind, brain and education science: A comprehensive guide to the new brain-based learning, WW Norton & Company, New York. Trainor, LJ, Shahin, A & Roberts, LE 2003, ‘Effects of musical training on the auditory cortex in children’, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 999, November, pp. 506–13. CHAPTER 4 Understanding and motivating students

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Trautwein, U & Koller, O 2003, ‘The relationship between homework and achievement — still much of a mystery’, Educational Psychology Review, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 115–45. Tripcony, P 2002, ‘Challenges and tensions in implementing current direction in Indigenous education’, paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference (AARE), Brisbane. Twenge, JM 2017, iGen: Why today’s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy — and completely unprepared for adulthood — and what that means for the rest of us, Simon & Schuster Inc., New York. Vialle, W, Lysaght, P & Verenikina, I 2005, Psychology for educators, Thomson Social Science Press, Southbank, Victoria. Walker-Tileston, D 2004, What every teacher should know about student motivation, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California. Warton, PM 2001, ‘The forgotten voices in homework: views of students’, Educational Psychologist, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 155–65. Wentzel, KR 2000, ‘What is it that I’m trying to achieve? Classroom goals from a content perspective’, Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 105–15. Wentzel, KR & Wigfield, A 2009, ‘Introduction’, in KR Wentzel & A Wigfield (eds), Handbook of motivation at school, Routledge, New York, pp. 1–8. Wolfe, P 2001, Brain matters: Translating research into classroom practice, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Virginia. Young, K 2008, ‘Talkin’ about my generation: a look at the generational gap in the classroom’, The Australian Journal of Middle Schooling, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 5–12.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Fon Hodes / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Professor Gary Small Photo: © MBI / Alamy Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Corbis Images Text: © Elsevier (quote from Ryan & Deci 2000)

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CHAPTER 5

Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 5.1 understand your professional responsibilities to all learners 5.2 describe how knowledge of diversity and difference has changed over time and the consequences for educational equity 5.3 define the key conceptions and dilemmas of teaching all learners 5.4 discuss inquiry-based approaches to learning and the role of activist teachers 5.5 communicate principles of pedagogical knowledge and analyse how your teaching can be improved to meet the needs of all learners 5.6 construct an informed evidence base for teaching all students that demonstrates a deep knowledge of the needs of Indigenous students within the Australian context.

OPENING CASE

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Recognising culture in teaching and learning Ly is in the third year of her four-year teacher education program and is selecting her final semester 2 units. She notices in the course map that there is a Global Experience Program (GEP) offered in mid-October. The details on the website mention that the GEP is a teaching practicum experience that offers pre-service teachers a diverse range of experiences in other educational settings. Each year the GEP program travels to the Northern Territory, Vanuatu, Nepal, Switzerland and Chile. The unit outline states that the program challenges pre-service teachers to think about, deal with and appreciate cultural and educational knowledge and/or practices and perspectives that are different from their own, leading them to develop a broader range of teaching and learning approaches and a more global perspective on education. Ly sends a quick text message to her circle of friends: ‘Are you interested in GEP unit? info mtg in 2wks NT maybe?’. Ly makes an appointment with the course advisor and follows up by attending the GEP forum, where she gets to hear from past students who have completed a teaching practicum through the GEP program. One of these students is Dan. Dan has travelled a lot; during his school years he holidayed with his family overseas, and in more recent years he has travelled with his friends to Bali, Thailand and Vietnam, but he has not seen much of other Australian states. As Ly listens to Dan’s presentation, one of the things that strikes her the most is one of his introductory remarks: ‘Doing a teaching degree has made me so aware of my own inadequacies. I had never realised that I had so little understanding of what it means to teach in a culturally appropriate and sensitive manner.’ Dan is unafraid to point out that before undertaking the GEP program he lacked knowledge of Indigenous Australians, their history and Indigenous ways of knowing. Dan speaks about how critical it is to develop intercultural awareness and sensitivity that will also impact on the diverse needs of Australian students, who, as he continually points out, do not all live in cities and are not all white or monolingual. During the GEP he learned firsthand about the diversity of Aboriginal cultural groups. In the remote GEP school where he did his five-week practicum, 97 per cent of the students were Indigenous Australians, with a language background other than English. The measured level of disadvantage reflected in the My School Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) rating was 581 (1000 being the average), and the school had an attendance rating of 53 per cent. There were seven main languages spoken in the area. Over the course of the school year students moved between the school and many homeland sites, and could be speaking any of the seven local languages. In his presentation, Dan also speaks about the value of being in a community school setting where educational opportunities and access included ` a Families as First Teachers program (FAFT 0–4 year olds), a creche, preschool, primary, middle and senior years, and being part of a large school staff of around 120 people, including teachers, assistant teachers, administration, grounds and ancillary staff. Here he also learned about the Learning on Country (LoC) program, which is grounded in place-based pedagogy and where learning and communication are structured around what is most meaningful to the students — their places, their culture. LoC experiences connect closely with the pedagogies endorsed by the eight Aboriginal ways of learning. Prior to going on the GEP a number of Dan’s university lecturers had mentioned this framework. But, as he admits, he had not fully recognised the richness and depth of the model for planning and assessing any class, anywhere. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. What are your experiences of learning on country? How may pre-service students in your group responded affirmatively to this this question? What explains the result? 2. What facilitates or impedes teachers’ understanding of different ways of learning? 3. What are the essential understandings needed in order to design learning experiences that embed the eight ways of Aboriginal learning?

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Introduction This chapter asks you to consider how equity is understood in education through a focus on learner diversity. Debates surrounding equity in education involve issues of theory, philosophy, educational policy and teaching practice. The popular ideas about equity that enter via the school gate can be multifaceted, often contradictory and driven by deliberate myth making. Ask yourself, ‘How well did my teachers and schools cater for students who for some reason had successful or not so successful experiences of schooling?’ There is little doubt that meeting the needs of all learners is a complex and challenging part of teachers’ work. Yet the opportunity to make a difference for students who find schooling a challenge may be the very reason you want to teach. As a teacher, many experiences and events will involve issues of equity in education. Our expectation is that you will leave your course with a commitment to teach all students. Your knowledge and ability to teach all students will continue to refine and develop over time. For example, what may seem a simple task — such as designing a classroom seating plan — may have hidden implications for planning and catering for the diversity of learners who make up any classroom community. Equity and social inclusion is improved by challenging and changing educational outcomes. As the Cambridge Primary Review states, ‘poverty, inequity and prejudice impede the progress of many children’ (Alexander 2010, p. 126). The struggle for equity and social inclusion has been ongoing since the establishment of mass education. In a rapidly globalising world, the fabric of Australian society will continue to change. In other parts of your course you will have been invited to develop reflective practice as a way to discern how pedagogical knowledge changes over time. You need reflective skills and more, such as a working knowledge of policy, to help you increase your knowledge of equity and to make changes to your teaching to deliver high-quality, high-equity outcomes.

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Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

Understanding diversity and difference

Professional knowledge and educational equity

Naming equity groups in Australian policy

Special education: three decades of critique

Explaining student diversity

Discourse in everyday practice Who is responsible for equity? High-quality, high-equity curriculum and pedagogy

Teaching all students

Supporting learner diversity

Planning multilevel curriculum and inquiry

How equity works in practice

Negotiated and inquiry learning in Australia

Investigating practice and taking action

Essential questions Inquiry learning and activist learning

Developing a supportive and productive learning environment Pedagogies to look for Using supports in the classroom to ensure curricular justice

Understanding the needs of Indigenous students

Australian Professional Standards 1.4 and 2.4 Narrative exchanges for understanding ATSI The state of Indigenous education Health and education

Diverse educational arrangements characterise Australian education. While issues such as the school starting age and national curricula may change over time, Australian schools, which are primarily CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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categorised as government or non-government, are also divided by a classification of ‘ordinary’ and ‘special’ schools. The arrangement of special schools varies from state to state and forms part of the equity policy debate in Australia. What you understand about your state and local learning arrangements for students who are acknowledged as having diverse needs is critical to your capacity to act locally. As Banks et al. (2005, p. 240) note, ‘school norms are expected to govern students’ academic and social behaviour (as well as their social status), and the extent to which student behaviour abides by these norms has a great deal to do with their academic and school success and their treatment by school personnel’. Underpinned by sound theoretical and practical knowledge, as a teacher new to the profession you are expected to actively participate in debates over school norms.

5.1 Understanding diversity and difference LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5.1 Understand your professional responsibilities to all learners.

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Australia is one of the most ethnically diverse nations of the world (Brennan-Kemmis & Smith 2006). Waves of migration from Europe, Asia and Africa have brought many benefits to everyday life in both urban and regional communities in Australia. We often proclaim that migration is a powerful force in our social history. However, for all the rhetoric of Australia being a land of opportunity and a ‘fair go’, scratch the surface of our educational achievement data and we are quickly reminded that injustice remains. Take, for example, Indigenous education. The Closing the gap — Prime Minister’s report 2017 (Commonwealth of Australia 2017) was released 50 years after the 1967 Referendum when Australians overwhelmingly agreed that the Commonwealth had ‘a duty to make laws to benefit the First Australians’ (Commonwealth of Australia 2017, p. 4). The following snapshot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) education outcomes is illustrative of the range of networked factors that impact on student learning from the early years to the compulsory years of schooling. In 2016 there were 207 852 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending Australian schools.

A snapshot of educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations (Australian Government 2018; Council of Australian Governments 2017): r In 2015, 87 per cent of all Indigenous children were enrolled in early childhood education in the year before full-time school, compared with 98 per cent of their non-Indigenous counterparts. r The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is quite young compared to the general population. In 2011, 36 per cent of Indigenous Australians were aged 0–14 years, compared to 18 per cent of nonIndigenous Australians. r The attendance rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in 2016 was 83.4 per cent, compared to 93.1 per cent for non-Indigenous students. r There were 250 distinct Indigenous language groups in Australia at the time of European settlement. Now only around 120 of those languages are spoken, and many are endangered. We have an obligation to protect, preserve and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait languages. r In 2015, Indigenous children were almost twice as likely as non-Indigenous children to be developmentally vulnerable in health and wellbeing, social competence, communication and emotional maturity, and nearly four times more likely to be developmentally vulnerable in language and cognitive skills. The gap in this domain has decreased from 20.7 percentage points in 2009 to 14.5 percentage points in 2015. r Indigenous and non-Indigenous children with the same level of academic achievement at the age of 15 go on to complete Year 12 and higher education at the same rates. r In 2015 Indigenous students represented 1.5 per cent of domestic students in higher education. r Indigenous Australians with bachelor degree or higher qualifications have very high levels of employment (similar to non-Indigenous graduates), compared to those with Certificate II and below qualifications and those who have no post-school qualifications.

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Source: Commonwealth of Australia 2017.

It remains that teachers’ work in the twenty-first century is carried out among the competing tensions of our rapidly changing social fabric, government policy and ongoing political intervention. It is crucial that teachers better understand how their work might productively contribute to understanding difference and adding life opportunities through education. As a teacher, your professional knowledge base requires a deep and considered position on issues of diversity, difference and the pedagogies of hope that educational equity must deliver. The analysis of equity concepts, policy and actions through pedagogical decision making cannot be separated from socialisation of the teaching profession. For example, while the Australian student population — as in most parts of the globe — is linguistically and culturally diverse, it is significant that the Australian teaching profession is overwhelmingly Anglo-Australian and of middle-class background. Workforce data and recent research (Mayer et al. 2017) confirm ATSI peoples are significantly underrepresented in schools — comprising 1.2 per cent of the teaching population in comparison to just over 5 per cent of the student cohort. CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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Likewise, in the teaching profession most classroom teachers are women and most principals are men, highlighting how issues of gender emerge in professional socialisation. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff who are female continues to rise. In 2008, 69.0 per cent of all FTE teachers were female, as were 80.4 per cent of all FTE teachers in primary schools and 57.3 per cent in secondary schools, compared to 1998 when 65.5 per cent of all FTE teachers were female — 77.5 per cent of primary school teachers and 53.5 per cent of secondary school teachers. This trend has continued, with the number of female teaching staff increasing at almost double the rate of male teaching staff over the decade from 2001 to 2011. In 2015 almost three-quarters (73.7%) of all in-school staff (FTE) were female. As in previous years, there were considerably more female teaching staff than male. This was particularly the case at the primary level, where women comprised 83.2 per cent of teaching staff (FTE) in Catholic schools, 81.8 per cent in government schools, and 77.6 per cent in Independent schools. The highest proportion of male teaching staff was at the secondary level in Independent schools (43.5%) (ABS 2015).

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Naming equity groups in Australian policy In order to frame equity policy, in recent years state bodies and educational authorities have included the following terms to describe equity groups (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2014; Bowman 2004, p. 17): r Indigenous Australians r people with a disability r people with low levels of literacy and numeracy r people who live in poor socioeconomic conditions r people with low levels of formal attainment r people in correctional services r women seeking to re-enter the workforce r older displaced workers r older men in rural and regional towns. The accuracy and naming of definitions for equity groups is not without criticism. New understandings of the complexity of disadvantage point out very strongly that to assume current equity groups are homogenous may overlook the diversity that exists within each group. For example, not all Indigenous Australians are located in the same geographical area or have the same socio-economic status or school opportunities (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2014, p. 43). In this chapter, the issue of learner diversity and the understanding of difference is developed by focusing on inclusion and exclusion. Therefore, you will not find discussions of race, gender, religion, disability, socioeconomic status and class as discrete concepts. Echoing recent rethinking in the social sciences and education, learner diversity is understood as centring on issues of power and language and the lived experience of curriculum and pedagogy. In acknowledging the lack of homogeneity in any one group you will therefore find concepts that will overlap and require you to disrupt your belief system and consider your evolving teacher identity as someone who is expected to teach all students. Chapter 1 introduced you to the flux and changes that will occur as understandings of teaching to learn deepen your self-knowledge through inquiry and direct experiences in school settings. Australian national policy initiatives and longstanding conventions decreed by the United Nations (UN) have long highlighted the need for schools and systems to refocus their energies to create a more socially just education. Figure 5.1 describes how inclusion and equity policy analysis interact with each other. Inclusion in education involves: r putting inclusive values into action r viewing every life and every death as of equal worth r supporting everyone to feel that they belong r increasing participation for children and adults in learning and teaching activities, relationships and communities of local schools 154

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r r r r r r r r r r

reducing exclusion, discrimination, barriers to learning and participation restructuring cultures, policies and practices to respond to diversity in ways that value everyone equally linking education to local and global realities learning from the reduction of barriers for some children to benefit children more widely viewing differences between children and between adults as resources for learning acknowledging the right of children to an education of high quality in their locality improving schools for staff and parents/carers as well as children emphasising the development of school communities and values, as well as achievements fostering mutually sustaining relationships between schools and surrounding communities recognising that inclusion in education is one aspect of inclusion in society (Booth & Ainscow 2011).

FIGURE 5.1

The UNESCO Framework for Inclusion and Equity (2017)

1 Concepts

3 Structures and systems

Inclusion and equity as a process

2 Policy statements

4 Practices

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Source: Adapted from UNESCO-IBE (2016).

In Australia, the UNESCO Framework for Inclusion and Equity can be demonstrated in action through the eight Aboriginal ways of learning shown in figure 5.2. The right of Indigenous peoples to education is protected by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which in Article 14 states that ‘Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.’ The framework shown in figure 5.2 was developed by the Community and Elders of Western NSW, the NSW Department of Education and Training, the Western NSW Regional Aboriginal Education Team, and Tyson Yunkaporta (Yunkaporta 2009; Yunkaporta & Kirby 2011). The eight interactive teaching and learning pedagogies include narrative-based learning, visual learning processes, hands-on/ reflective techniques, use of symbols/metaphors, land-based learning, indirect/synergistic logic, modelling scaffolded genre mastery and connectedness to community. Godinho, Woolley, Webb and Winkel (2015) put these principles to work in a project to develop the English and Science literacy skills of Aboriginal students in Mannigrida, a remote community in the Northern Territory. Through cross-cultural exchanges and ‘on country’ visits, Aboriginal biocultural knowledge was integrated with Western scientific understanding to develop curriculum and literacy resources. The research points out that relationship-building, coupled with a sustained presence in the community, were critical to strengthening the partnership, and highlighted that establishing trust and credibility must precede any research initiatives. To avoid cultural blindness and bias and the use of white power and privilege, the following is recommended as a guide to establishing a learning community between Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators. r Begin with local knowledge systems of place and seek opportunities for transfer of these traditional knowledge and skills to the focus of inquiry. CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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r Employ respectful listening and acknowledgment of cultural knowledge to establish trust. r Incorporate new technologies for capacity building, and enhanced literacy and numeracy skills gradually and concretely. r Implement ways of collaboratively communicating integrated knowledge to the local broader community. r Explicate local complexities and constraints. r Recognise the need for constant face-to-face communication and supportive scaffolding to sustain engagement and impact. FIGURE 5.2

Eight Aboriginal ways of learning

Story sharing

Community links

Learning maps

Deconstruct Reconstruct

Non-verbal

Symbols and images

Non-linear

Land links

Source: Yunkaporta (2009); Yunkaporta & Kirby (2011).

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

A number of key open access resources have been developed in Australia that are useful for developing understanding that respects intercultural and intracultural school redesign. One of these resources is the Difference Differently online professional learning modules developed by the Together for Humanity Foundation. These modules have resources both for teachers and students. Reflecting on how a school used the resources, one teacher commented that while the online activities for students are really useful, the most powerful experience is when the school has three people from widely different backgrounds and life experiences come into the school and spend time to share their life experiences, beliefs and customs. The students are enthralled by the stories and their perspectives on life and living in the community. That proves to be really powerful for the students, and also provides a key turning point for staff to rethink how they can redesign curriculum and pedagogical practices. Visit the Together for Humanity Foundation website (www.togetherforhumanity.org.au) and browse the Difference Differently online modules. Compile a list of three ways you can incorporate intercultural understanding into your own lessons.

Figure 5.3 lists the policy statements of some educational organisations in relation to diversity and education. These are useful sources of information, and a starting point for finding resources to support and build a professional knowledge base for principles of social inclusion and inclusive education. 156

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FIGURE 5.3

Key organisations and policy statements

The Australian Human Rights Commission www.humanrights.gov.au The Australian Human Rights Commission (formerly the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) was established in 1986 by an Act of Federal Parliament. The Commission is an independent statutory organisation that reports to Federal Parliament through the Attorney-General. The Commission’s website is a significant resource for information and teaching resources on: r social justice for Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders r age discrimination r disability rights r human rights r race discrimination r sex discrimination r education r legal research and resources. The Student Wellbeing Hub https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au The resources available on the Student Wellbeing Hub are designed to help create learning communities that promote student wellbeing and the development of respectful relationships. The Hub is guided by the principles of the National Safe Schools Framework, which outline the important role of educators, parents, carers and the wider community in working with schools to create and maintain safe and supportive learning and teaching communities that build respectful relationships. The Framework is aligned to the Australian Curriculum and the individual national, state and territory initiatives, policies and legislative frameworks currently in place to support students’ safety and wellbeing. © 2017 Commonwealth of Australia, Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Creative Commons BY 4.0, unless otherwise indicated.

United Nations Education and Scientific Organisation www.unesco.org UNESCO Education UNESCO Education promotes three broad themes: r learning through life r improving education quality r promoting rights and freedom.

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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child UNESCO contributed to the process of elaborating the General Comment No. 1 (2001) on Article 29 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This General Comment states that ‘The child’s right to education is not only a matter of access but also of content’. It thus reflects UNESCO’s concerns. See the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, www.ohchr.org. UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples UNESCO supports its member states and collaborates with partners to ensure that the right to education for indigenous peoples is respected, protected and fulfilled. This includes monitoring the right to education for all, including indigenous peoples, and ensuring equitable access to lifelong learning and quality and relevance of teaching and learning.

Explaining student diversity In teacher education, a psychological perspective is the most commonly taught and reported explanation of student diversity. Psychology is the science of human behaviour. Through your reading and the framework that is applied in this chapter you will find other explanations of diversity and difference. To ensure educational equity is applied in the practice of teaching and linked to sustainable change, learner CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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diversity must also be understood as a matter of curriculum and pedagogy. Stereotypical labels, including explanations of students according to intelligence quotients (IQ), when attached to equity groups, can get in the way of sound curriculum and pedagogy. A standpoint of inclusion works against educational exclusion. Clough (1988), some three decades ago, defined a social justice conception of curriculum. It involves: r framing problems in context r adopting a framework that can draw on various theories and so accommodate complex interrelations r systematically recognising the experience of teachers, students and parents to better understand and interpret teaching and research situations r teachers and researchers monitoring and documenting learning events, leading to critical self-evaluation and appropriate revision of research approaches. Teaching all students, therefore, can be reframed as issues of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy that are informed by: r exploring a range of theories r questioning the separation of ‘ordinary’ and ‘special’ schools r understanding historical and local contexts r positioning the teacher as an action-oriented teacher/researcher who is seeking problems and solutions r an ethical standpoint that understands the limitations of othering (distancing oneself from ‘others’). In Australia, Kamler and Comber (2004) offer the concept of ‘turn around pedagogies’ to draw our attention to the issues of equity embedded in curriculum decision making and the social contexts of schooling. Their research explains how the discourses of blame that accompany literacy failure can be disrupted. In their words, ‘We not only challenged teachers’ tendency to blame parents, but took away the individual blame from teachers for their failure to connect with students. That is, we framed the comparatively low performance of low-socioeconomic and marginal groups of children as a collective socio/political and global problem with new dimensions in new times that make it even harder to intervene’ (p. 141). It is a long-held view that schools can and do make a difference in creating more equitable societies. One of the qualities of a teacher who works from a platform of social justice is that they understand that in the globalised world of the twenty-first century, policy formation, both national and international, has become a strong arm of intervention in schooling. Teachers and pre-service teachers readily admit they are not well prepared to tackle the challenges of meeting diverse student needs (Keddie 2012; Mayer et al. 2017). This admission reflects the complexity of the issues at hand and the need to consider the big issues of our time, which all contribute to a reading of the ‘politics of difference’ (Young 1994). ‘Becoming’ (Britzman 2003) a teacher, as has been stressed throughout this text, does occur over time, but regardless of where you may teach in the future, no-one can stand apart from the magnitude of issues that arise from a globally connected and dependent world. To ensure that the ‘responsibility’ (Halse 2017) for diversity is upheld and to create classrooms that teach for these understandings may seem an impossibility. Inspiring narratives can connect pre-service teachers, teachers and school leaders to socially just actions that do change schools and communities (Goldstein 2016; Keddie 2012), but we need these types of outcomes to be both more widespread and better known.

5.2 Professional knowledge and educational equity LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5.2 Describe how knowledge of diversity and difference has changed over time and the consequences for educational equity.

The history of education shows that schooling was originally built around privilege. Schooling initially was conducted in the homes of the wealthy and usually focused on literacy and numeracy. In Australia, the first teachers were convicts selected on the basis of good behaviour, skills and the ability to discipline the unruly (Groundwater-Smith, Cusworth & Dobbins 1998). One of the greatest difficulties faced by educators is knowing and showing how teaching makes a difference. What is the professional knowledge base required to teach all students? As professionals in the twenty-first century, it is a given that teachers 158

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will develop as teacher–researchers. An essential starting point is teachers’ capacity to determine how their efforts to transform existing arrangements make a difference. They must also ask, of course, whether they are merely perpetuating existing barriers. Take, for example, the big picture of Australian schooling and student enrolment. In 2016 there were 3 798 226 students enrolled in schools across Australia, representing an increase of 47 253 (1.3%) on the previous year’s figure. The number of students enrolled in government schools rose by 38 672 (1.6%), while in the non-government sector, students enrolled in Catholic schools reported a very slight increase of 1511 (0.2%), and students at Independent schools increased by 7070 (1.3%) on the 2015 figure (ABS 2016). In 2016 there were 9414 schools in Australia, a number that has continued to decline over the past decade. But what of opportunity for rural students or others whose social circumstances determine that educational access is a local and possibly under-resourced government school? Also consider students with disabilities, ongoing health conditions or mental illness who — despite the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Disability Education Standards 2005 — find themselves excluded from local schools. Ben Whitburn, an early career scholar who has researched the experiences of young people with disabilities in both Australia and Spain, reflected on his experiences as someone who has lived with a disability since the age of 4. I have a personal stake in the various discourses that play out in relation to disability within social worlds; or perhaps it should be the other way round. Following complications with the removal of a benign brain tumour, I was diagnosed with profoundly impaired vision at the age of four in the early 1980s. The medical wolf pack that forever lingers closely to disability was considerably ferocious at that time. Under the remedial approach to child assessment, medically trained professionals held views that such children lacked the capacity to learn alongside children without disabilities (Clough 2000). Soon after my diagnosis, when visiting the neurosurgeon for a regular check-up, he clarified — in his professional view — the implications that my medical misfortune would purportedly have on my education and subsequent life. He sanctimoniously advised my mother to have me enrolled into Narbethong, the special school for blind children in Brisbane, Australia as if it were the only solution to my receiving an education. Thus, my future was sealed. My vision impairment, the ‘aetiology of the problem’ (Bailey, cited in Clough 2000, p. 11), would be the driving force behind my coercion into special segregated education. On this day, the surgeon operationalised Foucault’s gaze of normalising judgment as it is often trained on children with disabilities from medical expertism. On this day, he insisted on exercising his power to distinguish me as a child with special needs against the backdrop of ‘normal’ children with functional vision (Whitburn 2014).

Ben, however, did not ever attend a special school. Instead he attended neighbourhood schools with support. Today, Ben is a lecturer in education. He completed his PhD and is continuing to research and advocate for critical research and classroom practices that work against exclusions in schooling and society at large.

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Special education: three decades of critique Locally and internationally, what teachers should be able to learn and do to cater for learners with diverse needs remains heavily dominated by the field of special education. The field has a unique and particular history aligned to medical and psychological discourses. Research and scholarship of the past three decades has pointed to an ongoing critique of the field (Moss 2011; Slee 2011). In the 1990s, Skrtic described the following limitations of the special education field. Skrtic (1991, 1995) and others have argued that segregated education through the special schools system cannot demonstrate convincing outcomes. Skrtic’s critique of the field centred on four key assertions. He questioned whether: 1. student disability is pathological — whether the diagnosis and/or naming of a disease or condition is prima facie (based on first appearance) 2. diagnosis is objective and useful — that is, whether from a diagnosis methods or approaches to teaching and learning can be devised and are of use to educators CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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3. special education is a coordinated system of services that benefits diagnosed students — whether the system is unquestionably ethical and fair to all students 4. improvements develop from conventional diagnostic and instructional practice — whether once diagnosed, the teacher’s task is to implement strategies on the basis of pathology (the nature of the disease). It is well known that even within specialised settings with very high student–teacher ratios, teachers are unable to truly execute individual programs. In Australia, special education is visible through the organisational patterns of schooling in government and non-government sectors and includes separate special schools, alternative educational arrangements, separate classes and support classes in or attached to neighbourhood schools. It would be difficult to argue that Australian education has adopted a wholly inclusive approach. As table 5.1 indicates, special schools represent less than 5 per cent of the total number of Australian schools. Data from 2008, 2012 and 2016 indicate that while the number of schools in Australia has declined over this period, an increase in special school numbers has occurred. The increase in numbers has been in the independent sector, which perhaps speaks to the domination of the competitive academic curriculum in these systems. Curriculum, discussed later in this chapter, is much more than a simple definition of learning and list of learning objectives. The manner in which curriculum is organised in schools is core to understanding issues of equity. TABLE 5.1

Total Australian schools

Year

All schools

Special schools

2008

9468

416

2012

9427

424

2016

9414

461

Notes

Decrease overall in school numbers

Increase in special school numbers

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Source: ABS (2008, 2012, 2016).

In the seminal work, Making the difference, Connell (1982) pointed out that the competitive academic curriculum dominates most people’s (including teachers’) ideas about curriculum. Connell went on to state that the competitive academic curriculum creates a hegemony; that is, the high status afforded to the sorting of students into subjects and levels overrides the status of other activities and therefore subordinates others to a lesser place in the social hierarchy with fewer opportunities for their education. Hegemony is also arguably present in the way that Australian schools are organised, as enrolment in special schools is based on student abilities — those considered unable to benefit from the academic curriculum. Considering the above evidence and noting that national equity policy has not been at the centre of national policy for more than 15 years, it would be fair to assert that Australian education remains dominated by the competitive academic curriculum, a position taken up by Connell some time ago (Connell 1985). The ‘middle schooling’ movement — focused on school Years 5 to 9 (Barratt 1998; Cole, Mahar & Vindurampulle 2006a, 2006b) — has been identified as a site of hope for affirming and prioritising learner diversity. Again, though, the influence of this movement has been described in less than optimistic terms, such as ‘at the cross roads’, a ‘wasteland’ and ‘unfinished and exhausted’ (Prosser 2008; Smith & McEwin 2011). While ‘inclusion’ and ‘exclusion’ are now often used to explain how schools might gauge their contribution to equity and equity policy, it is all too easy for actual implementation to suffer as new waves of reforms are imposed. It is important that pre-service teachers not become overwhelmed by the obstacles to inclusion and equity to the extent that they lose their enthusiasm. After all, outcomes for students rest on what teachers do and how they are able to collaborate with others to ensure education is for all. 160

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

As identified earlier, this chapter asks you to engage actively in debates that relate to equity in education. The state of reconciliation in Australia is a debate of significance for all Australians and has sharp relevance and resonance for beginning teachers. The report of the state of reconciliation in Australia identifies five interrelated dimensions of reconciliation, as shown in figure 5.4. FIGURE 5.4

Five interrelated dimensions of reconciliation

Race relations

Equality and equity

All Australians understand and value Aboriginal

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous

participate equally in a range of life opportunities

cultures, rights and experiences, which results

and the unique rights of Aboriginal and Torres

in stronger relationships based on trust

Strait Islander peoples are recognised and upheld.

and respect and that are free of racism. Unity An Australian society that values and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity. Institutional integrity

Historical acceptance

The active support of reconciliation by the

All Australians understand and accept the

nation’s politicial, business and

wrongs of the past and the impact of these

community structures.

wrongs. Australia makes amends for the wrongs of the past and ensures these wrongs are never repeated.

Source: Reconciliation Australia (2016).

Read over figure 5.4, then return to the tile titled ‘Equality and equity’. How do these principles apply to a range of equity groups? Are these issues the same or different for all named equity groups listed previously? What are the key issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to realise equality and equity through education?

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Discourse in everyday practice It is crucial that teachers critically analyse the origins and language of their everyday practices. Deficit discourses and contradictions are strongly embedded in the language and practices of schooling. This contributes to deficit positioning. In contemporary society and education, the process of assigning meaning through language, signs and symbols is relentless and occurs in families, schools and communities. The dehumanisation of people through blame — that is, naming people as deficient in some way — is also hegemony. The impact of hegemony is alienation and exclusion. The dehumanisation of people, families and students is profound and has devastating and lasting effects. If teachers are to work for student outcomes that are beyond deficit positioning it is necessary to carefully analyse why: r the continuing associations between poverty, race, identification and socioeconomic status result in an overrepresentation of certain groups in learning difficulty classifications r more special schools exist in areas where economic indicators are lower and, more recently, where high stakes assessment is highly prevalent r a greater number of Indigenous students are represented in low school retention figures and low literacy and numeracy benchmarks. CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

One of the most challenging aspects of teaching and learning for beginning teachers is the planning and enacting of lessons that provide challenging content while still providing other learners with sufficient prior knowledge to participate meaningfully in class. Pre-service teachers often report that in the early stages of their teaching it is impossible to have eyes everywhere (although this is a skill teachers develop over time). As a pre-service teacher, it is easy to fall into the familiar trap of focusing on your own actions and behaviours and neglecting to notice how all the students are responding to the lesson. Videoing lessons over time and analysing these short video clips is an important part of critical reflection on your teaching practice. Modelling strategies, while useful to open a lesson, are no substitute for follow-up questioning during the lesson. Pausing midway through the lesson allows students both to demonstrate and explain their learning to the whole class or a partner. Watching a video of your own teaching is an interesting, eye-opening and often confronting experience. This is because it facilitates the critical reflection of the effectiveness of the lesson and teaching methods, and allows you to observe the classroom environment, perhaps noticing things that didn’t catch your eye at the time, due to dozens of things taking place at once. There are a number of online videos and resources where teachers talk about their practice and how they have grown by using this form of self-study and review. Remember that as both a pre-service and beginning teacher you will require and benefit from tailored support. Schools that take a whole-school approach to teachers’ professional learning are more likely to help you develop over time and position the school as a learning community for both students and teachers. Mentoring action planning Mentee: Term: Issues discussed:

Mentor: Week:

Date:

Australian Professional Standard addressed this week/meeting:

Form of evidence (e.g. journal, classroom video, professional conversation); location of evidence (e.g. classroom, playground, staffroom, meeting)

Comments for critical reflection and analysis:

Action points for mentee and mentor:

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Focus standard for next week/meeting:

5.

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Who is responsible for equity? Broadly, Australians believe that human rights and democratic principles are an integral part of the country’s social fabric. Nevertheless, teachers, when confronted with issues of diversity, tend to defer to the identification of groups for whom special provision has been made. The result is deference to experts and specific programs and resources. Although examples of transformed practices can always be found, on balance schooling in Australia is caught in traditions that better fit with older factory models of schooling than with twenty-first century principles of equity. At this point it is important to remind ourselves that teachers are not solely responsible for all educational opportunities and student learning. School administrators, leading teachers and curriculum coordinators make any number of organisational decisions that have broad consequences for equity and student learning outcomes. Theories of difference detail how contemporary views of equity and diversity are formed and developed over time. Social scientists working in the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, sociology and cultural studies have made contributions to our knowledge of equity and learner diversity. Schools are organisations in which the distribution of human and financial resources shapes equity practices. It is important that we continually remind ourselves that practices are derived from a wide palette of theories and philosophies. To analyse the implicit assumptions that are so often hidden in practice, close scrutiny of everyday practices and their origins is needed. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

What theoretical and philosophical positions guide your personal professional beliefs? Construct a 400-word statement that explains your theoretical and philosophical orientation to educational equity. Invite others to agree or disagree and help you refine your position. Share what helps to make these complex ideas useful in studying equity issues in Australia.

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High-quality, high-equity curriculum and pedagogy To achieve high-quality, high-equity outcomes, teachers need to create learning environments that work against exclusion. Teachers also need to regard schools and classrooms as active sites of citizenship and student participation, and recognise the power of the hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum can be intended or unintended, and refers to knowledge and practices that, although unspoken, are strong indicators of social justice and equity. Consider practices such as ranking, streaming and tracking students; having separate classrooms and units for students who require additional learning support; school rules; the nature of interactions between teachers and students; and gendered practices in subject selection. None of these are the focus of the intended learning outcomes, but they do reinforce particular norms and values. An analysis of the hidden curriculum and the impact on Indigenous learners conducted by Rahman (2013) shows how young Indigenous people are often culturally displaced when they enter school. ‘At home, Indigenous children are often expected to be fairly independent in their day-to-day activities, and rely very much on their own observations to learn new things, which can often conflict with school structure and expectations’ (Rahman 2013, p. 667). For many Indigenous students and their families, and other named equity groups, one of the greatest barriers to school success is that the cultural and social knowledge about how to succeed in school is not usually present. These arguments are well-rehearsed in the field of education (Bernstein 1971; Singh 2015), but we need to continually confront what the barriers are to making change happen at the grassroots level.

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High-performing schools A decade ago Luke, Weir and Woods (2008, p. 8) argued there is a case for a syllabus model that aims for a balance of ‘informed prescription’ and ‘informed professionalism’ with the aim of ‘high-quality’ and ‘high-equity’ educational outcomes. In other words, the curriculum should reach for both breadth and depth, and teachers should be empowered to let their knowledge grow over time. The OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) affirmed a range of research that suggests that students perform best: r in a positive learning environment that is oriented towards results r in a climate characterised by high expectations and the readiness to invest effort r where the enjoyment of learning is present r where a strong disciplinary climate is found r where good teacher–student relations exist (Luke, Weir & Woods 2008, p. 76). Students’ perception of teacher–student relations and classroom disciplinary climate display the strongest relationships with student performance. Students’ perceptions of the extent to which teachers emphasise academic performance and place high demands on students also tended to be positively related to performance, albeit less strongly so. Australian school principals who participated in PISA suggested that more could be done in relation to some of the dimensions identified. For example: r 31 per cent reported that learning is hindered by teachers’ low expectations of students r 48 per cent reported that learning is hindered by teachers not meeting individual students’ needs r 34 per cent reported that learning is hindered by staff resistance to change (Luke, Weir & Woods 2008, p. 76).

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Follow up these issues and ideas for classroom action by visiting the Student Wellbeing Hub, Element 2 ‘A supportive and connected school culture’ (https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/educators/national-safeschools-framework#/).

Social justice and whole-school action Over the years, Moss (see Moss 2002, 2011) has evolved, through a pedagogical and curriculum-based approach, some key principles for making more schools inclusive. These principles recognise the role of curriculum knowledge and action and the long-advocated move away from separate curriculum and schools. The inclusive pedagogical approach in action (IPAA) framework (Florian 2014; Florian & Spratt 2013) is a further example of ways for teachers and schools to adopt an activist and professional way of knowing. We can make more schools inclusive, and teacher actions will: r focus on what is to be taught (and how) rather than who is to learn it r provide opportunities for children to choose (rather than predetermine) the level at which they engage with the lesson r support students through scaffolded strategic/reflective responses when they encounter barriers to learning r ensure relationships between teacher and learner are continuously built over time r affirm interest in the whole child, and that the acquisition of knowledge and skills is balanced r balance learners’ needs in light of curriculum and pedagogical decision-making, not labels r see difficulties for learners as professional challenges, rather than the deficits of learners r interplay with school-wide practices r foster continuous professional learning and focus on growth over time (adapted from ‘The inclusive pedagogical approach in action (IPAA) framework’; Florian 2014; Florian & Spratt 2013). It is likely that in school contexts you will still hear teachers and curriculum leaders discuss specific programs for ‘ESL [English as a second language] learners’, the school support unit for ‘students with disabilities and learning needs’, the separate ‘special school’ for students with intellectual disabilities such as autism, accelerated programs for students described as being ‘gifted’, and programs for ‘rural and isolated students’. No-one can underestimate the complexity of how these structures have come about, or why some educators and researchers classify and think about student learning needs in this way. It has been long advocated that these structures fail to serve students’ learning or their growth as participative citizens (Hobba, Moss & Bridge 1999; Moss 2002). In the main, teachers, when confronted with issues of learner diversity, still defer to experts and specific programs and resources, rather than seeing their role as members of a community where changing professional knowledge and the identity formation of both students and teachers is key. The issues are complex, but working against deficit categorisation and developing curriculum structures that are enabling of learning communities and successful learning for all students is a key part of understanding your responsibilities and ongoing development as a teacher in the twenty-first century.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

During his five-week block placement, Jason noted that on this placement he would be required to demonstrate evidence of three key elements of Standard 1 ‘Know students and how they learn’ (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership): 1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds 1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students 1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.

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In the first week of his professional experience Jason had undertaken predominately whole-of-class teaching. His mentor teacher has suggested that he now needs to begin developing his skills in collaborative teaming and cooperative learning. He shared the following reflective statement written in his professional experience journal after his first attempt to teach through a collaborative learning model. Even when I carefully matched students so that abilities were mixed, some groups still struggled. Some groups worked very well the entire time, requiring no teacher guidance, while other students continually relied on my help. I was adamant this lesson was to build students’ skills in team work and collaboration, so made comments to students like ‘Ask your partner what they think’ to encourage the students to problem solve together. I did notice that some students, Chen and Rachel, took the leadership role in their groups and almost worked independently to complete the task while their partners did little. I wonder what would have happened if I placed these students together? Would this combination have sparked motivation and got them to work together and achieve the task, or would they have chatted and run out of time to complete the task? I had also underestimated the time it would take students to complete the task and so it will need to be carried over into another lesson. At the point in time that we finished, I don’t think that this was such a bad thing. Students were really losing heart in the task as it was a challenge and they were not used to this type of task.

What suggestions would you give to Jason to demonstrate knowledge of collaborative group learning? Include some suggested assessment tasks to judge students’ achievements on the final project, group effort and interaction. Evaluate in your own words how heterogeneous grouping fulfils the above descriptors of Standard 1. What advice would you give Jason to include in the artefact to meet the requirements of Standards 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5?

5.3 Teaching all students LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5.3 Define the key conceptions and dilemmas of teaching all learners.

Cherryholmes (2002, p. 116) provides a starting point to consider the meaning of curriculum: ‘curriculum is historically a course (of study) that someone runs (studies)’. Schools largely remain caught in curriculum design models that conform to the ‘classical meanings’ (Cherryholmes 2002, p. 116), and we easily recognise syllabus documents or textbooks as ‘curriculum courses’. In the first decade of the twentyfirst century, curriculum scholars have reminded us that our world is postmodern and it is a reasonable proposition that new meanings should be assigned to curriculum. As Cherryholmes (2002, p. 117) asks: How did/do we get from there — curriculum as a (race)course of study for students to (run) study — to here — curriculum as dispersed poststructural and postmodern texts and practices that students and teachers engage and pragmatically produce?

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

A mind map is an organisational tool that illustrates how one understands relationships between concepts and isolated pieces of information. You can compare a mind map to a road map of a city. Curriculum is a complex notion and forms the centre of your mind map. This activity will introduce you to the linkages and relationships between the many elements of curriculum. As in the example model shown, start with the major term: ‘curriculum’. Move from the more complex idea to a less complex idea. Connecting lines are drawn between concepts. Linking words can be placed between ideas to state the relationship between concepts. Cross-links between the segments of the concept hierarchy, classification or field can be added. Colour can be useful to highlight key concepts and linkages. Based on these instructions — and with help from (but not copying) the example in figure 5.5 — draw a mind map of how curriculum works for all students.

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PART 2 Understanding learning and learners

Curriculum mind map

Student-led conferences

ss-

ing arn Le 2.0 S AU lum s cu rri area cu ing s ritie arn prio Le lum ricu cur

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uen Infl

nm ent $ Fun ding

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Multimedia s er n i a New media Tr rs s he e c in a ipl Email Te sc Di Too ls Computer age

Movie cam Digital camera Video t Dep of res futu

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ct

Le

rs

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Co

n

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rs

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es urc so

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Outcomes

FIGURE 5.5

Social inclusion

RRRs His

Research

tor

y

Cultural Aims cohesion

University

TAFE

Employers

Jobs Employers’ needs/req.

Apprenticeship

Supporting learner diversity Recognition of difference and diverse cultural viewpoints are important and common themes in the design of the Australian Curriculum. In the Australian Curriculum, ACARA has chosen to include cross-curriculum priorities (see figure 5.6) and the general capabilities (see figure 5.7) in recognition that knowledge in the twenty-first century requires an ‘integrated and interconnected set of knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that can be developed and applied across the curriculum to help students become successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens’ (ACARA 2013). Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 5.6

The Australian cross-curriculum priorities (images from left to right are: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures; Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia; Sustainability)

Cross-curriculum priorities The Australian Curriculum has been written to equip young Australians with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will enable them to engage effectively with and prosper in a globalised world. Students will gain personal and social benefits, be better equipped to make sense of the world in which they live and make an important contribution to building the social, intellectual and creative capital of our nation. Accordingly, the Australian Curriculum must be both relevant to the lives of students and address the contemporary issues they face. With these considerations and the Melbourne Declaration on

CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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Educational Goals for Young Australians in mind, the curriculum gives special attention to these three priorities: r Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures r Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia r Sustainability. Cross-curriculum priorities are embedded in all learning areas. They will have a strong but varying presence depending on their relevance to the learning areas. The content descriptions that support the knowledge, understanding and skills of the cross-curriculum priorities are tagged with icons. The tagging brings to the attention of teachers the need and opportunity to address the cross-curriculum priorities at this time. Elaborations will provide further advice on how this can be done, or teachers can click on the hyperlink which will provide further links to more detailed information on each priority.

Where can I find more information about the cross-curriculum priorities? Further information can be found on the cross-curriculum priorities home page on the Australian Curriculum website at https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities. Source:

FIGURE 5.7

Australian Curriculum www.australiancurriculum.edu.au.

ACARA general capabilities

Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

General capabilities in the Australian Curriculum General capabilities, a key dimension of the Australian Curriculum, are addressed explicitly in the content of the learning areas. They play a significant role in realising the goals set out in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008) — that all young people in Australia should be supported to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens. The Melbourne Declaration identifies essential skills for twenty-first century learners — in literacy, numeracy, information and communication technology (ICT), thinking, creativity, teamwork and communication. It describes individuals who can manage their own wellbeing, relate well to others, make informed decisions about their lives, become citizens who behave with ethical integrity, relate to and communicate across cultures, work for the common good and act with responsibility at local, regional and global levels. The general capabilities encompass the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that, together with curriculum content in each learning area and the cross-curriculum priorities, will assist students to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century. They complement the key learning outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework (COAG 2009) — that children have a strong sense of identity and wellbeing, are connected with and contribute to their world, are confident and involved learners and effective communicators. The Australian Curriculum includes seven general capabilities: r Literacy r Numeracy r Information and communication technology (ICT) capability r Critical and creative thinking r Personal and social capability r Ethical understanding r Intercultural understanding. Source:

168

Australian Curriculum www.australiancurriculum.edu.au.

PART 2 Understanding learning and learners

The three dimensions of the Australian curriculum

Sus

tain

abi

lity

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rac

Lite Digital Technologies

Languages

Design and Technologies

The Arts Health and Physical Education

Economics, Business

Civics and Citizenship

As eng ia and age A Ab me ustra nt w lia’ Isla origin s nde a ith Asi r H l and a isto Tor ries re and s Stra it Cu ltur es

Geography

Science

History

English

Mathematics

Three Cross-curriculum Priorities

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Seven General Capabilities

ng

ndi

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ica

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Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/primary-matters-newsletter/primary-matters-may-2017; Australian Curriculum www.australiancurriculum.edu.au.

A system-wide focus on pedagogy is crucial if teachers are to be engaged with curriculum reform practices. Productive curriculum and assessment approaches are becoming more student centred. Such approaches rely less on the teacher as the sole decision maker in the assessment process. Public scrutiny of learning performance is also increasing, linking the school and community in new ways. National testing programs and the greater visibility of individual school performance will raise significant equity issues. The National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) commenced in 2008. The program assesses students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy, and the test results are used to compare student achievement against national standards. The MySchool website (www.myschool.edu.au) developed by ACARA displays the profiles of almost 10 000 Australian schools, including schools’ results on national tests ‘to be understood in a fair and meaningful way’ (ACARA 2009b). CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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NAPLAN is designed to test skills, rather than content, and focus on longitudinal profiles of students as they progress through their schooling. However, not all educators agree that NAPLAN is effective in schools. Research has found that teachers have experienced negative experiences in administering the NAPLAN test, with reports of teachers being pressured to ‘teach to the test’ and students being anxious over their performance (Dulfer, Polesel & Rice 2012). A difficult issue for teachers is how to draw the distinction between the impact of national accountability systems such as NAPLAN and what will be developed in the context of the classroom as part of their ongoing formative classroom assessment practices. A significant part of your professional knowledge and capacity to teach all students derives from the central role of teaching and learning relationships — with students, other teachers and community groups.

5.4 Planning multilevel curriculum and inquiry LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5.4 Discuss inquiry-based approaches to learning and the role of activist teachers.

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New and experienced teachers alike encounter difficulties in planning curriculum so that it includes all learners and interweaves cross-curriculum priorities and the capabilities specified in the Australian Curriculum. The three-dimensional model of the Australian Curriculum shows both the volume of knowledge that the Australian Curriculum has drawn together, and also what is expected of you as a teacher in threading together the three cross-curriculum priorities and the seven capabilities. One of the most powerful approaches teachers can use to address these challenges is through inquiry learning (Friesen & Scott 2013; Moss & Harvie 2015). Curriculum designed with inquiry in mind has the potential to support the learning of all students. Schools that have adopted inquiry models have won strong reputations for their capacity to teach all children and can evidence achievement against learning area curriculum standards, cross-curriculum priorities and the capabilities. In these schools we can see how a strong commitment to inquiry learning contributes to bringing together learning that maintains the rigour of each of the learning areas but also provides opportunities to show connections where students demonstrate their capabilities. Capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, after all, are there to ensure that we focus on skills that are critical to twenty-first century challenges. Adopting an inquiry approach requires teachers to have strong pedagogical content knowledge and cross-curriculum knowledge. Teachers need to draw on their disciplinary knowledge of school subjects and interdisciplinary understandings such as creative thinking, critical thinking and problem solving — these are the building blocks of inquiry learning. The inquiry approach emphasises the interrelationships between knowledges. Thus explicit skills are taught, but generalisation and the creation of new knowledge is enabled. This requires connections with the community, but communities are often underutilised in the design and development of equity pedagogy. This may occur through initiatives such as service learning. Service learning is an approach to learning, teaching and reflecting that combines academic classroom curriculum with meaningful community service and engages elements of inquiry and negotiated curriculum models (Service Learning Australia 2010).

Negotiated and inquiry learning in Australia Boomer (1992) proposed the understandings of learning and curriculum negotiation summarised in table 5.2. This model was developed 20 years ago in the context of the middle years of schooling, but remains a highly useful and instructive approach to curriculum design. Boomer’s premise was that a negotiated curriculum process aligns with the learning process.

Essential questions Essential questions and their application to curriculum inquiry were widely used in the work of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES 1994–2017), which was an innovative network of schools located 170

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in Chicago. CES was known for its emphasis on personalised, equitable and intellectually rigorous approaches to student learning. At the heart of the inquiry models are big ideas and essential questions. Unit-level questions signal the entry points to larger questions and can take the shape of any number of learning and assessment opportunities such as projects, case studies, performances, exhibitions and problem-based learning. Students working in these models do more than cover curriculum; they uncover learning that may be in the direction of content mastery and higher-order thinking, and learn new skills as needed under the thoughtful direction of their teachers. Very often this learning connects to a wide range of human, physical and community resources. The form that the teaching takes will vary enormously between schools, school systems and classrooms, but what is well established is the central role of the professional learning team in planning and enacting practice. TABLE 5.2

Negotiating the curriculum

1. Planning

2. Negotiating

Teacher planning (mapping the territory)

Teacher–class negotiation and organising

3. Teaching and learning

4. Performing

5. Evaluating

Student exploration, research, trying out, improvising, etc. Specific teaching

Consolidating learning to show understanding through various ‘outcomes’

Teachers and students reflecting on the quality of the process and the outcome

Source: Boomer (1992, p. 10).

The next section of the chapter suggests strategies for planning an inquiry focus. Cross-disciplinary approaches to curriculum design are most commonly described as multidisciplinary curriculum, integrated curriculum and interdisciplinary curriculum. Transdisciplinary curriculum (International Baccalaureate Organisation 2007) and integrated curriculum (see Beane 2006; Pigdon & Woolley 1992) first examine a topic through a specific discipline with other disciplines acting as a context or tool for inquiry. Cross-disciplinary curriculum design characteristically is open-ended and incorporates some aspects of problem solving that encourage high levels of student autonomy. Students are engaged in generating, exploring and responding to questions through integrative thinking, and they are encouraged to work collaboratively within learning communities to grapple with big ideas and to clarify emergent student values (Godinho 2007; Godinho & Shrimpton 2008).

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Inquiry learning and activist teaching Inquiry learning demands an activist teacher stance. Through inquiry, teachers and students collaboratively generate learning. Regardless of the student’s point of entry and stage of schooling, specific concepts are used to develop ‘throughlines’ (Blythe & Associates 1998, p. 120). Throughlines are goals that identify and support the concepts, processes, skills and understanding that we want students to develop. Some schools adopt a whole school or whole year-level focus built around throughlines that act as yearlong curriculum organisers. Table 5.3 provides examples of ‘big picture’ concepts and the related understandings and throughlines. For example, if the question ‘How safe are we?’ were to be explored in a primary school, this question could lead to a unit of work focused on the essential understanding that everyone has the right to feel safe and enjoy a quality of life supported by responsible rules and laws. Students may be encouraged to use surveys, interviews and drawings to understand and analyse: r the school hot spots for bullying r physical spaces such as toilets, playgrounds or sport facilities r access for moving equipment, using a wheelchair r cyber safety and computer use r the impact of bullying on our emotions. CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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TABLE 5.3

Some big ideas, essential questions, big picture concepts and throughlines

Big ideas

Essential questions

‘Big picture’ concepts

Understandings and throughlines

Our nation

Who are Australians?

Nationalism

Australia is a diverse multicultural nation. People live in widely differing locations. Inclusion and exclusion are powerful forces. Is our school an inclusive school?

Place Social values Inclusion and exclusion Culture and the arts Mobility Global citizenry Power and justice

How safe are we?

Rights Rules Responsibilities Conflict resolution

Collaboration and interdependence

How many helping hands do we have in our community?

Volunteers and volunteering Helping professions Difference Development

The consequences of being unsafe affect individual and collective lives. Schools and citizens can act locally and globally to prevent, intervene and affirm the rights of all children. Am I safe in school and at home? Humans grow and change over time. As needs change connections to family, friends and/or social groups and community supports are essential. What makes a community caring?

Ageing Equity

Can we be different and the same?

Human rights Identity Discrimination Indigenous rights Social activism

Sustainability and the environment

How can we care for country?

Environmental science Sustainability Public policy Responsibility

Laws and rules make visible democratic values. Children and youth can have a voice in showing how important issues are identified and changed. What is my role as a future citizen? Ecosystems are central to sustainable futures; solving problems requires developed skills and community action. What is my responsibility to the environment?

Collaborative problem identification and problem solving Innovation and creative solutions

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Local and global futures

What is my future, our future?

Technology Ecommerce Creative economies

Australia is a diverse nation; people’s lives and jobs are diverse; humanising what is dehumanised requires creative forces. What makes a good life?

Lifestyles Change and continuity

If the question ‘How safe are we?’ were directed to the topic of cyber safety, middle and secondary students may begin by first brainstorming responses to: ‘Am I safe online?’ From this position students then participate in a cooperative group jigsaw activity. In a jigsaw activity, home groups of 4 or 5 members are established. Each home group member is assigned a focus to research, investigate or perform. Each member will later return to this home group as the ‘expert’ on their selected focus, having spent 172

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time engaging with an element in depth with other ‘experts’. Expert groups have a member from each home group. The ‘expert’ later returns to the home group knowing that they will have to communicate the understandings to their home group members fully and clearly. At the end of the unit or task, all members of the class will have been part of an inquiry that has engaged with significant, deep understanding. At the end of the unit the students will then be invited individually and as a class to evaluate their problem-solving strategy. How well did I: r define the issue/problem r generate possible solutions/alternative ideas r discuss possible solutions? As a class: r which solution is best r what values are influencing the solutions r what is the evidence, how reliable is it r whose viewpoint is being represented? Further case studies of how schools have developed inquiry learning can be found by accessing the Global Education website. Here you will also find a useful array of graphic organisers that can be used to refine thinking skills and demonstrate learning over time. (See www.globaleducation.edu.au/teaching-and -learning/school-case-studies.html, and templates for graphic organisers at www.globaleducation.edu.au/ 1840.htm.)

5.5 How equity works in practice

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5.5 Communicate principles of pedagogical knowledge and analyse how your teaching can be improved to meet the needs of all learners.

The development of learning environments that cater for all learners requires a clear commitment to principles of equity and social justice. It is essential to understand that: r equity is not simply about equal shares r practice can counter the negative impact of labelling and identity politics. Thus what is sought is not tips and tricks for multicultural education, students with ADHD, autism, Down syndrome, intellectual disability and the like; rather, what is sought is a strong alignment with curriculum and pedagogical knowledge. Best practice assumes that teachers teach all students. You may have heard the term ‘differentiated learning’ proposed as a method to ensure that all students are given curriculum access. This term has a particular history and works to label groups of students as those in need of differentiation. Bennett and Rolheiser (2001, p. 4) remind us that ‘action without reflection and reflection without action are both unacceptable stances in education’. Transformative pedagogy, or ‘pedagogy fashioned as a rhizome’ (Deleuze & Gutarri 1987) detects rigid arborescent tree structures, relies on the relays between theory and practice and traces new lines of flight and new knowledge. Bennett and Rolheiser (2001, p. 16) stress that when teaching is approached from a single world view, other theoretical perspectives of potential value are left out. A one-size-fits-all approach to learning is well illustrated in the debates surrounding the teaching and provisions for children with autism. At some points of these children’s lives, approaches derived from behaviourism may be all that enable learning to begin. However, students with autism also benefit greatly from opportunities in their local community school where a wider curriculum selection can best cater for their gifts, talents and needs to connect socially with others. An understanding of discourses and practices of pedagogy is essential to understanding the myriad classroom events that you will observe. Figure 5.8 explains the multifaceted dimensions associated with pedagogy.

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FIGURE 5.8

Pedagogy, teaching and learning environments for all learners

Pedagogy The teaching and learning concepts, skills, tactics, strategies and organisers that a teacher can apply to effect learning. The ‘art and science’ of teaching

Teaching and learning ‘big picture’ concepts help teachers to enact a variety of skills, tactics, strategies and organisers — safety, social justice, accountability, relevance, meaning, engagement, deep learning.

Teaching and learning organisers assist teachers to implement curriculum in an interrelated yet open-ended pedagogical set; e.g. multiple intelligences, Bloom’s taxonomy, arts-based pedagogy, social stories...

Teaching and learning strategies: a number of related concepts that can be used across the years, small groups and subjects; e.g. cooperative learning, mind mapping, concept mapping, group investigation...

Teaching and learning tactics cut across most subjects and grade levels linked to concepts, organisers and strategies, e.g. PMI — plus minus interesting; KWL — what I know, what I learned; ice breakers...

Teaching and learning skills, planning, organisation, questioning, deploying paraprofessionals, volunteers. Without these basics the concepts, tactics and strategies cannot be put into place.

Teaching and learning rhizomatics: the interconnecting of concepts, organisers, strategies, skills to engage all learners to achieve multi-layered learning outcomes; e.g. inquiry learning, arts-based learning, design-based learning.

Source: Adapted from Bennett and Rolheiser (2001, pp. 36–7).

Figure 5.9 includes commonly used teaching and learning approaches observed in the practice of teachers that have been successful in teaching all students.

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Investigating practice and taking action Active professionals work through values, apply critical thinking and — through discussion, debate and creative decision making — challenge oppressive practices. Most schools have a mission statement or code of conduct. The issue so often in school communities for both teachers and students is the relevance of the statement to the current enrolment of the school and the values of the school community. One of the most difficult tasks in beginning to teach and refining your personal professional belief system and practice is the development of ongoing methods to improve your practice. One of the benefits of the recent pedagogical initiatives of the large state systems is the acknowledged return to the heart of practice: pedagogy. Figure 5.8 is a suggested model to commence the self-assessment of your practice. From the responses of your students through a student questionnaire (see figure 5.9), consider the voice of students as a key first step in building your evidence of practice and development of a plan to investigate your practice. You might consider using www.surveymonkey.com to present the survey online to students and collate the data. Before carrying out a survey, ensure you follow the relevant ethics guidelines of your university and/or school system.

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FIGURE 5.9

Example of a student learning survey

Student learning survey For each issue, tick the box that indicates your opinion. Strongly agree 5

Agree 4

Neutral 3

Disagree 2

Strongly disagree 1

I belong. I am safe. I have fun learning. I like this school. I have choices in what I learn. My teacher treats me with respect. My teacher cares about me. My teacher thinks I will be successful. My teacher listens to my ideas. I have support for my learning. My family believes I can learn to my best ability at this school. My family wants me to do well in school. Comments: Teacher name: Thank you for participating in our class survey.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Examine how schools across Australia are designing curriculum for all students in the twenty-first century. Your lecturer may suggest some schools in your local area. Some examples to look up are: r Hornsby Girls High, www.hornsbygir-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/curriculum-activities r Collingwood College, http://collingwood.vic.edu.au/ where the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation commenced, and Reggio Emilia Inspired programs and Waldorf Steiner programs are taught. r Maningrida College, http://web.ntschools.net/w/maningrida/Pages/default.aspx r Big Picture Schools Network, www.bigpicture.org.au/big-picture-education-school-network. Using the following list, categorise the teaching practices in figure 5.10 and any other examples that come to mind as: r concepts r organisers r strategies r tactics r skills r interconnecting concepts — ‘rhizomatics’. This activity works best in a group of four or five students but can be done individually. To prepare for the activity you will need strips of cardboard or sticky notes, or you could use an enlarged copy of figure 5.10. Record each teaching practice on a single strip of cardboard, sticky note or puzzle piece. After you have completed the task, choose one area to focus on in investigating your own practice with a colleague during your next school placement.

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FIGURE 5.10

Teaching and learning practices for all students

Active learning

Circle time

Negotiated learning

Learning contracts

Problembased learning

Multi-age classes

Personalised learning plans

Cooperative learning

Peer tutoring and mentoring

Authentic assessment

Team teaching

Multiple intelligences

Performancebased learning

Creative processes and solutions

Open-ended tasks, and questions

Accelerated learning

Social stories

Running records

Inquiry learning

Interactive media

Texts and picture books K–12 with a range of identity constructions

Webquests

Real-life problem solving

Technology integration through digital recorders, computers, video, film, animation, video games, iPads etc.

Graphic organisers

Diagrams, drawing

Metacognition

Speech synthesisers, audio amplification, speech recognition software such as ‘Dragon naturally speaking’

Illustrations, posters

Painting, printmaking and textile arts

‘Shutdown’ spaces

Service learning

Stan da asse rdised ssm ent

Anger management

Student surveys

Word prediction software

Planned classroom layout

Imagination boxes

Three-way reporting

ePen

Picture scheduling

Accessible spaces

Changing spaces

Dictionaries and calculators of all shapes, sizes and fonts Concrete materials (e.g. corks, gum nuts, bottle tops, geoboards, pegs, fabric, string, linear & volume measures, scales)

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Studentproduced digital still photography

Discussion and debates

A climate of trust and respect

Collaboration rather than facilitation is evident

Shared decision making

A team culture

Students are leaders of management teams

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

During your next school placement, observe how the school culture is developed. How are school values communicated?

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Developing a supportive and productive learning environment Every school community must strive to create a non-violent school culture. This requires action through broad cross-curricular initiatives as a whole school. Over the past decades teachers have developed any number of approaches to develop supportive classroom contexts.

Establishing classroom rules The development, implementation and evaluation of classroom rules that promote active civic participation can help ensure equality, freedom and protection for everyone. Too often, classroom rules are developed as a one-off activity rather than being interconnected and embraced as part of the ongoing life of the classroom and curriculum. In such cases, classroom rules can become a barrier, rather than a support, to developing community. The term ‘classroom management’ is frequently cited as an essential component of a teacher’s repertoire of practices. The idea of ‘managing problems’ is, however, best replaced by a focus on creating contexts that build learning relationships. In classrooms where the focus is on learning for all, the teacher and their understandings are the key determinant of whether a context becomes supportive or reactive. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Making or reviewing rules Whether you are beginning a new school year or reviewing your progress as a learning community to date, the following discussion starters can be used with all learners. The purpose is to ensure that students understand the broad questions, such as ‘Why build community?’ and ‘What skills and commitments are needed to respond to injustices?’ Some discussion starters are as follows. r Are rules necessary in our classroom? r Why have rules? r Who should have a say in classroom rules? r Which rules will stop unfair behaviour? r Which rules could be made clearer? r What safety issues do we need to consider? r How do we make rules fair? r When do rules need to be changed?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

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Look up the National Safe Schools Framework and follow the link to the Safe Schools Hub. The National Safe Schools Framework is made up of nine parts called ‘elements’. Each of these elements helps schools to be safe and supportive for their students. The Framework is an essential part of understanding both professional conduct and the capacity of teachers to enact everyday practices that support these key responsibilities (see www .studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/educators/national-safe-schools-framework/#/).

Pedagogies to look for Any number of approaches to pedagogy and pedagogical methods are embedded in school subjects. Over your career you will develop your specialised pedagogical interests. To some extent your professional interests will be shaped by the stage of schooling you teach — early childhood, primary, middle or secondary. The following sections provide an overview of areas of professional development that contribute to teaching for all learners. CHAPTER 5 Learner diversity, pedagogy and educational equity

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The arts The arts are considered to be a catalyst for personal and social transformation in schools and the wider community, but rarely are arts, artists and questions of pedagogy entwined together (Biesta, Cole & Naughton 2018). There are a number of ways that the arts can be embedded beyond their learning area status and thus reach across the cross-curriculum priorities and the general capabilities. The processes and practices of artworks and performance in general can be linked to wider curriculum dimensions, and need not necessarily result in an enduring ‘product’. Hence, in the art world we have terms such as process drama, conceptual art, installations and pop-up events and a diversity of art forms that will embed digital media and participatory engagement. Ceremonies still play a vital part in Indigenous Australian culture. Distinguishing decorative body painting indicates the type of ceremony being performed. Visual arts practices associated with Aboriginal ceremonies are complex, deep, embodied human experiences which are interrelated with religious and cultural beliefs. In summary, the arts offer a lens into both historical and contemporary social issues, as well as simultaneously challenging them (Gadsden 2008, cited in Ewing 2010, p. 2). The next section of the chapter includes some examples of pedagogy to illustrate the importance of building pedagogical repertoires that you may not be exposed to through your studies.

Drama and conflict resolution Teachers who are confident in the use of drama- and arts-based pedagogy have access to powerful practices to support learners to engage actively in issues of conflict resolution and problem solving across the curriculum. Essentially, drama is about people, their social world and interrelationships. Teachers often feel that they do not have the specialised knowledge or facilities to get started in integrating arts-based pedagogies into subject-specific fields. Drama educators who work alongside teachers to deepen their pedagogical understanding emphasise that the regular classroom space in any subject area is all that is required. Drama- and arts-based experiences are also crucial for developing play skills (Dunn & Stinson 2012; Stinson & O’Connor 2008). Learners who have high support needs spend much of their life consumed in developing life skill practices and/or due to their mental and physical health miss large periods of school. While decisions to prioritise the basics are important, a comprehensive curriculum that includes the arts has any number of benefits, including the development of everyday interactions and basic skills. A variety of areas are important for developing your pedagogical repertoire, including: r getting started with drama r conducting class meetings r philosophy for children r communities of inquiry r developing skills in cooperative learning. These approaches help teachers manage whole class groups efficiently and effectively and simultaneously personalise student learning.

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Philosophy for children and communities of inquiry The essence of philosophical inquiry is to engage learners in philosophical discussion to stimulate thinking that increases understanding and leads to further questioning. The approach works with all learners and so should not be targeted only to students with well-developed skills of analysis and communication. ‘Philosophy for children’, originally designed by American philosopher Matthew Lipman in 1969, emphasises dialogue and strategically developed conversations that encourage children to find answers through the raising of questions.

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A community of inquiry is a dialogical process that provides opportunities for learners to: negotiate learning through their issues build their interests reflect on their questions value both talking and listening give and justify reasons for what is said contribute openly in a safe context (a ‘no blame’, ‘put-down-free’ zone) value thinking for themselves and the opportunity to change their own viewpoints. The role of questioning in a community of inquiry is critical. Questioning therefore is deliberative; teacher dominance is not evident, and questions posed by the teacher refine their students’ thinking, encourage reasoning and stimulate discussion. By implementing a community of inquiry the core values that centre an inclusive school community are promoted. The participation of all students and creative and higher-order thinking is encouraged by questions such as the following. r Why do you think that? r Did you mean . . . r Where are we at? [pause] r What have we decided so far? r [Student name], are you saying that . . . r What is the connection between . . . and . . . if any? Golding (2002) provides a detailed guide to the use of content-neutral questions and concept games such as racism, justice, intelligence, responsibility, rules, culture and violence. Encourage students to take responsibility for their views and be prepared to leave the complexity of problems in tact; many questions are complex and a single agreed meaning is not possible.

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r r r r r r r

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Cooperative learning

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Cooperative learning, as an approach to learning and teaching, is guided by skills development and understanding goals. Participation in cooperative learning requires social skills teaching as well as carefully designed teaching sequences that demonstrate to the group members that mutual goals are achieved through the process of participation. Therefore: r I will sink or swim with you. r I am not successful unless you are. r I benefit and so do you. At the heart of cooperative learning is that competitors do not solve problems; they shift blame and focus on deficits. Cooperative learning can involve simple and complex tactics and has been endorsed as a method that will benefit all learners, regardless of their level of performance. The research on cooperative learning also demonstrates that, if carefully implemented, it increases higher-order thinking. The five essential components of effective cooperative learning include the following. 1. Positive interdependence — each person’s efforts contribute to the group’s success. 2. Face-to-face interaction — each person promotes each other’s success by helping, assisting, supporting, encouraging and praising each other’s efforts to learn. 3. Individual accountability — each individual is assessed, but the results are given back to the group and individual; hitch-hikers and freeloaders make task completion impossible. 4. Interpersonal and small group skills — group members must be taught the social skills for high-quality cooperation and be motivated to use them. Games of any sort, table or outdoor, are an ideal way to initiate and develop skills of leadership, decision making, trust building, communication and conflict management. 5. Group processing — group members reflect on the group’s functioning ability and evaluate how well the group achieved their goals and maintained effective working relationships.

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Using supports in the classroom to ensure curricular justice Classrooms and schools are places where the rules of justice are embedded. Rarely do teachers or schools reject or fail to aspire to a social justice perspective on curriculum. However, the norms and practices of schooling are very resistant, and all too often arguments return to the allocation of the status quo, rather than careful school-wide planning that is well monitored and reviewed and uses the abundant research evidence. In Australia, funding to provide for students with diverse needs has flowed to schools through specific programs. Often students are described according to their eligibility for funding: the ‘integration’ or ‘inclusion kids’; the ESL (English as a second language) group; or ‘SSUs’ (Student Support Unit students). Although practices vary across Australia, a student with eligibility status typically brings a resource package to the neighbourhood school. In Victoria, for example, schools take a variable proportion of these funds for administration charges. Under this system, based on distributive justice, the resource package is based on a categorical allocation of individual students. Some students, despite a high level of need, such as students on the autism spectrum, with mental health issues or with exceptional talents and abilities, will receive few or no supports other than those that are available from the overall school budget. The intelligence quotient (IQ) remains the dominant mechanism for allocating funding, when — clearly — for many students standardised cognitive assessment is the least instructive evidence upon which to design and tailor a personalised learning plan.

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Paraprofessional support The confusion over how best to use resources to develop inclusive education arrangements is well illustrated in the organisation of paraprofessional help. The way that supports are used in classrooms is a key part of educational equity. One of the greatest tensions teachers feel towards learners is the distribution of their time and resources. Providing just allocations of resources — materials and quantitative and qualitative differences in attention — is a key aspect of developing and sustaining equitable practices. Ultimately the classroom teacher is the key coordinator of these decisions. Teachers frequently are torn between the view that on the one hand all children deserve equal shares and on the other hand that some students merit more than others. Paraprofessional help includes teaching assistants, but may also include youth or community workers and Aboriginal education officers. Aboriginal education officers (AEOs) work in schools where significant numbers of Aboriginal students are enrolled. The role of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Officers (IEOs) is to support students through key transition points in their education, build connections and relationships between schools, families and communities and support students and teachers in the school environment. In primary schools, this can also include classroom support. When another adult joins your classroom, consider the following: r introductions — letters and emails home, and newsletter entries r roles and responsibilities — a duty statement as well as day-to-day timetabling r procedures for unexpected situations, and medical and/or behaviour incidents r shared protocols for privacy, confidentiality and consent r team planning schedules. Specialised paraprofessional supports work closely with teachers to develop inclusive and culturally appropriate resources and programs. Using support staff requires preparation time. No-one can ever estimate the extent and depth of professional knowledge and judgement required to support all learners. The perpetuation of charity or welfare models are forms of exclusion. Continually improving your knowledge of diversity, equity and social justice is at the core of the life’s work of becoming and being a teacher.

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5.6 Understanding the needs of Indigenous students LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5.6 Construct an informed evidence base for teaching all students that demonstrates a deep knowledge of the needs of Indigenous students within the Australian context.

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A key question for all educators to ask is, are we making progress in Indigenous education? As has been outlined earlier in this chapter, as a graduating teacher you are expected to demonstrate your knowledge of and responsibility for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and further understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Two key Australian Professional Standards specify this knowledge (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL] 2017): 1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. 2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.

The following infographics in figure 5.11 succinctly illustrate the state of Indigenous education in Australia. Reviewing the evidence base about population, educational achievement and health outcomes is critical to informed policy and practice decisions for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

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FIGURE 5.11

State of Indigenous education in Australia

While Indigenous students made up only 5.5% (1 in 20) of students in Australian schools in 2016, the number of Indigenous Australian students is rising much quicker than the overall population. Number of Indigenous Australian students All school levels, 2006–2016 (Source: ABS)

220 000

The number of Indigenous students in Australian schools has increased by 46.7% over the last 10 years. The total number of students has only increased by 12% over the same period.

200 000

180 000

160 000

140 000 2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

Health factors also have a direct and disproportionate impact on Indigenous Australian students. Indigenous Australians are 1.7 times more likely to have a disability than non-Indigenous Australians. And preventable hearing loss in particular is a major problem. Hearing loss Solid and consistent data on the rate of hearing loss in Indigenous children is not available, but the available data suggests hearing loss plays a significant factor in Indigenous achievement. r A 2000 report for the Department of Education found of 1032 Indigenous students tested across urban and remote centres, 79% had an educationally significant hearing disability — which affects language development and eventually school attendance. r The World Health Organization defines a rate higher than 4% of otitis media — the main cause of hearing loss in children — as unacceptable. Prevalence ranges from 10% to 54% in Indigenous communities, worse in remote and regional populations. Primary school Year 3 NAPLAN results, 2008–16 Non-Indigenous results 420

While there’s been more than double the amount of improvement in Indigenous results (8.7%) compared to non-Indigenous students (4.2%) since NAPLAN started in 2008, the average gap across all markers is still 17.9%.

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380

Indigenous results 340

300 2008

2009

Reading

2010 Writing

2011 Spelling

2012

2013

2014

Grammar and punctuation

2015

2016 Numeracy

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And the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) — an international comparative study of achievement in maths and science — shows that on international markers, Indigenous Australian students are falling significantly behind on maths and science by Year 4 — more than half are below the international benchmarks. Source: Claire Shaw, Jamal Ben Haddou and Wes Mountain, The Conversation, 7 June 2017.

Through this chapter you have been guided to recognise that central to meeting the needs of all learners lies the mixing of both the mastery and artistry of professional knowledge. As a graduating teacher you need to be aware of where the barriers lie within the cultures of schooling and social norms. Melitta Hogarth is a lecturer in education and is also currently completing a PhD. Her research looks at how the language in education policy is maintaining the beliefs, attitudes and values of colonial Australia. She argues that to understand how this is happening, you need to investigate policies that have been introduced, how they came about, and whether they have had any impact. The following narrative, written by Melitta, illustrates that in the history of education, barriers to Indigenous education run deep in our historical consciousness. In the year I was born – 1974 – it had only been two years since New South Wales had abolished the practice of excluding Aboriginal students from public schools. These explicit actions of exclusion were validated by policies such as the ‘Clean, Clad and Courteous’ policy. Aboriginal children could be excluded from the classroom at the morning parade due to perceived health and/or hygiene issues. There was also the 1902 ‘Exclusion on Demand’ policy, under which government schools in NSW were told to exclude Aboriginal children if other parents made a complaint about Indigenous children being in their child’s classroom. These children could then only attend special Aboriginal schools, which were not run by the Education Department, and were therefore predominantly taught by unqualified teachers. Most of the work in Indigenous education is commissioned government reports. These rarely include Indigenous voices and expertise – and when they do, the inclusion of Indigenous voices is overshadowed by the responses of governmental bodies. This is demonstrated in the evaluation reports of the Action Plan – a 2012 report about the implementation of the Action Plan. The feedback provided by the Indigenous Education Consultative Bodies was immediately countered by the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood’s comments. This is despite recommendations from a report published 15 years earlier, in 1975 by the Schools Commission in collaboration with the then Aboriginal Consultative Group, which suggested key areas for change, including: r making sure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were involved with all decision-making processes of Indigenous education r increasing the number of Indigenous teachers r ensuring initial teacher education courses included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures r developing educational programs to inform parents and community about the efforts and initiatives that government is implementing to overcome educational disparities. Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Source: Melitta Hogarth, The Conversation, 8 June 2017.

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

Understanding student diversity In a large secondary school committed to combating exclusion, the leading teachers are working on a plan for a compulsory after-school professional learning session that will lead to the design of a wholeschool day focusing on literacy and the understanding of student diversity in the year 7 and 8 classes.

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The whole-school staff are aware that whole-school days such as the one they are planning should look to the aims of the school plan and ensure that the wider parent community is able to see the connections between the event and student learning. The teachers want to evoke the mood of a ‘launch’, so arrange for the school band to play and for food to be served. A planning meeting has been called to consider other suggestions. A multicultural fashion parade of traditional dress is suggested as an additional attraction. When the team considers this suggestion there is an animated discussion. Some teachers think a fashion parade would embellish the experience; others wonder who would parade the fashion and whether teachers, parents and students might be invited to participate. One teacher questions the concept of a multicultural fashion parade on the grounds that it ‘exoticises’ difference and presents a static view of culture. She does not believe the prospect of a multicultural fashion parade sits well with what the team is trying to achieve in terms of developing an inclusive school and deeper intercultural understanding. Dialogue focuses on how instead of exoticising superficial differences, the teachers can reflect on and share aspects of their own cultural identities. She gives an example: ‘I am from the surf coast and my whole wardrobe is from surf outlets; I wear clothes that are comfortable and that remind me of the sea.’ This example prompts the team to consider repurposing the idea of a focus on clothing. They decide to film ‘vox pop’ interviews with staff, asking the question, ‘Why do you wear what you wear’? The staff organise an official launch of the film, and school community members attend. As is demonstrated in this vignette, teachers’ understanding of diversity requires a clear purpose, dialogue, and opportunities to review and revise their personal professional positions and assumptions about their identity.

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SUMMARY At the end of a long school day, teacher discussions sometimes focus on how taxing it is to cater for all students and develop more socially just outcomes and inclusive schools. From newly commenced and experienced teachers alike, so often the immediate response is the return to the search for the ‘magic bullet’. Comments such as ‘I don’t have the knowledge to work with this or that group of students’, ‘they shouldn’t be here, there is a special school down the road’, ‘they need to learn more English’ and the like are unfortunately too common. Supporting student diversity requires teachers to act ethically and within the legal mandates of our nation and states. Above all, it means that you will continue to focus on the development of your knowledge of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy, the building blocks of high-quality, high-equity education. A key question for your ongoing self-assessment of your teaching is: Do my efforts lead to learning in ‘conversation’ with others — students, families, support staff? Or is my teaching ‘double speak’, that is deficit talk as an isolated professional where misdirection and blame alienate students and teachers and undermine meaningful collaborations between professionals?

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KEY TERMS competitive academic curriculum A way of organising knowledge in the school curriculum that sees students streamed into ability levels and subjects with status. cooperative learning An approach to learning with origins in developmental psychology that emphasises teacher involvement in setting goals, determining activities and evaluating student achievements. deficit discourses Language that reinforces the idea that its subjects are lacking in some respect. deficit positioning Discourses, or talk by professionals, that define students, families and communities as lacking in some respect and without agency. exclusion A multidimensional process of progressive social rupture, detaching groups and individuals from social relations and institutions, and preventing them from full participation in society. hegemony The dominance or leadership of one group over others. inclusion The child’s right to participate and the school’s duty to accept the child by restructuring school culture, policy and practices. inquiry learning Learning based around students’ questions; it incorporates a range of philosophical, curricular and pedagogical approaches to teaching. othering The practice of comparing oneself to others and at the same time distancing oneself from them. The social and/or psychological ways in which one group excludes or marginalises another group. problem-based learning An approach to learning in which students work collaboratively to solve challenging, open-ended, practical problems and reflect on their learning experiences. psychology The science of the mind or of mental states and processes; the science of human behaviour. school culture The sum of the values, cultures, safety practices and organisational structures within a school that inform the policy and function of the school. service learning A course-based educational experience in which students participate in an organised activity that meets identified community needs, followed by reflection to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. special education Services and practices in schools commonly associated with the provision and coordination of support and individualised learning programs. throughlines The overarching goals, big ideas or concepts of curriculum design that describe the most important understandings that students will develop over time. Throughlines provide the ‘big picture’ for students to make generalisations between what is learned in school and beyond. 186

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 5.1

LO1

What are your professional responsibilities to your students in terms of educational equity? 5.2

LO2

What are the dominating values and assumptions that have shaped Indigenous education in Australia? 5.3

LO4

For the stage of schooling you expect to teach, describe three actions for designing a high-quality, high-equity curriculum. 5.4

LO5

As a teacher, what steps could you take to build a positive learning environment that ensures all students feel they are an active and contributing member of the classroom? 5.5

LO5

How will you design curriculum to improve your teaching and ensure you meet the needs of all learners?

WEBSITES

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1 Australian global educators place particular emphasis on developing relationships with our neigh-

bours in the Asia–Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The Global Education website provides a concise, practical and philosophical guide to including a global perspective across the curriculum. There is also advice for teachers and school leadership teams on how to implement a global education framework at a school level. The resources section is rich in pedagogical examples for taking into the classroom: www.globaleducation.edu.au 2 The Alannah and Madeline Foundation was set up in memory of Alannah and Madeline Mikac, aged six and three, who were tragically killed with their mother and 32 others at Port Arthur, Tasmania, on 28 April 1996. The Foundation was launched in 1997 and has been operating for almost 20 years. The key objectives of the foundation are to care for children who have experienced or witnessed serious violence; reduce the incidence of bullying, cyber-bullying and other cyber risks; and advocate for the safety and wellbeing of children. The website features eSmart Schools, which is a cultural-change framework that guides the introduction of policies, practices and whole-school change processes to support the creation of a cyber-safe or ‘eSmart’ environment: www.amf.org.au 3 The Raising Children Network is an Australian parenting website that provides evidence-based and validated content, which is translated into everyday language and a range of languages to help parents and carers make decisions that work for them in their individual family circumstances. The website is invaluable for developing a wholistic understanding of childhood from newborns to teens, and includes sections on autism and disability: http://raisingchildren.net.au 4 The Cultural Infusion website supports the work of Cultural Fusion, a not-for-profit, charitable organisation, to build cultural harmony and well-being through contributing to a society that values intercultural understanding and artistic expression as a means of promoting social cohesion. There are a range of digital resources, including ‘Sound Infusion’, a royalty-free collection of sound clips from hundreds of the world’s instruments and musical traditions. There are also some tools to help students put those sounds together to make their own unique, cross-cultural compositions: https://culturalinfusion.org.au

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REFERENCES Alexander, R (ed.) 2010, Children, their world, their education, Final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review, Routledge, London and New York. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, ‘Schools’, cat. no. 4221.0, www.abs.gov.au. —— 2015, cat. no. 4221.0, www.abs.gov.au. —— 2012, cat. no. 4221.0, www.abs.gov.au. —— 2008, cat. no. 4221.0, www.abs.gov.au. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2012, ‘Cross curriculum priorities’, www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/cross_curriculum_priorities.html. —— 2009b, ‘MySchool’, www.myschool.edu.au, viewed 15 March 2010. Australian Government 2018, Closing the gap: Prime Minister’s report 2018, http://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2018.pdf?a=1. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2017, ‘Australian professional standards for teachers’, www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2014, ‘Towards a performance measurement framework for equity in higher education’, cat. no. IHW 129, Canberra. Banks, J, Cochran-Smith, M, Moll, L, Richert, A, Zeichner, K, LePage, P, Darling-Hammond, L, Duffy, H & McDonald, M 2005, in L Darling-Hammond & J Bransford (eds) 2005, Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Barratt, R 1998, ‘Shaping middle schooling in Australia: a report of the National Middle Schooling Project’, Australian Curriculum Studies Association, Canberra. Beane, J 2006, A middle years curriculum: From rhetoric to reality, Hawker Brownlow Education, Heatherton, Victoria. Bennett, B & Rolheiser, C 2001, Beyond Monet, Bookation, Toronto. Bernstein, B 1971, Class, codes and control: Theoretical studies towards a sociology of language, Routledge & Kegan, London. Biesta, G, Cole, D & Naughton, C 2018, Art, artists and pedagogy, Routledge, London, New York. Blythe, T & Associates 1998, The teaching for understanding guide, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Boomer, G 1992, ‘Negotiating the curriculum’, in G Boomer, N Lester, C Onore & J Cook (eds), Negotiating the curriculum: Educating for the 21st century, Falmer, London, pp. 4–14. Booth, T & Ainscow, M 2011, Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools, 3rd edn, Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, Bristol. Bowman, K (ed.) 2004, Equity in vocational education and training: Research readings, Australian National Training Authority, Adelaide. Brennan-Kemmis, R & Smith, E 2006, ‘Equity and diversity considerations: different contexts, different learners (research in vocational education and training)’, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au, viewed 5 September 2009. Britzman, D 2003, Practice makes practice: A critical study of learning to teach, State University of New York Press, Albany. Cherryholmes, C 2002, in W Doll & N Gough (eds), Curriculum visions, Peter Lang, New York, pp. 116–26. Clough, P 2000, ‘Tales from the edge: narratives at the borders of inclusive ideology’ in Moore M (ed.) Insider perspectives on inclusion — Raining voices, raising issues, Phillip Armstrong Publications, Sheffield. —— 1988, ‘Bridging “mainstream” and “special education”: a curriculum problem’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 327–38. Coalition of Essential Schools 1994–2017, www.essentialschools.org, viewed 15 September 2009. —— 2006a, ‘Understanding year 9 students: a theoretical perspective’, paper no. 8, Part A, Department of Education and Training, Melbourne. —— 2006b. ‘Understanding year 9 students: implications for policy and practice’, paper no. 8, Part B, Department of Education and Training, Melbourne. Commonwealth of Australia 2017, Closing the gap — Prime Minister’s report 2017, http://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2017.pdf, viewed 3 November 2017. Connell, RW 1985, Teachers’ work, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. —— 1982, Making the difference: Schools, families and social division, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Council of Australian Governments 2017, ‘Closing the gap: the next phase: public discussion paper’, https://closingthegaprefresh.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/ctg-next-phase-discussion-paper.pdf?a=1. Deleuze, G & Felix, G 1987, A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (trans. Brian Massumi), University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. Dulfer, N, Polesel, J & Rice, S 2012, ‘The experience of education: the impacts of high stakes testing on school students and their families’, An Educator’s Perspective, Whitlam Institute, University of Western Sydney, Sydney. Dunn, J & Stinson, M 2012, ‘Dramatic play and drama in the early years: reimagining the approach’, in S Wright (ed), Children, meaning-making and the arts, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, NSW, pp 115–34.

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Ewing R 2010, The arts and Australian education: Realising potential, Australian Council for Educational Research, Camberwell, Victoria. Florian, L 2014, ‘What counts as evidence of inclusive practice?’, European Journal of Special Needs Education, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 286–94, DOI:10.1080/08856257.2014.933551. Florian, L & Spratt, J 2013, ‘Enacting inclusion: a framework for interrogating inclusive practice’, European Journal of Special Needs Education, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 119–35, DOI:10.1080/6257.2013.778111. Friesen, S & Scott, D 2013, Inquiry-based learning: A review of the research literature, paper prepared for the Alberta Ministry of Education, retrieved from http://galileo.org/focus-on-inquiry-lit-review.pdf. Gadsden, V 2008, ‘The arts and education: Knowledge generation, pedagogy and the discourse of learning’, Review of Research in Education, vol. 32, pp. 29–61. Godinho, S 2007, ‘A re-visioning of curriculum integration for the 21st century: creating spaces for conversation and dialogue’, Curriculum Perspectives, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 61–5. Godinho, S & Shrimpton, B 2008, ‘Interdisciplinary curriculum: a sustainable future or an unattainable vision in a changing educational climate?’, AARE refereed conference paper, 30 November – 4 December, Brisbane. Godinho, S, Woolley, M, Webb J & Winkel, K 2015, ‘Sharing place, learning together: Mutual capacity and partnership building’, UNESCO Observatory Multi-Disciplinary Journal in the Arts, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 2–27. Golding, C 2002, Connecting concepts: Thinking activities for students, ACER, Melbourne. Goldstein, T 2016, ‘Border crossing in the classroom through performed ethnography’, Perspectives on Urban Education, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 4–19, www.urbanedjournal.org/sites/default/files/pdf_archive/02_20160522_PUE_Goldstein.pdf. Groundwater-Smith, S, Cusworth, R & Dobbins, R 1998, Teaching: Challenges and dilemmas, Harcourt Brace & Company, Sydney. Halse, C 2017, ‘Responsibility for racism in the everyday talk of secondary students’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 2–15. Hobba, L, Moss, J & Bridge, D 1999, Welcoming schools, video, UNESCO, Paris. Hogarth, M 2017, ‘Is policy on Indigenous education deliberately being stalled?’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/is-policy-on-indigenous-education-deliberately-being-stalled-76855. International Baccalaureate Organisation 2007, Making the PYP happen, IBO, Switzerland. Kamler, B & Comber, B 2004, ‘The new English teacher: redesigning pedagogies’ [online], English in Australia, iss. 139, February, pp. 131–42. Keddie, A 2012, Educating for diversity and social justice, Routledge, London and New York. Luke, A, Weir, K & Woods, A 2008, ‘Development of a set of principles to guide a P–12 syllabus framework: a report to the Queensland Studies Authority’, Queensland Studies Authority, Brisbane, Queensland. Mayer, D, Dixon, M, Kline, J, Kostogriz, A, Moss, J, Rowan, L, Walker-Gibbs, B & White, S 2017, Studying the effectiveness of teacher education: Early career teachers in diverse settings, Springer Nature, Singapore. Moss, J 2011, ‘Researching pedagogical and curriculum renewal in Australia – a visual and intertextual approach’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 285–30. —— 2002, ‘Inclusive schooling: representation and textual practice’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 231–49. Moss, J & Harvie, K 2015, ‘Cross curriculum design: Inclusive pedagogy across the curriculum’, International Perspectives in Inclusive Education, vol. 7, pp. 259–79. Pigdon, K & Woolley, M (eds) 1992, The big picture: Integrating children’s learning, Eleanor Curtain Publishing, Armadale, Victoria. Prosser, B 2008, ‘Unfinished but not yet exhausted: a review of Australian middle schooling’, Australian Journal of Education, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 151–67. Rahman, K 2013, ‘Belonging and learning to belong in school: the implications of the hidden curriculum for indigenous students’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 660–72, DOI: 10.1080/01596306.2013.728362. Reconciliation Australia 2016, ‘The state of reconciliation in Australia: our history, our story, our future’, foreword by Patrick Dodson, Reconcilliation Australia, www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/The-State-of-Reconciliationreport_FULL_WR.pdf. Service Learning Australia 2010, www.service-learning.com.au. Shaw, C, Haddou, JB & Mountain, W 2017, ‘Infographic: Are we making progress on Indigenous education?’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/infographic-are-we-making-progress-on-indigenous-education-78253. Singh, P 2015, ‘Pedagogic governance: theorising with/after Bernstein’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, pp. 1–20. Skrtic, T 1995, ‘The crisis in professional knowledge’, in E Meyen & T Skrtic (eds), Special education and student disability, an introduction, traditional, emerging, and alternative perspectives, 4th edn, Love Publishing, Colorado. —— 1991, ‘The special education paradox: equity as the way to excellence’, Harvard Educational Review, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 148–206. Slee, R 2011, The irregular school: Exclusion, schooling and inclusive education, Routledge, London. Smith, T & McEwin, K 2011, The legacy of middle school leaders: In their own words, Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, NC.

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Stinson, M & O’Connor, P 2008, ‘Teaching drama to students with special needs: designs and methods’, in S Wright, L Cohen & K Poon (eds), Special education: Perspectives and practices, Prentice Hall, Pearson, Singapore. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2017, ‘A guide for ensuring equity and inclusion in education’, Paris 07 SP, France. Whitburn, B 2014, ‘The indelible ink of the special stamp: an insider’s research essay on imprints and erasures’, Disability & Society, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 624–37. Young, IM 1994, ‘Communication and the other: beyond deliberative democracy’, in M Wilson & A Yeatman (eds), Justice & identity: Antipodean practices, Allen and Unwin, Wellington. Yunkaporta, T 2009, ‘Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface’, PhD thesis, James Cook University. Retrieved from http://eprints.jcu.edu. au/10974/2/02whole.pdf. Yunkaporta, T & Kirby, M 2011, ‘Yarning up Indigenous pedagogies: a dialogue about eight Aboriginal ways of learning’, in N Purdie, G Milgate & H Bell (eds), Two way teaching and learning: Towards culturally reflective and relevant education, ACER Press, Camberwell, Victoria, pp. 205–13.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Photo: © mastersky / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Closing the gap — Prime Minister’s report 2017. Used under a CC BY 3.0 Australia licence; see https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en. Photo: © bikeriderlondon / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Elise Derwin / Newspix Figure 5.1: Reproduced under a CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-sa/3.0/igo/. © UNESCO 2017, ‘Figure 1. Dimensions of the policy review framework’, A guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education, p. 16. Figure 5.2: © Tyson Yunkaporta Figure 5.4: © Reconciliation Australia 2016, State of Reconciliation in Australia Report, February. Figure 5.6: Content descriptions/curriculum extracts © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority ACARA 2010 to present, unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from the Australian Curriculum website www.australiancurriculum.edu.au, accessed December 2017 and was not modified. The material is licensed under CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0. Version updates are tracked on the ‘Curriculum version history’ page www .australiancurriculum.edu.au/Home/CurriculumHistory of the Australian Curriculum website. Figure 5.7: Content descriptions/curriculum extracts © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority ACARA 2010 to present, unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from the Australian Curriculum website www.australiancurriculum.edu.au, accessed December 2017 and was not modified. The material is licensed under CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0. Version updates are tracked on the ‘Curriculum version history’ page www .australiancurriculum.edu.au/Home/CurriculumHistory of the Australian Curriculum website. Figure 5.11: © Shaw, C, Haddou, JB & Mountain W 2017, ‘Infographic: are we making progress on Indigenous education?’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/infographic-are-we-making -progress-on-indigenous-education-78253. Table 5.2: © Taylor & Francis Group Text: © Booth, T & Ainscow, M 2011, Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools, 3rd edn, Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, Bristol. Text: © 2011 Education Services Australia Limited as the legal entity for the COAG Education Council Education Council. Wiley Australia Pty Ltd has reproduced extracts of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in this publication with permission from the copyright owner. Text: © Hogarth, M 2017, ‘Is policy on Indigenous education deliberately being stalled?’, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/is-policy-on-indigenous-education-deliberately-being-stalled-76855. 190

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PART 3

PREPARATION, PRACTICE AND PROCESS 6

The curriculum

192

7

Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 218

8

Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 260

9

Organising the learning environment 302

10 Teaching with information and communication technologies 333 11 Interactive student engagement and management 363

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12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 417

CHAPTER 6

The curriculum LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 6.1 articulate several popular understandings of the term ‘curriculum’, and describe the advantages and limitations of each 6.2 explain the significance of understanding curriculum as a social and cultural construction 6.3 differentiate between several different models of curriculum 6.4 describe why attending to the hidden curriculum matters 6.5 advocate for understanding teachers as curriculum workers 6.6 explain the importance of understanding curriculum as praxis.

OPENING CASE

‘Curriculum’ can mean many things As the students shifted their desks back to a whole-class formation there was lots of chatter. The activity their lecturer Aparna had just asked them to do had engrossed them and generated animated responses, and their enthusiasm was evident in this transition time. Bella’s group began to share what they understood as ‘the curriculum’ — what it is that teachers are mandated to teach so that students can reach certain standards. It is often elaborated on in syllabus documents from various subject areas. Ted explained that his group had considered ‘curriculum’ rather than ‘the curriculum’, and that they thought curriculum was everything that was taught in a classroom. Although some of those lessons might be intended, others could be unintended but nonetheless still taught. Oscar piped up to explain that his group thought curriculum was everything that was learned, rather than merely taught in the classroom. This opened up a lively discussion about the possible gap between what is taught and what is learned, why that gap might exist, and how you could try to close it. And Mei noted that her group thought that the curriculum could exist outside of classrooms as well as within them. This activity had accomplished exactly what Aparna had hoped it would — unearthing the myriad definitions of curriculum that seem to exist. This was a really productive start to the next few classes, in which they would collectively explore curriculum in more depth to see if they could reach some shared understandings about how to conceptualise and work with it. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. Prior to reading this case, how would you have defined curriculum? 2. Has that definition shifted or changed at all as a result of reading the case? In what ways? 3. What definition(s) of curriculum do you find most useful in your studies and professional experience placements? Why are they useful?

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Introduction This chapter will engage you with various definitions and manifestations of ‘the curriculum’ and will encourage you to consider the advantages and limitations of each definition. It considers both the colloquial definitions of curriculum and those that are most useful to teachers and students. In addition, it will explore several concepts that arise as a result of thinking deeply about curriculum — such as curriculum as a cultural construction, the hidden curriculum and teachers as curriculum workers — and anticipate how these might impact upon the practice of teachers focused on student learning. This chapter advocates for conceptualising curriculum as praxis, rather than as a static body of information about a subject area. In what follows, you will be encouraged to consider a range of understandings about and manifestations of curriculum, in and outside of classrooms.

CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 193

The curriculum

Exploring the notion of curriculum

Curriculum as cultural construction

Models of curriculum

The hidden curriculum

Hidden curriculum as implicit and unintended

Differentiating curriculum from syllabus documents

Whose knowledge is of most worth?

Integrated curriculum Inquiry-based curriculum

A pedagogical view of curriculum

Who sees themselves within the curriculum?

Arts-based curriculum

Curriculum as lived experience Pondering the Australian Curriculum

Teachers as curriculum workers

Teachers as critical consumers and creators of curriculum

Curriculum as praxis

Curriculum exceeds the textbook Curriculum as a shared understanding

Emergent curriculum Outcomesfocused curriculum

6.1 Exploring the notion of curriculum

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6.1 Articulate several popular understandings of the term ‘curriculum’, and describe the advantages and limitations of each.

The term ‘curriculum’ is derived from the Latin word currere, which means to run a set route or course. That is an interesting connection to ponder. What relationship do you see between ‘to run a set route’ and what you understand curriculum to be? As the opening case with Aparna attests, curriculum is a term with many meanings, but because it is frequently used in schooling contexts, it often gets used without being clearly defined or clarified, so it is often up to the listener or reader to discern exactly how it is being used. It is a term you know, but it can be hard to utter a definition on the spot. What are some of the ways that you’ve heard the term curriculum used? You may have heard of syllabus documents referred to as the curriculum; or you may have read for class that a curriculum is something much broader and encompassing. This chapter aims to help you make sense of these differing definitions. Think about the difference between ‘the curriculum’ and ‘curriculum’: What different meanings are conveyed by those terms? ‘The’ perhaps makes it sound as if there is a particular, correct meaning that the term has and that you can unambiguously point to it. Curriculum unqualified by a ‘the’ could imply something much more open, less pinned down by a specific definition. You could also think about the translation ‘to run a set course’ and imagine that curriculum is a mapping of the course to be followed — in this case by learners. That makes good sense, and probably also rings true to your experiences. In order for them to run the correct route, you have to provide the map to the students, right?

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But does this commonsense definition of curriculum capture the full picture of curriculum? For all that it might have to commend it — a carefully planned, pre-ordained path — what might some drawbacks or limitations of this view of curriculum be? To help answer these questions, you can turn to the research literature. Shirley Grundy (1987, 1998) writes about two common understandings of curriculum — as an object and as an action. As an object the curriculum is thought of as a thing to be taught, learned, facilitated or transferred — ‘the curriculum’ in the previous distinction. You can literally put your hands upon it and carry it around in your briefcase or backpack. It is manifested in policy directives and mandates, state and territory syllabus documents, and teachers’ own programming and planning. It is decided upon by some for teaching to many others.

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Learners, teachers and context all form part of the curriculum.

As an action, it is a broader process of enacting what is mandated or planned, in light of all of the contingencies of practice — ‘curriculum’ in the previous distinction. That is, the learners matter, the teacher matters, the context matters. None of these things sit outside of the curriculum — they are, in fact, the curriculum. This view reminds us that it is not just what is intended that forms the curriculum, but what eventuates — through the teaching, student engagement, meaningful connections to students’ lives and relationship building that are inherent parts of the learning process.

Differentiating curriculum from syllabus documents The term ‘curriculum’ is such a common one that people use it and assume that everyone knows what they are talking about. You are left to your own devices to try to discern a definition. Teacher education students are often confronted by multiple meanings of the term. On practicum, for instance, you hear the syllabus documents for each learning area referred to as the curriculum, or as curriculum documents. And when a question about curriculum is raised supervising teachers often turn to the syllabus documents for the answer. When your faculty liaison reviews your lesson plans they note that you need to get your CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 195

curriculum expectations from the syllabus documents. These common experiences all reinforce a single (and as we will learn, narrow) view of curriculum. Grundy usefully translates the ideas of curriculum as a product and as an action into terms closer to the acts of schooling — the syllabus view of curriculum and the pedagogical view of curriculum. Teacher education students are often taught (explicitly and implicitly by example and the actions of their supervising teacher) a syllabus view of curriculum. This view holds that ‘the basic component of the curriculum, the syllabus, is designed elsewhere by expert curriculum designers and developers, and given to those for whom it is intended, for their use’ (Grundy 1998, p. 29). This is not to suggest that these syllabus documents are not thoughtfully crafted to capture the ‘big ideas’ of a given subject area or discipline, but only that as mass-produced and somewhat de-contextualised documents, they may not capture all that any given teacher or student, in any given place or time, might feel is worthy, important or necessary content. It is never the syllabus document or curriculum framework alone that determines what is taught to students, how they are engaged (or not) and what they eventually learn.

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A pedagogical view of curriculum Grundy’s pedagogical view of curriculum sees curriculum ‘not as a thing but as a dynamic process which engages all participants, especially teachers and students, in its active construction through their work’ (1998, p. 33). What other factors, beyond the planned mapping of the subject area, might be at play in this conception of curriculum? What else, besides policy decisions, curriculum mandates and teachers’ careful planning, matters or makes a difference in the learning/teaching nexus? Drawing on the important work of curriculum theorist Joseph Schwab (1969), Grundy articulates four elements that are part of this dynamic view of curriculum: 1. teachers 2. students 3. subject matter 4. milieu. Schwab referred to these as the four commonplaces of schooling. Before we explore the significance of each of these areas, think for a moment about what each of these components means to you and imagine how each could contribute to a more vibrant understanding of curriculum. Grundy contends that ‘we are unable to understand the nature of the curriculum unless we recognise that it is a consequence of the dynamic interaction of all four commonplaces’ (1998, p. 30). These commonplaces prove useful in thinking about curriculum because they help us to recognise and acknowledge that it is not only the subject matter that counts. Even the most thoughtfully planned lessons still depend on the quality of the teaching, the engagement (or not) of the learners, and the context in which the learning and teaching occurs. Thus, as you would be aware from years of being a student yourself, what is intended as the curriculum is not always what is learned, because of the interactions of these other components. It is not enough, then, for policy makers and curriculum developers to have particular intentions that they embed within the subject matter and to feel that those intentions will be achieved. This is too simplistic a view of what constitutes curriculum. To think more about the received or enacted curriculum, let us look at each of these components in more detail. Including ‘the teacher’ makes sense because, no matter what is intended and planned, the teacher has to (help) bring it to life — and the way that this happens will depend upon any individual teacher’s past experiences, values, attitudes and knowledge. The same lesson does not look the same or play out in the same way when different teachers teach it — an affirmation of the aforementioned qualities of teachers. Such a view of the teacher and their work moves us beyond metaphors such as teacher as mediator or facilitator of learning. Grundy notes, ‘As well as actively planning and providing the circumstances for engagement by the students with the subject matter in a particular learning environment, the teacher must also become a researcher of that interactive process’ (1998, p. 33). Thus, the teacher plays a role in decision 196

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making, evaluating, quality control, critical reflection (which will be explored further in chapter 13), judgement and action. In relation to the students, Grundy cautions, ‘you cannot actually have a curriculum without the active participation of the students’ (1998, p. 31). This illustrates the difference between what is intended, and what eventually gets enacted and received, or learned. Student agency and engagement must be factored into any view of curriculum, for their active participation in the teaching and learning will bring the concept/idea/content/subject matter to life — or not. Thus, it is in the partnership between a teacher and their students that the curriculum is negotiated, accepted, expanded, contested, reformulated and co-developed. What is being taught, or the subject matter, obviously factors in to this view of curriculum, for even in the ‘curriculum as object’ view, subject matter is foundational. But, as discussed earlier, in relation to the curriculum as syllabus view, the content of the curriculum is not universal, obvious or historically enduring. Teachers need to exercise professional judgement, thinking about the learners, the learners’ prior knowledge, the context and appropriate pedagogies in order to make sound decisions about the subject matter. Finally, the fourth commonplace is the milieu, or the salient features of the context that will support or hinder learning, and how those features are taken into account. For instance, decisions about what to teach and how to teach it are very much influenced by the fact that a classroom may have little in the way of supplies or resources. It does not necessarily mean that certain things will not get taught, but it could well influence how they are taught and why they are taught. Likewise, various social and cultural contexts from which the teacher and students come could also have direct bearing in what is taught, why it is taught and how it is taught. Thus, the context, or milieu, is of great importance in a pedagogical view of curriculum, for it insists that teachers take account of things that in more traditional or limited views of curriculum might be seen as outside the realm of concern for them. Thus, the interaction of these elements might be conceptualised in a pedagogical view of curriculum as shown in figure 6.1. FIGURE 6.1

The pedagogical view of the curriculum

Subject matter

Curriculum

=

Teacher

Students

Milieu

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Source: Based on Grundy (1998).

Notice how the double-headed arrows in figure 6.1 signal a dynamism and reflexivity between the various commonplaces. Instead of unidirectional arrows that would imply some direct or causal relationship, these arrows signal an interconnectedness and interdependency between the commonplaces.

Curriculum as lived experience Veteran teacher Rita Tenorio (2004) insists: Curriculum is everything that happens. It’s not just books and lesson plans. It’s relationships, attitudes, feelings, interactions. If kids feel safe, if they feel inspired, if they feel motivated, they’re going to learn important and positive things. But if those elements are not there, if they feel disrespected or neglected in school, they’re learning from that too. But they’re not necessarily learning the curriculum you think you’re teaching them. CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 197

Tenorio’s beliefs not only capture the pedagogical view of curriculum, but also draw our attention to the importance of that key feature of learning — no matter what topic or concept students are studying, learners need to feel safe, to feel inspired and to feel motivated. These aspects of learning, which exceed a lone focus on academic achievement and include striving for equity and positive social outcomes, are embodied in the Melbourne Declaration (MCEETYA 2008). Such conditions exceed any particular subject area or topic. They are foundational to creating generative environments where learning — of anything — can take place. Likewise, Hendrick and Weissman (2007) describe everything that happens to a learner in the course of a day as the curriculum. Again, such a definition reminds us that it is not just about what is planned and intended, but about all that transpires, and the meanings, feelings and understanding that those events generate. Lots of lessons get taught that were not necessarily intended (this will be explored in more detail below in relation to the hidden curriculum); they also occur as the result of the unintended curriculum. Lessons get learned each day, in positive ways — unexpected teachable moments and spontaneous opportunities to veer off in a new direction — and less positive ways — mishaps, accidents, things not going to plan, and the silencing or marginalising of certain students. But it is also important to take a critical view of such an assertion. ‘Curriculum is everything’ could also be so ungainly or overwhelming as to stop teachers or pre-service teachers in their tracks. So it is important to remember that while there are myriad factors that contribute to ‘the curriculum’ as it is lived and learned in (and outside of) classrooms, it is very useful to consider this ‘everything’ in categories or components so that we can be thoughtful about each one, rather than inundated by the notion that ‘it is everything’. The challenge is to find the right balance between appreciating and sustaining the totality of holistic learning experiences for learners, in manageable ways that teachers find intelligible and ‘do-able’. As Pinar et al. (1995) purport, curriculum is a field of study that is characterised by a multitude of discourses. It is these multiple discourses, and the multiplicity of voices within each discourse, that render the field of curriculum theorising as so robust. Your notion of curriculum should be equally robust, and that is what the pedagogical view of curriculum has to offer. It goes beyond the ‘what’ question (What will I teach?) and insists teachers take a more holistic and integrated view of the various factors or elements that bear on what gets taught and, perhaps more importantly, what gets learned. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Think about the class that you are reading this text for. What view(s) of curriculum do you see discussed and enacted? That is, how do your lecturer and fellow students talk about curriculum? How is the term ‘curriculum’ used with you as students, if at all? What do you and your peers understand the curriculum to be? What sorts of evidence would you look for or listen for in order to be able to answer the questions above?

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Pondering the Australian Curriculum Having built the case for a pedagogical view of curriculum, we will turn now to the Australian Curriculum. In 1989, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) released the Hobart Declaration on Schooling, which articulated ten national goals for schooling and provided a framework for cooperation between schools. The release of this declaration marked ‘a major advance in developing a national collaborative approach to schooling in Australia’ (MCEETYA 1989). This agreement between ministers was then replaced a decade later by the Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century (1999). This document maintained a focus on national education goals, and noted that, ‘[t]he achievement of the national goals for schooling will assist young people to contribute to Australia’s social, cultural and economic development in local and global contexts’ (1999, p. 2). And again, almost ten years later in December 2008, the release 198

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of the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians continued the focus on a collaborative national effort to ensure high-quality schooling for all Australian students. It also had a strong focus on global issues and concerns linking Australia to the rest of the world. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is the independent authority responsible for the development of national standards to improve student learning outcomes, as well as a national assessment program and a national data collection and knowledge mobilisation program that supports all Australian students to engage in learning for the twenty-first century. Its establishment is the result of many years of national cooperation and collaboration around issues related to education and schooling. ACARA’s work is carried out in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, from schools and state and territory education authorities and governments, to professional and community groups and the general public. Schools in the various states and territories are responsible for implementation of the Australian Curriculum, with each state and territory developing its own implementation plans and support programs for teachers. Some Australian Curriculum documents have already been out for consultation and are finalised, while others are still being developed. Understandably, it’s a multi-year process to develop, consult on and publish curricula across all year levels and subject areas, so this work is ongoing. A couple of years before the release of the Adelaide Declaration, the Curriculum Standing Committee of the National Education Professional Association (CSCNEPA) released a working paper entitled ‘Developing a twenty-first century school curriculum for all Australian students’ (2007). This paper explored ‘the debate around the most productive national approaches to curriculum work in Australia’ (p. 3) and identified three types of national approaches to curriculum. The first involved a national sharing of ideas, resources, frameworks, and professional development opportunities; the second involved national collaboration in these efforts; and the third ‘could result in a single, formal, official curriculum at the national level’ (2007, p. 5). While much of what the CSCNEPA was recommending put the emphasis on the second approach to curriculum nationally, the debate subsequently shifted and, as described above, we have moved to a state of play where the third approach has been taken up. However, this result was not necessarily inevitable. Building upon the CSCNEPA working paper, Australian Curriculum Coalition (ACC), a forum of presidents, executive officers and executive directors of national education organisations, wrote to the federal Minister. In their submission, entitled Common view on the Australian Curriculum (2010), they voiced support for the broad project of formulating a national curriculum while suggesting changes to the process of curriculum development, noting the lack of a well-developed conceptual framework guiding this work and highlighting issues related to assessment, reporting and implementation that could be, in their view, improved. Here just two issues of the many that they raised in the paper to the Minister are mentioned to illustrate the challenges faced in developing, implementing and accounting for a national curriculum. The ACC (2010) expressed concern about whether a national curriculum was a core curriculum, ‘around which jurisdictions and schools might add further content of local relevance’ (p. 5) or if it constituted the whole curriculum, ‘everything expected to be taught’ (p. 5). In addition, they noted work that they felt needed to be done related to equity. The ACC (p. 6) cautioned: The principle that all students have an entitlement to the same challenging curriculum content is an important one. It is essential, however, that curriculum development is informed by an understanding of how this principle can work in practice, and in different contexts. The curriculum should aim to support ‘high quality, high equity’ for all young Australians.

So what are proponents of a single, national curriculum saying in support of such an approach? In ‘The shape of the Australian Curriculum Version 3.0’ ACARA (2011, p. 7) writes in favour of this project: The commitment to develop a national curriculum reflects a willingness to work together, across geographical and school-sector boundaries, to provide a worldclass education for all young Australians. Working nationally makes it possible to harness collective expertise and effort in the pursuit of this common goal. It also offers the potential of economies of scale and substantial reduction in the duplication of time, effort and resources. CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 199

Further, the ACC (2010, p. 3) noted, ‘We believe this ambitious initiative can lead to a curriculum that reflects who we are, our visions for the future and our best attempts to predict and plan for what young people will need to be active and successful participants in Australian and global political, economic, social and cultural life’. The current curriculum, which is up to versions 7.5 and 8.3, allows schools time to transition to the new version of the Australian Curriculum. The eight learning areas are all articulated and approved, and states and territories have produced syllabus documents that reflect the agreed-upon content and achievement standards. They have fashioned their own documents that take these national standards and contextualise them locally. One salient feature of the national curriculum framework is its attention to the proper place of Indigenous Australian content in the national curriculum. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures are identified as one of the three cross-curriculum priorities in the national curriculum (www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/aboriginaland-torres-strait-islander-histories-and-cultures). This is in part to help close the gap in learning outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and others, but also to ensure that all students ‘engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures’ (AITSL n.d.). These issues are also addressed in relation to student diversity and supporting all learners (www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/student-diversity). As a collective whole, all Australian Curriculum learning areas are expected to contribute to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority, and to bring this content to life through the curriculum and pedagogies used across the learning areas. So the debate about a national curriculum has been a robust and enduring one, and the moves towards creating and implementing one have been closely watched and both praised and critiqued by a variety of stakeholder groups. In light of what you’ve read and discussed in this section, what advice would you give someone who was concerned about the effects that a national curriculum could have on issues related to capitalising on specific contexts? They see this effort as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that runs the risk of glossing over important contextual factors offered up by particular, specific places throughout the country, as something that risks homogenising diversity and difference. What further questions would you ask this person to better understand their point of view? How would you respond to such concerns? WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

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AITSL has two standards that relate specifically to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in the curriculum — Standards 1.4 and 2.4. Read about them here: www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards. Why do you think these specific standards are included? What more would you need to learn and know in order to be able to effectively implement these standards fully and as intended? What personal and/or professional learning plans could you put in place to ensure you learn and know these things? Take a look at the two Illustration of Practice scenarios next to Standard 2.4 to assist your thinking about these issues.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Get online and read Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008). Focus on Goal 1: Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence, for instance, and write down some ways you could structure your classroom and enact your curriculum to help meet this goal. Even though the areas under this goal are quite broad and seem more aimed at society and schools, think about how one classroom (yours!) can work towards addressing and even redressing them.

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6.2 Curriculum as cultural construction LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6.2 Explain the significance of understanding curriculum as a social and cultural construction.

It is important to extend the discussion above to explicitly examine what is meant by acknowledgement of the curriculum as a construction, or more specifically, that it is a social and cultural construction. Such a notion is meant to work against a naturalised conception of curriculum that sees it as universal, unchanging or obvious. Quite to the contrary, what a curriculum could and should entail is almost always a matter of great debate. Far from being obvious or straightforward, curriculum needs to be delineated and debated upon, and as such it is indeed a construction of the social and cultural contexts from which it arises. Grundy writes that the curriculum, ‘is constructed at a certain time and for certain purposes, although common cultural traditions often minimise differences between, for example, the Australian states and between New Zealand and Australia’ (1998, p. 28). This can mean that at any historical moment ‘the needs of the society and of the economy for a skilled citizenry are to be paramount in determining the curriculum’ (p. 28). When cast with this clarity, it is easy to see how curriculum is always political. Another way to think about this is that the curriculum is covered with the fingerprints of those who develop it, and eventually of those who enact it and interact with it. That is, because those who develop the curriculum bring their own values, attitudes, interests and priorities to bear upon it (even if they say they are acting in the interest of others, it is their interpretation of others’ interests!), you can detect signs of those values, attitudes, interests and priorities when you examine the curriculum. And this is why any construction of curriculum is political — because it is covered with the cultural fingerprints of those who constructed it. Even if they purport to be aiming for a ‘neutral’ curriculum (if ever one could exist), it is value-laden because desiring ‘neutrality’ is a value in itself.

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Whose knowledge is of most worth? Michael Apple (1979/1990) asks about whose knowledge is of most worth and who benefits from that knowledge. If teachers ask those questions of the school curriculum, what will they find? Take, for instance, the idea that schooling is and should be committed to democratic ideals (see, for example, Apple & Beane 2007). How is that evident in the curriculum — beyond explicit teaching about democracy and the democratic process? From your earliest years you were probably taught about sharing, turn-taking, consensus decision making, listening to all opinions and the like. Whose values are espoused in such lessons? Whose knowledge is demonstrated as of most worth through such lessons? The point is not to suggest that these lessons were inappropriate (though some people might), but rather to simply illustrate that what is learned has been chosen by people who have particular values and want to transmit those values and even inculcate them in others. Thinking about another example, was your own early education infused with the histories and perspectives of Indigenous Australians? Whether it was or was not, what lessons did that teach you about whose knowledge is of most worth? How does that position you now to meaningfully include such content into your own teaching? What work do you still need to do in order to confidently and authentically include these histories and perspectives?

Who sees themselves within the curriculum? There has been increasing attention to the representation of many once-excluded groups within the curriculum. The reasons for these exclusions were perhaps a feature of certain times and the prevailing mores, or social customs, at those times. The effects of such exclusions, however, were alarming and profound. Such a curriculum, crafted by particular people with particular blind spots, interests and tolerances, was CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 201

undoubtedly partial. Explicating this notion of a curriculum of partiality, Kevin Kumashiro (2002, p. 58) writes: Some stories reinforce dominant frameworks for thinking about and acting in the world, others challenge them, and still others do both . . . The inclusion of more and different voices will not tell us a ‘truer’ story, but a different one, one with different political implications (Scott 1993). When we desire to include the same voices, or to include different voices in ways that differences have traditionally been added on, we are desiring (subconsciously or not) to continue using the same stories to make sense of the world.

The issue of multiple voices in the curriculum, or a lack of them, is illustrated wherever you look. Lingard et al. (2003) write about citizenship commonly being understood as a goal of schooling. But who are viewed as citizens, or future citizens? One way to answer the question is to look at who is represented in curriculum materials, who gets mentioned in the texts and about whom the curriculum is silent. Silence about groups of people or particular issues is still instructive — it teaches us who and what are not worth mentioning and not worth learning about. Do we have a clear sense, for instance, that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and perspectives are included in the curriculum? What evidence do we have to support or refute this assertion? How would ‘seeing’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the curriculum benefit us all? What are the costs of absence of and silence around certain histories and cultures? Who pays those costs? This might help explain why AITSL has standards that aim to redress the silence and absence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from the curriculum. We see the fingerprints of the curriculum creators when we now recognise Indigenous knowledge systems as subjugated knowledge (Semali & Kincheloe 1999), underrepresented or completely missing from the curriculum. What does the exclusion of this material tell us about the crafters of our curriculum? Grundy reminds us that, ‘this understanding that the curriculum is a construction in which all participants in the educational enterprise are actively involved is, therefore, centrally important to our understanding of the meaning of curriculum and the work of teaching’ (Grundy 1998, p. 36). Think back to your experiences in early childhood, primary and secondary education. What did you learn about Aboriginal history and perspectives? What did you learn about the role of women in the early history of the country? What did you learn about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people? What did you learn about disabilities and people with them? Age and different generations? Body shape and size? Why do you think this was the case? Whatever you learned about these issues and groups of people, you did because the people who constructed your curriculum, and the people who enacted it in and outside of classrooms, made decisions that saw that content included or excluded. You’ll be in a position to make those decisions as well!

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Some students, teachers and parents express concern about using lesson plans and other curriculum materials that are donated to schools by lobby groups and private industries, or available for free on their websites. The materials purport to focus on such laudable topics as active living, healthy eating and personal hygiene. But those critical of such curriculum materials feel the fingerprints (and often agendas) of the groups that created and are distributing them cover the materials. Find an example of such donated/freely available curriculum materials and review them for yourself. Are the fingerprints of their creators evident? If so, in what ways? Are any implicit messages or values evident in the materials? How might you critically engage students with these issues? Revisit these questions when you’ve read the section in this chapter on hidden curriculum.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Find a picture book or story book that you have seen being read in a classroom to children. Examine the book to try to determine what you can say about the values, attitudes, interests and priorities of its author(s). If you saw the book being used with the class, how was it used? Was it simply read for the children to take in? Was it challenged? Did the teacher move beyond the views or values represented in it? Realise that teachers can make decisions to use materials in ways perhaps not intended by their authors/creators — in subversive ways! So a picture book may be silent about issues related to Aboriginal history, but the teacher could have chosen this text to raise that specific point, using the text as an object of critique to fashion a very different curriculum than you might have expected only having read the book. Thus, recognising the cultural ‘fingerprints’ that cover a curriculum can enable a teacher to make informed and critical decisions about what to teach, what to teach with, and how to teach it.

6.3 Models of curriculum LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6.3 Differentiate between several different models of curriculum.

In this section of the chapter several different models for the construction and enactment of curriculum will be examined. As noted earlier, there are many different discourses within the curriculum field, so the five mentioned here are indicative of the variation that exists within the field. They are also likely to be familiar to those working in schools, either because they are already in place or because schools are considering adopting some of these models. As you read through them, think about whether each is prevalent in the early childhood, primary, middle and/or secondary levels. What are the similarities across those schooling levels and what are the differences? Hendrick and Weissman (2007, p. 5) argue that a curriculum should help learners develop competence — ‘the wonderful feeling of assurance, exemplified by the statements “I can do it”, “I am able”, “I know how” and “I am an effective person”’. Think about what each of these models has to offer in terms of helping to develop competence, particularly those aspects that are different from top-down, centrally mandated models of curriculum development and delivery.

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Integrated curriculum Pondering an integrated curriculum is different depending on which level of schooling you are thinking about. Integrated curriculum in many ways is the de facto curriculum in early childhood settings where a distinction between disciplines or subject areas is not so salient. What is important is crafting robust and engaging learning experiences for children. Thus, good models of integrated curriculum can often be found in early childhood settings that enact Montessori or Reggio Emilia principles, for instance. Moving into formal schooling, subject matter distinctions start to become more apparent, and the imperative for integration becomes greater. By the time secondary school begins, where there are not only subject matter departments but also teachers who have undergone teacher education in a specific subject area (as opposed to being a generalist like early childhood and primary teachers), the need for integration is perhaps the greatest. Wilson and Jan (2007, p. 11) describe integrated curriculum as ‘the structured organization of teaching and learning experiences in which significant content, across and within learning areas, is selected to develop and extend students’ understanding of the world’. This organisation of the curriculum allows students to develop understandings of the world that foreground connections and relationships between ideas, concepts and phenomena.

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Good models of integrated curriculum can often be found in early childhood settings.

Affirming the personal and social consequences of curriculum, Beane (1997) describes integration as a curriculum design concerned with enhancing the possibilities for personal and social integration through the organisation of curriculum, based on significant problems and issues that transcend subjectarea boundaries. Susan Drake et al. (1992) discuss a process of breaking down boundaries in order to craft powerful learning contexts for students. They describe how integrated curriculum might be thought of on a continuum from multidisciplinary experiences to interdisciplinary experiences through to transdisciplinary experiences. Multidisciplinary approaches involve a range of subject areas being brought to bear on a particular big question or theme. Each subject area is seen as separate and maintains its own integrity, but it is stitched together with the other areas in the exploration of an issue of problem. For instance, students might investigate the question, ‘Is the stream behind the school healthy?’ from the perspectives of several subject areas. Interdisciplinary approaches involve finding overlapping skills and knowledge between subject areas, even though the subject areas remain discrete. As Drake et al. (1992, p. 4) note, ‘common essential learnings were the foci that connected subject areas’, and so the subject areas were drawn into even closer contact than with the multidisciplinary approaches. An example of a question that could be explored using an interdisciplinary approach is, ‘How can we assist in helping to stop the vandalism that is occurring at school?’ Letting the common skills, knowledge and strategies drive the formation of curriculum can lead to a transdisciplinary experience, because the divisions between subject areas are abandoned in favour of focusing on essential learnings and not worrying about labelling particular things as science, geography, art and so on. A transdisciplinary approach lends itself to investigating questions such as, ‘How can we work as a class to assist the homeless people we see in the neighbourhood around the school?’ Drake et al. (1992) write about how, as they moved through these stages in their own work, they moved from being 204

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subject experts to becoming ‘connection experts’ (p. 5) as they allowed their own curriculum development to be driven by the big questions, or essential learnings, rather than some worry about preserving subject area distinctions. But this is also the reason that this model of curriculum may be more difficult to enact in a secondary school than in a primary school. What is gained by integrating the curriculum? Such a holistic view to tackling a problem or answering a question (rather than a more atomistic view as reflected in the separate subject areas) has coherences with students’ lives that the bounded subject areas may not always have. Out of school, if you had a problem to solve, the disciplinary areas you needed to draw upon were probably not decided upon prior to attempting a solution — you probably just went about trying to solve it! Integrated curriculum offers that same coherence of learning experience — you draw upon the knowledge and skills that are useful to you at that moment to problem solve or clarify what you are investigating.

Inquiry-based curriculum

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In its broadest sense, inquiry might be understood as a stance towards learning and knowledge production. Wilson and Jan (2007, p. 10) write, ‘Inquiry learning involves students forming their own questions about a topic and having time to explore the answers. Students are both problem posers and problem solvers within inquiry learning’. As such, teachers work to help students develop their question-asking prowess, and to foster conversations that focus on asking ‘good’ questions. Because inquiry-based curriculum starts with student-generated questions, there is a focus in this model on developing effective questions and the higher order thinking skills that accompany developing and answering such questions (Wilks 2005a). Good questioning stimulates learning because it helps to extend thinking skills beyond simple recall and it serves to create links between students’ prior knowledge and new learnings. Questions articulated and used along the way might not only be aimed at answering the original question, but might also be metacognitive, focusing the students on their own learning as they work to answer their own question. For instance, asking students ‘What have you learned?’, ‘What interferes with your learning?’ or ‘How have your ideas changed?’ engages them with learning about their own learning and not just the topic of inquiry at hand. Although many similar formulations exist, Wilson and Jan (2007) write about six phases as part of a curriculum structured around inquiry. These phases and the corresponding abilities are (Wilson & Jan 2007, p. 12): 1. tuning in: identify what it is they want to know and do 2. finding out: locate the appropriate sources of information 3. sorting out: gather, sort and organise the information 4. going further: present the information in appropriate ways 5. reflection: reflect on what they have learned and the inquiry process 6. action: think about ways of applying their newly gained information to other situations. What inquiry-based curriculum affords, then, is a starting point for investigation, reflection and action that emanates from the students (or the students in collaboration with their teachers) asking questions that matter to them and their contexts, and working towards, if not arriving at, answers and solutions.

Arts-based curriculum This model of curriculum purports that the arts, far beyond just being a subject or content area, are an epistemological stance, or way of knowing about and seeing the world. As such, an arts-based approach to curriculum situates the arts and artistic ways of knowing as the foundation for the rest of the curriculum. This can be seen as different from an integrated curriculum approach, which does not necessarily privilege any one curriculum area, because in an arts-based approach the creative, visual and performing arts, broadly conceived, are the starting point to craft a curriculum that then weaves in other subject areas. So there certainly is some integration of subject areas, but this is all done under the ‘umbrella’ of the arts. CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 205

Ernest Boyer (1995, p. 18) wrote about the arts being one of the eight ‘core commonalities’ that he articulated as ‘universal experiences that make us human, experiences shared by all cultures on the planet’. He goes on to note (p. 20): For our most moving experiences, we turn to the arts to express feelings and ideas that words cannot convey . . . To be truly educated means being sensitively responsive to the universal language of art.

Such an approach to curriculum seeks to remedy the lower status of the arts in the school curriculum by arguing that the arts are fundamental, and through them, many other subject areas can be accessed for learning. Susan Wilks writes that the views that such a stance to the arts seek to dismiss include that the arts are of lesser cognitive significance than other subjects, that they are cognitively undemanding, that they are talent based and not transferable to the world of work, and that they are just a matter of personal taste (2005b, p. 66). Instead, what an arts-based curriculum does is bring to the fore the ways of viewing the world that the arts afford — dialogue, reflection, metaphor and imagination — as a tool for making meaning and understanding. The arts are an ideal vehicle for students to make connections between their own lives and the lives and experiences of others — whether they are from another place and time, or living now just across town. Teachers act to facilitate the making of these connections and help students to discover a range of ways to view the world and demonstrate or enact their understandings. Because ‘learning does not occur in self-contained episodes, but results from a montage of information gathered from family and friends, experiences and discussions’ (Wilks 2005b, p. 73), the arts are an ideal foundation from which to provide the multiple, dialogic opportunities necessary for learning to occur.

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Emergent curriculum Think back to the start of this chapter when it was revealed that the term curriculum comes from the Latin word currere, meaning to run a known course. Think about how ‘running a known course’ relates to the notion of something as emerging. Are these ideas coherent, or do you see some differences between them? The term emergent curriculum embodies a bit of a paradox — where the course of the curriculum is not all known from the outset. As Carol Anne Wien (2008, p. 5) writes about such a curriculum, ‘It is emergent — that is, its trajectory develops as a consequence of the logic of the problem, the particular connections that develop as participants bring their own genuine responses to the topic and collaboratively create the course to follow out of these multiple connections’. There is a tradition of constructivist approaches to emergent curriculum (Jones & Nimmo 1994; Katz & Chard 2000), and now Reggio Emilia approaches from Italy, which have been playing an increasingly prominent role in early childhood settings, inflect our understandings of emergent curriculum (Wien 2008). Such a curricular configuration is becoming more utilised in primary schools as well, but has been much less adopted in secondary schools. This is not the only model for which this has been the case in this chapter. What is it about secondary schooling that might explain why some models are not as readily adopted in secondary settings? Because ‘emergent curriculum wakes up schools and brings teachers, children, and administrators together in collaborative creative processes of learning’ (Wien 2008, p. 5), it can be very powerfully marshalled to start from students’ lives, experiences and questions. Like an inquiry-based approach, it often starts with a question or an ‘I wonder why . . . ’ statement. In addition, as Wien (2008) points out, adopting an emergent approach to curriculum is also about taking a particular stance towards children and their learning. It involves taking them seriously as the originators of questions worth answering, and then valuing those questions by making time to explore them. What is gained by taking an emergent approach to curriculum? New possibilities for a variety of participatory structures can be forged by letting children’s questioning drive the direction of learning. Collaboration can take place between the students and the teacher as well as among the students. A teacher’s 206

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attention is often freed to engage in deeper and more thorough forms of pedagogical and curricular documentation of the students’ learning because their own attention does not have to focus on delivering the lesson or even on having all of the answers. Instead, they can focus on the learning and strategise about how to help or intervene if the learning has stalled. So, although imbued with a certain degree of uncertainty as the curriculum moves forward, such a way of approaching curriculum honours children and their thinking in ways that other approaches fail to do.

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Outcomes-focused curriculum As the name of this approach to curriculum design and development implies, outcomes-focused curriculum discourse starts by articulating desired outcomes and then maps backwards to create a learning pathway to achieve those outcomes. As Aldridge and Fraser (2008, p. 2) describe it, ‘Outcomes-focused education is an approach to planning, delivering and assessing in which one first determines the required results, then identifies the skills and knowledge required to achieve those results’. By outcomes we mean ‘clear learning results that we want students to demonstrate at the end of significant learning experiences’ (Spady 1994, p. 2). The process of backward mapping from outcomes to teaching sequences is a significant one that works to ensure alignment between the teaching and learning activities and where the students are headed in their learning. Although all approaches to curriculum have the end in mind to some extent, in the sense that the creation and enactment of curriculum is ultimately about attaining certain learning objectives, this approach foregrounds the outcomes as the purpose for even having a curriculum. So in this discourse, while the journey may be interesting, its main purpose is to get to the destination. This is a shift in thinking from more traditional inputs-focused models of education that are concerned with the number of hours of instruction students receive, what curriculum materials are used or the teaching style of the teacher. Thus, outcomes-focused education organises everything around what is essential for all students to know and be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experiences. Learning is in turn defined as what students can demonstrate that they know. As Harden (2007, p. 666) notes, outcomes-based education has two main requirements: ‘the first is to make the learning outcomes explicit and the second is the use of the specified outcomes as a basis for decisions about the curriculum’. While there are differences between outcomes-based education and outcomes-focused education (Aldridge & Fraser 2008; Spady 1994), for the purposes of this chapter, Harden’s two points above hold true. That is, while there are some characterisations of outcomesbased education that set it apart from outcomes-focused education, here they are more closely related. Outcomes-focused education means that the curriculum model is guided by, even driven by, the outcomes intended. This is different from other ways of structuring or envisioning curriculum because ‘it requires a shift away from a system in which teachers often taught from a syllabus irrespective of a student’s readiness to learn at that level, to describing the outcomes expected of all students’ (Aldridge & Fraser 2008, p. 3). Outcomes are clear statements about what students will be able to do at the conclusion of a sequence of lessons or a unit, rather than simply what they should know. They are not values, attitudes or beliefs. Instead, they are the results of learning that teachers want students to demonstrate at the end of significant learning experiences and are concretely measurable. As such, outcomes are learner performances that reflect their competence at particular enactments of the content. All lessons start with the end in mind — the outcomes that will need to be attained. Other language that is used to describe this discourse of curriculum is about learners achieving competencies to demonstrate that they have learned particular information and skills. You can see how the language ‘demonstrate competencies’ coheres with the notion that this view of curriculum results in actions and performances of what has been learned. Proponents of this view of curriculum development and enactment point out that such an approach honours and accounts for the fact that different learners learn and achieve at different paces. Those who master content more quickly can demonstrate those outcomes and move on to learn more. Those CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 207

progressing more slowly can still be afforded the time and experiences to increase their understanding, and ability to demonstrate that understanding, without being pushed through lessons at a uniform pace with the rest of the class. Understood in this way, outcomes-focused views of curriculum can afford opportunities for differentiated instruction when the curriculum is enacted and learned. As Spady (1994, p. 5) notes, ‘WHAT and WHETHER students learn successfully is more important than WHEN and HOW they learn it’. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Thinking about each of the models above, what assumptions or tenets underpin each model? For instance, an emergent model of curriculum is predicated on a particular view of children as competent and capable citizens. Do the other curriculum models conceptualise children in this way? Are all of the models congruent with one another, or are there models at odds with one another given their underpinning assumptions/tenets?

6.4 The hidden curriculum LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6.4 Describe why attending to the hidden curriculum matters.

Earlier in this chapter, we discussed the gap that can exist between what is intended and what is actually enacted or learned. As a corollary to that discussion, it is necessary to engage with the concept of the hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum can be either intended or unintended. Jane Roland Martin (1983) has written that the hidden curriculum consists of ‘some of the outcomes or by-products of schools or of non-school settings, particularly those states which are learned but not openly intended’. The concept usually has a negative connotation, inferring that inequalities are reproduced or at least unchallenged — and work against the democratic intentions of schooling. As such, Giroux and Penna (1983) noted that the hidden curriculum can also refer to the transmission of norms, values and beliefs conveyed in both the formal educational content and the social interactions within these schools. This idea of the formal educational content, or subject matter, and the relationships that surround the learning of that subject matter, is evocative of the pedagogical view of curriculum. However, in the case of the hidden curriculum, the consequences are often unintended and unseen, and can have deleterious effects. The concept can also accommodate a notion of inculcation of particular norms, mores or values. Martin (1983) has elaborated examples of things that can be contained within and taught through the hidden curriculum: the social structures of the classroom; tracking systems; the teacher’s exercise of authority; rules governing the relationship between teachers and students; the teacher’s use of language; architecture; and disciplinary measures.

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Hidden curriculum as implicit and unintended The hidden curriculum often teaches about things that do not appear to be the explicit focus of the teaching and learning taking place at the time. For instance, though the lesson might be science, the lessons being taught via the hidden curriculum could be about the types of boys and girls that are good in science and whether those identities are acceptable in the wider social milieu, or context, of the school. Science class probably would not ever teach students that excelling in science makes you a nerd, but somehow that lesson is often learned. Of course it can also get challenged, but that it exists to be challenged means that it was learned in the first instance. The hidden curriculum, then, can teach ‘lessons’ not explicitly taught in or outside of the classroom. It may address questions such as ‘What kind of a boy/girl is popular?’, ‘What kind of a girl/boy does well in school?’, ‘Who does the teacher validate by spending time with?’, and ‘Whose lives, families or cultures are mentioned in learning materials, or about whose lives are there silences?’ For example, in her classic work about gender socialisation inside and outside of primary school classrooms, Barrie Thorne 208

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(1993) examined and analysed how the hidden curriculum conveyed messages about what being a proper ‘boy’ and being a proper ‘girl’ meant to the students. These were not explicit, intentional lessons taught to the children, but rather a series of messages, or norms for behaviour and self-presentation, that were conveyed both in the classroom and on the playground about acceptable identities and manifestations of being a boy and being a girl. Students who failed to take up the messages in this curriculum or who violated its mores were labelled with the all too familiar derisive appellations of ‘tomboys’ and ‘sissies’. As Thorne (1994, p. 111) notes, ‘The tomboy and the sissy stand at and help define the symbolic margins of dichotomous and asymmetric gender difference; the label “sissy” suggests that a boy has ventured too far into the contaminating “feminine”’. Children who ignored the lessons of the hidden curriculum often did so at their own peril. You would not find these lessons in any teacher’s lessons plans or programming, but these things were nonetheless learned as a part of these children’s schooling experience. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

If you are not knowledgeable about or confident in your abilities to teach about Indigenous content, what messages will form part of the hidden curriculum in your classroom? What messages get taught by the complete absence of this content? What messages get taught if the content feels supplemental, or if it’s not well taught? Are these the lessons you want your students to be learning?

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Find some of the lesson plans that you created and used on your last practicum. With the concept of hidden curriculum in mind, review the plans for both what is there and what is absent, or the silences. What might have been part of the hidden curriculum in the classroom when you were teaching these lessons? To help you answer these questions, think about who these plans included/excluded, mentioned/failed to mention and engaged/failed to engage. What lessons might also have been taught, however inadvertent, through these lessons?

6.5 Teachers as curriculum workers

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6.5 Advocate for understanding teachers as curriculum workers.

One of the functions of schooling, and therefore of curriculum, is to assist in cultural reproduction — the maintenance and propagation of the beliefs, values and attitudes of a particular culture or of subgroups within a culture. If these beliefs and values are equitable and just, or even just agreeable, then the phenomenon of cultural reproduction can remain unchallenged or be praised. But if they are seen to be discriminatory, unjust or hurtful, there is an outcry for schools and teachers to intervene in these injustices by becoming agents for change — or what Judyth Sachs (2003) refers to as members of ‘the activist teaching profession’. Paulo Freire (1998) offers one vision of what this might look like and mean. He conceptualises it in terms of ‘teachers as cultural workers’. As should be clear from earlier, if the pedagogical view of curriculum is adopted, all of the work that teachers do is cultural, and therefore teachers themselves are cultural workers. There is nothing neutral, apolitical or acultural about the work of teachers — it is all embedded in a certain place and time, in certain communities with certain groups of people. And whether those groups are diverse or relatively homogeneous, the work is cultural work. Take now a robust pedagogical view of curriculum and you appreciate how obvious it is to see teachers as curriculum workers, for this view of curriculum encompasses all that is cultural in the work of learning CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 209

and teaching. In each of Schwab’s (1969) four commonplaces — teacher, students, subject matter and milieu — the cultural elements can be seen and curriculum work can be recognised as cultural work and vice versa. However, that does not mean this cultural work is obvious or easy. As Freire (1998, p. 71) notes, ‘We have a strong tendency to affirm that which is different from us as inferior. We start from the belief that our way of being is not only good, but better than that of those who are different than us’. This admonition is a reminder of how easy it is to treat what is known as ‘normal’ and what is unknown or unfamiliar as ‘abnormal’ when all that is required is acknowledgement of difference. What implications does this tendency have for the work of educators? What work might teachers need to do to thwart this tendency to denigrate what they don’t know or understand? Think, as well, about implications for your work arising from the idea that ‘Educators need to know what happens in the world of the children with whom they work’ (Freire 1998, p. 72). How might you go about learning about children’s worlds? How might this make you a cultural worker? And how might knowing more about your students, their families and their communities help mitigate against seeing difference as inferior?

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Teachers as critical consumers and creators of curriculum Try unpacking the phrase above — teachers as critical consumers and creators of curriculum. First, think about what the word ‘critical’ means to you. As we have discussed earlier in this text, for many the term has a negative connotation — that being critical means finding fault with, criticising or even denigrating. We use the term ‘critical’ in a much more expansive way and try to rid it of its wholly negative connotations. Here critical refers to a stance that seeks to identify the strengths or affordances of something, as well as to unearth its limitations, shortcomings or drawbacks. Therefore, a critical stance is meant to take an encompassing, unbiased view of something in order to fully assess it. Second, what does the word ‘consumer’ conjure up in your mind? Again, this word might have a connotation that is slightly negative — as one who wantonly takes, makes indiscriminate choices, or even over-indulges. In the context of this chapter, it is meant to signal that there are lots of curricular materials out there already, thoughtfully crafted and made public for others to read, review and make use of. Imagining teachers as consumers of this material makes good sense — why re-invent the wheel? As seen earlier, there are also lots of approaches to structuring and developing curriculum that teachers can be consumers of (or not). Third, the word ‘create’. Just as things like the internet have meant that there is more information than ever before readily available to students and teachers, given the pedagogical stance described above, there is still a need for teachers to create things that play to the strengths of their students, draw on their students’ prior knowledge and experiences, fit well within their communities and the communities the students come from, and resonate with children, adolescents and their families as things worth learning about. All this is not already ‘out there’, waiting to be found. Teachers still have to do lots of editing, reworking, piecing together and creating of the curriculum. Now string all three concepts together to make sense of teachers as critical consumers and creators of curriculum. Teachers need to bring a critical eye to what already exists that might be useful or need only minor editing and changing, and to use that same critical stance to make decisions about what they need to create in order to connect with their students and craft powerful learning environments and opportunities. When the critical stance is brought to bear on both consuming and creating curriculum, the result is a tight fit between the curriculum and the learners. In fact, as was evident in some of the curriculum models discussed earlier, a teacher might even backward map (Wiggins & McTighe 1998) from their students’ lives in order to critically craft a curriculum. This would certainly embody what being an agent of change might mean. For example, by engaging students with the Why is my curriculum white? project (www.nus.org.uk/en/news/why-is-my-curriculum-white), students are given the knowledge to ask and explore critical questions about the cultural origins of the curriculum and who is (and is not) taken 210

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account of, taught about and therefore valued. Fostering these discussions and explorations is the work of a critical consumer of curriculum. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

If you were to think back to teachers you’ve had, or better yet observe teachers that you’re currently studying with, what would you look for/listen for in order to identify them as acting like a cultural worker? What might be characteristics of their actions and/or stance towards teaching and learning that would allow you to confidently identify them as a cultural worker? What does it mean to function as a teacher who is an agent of change? What case would you mount to advocate for this stance? What case would you mount to argue against such a disposition? Which case do you find most compelling, and why?

6.6 Curriculum as praxis LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6.6 Explain the importance of understanding curriculum as praxis.

This chapter will conclude by pulling together the various threads that have been examined throughout into a coherent picture that sees curriculum as praxis, not just as a technical exercise of planning or accountability. Instead, consistent with the pedagogical view of curriculum advocated for within this chapter, curriculum itself can be viewed as an agent for change — in children’s lives, in their communities, in the world. Stephen Kemmis and Tracey Smith (2008, p. 4) define praxis as: Action that is morally-committed, and oriented and informed by traditions in a field. It is the kind of action people are engaged in when they think about what their action will mean in the world. Praxis is what people do when they take into account all the circumstances and exigencies that confront them at a particular moment and then, taking the broadest view they can of what it is best to do, they act.

Given what was discussed above, do you see connections between that and this notion of praxis as ‘educationally right practice’ (Kemmis & Grootenboer 2008)? Elements both of action and of reflection are key to these definitions.

Curriculum exceeds the textbook This seems consistent with what Salas et al. (2004) have in mind when they write about guidelines for developing curriculum. In a section of their article entitled ‘Move beyond the textbook’ (p. 8) they write:

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Many teachers, especially new teachers, fall into the trap of teaching straight out of an assigned textbook all the time . . . Go ahead and use the book if you need to, but use it critically. Ask yourself and your students: What are the implicit values being presented by this textbook? Whose voices are being heard? Whose voices are absent?

Teaching ‘straight from the text’ adopts an object view of curriculum, doesn’t it? It presumes that what is worth knowing is contained within the text, and the teacher’s job is to help students find it in the text. But curriculum is not just about learning content. Rather it is constituted in the social and cultural worlds of those who interact with it — it is inherently a social act (Grundy 1987) and, as such, it is about relationships between teachers and students, among students, between students and subject matter, and between students and the contexts in which they live and learn. An interest in teachers as agents of change or activists certainly presages an interest in curriculum as an emancipatory (Grundy 1987), as opposed to a merely technical, endeavour. Such a practice-focused approach envisions that curriculum ‘is constituted through an active process in which planning, acting and evaluating are all reciprocally related and integrated into the process’ (Grundy 1987, p. 115). The constitutive elements of praxis are reflection and action; the curriculum itself develops through action and reflection. CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 211

Curriculum as a shared understanding Lingard et al. (2003, p. 4) write, ‘In order to achieve improved outcomes for all students, it is necessary to align curriculum, pedagogies and assessment’. They envision this alignment occurring via a shared understanding of the intended student outcomes that hence shapes what the curriculum could or should look like. And if such an alignment were guided by a sense of what constitutes ‘educationally right practice’ (Kemmis & Grootenboer 2008), then it could constitute curriculum as praxis — the active alignment to maximise learning. Bringing these ideas back to the classroom, Salas et al. (2004) recommend to (preservice and graduate) teachers several elements in response to the curriculum question ‘How am I going to do this?’ In addition to ‘move beyond the textbook’, discussed above, they advocate (pp. 84–92): r do not underestimate what you bring to teaching r cut yourself some slack r do not let yourself get lazy r build community r teach everybody r be consistent r do not try to go it alone r assume nothing . . . and keep an open mind r encourage kids to bring their lives into the classroom r keep it real r let students see you as a person r take care of yourself r put anti-racism and multiculturalism at the heart of your work. What do you bring in terms of knowledge and experiences to help you make sense of what each element on the list means? This list is a wonderful enactment of many of the ideas that have been discussed in this chapter, and it consolidates those ideas through the lens of praxis. It also beautifully illustrates what gains are possible in moving beyond a technical conception of curriculum to one of curriculum as praxis. The list implores teachers to engage deeply in the meaningful work of connecting to students and their lives, and of capitalising on those connections to engender and enhance learning. For example, imagine the power of sharing your knowledge about and passion for Indigenous issues in education! To conclude, curriculum viewed as praxis is ‘those forms of practice that are enacted by those that are conscious and self-aware that their actions are “morally committed, and oriented and informed by tradition”’ (Kemmis & Smith 2008, p. 4) — myriad possibilities exist for connecting meaningfully to learners’ lives, for them to ask questions meaningful to their lives, and for them to take action to improve their lives and the lives of others. If that is not what you think of when you hear the phrase ‘the curriculum’, think again.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Can you recall ever being in a classroom, or in some other learning context, where the teacher worked as an agent for change (or as an ‘activist’) and the curriculum embodied a sense of what was just and morally informed? If you can, what features differentiated that learning context from the many others you’ve been in — both in terms of what was present in it and what was absent from it? If you can’t, why do you think that is? Given all of the classrooms and other learning contexts you have been in during your lifetime, what does that say about the prevalence (and perhaps the perceived worth) of such teachers and such contexts? What steps can you take to enact such a stance in your own learning context?

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INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

. . . because schools and school knowledge are embedded in and structured by systems of domination and rule that are organized hierarchically around power relations of race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and other forms of socially determined categorical difference, the curricular knowledge asserted by groups in power generally supports status quo, hegemonic social relations and epistemologies. This curricular knowledge thus often contradicts and runs counter to the epistemologies and curricular knowledge advanced by oppressed groups. Put differently, the curriculum of the ruler will in many ways be oppositional to the curriculum of the ruled. . . . because of unequal power relations, the curricular perspectives of those in power are made operational in generally hegemonic and commonsense forms in school knowledge for everyone, regardless of social location and regardless of whether or not such perspectives are congruent with or contradict the material and social realities of students and their communities. Put differently, despite progressive curricular gains or curriculum accords made by educators and activists the unequal distribution of power leads to the unequal distribution of specific curricular knowledge, where those with more ` power can exert stronger influence on our commonsense understandings of the world vis-a-vis the curriculum, even if such commonsense understandings fundamentally operate as distorted conceptions of material and social reality.

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Engaging deeply with this excerpt from Wayne Au’s (2012, p. 66) book is a wonderful way to end this chapter because it weaves together so many of the threads that we’ve discussed. Clearly this was written by an educator who is working as an agent of change and a cultural worker who takes a pedagogical view of curriculum. The passages refer to the ways that the fingerprints of curriculum creators cover what they construct — whether in an explicit fashion, or as part of a more hidden curriculum. He calls our attention to the ways in which schooling, and curriculum, can engage in cultural reproduction, and he perceptibly illustrates that it’s the dominant culture that’s likely to get uncritically reproduced, to the detriment of many. Au reminds us that context does indeed matter by suggesting what occurs when context is ignored in ‘one-size-fits-all’ efforts. It can be capitalised upon to shape and refine what it being taught — both in affirmative, but also detrimental ways. In the end, contextual information can and should serve as a resource for shaping the curriculum, allowing us to connect with students, their families and their communities.

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SUMMARY There are many discourses about the concept of ‘the curriculum’. Many technical understandings of curriculum view it as a product, but a more productive view is understanding curriculum as action — what Grundy calls a pedagogical view of curriculum. In light of this pedagogical view of curriculum, it is important to consider what is meant by curriculum as a social and cultural construction, and what it means to consider teachers (and even students) as curriculum workers. There are numerous diverse models of curriculum. Many are based on the notion of an explicit, intended curriculum. There is, however, also a hidden curriculum that teaches many lessons. This chapter advocates a view of curriculum as praxis. There are gains to be achieved by taking such a view and enacting it within and outside classrooms. This view emanates not only from the inter-implicated nature of the curriculum across the domains of the teacher, the students, subject matter and the milieu, but also from a notion of curriculum as action, as process. Finally, the chapter advocates for understanding the need for and role of Indigenous Australian content within all areas of the curriculum.

KEY TERMS

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arts-based curriculum Using the creative, performing and practical arts as a context around and through which the rest of the school subjects are structured and taught. The arts become the organising context, or touchstone, through which connections to all of the other subjects are made. cultural construction Something that was created by people who are located in a particular time and place, and who bring their own values, attitudes, interests and priorities to bear on its construction and articulation. emergent curriculum The course of the curriculum is not fully known from the outset, but rather negotiated with the participants/students as learning progresses. four commonplaces of schooling The fundamental aspects of learning and teaching in schooling — the students, the teacher, the subject matter and the milieu. hidden curriculum Teaching about things that do not appear to be the explicit or intended focus of the teaching and learning taking place, and as such form part of the informal, rather than formal, curriculum. inquiry-based curriculum A stance towards learning where learners form, and are guided by, their own questions about issues, problems and phenomena. integrated curriculum Distinctions between subjects are minimised or eliminated as larger issues and problems are explored or investigated, blending traditionally distinct subject areas. praxis Morally informed practice enacted by those who are self-aware and who draw on the mores and customs of their field.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 6.1

LO1

After reading this chapter, which definition(s) of curriculum resonate most with you? Has your thinking shifted at all since before you read the chapter? How so? 6.2

LO3

How would you characterise the curriculum model(s) evident in the subject you are reading this text for? On what bases are you deciding the appropriate models? What evidence exists to support your decision?

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6.3

LO1

What would need to change in order to have early childhood settings or schools become hotbeds for curriculum experimentation and innovation? What’s currently preventing this from happening? 6.4

LO2, 7

Choose a chapter from this text that you’ve already read. Can you discern any traces of the fingerprints of the people or culture(s) that developed, organised and/or presented the knowledge? Is there evidence of the fingerprints of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples/cultures? If so, what are they? If not, does that mean that there are no such fingerprints, or that you just cannot detect them? 6.5

LO5, 6

Think about a topic you’ve recently read about and/or discussed in one of your subjects this semester. If you take on the role of critical consumer and creator of curriculum, how could you teach this topic to children or young people? 6.6

LO2, 4, 5

Viewing teachers (or students) as agents of change implies that things need to change. In relation to curriculum, what needs to change? 6.7

LO6

Make a list of affordances/advantages and a list of limitations/drawbacks to viewing curriculum as praxis. Which list is longer, and why do you think that is?

WEBSITES 1 ‘Why is my curriculum white?’ is a project of the National Union of Students in the UK. This

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initiative aims to draw attention to the white Western origins of our curricula and to question what needs to happen to better prepare students for our diverse, globalised world. Be sure to click on the link for the video embedded in the article: www.nus.org.uk/en/news/why-is-my-curriculum-white 2 ‘Teaching tolerance’ is a US-based site that has a myriad of resources, ideas and provocations for thinking deeply and differently about the curriculum, especially in relation to diversity, equity and justice: www.tolerance.org 3 The guide ‘Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in schools: A guide for school learning communities’ ‘aims to further equip our school leaders and teachers with more in-depth knowledge, understanding and skills to teach Indigenous and non-Indigenous students with confidence and without prejudice’: http://indigenous.education.qld.gov.au/SiteCollection Documents/eatsips-docs/eatsips_2011.pdf 4 ‘Rethinking schools’ is the homepage for an organisation that produces a journal by educators for educators, sells books and has a blog. The website offers thoughtful and thought-provoking ideas for teachers interested not only in improving education in their own classrooms and schools, but also in helping shape reform throughout the public school system: www.rethinkingschools.org

REFERENCES Aldridge, J & Fraser, B 2008, Outcomes-focussed learning environments: Determinants and effects, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam. Apple, M 1979/1990, Ideology and curriculum, Routledge, New York. Apple, M & Beane, J (eds) 2007, Democratic schools: Lessons in powerful education, 2nd edn, Heinemann, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Au, W 2012, Critical curriculum studies: Education, consciousness, and the politics of knowing, Routledge, New York. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2011, The shape of the Australian Curriculum — Version 3.0, ACARA, Sydney. Australian Curriculum Coalition 2010, Common view on the Australian Curriculum, ACC, Penrith. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) n.d., www.aitsl.edu.au. CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 215

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Beane, J 1997, Curriculum integration: Designing the core of democratic education, Teachers College Press, New York. Boyer, E 1995, ‘The educated person’, in J Beane (ed.), Toward a coherent curriculum, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Virginia. Curriculum Standing Committee of the National Education Professional Association 2007, Developing a twenty-first century school curriculum for all Australian students, CSCNEPA, Carlton, VIC. Drake, SM, Bebbington, J, Laksman, S, Mackie, P, Maynes, N & Wayne, L 1992, Developing an integrated curriculum using the story model, OISE Press, Toronto. Freire, P 1998, Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare to teach, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. Giroux, H & Penna, A 1983, ‘Social education in the classroom: the dynamics of the hidden curriculum’, in H Giroux & D Purpel (eds), The hidden curriculum and moral education: Deception or discovery?, McCutchan Publishing, Berkeley, California. Grundy, S 1998, ‘The curriculum and teaching’, in E Hatton (ed.), Understanding teaching, 2nd edn, Harcourt Brace, Sydney. —— 1987, Curriculum: Product or praxis?, Falmer Press, London. Harden, RM 2007, ‘Outcome based education: the ostrich, the peacock and the beaver’, Medical Teacher, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 666–71. Hendrick, J & Weissman, P 2007, Total learning: Developmental curriculum for the young child, 7th edn, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Jones, E & Nimmo, J 1994, Emergent curriculum, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, DC. Katz, L & Chard, S 2000, Engaging children’s minds: The project approach, 2nd edn, Ablex, Stamford, Connecticut. Kemmis, S & Grootenboer, P 2008, ‘Situating praxis in practice: practice architectures and the cultural, social and material conditions for practice’, in S Kemmis & TJ Smith (eds), Enabling praxis: Challenges for education, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam. Kemmis, S & Smith, TJ (eds) 2008, Enabling praxis: Challenges for education, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam. Kumashiro, K 2002, Troubling education: Queer activism and antioppressive pedagogy, Routledge Falmer, London. Lingard, B, Hayes, D, Mills, M & Christie, P 2003, Leading learning, Open University Press, Maidenhead, UK. Martin, JR 1983, ‘What should we do with a hidden curriculum when we find one?’, in H Giroux & D Purpel (eds), The hidden curriculum and moral education: Deception or discovery?, McCutchan Publishing Corporation, Berkeley, California. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) 2008, Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians, MCEETYA, Melbourne. —— 1999, Adelaide Declaration on national goals for schooling in the twenty-first century, MCEETYA, Melbourne. —— 1989, Hobart declaration on schooling, MCEETYA, Melbourne. National Union of Students 2015, Why is my curriculum white?, www.nus.org.uk/en/news/why-is-my-curriculum-white. Pinar, W, Reynolds, WM, Slattery, P & Taubman, PM 1995, Understanding curriculum: An introduction to the study of historical and contemporary curriculum discourses, Peter Lang, New York. Sachs, J 2003, The activist teaching profession, Open University Press, Maidenhead, United Kingdom. Salas, KD, Tenorio, R, Walters, S & Weiss, D 2004, ‘How am I going to do this?: guidelines for developing curriculum’, in KD Salas, R Tenorio, S Walters & D Weiss (eds), The new teacher book: Finding purpose, balance and hope during your first years in the classroom, Rethinking Schools, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Schwab, J 1969, College curricula and student protest, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Semali, L & Kincheloe, J (eds) 1999, What is indigenous knowledge? Voices from the academy, Falmer Press, London. Spady, WG 1994, Outcome-based education: Critical issues and answers, American Association of School Administrators, Arlington, VA. Tenorio, R 2004, ‘Curriculum is everything that happens: an interview with Rita Tenorio’, in KD Salas, R Tenorio, S Walters & D Weiss (eds), The new teacher book: Finding purpose, balance and hope during your first years in the classroom, Rethinking Schools, Milwaukee. Thorne, B 1993, Gender play: Girls and boys in school, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Wien, CA (ed.) 2008, Emergent curriculum in the primary classroom: Integrating the Reggio Emilia approach in schools, Teachers College Press, New York. Wiggins, G & McTighe, J 1998, Understanding by design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Vancouver. Wilks, S (ed.) 2005a, Designing a thinking curriculum, ACER Press, Camberwell, VIC. —— 2005b, ‘The visual arts as a thinking tool’, in S Wilks (ed.), Designing a thinking curriculum, ACER Press, Camberwell, VIC. Wilson, J & Jan, LW 2007, Focus on inquiry: A practical approach to integrated curriculum planning, Curriculum Corporation, Carlton South, Victoria.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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CHAPTER 6 The curriculum 217

CHAPTER 7

Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 7.1 recognise the connectedness of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting in a student-centred approach to learning 7.2 identify the different layers that inform curriculum work 7.3 acknowledge general principles that apply to planning for teaching and learning 7.4 be aware of what level of detail to consider when planning a lesson 7.5 be familiar with the backward design approach to planning 7.6 apply inquiry-based approaches to planning 7.7 differentiate planning to cater for student diversity.

OPENING CASE

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Planning for learning: thinking capacities for the twenty-first century Georgie is an early career teacher who recently transitioned from teaching primary school students at an inner-city government school in Melbourne to teaching at a remote community school in the Northern Territory. Her pre-service training ensured that she was well versed in planning lesson sequences and programs. Through coursework, she acquired awareness of practices such as those advocated by Robert Marzano and John Hattie, including: having a clear focus for the lesson and communicating this; establishing connections with prior learning; offering explicit instruction; making opportunities to apply new knowledge; and assessing and reviewing students’ learning. She had the opportunity to expand upon this knowledge through extensive professional learning opportunities at her first school as a graduate teacher, where there was a school-wide focus on the application of best-practice teaching strategies. Yet, for Georgie, what quickly became apparent was the need to accommodate the school’s mandated curriculum and syllabi, and above all to get to know her students and how they learn. Moreover, familiarisation with The Capability Framework (Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment 2013), which supports the effective teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who come to school speaking languages other than Standard Australian English, was essential. Rigorous attention to planning for learning is mandatory, but nothing can be achieved without a working knowledge of students. Through developing relationships with her students, Georgie got to know them and their interests, and utilised this knowledge in designing engaging lessons. This facet of teaching was even more important in the remote NT context, where many students come from challenging home environments and may have experienced trauma. It quickly became apparent that trust would have to be developed through relationships and predictable routines before any significant learning could take place. The school where Georgie worked utilised a prescriptive school-wide literacy and numeracy program (Direct Instruction modified script), outlining the order in which material was to be introduced. However, the program was much more effective when it was modified to accommodate student interest through games and the development of support resources that the children enjoyed using. For example, the system introduced phonemes in a particular order, and Georgie created sets of cards with illustrations of animals that the children recognised and enjoyed, and which they then used to practise their sounds. She firmly believes that effective teaching must be underpinned by data-based planning and information about what students know and what they need to learn next. However, she argues that equally integral is the building of trust-based relationships and ensuring that you not only know your students, but can read their mood, and are prepared to modify the content of delivery in order to achieve best outcomes for the students. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. According to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, knowing students and how they learn at graduate level requires teachers to demonstrate a broad understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (1.4). How have you approached the development of this understanding? 2. What other adjustments to her lesson planning might Georgie need to make when working in this remote community? 3. Access The Capability Framework (Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment 2013) (https://indigenousportal.eq.edu.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/eald-capability-framework.pdf) and note its relationship with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 2017).

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Introduction Planning is part of the daily rhythm of teaching, and as Deborah Britzman (2003) so cogently states, ‘practice makes practice’. For teachers, the ongoing challenge is to make students’ learning experiences both engaging and intellectually challenging. To do so requires careful attention to curriculum planning: decision-making about lesson content and resources, learning experiences, teaching strategies and methods, and assessment and reporting procedures. Planning also requires mindfulness of students’ cultural identities and differences in their physical, social and intellectual development. The opening case notes that planning starts with knowing your students — being responsive to their specific needs, interests and the local community. Georgie emphasises that knowledge and understanding of her students’ backgrounds and their life experiences are foremost in her thinking when planning lessons. As a pre-service teacher, you are likely to find that writing lesson plans that document the fine detail of your practice is very time consuming. Initially this attention to detail is essential, as lesson plans serve as a form of rehearsal for your teaching. Generally pre-service teachers find that their plans quickly become more refined and succinct as their confidence grows and lessons are viewed as part of the bigger picture of curriculum work. Although there is no blueprint for a successful lesson or unit of work, there are guiding principles, design approaches and frameworks to support planning processes that will be introduced and explained in this chapter. Planning for practice: Connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum

Curriculum, pedagogy assessment

Curriculum Pedagogy Assessment and reporting

Layers of curriculum planning: macro to micro

Some guiding principles for planning

The Australian Curriculum and state curriculums

Planning begins with knowing your students

International Baccalaureate and school programs

Planning requires attention to intellectual engagement Planning entails a critically reflective stance

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Planning must retain a degree of flexibility Planning should include entry points for student input and negotiation

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Planning at the microlevel: individual lesson plans

Planning a unit of work: a sequence of lessons

Strategic planning for lessons

What might a unit planner look like? Learning experiences

Inquirybased pedagogy

Inquiry as a systematic, sequenced study

Planning to differentiate the learning for student diversity Individual learning plans and contracts

The chapter begins by identifying planning for teaching as curriculum work and emphasising the interconnectedness of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. An explication of the layers of curriculum follows, and the impact of national, state and international curriculum approaches and frameworks is explored. The importance of including a focus on cross-curriculum priorities in addition to the learning areas and general capabilities is discussed. Factors are then identified that also need to be taken into account when planning at the whole-school, department and classroom interfaces. The Wiggins and McTighe (2011) ‘understanding by design’ approach to planning a unit is presented, and crossdisciplinary and inquiry-based approaches are discussed. The chapter concludes by observing that planning needs to be differentiated to respond to the range of student abilities, their interests, and cultural and community settings.

7.1 Curriculum, pedagogy, assessment LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.1 Recognise the connectedness of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting in a student-centred approach to learning.

Planning for learning is a multi-layered, complex process. As a pre-service teacher, your responsibilities will generally progress from planning for small-group contexts to whole-class lessons, and ultimately to the development of a unit of work or sequence of lessons in collaboration with your supervising teachers. The planning behind lessons when you were at school was probably not something you thought about very much. However, while you may have forgotten much of the specific content of what was taught (the curriculum) in the thousands of lessons you experienced as a student, you are very likely to remember how those lessons were taught: the social and the intellectual climate that your teachers created. Teachers’ work involves constant decision making around curriculum, pedagogy and the assessment, as you will now be aware, and the reporting of students’ learning as you will become increasingly aware as a practising teacher. Figure 7.1 shows the four connected components of pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and reporting that need to be considered when planning for learning. In this model, which embraces a constructivist approach, the learner is placed at the centre; that is, the model brings a student-centred focus to curriculum planning. Constructivism argues that meaningful learning occurs when people actively engage with making sense of their world. The term ‘learner’ in itself implies a degree of agency in the learning process that emphasises the taking of some responsibility for one’s own learning. In their book Understanding by design, Wiggins and McTighe (2005, 2011) raise the importance of pondering the difference between knowing and understanding. This focus on learner and learning raises questions for which there are no simple answers, such as ‘What does it mean to understand something?’, ‘How do we plan to support the development of students’ understanding?’ and ‘How will we know if our planning has assisted in students gaining understanding of something?’ These questions are revisited later in the chapter.

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Curriculum During your school placements you will become familiar with the curriculum frameworks and school syllabi that focus teachers’ planning. Essentially, lesson planning is curriculum work — a layer of curriculum planning. In chapter 6, curriculum was described as a term with many meanings; it was noted that it often gets used without being clearly defined or clarified. The Department of Education and Child Development, South Australia (2017), offers a comprehensive definition, referring to curriculum as: the core knowledge, understanding, skills and capabilities students should learn as they progress through school, which teachers use to: r plan student learning; r monitor and assess student progress; r report student progress to parents; and r support student well being. CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 221

FIGURE 7.1

Student-centred curriculum planning

Curriculum planning

Curriculum (what)

Pedagogy (how)

The student

Assessment (how well)

Reporting (where)

Source: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development [Victoria] (2009).

By contrast, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA 2015) adds a citizenship emphasis, referring to curriculum as ‘the common set of knowledge and skills that are required by all students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship.’ Later in this chapter, different layers of curriculum that can influence planning are considered, including the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. Over time you will determine your own definition of what constitutes curriculum, and in doing so you will decide what your priorities are in relation to how curriculum is planned, enacted and experienced.

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Pedagogy Pedagogy defines who you are as a teacher and is sometimes described very simply as the ‘art of teaching’. Your pedagogy is aligned to the beliefs you hold about learning and teaching, and it is this body of knowledge that defines you as a professional (Anderson 2005). These beliefs are grounded in both your professional and personal experiences of education. You will already be familiar with some educational theories that influence decisions you make about your practice, but your practice will also be informed by your own experiences of being a student. This involves a process of identifying, clarifying and justifying your theoretical beliefs about teaching and learning from what Clandinin and Connelly refer to as your ‘professional knowledge landscapes’ (1995). In essence, curriculum is what you teach and pedagogy involves how you teach and support students’ learning. Pedagogical decision-making impacts on the social and intellectual climate you create within the classroom and the type of learning that you promote. It will determine the discourses that are taken up and the tenor of the classroom interactions, and includes the way you question and work with student responses, as well as how you plan the learning experiences. Chapter 8 focuses on pedagogy’s connection with teaching with learning.

Assessment and reporting Accurate assessment of student learning is fundamental to making informed decisions about lesson planning. Assessment, however, has many guises, and these are elaborated in chapter 12. A fundamental 222

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difficulty with assessment is that everything students do has the potential to be assessed (Moss & Godinho 2007). While you need to be constantly monitoring the progression of students’ learning and engaging in spontaneous assessment opportunities during a lesson, you also need to plan some endpoint assessment. This will allow students to reflect on their learning and assist you in determining where the students are currently in relation to their learning, where they need to go and what you need to plan and do to get them there. Hence, there needs to be a blend of summative and formative assessment tasks that embrace both a creative and traditional mode, and enable students to demonstrate their learning in different ways. According to the New South Wales Education Standards Authority, opportunities should be planned and include: r assessment of learning (summative): using evidence collected at defined key points to assess student achievement against outcomes and standards, particularly for reporting purposes r assessment for learning (formative): gathering evidence about students’ knowledge, understanding and skills throughout the teaching and learning process to inform your future planning r assessment as learning: requiring students to monitor and evaluate what they know and can do, and to set goals for new learning. Planning is indeed a complex process. Online access to teachers’ programs and the My School (ACARA) website, which profiles a school’s academic performance in view of the most recent NAPLAN tests, makes teachers more publicly accountable for what and how they teach. Importantly, there is an increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice and the collection of student learning data to inform instructional strategies (Hattie 2012). This has meant that as teachers we need to be even more vigilant about the documentation of our work: the planning, assessment and reporting of students’ learning. Some approaches to curriculum design, such as Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005, 2011) Understanding by Design (UbD) and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary, Middle Years Programs and the Career-related Program (PYP, MYP & CP), advocate ‘frontloading’ the assessment. In the past, assessment was frequently an ‘add on’ at the end of the unit, with a quick test or assessment task being designed and administered. But when formal and informal assessment become an integral component of your curriculum planning, assessment is more likely to assess what it purports to measure, and thus to be considered valid (Cohen, Manion & Morrison 2007). As a practising teacher, you will be required to report students’ learning achievement to parents twice a year using a five-point scale or equivalent, consistent with the Education Funding Agreement between the states and the Commonwealth Government (Council of Australian Governments). Before you begin deciding the curriculum content, pedagogy and assessment that your lessons will include, you will need to consider other factors. The following list is far from definitive, but highlights possible factors that will influence your decision making about the lessons that you plan and teach. As you read the list of factors in figure 7.2, think of those that have influenced your planning of curriculum content, pedagogy and assessment during school placements. Also, add factors to the list that you think should be taken into consideration when planning for learning.

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FIGURE 7.2 r r r r r r

Factors that influence the planning of curriculum content, pedagogy and assessment

School policies School values Parental expectations School category: government, Catholic and independent Classroom settings: multi-age, composite or single grade Physical arrangement of space: open plan, shared teaching spaces, team teaching arrangements, Reggio Emilia classroom design

CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 223

r r r r r r r r r r r r r r

Teachers’ expertise and interests Teachers’ personal beliefs and understanding about learning and teaching Teachers’ self-efficacy (Bandura 1986) — their beliefs about their capacity to teach effectively Learning needs of students across the full range of abilities Timing: global, national and local contexts School location: inner city, suburban, regional, rural or remote Student learning styles Sociocultural diversity of students: linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds Class size and gender balance Students’ previous learning experience and prior knowledge Students’ interests ICT use as an instructional mode or to enhance learning of content and skills Student input to some aspects of planning High stakes testing such as the National Assessment Plan — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMMS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Think back to lessons at school that you found to be highly engaging. Were they also intellectually challenging, or were they engaging simply because they were classes where you had good fun? Think back to any classes (primary, secondary or tertiary) where your teachers/tutors made the lesson/tutorial content both intellectually challenging and engaging. What strategies did they use to achieve this outcome? To what extent have their practices influenced your planning for student learning? Which factors in figure 7.2 do you currently take into consideration when planning your lessons? Identify any factors that you think you should take into consideration for future planning.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

At the next team planning meeting you attend, consider factors that have an impact on the teachers’ planning for learning. Refer to figure 7.2, but also identify any other factors that impact on the team’s decision making.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.2 Identify the different layers that inform curriculum work.

There are multiple layers to planning for learning, as these early-career secondary and primary teachers respectively attest: At the system level we have core documents and essential practices that are not really negotiable. At the whole-school level there are often school foci or charter priorities that dominate the planning agenda. Within the year level unit or subject faculty there are expectations — often stated in terms of the way we have traditionally done it. As an individual teacher, I too have needs in curriculum planning. I have areas of interest, expertise and passion. I have topics for which I have extensive resources. I need to bring myself and my strengths into the classroom. In the primary context, it is not uncommon to have a team approach to planning. We use the Australian Curriculum as well as the International Baccalaureate PYP framework to guide our curriculum mapping 224

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within each subject area. We meet as a team at the beginning of each term to plan out the maths units, literacy focuses and unit of inquiry, and then also meet each week to take these overarching planners and break them down into lessons and learning intentions for the week ahead. The children’s interests and passions also guide us, especially when designing provocations for play-based learning and choosing texts and topics for literacy. Offering choice and student voice wherever possible can help bring the macro-level documents to life in a way that children find engaging and authentic.

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Generally, the beginning point for teachers is the macro-level of curriculum documents, or what the first teacher refers to as non-negotiable aspects. The lessons you plan need to fit within the bigger picture of school curriculum planning. For many schools, including all government schools, curriculum documentation or frameworks at national and/or state level define the essential content for school programs and the standards for student achievements across the learning areas (often referred to as subjects or disciplines). These standards or learning outcomes describe what students are expected to know and be able to do at a given year level or band. Curriculum is dynamic, so it is constantly being reviewed and revised in line with research, theorising of learning, policy initiatives and the current governing party’s positioning of education. This means schools are constantly mapping teaching programs to ensure that content descriptions and achievement standards are being explicitly addressed. Although constitutionally the states are autonomous, limiting national policy control over them, the momentum for a national curriculum has been ongoing for decades.

The Australian Curriculum and state curriculums The Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (ACARA) has developed an Australian Curriculum that coexists alongside the school curriculums developed by the states and territories. It states ‘the Australian Curriculum can be used flexibly by schools, according to jurisdictional and system policies CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 225

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and schedules, to develop programs that meet the educational needs of their students and that extend and challenge students’ (ACARA). As chapter 6 detailed, the three-dimensional Australian Curriculum addresses disciplinary knowledge, skills and understanding, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. These dimensions outline what will be learned from Foundation to Year 12. Disciplinary content draws on cross-curriculum priorities and general capabilities to provide rich learning experiences for students. Informed by the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008), ACARA (2013, p. 5) states that its curriculum seeks to promote equity and excellence and to support all young Australians to become ‘successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens’. The general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities are only addressed through the content of the learning areas. It is not intended that these three areas are always covered, but it is important to keep them in mind at all stages of curriculum planning in order to ensure they are considered for inclusion whenever appropriate. They are identified where they offer opportunities to add depth and richness to student learning via the content elaborations, which are provided to give teachers ideas about how they might teach the content. Icons are used to indicate where they have been identified in learning area content descriptions and elaborations. As a graduate teacher, your planning must demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and application of appropriate strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Close familiarisation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures priority’s conceptual framework is therefore mandatory. The overarching concepts of Country/Place, Culture and People are elaborated under the organising ideas (www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/aboriginal-and-torresstrait-islander-histories-and-cultures). The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) also offers some useful strategies for guiding your planning: www.aitsl.edu.au/deliver-iteprograms/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-education. r Disciplinary knowledge, skills and understanding and achievement standards are defined across eight learning areas: English, Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, The Arts, Technologies and Languages. r General capabilities encompass the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions identified as playing a significant role in equipping young Australians to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century: Literacy, Numeracy, Information and Communication Technology Capability, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Understanding and Intercultural Understanding. They are addressed through the content of the learning areas. r Cross-curriculum priorities are developed and applied through learning area content: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia. Each priority has three key concepts that are further developed through two or more organising ideas. r Achievement standards identify an expectation of the quality of learning (knowledge, skills and understanding) that students should typically demonstrate at the end of a year or band of years in schools Australia-wide. The Australian Curriculum defines achievement standards that describe the depth of understanding and the sophistication of knowledge and skill expected of students at the end of each year level or band of years. Work samples provided by ACARA and state curriculum communicate achievement levels that will guide you in making on-balance judgements about the quality of work students have achieved from the assessment data you collect. In any year level, the achievement standards provide a starting point for your curriculum planning. These standards assist you in determining where you want the students to be by the end of a lesson or unit before you think about planning their learning experiences. Schools also develop local curricula to meet the more explicit needs of their students, either directly from the Australian Curriculum or from state and territory curriculum documents that incorporate the Australian Curriculum. ACARA acknowledges that state and territory curriculum and school authorities are responsible for the translation of the Australian Curriculum in their schools, in line with system and 226

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jurisdictional policies and requirements. Essentially, the Australian Curriculum can be used flexibly by schools. Your supervisor will familiarise you with the curriculum documents that inform their school’s planning and what you will refer to when planning lessons or a unit or work. Although your planning will be mediated by the curriculum frameworks used by your school and their school-based syllabi, the pedagogical decision making is largely your responsibility. ACARA affirms that it is the classroom teachers who will organise learning for students and make decisions about the pedagogical approach that will give the best learning outcomes (ACARA 2013). The International Baccalaureate similarly delegates this responsibility to teachers.

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International Baccalaureate and school programs Although there are other curriculum frameworks, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is of particular significance. Founded in Switzerland in 1968, the IB now has global centres in The Hague, Netherlands, Singapore and Bethesda, USA. It aims to develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills that students require to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalising world. It offers four programs for students aged from 3 to 19 years: the Primary Years Program (PYP) for students aged 3 to 12, focusing on the development of the whole child; the Middle Years Program (MYP) for students aged 11 to 16, which both embraces and transcends traditional school subjects and focuses on the development of life skills; the Diploma Program (DP) — a two-year sequence of subjects that qualifies students for university entrance; and the Career-related Program (CP), which aims to prepare students professionally and academically for life beyond the school years. At the time of writing, IB programs had been taken up by 4787 schools in 151 countries, with 6310 programs being offered worldwide. The first Australian International Baccalaureate school was authorised in 1978, and there are currently 185 International Baccalaureate World Schools in Australia offering one or more of the four programs. (The International Baccalaureate website provides access to current facts and figures.) However, frequently these schools also address national and state curriculum learning outcomes or standards in addition to the IB curriculum guidelines. Despite attempts to regulate schools’ enactment of curriculum through centralised state and national frameworks, in effect curriculum remains reflective of the broader cultures in which schools are situated. A school’s culture continues to be determined by factors such as its categorisation (government, Catholic or independent); its location (metropolitan, regional, rural or remote); the cultural mix of students; the socioeconomic status of the students’ families; the gender of students (single sex or coeducational); and the leadership style within the school. Independent schools are less constrained by the requirements of government systems. This has enabled them to engage with alternative curriculum approaches (Godinho 2007) such as the International Baccalaureate, Reggio Amelia, Rudolph Steiner and Montessori curricula. Some government schools also opt for alternative curriculum approaches, as Georgie indicates in the opening case with her school’s Direct Instruction approach to literacy. These streams are still compliant with state system requirements. Working out from these curriculum documents or frameworks, governments and/or schools create a syllabus for individual subjects. The syllabus is a framework or map that provides a descriptive overview of a learning area within the curriculum (a curriculum subset): a ‘structured summary and outline of what should be taught and learned . . . a bid to shape and set the parameters of the curriculum’ (Queensland Studies Authority 2008, p. 11). Schools will make you aware of the documents that inform their practice and to what extent you need to take them into consideration when planning lessons. Figure 7.3 provides a summary of the curriculum layers. However, Luke, Woods and Weir agree that ultimately, curriculum documents and syllabi cannot control and micro-manage what takes place in the classroom, as this remains each teacher’s professional responsibility (Queensland Studies Authority 2008). Do you agree with their statement?

CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 227

FIGURE 7.3

Layers of curriculum development

National The Australian Curriculum identifies the subject content of what teachers are expected to teach and students are expected to learn for students from Foundation to Year 12. The Early Years Framework describes the principles, practices and outcomes that support and enhance young children’s learning from birth to five years of age, as well as their transition to school. State State governments develop their own curriculum organisers to define key content, and outline the achievement standards for students, with reference to the Australian Curriculum. International The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers a curriculum framework for students aged 3 to 19: the Primary Years Program (PYP), the Middle Years Program (MYP), the Diploma Program (DP) and the Career-related Program (CP). Given that IB is operative in 147 countries, if planning to travel and teach, knowledge of the IB World School approach to curriculum design could be advantageous. Other internationally recognised approaches used in some Australian schools include Reggio Emilia, Montessori and Rudolph Steiner. School School-based syllabi and outlines of what should be learned and taught: an official mapping of school subjects. This may include planning for one-year or two-year cycles at each year level; unit planning in key subjects/key learning areas; and scope and sequences that signal a continuum and focus for integrated, interdisciplinary approaches. Classroom Individual decision-making by classroom teachers with regard to implementing the curriculum includes selection of texts and resources, topic emphases, assessment of learning and, importantly, pedagogical decision-making. This necessitates attention to strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and those from other linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

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To increase your own awareness of the layers of curriculum, speak with your supervising teacher/teachers and use the following question prompts to guide a discussion about the school or early learning centre’s practices. Early childhood r What curriculum documentation or learning approaches inform the school’s planning? r How does the teaching team approach assessing, documenting and reporting the children’s learning? r What planning is undertaken by individual teachers? r How are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives considered within curriculum planning? Primary r What curriculum documents inform your school’s planning of the teaching and learning programs? r What mapping of whole-school teaching and learning programs has been undertaken to identify where content descriptions and achievement standards are being explicitly addressed? r What planning decisions are left to the class teachers? r How are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives considered within curriculum planning? r How do assessment or testing requirements impact planning?

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Secondary r What mapping of whole-school teaching and learning programs has been undertaken to identify where content descriptions and achievement standards are being explicitly addressed? r What curriculum documents inform your school’s planning of the teaching and learning programs? r What planning decisions are left to the class teachers? r How are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives considered within curriculum planning? r How do assessment or testing requirements impact planning?

7.3 Some guiding principles for planning LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.3 Acknowledge general principles that apply to planning for teaching and learning.

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As you read this section of the chapter, think about what principles might have guided your teachers’ curriculum planning. In addition to curriculum organisers that inform planning for practice, there are some generic principles that guide the process. While there is no substitute for the rigorous mental planning and decision making that goes into the planning process, overplanning can be as dangerous as underplanning (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu 2015). A principle that you no doubt have already identified is that planning should not be binding. With social media networks such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook providing access to world events as they unfold, there is an increasing need to seize the moment and be flexible with your planning. Being alert to teachable moments can enable students to connect their learning more meaningfully. In the photo below, a student uses their fidget spinner for problem-solving exercises in their numeracy problems, the teacher having recognised a teachable moment around a current student fixation with these popular devices.

CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 229

Planning begins with knowing your students Getting to know your students in a short time is challenging, but it is the starting point for your planning, as Georgie emphasised in the opening case study. Assessment data and profiles, including digital portfolios, can provide access to very helpful information about students’ learning and their achievement levels. Additional information can be gleaned from classroom observations and attentiveness to student conversations that will also help you understand the dynamics in the classroom and assist when grouping students. Some awareness of students’ preferred ways of learning is helpful for planning performance assessments and for making the learning experiences more relevant and engaging. You may find Howard Gardner’s (1993) theory of multiple intelligences (MI) (verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, musical/rhythmic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily/kinaesthetic and naturalistic) a useful tool for broadening your way of planning learning experiences. There are many online multiple intelligences surveys that you can access free of charge. The International Baccalaureate curriculum planner for the PYP and MYP includes pre-assessment of students’ learning to guide the planning process. The undertaking of pre-assessment allows you to map students’ levels of knowledge, thereby ensuring learning achievement standards and goals are appropriately pitched and that the planned learning experiences are relevant. There is nothing more deflating than hearing, ‘Not again. We’ve already done that.’ While more formal assessments such as a test or an explicit task may be appropriate, there are many informal strategies. A KWL is a graphic organiser that asks what a student knows (K), what they want to find out (W) and, after completion of the lesson or unit of work, what has been learned (L). It is one of many pre-assessment strategies, such as concept maps, graphic organisers and class discussions, that can serve to identify what students already know and assist in shaping the planning of a unit. These graphic organisers can be accessed at www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/ support/Pages/graphicorganisers.aspx. Depending on the age of your students, you could have a VIP student of the week. Criteria could be determined for sharing information about oneself, such as favourite foods, sports, heroes, celebrities, computer games, apps, websites, etc. What strategies have you used to find out about your students’ prior knowledge?

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Planning requires attention to intellectual engagement Despite the potential for productive learning outcomes, an innovative idea can amount to little more than a ‘fun’ activity if the required attention has not been paid to planning for learning. An individual lesson or unit must be relevant, engaging and, importantly, challenging for learners, that is both ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’ (Wiggins & McTighe 2011). As Lev Vygotsky (1979) attests, learning experiences need to fall within the students’ zone of proximal development (ZPD): the distance between what a student can do independently and what can be achieved with the guidance of an adult or a more capable peer. If there is no challenge, there is no learning; likewise, if the challenge is too great, students will lose interest and disengage. Collecting and maintaining assessment data as evidence of learning is essential to guide your planning. Given the range of abilities, developmental levels and achievement of learning standards, this will generally require differentiating the learning experiences in some way to keep students within their ZPD.

Planning entails a critically reflective stance The question ‘How will we know if our planning has assisted in students gaining understanding of something?’ was raised at the outset of this chapter. To answer this question you need to develop a critically reflective stance. It may surprise you, but the best learning often takes place when your lessons do not go according to plan — a situation all teachers experience regardless of their career stage. Doll (2002) describes teaching as ‘pedagogy of practice’, and Britzman (2003) reminds us that as teachers we are always in a state of ‘becoming’. If practice is to be transformative, as Doll encourages, critical reflection 230

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is mandatory. Too often, reflection amounts to no more than a vague commentary or thinking back over what happened ‘mechanically and ineffectively’ (Mason 2002, p. 17). It is not the active, persistent and systematic reflection that John Dewey (1938) referred to and it lacks the critical edge, which if acted upon has the potential to transform practice. Donald Sch¨on (1999) essentialised the term reflective practitioner and coined the terms reflection-inaction and reflection-on-action. The former refers to a complex inner dialogue that occurs during practice and may or may not be exposed to others. The latter refers to thinking back over practice after it has taken place. However, as Mason (2002) asserts, for reflection to be reflective, one’s sensitivity to ‘notice’ must be heightened. Reflection should focus on the effectiveness of the planned learning experiences in fulfilling the lesson’s objectives/learning intentions, the usefulness of the resources, the appropriateness of the pedagogical strategies, the intellectual engagement of the students and what follow-up will be required. Gauging the effectiveness of student learning necessitates what John Hattie (2012, 2014) refers to as making students’ learning visible, and Ron Ritchhart (2011) refers to as making students’ thinking visible. Using reflection to identify evidence of what has and has not been learned enables you to determine the impact of your teaching and whether students have gained an understanding of the lesson’s learning intentions. The gap between one’s intentions and the actual outcomes of one’s planning can be seen as an ‘axis of development’ (Mason 2002, p. 21) — the scope for transformation. Reflection also requires awareness of the cognitive processes that impact on your learning. The term metacognition was first used by Flavell (1979), and a proliferation of associated terms have subsequently emerged, for example, metacognitive awareness, metacognitive skills, self-regulation, metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive thinking. Metacognition entails both reflecting about what you know and self-regulating how you approach learning by asking appropriate evaluative questions, such as ‘What am I doing?’ and ‘Why am I doing it?’, Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985, p. 19) pointed out that it ‘is only when we bring our ideas to our consciousness that we can evaluate them and begin to make choices’. Wilson and Wing Jan (2008) outline three components to metacognitive thinking: 1. awareness: consideration of the learning processes and what was and could be done 2. evaluation: judgement about your thinking processes 3. regulation: drawing on your own knowledge and skills to plan, self-correct and set goals. While metacognitive awareness and metacognitive thinking about your planning and practice are essential, they are also applicable for students, as the Australian Curriculum identifies (Reflecting on Thinking Processes, the organising element of the Critical and Creative Thinking Capability). This will require embedding metacognitive instruction in your lesson content, making students aware of the usefulness of metacognitive activities, and sustained teaching and application to support student take-up (Veenman, Van Hout-Wolters & Afflerbach 2006).

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Planning must retain a degree of flexibility As teachers we need to seize the moment and connect learning with the real world and our students’ lives. Situations such as the weather can be taken into account with a back-up plan, but no level of detail can address the unexpected situations or classroom dynamics that may require planning to be put aside without notice, for example, fire drills, music and school play rehearsals, and unexpected visitors to the school. As you are likely to have already experienced, it is not uncommon for an activity to take longer than anticipated, students to be disengaged, or prior knowledge be insufficient for the task. As Flavell’s seminal work in the 1970s so cogently stated, ‘How well you understand something now may not be a predictor of how well you understand it later’ (1979, p. 907). Moreover, responding to our students’ needs, be they cognitive, social or emotional, is precursory to any significant learning taking place, as the opening case reminds us. These scenarios will continue to challenge you to think on your feet and be sufficiently flexible to digress from your original plan so that learning opportunities are maximised. CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 231

Planning should include entry points for student input and negotiation Garth Boomer (1992) has made seminal contributions to Australian Curriculum design and pedagogy (Green & Meiers 2013). He advocated strongly for student involvement in curriculum planning, but stressed that this should be negotiated. The word negotiation is critical, as there are always non-negotiable aspects of the curriculum. While Boomer’s model is mindful of the many constraints placed on teachers’ curriculum development, he argues that there are multiple entry points for the student’s voice, as research by Nadine Crane (2016) affirmed. Examples include: r choosing a topic for an individual inquiry within a unit of work based on an area of personal interest, but also connected with the topic and focus questions r selecting how the information for a project or inquiry will be sourced, such as the internet, reference books, interviews, multimedia texts and surveys r deciding how the findings of an inquiry or task will be processed and presented, such as a poster, video clip, PowerPoint presentation, talk, wiki, blog, website, written text or poem r giving input into writing the assessment criteria r making decisions about the format of the assessment performance task r determining what action the class or individual students might undertake at the end of a unit in response to some of the issues that emerge. Negotiating some aspects of the planning, even simply by offering some choices, gives students a sense of ownership and of taking responsibility for their learning. Importantly, the research has shown that opportunities to negotiate aspects of the curriculum provide motivation to learn (Shillinglaw 2001). Moreover, as Crane’s research reveals, Boomer’s ideas about giving students a voice in curriculum planning resonate with the Australian Curriculum’s Personal and Social Capability. What entry points for student input or negotiation will you include in your lesson/unit planning? The principles identified here as important considerations for curriculum planning and decision making are limited to some that are widely accepted. Over time, you will clarify more explicitly the principles that inform and guide your planning. This can happen through working collaboratively with colleagues to plan, teach, observe and refine class lessons, using some guiding protocols for the observations and follow-up dialogue. View an AITSL video clip that shows how these collaborations inform planning for practice. As part of your pre-service training, you may be required to record one of your lessons and then use this to reflect critically on the enactment of your lesson planning. The video, or edited excerpts, can then be shared with your supervisors and possibly those in your tutorial group to open up discussion about the effectiveness of your planning and pedagogy. The video may also be used as an illustration of practice to show competency in the Australian Professional Standards for Graduate Teachers (AITSL 2017).

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

As a practising teacher, critical reflection will continue to be an essential part of your curriculum work. Effective critical reflection on practice takes time and a commitment to practice: ‘practice makes practice’ (Britzman 2003). Use these reflective and metacognitive prompts to assist you in reflecting on the next lesson you give. Reflection r What evidence do I have that my learning intentions were met? r How did my prior knowledge about the students contribute to the lesson’s delivery and outcome? r How effective were my entry points for some student input and choice in relation to the learning tasks? r What adjustments did I need to make to my planning during the lesson? r To what extent was my lesson engaging and intellectually challenging for the range of students in the class?

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r Were the students able to engage in some metacognitive thinking about their learning during the lesson? Why/why not? Did I provide adequate opportunities for students to demonstrate what they learned in this lesson? Metacognition r How did my observations assist my judgements about students’ learning? r Did my planning processes have a positive impact on the lesson’s development? r To what extent have my reflections enabled me to consider a transformation of my lesson? How would that lesson differ if I repeated it? On your return to class, discuss the effectiveness of the prompts with your peers and refine them for future use.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Students also need opportunities to engage with metacognitive awareness and thinking. Include some questions in your planning to prompt students to reflect, adjust and explain their thinking behind choices, strategies and actions they have taken. These might include: ‘What do I know?’, ‘What do I want to know?’, and ‘What do I need to know?’ Refer to ACARA’s Critical and Creative Thinking capability, which requires students to think about thinking (metacognition). Reflect on actions and processes, and transfer knowledge into new contexts to create alternatives or open up possibilities.

7.4 Planning at the micro-level: individual lesson plans LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.4 Be aware of what level of detail to consider when planning a lesson.

Although there is no blueprint for planning, tertiary institutions generally provide a structural framework to guide lesson planning. Google the phrase ‘lesson planning’ and activities, teaching strategies and resources will be generated for any topic, subject and year level that you enter (see, for example, Education Services Australia, www.esa.edu.au). While these online lessons may provide useful starting points, the best planning for student learning requires specific knowledge about your students and the school community. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL 2017) articulates standards around planning for and implementing effective teaching and learning matched to teachers’ different career stages. The graduate stages will provide a useful reference point for you to work towards. Lessons can be matched explicitly to curriculum standards or learning outcomes. You may also find the hyperlinked Elaborations on the Australian Curriculum useful when planning. While curriculum documents will make clear what has to be taught to students, what they should learn and what will be the expected quality of that learning, classroom teachers are the people who will decide how best to organise learning for students.

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Strategic planning for lessons So what do your lesson plans look like? Your supervisor and the institution where you are studying will undoubtedly have their own expectations. But over time you will develop your own preferred way of planning. Initially you are likely to over-plan rather than be caught underprepared. Detail such as planning for fast finishers, rather than giving time fillers, will assist with management issues that can arise when students are marking time. As flagged in the introduction, daily plans will reduce in detail with time, but it is still essential that your intentions for the lesson be clearly defined and that you have a record of planning for accountability purposes. The proforma shown in figure 7.4 requires you to be reflective and thoughtful about your planning, so a series of questions are posed to guide the process. Planning, whether at the micro-level of lesson plans or the macro-level of unit planning, targets specific knowledge, skills and values/attitudes. These are identified in state or national curriculum CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 233

documentation, which defines the standards/learning outcomes students need to prepare them for further education, work and life, or in school-based curriculum learning outcomes. FIGURE 7.4

A lesson planning proforma

Learning area:

Year level:

Class size:

Time:

Curriculum connections (include standards, if relevant) _______________________________ Intended learning

What are my intended learning outcomes for this lesson? What knowledge, concepts, understandings and/or skills am I targeting? What explicit teaching will I undertake?

Assessment

What pre-assessment tasks will support the planning? How will I know that my intended learning objectives/outcomes have been achieved? What evidence will I collect to show students’ learning? (discussion, responses to questions, samples of work, presentations, written exercises etc.)

Prep (negotiation)

What planning can I do with others? How will I find out what the students already know? How will I build on their knowledge and experiences? How will I give students some ownership of the lesson by providing them with some choices within the lesson?

Procedure

Engagement: What will be a good hook to start the lesson? What will be an entry point that will grab their attention? How will I connect students with their past learning experiences and prior knowledge of the topic? How will I make the expectations and the intended outcomes for this lesson explicit? Learning experiences: What learning experiences will best develop the intended outcomes? What explicit instruction will I need to give? What examples might I need to show? What is the logical sequence of the learning experiences? How will I differentiate the learning experiences to include all students? What will I prepare for ‘fast finishers’? What time allocations do the learning experiences require? Classroom organisation: How will I set up the classroom for this lesson? What grouping arrangements will be the most strategic? What balance of whole class, small group and independent learning experiences will I use? Dialogue: What opportunities can I create for dialogue? What questions can I ask to encourage exploration of concepts and big ideas? What spaces can I make for student questions? Reflection: How will I get students to both demonstrate and reflect on their learning? Closure: How will I bring closure to the lesson? How will I ensure the room is ready for the next class?

Resources

What resources, including digital, will best support the lesson? What equipment do I need to organise and check before the lesson? What materials do I need to prepare?

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What other arrangements are necessary? (e.g. organising a speaker, notifying other teachers of changes to routine, room layout, checking online presentation links) Evaluation

What worked well? What would I modify? What would I do differently next time? Which students do I need to follow up? What do I need to build on in the next lesson? How can I use the assessment information to improve student learning?

Planning for outcomes Intended learning objectives generally refer to short-term statements or orientations about student learning outcomes that relate to the knowledge, capabilities/skills and attitudes/dispositions that you want students to acquire. Your intended outcomes for a lesson need to be clearly written statements that are relevant to the subject or learning area. They should articulate what you anticipate can be achieved in the 234

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given time. Wiggins and McTighe (2011) stress the importance of determining these intended outcomes before deciding on the learning experiences and teaching strategies. Objectives describe endpoints. Objectives may initially seem challenging to write, so ask your supervising teachers to assist you when first attempting to frame them. Think about what type of knowledge you want students to acquire. Anderson et al. (2001) provide four categories, which are described in table 7.1. TABLE 7.1

Cognitive knowledge dimensions

Knowledge dimension

Examples

Factual knowledge Basic elements students must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems

Knowledge of terminology and specific details

Conceptual knowledge Interrelationships among basic elements within a larger structure

Knowledge of classifications, categories, principles, generalisations, theories, models and structures

Procedural knowledge How to do something

Knowledge of skills, algorithms, techniques, methods and criteria for determining appropriate procedures

Metacognitive knowledge Knowledge of cognition in general and awareness of one’s own

Self-knowledge, strategic knowledge, contextual and conditional knowledge

Source: Adapted from Anderson et al. (2001).

Also helpful when you are writing lesson objectives are Anderson et al.’s (2001) categories of the cognitive process dimension. The six categories present a continuum of complexity. You will see how this continuum of cognitive complexity can also be used for framing questions in chapter 8. These levels are represented in table 7.2. TABLE 7.2

Cognitive levels of processing

Cognitive level

Processes

Verb stems

Recognising and recalling

Recall, name, state, define, repeat, list and identify

Interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarising, inferring, comparing and explaining

Rephrase, describe, reword, explain, illustrate, compare and infer

Executing and implementing: Applying/transferring what has been learnt to other situations

Apply, use, demonstrate, interpret, dramatise and implement

Differentiating, organising and attributing

Differentiate, compare and contrast, order, reason, draw conclusions and determine evidence

Remember Retrieving relevant information from long-term memory Understand

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Constructing meaning to demonstrate comprehension Apply Carry out or use a procedure

Analyse Breaking into parts to examine closely; organising ideas into logical patterns of understanding

(continued)

CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 235

TABLE 7.2

(continued)

Cognitive level

Processes

Verb stems

Checking and critiquing

Critique, judge, assess, decide, rate, evaluate, measure, predict, estimate and choose

Generating, planning and producing

Compose, propose, suggest, construct, invent, formulate, create and prepare

Evaluate Making judgements based on criteria and standards Create Synthesising or reorganising separate elements to create a new structure or pattern

Source: Adapted from Anderson et al. (2001).

The following examples, taken from www.sciencebydoing.edu.au, are from science units designed for students in Year 7 to show how the verbs can be used to frame learning objectives for units of work. Science of toys r Carry out an experiment to test the effect of different factors on the flight of a helicopter. Circle of life r Understand the features of an organism and then be able to match the organism with a particular environment. Enough water for drinking r Share ideas about water supply and use r Describe some Indigenous practices related to water management. Learning goals are carefully worded statements about curriculum intent embedded in state or national curriculum documents, or in school-based curriculum documentation. Be mindful that the terms goals, aims and objectives and learning outcomes are sometimes used interchangeably. However, generally, learning goals are perceived as broad statements of intent that inform your more explicit lesson or unit learning outcomes/objectives (McGee & Fraser 2012). The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL 2017) emphasises establishing challenging learning goals as a key focus area when planning for and implementing effective teaching and learning (3.1). The curriculum learning goals may be expressed as the student achievement standards defined by your state or the Australian Curriculum. For example, the science lesson about electricity connects with the Year 6 science achievement standard:

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They analyse requirements for the transfer of electricity and describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another to generate electricity (ACARA n.d.).

Skills acquisition is addressed within the content of the learning areas. The Melbourne Declaration (2008) identified essential skills for twenty-first century learners and these have been embodied in the Australian Curriculum as General Capabilities: literacy, numeracy, information and communication technology (ICT) capability, critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability, ethical understanding and intercultural understanding. The International Baccalaureate similarly views skills as interdisciplinary and has broad-based categories for identifying those they perceive as important for preparing students for success at school and for participation beyond in a global world: social skills, research skills, thinking skills, self-management skills and communication skills. Values, attitudes and dispositions are not necessarily interchangeable, but there are crossovers, as curriculum documents show. The Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008) cites honesty, resilience, empathy and respect as goals individuals should aspire to achieve. They are embedded within the Australian Curriculum learning areas, the general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. The IB refers to ‘attitudes’ that teachers are expected to foster in their teaching, and their PYP and MYP classes must target at least one of the following attitudes: appreciation, commitment, confidence, cooperation, creativity, curiosity, empathy, enthusiasm, independence, integrity, respect or tolerance. 236

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Resources can make or break a lesson plan or unit. Some schools are resource-rich; others resourcepoor. Yet, often resources that are available in schools go unused. Countless new items are catalogued, never to be borrowed. So do make yourself aware of what is available. Additionally, multiple resources can be readily accessed online. For example, Scootle (Education Services Australia 2017) is a national repository of 20 000 + digital resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum — see www.scootle.edu.au/ ec/p/home. It develops, shares and deploys nationally-owned education infrastructure and resources on behalf of the education ministers and is available to all Australian educators. Resource types include: interactive, image, audio, video, collection, teachers and text. AITSL also provides insights and suggestions for embedding tools and resources to promote Indigenous perspectives when planning. These are accessible from their website (www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources/resource/selecting-indigenous-resourcesillustration-of-practice). Examples of other digital resources you may find useful are: r interactive multimedia r interactive assessment r audio recordings r still images r video content. Resources play an essential role in planning for learning. With rich resources for teaching never before so readily available, gone are the days when textbooks alone sufficed. The effective use of resources requires planning so that they become seamlessly embedded and support students’ learning, rather than being an add-on that serves little purpose other than to entertain.

The teaching strategies or methods you choose will generally be consistent with your beliefs about how students learn. If, like Dewey and Vygotsky, you believe that knowledge is socially constructed, you will encourage opportunities for whole-class and small-group interactions. You will seek opportunities to scaffold the learning through questioning, explicit instruction, dialogue, drawing parallels to previous experiences and so on. CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 237

There can, however, be a dilemma between balancing curriculum decisions made by others and your own beliefs, values and orientations (Eisner 1982). Pre-service teachers sometimes lament that opportunities to implement their ideas are limited by a mismatch between their pedagogical practices and the school-based curriculum decision making. Summative and formative assessment of your lesson is needed to make judgements based on evidence of student achievement of the intended learning outcomes or objectives (summative) and inferences about student progress to inform future teaching (formative). Students also need opportunities to reflect on and monitor the progress of their own learning. These assessment practices are discussed in chapter 12. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Preparing lesson plans undoubtedly seems an onerous task at present. Yet you have probably discovered that there is no substitute for careful, rigorous lesson preparation. Checklists can be a saving grace when there is so much detail to address. However, there is an inherent danger of being reluctant to divert from the lesson’s structural framework, having invested so much time in the planning process. But remember, planning must be flexible. Recall a lesson where you have felt compromised in this way. What did you do? With hindsight, what could you have done differently?

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Use the following checklist as an audit tool for your lesson plans. Identify what aspects of planning you find challenging, and what it is you specifically need to refine or modify. r Have I consulted relevant curriculum frameworks and made explicit connections? r Are my intended learning outcomes clearly defined? r Have I decided what evidence I will collect to determine whether the lesson outcomes were achieved? r Have I included some way of students connecting with their prior knowledge and experiences? r Are there opportunities for some student input/choice? r Have I considered how I will set the room up to best use the learning spaces? r Have I considered student dynamics for the grouping arrangements I will use? r Is my lesson content inclusive of all students in the class? r Are the resources seamlessly embedded in lesson plans to support students’ learning, rather than simply being an add-on? r Have I considered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in this lesson? r Have I prepared some open-ended questions to focus discussions? r Have I considered how I will draw closure to the lesson? r Have I included opportunities for students to reflect on and articulate their learning?

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.5 Be familiar with the backward design approach to planning.

In your practicum placement schools, how do teachers go about planning their units of work? As a preservice teacher you are likely to progress from preparing individual lesson plans to devising a sequence of lessons that comprise a unit of work. There are different models used by schools, but two commonly used models are the objective model (Tyler 1949), and the backward design model (Wiggins & McTighe 2005, 2011). In brief, the objective model is a linear approach with four steps: 1. statement of the objectives 2. selection of the experiences that will develop the objectives 3. determination of how the experiences will best be enacted to meet the objectives 4. evaluation of the students’ achievement of the objectives. 238

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Tyler’s objective model, despite its age, continues to have a significant influence in curriculum development and planning for learning. Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) Understanding by Design (UbD) embraces a backward design approach. It is sometimes referred to as backward mapping (for example, Gilbert 2017). This model has received wide attention with its front-loading of assessment. Like Tyler’s rational-linear approach (1949), it first establishes the learning outcomes, objectives and standards, as shown in figure 7.5. In contrast to Tyler’s model, only three distinct stages are identified (outcomes, assessment and learning experiences) and assessment is addressed before the learning experiences. The design process is acknowledged as more fluid, with the design emerging from the context in which the curriculum is being constructed, as this assistant principal reveals: At the initial planning phase, we also devise common assessment tasks that will take place in the second half of the unit so that we can make summative assessments about the students’ development and allow for teachers to moderate. The bulk of the unit is planned after the ‘tuning in’ task has been completed so that we can drive the unit in the direction that meets the needs of the students, rather than set off on a predetermined path. FIGURE 7.5

UbD ‘backward design’ approach

Identify the objectives, learning outcomes and understanding goals that you want to achieve.

Determine what you will accept as evidence.

Plan the explicit teaching and learning experiences. Source: Adapted from Wiggins and McTighe (2005).

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For a detailed assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of different models of curriculum design, see Marsh and Willis (2007), and Brady and Kennedy (2007). Pasi Sahlberg (2011) attributes Finnish schools’ consistently high ranking in the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) to school-based and teacher-owned curricula. Effective teachers, according to Sahlberg, develop their own school-based curriculum units and programs drawing on mandated frameworks but catering for physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning.

What might a unit planner look like? Although you will begin by planning individual lessons, these lessons are generally part of a unit of work. There are many ways to document planning a unit of work. Carol Ann Tomlinson (2013) uses the acronym KUD to emphasise that essentially a unit must initially identify: r what you want students to know (facts, vocabulary, definitions) r what you want students to understand (principles, generalisations, big ideas of a discipline) r what you want students to do (processes and skills). Figure 7.6 presents one example of a unit planner proforma for you to consider and can be used either as a single subject unit planner or as a cross-disciplinary unit planner. The planner’s sequence of CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 239

learning accords with the e5 instructional model (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development [Victoria] 2017) and the 5Es Teaching and Learning Model advocated by the Australian Academy of Science for the Primary Connections linking science with literacy (2017). Schools, however, may have their own specifications and inclusions, as the opening case study indicated. Cross-disciplinary approaches to planning are discussed later in the chapter. FIGURE 7.6

Example of unit planner proforma UNIT TITLE

Intended outcomes What curriculum (standards/learning outcomes, subject/course/program objectives) goals will this unit address? What cross-curriculum priorities will be addressed? Topic Year level

Duration of unit

Subject(s)

Concepts

Enduring understandings The overarching big ideas that frame the unit

Essential questions Open ended questions that provoke thinking and deepen understanding

Student expectations At the end of this unit: What key knowledge should we expect students to have? What should we expect students to be able to do (general capabilities addressed through the learning areas that include thinking skills, ICT skills, communication skills, self-management skills and research skills, etc.)? Students should know . . .

Students should be able to . . .

ASSESSMENT SUMMARY (ongoing: for, as and of learning) What evidence will we collect to show learning? What strategies can we use to cater for variances in learning styles and progress? How can we provide opportunities for self, peer, teacher and parent assessment? Pre-assessment:

Task(s) description:

Summative assessment task Formative assessment opportunities

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Resources What resources will best support students’ learning? The sequence of teaching and learning experiences Engage How will we create interest and stimulate students’ curiosity in the topic? What tasks will assist students to express what they know about the knowledge, concept or skill being developed, and assist them to make connections between what they know and the new ideas?

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Focus questions Questions to provoke curiosity and interest

Explore What hands-on tasks will support students to generate and investigate questions?

Focus questions Questions to focus students on learning and the learning process

How will the learning tasks enable students to gather and process new information that challenges their existing knowledge and understandings? Explain How will students communicate what they know and understand, and demonstrate the new skills they have learned? What strategies will assist students to connect and organise new and existing knowledge? Elaborate What tasks will enable students to apply what they have learnt to new situations to develop a deeper understanding of the skill/s or concept/s? Evaluate How will students evaluate and reflect on their learning? How will we evaluate students’ learning and the effectiveness of the unit? How will we guide students to identify future learning goals?

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An interdisciplinary unit focus How will students take personal and collective action? How can students relate their learning to real-life situations?

At the beginning of the chapter, one of the questions posed was ‘How do we plan to support the development of students’ understanding?’ Wiggins and McTighe’s UbD framework for designing performance assessments and instruction seeks to provide this support level. It is designed around six facets of understanding: 1. being able to explain 2. being able to interpret 3. being able to apply 4. having perspective 5. being able to empathise 6. having self-knowledge about a given topic. The ‘backward design’ approach determines the assessment and what will be accepted as evidence of learning before the learning experiences are detailed. This is consistent with the emphasis on standards and outcomes-based learning in state and national curriculum organisers. Concepts are often the starting point for planning a unit. They underpin enduring understandings/big ideas. Lynn Erickson (2008, p. 30), an advocate of concept-based learning, defines a concept as ‘a mental construct that is timeless, universal in application, and abstract (to different degrees)’. Although specific examples may change, the attributes of a concept remain unchanged. Some curricula are specifically concept-based, such as the International Baccalaureate’s PYP and MYP. The rich concepts that drive the PYP are: form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, responsibility and reflection. To deepen students’ understanding, these concepts are constantly revisited in the units that comprise a school’s program for learning from Kindergarten to Year 6 and are always embedded in the unit’s central idea (enduring understanding). In the MYP there are just three fundamental concepts: (1) intercultural awareness, (2) holistic learning and (3) communication. Teachers, however, may identify additional subject-based concepts to focus student learning. CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 241

Enduring understandings is a term often used for big conceptual ideas or what the International Baccalaureate terms ‘central ideas’. They are generally abstract in nature and express what is important for students to understand in a unit (Wiggins & McTighe 2011). Erickson refers to enduring understandings as generalisations. She defines them as ‘deeper transferable ideas that arise from fact-based studies’, which express ‘statements of conceptual knowledge’ (Erickson 2008, p. 83). These are often written by teaching teams because, although the statements look deceptively simple, they require deliberation to ensure they drive the learning experiences and clarify what it is you want your students to learn. An enduring understanding is about ‘uncoverage’, that is it ‘has to be worked through and validated as an appropriate and helpful conclusion’ (Wiggins & McTighe 2005, p. 132). Writing these enduring understandings generally involves intense discussion and debate that energises professional dialogue. Figure 7.7 demonstrates some examples for different subject-based units and transdisciplinary units of work. FIGURE 7.7

Subject-based examples of enduring understandings

A mathematics unit on statistics Statistics can both conceal and reveal information. Statistical analyses reveal patterns that assist government planning. A science unit on water Removing vast amounts of water from watersheds has the potential to destroy ecosystems. A history unit on early settlement of Australia The lifestyle, culture and survival of Indigenous Australians were threatened by the arrival of European settlers. An interdisciplinary unit: ‘immigration’ There are both overt and invisible barriers for people wishing to make Australia their new home.

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An interdisciplinary unit: ‘identity and difference’ Personal identity is shaped by one’s culture, by groups and by institutional differences.

In this approach to unit design, the teachers identify specific knowledge and skills that they want the students to acquire, in addition to meanings they will make. Essential questions describe open-ended questions that focus discussion and learning in a unit of work (Erickson 2008; McTighe & Wiggins 2013). McTighe and Wiggins (2013, pp. 5–6) have three criteria for essential questions — they: 1. are broad in scope and universal by nature (e.g. what is justice?) 2. reflect the key inquiries within a discipline (e.g. to what extent are current global weather patterns typical or unusual?) 3. are what students need for learning core content. Generally the criteria work alongside the enduring understandings. As the examples indicate, these are questions that are not easily answered and are returned to regularly over the course of a unit to guide students’ thinking ‘beyond the facts to the generalisations and principles that form the deep transferable understandings of a discipline’ (Erickson 2008, p. 188). As Erickson suggests, they are easier to write once the enduring understandings have been written. For example, the essential question for the enduring understanding of ‘the significant contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the present and past are acknowledged locally, nationally and globally’ could be ‘how are the significant contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, both present and past, acknowledged locally, nationally and globally?’ This example is drawn from the Australian Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priority, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, and frames an inquiry unit, ‘Fire: A burning question’, developed by Gordonvale State High School, a government school located south of 242

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Cairns in Queensland (www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islanderhistories-and-cultures/illustrations-of-practice/fire-a-burning-question). The questions and the understandings focus on students’ meaning-making. Focus questions are also framed to take the students from the factual to the conceptual level of thinking as the unit develops. While not losing sight of the importance of big questions, you will need to ask a range of more specific questions, some of which will simply focus on recall of factual information, as it is facts that underpin the formation of big ideas. The role of questioning and the different types of questions that you can ask are discussed in chapter 8.

Learning experiences This is where teachers like to start the planning, but if the learning is to be purposeful (that is, develop and deepen students’ conceptual understanding of the topic), first the framework needs to be in place. Ongoing monitoring and assessment of the students’ learning will determine when explicit instruction is required in relation to developing the relevant knowledge, skills and concepts. An audit of the unit should reveal the connectedness of these learning experiences to the enduring understanding(s), and what it is you want students to know and do.

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Cross-disciplinary and integrated approaches Thinking back to your schooling, was curriculum taught in discrete subjects or did your teachers attempt to integrate the subjects? Curriculum can be placed on a continuum of design options from disciplinebased learning to the entire curriculum planned around this orientation. Phenomenon-Based Learning (PhBL) has a central place in Finland’s National Curriculum Framework (NCF). PhBL is a move away from subject-specific domains towards inter-disciplinary topics. Despite a very slight decline in recent international test score rankings, Sahlberg (2015) states: ‘educators in Finland think, quite correctly, that schools should teach what young people need in their lives rather than try to bring national test scores back to where they were.’ NCF states that students must be involved in the planning of phenomenon-based study periods, and that they must have a voice in assessing what they have learned from it. In Australia, integration attempts, although both demonised and defended by educators, have generally received systemic endorsement in contemporary Australian Curriculum frameworks and the International Baccalaureate’s PYP and MYP. The Australian Curriculum Framing Paper (ACARA 2012) states: ‘Rather than being self-contained or fixed, disciplines are interconnected, dynamic and growing. A disciplinebased curriculum should allow for cross-disciplinary learning that broadens and enriches each student’s learning.’ It is therefore likely that at some point in time you will be involved in designing units of work that cross the subject (discipline) divides, or you may have already done so. Essentially these units are organised around a topic that is open-ended and meaningful developmentally to the learners; involves two or more disciplines; focuses on the development of big conceptual ideas; and has content that is relevant to the students’ lives. Primary teachers, by virtue of being generalists, have long embraced approaches that plan across the learning areas, as this assistant principal’s comments reveal: Planning is a vital part of curriculum delivery at my school. With between six and eight class groups at each level, we need to ensure consistency whilst allowing for individual teachers to have some flexibility. We use the ‘eUnit planner’, a fantastic tool that provides a structure for us to build our units. Teams begin with topics that have been devised on a two-year cycle that follows the essential ideas in our system-level curriculum documents. A series of key concepts are then developed as statements of understanding.

Subject-oriented secondary teachers have been less inclined to embrace cross-disciplinary curriculum, although it is sometimes used to address disengagement in the middle years (see Beane 2006). Resistance CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 243

can in part be attributed to seeing their role as gatekeepers acting to ensure that discipline knowledge is not devalued, diluted or subsumed. Resistance has also been attributed to pragmatics: r the intellectual challenge of developing conceptual understandings that cross subject boundaries to create a connected, cohesive curriculum (Godinho 2017; Shulman & Sherin 2004) r the complexity of designing assessment tasks across subjects and the lack of professional development to support teachers in integrative curriculum planning processes (Shulman & Sherin 2004). Yet the experience of cross-disciplinary planning can be very positive, as comments by a Year 8 student reveal when talking about the unit Reality Bites, which addressed the concept of ‘reality’ from the subject perspectives of science, English, religion and media studies: the most amazing rich discussion that opened us up to what was happening in science and religion and media and you know the links between them became very obvious. But the depth to which we were trying to wrestle with what reality actually was I think reassured us that we could build something quite meaningful around this for a unit about ‘reality’. Science mostly doesn’t interest me personally but when they bring in stuff like that — like it forces you to think, it really challenges you and it kind of pushes you to your limit and so you think well hang on there could be something more that I’m not thinking about. And in a way it sort of forces you to think about it. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Use the SWOT analysis strategy to explore your thinking about cross-disciplinary approaches to planning for learning. r Strengths: What do you perceive as the advantages in planning a cross-disciplinary unit rather than planning within the subject/discipline boundaries? r Weaknesses: What do you perceive as the possible disadvantages in approaching planning for learning this way? r Opportunities: How might cross-disciplinary approaches assist students’ engagement with learning? r Threats: What do you perceive as possible trouble spots in relation to students’ learning when implementing cross-disciplinary curriculum?

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Familiarise yourself with the AITSL standards at graduate level (www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards) and use the following standards to inform your planning for learning. Ask your supervising teacher to use these standards to discuss and give feedback for the lesson sequence you plan. 1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. 2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote

reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages. Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

3.1 Establish challenging learning goals Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. 3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs Plan a lesson sequence using knowledge of student learning, content and affective strategies. 3.3 Use teaching strategies Include a range of strategies. 3.4 Select and use resources Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.

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3.5 Use effective classroom communication Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement. 3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning (AITSL 2017).

7.6 Inquiry-based pedagogy LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.6 Apply inquiry-based approaches to planning.

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What examples have you seen in classrooms of students undertaking inquiries? Inquiry can be undertaken in its many guises from preschool years to Year 12, and the model or type of inquiry may vary across subjects. In science, the inquiry is likely to be inductive and begin by exploring a puzzling scenario that leads students to an explanation through a process of discovery. By contrast, in the humanities an inquiry is more often a deductive approach initiated through a problem or an issue. An inquiry may also be a negotiated aspect of a topic that students wish to know more about. In the primary years there needs to be a strong focus on the development of skills such as predicting, hypothesising, generating questions, engaging in dialogue and synthesising findings. The IB’s PYP recognises that students from Kindergarten onwards can engage in simple inquiries; likewise, the Reggio Emilia preschool philosophy encourages children to undertake extended exploration and problem solving — a form of inquiry. An example of a three-year-old’s inquiry is the topic ‘Shadows and Reflection’ around the central idea ‘shadows and colour come from light’. An example of a four-year-old’s inquiry is the topic ‘Families and Friends’ around the central idea ‘People need family and friends’.

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Inquiry is a systematic, sequenced study, a dispositional way of thinking and a dialogic discourse. Linda Darling-Hammond, in conversation with Maxine McKew (McKew 2014), stressed that at the rate new knowledge is created, transmission teaching does not prepare students for active participation in today’s world. She asserted that ‘we must teach in ways that allow students to do a lot of inquiry while learning facts and engaging with concepts so the habit of inquiry, of making sense [of the world] and thinking creatively become so deeply ingrained that they greatly exceed us in their capacity for problem solving. Essentially inquiry-based pedagogy emphasises: r process over content r conceptual understanding r student-initiated questioning r dialogue as a means of deepening thinking. (The dialogic stance is discussed in chapter 8.) Inquiry or discovery learning has been a focus of science curricula since the late 1950s (Chiarelott 2006) and a firmly established practice in Australian science, humanities and personal development curriculum frameworks since the 1980s. However, an inquiry-based approach to learning must be rigorous and not simply adjust to the near occasion in that it amounts to little more than students doing project work (Godinho & Wilson 2004).

Inquiry as a systematic, sequenced study An inquiry can involve a whole class, a small group or an individual student. Within a planned crossdisciplinary unit, opportunities may be created for students to negotiate their own inquiries about an aspect of the topic they wish to explore further or an issue/problem they have identified. Regardless of how the inquiry is generated, it is essential that students are involved in the decision making. There have been numerous inquiry models published for Australian educators, particularly focused at the primary level, that identify different stages as a way of guiding students through an investigation (see, for example, Hoepper 2017; Murdoch 2015; Murdoch & Hornsby 1997; Pigdon & Woolley 1992; Victorian Schools Division, Curriculum Branch 1987). Table 7.3 identifies frequently used stages for planning an inquiry. TABLE 7.3

Stages and purposes for an inquiry

Inquiry stage 1. Engagement and tuning in

Purposes To identify and define the issue or topic To generate interest To determine students’ prior knowledge and attitudes

2. Determining directions and organising ourselves To choose a focus for the inquiry To identify guiding questions and formulate a hypothesis or proposition To scope the inquiry and formulate a plan of action To determine sources for seeking required information

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3. Researching and acquiring information

To collect and synthesise information To compare and contrast information

4. Drawing conclusions

To interpret the information To present and communicate the understandings and conclusions that have been drawn

5. Taking action and reflection

To take action that makes some connection with the school, home and/or wider community To set goals for future learning based on self-assessment and reflection

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Although the defining of stages and their explicit purposes provides a useful structure inquiry is rarely a linear process, and the stages are often revisited. Reflection, for example, occurs at every stage, and this may lead to adjustments to the directions and organisation of the inquiry. The 5E inquiry-oriented model has gained widespread curriculum and systems endorsement in Australia and the United States at both primary and secondary levels (see Australian Academy of Science, www.science.org.au), and this too delineates teaching and learning stages (engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate). Taking some action following an inquiry is consistent with the IB’s PYP and MYP planners, and the Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, which advocates for students to be active and informed citizens. Inquiry can also be undertaken as a community of inquiry — a philosophical approach to learning for primary and secondary students (see, for example, Lipman 1988; Splitter & Sharp 1995; Cam 2006) that supports the development of students’ critical thinking skills. While this is highly recommended, it does require teachers to undertake some training. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Inquiry is a process that involves active learning. Inquiries are undertaken by early childhood, primary and secondary students, albeit the focus will need to be adjusted accordingly. Inquiries can be discipline focused or they can be cross-disciplinary. They can also be problem- or issue-based, action-driven, negotiated or even play-oriented (Wilson & Wing Jan 2009). What approaches to inquiry-based learning have you seen implemented in schools? How will your planning ensure that inquiries are more than another project?

7.7 Planning to differentiate the learning for student diversity

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.7 Differentiate planning to cater for student diversity.

In what ways have you evidenced teachers catering for the diversity of learners in their classrooms when planning a sequence of lessons or a unit of work? In any mainstream class there will be differences in students’ cognitive, social and emotional development. Issues of inclusivity that arise from these differences were addressed in chapter 5. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL) make explicit that it is no longer acceptable for classrooms to plan and function as a ‘one size fits all’ model (Sizer 2004). Teachers are required to differentiate teaching to meet the specific needs of students across the full range of abilities, and to implement strategies that are responsive to linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic differences. Cultural and linguistic knowledge about students’ backgrounds is critical, given their impact on how students interact and how they tend to process and use information (Alberta Education 2010). Moreover, the Australian Curriculum acknowledges the need for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students ‘to see themselves, their identities and their cultures reflected in the curriculum across all learning areas so that they can they can fully participate in the curriculum and build self esteem’ (ACARAb). In chapters 5 and 8, the discussion about the eight Aboriginal ways of learning (Yunkaporta 2009; Yunkaporta & Kirby 2011) offers insights into pedagogies that will support your lesson planning for Indigenous Australian students. Differentiated teaching is one of ten high-impact teaching strategies (HITs) identified when ranking teaching strategies according to contribution to learning, by experts such as John Hattie and Robert Marzano (Department of Education and Training, Vic 2017). Carol-Ann Tomlinson (1999, 2017), a renowned expert and early advocate of differentiated teaching, believes students can still learn the same content and essential skills, but approach their learning in different ways (Tomlinson & McTighe 2006). That is, by adjusting the teaching of curriculum content to meet the learners’ individual needs, students can take different pathways to the same destination. CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 247

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Differentiating the learning experiences therefore begins with getting to know individual students and recognising that they differ according to: r cognitive abilities, including students’ current level of understanding and ability in relation to a particular topic or skill r prior learning experiences, learning styles and preferences r motivation and engagement with learning r interests and talents (New South Wales Educations Standards Authority n.d.). Tomlinson notes that differentiation can take the form of multiple approaches to content (what students learn), process (how students make sense of information and ideas), and product (demonstration of learning) in academically diverse classrooms (Tomlinson 2017). She also suggests that when planning for differentiated instruction, a continuous blend of whole-class, small group and individual instruction be included, so that the class comes together regularly to review and share their learning. Elements you might already document in your planning include: r devising a pre-test to inform the planning of learning experiences r making explicit the ongoing formal and informal assessment r presenting information in multiple ways r offering choice in the format used for a final project or performance r setting open-ended tasks that allow students to work at different levels and paces r using group and targeted interventions to remediate learning difficulties r assessing student work against prior achievements rather than against other students’ work. There are some very accessible approaches that you can gradually introduce to your planning over time, such as negotiating some aspects of the learning (as mentioned earlier); taking into consideration students’ different intelligences and learning styles when planning learning experiences; offering choices about the method or format of learning performances for assessment; and using individual contracts or learning plans. In differentiating the learning experiences, the aim is to assist the learning process and to maximise opportunities for each student to experience success. Importantly, as John Hattie emphasises, every child deserves one year’s growth for a year at school, no matter what their starting point (Hattie 2012; Hattie, Master & Birch 2016). View the TeachingACEnglish video to see how planning can be undertaken — see www.teachingacenglish.edu.au/differentiation/overview/differentiation.html. Learning styles or preferred ways in which students more readily process information are broadly referred to as ‘visual’, ‘linguistic’, ‘kinaesthetic’ and ‘technological’. Howard Gardner’s framework of multiple intelligences (1993) differentiates specific abilities, and provides a useful tool for teachers when planning learning tasks. His ways of knowing counter the very narrow definition of intelligence based solely on a mathematical and linguistic perspective. Gardner argues (Lazear 1995, p. 3) that: r intelligence is not fixed r intelligence can be learned, taught and enhanced r intelligence is a multidimensional phenomenon that is always present at multiple levels of your brain/ mind/body systems. When planning assessment for a unit of work, it is important that students have the opportunity to show their learning in different ways, rather than a traditional reliance on the written or verbal/linguistic format. This is discussed further in chapter 12. In reading table 7.4, determine where your abilities lie and your preferred ways of expressing your learning. TABLE 7.4

Using multiple intelligences to plan for learning

Ability/way of knowing Verbal/linguistic

248

Identifiers

Learning activities

A facility with written and spoken words and a capacity to use language to communicate.

Debates, public speaking, written essays, report writing, learning logs and journals, poetry, storytelling and plays

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Ability/way of knowing

Identifiers

Learning activities

Logical/mathematical

Skilful with logic, abstractions, reasoning and numbers. Able to perform complex calculations.

Deductive and inductive reasoning, pattern games, computer programming, graphing, charts, logical and rational exercises, cognitive organisers and time lines

Visual/spatial

Skilful at imagining and representing something graphically. Able to visualise and manipulate images.

Mind maps, murals, graphic representations, flow charts, map making, sculpting, painting, drawing, photography, filming, video recording and computer games

Bodily/kinaesthetic

A capacity to learn when moving around, and participating in physical activities such as acting, performing and constructing.

Role-play, dramatisation, human tableaux, dance, lab experiments, charades, body language and gestures, mimes, physical routines and exercises, impersonations and inventions

Musical/rhythmic

A greater sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones and music.

Songs, raps, composing, orchestrating music and analysing musical structures

Interpersonal

Sensitivity to others’ moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations, and ability to work cooperatively within a group.

Interviews, people searches, blogs, group work, role play, conflict resolutions, and think, pair, share

Intrapersonal

Self-reflective and capable of understanding one’s own thinking, emotions, goals and motivations.

Setting goals and priorities, personal histories, personal scenarios, diaries and logs, and autobiographical writing

Naturalistic

A greater sensitivity to nature and one’s place within it.

Caring for, taming and interacting with animals, nurturing and growing things

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Individual learning plans and contracts Individual learning or education plans (ILPs and IEPs) are a targeted educational program for students who have been identified as having specific needs. This may include students receiving support from the Special Education Section, students in care, students referred to Student Support Services, and students accessing support through the Indigenous Numeracy and Literacy Consultant. ILPs typically define what needs to be taught, record achievement goals, note curriculum and pedagogical adaptations, and provide guidelines for instruction and participation (Foreman 2007; Palmieri & Godinho 2014). The planning and development of ILPs is challenging (Burgess & Kelly 2013), so this will generally involve you in collaboration with the teaching team, parents/carers and other relevant services and agencies. ILPs are flexible and are regularly monitored, reviewed and evaluated with regard to the specific goals that have been identified. Policies and practices regarding ILPs vary across the Australian states and territories. The Australian Capital Territory Education and Training website provides guidelines and information about the process of developing an ILP — see www.ainslies.act.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/238148/ ILP_guidelines.pdf. For Aboriginal students, Personal Learning Plans (Commonwealth of Australia 2017) and Personal Learning Pathways (NSW Government Education Public Schools) are used to identify, organise and apply personalised approaches to learning and engagement that are developed in partnership with students, their parents or carers. Likewise, these performance goals and approaches are subject to ongoing monitoring and review. Where they are in use, marked improvements in attendance, engagement and academic performance are often reported (Commonwealth of Australia 2017). Contracts can demonstrate to students that you want to involve them in decision making about their learning. A learning contract is a written agreement between the teacher and the learner, in which the CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 249

learner agrees to complete tasks in a prescribed time frame. It can be undertaken at any year level with the structural format and content modified accordingly. Contracts can include some choice regarding learning activities; presentation format for a project; use of resources; the topic for an inquiry; and performance assessment. Contracts can also be a helpful way of maintaining a record of what each student has agreed to do when undertaking some independent form of project or research. The emphasis is on negotiation and this indicates there are constraints such as fulfilling curriculum requirements and addressing standards. For example, the International Baccalaureate programs (PYP, MYP and CP) invite students to engage in individual inquiries, but these are within ‘the lines’ or the parameters for the inquiry that have been determined and documented in the program planner. Negotiable and non-negotiable aspects of contracts need to be established from the outset. Contracts can be a useful way to plan time to work with individual students or small groups of students without having to direct the rest of the class. They do, however, require careful management, so be mindful to: r start small r make the purpose of the contract clear r familiarise students with the process r have realistic time lines r renegotiate the contract if necessary r schedule conferencing times r seek student feedback on the process. View the video clip on the AITSL Standards website in which a teacher working with a guided reading group demonstrates differentiated teaching that includes contract tasks: www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources/ resource/guided-reading-illustration-of-practice. FIGURE 7.8

Example of inquiry contract from Wilson and Cutting (2004)

Inquiry contract Name: __________________ Proposed topic for inquiry The connecting enduring understanding or essential question Why I want to explore this topic (justification) Prior knowledge: What do I already know? The focus questions (2–3) Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

The resources I will use to seek information My proposed plan of action to answer questions Timeline for completion How I will present and communicate my findings

Student signature

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Teacher signature

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Parents may also be participants in a contract, and this can be a very strategic way to involve parents and keep them informed of actions you have planned to support their child. Similarly, individual learning plans can be planned for students who are assessed as requiring a modified program. There are other ways to differentiate learning, such as learning centres and planned interventions for students at the point of need. You can explore these over time to build a repertoire of strategies for differentiating your curriculum. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Offering choices so students can engage with preferred ways of showing their learning, using contracts, designing individual learning plans, and adjusting the content and its delivery for different learning levels are all possibilities that can be embedded in your planning. How is diversity catered for in your placement school? What provision are you currently making in your planning for the diversity of learners in your classes? How do you intend to extend this provision over time?

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

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Planning for practice: Jo Parry (Deputy Principal, Victorian Primary School) reflects on school-based curriculum work While Jo asserts that planning for practice needs to be flexible, she argues there must be a clearly defined structure to ensure that the way forward is clear. Key elements of planning need to be identified, including some embedded routines that are predictable and known, for example, routines for reflection on learning. As Jo states, when planning lessons or a unit of work, it is critical to ‘keep the questioning inside your head about why you are doing something and what you believe in’. For Jo, the curriculum iterations at state and national level are not viewed as a frustration but rather, as an opportunity ‘to look at their units of work with fresh eyes; to see what can be re-written or transformed’. She believes auditing against revised content and standards can strengthen the planning and sequencing of their school-based curriculum. As a curriculum leader, Jo asks her team, ‘How can we make this work for us, rather than it being done to us?’ Jo emphasises the need to reflect on ‘the sort of teacher you want to be’. She firmly believes, ‘If you want to be “a honer” of your craft, if you really want to be excited by the learning that your kids are engaged in, you have to know your learners.’ Jo stresses that you cannot plan independently of your students. They also need ‘to have buy-in to what they are learning about and through . . . You can’t take another person’s lesson and dump it on the kids.’ Therefore, she cautions against the easy option of appropriating the profusion of lesson plans and units available online. Although differentiation can be challenging, Jo argues that ‘differentiation does not mean different activities . . . It is to do with confidence with the [teaching] content and the developmental curriculum.’ She attests that ‘with a good activity there should be the opportunity to challenge and push kids and the opportunity to scaffold and support [them].’ As a strong advocate of inquiry-driven pedagogy and curriculum, Jo believes that this approach lends itself to differentiation. Asking students about their wonderings and what they want to investigate at the engagement stage of a unit gives them some input into shaping their own inquiries and the unit’s pathway. However, Jo also emphasises that there are always non-negotiable aspects of the curriculum content and delivery. From the get-go, Jo insists that assessment must be central to lesson planning. She notes, ‘If you are not sure what the learning looks like, how can you make it better? You need to be able to recognise what is good learning and ask the questions: “Why is it good work?” and “What’s the criteria for that?” In effect, planning must address the question “What will be the evidence of successful learning?”’ As with the backward design approach, this must be established prior to determining the learning experiences.

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SUMMARY Planning is curriculum work and part of the daily rhythm of teaching (Britzman 2003). It is complex, be it at the micro-level of planning an individual lesson or determining the content and sequence of learning experiences for extended units of work. Curriculum planning requires recognition that curriculum (national, state and school documentation), assessment and pedagogy are interconnected. The frequent curriculum iterations will require you to keep abreast of these changes, but as Jo Parry reminds us in her interview, these iterations can have positive outcomes for refining school-based curriculum work. In a student-centred approach to curriculum design, planning begins with teachers knowing their students: being cognisant of their abilities and their socio-cultural world, so they can plan engaging learning experiences that extend the knowledge, skills and understandings of all students and challenge them intellectually. Moreover, planning must reflect the emphasis in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL) and the Australian Curriculum (ACARA) on a broad knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and the use of appropriate strategies for teaching Indigenous Australian students. Student-centred teaching is guided by generic principles that include a critically reflective stance on practice; allowing input and negotiation around some aspects of curriculum with students; and retaining a degree of flexibility that allows teachers to respond to the unexpected and adapt planning to meet individual student needs. Wiggins and McTighe (2011) argue that learning requires ‘understanding’. They describe understanding as having six facets: being able to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathise, and have self-knowledge about a given topic. Understanding means students can apply their learning effectively in new contexts. The Wiggins and McTighe curriculum framework, Understanding by Design (UbD), makes explicit that before learning experiences are planned, learning objectives and assessment procedures must be determined. They refer to this front-loading of assessment as ‘backward design’. Yet planning for learning also means differentiating student experiences to cater for learner diversity. Inquiry-based pedagogy affords opportunities for students to negotiate some aspects of the curriculum and to accommodate preferred ways of learning through the use of student contracts. It is, however, a lack of certainty and tentativeness about your practice that will enable you to re-imagine and mediate changes to your curriculum planning. As Sch¨on (1999) reminds us, there is no substitute for thoughtful planning informed by critical reflection both in and on action.

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KEY TERMS achievement standards The quality of learning students should typically demonstrate by a particular point in their schooling; describes the quality of learning, the extent of knowledge, the depth of understanding and the sophistication of skills. assessment as learning Requiring students to monitor and evaluate what they know and can do, and to set goals for new learning. assessment for learning (formative) Gathering evidence about students’ knowledge, understanding and skills throughout the teaching and learning process to inform your future planning assessment of learning (summative) Using evidence collected at defined key points to assess student achievement against outcomes and standards, particularly for reporting purposes backward design (also known as ‘backwards planning’) This approach is associated with the Understanding by Design curriculum framework. The teacher starts by determining what the learning outcomes will be and then plans the curriculum, choosing the learning experiences and resources that will foster student learning. concepts Described by Lyn Erickson as ‘a mental construct that is timeless, universal in application, and abstract (to different degrees)’.

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constructivism An approach to teaching that recognises that everything a person learns is mediated by their prior experiences and understandings; thus individuals construct, rather than absorb, new knowledge. cross-curriculum priorities In the Australian Curriculum: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia, Sustainability curriculum The sum total of resources — intellectual, scientific, cognitive, linguistic, textbook and adjunct resources and materials, official and unofficial — that are brought together for teaching and learning by teachers and students in classroom and other learning environments. curriculum documentation or frameworks The formal curriculum structures developed by the national and state governments, schools and organisations such as the International Baccalaureate Organization. curriculum planning The decision-making process associated with providing a sequence of learning tasks for a group of learners and the resources to support them. disciplines Distinct ways of thinking about and construing the world; they embody essential knowledge bases, methods of inquiry and means of communicating knowledge that are identifiable with the discipline; they are concerned with the production of knowledge and learning and its relevance to students. enduring understandings The big conceptual ideas that frame a unit of work. They are the important understandings that we want students to develop and learn. essential questions Questions that provoke discussion and sustained inquiry into the big ideas and content of a unit. focus questions Questions that target responses that assist in taking students from a factual to a conceptual level of thinking. intended learning objectives Short-term statements or orientations about student learning that relate to the knowledge, capabilities/skills and attitudes that you want students to acquire for a lesson or a unit of work. International Baccalaureate (IB) Programs of international education offered by a worldwide community of schools to students aged 3 to 19. The programs aim to develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalising world. knowledge, skills and values/attitudes School-based learning outcomes, as identified in curriculum documents, that will prepare students for further education, work and life. learning goals The intended outcomes of a learning sequence that describe what a student should know or be able to do. They may refer to knowledge, concepts, skills or attitudes associated with curriculum documents. metacognitive awareness Awareness of how one thinks and learns. When students are conscious of how they learn, they can identify the most effective ways of doing so, and become more autonomous. metacognitive thinking Often described as ‘thinking about one’s thinking’, metacognitive thinking has three components: consideration of the learning processes and what was and could be done (awareness); judgement about your thinking processes (evaluation); and drawing on your own knowledge and skills to plan, self-correct and set goals (regulation). multiple intelligences (MI) A categorisation of intelligences that are specialised for acquiring knowledge and solving problems in different areas of cognitive activity. objective model A curriculum model that first, establishes the learning objectives or purposes; second, determines what experiences are likely to attain the objectives; third, orders and organises the experiences; and fourth, decides on how achievement of the objectives will be assessed. pedagogy The art, science or strategies of teaching based on professional knowledge and reflective practice. resources The materials and aids that support the delivery of a lesson or unit. They may include multimedia, books, charts, posters, stationery, models, people and learning objects.

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school subjects Units that occur in a distinctive institutional context (i.e. schools and classrooms) and reflect ‘versions’ of related disciplines and applied fields, drawing on stances, principles, procedures, goals and aims of the disciplines. skills The ability to do something well, which comes with knowledge, practice and aptitude. Skills are relevant to the disciplines (e.g. literacy and numeracy skills), but also transcend the disciplines (e.g. social skills, thinking skills, research skills and communication skills). syllabus An official summary and outline of what should be learned and taught: skills, knowledges, competencies and capabilities that need to be covered to meet statements of standards. Understanding by Design (UbD) Wiggins and McTighe’s framework for designing curriculum units, performance assessments and instruction, intended to support students to gain a deep understanding of the content. There are six facets of understanding: being able to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathise, and have self-knowledge about a given topic. zone of proximal development (ZPD) A concept developed by Lev Vygotsky identifying the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. This has translated into mainstream education in terms of ‘scaffolding’ learning or facilitating experiences that allow students to move through the ZPD.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 7.1

LO1

Reflect on how your lesson or unit planning: (i) recognises the connectedness of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment and reporting (ii) aligns with Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by the Design (UbD) approach to planning (figure 7.5). 7.2

LO2

Use the following three prompts to critically analyse the extent to which your placement school’s curriculum addresses the four interrelated layers for reviewing whole-school curriculum plans (VCAA n.d.). Provide a ranking from 1–5, and justify your scoring. Use this analysis for a tutorial group discussion of how this mapping supports planning for learning. r By school — a high-level summary of the coverage of all the curriculum areas, reflecting the school’s goals, vision and any particular areas of specialisation or innovation r By curriculum area — the sequencing of key knowledge and skills across the years of schooling to support a progression of learning r By year level — a coherent program from a student perspective that enables effective connections across curriculum area r By unit/lessons — specifying Curriculum F–10 content descriptions and achievement standards, activities and resources to ensure students of all achievement levels are able to progress.

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7.3

LO3

A consistent theme throughout this chapter is that knowing your students is pivotal to planning lessons and units of work. While assessment records, portfolios and profiles provide invaluable information and data, you also need to acquire some insights into students’ interests, what is important to them, their preferred ways of learning, etc. Prepare a short online questionnaire for students to complete that will provide this additional information to assist you when planning the learning tasks/experiences. For children in the early years, this can be completed by you based on the child’s responses to the questionnaire prompts. 7.4

LO4

Read the planning for practice conversation with Jo Parry at the end of the chapter. Note Jo’s cautionary comments about using the plethora of online lessons and units at teachers’ disposal, rather than developing your own around your students’ specific needs and giving them buy-in to the 254

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planning. Access several online units and undertake a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, drawing on what you believe are the important considerations and inclusions when planning a unit or sequence of lessons. Examples to access: r www.sciencebydoing.edu.au r http://curriculumplanning.vcaa.vic.edu.au/by-unit-lessons r www.teachstarter.com/unit-plans r www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/illustrations-of-practice-overviews/endangeredanimals---lesson-plan.pdf?sfvrsn=4adde23c_0 r www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/illustrations-of-practice-overviews/sea-explorers---unitoutline.pdf?sfvrsn=1dce23c_0 7.5

LO5

Backward design embraces the understanding by design philosophy that we teach for understanding and transfer. View the video clip ‘Can you explain what understanding by design is?’ at www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8F1SnWaIfE. What messages are there in this video clip for you to take away about developing a unit of work using backward design? What challenges have you identified with this approach? There are three different goals widely associated with teaching: knowledge and acquisition of skills, meaning-making; and transfer of knowledge. Code the learning activities in your lesson plans or units of work. Alternatively, code some units of work developed by your placement school. To what do you attribute the outcome of your coding? How has this exercise affected your thinking about planning your lessons or a unit of work? 7.6

LO6

Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, from Stanford University, argues that we must teach in ways that allow students to engage with inquiry while learning facts and engaging with concepts so the habit of inquiry becomes deeply ingrained. She argues that inquiry processes are critical for active participation in today’s world. What evidence have you seen of students engaging rigorously with inquiry processes? How important do you consider this claim to be for the students you teach? 7.7

LO7

Identify the strategies you will implement to cater for student diversity in your planning.

WEBSITES 1 The e5 Instructional Model on the Victorian State Government Education and Training website is

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2

3 4

5

a reference point for school leaders and teachers to develop a deeper understanding of what constitutes high-quality teacher practice in the classroom: www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/ support/Pages/e5.aspx#link61 The Teaching Channel provides an overview of the e5 Science model that allows students to develop understanding through engagement and exploration: http://nextgenerationscience.weebly.com/5-esof-science-instruction.html Australian Curriculum suggestions and guidelines for addressing student diversity: www .australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/student-diversity The Differentiation Programming: New South Wales Education Standards Authority website defines differentiation and provides a range of strategies: https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/supportmaterials/differentiated-programming The Alberta Education, ‘Making a difference: Meeting diverse learning needs with differentiated instruction’, website provides a rationale for differentiation, describes approaches and details how to differentiate planning and instruction: https://education.alberta.ca/media/384968/ makingadifference_2010.pdf CHAPTER 7 Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum 255

6 Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL) articulate what teachers are expected to

7

8

9

10

11 12 13 14

know and be able to do at four career stages (Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished and Lead): www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards Victorian State Government Education and Training has a range of graphic organisers that include a description and explain how, why and when each organiser should be used. Where available, links are provided to examples of how schools have successfully used a graphic organiser in the classroom: www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/graphicorganisers.aspx Australian Capital Territory Education and Training provides some very constructive guidelines and information about the process of developing an ILP: www.ainslies.act.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0008/238148/ILP_guidelines.pdf Australian Academy of Science: Science by Doing provides access to science units and teachers that connect with the Australian Curriculum. Access is free to all Australian students and teachers and presents science in an engaging, guided inquiry-based approach to lift student interest and understanding: www.sciencebydoing.edu.au This Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) interactive self-assessment tool has been designed to review the four essential interrelated layers of the whole-school curriculum in order to plan and identify any areas that require further improvement: http://curriculumplanning.vcaa .vic.edu.au/sat/self-assessment-tool Scootle is a national repository that provides Australian schools with more than 20 000 digital resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum: www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home Robert Marzano and John Hattie — Eight strategies on which they agree: www.evidencebased teaching.org.au/robert-marzano-vs-john-hattie The Oasis Multiple Intelligence website includes a video presentation with Howard Gardner: http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org/what-mi-am-i State Government of Victoria’s (2107) ‘Principles of Teaching and Learning (PoLT)’ provides useful guidelines relating to nine key principles for guiding planning for teaching and practice: www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/unpacked12.aspx#link61

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Rido / Shutterstock.com Photo: © wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Paul Biryukov / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Liquorice Legs / Shutterstock.com Photo: © SpeedKingz / Shutterstock.com Figure 7.1: © Reproduced with permission from the State of Victoria Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, under the CC Attribution 3.0 Australia licence — http://creativecommons .org/licenses/by/3.0/au/ Text: © 2011 Education Services Australia Limited as the legal entity for the COAG Education Council Education Council. Wiley Australia Pty Ltd has reproduced extracts of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in this publication with permission from the copyright owner. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Kate Harvie (Deakin University) in the review of this chapter.

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CHAPTER 8

Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 8.1 identify the beliefs that inform your classroom practice 8.2 be familiar with some key pedagogies that shape teachers’ practice 8.3 acknowledge the impact that the physical environment can have on learning opportunities 8.4 recognise that effective communication is dependent upon establishing a supportive classroom environment 8.5 understand what is meant by dialogic pedagogy 8.6 frame questions that target different types of dispositional thinking.

OPENING CASE

Why pedagogy?

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KATE HARVIE (DEAKIN UNIVERSITY) My first five years of teaching were in a school in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. It was a small community school with very few discipline problems. Overall, the students were self-driven and enjoyed being at school. There were 170 students, and the staff knew each student by name. After five years of teaching, I set off to work in London for 12 months at an inner-London primary school with a Year 1 class. On my first day, as I entered the classroom, I expected to see 24 students, but only 16 were visible. The rest were hiding from me under tables and in the reading corner. I rounded them up and we began class. By 10 am one child had bitten another child’s ear, another had thrown a chair across the room and yet another had expressed, in very colourful language, that they really didn’t want me as their new teacher. Clearly I needed to dig deep and remember what I had learned about assertive discipline, positive reinforcement and classroom management strategies. But more than that, I needed to revisit the beliefs that grounded my teaching practice and reconsider not only ‘what to teach’ (knowledge) but ‘how to teach’ (pedagogy). Familiarising myself with the students’ abilities, talents and learning needs, and also their current interests, was critical for making my lessons relevant and engaging. A starting point in adjusting my pedagogical practices was reconfiguring the physical space of the classroom. This was based on my belief that the physical environment can critically impact the quality of educational experiences of both teachers and learners. I wanted the space to facilitate interactions between myself and the students. My priority was for us to function as a learning community and reflect who the students were, both collectively and individually, as learners. Having a firm belief in the benefits of collaborative group work, I started explicit teaching and modelling of respectful listening and ways of responding when others speak. We then developed some protocols and routines that helped the students take some ownership of their behaviours. The first term was essentially about establishing a relationship of mutual trust and respect. This required me to draw upon all that I knew about learners and teaching, and to closely examine my own personal pedagogy and how this informed the way I planned, taught and assessed my students. The pedagogy you develop is personal. It is drawn from your own experiences and philosophy but, importantly, adapted to fit your particular group of students. It may even change subtly from day to day, but should be visible and reflect who you are as a teacher, what you believe in and how you connect with the students you teach. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. What does the term ‘pedagogy’ mean to you? 2. In what ways do you think your pedagogy is visible to those who observe your teaching? 3. What adjustments did you make to your pedagogy during your last school placement?

Introduction Sometimes the words teaching and pedagogy are used interchangeably — albeit inappropriately. When pedagogy is perceived in this way, the interaction between teaching and learning is lost and the potential of pedagogy to impact on learning is diminished. In this chapter the conceptual framing of pedagogy is explored, revealing how pedagogical decision making can ultimately assist you in constructing a more meaningful and supportive learning environment for your students. Doreen Rorrison (2008) describes it as the intersection of content, process and theories with(in) learning environments. As the case study indicates, your beliefs about how students learn are reflected in the classroom culture you co-construct CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 261

with your students. In this chapter it is argued that for your practice to be effective, both subject knowledge (the ‘what’) and pedagogy (the ‘how’) need to be seamlessly interwoven. The chapter begins by discussing how teacher identity is shaped by personal and professional theorising of practice, and the importance of knowing one’s self. This is followed by detailing some of the different ways pedagogy has been embraced within the educational lexicon. The chapter then addresses how pedagogy influences the organisation of learning spaces and the way in which some teachers structure cooperative group work. In the final sections of the chapter, the focus is on classroom communication and establishing a supportive learning environment. Approaches to questioning, working with student responses, and engagement with thinking dispositions are discussed in relation to the responsibility teachers have to create an intellectual climate that promotes learning. As you engage with and reflect on the ideas presented in this chapter, ponder Deborah Britzman’s (2003, p. 54) statement that ‘pedagogy points to the agency that joins teaching and learning’. Pedagogy: The agency that connects teaching with learning

Connectedness: knowing yourself

Pedagogies of practice

Pedagogy: learning places and spaces

Collaborative pedagogy: establishing the classroom culture

The discipline of noticing

Pedagogical frameworks

Place-based pedagogy

Classroom discourses

Storying your practice

Critical pedagogy

The physical environment

Building relationships

Cycles of personal development

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)

Reggio Emilia schools

Working as a group

Technological pedagogies Instructional pedagogy: explicit teaching

Dialogic pedagogy

Learning to question: questioning to learn

Dispositional thinking pedagogy

Critical, creative and reflective thinking

Framing questions

Cooperative learning

Student questions

Teacherfacilitated group work

Substantial conversations

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What distinguishes the practice of expert teachers? Rethinking a definition of pedagogy

8.1 Connectedness: knowing yourself LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8.1 Identify the beliefs that inform your classroom practice.

Think of a teacher whose classes you always enjoyed and determine what it was about the teacher’s approach that made their classes stand out. Before exploring the concept of pedagogy in more depth, the 262

PART 3 Preparation, practice and process

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significance of Parker Palmer’s (2007) emphasis on teachers’ connectedness with their students merits attention. In his book, The Courage to Teach, Palmer claims that knowing your students and your subject are heavily dependent on self-knowledge and that if you do not know yourself, you cannot know your students. He argues that: r good teaching cannot be reduced to technique r good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher r intellectual, emotional and spiritual pathways must interconnect. As Parker notes, the ‘what’ (knowledge) and ‘how’ (pedagogy) questions are asked, but seldom the ‘who’ question: ‘Who is the self that teaches?’ John Hattie (2012) argues that teachers’ beliefs about how students learn and their commitment to enhancing learning outcomes are the greatest influence on student achievement. It is the qualities of selfhood, as Mordachai Gordon (2008) suggests, that shape how teachers interact with students and subject matter. Nel Noddings’ (2006, p. 10) statement that ‘no goal of education is more important — or more neglected — than self understanding’ resonates with the importance that many educational theorists (e.g. William Ayres, Deborah Britzman, Stephen Brookfield and Jean Clandinin) place on knowing one’s self. They stress this is pivotal in establishing a teacher identity: an amalgamation of personal and professional knowledge and of lived teaching experiences. A dilemma you may have experienced is raised by Lanas and Kelchtermans (2015, p. 24), who believe that beginning teachers are ‘caught between what they wish to be on the one hand and what various others tell them they should be on the other’.

Teacher identity is an amalgam of personal and professional knowledge and of lived teaching experiences.

The discipline of noticing John Mason (2002) raises the importance of ‘the discipline of noticing’ — an attempt to observe closely and notice systematically — that allows you to affirm, question or challenge your theorising of CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 263

teaching. Noticing involves thinking about your teacher persona. Noticing occurs ‘in the moment’ but also allows for reflection on past experiences. As Deborah Britzman (2003) points out, everyone is beholden to memories associated with being a student: the good, the bad and the ugly; teachers who you perceived as ‘good teachers’, and those who you deemed not so good. Essentially, your teacher identity is embedded in your personal biography (Korthagen 2016). As you reflect on those personal experiences you will become increasingly aware of how they have shaped your teacher identity. Julianne Moss et al. (2004) have created a useful figurative representation of how teacher identity is shaped by personal and professional theorising. In other chapters the educational theories of behaviourism, humanism and constructivism are explored. It is your attachment to some theories more than others that will influence your professional identity. The representation in figure 8.1 shows how identity, beliefs and pedagogy interact with one another, implying that the state of ‘becoming’ a teacher is a continuing process (Britzman 2003).

FIGURE 8.1

Shaping personal and professional theory

Reflection

Awareness Identity

Noticing

Action

Beliefs

Response

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Storying your practice Clandinin and Connelly (1995, 1996) advocate the need for teachers ‘to story’ their practice as a means of identifying, clarifying and justifying their ‘professional knowledge landscapes’. Likewise, Schultz and Ravitch (2013) attest that the use of storytelling or narrative is a powerful way of exploring and exposing the complex processes of learning to teach. There is generally a very high level of anticipation and engagement among pre-service teachers after school placements, as stories of practice are shared. However, Deborah Britzman (2003) cautions that narratives are always constitutive of experience and therefore an interpretive activity. When story lines are not juxtaposed with theoretical positions there are concerns involved with using stories to make sense of one’s experiences. This can lead to justifying practice on the basis of ‘Well this worked for me’. Such a claim can overlook the diversity of learners and their individual needs, albeit unintentionally. Sharing narratives in peer groups can counter this issue by enabling an experience to be understood from other perspectives, and also by making explicit connections with theory (Korthagen 2016). It is by identifying your beliefs and their connectedness with learning theories that you will better understand your teacher narratives. Burnard and White (2008, p. 669) point to ‘the inherent complexity of teachers’ work’, and suggest it evolves through identity and biography, arguing that ‘beliefs, values and attitudes towards students, colleagues and community members as well as classroom strategies and processes all contribute to our conception of pedagogy’. 264

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Pre-service teachers are often keen to share their experiences after practicum placements.

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Cycles of personal development Throughout your teaching career, from being a pre-service novice to becoming an expert teacher with many years of experience, your pedagogy will be challenged. This will require you to re-examine the beliefs and theories that ground your practice and the construction of your professional identity. It is highly likely to involve periods of exploration, uncertainty and conflict (Meijer, de Graaf & Meirink 2011). If you have attended any professional learning sessions during your school placements, you may have already noted that teachers can sometimes be very resistant to changing their practice. There is a tendency to adapt to the ‘near occasion’ rather than embracing the reality or the complexity of the innovation or change. As shown in figure 8.2, John Mason’s (2002) cycles of personal development model is helpful in explaining initial responses to change or the take-up of new ideas when embedded pedagogical practices are challenged. The professional and personal theories of practice that influence and inform pedagogical decision making are not static; they are constantly open to review and change. For the duration of your career as a teacher you will be grappling with new ideas. At times these may challenge your pedagogy and engage you with Mason’s cycles of personal development. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

According to Feiman-Nemser (2008), learning to teach is the process of professional identity construction — that is, learning to think, know, feel and act like a teacher. What past experiences of teaching and learning have shaped your teacher identity? Reflect on the way your school and tertiary experiences as a student have influenced your personal theorising of teaching. How does this personal theorising align with the theories you have learned during your course?

CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 265

FIGURE 8.2

Mason’s cycles of personal development Gripping Gripping Grasping

Grumbling

Grasping

Grappling

Groping

Grumbling

Grappling

Groping Griping

Griping

Grumbling about how things are, leading to Griping about specific frustrations, leading to Groping for some alternative, leading to Grasping at some passing possibility, which with luck leads to Grappling with some issue and proposed actions, developing into Gripping hard to ‘something that works’, then finding further Grumbling and Griping as the substance seems to leak out.

Source: Mason (2002, p. 9).

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

During your next school placement, observe how your students engage with the cycles of personal development when they encounter the change process in relation to their learning or to current procedure or routines. Then consider whether your students might benefit from being familiarised with Mason’s theory for managing changes both within and beyond the classroom. This could be undertaken as a Think, Pair, Share exercise — a process whereby the students individually ponder its usefulness as a way of monitoring their responses to change before sharing their thoughts with the student nearest to them, and then as a pair sharing their responses with the class.

8.2 Pedagogies of practice

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8.2 Be familiar with some key pedagogies that shape teachers’ practice.

Pedagogy is derived from the Greek word, paidagogas, which when translated literally means ‘to lead the child’. In what educational contexts have you heard the word pedagogy used? You may already have been involved in conversations around productive pedagogies, critical pedagogy, authentic pedagogy, technological pedagogies, dialogic pedagogy and even turn-around-pedagogies, to name but a few. You may also have encountered the term pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). In whichever context pedagogy is used, reference is made to its function in assisting students’ acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions. A useful working definition of pedagogy outlines that it is how teachers: interact with students; that is how they question and respond to questions, use students’ ideas and respond to students’ diverse backgrounds and interests. It includes the social and the intellectual climate that teachers seek to create and the types of learning that they set out to promote (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations 2003, p. 2).

What is recognisable from this description is that pedagogy demands and constructs complex social relations, drawing attention to the processes through which knowledge is produced. 266

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Pedagogical frameworks The Productive Pedagogies curriculum framework emerged from the New Basics project and has been described as one of the greatest innovations in Australia’s history of curriculum design (Green 2003). Given the framework’s significance, you will find references to it in other chapters. The productive pedagogies themes are reflected in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008) that underpin the Australian Curriculum. Table 8.1 summarises the four categorisations of Productive Pedagogies. TABLE 8.1

New Basics Productive Pedagogies

Intellectual quality

Connectedness

Supportive classroom environment

Recognition of difference

Recognition of difference

Knowledge integration

Student direction

Cultural knowledges

Deep knowledge

Background knowledge

Social support

Inclusivity

Deep understanding

Connectedness to the world

Academic engagement

Narrative

Substantive conversation

Problem-based curriculum

Explicit quality performance criteria

Group identity

Presenting knowledge as problematic

Active citizenship

Self-regulation

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Metalanguage

The Productive Pedagogies framework resonates with the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) Global Partnership (Fullan & Langworthy 2013, 2014), which is similarly learner-centred and based on Piaget and Vygotsky’s constructivist ideas. A notable difference, however, is NPDL’s emphasis on the fostering and leveraging of digital technologies. There are ten countries involved in this global partnership. When NPDL’s three components are integrated it is claimed they enable deep learning outcomes. 1. New learning partnerships between and among students and teachers that establish them as co-learners. 2. Deep learning tasks that restructure the learning process towards knowledge creation and purposeful use and have clear learning goals and clearly defined measures of success. 3. Digital tools and resources that enable and accelerate the process of deep learning (Fullan & Langworthy 2014, p. 10). NPDL teachers are required to take a highly proactive teaching role in supporting students to master both content knowledge and the learning process, rather than taking the stance of ‘guide at the side’. They are expected to interact with students to clearly define their own learning goals and success criteria; monitor their own learning; and critically examine their own work, incorporating feedback from peers, teachers and others (Fullan & Langworthy 2014). Curriculum must connect with student interests and aspirations, and a strong emphasis is placed on building trusted relationships between teachers and students. In Queensland, all government schools are required to develop their own pedagogical framework that embraces six core systemic principles that have a similar focus to productive pedagogies and NPDL: 1. student-centred planning 2. high expectations 3. alignment of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment 4. evidence-based decision making 5. targeted and scaffold instruction 6. safe, supportive, connected and inclusive learning environments (Department of Education, Training and Employment Queensland 2018). The Productive Pedagogies and the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning offer comprehensive starting points for reflecting on your pedagogical practices as a pre-service teacher and ensuring all students are engaged with intellectually challenging and relevant curriculum enacted within a supportive learning environment. CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 267

Critical pedagogy

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The critical pedagogy movement was influenced by the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. He believed that students who were disenfranchised by traditional schooling must learn to question and challenge dominant educational beliefs and practices. A detailed discussion of critical theory can be found in chapter 14. Freire argued that raising social consciousness assists students in fighting oppression and achieving social transformation. ‘Praxis’ — students engaging in cycles of theory, application, evaluation and reflection — was identified by Freire as pivotal in achieving social transformation. If you are concerned with issues of social justice and equity and are aligned with the critical pedagogy movement, this will influence the way you select, frame and present the content of your lessons. As an advocate of critical theory, you will also engage with a dialogic approach to teaching. Jo Kincheloe (2008) claims that critical pedagogy advocates are aware that every minute of every hour teachers are faced with complex decisions concerning justice, democracy and competing ethical claims. This involves all students, not just those who are disenfranchised. The decisions you make will include raising controversial issues with your students — a position that can be uncomfortable for some teachers, particularly in times of global uncertainty. Think of recent examples of controversial issues that are likely to have been raised in classrooms, such as the same-sex marriage and euthanasia debates. Perhaps it is worth keeping in mind Norman Denzin’s words that educators have a moral obligation to reject taking the path of least resistance. Referring to Howard Zinn, Denzin (2009, p. 38) reminds us that when injustices have been rectified, wars halted and people given their dues it is because ‘unimportant people spoke up, organised, and brought democracy alive’. This implies the moral obligation teachers have to engage students with controversial issues and to challenge them to critique and analyse social practices. Connections with critical pedagogy have strong resonance with the Australian Curriculum’s general capabilities, which are taught through the learning content areas, in particular: personal and social capability; ethical understanding; and intercultural understanding. The latter is referred to as ‘an essential part of living with others in the diverse world of the twenty-first century and assisting young people to become responsible local and global citizens, equipped through their education for living and working together in an interconnected world’ (ACARA). Freire’s ideas of critical pedagogy involve teachers in building a classroom community that works to promote social justice. Critical pedagogy can be located in postmodern, anti-racist, feminist, postcolonial and queer theories. Social theorists and activists stress the need for students to engage in social action and realise that by doing so they can make a difference, albeit a small one. Those who engage with critical theory include Michael Apple, Deborah Britzman, Henri Giroux, Ira Shor, Patti Lather and Peter McLaren. You can find out more about critical theory by visiting the Paulo and Nita Freire Project for International Critical Pedagogy at McGill University (www.freireproject.org). Inquiry-based approaches to learning, discussed in chapter 7, note the importance of including a ‘taking action’ phase in the inquiry sequence of learning experiences. How do you feel about discussing controversial issues with students? What might you have to take into consideration as a pre-service teacher and as a practising teacher?

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) The concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has become widely accepted in the educational lexicon. Its contribution to education is the identification of pedagogy as context specific, as opposed to pedagogy being a teacher’s generic teaching skills. Lee Shulman (1987, p. 8) describes PCK as ‘that special amalgam of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the providence of teachers, their own special form of professional understanding’. Yet, as a recent study of PCK in teacher education reveals, PCK must be an ongoing process that has its genesis in teacher education, but evolves with teaching practice and ongoing learning (Berry, Depaepe & van Driel 2016). The study concluded that PCK has static and dynamic components, referring to it as ‘knowledge of, expressed in action’ (p. 381).

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This description accords with Linda Darling-Hammond and John Bransford’s (2005) claim that PCK requires teachers to base their choice of teaching strategies on specific subject content knowledge, in addition to taking into consideration their students’ learning styles and anticipating difficulties they might experience. Strategies include: providing explanations and demonstrations; giving examples; and offering analogies and visual conceptualisations relevant to the subject’s content — ways of presenting the subject to make it comprehensible. PCK is but one of seven knowledge bases for teaching that Shulman identifies: 1. pedagogical content knowledge 2. content knowledge 3. general pedagogical knowledge 4. curricular knowledge 5. knowledge of learners 6. knowledge of educational contexts 7. knowledge of philosophical and historical aims of education.

John Dewey espoused the need to match subject content with pedagogical perspective, considering students’ age, cognitive developmental stage and learning styles.

Shulman (1987) argued that the domains of pedagogy and content were generally recognised and addressed as mutually exclusive, but believed that effective teaching exists at their intersection: a blending of pedagogy and subject or discipline content, as figure 8.3 shows. While the terminology of PCK was an innovation, John Dewey also espoused the need to connect disciplinary knowledge to students’ experiences and to match subject content with pedagogical perspective, taking into consideration the students’ age, cognitive developmental stage and learning styles. For example, when teaching fractions to CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 269

young children a teacher would use concrete materials such as multifix cubes or a pie construction model for children to physically manipulate. This would support them in recognising equivalency, (i.e. 24 is the same as a 12 ). However, with older students who are abstract thinkers, a teacher would be more likely to use explanations and diagrams. This suggests awareness of PCK encapsulating both knowledge of and the reasoning behind teaching topics by selecting strategies that are matched to students’ developmental needs, with the intent of enhancing their learning outcomes, as a more recent study of PCK in science education concludes (Carlson et al. 2015). FIGURE 8.3

Pedagogical content knowledge

Pedagogical content knowledge General pedagogical knowledge

Content knowledge

C

PCK

P

Source: Based on Shulman (1987).

Shulman did not discuss technology in relationship to pedagogy and content, but technological content pedagogical knowledge has emerged as another layer of pedagogical perspective and the conceptualisation of teachers’ practice, as digital pedagogies establish new ways of learning and working in a digitalised world.

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Technological pedagogies With online information, resources and materials available at the touch of a screen, technology is changing the way we teach and the way our students learn, as the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning project asserts. In your tertiary education and in your placement schools you will have observed teachers combining digital technology with traditional face-to-face instruction. This hybrid pedagogical approach is often referred to as blended learning. While definitions abound, some are school-context specific. For example, Victoria’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD 2012, p. 6) defines ‘blended learning’ as ‘integrating student-centred, traditional in-class learning with other flexible learning methodologies using mobile and web-based online (especially collaborative) approaches’. The challenge that blended learning presents for teachers, as you may have experienced, is achieving a seamless integration of technology with pedagogies that relate to established theories about how students learn. Fullan and Langworthy (2014) acknowledge that student-centred constructivist theories of learning underpin their ‘new pedagogies’ for deep learning, but argue that it is the power of digital tools that will now support students’ new knowledge creation and extend their connection to the world beyond the confines of the classroom. Studies of the impact of blended learning and the way educators use technology to improve student learning reveal the importance of promoting learning as a partnership and creating opportunities for 270

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social interactions with and among teachers and students (DEECD 2012; McKnight et al. 2016; State Government of Victoria 2012). This can be achieved through face-to-face discussion sessions and using online tools such as discussion forums, virtual conferencing, virtual world and online games, and mobile technologies such as flip cameras and voice recorders, to engage with parents and the wider school community. Other blended learning pedagogies that are supported by technology include: r providing direct instruction for student acquisition of new knowledge, and teaching and reinforcing digital technological skills (e.g. video editing, graphing software) r using digital resources and information displays to fill gaps and add richness and depth to curriculum content and keep it current r differentiating and personalising learning pathways to meet the wide range of student learning abilities through enrichment, additional support and matching student interests to content via online resources r setting up collaborations that connect students with teachers, peers, and experts beyond the classroom r facilitating opportunities to connect and publish across media platforms using digital tools (videos, blogs, podcasts, Web quests etc.) r developing ‘digital citizenship’ — that is, responsible use of technology r conducting ongoing monitoring and assessment to monitor student learning and provide immediate feedback (DEECD 2012; McKnight et al. 2016; State Government of Victoria 2012). Access to digital tools means that students can assume more personal control over their learning and take more responsibility for the learning process. However, this necessitates the development of students’ inquiry skills and, importantly, their critical thinking skills for assessing new information, ideas and perspectives and subsequently constructing new knowledge. As the Australian Curriculum ICT capability indicates, pedagogy must embrace investigating, communicating and creating with ICT. Importantly, supporting students through skilful questioning, discussion facilitation and dialogue — pedagogical skills discussed later in the chapter — will play a pivotal role in the integration of technology for deeper learning. As McKnight et al. (2016) conclude, if technology is emphasised over pedagogy it will be a barrier to the successful integration of technology.

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Instructional pedagogy: explicit teaching As teachers we must aim to identify those pedagogies that have a marked and meaningful effect. High on John Hattie’s list of the attributes of effective teachers, discussed in the next section, is direct instruction. Hattie’s study notes that the quality of this direct instruction or explicit teaching has a powerful impact on student achievement. Direct instruction may take the form of explicit teaching, drill-and-practice, didactic questioning, lectures, demonstrations, multimedia presentations and teaching guides. Yet what constitutes direct instruction has caused some confusion. It refers to the spectrum of explicit teaching from generic procedures of scaffolding, modelling, and working in small incremental steps, through to the highly scripted ‘Direct Instruction’ (DI) curriculum package developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley Carnine and often referred to as DISTAR. Here, concern has been raised about the mismatch between material content developed in the United States and the students’ cultural experiences impacting on students’ motivation and engagement with learning. Direct Instruction (DI) emerged in the late 1960s as step-by-step, lesson-by-lesson learning programs based on B.F. Skinner’s classical behaviourist stimulus/response/conditioning model. Teachers are trained to deliver scripted lesson presentations precisely, including correction of student errors and use of behaviour modification techniques. DI is a key aspect of the social and welfare reform at the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA) led by Noel Pearson to improve learning outcomes for Aboriginal students with low achievement in English literacy and numeracy. This highly prescriptive pedagogical approach attempts to place quality controls on the curriculum delivery (Luke 2013) in school settings where teachers are often inexperienced and there is low retention rate. Acknowledging this initiative has only been operational for a comparatively short time, an evaluation by the Australian CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 271

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Council of Educational Research of Pearson’s initiative concluded it could not ‘empirically ascribe a causal connection between DI and student learning outcomes’ despite community members providing a wide range of anecdotal evidence of positive student outcomes (2013, p. 9). As the House of Representatives Standing Committee’s interim report for improving the educational opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students recommends, a longitudinal, comparative review of DI pedagogy is needed to determine its efficacy (Commonwealth of Australia 2016). What distinguishes DI from other direct instruction approaches on the spectrum is that they generally allow higher teacher autonomy and have context-based flexibility (Rosenshine 2008). Allan Luke (2013), in making a clear distinction between DI and explicit teaching, notes that explicit teaching: r establishes clear behavioural and cognitive goals and outcomes, which are made transparent to learners r tells students explicitly what they will be learning and how r familiarises students with assessment criteria that makes explicit what they have to do to show they have achieved the learning outcomes. These criteria adhere with John Hattie’s explanation of Direct Instruction and what Robert Marzano refers to as Overt Instruction. Marzano (2007) and Hattie (2009) have both reviewed research into which teaching strategies make the biggest difference to students’ results, and identify explicitly teaching what students have to learn as a critical strategy. Direct instruction is sometimes contrasted with student-centred exploratory approaches to learning such as discovery learning or inquiry-based pedagogy, discussed in chapter 7. But the polarisation of the constructivist and direct instruction approaches is generally considered a false dichotomy by contemporary educators (Purdie & Ellis 2005). Bruner, for example, when describing the scaffolding process, noted that this process involves the provision of direct instruction at strategic points of teaching practice. As pre-service teachers you are probably adopting both student-centred constructivist approaches and teacher-centred direct instruction methods.

The quality of direct instruction has a powerful effect on student achievement.

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Joyce, Weil and Calhoun (2009) identify five general components of direct teaching, which involve modelling, reinforcement, feedback and successive approximation, that may be supportive when planning for explicit instruction consistent with Hattie’s (2009) emphasis. The components are: 1. orientation phase: the teacher establishes the framework for the lesson — provides the lesson objective, describes the content in relation to prior learning and discusses lesson procedures 2. presentation phase: the teacher explains the new concept or skill, provides a visual demonstration and checks for understanding 3. structured practice: the teacher leads the class through practice examples one step at a time, checking for understanding and providing feedback to reinforce correct practice 4. guided practice: opportunities for students to practise semi-independently — teacher monitors student practice, providing corrective feedback and reinforcing correct practice 5. independent practice: once students have achieved 85–90 per cent accuracy with guided practice, students undertake independent practice over an extended period with delayed feedback. Models of gradual release of responsibility for learning to the students resonate with Piaget’s cognitive schemas (1952), Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (1978) and Wood, Bruner and Ross’s work on scaffolded instruction (1976). However, Fisher and Frey (2008) describe a structure for successful instruction that involves an additional phase where students work collaboratively before undertaking responsibility as independent learners. Figure 8.4 shows how this collaboration allows students to support each other in acquiring a new skill or concept and gain confidence before ‘going it alone’. FIGURE 8.4

Gradual release of responsibility framework of instruction

Teacher responsibility: ‘I do.’ Guided instruction (teacher–student construction): ‘We do it.’ Collaborative (student–student construction): ‘You do it together.’ Student responsibility (independent construction): ‘You do it alone.’ Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey’s framework for the gradual release of responsibility (2008).

With emphasis placed on students taking responsibility for their learning, they are often asked to complete independent work without first being provided with good instruction that provides essential background information. The beliefs about teaching and learning that define you as a teacher will determine how you apply direct instruction to your practice — as a constructivist scaffolding approach that emphasises collaboration and interaction (Fisher & Frey 2008; Joyce, Weil & Calhoun 2009), or as an explicit behaviourist approach (Gagn´e 1985).

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What distinguishes the practice of expert teachers? Hattie has earned a formidable reputation for his Visible Learning study (2009; 2012), which focused on identifying factors that impacted students’ academic result and calculated their effect. Like all studies, it is open to critique. For example, you may disagree with its singular focus. However, the scale of the study is far reaching, involving synthesis of 50 000 individual research studies and 800 meta analyses related to student achievement. Hattie uses effect size to demonstrate how much of an affect identified factors have on students’ results, which has been critiqued as a valid measure, although the American Psychological Association (APA) strongly endorses its application (Killian 2014). The strong take-home message is that knowing your impact as a teacher and being open to changing your strategies will improve student learning outcomes. Hattie’s key findings of what expert teachers do are: r provide and communicate clear learning intentions r define challenging success criteria r use a range of learning strategies CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 273

r know when students are not progressing r provide ongoing feedback that is clear, purposeful and accessible and offer strategies to assist the students to learn and meet the success criteria r model learning — show how you engage with learning. Expert teachers were also found to create an optimal classroom climate for learning, supported student interactions, encouraged student questions and welcomed student errors as opportunities to gain insights into students’ learning. As a novice teacher, your focus is likely to be on classroom management issues, but with time and practice, as Hattie suggests, some skills will become automatic, freeing you up to engage in discursive practices that promote learning. You will also have more opportunities within your own classes to get to know your students and how they learn, as the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching emphasise.

Rethinking a definition of pedagogy Your reading of this chapter to date will have confirmed that ‘pedagogy’ is a complex term and sometimes, like the word teaching, is used interchangeably with ‘strategy’. This overlooks the important nuances that render it powerful and significant. Like most terms, it is contested and has many different meanings. In light of the previous discussion, you will now recognise that pedagogy has something to do with both the ‘art’ and the ‘science’ of teaching, and of learning and the profession. So, at this point, a further definition is offered (Anderson 2005, p. 53): Pedagogy determines how teachers think and act. Pedagogy affects students’ lives and expectations. Pedagogy is the framework for discussions about teaching and the process by which we do our jobs as teachers. Pedagogy is a body of knowledge that defines us as professionals. Pedagogy is a belief that all children can learn and that it is the duty of the adult to participate in that growth and development. Pedagogy is a definition of culture and a means to transmit that culture to the next generation.

When teachers articulate their beliefs about teaching and learning — knowledge that is often tacit — they are defining themselves as professionals. As John Loughran (2010) argues, a shared language of teaching and learning allows teachers to be better informed about the nature of pedagogy and the development of their pedagogical expertise. In the following section, the focus is on developing pedagogical practices consistent with creating a supportive classroom environment that functions as a community of learners.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Larry Cuban (2009, p. 53), an emeritus professor at the Stanford Graduate School, claims teachers arm themselves with approaches drawn from different traditions that ‘hug the middle ground of the pedagogical continuum’. These mixes of teacher-centred and student-centred practices that he refers to as ‘instructional hybrids’ reflect the autonomy teachers have with the practical decision making, within the constraints of educational policy specific to school contexts. Not only are teachers’ pedagogies drawn from the disciplinary traditions but also from their own experiences of being a student, other teachers, teacher education programs and what appears to work for them in their classrooms. To what extent do his comments reflect your observations of teachers’ pedagogical practices? Would you describe your practice as ‘hugging the middle’ ground? Why/why not?

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Both Hattie (2009) and Loughran (2010) argue the need to be more cognitively aware of the pedagogical means to enable students to learn (cognisant of teaching strategies that are working and those that are

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not). With this in mind, plan a lesson where you will teach a new skill using Joyce, Weil and Calhoun’s (2009) five components of direct teaching, or Fisher and Frey’s (2008) gradual release of responsibility framework. Evaluate the effectiveness of using this explicit instruction strategy in teaching the new skill to your class. Notice whether the application strategy is more effective with some students than others and consider why this might be the case. Determine whether you would repeat this approach and what you would modify.

8.3 Pedagogy: learning places and spaces LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8.3 Acknowledge the impact that the physical environment can have on learning opportunities.

To engage students with learning, you need to create a classroom environment that provides for students socially and intellectually. All classroom members have the right to feel safe, physically and emotionally, and to be treated with respect and dignity. Every student has the right to learn; likewise a teacher has the right to teach. But essentially the challenge for teachers is to engage their students in learning. This is sometimes intrinsically motivated, but it can also be the outcome of the classroom culture that teachers create, the relationships they establish with their students and their pedagogical practices. Engagement is energy in action, the connection between person and activity.

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Place-based pedagogy Place-based pedagogy involves learning and communication being structured around what is most meaningful to the students — their places, their culture, their experiences (Apple 2013; Comber & Kamler 2004; Gruenewald 2003). Engagement with this pedagogical approach aligns with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) professional standard to demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. Honouring the significance of place, schools in some remote communities in the NT have initiated Learning on Country programs grounded in placebased pedagogy. A pilot program implemented in Arnhem Land involved bringing together ‘Indigenous land and sea Rangers, schools, scientists and Indigenous land owners “on country” and in classrooms to learn literacy and numeracy, science and work skills as well as Indigenous knowledge’ (Fogarty, Schwab & Lovell 2015, p. 15). This enables a two-way learning pedagogy by combining Western science with Indigenous knowledge’ (Purdie, Milgate & Bell 2011) and deploys teaching strategies that are responsive to local communities and their cultural settings. A very meaningful pedagogy for Indigenous communities is the Eight Aboriginal ways of learning framework (Yunkaporta 2009; Yunkaporta & Kirby 2011) developed by the community and Elders of Western NSW, the NSW Department of Education and Training, the Western NSW Regional Aboriginal Education Team and Tyson Yunkaporta (figure 8.5; this same figure also appears as figure 5.2 in chapter 5). Its eight interactive teaching and learning pedagogies include: narrative-based learning, visual learning processes, hands-on/reflective techniques, use of symbols/metaphors, land-based learning, indirect/synergistic logic, and the modelling of scaffolded genre mastery and connectedness to community. Importantly, this framework offers an alternative approach to direct instruction pedagogies identified as a means of addressing educational disadvantage. Referring to experiences of direct instruction in Canada, Allan Luke cautions that the foci on Indigenous culture, issues and languages declined with the narrowing of the curriculum framework to accommodate direct instruction. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers emphasise designing and implementing effective teaching strategies that are responsive to the local community and cultural setting, linguistic background and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (AITSL 2017). Therefore, when taking up direct instruction approaches, it is critical that students are not deprived of other pedagogies that are connected to local realities, respond to CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 275

local language ecologies and engage with materials that address student and community interests (Fogarty, Riddle, Lovell & Wilson 2017). Perhaps DI could be augmented and co-exist with place-based pedagogies (Godinho, Woolley, Scholes & Sutton 2017). FIGURE 8.5

Eight Aboriginal ways of learning

Story sharing

Community links

Learning maps

Deconstruct Reconstruct

Non-verbal

Symbols and images

Non-linear

Land links

Source: Yunkaporta (2009); Yunkaporta and Kirby (2011).

As Larry Cuban (2009), Allan Luke (2013) and teaching models such as e5 (DEECD 2017) indicate, no singular pedagogical approach can be seen as one size fits all. As teachers, you need to be open to enacting pedagogies that reflect a deep understanding of your students, the school’s context and current research. Your pedagogical framework must be comprehensive and evidence based (State of Queensland 2018). But it must also ensure that ‘the space for imagination, creativity, [and] long-term adaptive approaches’ is not ‘choked’ by eternally driven data and its associated deficit discourses when addressing disadvantage (Osborne & Guenther 2013, p. 95). In the opening case, Kate Harvie acknowledges that your pedagogy must connect with your students and that its framework will evolve to meet the needs of the students you teach.

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The physical environment Although acknowledged for many years by those in early childhood education and primary school education, the physical environment is also becoming increasingly acknowledged for its impact on secondary students’ learning opportunities. Ron Ritchhart (2015) refers to the physical environment as one of the cultural forces that define our classrooms. He notes the importance of arranging the space to facilitate thoughtful interactions. In effect, the take-up of the physical space is determined by your pedagogy. Early childhood and primary teachers bestow particular importance on the physical arrangement and layout of their classrooms and often see this as the starting point for providing a supportive learning environment. When you first walk into a classroom you immediately make judgements about how the class functions as a community and a learning environment from the way space is utilised.

Seating configurations Teachers who adopt a transmission mode of teaching are likely to seat students in rows facing the front of the classroom to facilitate a more traditional way of teaching, where talk is directed to and through the teacher. In contrast, teachers who are constructivist in their approach generally prefer small 276

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groups or a horseshoe seating plan that supports a dialogic mode of interactive learning and encourages student–student exchanges. A change you might have observed is that with a multimodal digital emphasis on communication between teachers and students and students and students, a constant focus on the front of the classroom is no longer required (Cleveland & Woodman 2009). In early childhood and primary school classrooms, children are frequently placed in small group seating arrangements. There is usually a space reserved so that students can leave their seats and sit on the floor for discussions or some explicit instruction, thereby having a closer presence to the teacher and to one another as they speak. Despite the emphasis in curriculum organisers and in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008), advocating the need for students to have a capacity to work collaboratively with others, there is still considerable resistance to small-group work in some secondary classrooms. Demands placed on teachers to cover curriculum content within the constraints of the timetable can work against their intentions to provide opportunities to work in groups. With teachers constantly moving rooms, the practicalities of reconfiguring seating arrangements for a lesson can be problematic.

Creating a visually engaging learning environment Early childhood and primary school teachers have an advantage over their secondary peers as they have a home room where the children spend the majority of their time. This means they have a vested interest in using their space to create a welcoming and stimulating learning environment. Walls and air space frequently display and celebrate students’ work. In addition, posters, instructions and reminders, topicbased displays, reading corners with cushions and bean bags, withdrawal or chill-out spaces and even a class pet in some rooms construct a sense of belonging and class identity. Teachers often dedicate many hours to making their classrooms an inviting learning space that the children like to share with their parents and other members of the school community. Opportunities for learning are revealed in the comments of interviewees from a study of Integrated Curriculum approaches, an approach to planning for learning discussed in chapter 7. The interviewees recalled the excitement and engagement levels they experienced when arriving at school to find their classroom transformed to depict the next port of call on the virtual world voyage their teacher enacted. She had the classroom set up as a ship . . . it was the SS Discovery for the year . . . we mapped out the world, going from place to place, dressing up, making animals. The African animals we made and put up on the [vacant] block next door [to the school] (Godinho & Imms 2011, p. 93).

In some instances teachers also involve their students in creating displays and determining the arrangement of the physical space. The appearance of these classrooms is often a stark contrast to those in secondary schools where there is little sense of ownership of the physical space or of being a community of learners. Not surprisingly, students transitioning from primary to secondary school often remark how stark and impersonal their classrooms are — the walls displaying little more than notices of upcoming events, school rules and procedures such as evacuation and fire drills.

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Classroom functionality Functionality also impacts on establishing a supportive classroom environment that encourages positive interactions. Consideration of students with sight, hearing or mobility impairments is imperative. In classrooms where students are constantly moving across whole-class, small-group and individual learning experiences, the layout of the room needs to ensure a smooth transition between activities and grouping arrangements. Schools are becoming increasingly mindful of the dynamic relationship among physical spaces, social interactions and learning pedagogies. The Learning Environments Applied Research Network (LEaRN) is a multidisciplinary forum, a portal and an international network that brings together academia and industry to research, imagine and discuss physical learning environments in school, vocational, university, medical and corporate contexts. It is CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 277

premised on understanding that the built environment critically impacts the educational experiences of teachers and learners, and that applied research and design of innovative learning environments will bring community benefit. A recent study of school learning spaces by members of this team revealed that students in traditional classrooms exhibited less deep learning characteristics, with the opposite in more flexible learning environments (Imms, Mahat, Byers & Murphy 2017). Visit their website to view their projects, including their Indigenous place projects and initiatives: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/indigenous-place.

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Reggio Emilia schools Reggio Emilia schools have long emphasised the interaction of the physical environment with students’ learning. This alternative approach to educating early childhood and primary school children originated in Italy when schools were being rebuilt after World War II. The educational philosophy attached to these schools has been embraced by many countries, including Australia. Some basic principles include: r allowing children control over the direction of their learning — teacher as partner and guide r learning through the experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing and hearing r providing different ways for children to express themselves r exploring the world through relationships with others and the material items in the children’s world. In accordance with these principles, the design and aesthetic features of the environment are carefully considered. Classrooms open out onto a central courtyard with wall-sized windows and doors that provide natural light and enable children to move freely between internal and external spaces. So important is the physical environment to the Reggio Emilia program that it is viewed as the child’s ‘third teacher’. There are designated spaces for whole-class and small-group activities, in addition to studio spaces for workshops and performances. The aesthetic design and utilisation of available space are paramount. Every available space is used to inform, engage and arouse the curiosity and imagination of the child, and importantly to provoke social interactions and communication. In Reggio Emilia schools, teachers are co-learners with their students. Their role is to facilitate and guide open-ended student inquiries. These inquiries are initiated by teachers observing and questioning children about topics of interest, thereby discovering what it is the children want to learn. Through questioning, the teacher provokes further exploration of their ideas, engaging students in problem solving and inquiry-based learning. Communication between the teacher and child is central to shaping their inquiries, and data collected by the teacher such as photographs, transcribed conversations (documentation as communication), notes and videos are all used to inform teaching and to scaffold the children’s learning. In this respect, the teachers work as researchers in providing explicit documentation of the children’s learning (Cadwell 2003). This way of learning subscribes to educational theorists such as John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky and Jerome Bruner among others, who believe that knowledge and the self are constructed through interactions with peers, adults, things in the world and symbols. As a pre-service teacher, you will have to consider the logistics of rearranging the students’ work spaces. You can, however, enlist the support of students to change the seating arrangements in a relatively short space of time, and the impact on student interactions and class dynamics is generally worth the effort involved. But in the future you will be utilising your classroom space in accordance with your pedagogy; at a macro level you may also be involved in designing classroom spaces and school environments (places) for the future — decision making that will provide opportunities to integrate pedagogy and architectural design at the school level. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

As part of the Smart Green School project, Ben Cleveland investigated how middle school (Years 5–9) learning environments can be designed and used to enable progressive constructivist pedagogies and

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improve student engagement in learning. Look at the following plans of classroom learning spaces and respond to the following prompts and questions. r Compare and contrast the use of floor space in these pictures with the classrooms you encountered in the middle years of your schooling. r How do the floor plans support student engagement with learning? r How does the planned use of space accommodate the multitude of new technologies?

8.4 Collaborative pedagogy: establishing the classroom culture

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8.4 Recognise that effective communication is dependent upon establishing a supportive classroom environment.

What evidence have you seen of class rules or protocols impacting on teacher–student relationships? The physical environment assists in building the social climate — a sense of community and belonging. Pedagogical decisions, however, determine how you create an environment that ensures students and the teachers feel safe and protected, and are treated with respect and dignity. This generally involves the teacher setting expectations and co-constructing with students some class protocols or ‘rules’ at the start of the school year. Bill Rogers (2015; Rogers & McPherson 2014), renowned for his classroom management expertise, believes that the first days and first week are critical. From the outset, students in early years onwards require reassurance, guidance and direction. He argues the importance of teachers having age-related understandings of what is fair and right in relation to social relationships and schoolbased learning. This is discussed in more detail in chapter 11. William Glasser’s (1998) seminal choice theory is also a reminder that before learning can take place, students’ basic needs must be met: r students need to feel they belong to the class and to groups within the class r students need freedom to make choices so they can develop as individual and independent learners r students need to experience fun and enjoyment in their learning r students need some sense of power — control over their learning and empowerment to act on it. As the teacher, your position of authority will impact on the relationships you establish with your students, but it is how you access your position of power that will ultimately determine the classroom culture. The more autocratic and authoritarian the teacher is, the lower the autonomy or power of the students (Porter 2000). Robyn English and Sue Dean invite their students to think about their learning in relation to Glasser’s survival needs of belonging, power, choice and enjoyment by graphically showing a measure on four labelled glasses, as figure 8.6 shows. Students then provide a numerical score for each category and these are combined and an average calculated. They believe this gives them some measure of how the students are feeling and what they may need to work on to ensure their learning community functions more effectively. CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 279

FIGURE 8.6

Student representation of their survival needs

Belonging

Power

Choice

Enjoyment

Source: English and Dean (2001, p. 10).

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Classroom discourses Power has a profound influence on the social and emotional environment of the classroom. While it is often argued that power can be possessed by a privileged person or group and used to dominate, no one has unequivocal power and people can be powerless and powerful simultaneously. It is the discourses that operate in the classroom that render class members, including the teacher, both powerful and powerless. In the classroom, discourses operate to determine ‘who is in’ and ‘who is out’, both empowering and disempowering students. James Gee (2005, p. 26) describes discourses as ‘“walking the walk and talking the talk”; more specifically, as ways of using language, of thinking, valuing, acting and interacting that identify a person as a member of a socially meaningful group’. There are multiple discourses other than the three broad categories of gender, class and ethnicity; for example, teacher, sport, shopping, social media, religion and science. It is the discourses you take up that form your ‘identity kit’ and determine your attitudes and ways of being in the world. Your teacher discourse and whether you choose to use this to position yourself as the powerful ‘other’ will impact your relationships with students. People are always positioned within a conversation — something you have undoubtedly experienced. The study of discourses and how they can be selectively used provides insights into how power relationships operate that impact on the discursive practices of classrooms. This means both how class members are positioned by others and how they position themselves. In some classrooms the teacher discourse is authoritative and authoritarian so that students feel that contributions they make are not valued. Recall a time when you have positioned yourself or been positioned by others in a conversation or discussion. Positioning theory is complex, as is the study of power relationships (see the work of Foucault); however, some awareness of how power is manifested in classrooms is essential when considering teacher–student relationships. Although students may not explicitly refer to power relationships in claims they make about what helps and hinders their engagement in the classroom, their understanding of power relationships is implicit. As the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR 2005) reports, teacher responsiveness to students has a significant effect on both Australian primary and secondary school students in relation to their emotional and cognitive engagement. Students are quite explicit about what they require of their teachers and are ‘acute observers’ of teachers. They claim to respond positively when teachers (DEEWR 2005, p. 9): r enjoy teaching students as well as the subject r are fair, approachable and supportive r respect students and do not put them down r know them as individuals and speak to them individually r involve them in decision making r explain things clearly 280

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r r r r

care about them respond to requests for help listen to them and do not shout at them do not give up on them.

Building relationships Knowing your student is a good starting point. As a pre-service teacher, one of the first challenges is learning students’ names. This is all the more challenging for secondary and specialist teachers with multiple classes, but class photos are helpful to scan before a class to refresh your memory. Some early childhood and primary teachers have students create their own individual profiles and display these as a means of building a sense of community and student identity. Seizing the moment to have a conversation when on yard duty, on bus trips or even before and after school helps you get to know your students. School camps serve this purpose particularly well and some schools intentionally plan these early in the year for this very purpose. Extracurricular activities, including school sports, debating, music and drama also provide opportunities for building relationships. Observing closely allows you to find out useful information without direct questioning, which can seem intrusive. For preschool children, home visits are often routine and these provide useful insights into their world. Alternatively, online programs, such as Storyboard, set up two-way communication with parents/carers about the children’s learning experiences. Relationships start with the basic capacity for building trust. This takes time and is a mutual endeavour. Fullan and Langworthy (2014) claim that learning is rooted in strong, supportive personal relationships and that learning experiences are deeply embedded in the relationships that exist between and among students and teachers, between student peers, between students and their families. Hattie (2012) similarly identifies developing positive relationships with pupils as one of the nine mind frames of ‘effective teachers’. This emphasis is enshrined in Victoria’s (Department of Education and Training 2017) Principles for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. How has relationship building been addressed in your pre-service programs? Fullan and Langworthy (2013, p. 14) state that it is generally overlooked, but suggest that ‘technology can enable and accelerate deep learning relationships — both between teachers and students and between students and other “learning partners” such as peers, mentors, and others with similar learning interests’. Do you agree with their statement?

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Working as a group What have been your experiences of group work? In student-centred classrooms, where teachers accept that they are not the gatekeepers of knowledge, students are encouraged and supported to work collaboratively and to function as a community of learners. Collaborative learning impacts the social and intellectual climate of your classroom. For this to occur, seating arrangements need to promote face-toface interactions and class work organised so that there are opportunities for students to work in small groups or teams. Group work is grounded in Vygotsky’s claim that social interactions are an essential part of learning and that students learn from and with each other. He asserted that everything that is learned is processed twice, ‘first, on a social level, and later, on the individual level’ (1978, p. 57). The size of a small group can vary from two to eight, but Reid, English and Green (2002) suggest that four is the optimal number — a recommendation, not a rule — dependent on the task orientation. This number allows for a range of student experiences and increases the number of student exchanges and interactions essential for discussions, problem solving and group inquiries and tasks. Importantly, a group of four avoids unequal power relations that can occur with a triad arrangement. Johnson and Johnson (1998) advocate four to five as the optimal number for cooperative learning. Furthermore, Hattie (2012) and Marzano (2007) assert that group work is only effective when groups are small. There are many different ways of grouping students. These will vary according to the teacher’s purpose and may be teacher-selected or student-selected, short- or long-term arrangements. Students may be grouped randomly or on the basis of such things as gender, learning styles, friendship, age and year levels CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 281

(in multi-age classrooms), but students should experience working with a range of peers. The cooperative learning approach requires that student groups be heterogeneous: mixed gender and mixed ability. Awareness of power and oppression are essential and flexibility is paramount when establishing groups. You may have observed that in many classrooms students work in a group but not as a group. In effect, students may be seated in a group but work as individuals. This is generally because students are unfamiliar with the behaviours and expectations of working collaboratively. As Reid, English and Green (2002) state, when planning for small-group learning it must be taken into account that students first need to learn and acquire expertise in new discourses (addressed later in the chapter). They also need to be familiarised with the skills and behaviours required for effective teamwork. If you have been frustrated by small-group work, it may be because the students have not been adequately prepared to work in this way.

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Cooperative learning What do you understand cooperative learning to be? Cooperation and collaboration are terms that overlap and are often used interchangeably. Cooperative learning has its origins in developmental psychology, and emphasises teacher involvement in setting goals, determining activities and evaluating student achievements. The processes of group interactions, skill development, social learning and management of the environment are emphasised (Boud, Cohen & Sampson 2001). Emphasis is on teacher intervention and management. By contrast, collaborative learning has its genesis in adult and adolescent learning. More control of the learning is passed over to the students; the assumption being that students know how to work cooperatively. They have developed the skills to engage in exploratory talk, discussion, critical thinking and problem solving independent of the teacher. This enables tasks to be more open-ended and allows for some negotiation of learning and evaluation between teachers and students. Whether it is cooperative or collaborative work, the group task must be open-ended and inquiry-based so that opportunities present to discuss, negotiate and make decisions as a team. Collaborative learning is identified as a high-impact teaching strategy (HITS) for excellence in teaching and learning (Department of Education and Training, Victoria 2017). Moreover, collaborative problem solving is deemed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to be a critical and necessary twenty-first century skill used in education and the workforce, and since 2015 has been included in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. The OECD (2017, p. 6) defines collaborative learning as ‘the capacity of an individual to effectively engage in a process whereby two or more agents attempt to solve a problem by sharing the understanding and effort required to come to a solution and pooling their knowledge, skills and efforts to reach that solution’. Cooperative learning has been extensively researched across all disciplines and its benefits documented (see, for example, Hattie 2009; Johnson & Johnson 1999; Marzano 2007; Sharon 1994; Slavin 1991). Marzano and Hattie both agree that the use of cooperative learning groups adds value to whole-class instruction and to individual work when cooperative learning is structured carefully and students are taught explicitly how to work effectively in groups. However, neither Hattie nor Marzano believe that cooperative learning should replace whole-class explicit instruction or individual learning activities. For instance, Hattie cautions that if students have not gained sufficient mastery of materials and been taught topic-related facts and skills they cannot make a meaningful contribution to cooperative learning tasks. Do you agree? Johnson and Johnson claim that cooperative learning groups foster student socialisation and, as such, should be heterogeneous, enabling the benefits of less able students receiving instruction from the more able. Group membership is also viewed as a social justice issue — skills and resources being evenly distributed. Gillies and Boyle’s (2005) study of primary students reported that in heterogeneous groups, students learn from and with each other. Both teachers and students need to understand and work with difference: not only difference in learning styles and abilities but also ethnicity, sexuality, religious beliefs 282

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and class. As Johnson and Johnson’s (1999) research indicates, students learn best about diversity and difference in inclusive classrooms. The concepts of difference and inclusivity were discussed in chapter 5.

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Cooperative learning involves positive interdependence, individual accountability, group processing and face-to-face interaction.

David and Roger Johnson make the point that effective group work requires years of ongoing training and practice, as it is complex, procedural learning. The critical elements that define cooperative learning as opposed to group work are: r positive interdependence r individual accountability r group processing — students reflecting metacognitively r face-to-face interaction. A distinction is made by the Johnsons between group work and cooperative learning. Their argument is that the former overlooks the need for cognitive and social skills to be taught and practised; for example, learning how to be inclusive of all group members, not allowing members to dominate, using democratic processes, and knowing how to contest and challenge ideas appropriately. Cooperative learning focuses on learning to learn, rather than learning a body of knowledge, but the teacher is ever vigilant, constantly monitoring and providing feedback on group functioning. Essentially, cooperative learning involves being accountable for one’s self and for group members. A student cannot succeed unless their group members do. For many teachers, this remains a sticking point that is not easily resolved. In your experience, has group work accorded with the cooperative/collaborative learning criteria or has it been simply ‘adjusted to the near occasion’ so that in effect students worked in a group but not as a group? Cooperative learning needs to be carefully prepared, planned and monitored. In classrooms where students are highly competitive and an individualistic culture prevails, cooperative group work is rarely successful. Likewise, when students have experienced teacher-centred approaches to learning, the introduction of group work processes can be unsettling. If you have worked in groups, at some point you CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 283

are likely to have been frustrated by such things as commitments not being met, freeloading, conflicts between group members, differences of opinion, personality clashes, inconsistency of work standards and, importantly, perhaps not being supported by your teacher. It is therefore not uncommon for some students to resist group work. One way of supporting small group work is to establish roles for group members so that responsibility for the completion of work is shared. The roles you create and use will depend on the students’ age, previous experience with group work and the nature of the task. Some roles you might consider are listed in figure 8.7. FIGURE 8.7

Examples of roles that support small group work

Chairperson/coordinator

Directs and monitors achievement of the task, drawing on the roles others play

Timekeeper

Paces the group to meet time commitments

Recorder

Takes notes that are used for reporting purposes

Gofer

Collects and returns resources that are used

Encourager

Monitors participation of group members and encourages quieter members to contribute

Clarifier

Asks questions to clarify or extend contributions, challenges responses, plays devil’s advocate

Proofreader/editor

Checks work to be presented for inaccuracies or errors

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Teacher-facilitated group work While cooperative learning focuses on student-directed learning, small-group work facilitated by the teacher is a very useful strategy for developing the social and dialogic skills required for effective participation in discussions. In a whole-class discussion, it is generally impossible to ensure that all students engage actively, and the opportunities for teachers to extend and deepen an individual student’s thinking are compromised by the need to give as many students as possible a chance to participate. Teacherfacilitated small-group work is not without its challenges, and requires careful planning to ensure all students in the class are engaged productively. Benefits, however, include: r enabling all students to contribute r building a sense of a learning community (Roghoff, Matusov & White 1996; Wenger 1998) r providing the necessary space for extended student responses that make students’ thinking more visible (Ritchhart & Perkins 2008) r developing a foundation for ongoing dialogue. Teacher facilitation of a small-group discussion resonates with the notion of scaffolding whereby the teacher collaborates with students to assist them individually and jointly to construct meaning (Wegerif & Mercer 1997; Westgate & Corden 1993). The skills they learn in this context are transferable to working as a class or working on a student-directed small-group task. Early childhood and primary school teachers frequently plan learning around group rotations where they work intensely with one group. This approach is less widely used in secondary classrooms, but students report teacher-facilitated group discussion to be engaging and more productive than student-directed small-group discussions (Godinho & Shrimpton 2008). WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Preparation for group work is critical to its successful implementation. When monitoring and supporting group work, it may be worth considering the following: whether the learning outcomes and the task itself are clear to the group, how you will group the students, how you will monitor their work (will you assign

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class time to do this?), how you will gather feedback and progress reports from the group, what conflictmanagement strategies you will share with the group, what opportunities you have created for group reflection, and whether the assessment criteria is clear to the group. Take this list and rework it (as required) to form a checklist to use when preparing for group work. Determine its effectiveness and suggest criteria that could be added or subtracted.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Establish some class protocols for group work. This might emerge from a Y-chart strategy where students state what working in a small group should look like, feel like and sound like. For example, when working in a group we listen and respond respectfully to each other’s views, ensure everyone participates, and use positive language.

8.5 Dialogic pedagogy

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8.5 Understand what is meant by dialogic pedagogy.

What opportunities did you have at school to discuss big ideas with your peers? An essential part of building a community of learners is establishing shared ways of communicating and interacting, which Kate raised in the opening case. Moreover, all subjects require time for talking, problem solving and the extended exploration of ideas. Purposeful talk is integral to the development of the intellectual climate of your classrooms but also imperative for participation as an active citizen in a democratic society. John Hattie (2012) identifies engaging in dialogue, not monologue, with pupils as one of the nine mind frames used by effective teachers. Yet research in the UK shows that ‘teacher–pupil and pupil–pupil talk are under exploited as tools for learning and understanding, and that their potential for much more than transition is rarely fulfilled’ (Alexander 2010, p. 306). In response, the Thinking Together Project initiated by the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education promotes a dialogue-based approach to teaching and learning that emphasises the importance of teacher–student talk and student–student talk and the need to both interact and interthink. Yet what is often not explicitly stated, but is pivotal to dialogic pedagogy, is focused and respectful listening. Ritchhart (2015) notes that listening and questioning are the basis for positive classroom interactions that ultimately build a culture of deep thinking. So what is meant by a dialogic pedagogy? Essentially, dialogic means pertaining to dialogue. Dialogue is a shared inquiry that is multi-voiced and ‘open to the other’ (see Bakhtin in Morris 1994), but which also allows individuals to discover and define their own thinking. It is a particular way of using classroom talk that stimulates and extends the way that students think — and in so doing advances their learning and understanding. It requires a shift from more traditional classroom discourse where the teacher initiates all the questions or prompts and talk is always directed through the teacher, to encourage student–student interactions and responsiveness to one another’s ideas. Ron Ritchhart describes eight cultural forces that he has identified as providing leverage points for creating a culture of thinking that is supportive of dialogic pedagogy: 1. time: providing the time for the development of ideas 2. opportunities: engaging in purposeful activities that require deeper level thinking 3. routines and structures: establishing scaffolding for supporting students’ thinking 4. language: developing a metalanguage for describing different ways of thinking 5. modelling: making visible the processes of thinking 6. interactions and relationships: valuing collaborative thinking and inquiry CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 285

7. physical environment: creating an environment that facilitates interactions 8. expectations: setting expectations around the valuing of learning. Central to dialogic pedagogy is substantive conversation: sustained, purposeful talk about topics that matter. A good starting point for establishing dialogic pedagogy is the development of your questioning strategies and techniques.

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Learning to question: questioning to learn Think about why you ask questions. What do you want to get out of your questions? Questioning is another evidence-based high-impact teaching strategy (HITS) that Victoria’s Department of Education and Training (DET 2017a) associates with effective teaching that promotes learning. It ‘opens up opportunities for students to discuss, argue, and express opinions and alternative points of view’ (p. 9). Questioning can be used for multiple purposes: stimulating curiosity and interest; engaging and challenging students; checking their understanding; and self-evaluation of one’s teaching. Questioning is sometimes described as a teacher’s core business and, as such, you will need to develop a repertoire or toolbox of question types and strategies, regardless of the subject or grade that you teach. The Critical and Creative thinking capability in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA) requires well-developed questioning skills to engage students meaningfully with its four interrelated elements: 1. reflecting on thinking and processes 2. inquiring — identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas 3. generating ideas, possibilities and actions 4. analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasons and procedures. Learning to ask good questions takes time and practice. Morgan and Saxton (2006) sagely remind us that rather than thinking about the type of question you want to ask, you need to consider the purposes for your questions and what you want to get out of them. The research shows that about 80 per cent of classroom time is spent on asking and responding to questions. Teachers ask between 30 and 120 questions an hour (Brown & Edmondson 1984; Sadker & Sadker 2003), which equates to a possible 15 million questions over a teaching career. This volume indicates that most questions simply require recall and recitation of information. Of course, there are times when quiz-style, ‘hands on the buzzer’ questions are appropriate, and these questions should be part of your questioning repertoire; however, if dialogic pedagogy is your intention, you will also need to ask open-ended questions that invite students to deliberate and ponder before responding. In seminal research by Rowe (1974) it was found that teachers waited less than one second for student responses. Thinking requires time, but in today’s world of communication devices that provide instant responses the problem is exacerbated. Teachers and students alike feel uncomfortable with silence and consequently teachers are inclined to jump in and fill the gap, rephrasing their questions or asking another question, leaving the students confused about what the teacher is asking, or perhaps making it a rhetorical question by answering it themselves. Rowe found that if wait time/think time was extended to even three seconds: r student responses were longer r more students volunteered a response r more questions were asked r students were more analytical, creative and evaluative. Interestingly, the research shows that wait time does not have the same impact on tertiary students (Duell 1994). Next time you ask a question that requires a considered response, try extending the wait/think time.

Framing questions Questions are often referred to as being open or closed. If a question is closed the answer is nonnegotiable; if it is open it invites interpretation and supports discussion as there is no perceived ‘correct’ 286

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response. Sometimes questions are differentiated as lower-cognitive and higher-cognitive, or convergent and divergent. When a question engages students and motivates them to ask further questions or challenges their ideas, it requires more complex thinking: analysing, evaluating or creating. Bloom’s taxonomy (figure 8.8), which is a continuum of cognitive complexity that was revised in 2001 by Anderson and Krathwohl, is a tool that can be used for framing questions that target different levels of cognitive processing. The SOLO taxonomy (Biggs & Collis 1982), shown in figure 8.9, similarly provides a measure of cognitive processing and is also widely used by educators. It has five levels of understanding: Pre-structural, uni-structural, multi-structural, relational and extended abstract. FIGURE 8.8

Bloom’s taxonomy Can the student create a new product or point of view?

assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write

Can the student justify a stand or decision?

appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate

Creating

Evaluating

Analysing

appraise, compare, contrast, Can the student distinguish criticise, differentiate, between different parts? discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test Can the student use information in a new way?

choose, demonstrate, dramatise, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write

Can the student explain ideas or concepts?

classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognise, report, select, translate, paraphrase

Can the student recall or remember the information?

define, duplicate, list, memorise, recall, repeat, state

Applying

Understanding

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Remembering

Questions are critical to the development of your students’ understanding (Black et al. 2004), but it takes effort and time to frame questions that are worth asking and that provide opportunities to explore big conceptual ideas — questions that support a dialogic pedagogy. As Norah Morgan and Julianna Saxton (2006, p. 12) advise, you need to persist to ‘give yourself time and permission to try things out and keep working away at it’. There are a number of taxonomies and frameworks that can provide useful reference points as you begin to develop a repertoire of questioning strategies and approaches (see examples in McKenzie 2005; Morgan & Saxton 2006; Godinho & Wilson 2007).

Student questions In a dialogic classroom, not only do teachers need to nurture their own questioning strategies and approaches, but students must be encouraged and supported in framing good questions, for example, by teachers modelling effective questioning. This is essential for engaging students in inquiry-based learning. Postman and Weingartner’s (1969, p. 23) powerful statement that ‘Once you have learned how to ask CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 287

questions — relevant and appropriate questions — you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you need to know’ reminds us of the importance of developing our students’ questioning skills. FIGURE 8.9

SOLO taxonomy The integrated body of knowledge can be transformed into the higher level of abstract and be generalized to a new topic of the subject

Quantitive Phase

Qualitative Phase

Extended Abstract Verbs: theorize, generalize, hypothesize, reflect Verbs: compare, contrast explain, causes, analyze, relate

Relational

Multi-structural Verbs: enumerate, describe, list, combine, do algorithms Uni-structural Verbs: identify, do simple procedure Pre-structural Verbs: misses point

5 Levels in the SOLO Taxonomy

Different aspects of students’ understanding have been integrated into a coherent body of knowledge Students’ understanding focuses on several relevant aspects, but is treated as independent objects and concepts Students’ understanding focuses on only one relevant aspect of the subject Students’ only understand the subject at the individual word level, usually miss the point and uses too simple way of thinking about it Information at each level

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Source: © John Biggs. Reproduced with permission.

You may have also noticed how extraordinarily curious young children are. Older students are generally not as noticeably curious, the classroom culture having positioned them as the question answerers rather than the question askers. Studies of questioning consistently show that student questions tend to be procedural, rather than curious, exploratory or critical. Examples of procedural questions you may have encountered include: What do we do next? When is this work due? How much more time do we have? How are the marks allocated? Yet, with emphases in curriculum documents on inquiry and thinking processes, teachers are increasingly requiring students to ask questions. In early childhood and primary school classrooms, ‘wondering walls’ display student questions, and in the International Baccalaureate Organization’s Primary Years Program (PYP), classrooms are required to put students’ inquiry questions on view along with the teacher’s open-ended questions that drive a unit of work. As Jamie McKenzie (2005, p. 20) suggests, ‘Without strong questioning skills, students are mere passengers on somebody else’s tour bus. They may be on the highway but someone else is doing the driving’.

Substantial conversations What does the term substantive conversation mean to you? Dialogic pedagogy involves students having substantial conversations and it is usually open-ended questions that facilitate this talk mode. These questions assist in focusing students’ thinking and can both initiate and sustain conversations that foster openness to diverse ideas and engage students in extended dialogue that encourages risk-taking. Elliot Eisner suggests that the type of questions needed for substantive conversations are those ‘Questions [that] invite you in. They stimulate possibilities. They give you a ride. And the best ones are those that tickle 288

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the intellect and resist resolution’ (Eisner 2006, p. 44). Substantive conversations engage students in exploratory talk. Wegerif and Mercer (1997) describe this way of talking as collaborative interaction that allows for different voices to inter-animate each other in ways that construct knowledge, but, additionally, critically assess the quality of that knowledge. Exploratory talk is distinct from disputational talk, where students are competitive and there is a high level of disagreement, and cumulative talk, where students build positively but uncritically on each other’s ideas so that a ‘group think’ mentality develops (Fullan 2006). So what defines a substantive conversation? Table 8.2 below identifies characteristics adapted from Queensland’s Department of Education and Training (2004) and Robin Alexander’s dialogic principles (2006). TABLE 8.2

Characteristics of substantive talk

Intellectual substance

Talk is purposeful, relates to subject matter in the disciplines and addresses topics of social significance. Talk involves critical reasoning, applying ideas, forming generalisations and raising questions.

Dialogue

Talk is reciprocal and supportive. Students listen to each other, consider alternative viewpoints and build on each other’s ideas, so that their talk is coherent, interactive and co-constructed.

Mediating one’s own thinking

Students articulate and share their inner dialogue/self-talk with the group to explore their ideas.

Sustained exchanges

Talk is collective, moving beyond the QRF routine (question, response, feedback), in which it is controlled and directed through the teacher, to linked exchanges between speakers: teacher–students and student–student.

Source: Godinho and Shrimpton (2008), adapted from State of Queensland, Department of Education and Training (2004) and Robin Alexander’s dialogic principles (2006).

Opportunities for extended dialogue that are characteristic of substantive conversations are essential in early childhood, primary and secondary classrooms. Students will often acknowledge that they do not know what they think until they have had the opportunity to talk aloud. Gordon Wells (1999, p. 108) makes explicit the importance of students engaging in dialogue when he states that ‘by contributing to meaning-making with and for others, the dialogic process itself extends their own understanding’. Substantive conversations provide opportunities to explore ideas both individually and collectively. With very young children, their talk may initially sound fragmented and disjointed as they shape their thinking as they speak. Older students sometimes shape their ideas before talking, but they too will engage in the process of developing their ideas as they talk. To allow this, teachers need to ‘vacate the floor’, determining when to step in and step out of the conversation so that students can build on each other’s ideas.

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Working with student responses To enact a dialogic pedagogy requires working thoughtfully with students’ responses. Students will quickly gain a very clear indication of the extent to which your questions are open to discussion or whether you have a predetermined answer and it becomes a game of ‘guess what is inside my head’ as you pilot the students to the responses you want to hear. This can happen very easily, as the excerpt in figure 8.10 reveals. Here the teacher starts with an open-ended question, but closes down opportunities for dialogue, intent upon achieving her predetermined answer to the question. Often you will be unaware of this happening, and recording a discussion is one way to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of one’s questioning and working with student responses. Open-ended questions do not necessarily elicit dialogue without you sustaining the question. Moreover, your responses deem these to be questions that are open in form but demonstrably closed in function. CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 289

FIGURE 8.10

Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher:

Teacher–student dialogue

What is the cost of war? It costs love. Yes. Costs lives. That’s a great point, but you haven’t got it. Identity. Good but it wasn’t what I was thinking of. I’ll give you a clue. What hasn’t he had? Love. Partly. Childhood. Childhood — that’s the one I like.

Sometimes this is appropriate; for example, when teaching new skills. Sometimes, quite inadvertently, teachers lead the student to the response that they want to hear even when this is not intended. If you want your students to engage in dialogic talk, you need to break the IRE talk pattern (initiation of question by teacher, response by student, and teacher evaluation of student’s response) that was identified by Sinclair and Coulthard (1975). There are some useful tips in table 8.3 that you might want to try when working with student responses. TABLE 8.3

Working with student responses

Strategy

Description

Application

Sustain the question

Invite a range of responses to a question. Use probes or provocations so that the students extend, elaborate, clarify or justify their responses.

Does anyone have a different opinion? Could you tell us a little more about that idea? What makes you say that? How else could we view this?

Give considered responses

Avoid judgemental responses. Respond constructively, encouraging students to deepen their thinking or to reconsider a response.

What are the implications of your response?

Reconceptualise or reframe a student response to clarify meaning (always check the student is comfortable with your reframing). This shows engagement and can assist in scaffolding the discussion.

So you are saying that . . .

Allow sufficient wait time/think time

Learn to be comfortable with silence; encourage students to take up think time.

This is a complex question so we will allow some thinking time.

Minimise feedback

While students need to be affirmed, effusive praise can stifle risk taking and disrupt student dialogue. Keep responses focused on building the dialogue.

Thank you for that idea.

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Demonstrate active listening

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Would this apply in all circumstances? Can you provide some evidence to support your point of view?

In summary . . . Body language can also signal active engagement and replace verbal acknowledgement: eye contact and a nod, or a quizzical expression.

That’s an interesting perspective. Yes, that’s one way . . . A nod.

Strategy

Description

Application

Vacate the floor

Step out of the discussion, allowing opportunities for students to respond to each other’s ideas. Delegate responsibilities so students take more ownership.

Would anyone like to respond to that idea? Can someone summarise what has been said? How consistent is this response with what others might be thinking?

Source: Godinho and Shrimpton (2008).

A routine that can be quickly established for students of all ages, including very young students, to sustain a question is simply asking ‘What makes you say that?’ Clinton Golding (2005) has developed a series of interdisciplinary thought-encouraging questions and prompts to support dialogic discourse. He suggests that simply asking ‘Why did you say that?’ will help sustain the questions by inviting students to elaborate their response and provide some justification for a position or a stance. Small incremental steps such as these two questions are a starting point for establishing a dialogic discourse.

8.6 Dispositional thinking pedagogy LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8.6 Frame questions that target different types of dispositional thinking.

If pedagogy is a belief that all children can learn and that it is the duty of the adult to participate in that growth and development, awareness of different ways of thinking is pivotal when seeking to connect teaching with learning.

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Critical, creative and reflective thinking There are three broad categories for thinking — critical, creative and reflective — that accord with interdisciplinary approaches to thinking processes in curriculum documents. The Australian Curriculum (ACARA) states that dispositions such as inquisitiveness, reasonableness, intellectual flexibility, open- and fair-mindedness, a readiness to try new ways of doing things and consider alternatives, and persistence all promote and are enhanced by critical and creative thinking. Ron Ritchhart, a member of the Project Zero team at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has developed a useful framework of thinking dispositions that draws on the work of experts such as Art Costa, David Perkins, Shari Tishmann, Robert Ennis, Peter Facione and Robert Marzano. Dispositional thinking is made up of characteristics that trigger and direct an individual’s abilities towards good productive thinking. Ritchhart identifies dispositions with each of these categories (2002): r ability: requisite abilities, skills and knowledge r sensitivity: awareness of the occasion r inclination: fixed and developed beliefs r motivation: situation specific. Table 8.4 shows the different types of thinking associated with the different dispositions that are grouped under the three broad categories: r looking at: critical r looking out: creative r looking in: reflective. Students do not always reveal their thinking, and it cannot be assumed that because a student is not participating that they are disengaged. Table 8.4 suggests some questions that encourage the different ways of thinking to get you started. Ensure that you target questions from each of the three categories when planning questions to ask in your lessons.

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TABLE 8.4

Questions that support the thinking dispositions

Critical: Looking at

Creative: Looking out

Reflective: Looking in

Strategic

Open-minded

Metacognitive

What evidence supports this view?

What are other perspectives?

What did I learn?

What are the limitations?

What other approach could we take?

What helped me learn?

What are the priorities?

What other considerations need to be made?

What did I learn about myself as a learner?

Sceptical

Curious

Reflective

What makes you say that?

What if . . . ?

What could I do differently?

Is the evidence reliable?

What might . . . ?

From whose perspective is this told?

How could . . . ?

What might strengthen my work and how will I go about this?

Whose voice is silenced?

Imagine that . . .

What are the possibilities?

What type of thinking did I use?

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Dispositional ways of thinking can be encouraged and supported at any level of schooling — early childhood, primary or secondary — as the Visible Thinking and Artful Thinking projects undertaken by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education have shown to be the case. To support the development of students’ dispositional thinking, team members have developed a series of thinking routines that encourage student to be critical, creative and reflective. These simple routines are available as downloadable documents on the Project Zero website. As Jamie McKenzie (2005) posits, there is plenty of thinking that never achieves lift-off because it is done in an unquestioning manner. With information so readily available and accessible through the web and other multimedia sources, there has never been a greater need for students to be sceptical thinkers in order to determine the relevancy, legitimacy and authenticity of the information they source. The disposition to be open-minded needs to accompany curiosity when answers are sought to questions. There must be a willingness to not simply accept an answer but to show preparedness to try out new ways of thinking, generate alternative explanations and look beyond the given and the expected. These dispositional ways of thinking are implicit in the Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008), which state that the curriculum must support young people to think flexibly, to communicate well and to work collaboratively with others. Young people must be creative and resourceful, able to think critically and analyse information, and to problem solve so that they can meet the challenges of the twenty-first century — with its complex environmental, social and economic pressures (ACARA). This enactment of curriculum and fulfilment of these goals is dependent upon teachers’ pedagogical practices. As Deborah Britzman (2003) claims, pedagogy is the agency that connects teaching with learning. It will determine how you think and act in the classroom and will affect your students’ engagement with learning. The social and intellectual climate that you create is ultimately dependent on your pedagogical decision making.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Learning to listen carefully and respond thoughtfully to student interactions during class discussions takes time and practice. A starting point is familiarising yourself with different strategies for working with student responses, like those suggested in table 8.3. Likewise, questions that potentially elicit productive discussion need to be carefully framed, and this is best done when planning for your lessons. A useful

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way to monitor the effectiveness of your questioning, discussion prompts and interaction with students is to record a discussion using either video or audio. Analysing the recording will give you specific foci for nurturing the development of your dialogical pedagogy.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Your students may be unfamiliar with what constitutes a substantive conversation. To generate a class definition of a substantive conversation, use some mind mapping software or a template to assist students to explore their thinking. Engaging students in substantive conversation will require you to develop a classroom culture that is supportive of on-going dialogue. A starting point can be establishing some structures and protocols for keeping discussion focused. Input from students is critical but structures should include: prompt structures or cues for challenging a response, asking for elaboration or clarification of a point made, providing evidence and justification for a view, exploration of reasoning and considering implications. Display these protocols in the classroom or on the interactive whiteboard when a discussion gets underway so they become embedded within the classroom discourse.

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INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

The introductory case reveals how place impacts pedagogy, and the conceptualisation of place-based pedagogy is explored later in the chapter. For Indigenous communities, connectedness with country — their place — is sacrosanct. The Closing the gap report (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet 2017, p. 6) acknowledges this, stating ‘connection to land, family and culture is fundamental to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’. Yet the pressures imposed on schools to improve their NAPLAN data have frequently seen community projects based on decades of pedagogic and intercultural experience being squeezed out (Fogarty, Riddle, Lovell & Wilson 2017, p. 1). This is less the case at Maningrida, a remote community 550 kilometres east of Darwin. Here, land, language and culture are a central focus of educational programs across the learning spectrum. Michelle Callahan introduced the Family as First Teachers program to the Early Learning Centre, using the Australian Abecedarian Approach to empower parents as the first and primary educators of their children. This program necessitates understanding the local cultural context and acquiring some knowledge of local languages to support the development of rich interactions between children and their carers. Michelle cites the relational trust built through day-to-day social exchanges with ‘strong’ community women, who provide their interpretive skills and share their deep cultural knowledge, as critical to the program’s delivery. This embracing of two-way learning is further evidenced in fostering the development of early years literacy resources. Texts constructed by the women in their first language depict local stories about animals or on-country experiences, and appropriate their artistic talents. For Michelle, relational trust, place and pedagogy and are intrinsically interwoven. Place-based pedagogy is likewise emphasised through the community school’s sustained participation in Learning on Country programs that promote intergenerational Indigenous knowledge of local land and sea environments. Connections with place, according to Mason Scholes, drive pedagogy and the school’s Lurra Language and Culture Program. Here, two-way learning is evidenced in Indigenous teachers and ´ elders deeming what knowledge must be learned in order to maintain Indigenous identity and heritage in the development of units that align with the NT Curriculum Framework for Indigenous Languages and Culture (Northern Territory Department of Education and Training 2017). These units are delivered through lessons, excursions and camps and culture days. Further acknowledgment of place-based pedagogy is the first language program undertaken by students from pre-school to middle years and the support provided in some senior classes in four languages: Kuninjku, Ndjebbana, Burarra and Dijnang (Godinho, Woolley, Scholes & Sutton 2017).

CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 293

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While there is an inherent deficit discourse in Closing the gap, and progress against the targets has been disappointing, June Oscar AO (2017), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, endorses the continuation of its focus on improving Indigenous outcomes. Oscar believes young people must establish a strong cultural identity through connections with their land and language. Enacting place-based pedagogy in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples facilitates the establishment of these connections. As the 2017 report emphasises, the importance of culture cannot be underestimated in working to ‘close the gap’ (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet 2017), resonating with Michelle and Mason’s pedagogical beliefs and practices.

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SUMMARY Pedagogy is derived from the Greek word paidagogas, which means ‘to lead the child’. Pedagogy is about the practices that define your teaching. It is informed by the beliefs and values you hold about teaching and learning, which in turn shape your teacher identity. As part of the ongoing process of identity formation, you will engage in ‘storying’ your personal and professional experiences of teaching; doing so can heighten your awareness of the cycles of personal development, which are part of the continuous reframing of professional practice. The Queensland New Basics project identified productive pedagogies around a framework of four key themes: intellectual quality, connectedness, supportive classroom environments and recognition of difference. These themes resonate with the Melbourne Declaration that underpins the Australian Curriculum framework and the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning global partnership (Fullan & Langworthy 2014). This framework connects with critical pedagogy, focusing on more equitable learning outcomes for students. Like the term ‘productive pedagogies’, Shulman’s (1987) notion of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been embraced by the educational lexicon. This special amalgam of content and pedagogy is teachers’ own unique form of professional understanding. In addition, technology is changing both the delivery of programs and teacher–student interactions as access to digital tools reconceptualises teachers’ pedagogical practices. In identifying what distinguishes expert teachers, John Hattie (2003, 2009) lists direct instruction as a powerful pedagogy in supporting students’ learning. Yet as Allan Luke (2013) asserts, taking the form of explicit teaching should be but one strategy in your professional practice framework. Place-based pedagogy has particular relevance for Indigenous students. The pedagogies that relate to place and space are increasingly being recognised as impacting on students’ learning opportunities and engagement with learning. Engagement is sometimes intrinsically motivated, but it can also be the outcome of the classroom culture that teachers create: the learning spaces they set up; the relationships they build with students; and the collaborative learning pedagogy they establish. Cooperative learning skills are essential for participation in dialogic pedagogy, which requires shared ways of communicating and interacting in substantive conversations. These conversations involve framing questions that target deeper cognitive processing and working with student responses to encourage the development of dispositional thinking.

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KEY TERMS Bloom’s taxonomy A continuum of cognitive complexity, offering a way to frame questions that target different levels of cognitive processing: remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating and creating. collaborative learning The passing of more control of learning to the students (based on the assumption that students know how to work cooperatively). cooperative learning An approach to learning with origins in developmental psychology that emphasises teacher involvement in setting goals, determining activities and evaluating student achievements. critical pedagogy An approach to pedagogy that takes as a central concern the issue of power in the teaching and learning context. cumulative talk When students build positively but uncritically on each other’s ideas, so that a ‘group think’ mentality develops. dialogic pedagogy Pedagogy based on participation in substantive conversation — sustained, purposeful talk about topics that matter. direct instruction Explicit instruction for mastery of basic, skills, facts and information. Direct Instruction (DI) Highly scripted step-by-step, lesson-by-lesson approach to instruction. CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 295

discourses Ways of using language, thinking, valuing, acting and interacting that identify a person as a member of a socially meaningful group. dispositional thinking Active and wilful patterns of productive thinking that promote creative, reflective and critical cognition. disputational talk When students are competitive in their dialogue and there is a high level of disagreement. exploratory talk Collaborative interaction that allows for different voices to inter-animate each other in ways that construct knowledge but, additionally, critically assess the quality of that knowledge. pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) The teacher’s unique amalgam of content and pedagogy. Productive Pedagogies Pedagogy grounded in constructivist methods of teaching and emphasising intellectual quality, connectedness, a supportive classroom environment and recognition of difference. Reggio Emilia An alternative approach to education that was founded in the Reggio Emilia region of Italy after World War II. Key aspects of the approach include student-centred learning, project-based curriculum, and the interaction of the physical environment with students’ learning. substantial conversations When students are engaged in exploratory talk with questions that invite them to participate, stimulate possibilities, spark the intellect and resist resolution. thinking dispositions Characteristics that animate, motivate, and direct our abilities toward productive thinking. thinking routines Simple structures such as a set of questions or a short sequence of steps that can be used across year levels and content. Routines differ from strategies in that they are used repeatedly so they become part of the classroom’s culture.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 8.1

LO1

How have your initial beliefs about teaching been challenged by school placements? 8.2

LO1

Why do you think Deborah Britzman claims that there are inherent dangers involved in using stories to make sense of one’s experiences when story lines are not juxtaposed with theoretical positions? 8.3

LO2

Create your own pedagogical framework that includes a technological focus and reflects your ideal teaching and learning practices. Refer to the roles for teachers and learners in the New Pedagogies for Deep Learners (2014, p. 13), http://npdl.thumbtack.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/A-RichSeam.pdf. 8.4

LO3

How have teachers in schools you have recently visited used their classroom space to promote student engagement with learning? Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

8.5

LO4

Visit the Learning Environments Applied Research Network (LEaRN) and consider their ideas about learning spaces. In your reflective journal, express your thoughts about establishing a supportive learning environment and how you will ideally organise the functionality of space in your classrooms. http://research.unimelb.edu.au/learnetwork#home 8.6

LO5

What are some of the challenges and constraints in establishing a dialogic pedagogy? Investigate how dialogic pedagogy fits within the Australian Curriculum framework. 8.7

LO6

Access either Bloom’s taxonomy or the SOLO taxonomy (http://pamhook.com/solo-apps/learningintention-generator/) to support framing your questions when planning a lesson or lesson sequence. 296

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WEBSITES 1 Snapshots of teachers sharing their engagement and responses to the New Pedagogies

2

3

4

5 6 7

for Deep Learning (NPDL): http://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/Resource/LandingPage?ObjectId= 72dcd180-07ba-4dce-bc1e-2ce40f81bd88&SearchScope=All Learning Environments and Applied Research Networks (LEaRN) is an international network bringing together academia and industry to research. It is based on an understanding that the built environment critically impacts the educational experiences of teachers and learners, and that applied research and design of innovative learning environments will bring community benefit: http:// research.unimelb.edu.au/learnetwork#home Robert Marzano and John Hattie have both reviewed research into which teaching strategies make the biggest difference to students’ results. While they used different methods and terminology, they agreed on these eight powerful strategies: www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/robert-marzano-vsjohn-hattie/ High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS). Ten instructional practices identified by the Department of Education and Training (Victoria) that reliably increase student learning wherever they are applied. These practices draw from the findings of tens of thousands of studies of what has worked in classrooms across Australia and the world: www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/ support/highimpactteachstrat.pdf The Australian Society for Evidence Based Teaching: The myths and facts about Direct Instruction, analysed by Shaun Killian: www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/direct-instruction-facts-myths The Australian Society for Evidence Based Teaching present group work that works: www .evidencebasedteaching.org.au/crash-course-evidence-based-teaching/group-work The Visible Thinking website provides access to thinking routines, easy-to-learn mini-strategies or routines that extend and deepen students’ thinking and become part of the fabric of everyday classroom life: www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/VisibleThinking1.html

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REFERENCES Alexander, R (ed.) 2010, Children, their world, their education: Final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review, Routledge, Oxon. —— 2006, Education as dialogue: Moral and pedagogical choices for a runaway world, Hong Kong Institute of Education in conjunction with Dialogos, Hong Kong. Anderson, L & Krathwohl, D (eds) 2001, A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, Longman, New York. Anderson, PM 2005, ‘The meaning of pedagogy’, in JL Kincheloe (ed.), Classroom teaching: An introduction, Peter Lang, New York. Apple, M 2013, Can education change society? Routledge, New York. Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) 2013, Evaluation of the Cape York Australian Aboriginal Academy Initiative, report prepared by the ACER for the Department of Education, Training and Employment Queensland. Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (ACARA), The Australian Curriculum, www.australiancurriculum.edu.au. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2017, Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards, viewed 22 November 2017. Berry, A, Depaepe, F & van Driel, J 2016, ‘Conceptualizing pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge’, in J Loughran & ML Hamilton (eds), The international handbook of teacher education, Singapore, Springer Science and Business Media, pp. 347–86, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0366-0_9. Biggs, J & Collis, K 1982, Evaluating the quality of learning: The SOLO taxonomy, Academic Press, New York. Black, P, Harrison, C, Lee, C, Marshall, B & Wiliam, D 2004, ‘Working inside the black box: assessment for learning in the classroom’, Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 86, no. 1, pp. 9–21. Boud, D, Cohen, R & Sampson, J 2001, Peer teaching in higher education: Learning from and with each other, Kogan Page, London. Britzman, D 2003, Practice makes practice: A critical study of learning to teach, New York Press Albany, New York. Brown, G & Edmondson, R 1984, in E Wragg (ed.), Classroom teaching skills, Nichols, New York, pp. 97–119. CHAPTER 8 Pedagogy: the agency that connects teaching with learning 297

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Burnard, P & White, J 2008, ‘Creativity and performativity: counterpoints in British and Australian education’, British Educational Research Journal, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 667–82. Cadwell, LB 2003, Bringing learning to life: The Reggio approach in early childhood, Teachers College Press, New York. Carlson, JK, Stokes, L, Gess-Newsome, J & Gardner, A 2015, ‘The PCK summit’, in AK Berry, P Friedrichsen & JJ Loughran (eds), Re-examining pedagogical content knowledge in science education, Routledge, New York, pp. 14–27. Clandinin, DJ & Connelly, FM 1996, ‘Teachers’ professional knowledge landscapes: teacher stories — stories of teachers — school stories — stories of schools’, Educational Researcher, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 24–30. —— 1995, Teachers’ professional knowledge landscapes, Teachers College Press, New York. Cleveland, B & Woodman, K 2009, ‘Learning from past experiences: school building design in the 1970s and today’, in C Newton & K Fisher (eds) 2009, Take 8 learning spaces: The transformation of educational spaces for the 21st century, pp. 58–67. Comber, B & Kamler, B 2004, ‘Getting out of deficit: pedagogies of reconnection’, Teaching Education, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 293–310. Commonwealth of Australia 2016, Interim report: First steps for improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Indigenous_Affairs/Educational_ Opportunities/Interim_Report, viewed 29 December 2017. Cuban, L 2009, Hugging the middle: How teachers teach in an era of testing and accountability, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Darling-Hammond, L & Bransford, J (eds) 2005, Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Denzin, N 2009, Qualitative inquiry under fire, Life Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (Victoria) 2012, ‘Blended learning: a synthesis of research findings in Victorian education 2006–2011’, www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/about/research/blendedlearning.pdf, viewed 11 November 2017. Department of Education and Training 2017, ‘The e5 instructional model’, www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/ teachingresources/practice/Pages/e5about.aspx?Redirect=1, viewed 2 January 2017. Department of Education and Training (Victoria) 2017a, ‘Principles for excellence in teaching and learning’, www.education.vic .gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/teaching.aspx, viewed 26 November. —— 2017b, ‘High impact strategies: excellence in teaching and learning’, www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/ teachers/support/highimpactteachstrat.pdf, viewed 22 November 2017. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) 2005, ‘Schooling issues digest: student motivation and learning’, www.dest.gov.au, viewed, 30 September 2009. —— 2003, ‘Blueprint for government schools. Flagship strategy 1: student learning. The principles of learning and teaching P–12 background paper’, www.eduweb.vic.gov.au, viewed 25 November 2017. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet 2017, Closing the gap — Prime Minister’s report 2017, https://closingthegap.pmc.gov .au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2017.pdf, viewed 17 November 2017. Duell, OK 1994, ‘Extended wait time and university student achievement’, American Educational Research Journal, vol. 31, pp. 397–414. Eisner, E 2006, ‘The satisfaction of teaching’, Educational Leadership, vol. 63, no. 6, pp. 44–7. English, R & Dean, S 2001, Show me how to learn, Curriculum Corporation, Carlton, Victoria. Feiman-Nemser, S 2008, ‘Teacher learning: how do teachers learn to teach?’, in M Cochran-Smith, S Feiman-Nemser, DJ McIntyre & K Demers (eds), Handbook of research on teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts, 3rd edn, Routledge and the Association of Teacher Educators, New York, pp. 697–705. Fisher, D & Frey, N 2008, Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility, ASCD, Alexandria, VA. Fogarty, W, Riddle, S, Lovell, M & Wilson, B 2017, ‘Indigenous education and literacy policy in Australia: bringing learning back to the debate’, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, www.cambridge.org/core/terms https://doi.org/10.1017/ jie.2017.18. Fogarty, W, Schwab, RG & Lovell, M 2015, ‘Learning on Country Program: progress evaluation report’, National Centre for Indigenous Studies and Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Canberra, ACT, www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ publications/LoCP%20progress%20evaluation%20report%20-%20Final%20for%20public%20release%20-%2015%20October %202015.pdf, viewed 17 November 2017. Fullan, M 2006, Change theory: A force for school improvement, Centre for Strategic Education, Jolimont, Vic. Fullan, M & Langworthy, M 2014, A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning, http://npdl.thumbtack.co.nz/wpcontent/uploads/2015/08/A-Rich-Seam.pdf, viewed 2 November 2017. —— 2013, Towards a new end: New pedagogies for deep learning, http://npdl.thumbtack.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ Towards-a-New-End-New-Pedagogies-for-Deep-Learning-Invitation.pdf, viewed 21 November 2017. —— 1985, The conditions of learning and theory of instruction, 4th edn, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York. Gee, J 2005, An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method, Routledge, London.

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Gillies, R & Boyle, M 2005, ‘Teachers’ scaffolding behaviours during cooperative learning’, Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 243–59. Glasser, W 1998, Choice theory: A new psychology of personal freedom, Harper Collins, New York. Godinho, S & Imms, W 2011, ‘Voyage of the SS Discovery and the Truman Show: case studies of integrative approaches to bridging the disciplinary divides’, Curriculum and Teaching, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 87–107. Godinho, S & Shrimpton, B 2008, Talking the talk: Learning through dialogue (CD-ROM resource for secondary school teachers), The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria. Godinho, S & Wilson, J 2007, Out of the question: Guiding students to a deeper understanding of what they do, read, and hear, Pembroke Publishers, Ontario. Godinho, S, Woolley, M, Scholes, M & Sutton, G 2017, ‘Literacies for remote schools: looking beyond a one size fits all approach’, Literacy Learning the Middle Years, Australian Literacy Educators’ Association, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 28–40. Golding, C 2005, Developing a thinking classroom: A workbook for professional learning teams, Hawker Brownlow Education, Moorabbin, Victoria. Gordon, M 2008, ‘Between constructivism and connectedness’, Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 332–41. Green, B 2003, ‘Curriculum inquiry in Australia: toward a local genealogy of the curriculum field’, in W Pinar (ed.), International handbook of curriculum research, L Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 123–41. Gruenewald, D 2003, ‘Foundations of place: a multidisciplinary framework for place-conscious education’, American Education Research Journal, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 619–54. Hattie, J 2012, Visible learning for teachers: Maximising impact on learning, Routledge, London, New York. —— 2009, Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement, Routledge, London, New York Imms, W, Mahat, M, Byers, T & Murphy, D 2017, ‘Type and use of innovative learning environments in Australasian schools’, ILETC Survey 1, ARC Linkage project (2016–2019) report, Innovative Learning Environments & Teacher Change, LEaRN, The University of Melbourne. Johnson, D & Johnson, R 1999, Learning together and alone: Cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning, Allyn and Bacon, Boston. Joyce, B, Weil, M & Calhoun, E 2009, Models of teaching, 8th edn, Pearson, New York. Killian, S 2014, The myths and facts about direct instruction, Australian Society for Evidence-based Teaching, www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/direct-instruction-facts-myths, viewed 22 November 2017. Kincheloe, J 2008, Critical pedagogy primer, Peter Lang, New York. Korthagen, F 2016, ‘Pedagogy of teacher education’, in J Loughran & ML Hamilton (eds), The International Handbook of Teacher Education, Singapore, Springer Science and Business Media, pp. 311–46, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0366-0_8. Lanas, M & Kelchtermans, G 2015, ‘“This has more to do with who I am than my skills” — student teacher subjectification in Finnish teacher education’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 47, pp. 22–9. Loughran, J 2010, What teachers do: Enhancing professional knowledge for a classroom practice, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW. Luke, A 2013, ‘Back to the future’, The Australian Educator, Summer, no. 80, pp. 14–5. Mason, J 2002, Researching your own practice: The discipline of noticing, Routledge Falmer, London. Marzano, R 2007, The art and science of teaching: A comprehensive framework for effective instruction, ASCD, Alexandria, USA. MCEETYA [Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs] 2008, Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians, www.mceecdya.edu.au, viewed 30 May 2009. McKenzie, J 2005, Learning to question, to wonder, to learn, FNO Press, Washington. McKnight, K, O’Malley, K, Ruzic, R, Horsley, MK, Franey, J & Bassett, K 2016, ‘Teaching in a digital age: how educators use technology to improve student learning’, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 194–211. Meijer, PC, de Graaf, B & Meirink, JA 2011, ‘Key experiences in student teachers’ development’, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, vol. 17, pp. 115–29. Morgan, N & Saxton, J 2006, Asking better questions, 2nd edn, Pembroke Publishers, Ontario. Morris, P (ed.) 1994, The Bakhtin reader: Selected writings of Bakhtin, Medvedev, Voloshniov, Arnold, London. Moss, J, Dixon, M, English, R, Ferguson, P, Godinho, S, Hay, T, Longaretti, L, Sanjakdar, F, White, J & Wilson, J 2004, Invitations and inspirations: Pathways to successful learning, Curriculum Corporation, Carlton South, Victoria. Noddings, N 2006, Critical lessons: What our schools should teach, Cambridge University Press, New York. Northern Territory Department of Education and Training 2017, NT Curriculum framework: Indigenous languages and culture, https://education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/270337/indigenous_lang_cult.pdf, viewed 1 January 2018. OECD 2017, ‘PISA 2015 Collaborative problem-solving framework’, July 2017, www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/Draft PISA 2015 Collaborative Problem Solving Framework.pdf, viewed 21 November 2017. Osborne, S & Guenther, J 2013, ‘Red dirt thinking on aspiration and success’, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, vol. 4, no. 02, pp. 88–9. Oscar, J 2017, ‘Resilience and reconstruction: the agency of women in rebuilding strong families, communities and organizations’, The 2017 Narrm Oration, 16 November 2017, The University of Melbourne.

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Palmer, P 2007, The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life, 10th anniversary edn, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Piaget, J 1952, The origins of intelligence, Norton, New York. Porter, L 2000, Student behaviour: Theory and practice for teachers, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Postman, N & Weingartner, C 1969, Teaching as a subversive activity, Dell Publishing, New York. Purdie, N & Ellis, L 2005, Literature review: A review of the empirical evidence identifying interventions and teaching practices for students with learning difficulties in Years 4, 5 and 6, Australian Council for Educational Research, Camberweil, Vic. Purdie, D, Milgate, G & Bell, HR 2011, ‘Two way teaching and learning: toward culturally reflected and relevant education’, Australian Council for Educational Research, Camberwell, Vic. Reid, J, English, R & Green, B 2002, Managing small-group learning, Primary English Teachers Association, Newtown, NSW. Ritchhart, R 2015, Cultures of thinking: The 8 forces we must master to truly transform our schools, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. —— 2002, Intellectual character: What it is, why it matters and how to get it?, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Ritchhart, R & Perkins, D 2008, ‘Making thinking visible’, Educational Leadership, vol. 65, no. 5, pp. 57–61. Rogers, W 2015, Classroom behaviour: A practical guide to effective teaching, behaviour management and colleague support, Sage Publications Ltd, London. Rogers, W & McPherson, E 2014, Critical first steps: Behaviour management in the early years, Sage, Los Angeles. Roghoff, B, Matusov, E & White, C 1996, ‘Models of teaching and learning: participation in a community of learners’, in D Olson & N Torrance (eds), The handbook of education and human development, Blackwell, Oxford, UK, pp. 388–413. Rorrison, D 2008, Jumping through spinning hoops: Stories of the middle school and secondary practicums, Cengage Leaning Australia, South Melbourne, Victoria. Rosenshine, B 2008, Five meanings of Direct Instruction, Center on Innovation and Improvement, Lincoln, USA, www.centerii .org/search/Resources%5CFiveDirectInstruct.pdf, viewed 29 December 2017. Rowe, M 1974, ‘Wait-time and rewards as instructional variables: their influence on language, logic and fate control’, Journal of Research in Science and Technology, vol. 11, pp. 81–94. Sadker, M & Sadker, D 2003, ‘Questioning skills’, in J Cooper (ed.), Classroom teaching skills, 8th edn, Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, pp. 101–47. Schultz, K & Ravitch, SM 2013, ‘Narratives of learning to teach: taking on professional identities’, Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 35–46. Sharon, S (ed.) 1994, Handbook of cooperative learning methods, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, London. Shulman, LS 1987, ‘Knowledge and teaching: foundations of the new reform’, Harvard Educational Review, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 4–14. Sinclair, J & Coulthard, R 1975, Towards an analysis of discourse, Ashgate Publishing, London. Slavin, R 1991, Student team learning: A practical guide to cooperative learning, 3rd edn, National Education Association, Washington DC. State Government of Victoria, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development 2012, ‘Blended learning: a synthesis of research findings in Victorian education 2006–2011’, www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/about/research/blendedlearning .pdf, viewed 6 November 2017. State Government of Victoria, Department of Education and Training 2017, ‘Practice principles for excellence in teaching and learning’, www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/support/practiceprinciples.pdf, viewed 21 November 2017. State of Queensland (Department of Education and Training) 2018, http://education.qld.gov.au/teach, viewed 2 January 2018. —— 2004, ‘The New Basics project’, www.education.qld.gov.au, viewed 30 September 2009. Vygotsky, L 1978, Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Wegerif, R & Mercer, N 1997, ‘A dialogical framework for researching peer talk’, in R Wegerif & P Scrimshaw (eds), Computers and talk in the primary classroom, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, UK. Wells, G 1999, Dialogic inquiry: Towards a sociocultural practice and theory of education, Cambridge University Press, New York. Wenger, E 1998, Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Westgate, D & Corden, R 1993, ‘What we thought about things; expectations, context and small group talk’, Language and Education, vol. 5, no. 7–8, pp. 115–28. Wood, DJ, Bruner, JS & Ross, G 1976, ‘The role of tutoring in problem solving’, Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 89–100. Yunkaporta, T 2009. Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface, PhD thesis, James Cook University, retrieved from http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/10974/2/02whole.pdf. Yunkaporta, T & Kirby, M 2011. ‘Yarning up Indigenous pedagogies: a dialogue about eight Aboriginal ways of learning’, in N Purdie, G Milgate & H Bell (eds), Two way teaching and learning: Towards culturally reflective and relevant education, ACER Press, Camberwell, Vic, pp. 205–13.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © SpeedKingz / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley / Shutterstock.com Photo: © bikeriderlondon / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © SeventyFour / Shutterstock.com Figure 8.2: © Taylor & Francis Group Figure 8.5: © Tyson Yunkaporta Figure 8.6: © 2011 Education Services Australia Limited as the legal entity for the COAG Education Council Education Council. Wiley Australia Pty Ltd has reproduced extracts of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in this publication with permission from the copyright owner. Figure 8.8: © Public Domain Figure 8.9: © John Biggs. Reproduced with permission. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Kate Harvie (Deakin University) in the review of this chapter.

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CHAPTER 9

Organising the learning environment LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 9.1 understand the principles guiding the development of effective learning environments and relate these to your professional standards document for graduate teachers 9.2 discuss the teacher’s role in creating and maintaining effective learning environments 9.3 describe the nature and basis of key sociocultural factors and policy underpinning the creation of safe, supportive, inclusive and culturally sensitive learning environments 9.4 describe and discuss the key ideas underpinning the creation of challenging and engaging learning environments 9.5 identify and apply effective pedagogical and technological approaches for fostering and supporting an effective learning environment.

OPENING CASE

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Navigating new learning environments Melody had been given the opportunity to do some volunteer teaching at a new school in a highdensity area in the city. The school was a high-rise primary school, purpose-built to accommodate a grade level on each floor, with a playground on the rooftop. Her university group had been invited to visit to get a feel for the new learning spaces and to experience team-teaching. Melody was linked with Year 1, and would be visiting every Friday for the term. Although it did not count towards her degree, Melody thought the experience would help broaden her practical teaching toolkit and extend her understandings about innovative approaches to teaching. She was surprised that no-one else took up the opportunity. ‘Vertical schools’ had been discussed in Melody’s first-year foundations in education course, particularly as a solution to the planning crisis arising from the growing numbers of students expected to be enrolling in school. It was estimated that demand for public school places would continue to increase by around 20 per cent over the next few decades. One solution to this was to build ‘up’, resulting in highrise schooling, which presents some logistical challenges. The new school had implemented some clever solutions in terms of organisation and safety, including putting the younger students on the lower floors and the older students (who are more able to use lifts) on the higher floors. Use of the shared play spaces was staggered throughout the day to avoid overcrowding. Melody’s first day was spent working across the three classes in the Year 1 open-space learning area. The 60 children were working in small groups on a real-world inquiry-based project, some at desks and others on soft furnishings designed for small-group work. The three teachers were facilitators of the learning and spent time engaging with each of the groups to ensure they were keeping track of their milestones and completing their learning goal checklists. Melody was amazed at how self-regulated the children were! They were redesigning a local park area they had visited on an excursion. The best design would be presented to a local council meeting for consideration in their upcoming redesign of the park. Each group was able to present their design in their own way — some were using tablets with the Minecraft app to design a virtual representation, while others were constructing models out of recycled materials. Melody realised that learning in the future was going to look very different to what she had experienced at school. It was no longer about seating the children in rows and explicitly teaching them everything they needed to know. Children needed to develop future-focused learning skills, such as collaboration, selfregulation and problem solving. She was looking forward to the rest of the term as she learned how to navigate this complex new learning environment. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. With a peer, discuss whether you think vertical schools are an effective solution to the growing number of students enrolling in schools. 2. Consider the safety considerations involved in moving large groups of students within a high-rise environment, such as those described above. What are some other safety considerations? 3. Do you think there is still a place for explicit teaching of content when using an inquiry-based learning approach? 4. How confident do you feel about teaching large groups of students in an open-space learning environment? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? 5. Very few pre-service teachers took up the opportunity to volunteer at this school. What are the benefits of volunteering in schools while completing your teaching degree? How can you use such experiences to build your professional portfolio?

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Introduction This chapter discusses the types of professional knowledge that teachers require in order to function legally, competently and safely in classroom settings. Today we have government registration boards and professional accreditation for teachers, but in the past, as discussed in chapter 2, anybody could be employed as a teacher — regardless of their qualifications and experience. For many, teaching was neither a profession nor a vocation. Given the emphasis today on child safety and teacher professionalism, it seems amazing that unqualified and unregistered people were able to work in classrooms. The failings of ‘payment by results’, Dickensian classrooms and unregulated violence against children led to reforms that demanded that teachers be appropriately qualified. The rationale for this is quite clear — people expect their medical practitioners, for example, to properly diagnose and remediate their health problems; the expectations on teachers and schools in regard to the social and intellectual development of children should be nothing less. This chapter aims to develop robust, practical and useful professional knowledge that will enable you to work with diverse learners in a wide range of contexts and cultures and be able to motivate, engage and educate your students to become productive members of society. This is the main mission of education. It may sound romanticised, but the role of teaching, while often demeaned in the public media, is a critical one that helps to shape the nature and direction of society and the desired social characteristics of tolerance and understanding. It is not as overtly life-saving as being a medical doctor, but it is an important and underestimated role that has a real impact on people’s lives. By developing your professional knowledge, you will be better able to maximise your positive impact on students’ lives. In so doing it is important to understand the importance of developing understandings of various pedagogical and educational stances and practices, and their relationship to your practice; over time they will become an integral part of your repertoire. While this might appear daunting, your growth in expertise will develop with time, experience and professional learning from colleagues. Organising the learning environment

Creating effective classroom learning environments

A focus on professional knowledge

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Proactive planning Applying your professional knowledge in context

A model for organising the learning environment

Sociocultural principles

Challenge and engagement

Examining the model

Safe and supportive school environments

Facilitating learning

Learning-friendly classrooms

Implementation Planning for teaching in an ILFE

Challenging and engaging?

Tools and issues

Putting it all together

Classroom practice

9.1 Creating effective classroom learning environments LEARNING OBJECTIVE 9.1 Understand the principles guiding the development of effective learning environments and relate these to your professional standards document for graduate teachers.

In this chapter, the terms ‘classroom environment’ and ‘classroom learning environment’ refer to the conditions, forces and factors that influence the learning situation (Education Resources Information Center 304

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[ERICtm ] 2009). These include influences within the classroom and from outside it. The term ‘inclusive, learning-friendly environment’ (ILFE) represents similar issues contextualised within the concepts of inclusion and diversity (UNESCO 2001). The chapter draws on policies and practices developed largely through UNESCO’s extensive and robust global experience in education and from examples of effective practice and research in implementing these and similar policies and practices in classrooms. It is hoped that these ideas and practices will infuse your own practice and encourage you to engage actively with the broader educational literature.

A focus on professional knowledge ‘I was preparing for my first teaching position in a metropolitan school, with a high proportion of Indigenous students and students from diverse cultural backgrounds. I was nervous about how to set up my classroom and what types of learning activities to plan to ensure that I catered for all the students in my class. The principal had already spoken to me about the health and welfare initiatives the school took part in, such as Kids Matter, and had introduced me to the learning support team that would work intensively with the students in my class who needed extra support with their learning. The grade leader had given me a class list and briefed me on the background of some of the students — explaining that Max and Eliza were not to sit next to each other as they could be disruptive, and that Allira’s dad would come in to help with reading groups each day. I was very keen to set up an open-space classroom and to try some of the inquiry-focused learning units I had planned while I was at university, but I noticed that all the classrooms were set up with the desks in rows and there were no class sets of computers to use. I could integrate the ‘Eight Aboriginal ways of learning’ pedagogy for my Indigenous students, but was worried about putting this in place for the whole class and how my planning might clash with the teaching methods already in place at the school. There were so many choices — I was feeling exhausted before school had even begun . . . ’ Teaching is a complex activity, but it does not have to be overwhelming. By organising classrooms around educational and sociocultural principles and policies derived from research and practice, classrooms can be productive and enjoyable workspaces for teaching, and effective and enjoyable learning spaces for students. It is easy for the teacher to get lost in myriad procedural details about many of those questions — and to see the issues as disconnected, with each needing a different and specific kind of response. It is important to avoid this trap — it can lead to a lot of ‘busy work’ that can impact on students’ learning and productivity, and your teaching effectiveness. It is necessary to engage with the complexity of contemporary classrooms at a high level to implement overarching integrative structures, processes and policies to support and address items such as those mentioned in the scenario above. These focus on five particular constructs: safety, support, inclusion, challenge and engagement. By addressing these, it is likely that basic human and educational prerequisites for learning have been put in place. It does not mean that the result will be an idyllic classroom; only that it is more likely that a positive classroom environment will be achieved. This is normally an essential precursor for effective teaching and learning to occur.

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Proactive planning The underlying idea is a simple one — if you make your classroom a good place for students to be, then they will want to be there, and will generally be both on task and well behaved. This may seem to be a fanciful notion, but it is not — it does work, and you can make it work for you. If you do this successfully, you will have more time to focus on your teaching and are less likely to be involved in dealing with reactive discipline issues. Sometimes discipline is confused with classroom management, but really it is only one component of it (see, for example, Burden & Byrd 2010; Levin & Nolan 2010; Wolfgang & Glickman 1986). In this chapter, the focus is on proactive planning to create an effective learning environment in which the need to focus on disciplinary issues is minimised. Figure 9.1 shows the essential difference between these two aspects of classroom management. CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

305

FIGURE 9.1

The dichotomy between proactive planning and reactive discipline

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PROACTIVE PLANNING to improve learning includes Safety Support Challenge Inclusion Engagement

DISCIPLINE involves A reactive response to behavioural issues

This approach is based on two key notions. The first is that ‘discipline’ is often a reactive response to issues that arise unexpectedly in the classroom — such as a student throwing an object in class. The second is that with foresight such an incident might have been prevented. For example, perhaps the student did not have breakfast because of family issues. Proactive breakfast programs are common in many schools and had the school had one in place, the student could have eaten there and perhaps not then been a problem in class. That is the point with being proactive — what is implemented will not solve all of the problems that students have, but will address some and hopefully most of them in a non-confrontational and humanistic way. In this way, proactive planning aims to minimise the number of incidents that might arise unexpectedly inside and outside of the classroom from pressures originating both inside and outside of school. The desired result is a more harmonious and productive classroom learning environment for both students and teachers — one in which students feel included, supported and positive about themselves, the importance of which should not be underestimated (see, for example, Pintrich, Marx & Boyle 1993; Pajares 1996; Tillema 2000). Although this notion of being proactive is a simple concept, creating proactive environments in practice is not at all easy. In fact, teachers often struggle with the myriad decisions to be made in creating such classroom environments and to develop their professional knowledge and skills. See Day (2009) for some common examples. All required prior knowledge of the students, parents and other contextual issues, teaching and learning considerations, and an awareness of classroom dynamics. This knowledge is only developed through experience and a commitment to increasing professionalism. Research suggests that while planning provides the basis of organisation and management, the ability to respond appropriately to particular events can require considerable knowledge, skill and awareness. For example, issues of cultural sensitivity, bullying and poverty might all be addressed by policies that the school has developed, but putting those policies into practice may require extensive interpersonal skills, awareness of culture and context, and personal sensitivity. Your personal challenge is to adopt a long-term focus on acquiring and maintaining the knowledge, skills and awareness necessary to sustain a strong proactive stance towards your teaching practice. Increasingly there is an expectation that teachers will have an evidence-based approach to their profession, drawing on current research and innovative practice. As such, on entering the teaching profession you are embarking on a journey of lifelong learning. It is important to understand how to create a positive and engaging environment for learning, and this is what this chapter is about. This chapter is not a list of ‘tips and tricks’ — you could find that yourself in a web search for ‘effective classrooms’ or ‘classroom management’ — but a much deeper and more profound basis for developing the robust professional knowledge that you need to acquire and to demonstrate for your entry into the teaching profession. See Lester (2007) for an overview of this important difference.

Applying your professional knowledge in context Applying professional knowledge to develop policies and processes to solve specific school and classroom issues may seem less productive and more time consuming than dealing reactively with a problem on the 306

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spot with a simple ‘Stop that!’ Extensive experience and research shows, however, that a consistent wholeschool approach to dealing with students is needed to produce enduring results (see, for example, Luiselli et al. 2005; Rogers 2007). Schools often struggle to address the diverse nature and origins of many sources of bullying behaviour (Ferguson et al. 2007; Homel 2001; Phillips 2007), and are often uncertain about how to manage it holistically. Experience in many school contexts shows that a well-designed schoolwide policy for managing student behaviour can have a significant impact on students’ behaviour. Often termed a School Charter or a School Discipline Policy, it helps to provide consistency and fairness in rewarding students for good behaviour and in equitably addressing discipline issues. In some contexts, the policy may include classroom-level interpretations of what is expected of students. Likewise, many countries have Professional Standards and Codes of Conduct for teachers. Government or professional associations that accredit teachers to be able to legally work in classrooms usually maintain and enforce these standards. In Australia, the role of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) is to develop and maintain rigorous professional standards for teachers and to maintain a national accreditation system for teachers based on these standards. This means that when you complete your teaching degree, you will need to be accredited as a teacher before you are able to work in the Australian education system. Ongoing professional learning is a key aspect of continuing to meet the professional standards. Working in such frameworks is a key characteristic of professional occupations — and teaching these days is highly professionalised and accountable — while still allowing individuals to display their talents, creativity and insights. It is also important to note that having a good professional knowledge base does not mean that you have to act differently in some way because of it. Your students will expect you to be warm and friendly to them, and to be accessible and responsive to their concerns and issues. Being a professional does not mean you cannot display your humanity. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

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Explore the website for the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and find the standards that relate to a graduate teacher (www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards). By the time you have completed your teaching qualification, you will possess the requisite knowledge and skills to meet the graduate teacher standards. This chapter focuses on Standard 4 ‘Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments’. 1. Access Standard 4 and find the focus areas for this standard. How many focus areas are there and how do they relate to what you have learned so far about creating effective classroom learning environments? What are the expectations for a graduate teacher? 2. Find an Illustration of Practice that focuses on Standard 4 at the graduate teacher level. Watch one of the videos that illustrates a learning environment at the primary or secondary school level. Download the package to read more about the learning context and answer the questions for discussion. Share your thoughts with your peers. 3. Discuss as a group how you can make learning interesting and challenging for students. Draw on perspectives of your prior school experiences and what you might do in your future role as a teacher. How might your prior experiences influence the way you teach students from different backgrounds (for example, students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds)?

9.2 A model for organising the learning environment LEARNING OBJECTIVE 9.2 Discuss the teacher’s role in creating and maintaining effective learning environments.

The model in figure 9.2 aims to show the relationships between the key principles discussed in this chapter. It can be thought of as a design model for an effective classroom learning environment in which each element plays a critical role in developing and maintaining such an environment. Safety, support CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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and inclusion also form a key part of UNESCO’s Education For All global education policies (UNESCO 2004b). FIGURE 9.2

The 5 Key Principles (5KP) model for organising the learning environment

Learning community

Engagement

Challenge

Safety

Support

Professional knowledge

Inclusion Effective communication and relationships

Source: After Nicholson and White (2002).

Underpinning the successful application of this model are two critical ‘pillars’. 1. Professional knowledge, classroom teaching experience and a rich pedagogical repertoire will enable you to plan an effective learning environment. 2. Good communication and relationship-building skills will help you to actually make it work. These are the ‘glue’ that holds the whole together. If you do not develop these aspects of your professional knowledge, then it is much harder to successfully implement the 5 Key Principles (5KP). As an aspiring teacher, you need to focus on building your professional knowledge and communication skills during your practicum experiences and university subjects. Simply relying on past experiences and understandings of schooling is not enough to sustain you in the teaching profession. It is important that you develop for yourself a good foundation of theoretical understandings on which to base your philosophy towards teaching and your classroom practice. This will provide a strong foundation for creating a good learning environment for students. This model aims to help you develop your awareness and understandings of the three sociocultural pillars of effective learning environments — safety, support and inclusion — and the two critical facilitators of learning — challenge and engagement. In this model, challenge and engagement rest on the others, recognising that unless you get the human factors right (the ‘three pillars’), the students are unlikely to be disposed to learn.

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Examining the model The learning community that sits on top of the model reflects contemporary views of learning and cognition in which students learn with and through a wide range of experiences and modalities (i.e. singly or in groups), both local and distributed; use technology, media and texts in creative and instrumental ways; and are more likely to act as constructors of knowledge than consumers. This does not require any particular organisational infrastructure, though significant resources may be needed, but rather teachers with the professional knowledge, skills and vision to facilitate these processes. Teachers frequently observe, and many research studies confirm, that the challenge and engagement students experience in these environments helps them to be more motivated and to feel positive towards their schoolwork — as exemplified in UNESCO’s (2004a) ILFE model. In such an environment, students are likely to be more focused on their work and more cooperative in working in teams. Much of the remainder of this chapter is designed to help you obtain important elements of the 5KP model by providing examples, policies, insights and instances of attributes of the five key principles. 308

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Learning-friendly classrooms In the global context, UNESCO (2004a, p. 4) aims to support schools around the world to become ‘childfriendly’ where ‘ . . . children have the right to learn to their fullest potential within a safe and welcoming environment’. UNESCO often works in difficult and violent contexts where there may be many dispersed people; its aim is to first get children to attend school, and subsequently to have them become involved in learning. Instead of having the teacher at the centre of the classroom, it puts students there in the belief that they are the most important part of the learning environment — where they learn and grow together with their teachers in a humanistic ‘child-friendly’ context.

9.3 Sociocultural principles LEARNING OBJECTIVE 9.3 Describe the nature and basis of key sociocultural factors and policy underpinning the creation of safe, supportive, inclusive and culturally sensitive learning environments.

The sociocultural principles examined in this part of the chapter focus on safety, support and inclusion. These principles are embedded in the UN Charter of Human Rights and the UN Convention on Rights of the Child (General Assembly 1948; UNICEF 1989), which form the core of UNESCO’s Education for All program (UNESCO 1990). These documents recognise that children have basic rights and needs that must be met by providing equality of opportunity in a wide range of areas, including education. It is a salient reminder of the importance of implementing these principles to note that one in three children in developing countries (193 million children in total) reaches primary school age having had their brain development and education prospects impaired by malnutrition — a figure that rises to over 40 per cent in parts of South Asia — and that 75 million children of primary school age are not in school (UNESCO 2009). In Australia, the National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) (Student Learning and Support Services Taskforce 2003) provides schools with recommendations and guidance in implementing policies and practices derived from these UNESCO documents and from research. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Going further Of particular interest is Article 14 of the UN Rights of Indigenous Peoples (p. 6), which states that Indigenous peoples: have the right to their own schools and to provide education in their own languages. Indigenous people, especially children, have the right to the same education as all people. Governments shall assist Indigenous people, especially children who do not live in Indigenous communities, to learn their own culture and language.

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How will you create a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment for Indigenous students in your class? List the similarities and differences in creating a culturally sensitive learning environment in primary and secondary school settings.

Safe and supportive school environments In Australia, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA 2010) developed a revised National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) as the overarching policy to employ its vision for implementing its Safe and Supportive Schools policy. In a similar vein to UNESCO, it focuses on a holistic approach to school policy in which schools are legally required to implement and develop structures and processes for ensuring that all students are protected from harm arising from any source. The NSSF specifically refers to the need to address harm arising from emotional, physical, sexual or verbal issues. However, it is not easy to go from definition to implementation, and schools have to do a CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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lot of work in setting up their legal, ethical and moral contexts and implementing them in their learning environments. They are aided in this task by the Framework’s Guiding Principles and Elements of Good Practice, which focus explicitly on areas that schools need to critically consider in implementing the policy.

Implementation At state, regional and school levels, the principles and key elements of the Framework are implemented in operational documents such as school charters, teaching and learning policies and organisational frameworks. The Victorian Government’s Student Wellbeing Hub website (Education Services Australia 2017) provides an excellent example of the level of detail that goes into the process of implementing these policies. At the school level, schools and individual teachers are expected to localise and implement these, and to conduct their work in accordance with the relevant guidelines in these documents. Adherence to these is important not only from a teaching and learning perspective, but also because both schools and teachers are increasingly being held to account for failing to apply these appropriately, or for ignoring, or inadequately responding to, situations in which they should be applied. An often-unrecognised aspect of this is that it is not necessarily easy to be consistent in the complexity of today’s classrooms (see, for example, Flinders 1989, p. 5).

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

It is time to think about what the items above might mean for you at this stage of your preparation for teaching, and your current and future classroom practice. Access the Student Wellbeing Hub (https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au), a resource funded by the Australian government to promote student wellbeing, based on the National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF). 1. Identify the nine elements that help to create teaching and learning communities where all members of the school feel safe. Reflect on your prior school experiences and experiences of observing classrooms during your degree. Can you relate these experiences to any of the nine elements? Discuss with fellow pre-service teachers. 2. Access the Professional Learning modules for pre-service teachers. Register and create a log-in for the professional learning site. Complete the six modules designed for pre-service teachers to develop your understandings of the key elements of a safe school program and the important role you will play in student wellbeing. 3. With a group of pre-service teachers, develop a safe school initiative that you could introduce at a school during a professional placement experience.

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Pillar 1: Safety Safety is a major issue and concern in schools, especially because it has so many forms, including physical safety, emotional safety and safety from bullying. Classroom teachers have a responsibility to keep their students safe by implementing their school’s policies. These can cover many items and contexts. To make effective use of these policies requires significant insights into their application. These policies can be covert or overt, being either proactive (for prevention) or reactive (responsive) — while some safety issues can be addressed by careful planning, there is always a need to be able to respond rapidly to unexpected events. The following is a sample of some common safety issues of concern. Some comments, scenarios and real examples that highlight the issues follow. The purpose of these is not to provide you with a definitive list of ‘tips and tricks’ for dealing with safety issues — you can find these in policy documents such as the NSSF, your school’s charter, the federal government’s NetAlert site and countless websites. Rather, our discussion aims to show how the issues in the scenarios are based in the context of professional knowledge and processes, rather than reactive responses. 310

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The following examples indicate the nature and scope of ‘safety’ and the implications for teachers. Safety is a useful concept for exploring professional knowledge, as it covers a wide range of contexts and aspects. As you read the following examples, take note of the different approaches and contexts that they encompass and consider what you would or might do differently in similar situations. Adults

Stranger Danger is a concept that every primary school addresses. However, it is not only strangers who are a concern. Mr Smith, a first-year-out teacher, was doing a casual teaching day in Year 4 at a large metropolitan school. In the middle of a science lesson, a parent came to the classroom saying he was there to take one of the students, Mindy, to a medical appointment. Mr Smith agreed that Mindy’s dad could take her as long as they went to the office and signed out. Mindy looked confused, and as they were getting her bag Mr Smith overheard her telling her dad she thought she was not allowed to see him at the moment. She also asked why she was seeing a doctor when she was not sick. Mr Smith quickly realised that there may be a problem and called the principal to come and assess the situation immediately. It turned out there was a court order preventing Mindy’s dad from entering the school grounds. Luckily Mr Smith realised before Mindy was taken.

If Mindy had been released to her father, she may have been at risk of harm. In addition, the school could have breached its ‘duty of care’ (see chapter 15) and potentially become involved in litigation. This example shows the importance of being aware of school protocols and being vigilant and consistent in applying and following these, even if you are part of the school in a casual or volunteer capacity. A particularly problematic — and rare — adult behaviour is when a teacher has an inappropriate relationship with a student. This is a serious breach of legal and professional responsibilities and ethics, and can result in physical and emotional harm to the student and the teacher. In such cases, both legal and professional charges from police and registration bodies can be applied. As well as suffering legal action, the teacher can be deregistered for life in most jurisdictions. One case in which a school apparently failed to report a child’s extensive abuse led to tragic results and potential legal charges against the school and particular teachers. In addition, such events often receive widespread media coverage that has, on occasion, resulted in emotional community displays of concern and anger directed at the teacher and school involved. Aggressive behaviour (bullying)

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The NSSF classifies bullying as a form of aggressive behaviour towards an individual that can result in serious effects on the victim. There is potential for harm to arise from even a seemingly trivial incident — not that they are ever trivial from the victim’s perspective. Ms Getts had noticed that one of her Year 3 students, Tanesha, had become increasingly withdrawn, and she was keeping a close eye on her. After recess, Tanesha was standing in line crying and Ms Getts went to see what was wrong. The other girls said that Tanesha had seemed to be having fun playing handball, and they weren’t sure what had happened. The teacher on duty had noticed one of the boys throwing the ball quite hard, but it had not looked serious enough for him to intervene. Tanesha did not want to talk to the teachers, so Ms Getts asked the Year 6 peer support leaders to talk with her. They found out that the boys had been teasing Tanesha for a number of weeks, taunting her about her developing body and throwing things at her when no-one else was looking. Ms Getts arranged for Tanesha to talk with the school counsellor and referred the boys to the school welfare coordinator.

In some schools, students are actively involved as ‘peace helpers’ to help other students settle disputes (The George Lucas Educational Foundation 2008), but in this case the students interacted with a CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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counsellor. This incident did not stop at this point because the students were then moved into the school’s longer-term social skills program, aimed at inculcating appropriate social behaviour and conflict resolution. Note that in this case bullying occurred even though the school had appropriate proactive procedures in place to try to minimise its occurrence and that the subsequent mediation drew on these.

Many schools have systems in place to protect students from the damaging effects of bullying.

Sun exposure

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Increasing awareness of the damaging effects of sun exposure — including its role in the development of skin cancer — has highlighted practices in schools to protect students. Most Australian schools these days subscribe to a program such as SunSmarttm (SunSmart Victoria 2005). SunSmart is designed to inform and educate the public and provides schools with resources and programs to protect children from harmful exposure to the sun. SunSmart addresses issues such as appropriate school uniform design, afterschool care, and sports and recreation issues. It has an extensive collection of useful resources for teachers and students.

Ned was attending the Year 6 camp and was excited to be away from home. They were going to the snowfields the next day, and the teachers had asked them to get their equipment ready. Ned had not packed sunscreen or sunglasses, as the weather was rainy in Canberra. He was upset when he heard that if the students did not have these things, they would not be able to play at the snow the next day. He spoke to his teacher, who reminded him of their SunSmart lesson, where they had learned that there is increased risk of overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation at the snow due to the high altitude and the reflection of UV rays off the snow. Ned was pleased that his teacher had brought spare sunscreen and sunglasses, so he would still be able to go and play safely with his friends.

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Clothing, appearance and socioeconomic status

Differences of all kinds are a common source of bullying in schools. Appearance, including clothing, is a frequent target of bullies. When Aseem first arrived at his new school, the other students all looked different to him. Aseem was from a traditional Sikh family and was wearing a patka, the youth version of a turban, which is worn according to religious custom. The other children had been teasing him for days. Aseem wondered if he should remove his patka so he would fit in, but was worried his parents would be upset if he did so.

When clothes, appearance, religion, race, socioeconomic status or other forms of social or cultural difference are given as reasons for bullying by male and female students, this is likely to mask any number of diverse factors, including a desire to dominate and control the victim (see, for example, Bernstein & Watson 1997; Costello 2003; Lee 2009; Phillips 2007). When Aseem’s bullying was identified, the school’s peer support program and positive behaviour management policies were implemented. These provided Aseem with a buddy — an older student more experienced in dealing with other student issues, having been through the program herself. The positive behaviour management policy addressed the behaviour of the students responsible for teasing Aseem; not in a punitive way, but from a supportive stance that focused on having the students take responsibility for their actions and redressing the learned behaviour underpinning the bullying. The school investigated ways Aseem and his family could enrich the school curriculum by sharing their experiences of their religion and cultural heritage. After a month in these programs, Aseem became friends with these students, who in turn became more accepting of his differences once they understood where he had come from. Medical

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Mr Black was on playground duty when he noticed a child who was struggling to breathe and was possibly entering anaphylactic shock. He remembered seeing a photo of the child on the staffroom wall and recalled that she had a severe allergy to eggs. Mr Black was able to rapidly administer an Epi PenTM injection because he and all the other staff had been trained in its use as part of the school’s emergency procedures training (a requirement of both school and state policy). As the teacher on playground duty, he was required to carry the Epi Pen with him and to sign it in and out before and after playground duty.

All schools now provide their staff with training in the use of Epi Pens because of the increase in situations in which students require such urgent assistance. In a similar way, it is common for schools to manage their students’ medication, with large schools often having a school first aid officer to oversee this and other student medical and health issues. There is a wide range of parental and professional concerns around such medical treatment in schools, focused on logistics, access, appropriate treatment, certification, staff training and accreditation (Legg 2008; Robb 2008). In most schools, medical information is stored centrally in an electronic form that all staff can access. In addition, the relevant information about student medical conditions is usually given to all teachers at a staff briefing, photos of students with allergies are often displayed in staff areas and copies of medical alerts are often distributed to casual staff through casual teacher information folders. In some schools, students at risk carry a small card whose shape, colour or size indicates the nature of the student’s allergies or risk factors. Having an emergency response plan for individual students in your classroom might seem unusual, but it is a very important aspect of a thorough, proactive safety plan. Buildings and furniture

It might seem obvious, but there are many safety issues associated with buildings and furniture. In some Australian states, school building maintenance is well behind the national average, prompting parents CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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and teacher unions to complain about a multitude of sources of potential harm to their students, such as damaged floorboards, flimsy steps, loose stairs and nonfunctioning toilet facilities (see, Gottesman et al. 2009). Cases in which there is an obvious risk are usually addressed promptly. Classroom furniture also presents some problems, especially with younger children whose bodies need furniture that is appropriately designed, sized and cushioned to support them. Most primary schools have graded sizes of furniture to accommodate children’s growth over their years at school, and are acutely aware of parents’ concerns in this area. As some more innovative schools move towards open-space learning environments, there are other considerations, such as the noise generated from the large number of students and teachers in the one space and access to one-to-one technology devices that also need to be taken into account. New technologies

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Luke was walking down the corridor when his iPhone alerted him to new Snapchat messages. His girlfriend, Jenna, had sent him a number of indecent photos of herself. At first he was shocked, and then he became worried — he knew from his PDHPE classes that it was illegal to have these types of photos of teenage girls. What was she thinking? It was unlike her to do such a thing. He wondered what he should do. Confront Jenna? Let his year advisor know straight away? Call his parents?

Schools and parents are often anxious about cyber-bullying, paedophilia, pornography, online stalking and photographs of children being circulated, and with good reason. School students across all ages are very active online and many of them access social networking sites such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to name a few (see www.esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/games-apps-and-socialnetworking). Research suggests that these may present a risk to children from cyber-bullying, criminals and child predators, and that teachers and schools are not necessarily well prepared for these potential risks (Rigby 2017; Stauffer et al. 2012). Teachers are, however, finding innovative and safety-aware ways to utilise the potential of these sites — providing students with rich experiences beyond the confines of the classroom (see, for example, Chang 2009; Owen, Grant, Sayers & Facer 2006). Cyber-bullying is particularly pernicious because its victims can be harassed across a range of media, technologies and physical locations, including at home. For example, a mix of inappropriate images or messages on a website, an email message, a digital phone picture, instant message and SMS could be used to harass someone constantly. The public nature of this harassment is also a factor in the stress of cyberbullying. Sites where strangers are invited to post derogatory messages can be particularly disturbing. Recently, software has been developed so that parents can monitor and check their children’s phone for bullying events and block the sender from making calls to the victim, as well as creating a log in case legal action is required. Similarly, sites that invite students to rank their teachers anonymously and make comments about them are common and, if taken seriously, can have a negative effect on the teacher’s attitude and confidence. Arguably these are best ignored on the basis that if there is no reaction from the teacher, then it becomes a fairly futile exercise for students. However, often such issues are now highlighted in school codes of conduct so that this type of behaviour can be dealt with within the school policies and procedures. In Australia, schools are generally cautious about allowing students to access external sites, including social network sites, often requiring their internet service provider to filter them out, and using in-house content filtering in accordance with the federal government’s ‘CyberSMART’ campaign. Some schools also require parents and students to sign an appropriate use agreement and to be trained to alert their teacher to any unusual or inappropriate material they encounter by checking the URL before access. One common theme that arises in dealing with issues such as cyber-bullying and obsessive or compulsive use of online technologies is transparency, in which teachers and family members should be, and are, present and aware in the online context, including regularly searching the web for occurrences of their children’s names. 314

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

As a future teacher, you need to be aware of legislation, policies and protocols that surround the use of technologies in schools. The Australian government has developed a resource called CyberSMART to assist students, parents and schools to deal with cyber-bullying and safety. It is managed by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner (https://esafety.gov.au) as part of the Australian government’s commitment to cyber safety. 1. Access the CyberSMART website and explore the resources available. What are the differences in the resources provided to young kids, kids, teens and parents? Why are there resources developed for different age groups? 2. Access the section on classroom resources and watch the video #GameOn. What implications does the content of the video have for pre-service teachers in regards to building safe online learning environments? Discuss with peers the strategies you would you put in place to deal with cyber-safety issues that might arise in your classroom. 3. Think about your own digital footprint. Do you have any content online that would give future employers, parents or students a bad impression of you? Access informative blogs designed to raise awareness of digital footprints for teachers (such as http://teachingfootprint.wordpress.com) and then discuss with peers why investigating your digital footprint now is an important aspect of preparing yourself for the teaching profession.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Safety is a big issue and it is important to address it, but it should not dominate the classroom. Instead, have clear rules and appropriate signs around the room, practise appropriate procedures and be vigilant in monitoring students for unsafe physical behaviour and signs of distress. This can be as simple as being part of your roll-marking procedure — looking at each student as you call their name — or you might choose to keep some working notes on your students. You need to have a good knowledge of your school’s safety policies as they apply to staff, students and visitors so that you can make appropriate, informed decisions. This means that you actually read those documents and understand them and the required actions they describe. Parents are often anxious about their children’s safety and it is not uncommon for them to become engaged in heated discussions over real and/or perceived safety issues. In all such cases you should not engage in discussion but rather take them to the relevant senior administrator (e.g. the principal), or walk with them to the school office. Be aware and be vigilant in regard to safety issues because, as the examples above show, safety can manifest itself as an issue in many different ways.

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Pillar 2: Support Like safety, support can be both overt and covert. Supportive approaches and processes aim to improve the individual’s condition so as to make them feel positive and confident in the school context. This is similar to the medical profession’s focus of ‘doing no harm’ to the patient. Often supporting strategies are needed to help students overcome domestic and social issues arising outside of the school that impact upon their ability to work at school. The Australian government policies shown in table 9.1 provide an indication of how supportive practices in and across a diversity of contexts can be driven from the federal level by means of policy development and implementation. At the school level, students have numerous issues that may need support. This can be difficult at the level of an individual classroom teacher, so most schools establish a specialist student welfare position to act as a coordinator and facilitator, and provide advice and assistance to classroom teachers. The Victorian Government requires schools to ‘develop and implement a Student Code of Conduct that identifies goals and standards for student behaviour. The Student Code of Conduct must include safe school and specific anti-bullying strategies that aim to promote positive student behaviour, prevent anti-social behaviour, and CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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encourage respect, compassion and cooperation’ (Victoria DET 2017). In practice, this often means trying to help students to overcome feelings of insecurity and isolation and to develop resilience. These coordinators are also commonly involved in transition issues, staff development and pastoral care. The role of the student welfare coordinator is especially important when dealing with students who have medical or psychological conditions that require a specific, consistent and supportive approach across teachers and classrooms. The school welfare coordinator is central to monitoring and coordinating this. Group strategies such as home or pastoral groups, house group and mini-schools are other ways that schools help students to develop a sense of belonging, acceptance and support by their peers. These need constant teacher monitoring, however, to ensure that negative aspects such as bullying do not occur. This may involve regular contact in discussion with parents, who are usually central in maintaining their child’s behaviour by supporting the school’s position and practices. In cases where parents will not support the school, it can be very difficult to effectively deliver supportive programs in the classroom without the assistance of a specialist teacher aide who can manage the student on an hour-by-hour basis.

TABLE 9.1

Some Australian government ‘supportive’ policy initiatives

Program National Drug Strategy

Focus Build community knowledge and change acceptability of use Develop school programs, policies and curriculum (Department of Health 2017)

Indigenous Schooling

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education Closing the Gap initiatives National Indigenous Reform Agreement (Department of Education & Training 2015; 2017a)

Isolated Children Scheme

Funding for children learning in remote regions (Department of Human Services 2017)

Student Resilience and Wellbeing

Safe and supportive schools Cyber safety Anti-bullying policies (Department of Education & Training 2016b)

Quality Schools, Quality Outcomes

An initiative encompassing five areas, including boosting literacy, numeracy and STEM performance; improving the quality of teaching and school leadership; preparing our students for a globalised world; focusing on what matters most and those who need it most; and increasing public accountability through improved transparency (Department of Education & Training 2017b)

Students with Disability

Disability Standards for Education

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Positive Partnerships Best practice for supporting students with disability (Department of Education & Training 2016a)

Many supportive strategies are initiated at the classroom level when teachers see a particular need, such as when a student has a temporary crisis of confidence, when they are excluded from a group or game, or when they have trouble completing set work. This in situ support is critical as it addresses issues as they arise and helps to quickly redirect the student back to work rather than allowing a problem to develop into a major issue.

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A range of support strategies have been developed at the national, state, school and classroom level to address the challenges in schooling faced by students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds due to the discrimination that Indigenous peoples have experienced through historic national policies of exclusion. Funding and strategies focus on access to education, school attendance and the disparity in literacy and numeracy outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. It is important that teachers understand why Indigenous students face challenges today. There is an excellent resource for pre-service teachers which is linked to two Focus Areas in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education — 1.4 and 2.4 (see http://rrr .edu.au). WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

As a pre-service teacher you need a working knowledge of the policies and legislation surrounding the education of students with additional needs in the classroom. Whether you are volunteering in a school or engaged in practice teaching, it is critical that you are equipped to promote a supportive environment for all. 1. What are your understandings of the Disability Standards for Education? Access the fact sheets about the Disability Standards (https://education.gov.au/disability-standards-education). 2. Investigate some school websites to see if their policies are visible to the public. If available, read their policies and discuss with peers how they relate to the standards. How will you find out about your school’s obligations to meet the standards when you are going out on a professional placement? 3. What are three strategies that you could implement to make your classroom more inclusive and supportive for all students? Discuss and share ideas with other pre-service teachers.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

One of the most effective ways to support students is to understand their problems and act in an informed fashion. This involves reading the supportive policies that the school adopts and understanding how to apply them in the classroom. Unlike dealing with safety, being supportive requires teachers to diagnose and respond to student issues at a ‘human’ (as opposed to ‘school’) level when students are upset, discouraged, lonely and so on. Pre-service teachers often become concerned about what they should and should not do in such cases. There can be a lack of clear communication about appropriate behaviour, processes and consequences. Also, often there are ambiguous signals about what male and female teachers can and cannot do (some such issues would benefit from the application of Daniels’s 4B model, discussed later in the chapter). Consider the above and reflect on how you might develop the practical knowledge and skills to deal with those issues, and where that would fit into your professional knowledge categories.

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Pillar 3: Inclusion Inclusion is a response to aspects of diversity. UNESCO (2004b, p. 6) defines the attributes of an inclusive, learning-friendly environment (ILFE) as follows: An inclusive, learning-friendly environment (ILFE) welcomes, nurtures, and educates all children regardless of their gender, physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic, or other characteristics. They may be disabled or gifted children, street or working children, children of remote nomadic peoples, children from linguistic, ethnic or cultural minorities, children affected by HIV/AIDS, or children from other disadvantaged or marginalised areas or groups.

Similar definitions abound in the academic literature.

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The Learning and Teaching Scotland website (www.educationscotland.gov.uk) contains an extensive list of practical and organisational considerations that teachers and schools should use to identify appropriate inclusive strategies. Most of these are well-known, simple and effective strategies that focus on meeting the needs of the learner. It requires insight, personal and cultural sensitivity, awareness and openness to adapting the classroom environment, student tasks and pedagogy to the needs of individual students. This can seem to require a lot of work. Most of the effort, however, is in planning and organising appropriate learning experiences and structures, rather than on the day-to-day dynamics of the classroom (The Highland Council 2009).

UNESCO’s ILFE model, shown in figure 9.3, incorporates these ideas into a whole-school approach focused on involving a diverse range of students, including those currently not participating in formal education, in mainstream education. This model also fits neatly into the 5KP model as an example of how those particular principles might be put into practice. The ILFE model focuses on the issues that are part of the inclusion pillar of the 5KP model that was presented in figure 9.2. UNESCO’s ILFE model is designed for a wide range of contexts and, as such, includes aspects that may not always be so conspicuous in every socioeconomic context. However, as a teacher you will find that almost all the parts of the ILFE model will present themselves in different ways at various times. You need to be clear that while UNESCO’s focus is on global contexts, your classroom is one of them. Often teachers fail to take account of students’ satisfaction with the classroom environment; nor do they have an easy way to gauge it. In the context of children ‘at risk’, research has shown that students can feel isolated in class while participating in both classroom and school activities. They can also have learning problems that affect their ongoing education and may suffer from academic and social dysfunction.

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FIGURE 9.3

The ILFE model

Includes all children: girls and boys; those from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds; those with special abilities or learning needs; pregnant girls; those affected directly or indirectly by HIV/AIDS; etc.

Families, teachers and communities are involved in children’s learning

Gender fair and non-discriminatory

Safe; protects all children from harm, violence, and abuse

Inclusive, learning-friendly environment based on a shared vision and values

Promotes opportunities for teachers to learn and benefit from that learning

Culturally sensitive, celebrates differences, and stimulates learning for all children

Promotes participation, cooperation, and collaboration

Promotes healthy lifestyles and life skills

Learning is relevant to children’s daily lives; children take responsibility for their learning

Source: UNESCO (2004a, p. 11).

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Planning for teaching in an ILFE Diversity, inclusion and exclusion present challenges for teachers because of the multiplicity of factors to be considered, including cultural and intra-cultural understandings and misconceptions. In working in such complex sociocultural contexts, the 4B model is an appropriate one to keep in mind (Daniels 2001). It aims to help us focus on what is important and to act accordingly. As an example of the complexity of this task, consider the range of barriers that can prevent children from going to school: cultural differences, local traditions, gender and age discrimination, birth registration, the need to work, negative attitudes, fear of violence, illness, hunger, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, the location of the school and so on. Each of these potential barriers is bound up in a contested and complex socioeconomic, family, cultural or political context. In addition, Daniels (2001) argues that policy makers, in trying to address these issues, sometimes fail to achieve their desired outcomes because they do not adequately address all of the issues impartially. Daniels argues that such policy makers should adopt a common decision-making framework with an emphasis on reducing bias and increasing transparency. The four elements of the 4B model are depicted in figure 9.4 and described briefly below. The primary purpose of the 4B model is to act as a checklist to keep you sensitised to cultural issues by reminding you to: r be clear about what is and is not real (detect bull) r avoid biases — both personal and systemic r think broadly and have a wider vision of possibilities, rather than being constrained by your cultural limitations r balance competing considerations — Daniels reminds us that many cultural contexts are complicated and multifaceted and should be addressed in ways that facilitate the best outcome for the majority, while trying to ensure that minority groups are not significantly disadvantaged.

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FIGURE 9.4

The 4B model

Always aim to create a balance between competing issues, approaches and practices.

Seek balance

Do not be biased in planning and decision making.

Avoid bias

4B MODEL

Detect bull

Do not take issues on face value — make your own meanings.

Think broadly

Always consider alternative perspectives on policy, practice and planning.

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Source: Based on Daniels (2001).

The teacher must avoid bias of any kind, intentional or otherwise. Default assumptions, incomplete knowledge, personal experiences and so on can easily and unconsciously impact on your planning and practices. Default assumptions are particularly problematic, as it is easy to forget that you actually have them and that they may be affecting your decision making. For example, let’s say you have students in your class of a particular ethnic background who are often absent and offer little explanation as to why. It is possible that you could think these students simply do not like school and that their absence should attract a penalty. However, a deeper investigation might reveal that they are needed at home to look after siblings in a single-parent family — such as refugees from violent conflicts. Often, but not always, such people are extremely cautious about contact with authorities, including schools and school teachers. Teachers must be prepared to detect bull, meaning that they need to be critically aware of false and unsupported assertions, policies and practices. In an era in which moral panics are regularly highlighted by the mainstream media, all kinds of issues can arise in the school context — racial vilification, claims of ethnic violence, retribution, paedophilia and religious practices are a common focus of media articles. Teachers are encouraged to think broadly. Policies and practices are often generated around a small issue or context and confine themselves to that level of implementation. Specific approaches can, however, become part of a more expansive policy or approach. By thinking about the bigger picture, it is often possible to find partners (e.g. the local community, local government and industry) to help respond to particular issues. For example, a school with a high proportion of disengaged and reluctant learners turned their attitudes to school around by developing a small school farm and requiring the students to manage its operations, including selling the produce in the local community market. The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program is an example of a successful program that is putting this into action (see the evaluations of the program and teacher resources at www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au). It is crucial to seek balance and ensure that your overall planning and actions embrace the needs of all students and their families, rather than just those of a vocal or influential group. This may require significant time working in committees and with policy makers to develop frameworks and action plans that can address issues at a variety of levels across the school or community. 320

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

A common challenge in the inclusive, learning-friendly classroom is implementing the ILFE model’s wide range of underpinning ideas, principles and practices consistently and equitably over extended periods of time. This constitutes a significant challenge, one that demands that you become very organised in your approaches to teaching, learning and classroom management. After reflecting on the ILFE model and other issues described above, identify three aspects that you can develop that will help you to maintain an inclusive, learning-friendly classroom. Add your notes on this to the others that you have compiled so far.

9.4 Challenge and engagement LEARNING OBJECTIVE 9.4 Describe and discuss the key ideas underpinning the creation of challenging and engaging learning environments.

There have been numerous articles in the popular media that have highlighted concerns about school students being bored, uninterested and unchallenged by their schoolwork. While many of these concerns relate to curriculum issues, such as seemingly irrelevant or outdated content, many media articles have been highly critical of schools and teachers for failing to motivate and engage students in learning — the result being poor learning outcomes, reduced marks and a disaffection for learning. It is not surprising that students do not want to be involved in mundane, trivial, boring or repetitive tasks, or that they react negatively to them; what they need is to be challenged and engaged in their learning so that they can develop into independent, self-motivated and productive learners (e.g. Bigum & Rown 2009; Prensky 2005). It is argued that a paradigm shift is needed to replace older technocentric paradigms with a new focus on knowledge production and creativity, so that students are able to make extensive use of technology and learn in whatever multimodal contexts their tasks require.

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Facilitating learning Students often react positively when they are challenged to achieve tasks. To be challenging, the student must see the task as potentially achievable, but requiring extra effort and involvement above the level of mundane tasks — and the student must be motivated to make the extra effort. Motivation is not, on its own, enough. There is little research evidence to support the notion that simply motivating students to learn will have a positive effect on their learning. Rather, it would appear that an innate desire to achieve the goal of solving — or overcoming — the challenge is important. Engagement refers to the level of interest and involvement in the task, as in whether the student is simply routinely working through a task or is fully involved, curious and actively seeking an outcome. When tasks are both challenging and engaging, it is likely that students are performing better and are more focused on their work. This is the premise of the 5KP model introduced at the start of this chapter. In many classrooms at all levels of schooling, however, it is not always the case that students are challenged and engaged (Marks 2000). There is increasing emphasis on designing learning tasks that provide opportunities for students to develop twenty-first century skills (Shaw et al. 2014a, 2014b) that are authentic and integrate learning outcomes across disciplines. This requires an integrated approach to curriculum design and for teachers to plan and work collaboratively.

Pillar 4: Challenge Activities that challenge motivate students by tapping into their curiosity and desire to be successful and by providing the enjoyment that comes with putting effort into non-trivial tasks. Mark Prensky (2005) and Dianna Oblinger (2003) both argue strongly that one of the major causes of misbehaviour in students is boredom with mundane tasks, particularly in worksheet-based classrooms where students are constantly CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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asked to fill in, colour or summarise information. It is not hard to challenge students, but you do need to understand the variability in your classroom in this regard and to know the kinds of tasks particular students enjoy. Challenge can be stressful to students if they are not at the stage where they are likely to achieve the challenge. The stage at which challenge turns to stress depends on the individual, so you need to be careful when planning challenging activities for a whole class. Where, for example, would you set your goals — at the top of the ability level, at the median or at the lower level? In terms of the concepts in this text, your planning of challenging activities needs to accommodate a range of successful outcomes for different ability groupings in the classroom. Otherwise you are setting up many of your students for failure. This is another reason that you really need to know about your students — their interests, personalities and achievement levels. A common strategy to address such concerns is to allow students to set their own challenge or performance level. For example, the class is focusing on physical fitness and it has been decided that they will have a walking challenge in which they have to cover a particular number of laps around a quadrangle. Instead of requiring all students to do the same distance, you can ask students to nominate what they would find challenging and allow them to aim for that individual goal. In this scenario everybody does well, even though everybody does a different distance. There are also a number of safety issues here. For example, imagine if a student became physically stressed by trying to over-achieve and suffered physical harm. In addition to the harm, the school and teacher could be sued for damages.

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Pillar 5: Engagement Prensky’s (2005) article ‘Engage me or enrage me’ argues that the current generation of students expect and demand engagement. They expect to be involved in engaging activities, particularly in activities that involve the use of technologies such as the internet, creative software, peer-to-peer communications, publishing and blogging. Extensive research has shown students are much more likely to be using technology heavily out of school rather than in school (see, for example, Arafeh & Levin 2003; Teclehaimanot, Mentzer & Hickman 2009). It has been argued this is a genuine generational divide — younger students are digitally literate while many of their teachers live in an industrial-era mode based on older forms of communication and interaction (Oblinger 2003). When students are more technologically literate than the teachers, teachers are reluctant to demonstrate their ignorance or lack of skills or awareness of new technology-based pedagogies, and so remain with the traditional paper-based classroom model (see, for example, Watson 2004). However, many teachers are digitally literate and can create interesting and dynamic technology-based classrooms for their students. One global study focused on innovative teaching and learning found that innovative teaching practices are occurring in a range of schools across the world, but that they are inconsistent and reliant on individual teachers rather than system-wide reforms. In the Australian context, the teaching practice most strongly aligned with innovative teaching was the provision of project-based learning activities that extended for more than one week (Holmes et al. 2013). In addition, the frequency with which teachers collaborated was also strongly related to innovative teaching practice, indicating that communities of practice can be powerful in promoting change to learning environments. To increase student engagement, this study suggests an increased emphasis on teacher collaboration in the design of more substantive learning activities is paramount. This would result in deeper learning and the opportunity for students to demonstrate twenty-first century skills such as collaboration, knowledge building and self-regulation. It is clear that being digitally literate is only one aspect of preparation in teacher education programs. It has been argued that teacher education programs are partly or largely to blame for the lack of teachers’ engagement with technology (Nicholson & Johnson 1999; Nicholson & Underwood 1996). However, there has been progress towards articulating the capabilities students will require and ensuring that the changing demands for technological use are reflected in teacher education programs. Projects such as Teaching Teachers for the Future, an initiative funded by the Australian government and involving 39 teacher education institutions, have assisted in building the capacity of teacher educators 322

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(see www.ttf.edu.au). The website provides rich professional learning ‘anytime, anywhere’ packages, highlighting transformative pedagogies using the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler 2006). Fortunately, both face-to-face traditional and digital classrooms can be constructed around a set of clear learning and teaching principles and practices. At the start of your teaching career, it is often difficult to locate and evaluate appropriate resources and strategies to adopt in your own teaching. Two useful resources are the Victorian Government’s Principles of Teaching and Learning (PoLT) and the Scottish Learning and Teaching Toolkit, mentioned earlier. Both of these online resources contain an extensive range of approaches, strategies and related resources for improving teaching and learning, many of which focus on engaging and challenging students. These resources should form a key part of your professional knowledge base and will be invaluable to you over the whole of your teaching career. Additionally, many teachers share strategies and activities through social networking sites such as Yammer and create sharing repositories through Weeblys and Wix websites — great ways to build your teacher networks and build your resources. However, as a teacher you need to focus on being critical, selecting activities that suit your planning/student needs, and on building knowledge rather than encouraging students to skim the surface.

Challenging and engaging? It is common for challenging tasks to be engaging and vice versa. However, that is not always the case, and it is important to keep this difference in mind in planning activities that are intended to be both. For example, imagine that in the walking task in the previous section, you were sure all of your students would enjoy the activity and you set them all a common distance. It is likely that students might initially enjoy being outdoors and walking around a quadrangle, but sooner or later students might begin to struggle. The challenge turns to stress and the engagement could be replaced by drudgery. Often this occurs through well-intentioned motives, but where the need to consider all aspects — including challenge and engagement — has been overlooked. Schools can make a big difference by creating authentic links with parents and communities to increase home–school engagement. This is particularly important when creating a working partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, ensuring that engagement is not through one-off events, but is part of a wider, structured culturally respectful practice in the school where families see themselves as active participants in their child’s learning (ACT Education & Training Directorate 2015).

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

To give yourself the best chance of challenging and engaging your students. r Your lessons should be clearly related to topics of interest to your students and be interactive (with or without the use of technology), while also focused on mandatory learning outcomes from the syllabus. r Take into account that students enjoy using technology to solve tasks, communicate and present information. Give students input and choice into how to integrate technology. r Take advantage of the fact that real, collaborative group work engages and challenges most students, especially if its focus is on real-world tasks of interest. r Be aware that group work and team projects that focus on mundane tasks do not challenge or engage students. r Leverage your students’ knowledge — many students are highly knowledgeable about new media, new technologies and areas that interest them. They can act as experts in the class to solve problems. r Be detailed in your planning and ensure that you systematically apply the principles and practices discussed in this chapter. A useful strategy to develop your knowledge and skills is to incorporate them into your lesson plans so that you work with them every day.

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Classroom practice Figure 9.5 is a page from a lesson plan. It requires you to consider why and how you will use the concepts in this chapter in your classroom teaching. You might find it helpful to add other items that you feel are necessary. This planner is designed to keep your focus on the issues addressed in this chapter by helping you to both plan and monitor your use, or lack of use, of the various entities in the planner. The ‘importance’ column reflects the reality that you cannot do everything all the time and so you will have to prioritise where you put your emphasis. The rating column helps you to see where, over time, you are putting in your effort. You should monitor your lesson plans each week to check that you are providing adequate coverage of all of the principles over time. Do not be too concerned if you cannot achieve all of your goals every lesson. The 16 items are not meant to be a checklist of what you do every minute of every lesson, but rather an indication of the kind of positive classroom you want to develop in the longer term. For example, in your next practicum placement you might choose, say, five of the items and focus on those. You could choose different ones in your subsequent practicum. FIGURE 9.5

A principle-based lesson planner and evaluation sheet

Item

Focus

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Physically and emotionally safe Supportive and inclusive Child centred Provides choices for students Students are active participants Has relevance for students Has a real-world focus Involves non-trivial tasks Challenging but achievable Adaptive for different skill levels Has a task or problem focus Involves higher-order thinking Is collaborative or group based Involves ongoing assessment Accommodates difference Creative and engaging use of ICT

Strategies

Importance in this lesson 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Source: Nicholson (2006).

9.5 Tools and issues LEARNING OBJECTIVE 9.5 Identify and apply effective pedagogical and technological approaches for fostering and supporting an effective learning environment.

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Putting it all together By now you may be feeling overwhelmed with the number of issues raised in this chapter and wondering how you might actually put them all together to create a learner-friendly environment. The five pillars of the ILFE model are obvious starting places, but it’s just not feasible to employ them all at once — there are often too many aspects and nuances of each and you can’t action them all at once. Developing a robust practical understanding of these ideas may take quite some time. Taking a pragmatic stance means addressing major issues first and prioritising others — after you have had the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in addressing the issues you identified. Professionals commonly manage this process by regularly reflecting on and analysing their work to identify key issues, skills and knowledge — something that you should consider adopting. 324

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Developing a broad repertoire of skills, strategies and tactics, including those in the UNESCO model, can take quite a while to achieve. Many expert teachers say that they are always increasing their development of skills and professional knowledge, so don’t be disappointed if your teaching supervisor or colleagues seem to be feeding you a lot of ‘tips and tricks’ that may or may not be useful to you. It is likely that you find some useful strategies and tactics this way, but you need to remember that these may just be an eclectic scattering of good ideas that have no overarching structure to help you develop them systematically — which is what professional knowledge is about. For instance, if you are teaching in a large multi-use space with several other classes, it is helpful to know specific things like ‘John might run away if it’s too noisy’, or that a particular group of students finds it very difficult to work in such contexts. However, it is more important to be able to draw on your professional knowledge to find a better solution for all your students. Perhaps you can use the time that you are rostered in those large spaces for (largely) non-verbal activities, such as artistic works, reading and so forth. The point being made here is that you need to constantly work systematically on developing, applying and reflecting on your professional knowledge in order to increase your expertise, and hopefully your enjoyment of teaching. In addition, you need to be able to focus your professional knowledge and classroom planning so that students will be able to work productively in your classroom. There are some effective strategies that you can use to refine your classroom planning and effectiveness. However, the term ‘tools’ is used purposefully here to indicate that these are more than just general approaches. Rather, they need time and effort to learn how to use them and to apply them systematically and productively.

The tools

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1. Activity planning — the layered classroom concept

A lot of educational and workplace research has focused on the kinds of activities that occur in those settings and how they arise, rather than the content or pedagogy. In this context, ‘activities’ mean more than physical activity or interaction; they may involve an individual, groups, internal or external goals and curricula, or interactive/group tasks. For example, one teacher activity that may occur and be hidden from students is the teacher’s reading, planning and execution of curriculum programs, policies and practices. These might be invisible to the students, but they are important activities that underpin all others in the classroom. Research has shown that in many classrooms, multiple types and levels of various activities are occurring simultaneously. Similarly, identifying groupings such as student activities, teacher activities and overarching curriculum and policy issues can provide you with different professional and conceptual views of the classroom and consequently ideas about how you might organise what occurs there. For example, what activities does the teacher participate in (or not) and how does that affect the class? What are the students doing? How is the class overall organised to foster activity? One basic approach is to plan for different levels of activity for both you and your students. Classrooms are very busy places and in a multi-year-level classroom at least three ‘layers’ of activity and work levels/focus/connections can be identified: 1. the impact of the curriculum designers’ programs and suggested methods of use 2. the teacher’s activity (e.g. planning, organising and implementing actual modes of work) 3. the students’ work program, grouping and interactions with other students. It is the underlying teacher and curriculum designer layers that need to be clearly understood and appropriately implemented for the students to be able to effectively tackle their work. Often, if students have issues with ‘what and how’, it can be because of a lack of clear communication of the expectations that underpin their tasks. In such cases, it is a good strategy to explain to the students the whole basis on which their tasks are based. 2. Collaboration

Collaboration is a very important aspect of learning; it is often overlooked or considered to be a lesser form of academic engagement than individual learning tasks in a more traditional classroom. The social CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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aspects of group work frequently facilitate effective learning and, arguably, deeper understandings arising from the students’ engagement in discussion while working within the group. However, group work needs to be managed to be effective — it does not happen serendipitously and often needs scaffolding and support from the teacher. Such management is especially critical in successfully raising questions, challenging assumptions and redirecting potentially unproductive approaches to more productive ones. Texts by Marzano and Barkley elaborate the wide range of approaches to using collaborative learning to improve student outcomes. One clear aspect of their work is that the teacher has to become an expert in understanding and applying various nuanced versions of collaborative learning processes to facilitate rather than direct the learning process. It is critical to ensure that the learning task is designed in such a way that all students within the group will engage in the task equally, and this is also reflective of the way people work in groups in the real world. Although this may seem to be a big task, many practitioners tackle it iteratively, such as when working through the layers in the model shown in figure 9.6. In time, you will develop a wide range of skills in and understandings of the educational options provided by genuine collaborative learning (as opposed to the posited less structured ‘group work’).

FIGURE 9.6

Layered classroom conceptual model

Layer 3 STUDENTS work

Layer 2 TEACHERS work

Layer 1 CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS work

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3. Information and communication technologies

Over the past decades, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the classroom has grown to the point where it plays a key role in many education systems. It took a great deal of time to get to this stage, as they were long regarded as a tool — such as a typewriter or television — and only later were they recognised as a rich learning resource. This shift was accompanied by changing pedagogical practices, such as online teaching and learning, ‘global’ publishing projects, online collaborative learning — for both students and teachers — and involvement in webquests, political action and intercultural understandings. There are a myriad ways to use the internet in education and sometimes it seems as if there is too much to deal with. However, in terms of your professional knowledge, almost all teacher accreditation agencies these days include some specific requirement to demonstrate your pedagogical understanding of ICT and how it has informed your teaching. As with collaborative learning, gaining ICT skills can take time, and it’s also often useful to think about how it informs your ability to work in each of the ‘three layers’ discussed above.

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INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

The following three famous quotations provide different insights into aspects of education, particularly critiquing aspects of the Western education system and its impact on learning outcomes. We’ve all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the internet, we know this is not true. ROBERT WILENSKY n.d.

Essentially, Wilensky argues that the ubiquitous implementation of technology in schools, and particularly reliance on the internet as a data source, has not greatly improved the academic and intellectual skills of students — and that monkeys typing randomly might be an appropriate metaphor for today’s net classrooms and schools. Wilensky’s quotation also suggests, implicitly, that teachers have to become both skilled and wise in their technology practice and their application of it in the classroom. Recent research by Mishra and Koehler (2006) proposes a model for teachers to focus their development in the use of educational technology to overcome this critique. This involves framing their use of technology as more than just the computer aspects. The illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ALVIN TOFFLER n.d.

From the perspective of a futurist, Toffler argues that the longstanding classroom and curriculum designs of today’s Industrial Age classrooms will not provide teachers and students with the key personal attributes of the Information Age — adaptability, a commitment to lifelong learning and the skills to manage one’s own post-school education alongside sectoral learning. This implies that schools today should focus on empowering students to become independent lifelong learners. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. ALBERT EINSTEIN n.d.

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Einstein’s comment is a critique of rigid curriculum and assessment models that limit students’ curiosity and intellectual interests — to be replaced by a focus on standardised testing and limited intellectual engagement. The contrast to an ILFE is stark!

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SUMMARY Teaching was once considered to be a rich and rewarding (if lowly paid) vocation. Today it is a hardedged professional job that requires extensive professional knowledge, experience and accreditation, good insight into a range of human factors, excellent social skills, dedication and a commitment to ongoing personal development. The profession has articulated a clear and insightful set of professional standards that all teachers must meet. These standards form the basis of teachers’ professional practice and behaviour. In most Western countries, there is considerable agreement about the nature and content of their standards. Safety, support and inclusion are common concerns, though the contexts in which they are manifest can vary widely (e.g. providing physical safety and support for children in severely drought-affected or war-torn regions). In Australia, there is an emphasis on ensuring an inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students, including those from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and students with disabilities. A teacher’s ability to provide an inclusive, learning-friendly environment is increasingly being seen as an indicator of an effective and successful teacher — as opposed to older views that saw strong classroom management and excellent content knowledge as the ideal attributes of a teacher. In the very ‘human’ act of teaching, it is important to be professional first and ‘human’ later. This is because as a professional every act and plan must be based around professional accreditation and practice standards rather than being an emotive personal response or an attempt to cater to people at the personal level. The court of public opinion holds that the best teachers are those whose hallmark is professionalism, along with a caring and nurturing approach to teaching. As a pre-service teacher, it is sometimes difficult to think of yourself as a professional, and to draw from professional knowledge rather than your personal experience. However, over time, models such as ILFE and 5KP will be increasingly important to you as you develop your expertise in their application to your classroom and use them wisely in a wide range of contexts and student cohorts. Professionalism is not just knowing relevant policies and practices such as those in your relevant professional standards; it is also about having the operational skills and awareness to be able to apply your knowledge when and where it is needed.

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KEY TERMS challenge A task or situation that tests someone’s abilities. discipline Training or teaching a person to comply with rules of behaviour as set out in relevant policy documents. educational and sociocultural principles Key ideas about education and society that inform educational practice. engagement The act of students engaging with, or being engaged in, their work. inclusion The child’s right to participate and the school’s duty to accept the child by restructuring school culture, policy and practices. inclusive, learning-friendly environment (ILFE) Classrooms and other educational contexts that are safe, culturally sensitive, inclusive, gender-fair and non-discriminatory. overarching integrative structures Approaches to managing teaching and learning from broad policy or practice perspectives. policies Official organisational plans or approaches. proactive planning Prior planning that anticipates possible events and outcomes. reactive Responding to an event or issue as it occurs. safety The state of a classroom in which the potential for harm to the student is minimised. support Providing appropriate strategies to return a student’s state to the norm.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 9.1

LO1, 2

What are your major concerns about planning and managing your classroom learning environment? What strategies do you think could address these concerns and why? Do you feel equipped to plan and manage your classroom learning environment to ensure inclusivity for all students? 9.2

LO1, 4

Challenge and engagement are critical parts of your teaching repertoire. Drawing on what you have learned in this chapter, how will you ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are challenged and engaged in your classroom? (Hint: link to Standards 1.4 and 2.4 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.) 9.3

LO1

Using the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers that you explored earlier in the chapter, do a self-audit to see how your understandings and experiences so far in your degree compare to the standards you will need to meet as a graduate teacher. What are the key areas where you still need to build your expertise? 9.4

LO2, 3

Being a professional means that you have to acquire a wide range of professional knowledge. How do you plan to do this systematically in ways that can demonstrate your development throughout your degree? Develop an ePortfolio to capture the technological aspects — list examples of what will this include. 9.5

LO1, 2

To get a practical sense of the ILFE model, access and download a copy of the UNESCO booklet series ‘Embracing diversity: Toolkit for creating inclusive learning-friendly environments’ (UNESCO 2004b). Booklet 1, starting on page 18, examines the ILFE model in detail. By working through the booklet, you will get an authentic understanding of the ILFE model. How applicable do you think the ILFE model is to teachers working within more innovative models of twenty-first century schooling, such as the open-space classroom described in the opening case study?

WEBSITES

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1 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) promotes better policies

for better lives across the globe. This link will take you to the section on innovative learning environments, collating handbooks on education, news and events and providing a social media platform to discuss global perspectives on innovative learning: www.oecd.org/education/innovation-education 2 Harvard Graduate School of Education launched Project Zero in the 1960s with a focus on understanding learning in and through the arts. This website draws together research and resources in creativity and cross-disciplinary thinking over the past 50 years, with a vast array of projects and resources to explore: www.pz.harvard.edu 3 Explore the possibilities of self-organised learning environments (SOLEs) through this website that builds on the work of Sugata Mitra’s ‘Hole in the Wall’ experiments and ‘The School in the Cloud’. A SOLE can exist anywhere there is a computer, an internet connection and students who are willing to learn: www.theschoolinthecloud.org

REFERENCES ACT Education & Training Directorate 2015, ‘Progressing parental engagement: engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian families’, retrieved on 11 November 2017 from www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0006/807432/150897-Engaging-with-Aboriginal-and-Torres-Strait-Islander-Families.pdf. CHAPTER 9 Organising the learning environment

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Arafeh, S & Levin, D 2003, ‘The digital disconnect: the widening gap between internet-savvy students and their schools’, paper presented at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference, Chesapeake, Vancouver, www.editlib.org. Barkley, E, Cross, KP & Major, CH 2004, Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Bernstein, JY & Watson, MW 1997, ‘Children who are targets of bullying: a victim pattern’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 12, pp. 483–98. Bigum, C & Rowan, L 2009, ‘Renegotiating knowledge relationships in schools’, in SE Noffke & B Somekh (eds), The SAGE handbook of educational action research, SAGE, London. Burden, PR & Byrd, DM 2010, Methods for effective teaching: Meeting the needs of all students, 5th edn, Allyn & Bacon, Boston. Chang, M 2009, ‘Blogging in place: writing that explores new neighbourhoods. Multimedia projects link students with communities near and far’, edutopia, www.edutopia.org. Costello, BJ 2003, ‘Egotism and delinquent behaviour’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 572–90. Daniels, S 2001, ‘Using ICT for quality teaching, learning and effective management’, www.unesco.org, viewed 27 January 2009. Day, K 2009, ‘Creating and sustaining effective learning environments’, The All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, vol. 1, no. 1. Department of Education & Training 2017a, ‘Indigenous Schooling’, www.education.gov.au/indigenous-schooling, viewed 11 November 2017. —— 2017b, ‘Quality Schools, Quality Outcomes’, www.education.gov.au/quality-schools-quality-outcomes, viewed 11 November 2017. —— 2016a, ‘Students with Disability’, www.education.gov.au/students-disability, viewed 11 November 2017. —— 2016b, ‘Student Resilience and Wellbeing’, www.education.gov.au/student-resilience-and-wellbeing, viewed 11 November 2017. —— 2015, ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy’, www.education.gov.au/national-aboriginal-and-torresstrait-islander-education-strategy, viewed 11 November 2017. Department of Health 2017, ‘National Drug Strategy’ 2017–2026, www.nationaldrugstrategy.gov.au, viewed 11 November 2017. Department of Human Services 2017, ‘Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme’, www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/assistance-for-isolated-children-scheme, viewed 11 November 2017. Education Resources Information Center 2009, ‘ERICtm Educational Resources Information Center’, www.eric.ed.gov, viewed 30 November 2009. Education Services Australia 2017, ‘Student Wellbeing Hub’, www.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au, viewed 11 November 2017. Einstein, A n.d., ‘Curiosity in education’, www.wisdomquotes.com, viewed 21 December 2009. Ferguson, CJ, San Miguel, C, Kilburn, JC Jr & Sanchez, P 2007, ‘The effectiveness of school-based anti-bullying programs: a meta-analytic review’, Criminal Justice Review, vol. 32 (December), pp. 401–14. Flinders, DJ 1989, ‘Professional life in schools’, in DJ Flinders (ed.), Voices from the classroom: Educational practice can inform policy, ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Oregon. General Assembly 1948, ‘Universal declaration of human rights’, www.unhchr.ch, viewed 30 November 2009. Gottesman, BL, McKenzie, LB, Conner, KA & Smith, GA 2009, ‘Injuries from furniture tip-overs among children and adolescents in the United States, 1990–2007’, Clinical Pediatric, vol. 48 (October), pp. 851–8. Holmes, K, Bourke, S, Preston, G, Shaw, K & Smith, M 2013, ‘Supporting innovation in teaching: what are the key contextual factors?’, International Journal Quantitative Research in Education, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 85–102. Homel, R 2001, Preventing violence — A review of the literature on violence and violence prevention, New South Wales Department of the Attorney General, Sydney. Lee, E 2009, ‘The relationship of aggression and bullying to social preference: differences in gender and types of aggression’, International Journal of Behavioral Development, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 323–30. Legg, H 2008, ‘How accessible are EpiPens?’, Beyond Allergy, 13 May, www.beyondallergy.com, viewed 30 November 2009. Lester, S 2007, ‘On professions and being professional’, www.sld.demon.co.uk, viewed 30 November 2009. Levin, J & Nolan, JF 2010, Principles of classroom management: A professional decision making model, 6th edn, Pearson, UK. Luiselli, JK, Putman, RF, Handler, MW & Feinberg, AB 2005, ‘Whole-school positive behaviour support: effects on student discipline problems and academic performance’, Educational Psychology, vol. 25, no. 2–3, pp. 183–98. Marks, HM 2000, ‘Student engagement in instructional activity: patterns in the elementary, middle, and high school’, American Educational Research Journal, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 153–84. Marzano, RJ, Pickering, D & Pollock, JE 2004, Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Virginia. Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) 2010, ‘National Safe Schools Framework’, Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra. Mishra, P & Koehler, MJ 2006, ‘Technological pedagogical content knowledge: a framework for teacher knowledge’, Teachers College Record, vol. 108, no. 6, pp. 1017–54.

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Nicholson, PS 2006, A checklist for inclusivity in planning for international audiences, e-Learning & Knowledge Architects, Melbourne, p. 2. Nicholson, PS & Johnson, R 1999, ‘Metamaps: assessing understanding of large, complex or distributed knowledge domains’, Education and Information Technologies, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 297–312. Nicholson, PS & Underwood, J 1996, ‘Teacher education for primary and secondary education’, in JD Tinsley & TJ VanWeert (eds), IFIP Windows to the future, Aston University, Birmingham, pp. 93–7. Nicholson, PS & White, G 2002, ‘A layered design model for higher-order thinking’, in D Watson & J Andersen (eds), Networking the learner: Computers in education, Seventh IFIP World Conference on Computers in Education, Copenhagen, pp. 49–58. Oblinger, D 2003, ‘Understanding the new students’, EDUCAUSE Review, July/August, http://net.educause.edu, viewed 30 November 2009. Owen, M, Grant, L, Sayers, S & Facer, K 2006, ‘Opening education: social software and learning’, www.futurelab.org.uk, viewed 30 November 2009. Pajares, F 1996, ‘Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings’, Review of Educational Research, vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 543–78. Phillips, DA 2007, ‘Punking and bullying: strategies in middle school, high school, and beyond’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 158–78. Pintrich, PR, Marx, RW & Boyle, RA 1993, ‘Beyond cold conceptual change: the role of motivational beliefs and classroom contextual factors in the process of conceptual change’, Review of Educational Research, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 167–9. Prensky, M 2005, ‘Engage me or enrage me’, Educase Review, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 60–5. Rigby, K 2017, ‘Exploring the gaps between teachers’ beliefs about bullying and research-based knowledge’, International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/21683603.2017.1314835. Robb, A 2008, ‘Anaphylaxis’, www.andrewrobb.com.au, viewed July 2009. Rogers, B 2007, Behaviour management. A whole-school approach, 2nd edn, Scholastic, Australia. Shaw, K, Holmes, K, Preston, G, Smith, M & Bourke, S 2014a, ‘Innovative teaching and learning part 1: from research to practice’, SCAN, vol. 33, no. 2, pp.19–28. —— 2014b, ‘Innovative teaching and learning part 2: spotlight on innovative practice’, SCAN, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 29–38. Stauffer, S, Heath, MA, Coyne, SM & Ferrin, S 2012, ‘High school teachers’ perceptions of cyberbullying prevention and intervention strategies’, Psychology in the Schools, vol. 49, pp. 352–67, DOI:10.1002/pits.21603. Student Learning and Support Services Taskforce 2003, ‘National Safe Schools Framework’, Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Canberra, www.dest.gov.au, viewed 30 November 2009. SunSmart Victoria 2005, ‘SunSmarttm ’, www.sunsmart.com.au, viewed 2 February 2009. Teclehaimanot, B, Mentzer, G & Hickman, T 2009, ‘A comparison between teacher education faculty perceptions of the integration of technology into their courses and student feedback on technology proficiency’, paper presented at the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2009, Chesapeake, Vancouver. The George Lucas Educational Foundation 2008, ‘Problem-solving peace helpers become playground mediators’, podcast, www.edutopia.org, viewed 30 November 2009. The Highland Council 2009, ‘Learning and teaching should be inclusive and enjoyable: inclusion’, www.highlandschoolsvirtualib.org.uk, viewed 30 November 2009. Tillema, HH 2000, ‘Belief change towards self-directed learning in student teachers: immersion in practice or reflection on action’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 16, no. 5–6, pp. 575–91. Toffler, A n.d., ‘The 21st century illiterate’, www.wisdomquotes.com, viewed 21 December 2009. UNESCO 2009, ‘2009 Education for all global monitoring report’, www.uis.unesco.org, viewed 30 November 2009. —— 2004a, ‘Booklet 1: becoming an inclusive learning friendly environment (ILFE) (vol. 1)’, UNESCO, Bangkok. —— 2004b, ‘Embracing diversity: toolkit for creating inclusive, learning-friendly environments’, www.unescobkk.org, viewed 30 November 2009. —— 2001, ‘Understanding and responding to children’s needs in inclusive classrooms: a guide for teachers’, www.unesdoc.unesco.org, viewed 30 November 2009. —— 1990, ‘EFA background and history’, www.unescobkk.org, viewed 30 November 2009. UNICEF 1989, ‘Convention on the rights of the child’, www.unicef.org, viewed 30 November 2009. Victoria State Government Department of Education & Training 2017, ‘Bullystopper resources’, www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/teachres.aspx, accessed 11 November 2017. Watson, D 2004, ‘Pedagogy before technology: re-thinking the relationship between ICT and teaching’, Education and Information Technologies, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 251–66. Wilensky, RA n.d., ‘A million monkeys’, www.wisdomquotes.com, viewed 21 December 2009. Wolfgang, CH & Glickman, CD 1986, Solving discipline problems: Strategies for classroom teachers, 2nd edn, Allyn & Bacon, Boston.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Production Perig / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock.com Figure 9.2: © PS Nicholson from Churchill, R et al. 2011, Teaching: Making a difference, 1st edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia, ISBN: 9781742164748. Figure 9.3: © UNESCO 2004. Reproduced under a CC BT-SA 3.0 IGO licence https://creativecommons .org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/ Figure 9.5: © PS Nicholson from Churchill, R et al. 2011, Teaching: Making a difference, 1st edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia, ISBN: 9781742164748. Text: © UNESCO 2004

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CHAPTER 10

Teaching with information and communication technologies LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 10.1 explain the nature of technology and information and communication technologies (ICTs) 10.2 describe rationales for using ICTs in education and some of the barriers to their use 10.3 discuss important considerations when planning to use ICTs as part of teaching and learning 10.4 identify frameworks that help one to understand how ICTs can be used to solve real-world problems and enhance or transform the curriculum 10.5 explore useful ways to utilise ICTs in the classroom.

OPENING CASE

Ready for ICTs? Ready for learning? Eva has just begun her first year at primary school. She is already very familiar with YouTube Kids, ABC Kids and other apps on the iPad she uses at home. Eva likes being able to choose what she watches and often asks her parents to watch a ‘show’ with her. Both of her parents regularly use their laptops at the same time as Eva is watching her iPad, so screen usage and engagement are common in the household. Eva watches very little television in preference to the individualised entertainment she can choose on the iPad. Eva’s home is full of a variety of toys, both inside and out. She also has two bookshelves full of children’s books and can identify all the letters of the alphabet. Eva shares a table with Jenna. Jenna can sing the alphabet, but cannot yet read or identify individual letters. She has few, if any, books at home. Jenna’s house is located in a rural area where there is no internet connection available. Jenna watches a lot of television. There are three desktop computers located in the classroom. The computers do not have iPad apps or television shows. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. What other pre-school experiences or contextual factors might prepare these students for ICT use? 2. What would be the barriers to the use of these desktop computers, especially considering the students’ home lives? 3. What might impede the students’ readiness for learning, let alone readiness to use ICTs?

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Introduction By reading through, thinking about and understanding this chapter, you may be able to help address the issues raised in the opening case. There is a huge amount of literature surrounding information and communication technologies (ICTs) and what to do with them in classrooms. Rather than attempt to review all of this research literature, this chapter introduces ways to think about the use of ICTs in classrooms and how to incorporate them for effective teaching to occur. There are differing perspectives in relation to the use of ICTs in classrooms and there are differing levels of success in ICT use. This chapter focuses on teaching with ICTs, rather than teaching about ICTs. How a teacher goes about using ICTs in their teaching depends on the context in which the teacher and students are placed. The resources that are available to the teacher and the interests and needs of the students (among other things) all contribute to how ICTs can be used. This chapter asks a lot of questions and examines issues such as ideologies, practicalities, and student and teacher efficacy. This is intended to help you identify the contexts and situations in which ICTs can and cannot be used. It will not only help you with planning lessons, but will assist with classroom management.

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Teaching with information and communication technologies

The nature of technology and ICTs

Approaches to ICTs in schools

Planning for teaching with ICTs

Educational technologies

Attitudes to ICTs Funding

Persistence and attitude to ICTs

Technological pedagogical content knowledge

Behind the times

Access

The Digital Technology Impact Framework

Transforming the curriculum

Curriculum transformation

Examples in practice

Skills Functionality Confidence Concerns and restrictions Letting go

10.1 The nature of technology and ICTs LEARNING OBJECTIVE 10.1 Explain the nature of technology and information and communication technologies (ICTs).

What is technology and what does technology include? Your first thought might be computers, tablets or other digital technologies, such as wearable fitness trackers, digital cameras and smartphones. However, any type of artefact or tool can constitute a technology. From this perspective, we should recognise that a bed, a fridge, a kettle, a bowl, a knife, a chair and a table are all forms of technology. Often when the word ‘technology’ is used, people are actually referring to information and communication technologies (ICTs), which refer more narrowly to those technologies related to capturing, organising, storing and exchanging information. As technology has developed and evolved over time, there has been an increased uptake of technology in society. This has enhanced lives, but also brought challenges. Similarly, the increased availability and development of ICTs for the teaching profession has enhanced as well as challenged pedagogy.

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Educational technologies When you look around you, almost everything you see is a technology. Technologies and their purposes are shaped by society throughout history via intent, actual usage and ongoing development (Hacker 1989). This chapter, of course, focuses on educational technologies — those technologies that are potentially helpful for enhancing teaching and learning. Educational technologies include ICTs and other types of technology — most things you will find in a classroom are technologies (e.g. chairs, pens, even the architecture of the classroom itself). The ICTs commonly found in schools and used by teachers and students include: r hardware (e.g. interactive whiteboards, computers and printers) r portable mobile devices (e.g. smartphones, laptops, games consoles, tablets and digital cameras) r software (e.g. word processors, spreadsheets, databases, web browsers, email, photo and video editors, games, learning objects/interactive resources, freeware and simulations)

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r social media (e.g. web applications including blogs, wikis, cloud computing, podcasts, social bookmarking sites, search engines, virtual worlds, social networking sites, video streaming/sharing, and smartphone/tablet apps). Any list of hardware and software will inevitably change and these days will do so very quickly. Therefore, rather than examine particular software or social networking platforms, it is more prudent to discuss the usage of technology within effective pedagogy. Whether referring to digital storytelling, discussion forums, collaborative authoring, webquests, simulations or any of the other educational ICT applications, the focus must be on how to utilise ICTs in one’s teaching; that is, the focus must be on the pedagogies associated with teaching with ICTs, alongside quality teaching of curriculum that is meaningful and relevant to students.

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Technological pedagogical content knowledge Schools and the teaching profession are exposed to a constant stream of new initiatives, guidelines, policies and programs. The education of children is a government responsibility. Governments and their agencies often direct changes in curriculum, policy, funding and standards. On a day-to-day level, teachers need to know what to teach and how to teach it, despite the ongoing political changes and movements. This bringing together of ‘what’ to teach and ‘how’ to teach is known as pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman 1986, 1987). PCK is a framework that is concerned with knowing the content as well as being able to teach that content, rather than separating that knowledge into either ‘pedagogy’ or ‘content’. PCK is a significant part of what a teacher needs to know in order to provide an effective program for his or her students. It is concerned with knowing how to represent content so that it can be understood by students. PCK includes the identification of learner readiness, as well as what preconceptions or misconceptions learners might have about the content, and then helping to reorganise students’ understanding. Another phrase for PCK is ‘teachers’ professional knowledge’, highlighting that teachers not only know the content, but know how to teach that content, and that it is not helpful to separate subject knowledge from pedagogy. Mishra and Koehler (2006, p. 1023) introduced the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK or TPACK) framework. They suggested that not only do teachers need to have knowledge about pedagogy and content in order to teach, but they also need to know about educational technologies and how they can change both content and pedagogy, as well as how they have changed the nature of the classroom. They claimed that good teaching was not just about adding technology to TPCK. While teachers, of course, need to have the skills to operate specific technologies, TPCK includes knowing about effective pedagogy that uses ICTs, how ICTs can change the nature of content that is to be taught, how they can be used to address problems and how they can help to construct knowledge (Blackwell, Lauricella & Wartella 2016). According to Mishra and Koehler (2006, p. 1029), TPCK is the basis of good teaching with technology and requires an understanding of the following: r the representation of concepts using technologies r pedagogical techniques that use technologies in constructive ways to teach content r knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help redress some of the problems that students face r knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and theories of epistemology r knowledge of how technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge and to develop new epistemologies or strengthen old ones. Some scholars have argued that further refinement and theoretical development of TPCK is needed (Archambault & Barnett 2010; Graham 2011). Recent critiques include questioning the notion that domains of knowledge are in neatly bound chunks (Parr, Bellis & Bulfin 2013) and separate from each other (Archambalt & Barnett 2010), and that ‘expertise for subject content and pedagogy lies in different communities’ (Parr et al. 2013, p. 14). Despite these critiques, the TPCK framework provides a useful way to think about how to use ICTs in one’s teaching (see Drummond & Sweeney 2017). For instance, 336

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you might have good knowledge of pedagogy, and good knowledge of a learning area (content), but do you have good knowledge of how to use ICTs in your pedagogy? This chapter will help to develop your TPCK. TPCK covers such things as the evaluation of what constitutes ‘good’ software and design, ethical and critical use of social media, the contexts and values of technology designs and the ability to understand the rapid ongoing developments of technology.

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Technology such as interactive whiteboards, when used effectively, can enhance and help to construct knowledge.

This chapter raises questions about ideologies and practicalities, including timetabling, access and functionality. Today’s teachers are expected to use ICTs in their classroom whether they wish to or not. Every decision to use educational technologies in a lesson, unit or program must be based on proper consideration of whether the technology will enhance the learning process — or whether it will make things more complicated or difficult. The use of educational technologies must also recognise that each technology has limitations alongside its benefits. As each technology is value-laden (Postman 1986), these values need to be acknowledged. Consideration needs to be given to who designed the technology, what was it designed for and whose interests are being served through the use of that technology. As a teacher, you need to consider the intention of how you are using an ICT, and whether the perceived benefits associated with it will in fact be the outcome. It is also important to encourage students to evaluate what they are using, how they are using it, how it was intended to be used and why they are using it. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Teachers need to think about what ICTs are quality resources for effective pedagogy and which are not. Some technologies become obsolete very quickly or are just a fad. Others are entertaining or interesting, but perhaps not useful in the educational context. Is there an app you remember being enthusiastic about only to find it was not much use at all? Which app do you currently enjoy using that might be appropriate to use in the classroom in your teaching? If so, for which age group?

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10.2 Approaches to ICTs in schools LEARNING OBJECTIVE 10.2 Describe rationales for using ICTs in education and some of the barriers to their use.

Different people hold different beliefs about how ICTs should be used or integrated within schools. Preservice teachers need to be aware of these approaches and their implications for learning and teaching.

Attitudes to ICTs Imagine a place where everything is perfect. That can be called your utopia. Utopias are value-laden; they are determined by your personal beliefs about what is good or not. Someone else’s utopia will be different. This section of the chapter describes some varying utopias that different groups of people have in relation to ICTs within schools. It draws on Bigum and Kenway’s (2005) analysis. The following four approaches highlight the different ideals that some groups of people have surrounding educational technologies. This relates closely to the stressors surrounding the funding and provision of resources in schools, the pressure on schools to be up-to-date, and the idea that putting more computers and ICTs in schools will ‘fix everything’.

+

=

?

Boosters Boosters have a utopian view that education will be improved with the increased use of ICTs. They believe that by improving the accessibility and use of ICTs, learning and teaching will be enhanced, and many, if not all, problems will be addressed. Boosters rarely ask questions about the limitations or disadvantages of new ICTs or about the practical implementation issues within classrooms. The ‘boosters’ are by far the biggest group within Bigum and Kenway’s (2005) analysis, and the belief or slogan that ‘technology is good’ prevails. Boosters essentially believe that: r ICTs will improve education r computers will improve learning and access to jobs and information r all student learning can be improved by having ICTs within schools r the best way to improve student learning is to have more ICTs in schools, and better, faster internet access.

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Anti-schoolers ‘Anti-schoolers’ are a subset of the boosters. Anti-schoolers believe that schooling as a structure — and perhaps teachers as they are currently known — will gradually become less important as ICTs are increasingly adopted. This perspective emphasises the benefits and potential of the home environment, which can enhance a student’s personal learning, rather than suggesting that the masses can be catered for by providing a social institution where everybody must act the same or work towards a set of agreed expectations. This position can also be aligned with the notion of choice and individualised, personalised learning (not just associated with educational technologies). Anti-schoolers believe schools will not exist in the future as they do now and that they are already past their use-by date. They believe the more ICT the better and that ICTs will determine our curriculum and our schooling systems. They hold the view that the use of virtual classrooms will negate the need for real classrooms within schools, and that the home will become an important site for education (check out the Khan Academy at www.khanacademy.org). 338

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Anti-schoolers hold that the structures, environment and nature of ‘boring, old’ schooling as we know it will decrease.

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Critics Critics are those who consider the ‘why’ and ‘what’ questions (Bigum & Kenway 2005). They do not necessarily applaud the infiltration of new developments just because they seem to be a good idea. Rather, they consider the practicalities, the benefits, the dangers, the limitations and the multiplicities of accepting and integrating a new ICT. They are sceptical of the boosters’ claim that ICTs will make things better (see Bulfin, Johnson & Bigum 2015). They question their taken-for-granted assumptions. Critics hold the view that just because an ICT can carry out a function does not mean it should do so. One of the most wellknown academic critics is Professor Neil Selwyn, who has written books such as Is technology good for education? (2016) and Distrusting educational technology: Critical questions for changing times (2014). Critics also challenge the notion of ‘digital natives’ (i.e. the concept that people born into an environment saturated with ICTs have a strong sense of how to use ICTs successfully). As Nagel (this volume) has suggested, perhaps it is better to think of them as never knowing what life was like before the advent of ICTs. A subset group of the critics are those we might call ‘critical enthusiasts’ who, while cautious about the benefits and limitations of ICTs, also are enthusiastic about the potential of ICTs within education.

Doomsters At the other end of the continuum lie the doomsters who believe that life and education were better before ICTs. Although a blackboard is a technological artefact too, doomsters believe ICTs (specifically digital technologies such as computers, digital cameras, and web applications) do not enhance teaching — as there is no proof that teaching is better as a result of the uptake of these technologies. Doomsters query why ‘perfectly good’ educational practices should be replaced with ICT-based ones. They predict that society will disintegrate as a result, that the ability to do traditional ‘real life’ things will be affected, CHAPTER 10 Teaching with information and communication technologies 339

and social networking will limit one’s ability to communicate face-to-face with people. Jaded, sceptical teachers will keep on doing what they have always done, as previous ICTs associated with ‘boosterish waves’ of enthusiasm have failed because the infrastructure and support has been lacking. The above descriptions demonstrate various perspectives that can be taken on the implementation and utilisation of ICTs within schools. These various rationales can influence your ideas of why it is beneficial or otherwise to use ICTs in education. What has not yet been highlighted is that these are not distinct categories. One might be an ‘anti-schooler’ in one context and a ‘critic’ in another. As Bigum (pers. comm. 2009) has acknowledged, sometimes categorisation fails to enhance the way we think about things, and can act to the detriment of what is actually occurring and to those who are categorised.

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Funding Schools and early childhood settings have been under immense pressure to update hardware and software continually — to have ‘the latest’ (Cuban 2001). Certainly it seems that high-profile private schools are flush with technological resources. Many millions of dollars have been spent to furnish schools with computers, yet many classroom programs successfully meet the needs of students without using ICTs. The hype surrounding the ‘transformation’ of teaching has yet to be actualised. Despite this, the saturation of ICTs in society has seen educational programs slowly creep towards achieving the unfulfilled promises of yesterday. The students of today need to be prepared for the future of tomorrow and the continuing advent and permeation of ICTs within society. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers identify that graduate teachers must implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students (AITSL 2017), as part of one’s professional knowledge. The implementation of the ‘Digital Education Revolution (DER)’ (Australian Labor Party 2008; DEEWR 2008) began in 2009. This program included proposals that schools be provided with up-todate fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband access and that, over a period of years, each secondary school student be provided with a free laptop computer. A substantial amount of money was allocated to this initiative but inevitably ceased. The advocates of the initiative claimed that education would be world-class as a result of the use of these laptop computers. The revolution seemed to be part of the ‘boosters’ approach or ideology surrounding ICTs. It is useful to consider why the need for a revolution was identified. Is it perhaps because schools have not been properly resourced in the past? Or is it because teachers have not been properly resourced in terms of professional development, technical support and skills? Even when large sums of money are allocated to schools to improve their learning environments, not all schools have known how to best use the funds — some have bought equipment without considering the ideologies and practicalities surrounding the technology (Selwyn, Nemorin, Bulfin & Johnson 2018). In 2018, many secondary school administrators are wondering what to do with the broken-down laptops and how they might secure funding for new laptops, and are working out how to improve their bring your own device (BYOD) program. No single ICT coordinator can be on top of all of the literature and approaches to the use of ICTs in schools. When a school is successful in its utilisation of ICTs, it is often the result of the consultation and engagement of the school’s ICT coordinator or leader (see http://darcymoore.net). There are, for example, practical considerations that must be addressed when considering the rollout of a BYOD program in schools. Planning and preparation are essential when utilising ICTs. Teachers can set themselves and their students up for failure if they do not plan and double-check the functionality that is needed to meet their intentions. For those who are doomsters, their utopia is seemingly being destroyed. Their ideals of days-gone-by are ruined with the advent of 1:1 programs. What is fascinating is that things such as the installation of hardware and software, access to the internet and the practicalities associated with using laptops or tablets within some schools have perhaps not been addressed. For example, technical support is to be provided by the school, but one should not assume that a school has the funds and infrastructure in place to be able to successfully deploy the technology and provide the necessary technical support. The practicalities 340

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of installing and networking hardware in schools are something that some schools need particular assistance with.

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Behind the times It is helpful to consider the barriers to the uptake of ICTs in schools. Pre-service and graduate teachers need to be aware of the negativity of some towards the uptake of ICTs in schools if they are to successfully implement ICTs in their classrooms. This discussion is not meant to discourage enthusiasm for ICTs. It is by considering and overcoming the barriers to the use of ICTs that the potential benefits of ICTs may be realised. Over the past 50 years ICT has increased exponentially and is now found in almost every facet of everyday life. Some schools have been behind in their uptake of new ICTs, which is possibly due to insufficient or inappropriate allocations of funds. Other possibilities for schools being ‘behind’ include a lack of skill, a lack of know-how, inaccurate assumptions regarding students’ needs, a lack of leadership, or a lack of time — teachers are very busy people. The reality is that once computers and software are installed in many schools and early childhood settings, they are already ‘behind the times’ (i.e. as technology changes so quickly it is too expensive for schools to be up to date). Funding and the bureaucracies that formulate policies can be blamed in part for this. There are many teachers who have had successful teaching programs with the use of little or no ICT (i.e. no computers, internet or portable devices). These teachers may wonder why they would need to change their teaching practices to incorporate ICTs. In addition, there have been many ‘waves of excitement’ that have claimed that ‘technology A’ will revolutionise education. This enthusiasm was generated in the past surrounding radio and television (Postman 1986; Spender 1996), and then the personal computer (Cuban 2001). The result is that many educators have learned not to get too excited or to join the ‘latest craze’ because many predictions have simply not come true. So it is with scepticism that many teachers view any new ICT. For them, in the past it has often made little difference to their everyday teaching. The hype has often not culminated in classroom change. Consider the example of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) or smartboards. They were heralded by some as the latest, greatest ICT, and many classrooms had one installed at great cost to education departments and schools, but often the technical support and professional development was non-existent. As a result, many IWBs were underutilised. This has also occurred with the studies of tablets, smartphones and other 1:1 programs across various sectors. So why teach with ICTs? Quality pedagogy can exist without using ICTs but, as Nagel has highlighted in this volume, sometimes the motivation of children and young people can be increased by using ICTs (Passey et al. 2004). Peter Twining (2002) claims that education can be transformed by using ICTs. ICTs can enhance your practice and take your pedagogy into places not possible without it. However, you need a framework that can help you to conceptualise what it means to enhance or transform your teaching. You also need support in the form of technical know-how and technical resources if you are to achieve highquality teaching that fully integrates ICTs in your classroom learning and teaching. Many classroom teachers are frustrated because, when they go to use their class computer, internet access is not available, or the software needs updating or the software has been removed from the school’s network. When teachers take their class to the computer suite and find that hardware is dysfunctional or software is not running properly, any enthusiasm they have quickly evaporates. In some rural and remote areas of the country, internet access is unreliable — and sometimes not available at all. In some metropolitan areas, computers are outdated or cannot connect to the internet, or simply do not work as they were intended. Sometimes school networks crash or operate very slowly when multiple users connect to the internet. There is little chance for ICTs to be used effectively where the practicalities of functionality and access are not addressed. If there are not enough resources, or if they do not work, then a teacher may contend that there is little point in even considering how ICTs can be used in their classroom program. As detailed later in this chapter, many types of disadvantage have occurred because students lack access to a working computer, a computer that connects to the internet, a working printer or a computer that CHAPTER 10 Teaching with information and communication technologies 341

has a fast internet connection. If this disadvantage is removed and each student has access to functional computers and fast internet, what will that mean for schooling? For the most part, if teachers do not have an idea of how to best use digital devices within their daily lessons with secondary students, they are likely to say things such as ‘Put the devices away’. Why would they do this? Perhaps the devices aren’t charged. Perhaps not all of the students remembered to bring their device. But, perhaps it is because what they did before — without the devices — worked. It is somewhat difficult to argue with teachers who say, ‘I’ve had good marks from my students. My teaching has been successful, so why should I change just because we are told that a BYOD program will improve education? Why should I change? Claims that education will be revolutionised by whatever is the latest ICT are fine, but I have not seen that they have actually occurred.’ Adding digital devices as another variable to complex learning and teaching agendas does not mean things are better or will be better. The introduction of technology to the classroom represents a huge change in the way pedagogy is constructed. Pedagogy, curriculum and programs must be re-thought if every student has constant access to a personal digital device and the internet. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Many secondary schools utilise a bring your own device (BYOD) scheme, which can take many different forms. (It may only be a matter of time before BYOD is commonplace in primary schools too.) If every student in Australia has sole use of their own device, how will this affect timetables, subject specialisation and selection, assessments and examinations? Or, will these things continue on as per usual, before laptops or tablets were introduced? This is a question yet to be answered, but it seems that the boosters’ perspective has now overrun the everyday life of schools, regardless of the consequences. Think about the classes you will take as a pre-service teacher and your future employment as a graduate teacher. It is important to be aware of your beliefs and attitudes to ICTs early in your teacher education program. If each student in your classroom had their own digital device, there are a number of things you would need to consider. For instance, would you do the same things and just automate the process, or would you change typical classroom practices because the technology enables you to do so? Some examples of this include handwriting versus typing; face-to-face communication versus email, wikis and collaborative authoring (such as Google Docs); e-portfolios and electronic assessment records; traditional exams and tests versus electronic alternatives. As you continue in your studies, think about the ways in which you can make meaningful use of ICTs in your lessons and units of work.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

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Consider the following issues surrounding the use of ICTs in schools. r How have you seen computers being used in schools and early childhood settings? r How are other types of ICTs currently used in schools and early childhood settings? r How could your secondary education have been different if you had your own internet-accessible digital device? For those of you who did have a tablet or laptop at secondary school, what did it enable you to do? r What do you think the best reasons are for using ICTs in education?

10.3 Planning for teaching with ICTs LEARNING OBJECTIVE 10.3 Discuss important considerations when planning to use ICTs as part of teaching and learning.

As a teacher, there are a number of points you need to consider to fulfil the requirements of a successful lesson plan or unit (see figure 10.1). Usually, you would focus on the success criteria and learning 342

PART 3 Preparation, practice and process

intentions, and the students’ capacity to achieve the criteria. When integrating ICTs into your planning, there are a number of other issues that need to be considered. Do you want the focus of the lesson to be the ICT, the content or the process? FIGURE 10.1

Checklist for planning to use ICTs

r What do you wish the students to achieve by engaging in this lesson or unit? How will you know that r r r

r

r

the students have achieved the desired result? With that in mind, you can then consider the process of how it may be achieved. Will using an ICT enhance both the process and the outcome? Or will it distract from the process? Or will it enhance only the outcome? What could be replaced with an ICT in order to automate it? Will this speed or slow down the process? Will this promote enthusiasm or collaboration (teamwork)? Or will it decrease or increase motivation? What skills need to be taught? What is the level of learner readiness for this particular task? How much time have you allocated to students learning the required skills? Will these skills be able to be used in the future? In terms of being a pre-service teacher, how do you go about planning a lesson that incorporates ICTs? One way is to book a computer lab, model the use of the ICT, and then let each student practise doing what you have demonstrated. But how do you use ICTs when you are not in the computer lab? How do you go about planning a unit that incorporates ICTs? Do you make certain tasks compulsory so that particular skills need to be maintained and/or developed while using the computer? What types of activities (that perhaps can be conducted over a series of lessons within the unit) should you stipulate be done with a computer?

Persistence and attitude to ICTs If you truly believe that using computers enhances your teaching, then you will use computers in your program. However, if you are still considering and struggling with effectively using all the ‘traditional’ forms of pedagogy that exclude computers, then you need to consider incorporating ICTs as part of the (learning) journey. If you try to employ ICTs in your lessons and they do not work, then both you and the students can learn from the experience. Together you can consider what went wrong and what you would do differently next time (including the identification of what technical support may be required). If you do not try to use ICTs in your lessons, you will never learn or consequently improve your delivery of content and teaching via the various ICT ‘tools’ that are available. Your ability to integrate ICTs can only improve once you begin doing so and begin reflecting upon the experience. Success breeds success. Not trying breeds stagnation. Mistakes can serve to enhance focus.

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Access When planning to use ICTs, there are many questions to ask regarding equitable access to resources for students. The ideal ratio of digital devices to students is 1:1, unless you are focusing on developing group work skills. If the ratio of computers to students is 1:3 or 1:4, then it is likely that one or more of the students will not be engaged in the activity, and this can pose classroom management problems. Therefore, you may need to teach certain types of group skills so students understand how to work well in groups. Consideration also needs to be given to internet connection and speed. Unreliable or slow connections lead to frustration for students, teachers and parents. If your class is going to use the school’s computer suite or lab, or a pod of portable tablets, you will need to consider scheduling and how far in advance you need to book. You will also need to consider what technical support you might require during this time in the lab. Is there a parent who may be able to assist you during this time? It is important to know who to ask for help and who is willing to assist. If you have one or more digital devices in your classroom, you need to consider how and when they will be used. How could you timetable the use of desktop classroom computers so that it is fairly shared CHAPTER 10 Teaching with information and communication technologies 343

among the students in your classroom? Will students ‘go on’ the computer when they have specific work to do, or will they use the computers specifically to explore topics on the internet or practise a skill using a particular type of software? You also need to consider how much is a ‘fair amount’ of time (e.g. 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour). When you are putting together a classroom program, you need to consider whether computer use should be needs based or simply divided up evenly based on time or number of students. If you use a classroom timetable, then how do you ensure that students do not forget that they are timetabled to use the computer? In addition, you need to consider whether those who do not have access to ICTs at home need more time on school computers than those who do. Figure 10.2 outlines some of the issues in planning for teaching with ICTs. FIGURE 10.2

Planning for teaching with ICTs

Ratio of computers to students?

Timetabling

Connecting home with school

Access? equity?

Letting go

DTIF

Technical support?

Functionality

Concerns and restrictions

PLANNING

Purpose? End result?

Efficacy

Skills

Confidence

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Connecting the home with school When you start to plan, you should find out about the ICT access, resources and functionality that students have at home and in their community. You should find out what they are allowed to bring from home to work on at school. If you believe in homework, what can they do at home with ICTs that can enhance your program at school? How many students in the class have their own personal computer at home or in the classroom? When you set a task, you need to consider whether you expect the students to have access to a home computer, or digital device, or whether enough computers are provided at the school that those who do not have home computers will not be disadvantaged. It is possible for a teacher to incorporate students’ everyday use of ICTs into school programs. If you can find out what ICTs students use outside school and how they use them, then you may be able to not only identify how they are learning from using these ICTs, but what learning experiences you can provide that were not possible before these ICTs were available. When a new fad emerges, you should be asking whether it could be used to enhance educational practice or whether it should be solely left for leisure purposes. ICTs may continue to inform, change and enhance your future teaching practice. Each class of students is different from the previous class, and their resources and abilities hugely shape what you are able to provide and encourage them to be involved with. 344

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Skills In the planning phase, it is important for the teacher to consider the current skill levels of their students. As a teacher, you should also understand what you are requiring them to do in the task that is being designed. Some educators believe that a teacher cannot expect students to complete an ICT task if the teacher themselves does not have the skills needed to complete the task. However, this is not the only perspective. Following is a skills checklist to help you when setting ICT tasks. r What skills will you need to teach the students in order for them to successfully complete the task? r What skills do you and they need before you ask students to do the task? r Will you teach this to them beforehand or will they each learn it ‘as they go’? r Will you ask specific students to be ‘expert helpers’ and ask them to teach the other students the skills when they need to know them? Or are you assuming the students know these skills already? r Do you need to know and be able to perform the skill or will you expect a support person to know how to do it? Someone needs to know that skill. r Will you rely on students to ‘work it out’ by trial and error? r How much time will you allow for this? r How will students learn the skills required if they do not know them already? r Will you provide students with a model of their final product or will the task be open-ended? r Will there be a focus on skills that are considered valuable to be learned? Like most things, you need to have a reason or purpose to learn and/or master a skill. If you decide that you will get students to create a movie in your upcoming unit, then chances are that you will make the time to learn how to do it yourself.

Functionality

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Does the ICT work as it is intended? For example, in regard to cameras or other mobile technologies, you need to ensure that batteries are charged and available, and that back-up power packs are available and working. The school in which you work may have policies that clarify the use of hardware. Again, there are important questions to be answered at the planning stage. r What types of leads (cords) are required for the ICT to work? What is the back-up plan if things don’t work? r If students are to be given an ICT (e.g. a tablet computer) for a period of time, how will you ensure that the item comes back in an acceptable manner and that it has been looked after? What are the consequences for its neglect or damage? Does insurance cover replacement? How will you record who has got what item? r Where will these resources be kept when they are not in use? r Have you checked that the software you require is installed? r How will you ensure the device is suitably charged for the next user? You are dependent on the technical function of products supplied by commercial vendors. You will need to consider who will provide the technical support needed to ensure that software functions as it should and relates well to the hardware on which it is installed. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

The website http://splash.abc.net.au/home has an outstanding number of quality learning resources you can use in your classroom, including stand-alone podcasts, videos and recommended websites. Resources are added daily and are tagged according to the learning areas and year levels of the Australian Curriculum. Note that the ‘For teachers’ tab specifies the learning area, strand, sub-strand, code and content description. Familiarise yourself with the features and icons used on the website. What might the advantages be of using this website to find resources to use in your program compared with doing a general internet search?

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Confidence You will need to gauge the confidence levels of the students with whom you are working. If they are confident users of ICTs, they may have no problems with assigned tasks and relish the opportunity to solve problems, especially if they are working in pairs. Others may prefer to work as individuals and also enjoy the ability to speed ahead instead of waiting for others. Students with low computer efficacy may need extra technical support, or collaborative support via student ‘buddies’ who assist them or who are working with them on the project. ICT should be enabling, not disabling. It should increase the power and potential of a student’s performance and not be used merely because it makes something look nice, or because it should be used. This chapter asks many questions. The answers depend on the context in which you find yourself. It has been argued previously that ‘technological efficacy’ may become a new identity category — in the same way people identify and categorise (positively or negatively) others according to age, gender, race, nationality and religious beliefs (Johnson 2005). It may become an area of disadvantage, just as poverty and the marginalisation of certain peoples are. If someone cannot access the internet, let alone become literate with ICT hardware and software, then they are disadvantaged. These issues of access, functionality, skill, efficacy and resources all impact upon the level of equity provided for your students.

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Concerns and restrictions Many people have alluded to the detrimental effects that could occur as a result of using computers (Healy 1998). There are possible implications for students’ health, eyesight and posture. This remains to be demonstrated through empirical research. Some teachers may feel restricted in using ICTs because they are unsure of the rationale for using computers, or they may only have one computer in their classroom. As a teacher, you must be able to explain why computers should be used; for example, whether they will enhance research activities that you have directed students to undertake, or will be used to publish ‘good copies’ of stories or letters. The sole computer in the classroom may be a ‘dust-collector’, or you may be able to make the most out of this expensive resource and hope to be able to get more computers in the future. Once you have justified the importance of utilising ICT, then you can make the necessary decisions to maximise its teaching and learning benefits. Here is a list of questions to consider about managing the use of ICTs in your classroom. r What will you permit students to download? How will you prevent the unnecessary downloading of videos or photos? r Will you as the teacher be able to see the screen(s) at all times? Do you think this is important? r What will the students be directed to do while using ICTs? r When students are researching using the internet, will you have a specified ‘safe’ list of websites that students are allowed to visit? Will these be bookmarked, or will you rely on students to accurately type in appropriate search words? r Are students able to explore anything they like (within the filtering systems set up by you or your network technician/technical support team)? r Will you give them specific tasks to do (e.g. complete a survey, find three useful websites, post on a blog)? Will they complete these tasks in addition to the classroom program? Or will these tasks be part of your classroom program? Will these specific tasks be assessed upon completion? r How will the tasks you have assigned help to develop technical skills? Or will they help to develop knowledge about curriculum content? r Have you taught your students how to search using search engines? r Have you taught your students about copyright, privacy, intellectual property and ethical use of ICTs? r Have you taught your students appropriate ‘netiquette’?

346

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If one believes there is value in using ICT to enhance one’s purposes and content of a program, then one has to be realistic about the practicalities associated with implementation. The best intentions in the world do not necessarily translate into best practice. Functionality, access and efficacy (skills and confidence) are all necessary components that contribute to the success of ICT utilisation. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Ethical use of ICTs and social media is becoming more and more important in these times of heightened technology use. Henderson, Auld and Johnson (2014) point to some complex ethical dilemmas regarding rights, boundaries, consent, traceability and illicit activity, and suggest that opening up classroom discussion about these issues is of increasing significance. As codes of conduct surrounding these issues are in flux, and as technologies continue to swiftly change, it is vital to encourage discussion and thought about moral choices surrounding ownership, confidentiality and the colonisation of students’ space in social media. Check out www.globaldigitalcitizen.org for some ideas about being a global digital citizen and the authors’ take on fluencies in the twenty-first century.

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Letting go If you have 25 students in your classroom, and you plan a whole-class lesson, it is comforting as a preservice teacher to know that all the students are doing the same thing and that you as the teacher are covering what is intended from your program, your term plan, your yearly plan and your school’s plan. But because students have different needs (e.g. some need extra support, some need extension), it is not satisfactory to provide the same experiences for every student. Students also complete work at different rates. This must be kept in mind when additional activities are provided during school time. You cannot ensure that every student has exposure to every important concept you are teaching. While you do not want any student to miss out on an important concept or an essential skill that you are teaching, sometimes students are absent, sometimes they are involved in other school activities and sometimes they are away for sports tournaments or cultural festivals. If one student is working on the sole desktop classroom computer, are they missing out on what the rest of the class is doing? But also, what are they gaining? Students are always going to be ‘getting’ different things (i.e. unintentional outcomes) out of different tasks. If it is accepted that one person constructs meaning in a different manner to the next person, the value of the task or the learning that results from the task for that person will be qualitatively different to what it is for the next person. It is easy and understandable to worry about what students are missing out on when they are not doing the assigned activities or tasks for the class, or if they are on the computer doing ‘different’ work. For example, this may take the form of one person doing some research on the computer for a unit on endangered species while the rest of the class is working on their maths. It may take the form of one person completing a webquest while everyone else in the class is preparing a speech for the annual competition. It is important to ‘let go’. Students will learn in every context and when doing almost any task, whether the task fulfils intentional learning outcomes or not. Unintentional learning that has differing outcomes than what you expect also occurs. Therefore, it is important to maximise the use of the resources that exist, even if there is only one computer in your classroom. It can still be effectively used, though probably not for every student. While having one computer to 25 students is inequitable, if that is all you have, that one computer can still be used to enhance your classroom program. Despite the constraints on the timetable, despite the constraints on resources, despite the fact that it is difficult to have a computer used for every minute of the week, the computer — if it works — can still be used to enhance your daily lessons.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

If you have an ICT you wish to integrate into the classroom, whether it be a piece of software or hardware or an online resource, ask yourself the following questions. r What things are required for everything to work? r What is the rationale for the use of this ICT? r Will the ICT be used to keep students busy or will it be used in a meaningful way? r What are the time restraints and practical limitations of using the ICT for the particular task or project? r What is the back-up plan if the network, hardware or software fails? r What ICT skills do the students need to be able to complete the task or project? r How are they being taught or how are they learning these ICT skills? These questions will help to inform both your planning and implementation.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

The website www.scootle.edu.au has been designed to provide digital resources you can use to support the teaching of the Australian Curriculum. Using the search facilities on the website, find two useful classroom resources that are ‘learning objects’ you could utilise in your upcoming practicum. You will need to register to use this site.

10.4 The Digital Technology Impact Framework

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 10.4 Identify frameworks that help one to understand how ICTs can be used to solve real-world problems and enhance or transform the curriculum.

In 2002, Twining published an article about the computer practice framework (CPF), which conceptualises how to use computers in classrooms. In 2013, Twining updated the CPF to the Digital Technology Impact Framework (DTIF) (see Twining 2017). The framework explores the purpose of using ICTs, how they are used and how often they are used. The DTIF can be used to help plan the utilisation of ICTs within lessons, units and programs, as well as provide a framework for reflection on how well the intentions of the utilisation were achieved. The DTIF helps guide thought regarding how ICTs are being used in the classroom and what benefits or impacts the usage has for students. While Twining’s 2002 article was specifically about computers in the primary classroom, this section of the chapter will take a broader approach and apply the framework to any form of ICT across early childhood, primary, middle and secondary schools. In this section, ‘focus’ and ‘mode’ are highlighted. Focus refers to ‘the objectives supported by the computer use’ and mode refers to ‘the impact of computer use on the curriculum’ (Twining 2002, p. 101). The other component of the DTIF is ‘quantity’, but given computers are not suitable for every aspect of school, it is more helpful to concentrate on focus and mode than on quantity. However, as mentioned previously, consideration must be given to whether it is irresponsible to not use expensive resources that are provided for one’s teaching. When one goes about designing a task or a lesson that utilises ICTs, the ways in which ICTs are being used can be questioned as follows. 1. Is it to teach the student to use the software or hardware? Are they developing knowledge or skills about using IT? If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of these questions, the task can be classified as having an IT skills focus. 2. Is it to support learning? Does it develop skill and knowledge in a curriculum area other than IT? Does it develop language skills or mathematical skills, for example? Or does it help a student to learn more or encourage cooperation with other students? Does it enhance confidence or motivation? 348

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If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of these questions, the task can be classified as having a learning focus. 3. If it is used in any way other than IT skills or learning, it can be termed an ‘other’ focus. This could include using ICT because you have to, or to fill in time, or as a reward. It also applies when there may be no evidence of learning. Before the ‘mode’ or impact of ICT use on the curriculum is explained, consideration should be given to how to best use ICTs. When do you teach technical skills if you believe you should, and when is it best to use ICTs to help develop curriculum knowledge and understanding? Is it appropriate or okay to use the computer in a way that just keeps students busy? Once the ‘focus’ of the ICT use is established and it has been classified as a ‘learning focus’, the question needs to be asked whether the mode is supporting, extending or transforming the curriculum. 1. In the support mode, the content is the same as it would be if computers were not being used. The process may be automated, but its essence is unchanged. Practising spelling or times tables on a computer is an example of the support mode. 2. In the enhance (or extend) mode, the content and processes are different than they would be if digital devices were not being used; however, the changes could have been achieved without the use of a digital device. 3. In the transform mode, the content and/or the processes are different to what they would be if ICTs were not being used. Without an ICT, the changes could not be achieved. Figure 10.3 explains the focus and mode of the DTIF. FIGURE 10.3

The intentions and purposes behind using ICTs

Enhance/ extend

IT skills

Transform

Support

Mode

Learning/ curriculum

Other — keep children busy, reward, pressure to use computers Focus

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Source: Adapted from Twining (2002).

Written self-evaluation of tasks is a common activity in many schools. This is sometimes done by handwriting and can involve the use of a blank sheet or template with guidelines. Asking a student to complete his or her evaluation using a computer merely automates the task. No mode would apply as the focus is IT skills, not learning. Using a computer for group work involves a learning focus, because its role is to facilitate and develop skills in group collaboration. The type of work being completed determines the mode. Using the computer to motivate a student to write by saying, for example, ‘How about you draft your story on the computer? Won’t that be fun?’ ensures the focus is learning. Some students dislike handwriting and consequently would rather type or do something different to the other students, especially if they are reticent writers. That said, some other students really dislike using ICTs. In contrast to the above examples where the activity could conceivably be accomplished without the use of computing technology, the transform mode, by definition, requires a computer. Twining (2002, p. 104) highlighted how a teacher’s intention may be to employ a task to transform the curriculum, yet the reality of the task is that it is simply automated.

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A painting programme may have the potential to transform the curriculum and a teacher might intend that children use it to create pictures using processes such as trial and error and exploring techniques not available without a computer (Mode = Transform), when in practice the children simply replicate work that they have already done using ‘potato stamps’, paints and paper without changing the content or processes that they engage in other than automating some aspects of it (Mode = Support).

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Transforming the curriculum If you are transforming the curriculum according to Twining’s DTIF, then either or both the content and process are different because they require a task to be completed using ICTs. However, the transform mode provides a difficult height for teachers to reach. How many learning tasks can only be completed with ICTs? A possible example is using a computer to simulate population growth and decline. Lynch (2006) gave the example of using a multimedia authoring program to create and explore dynamic systems graphically. Twining himself only gave one example of the transform mode in action, where ‘a teacher might intend that children use it [the computer] to create pictures using processes such as trial and error and exploring techniques not available without a computer’ (2002, p. 104). However, in respect to that example, Twining added, ‘when in practice the children simply replicate work that they have already done’ (p. 104), conceding that this activity may become unintentionally an automated version of a practice (i.e. mode = support). It seems this singular example is not particularly relevant and demonstrative of the ‘transform’ mode in action. Activities that fit and fulfil the transform mode are not only difficult to create or explain, but in practice they are difficult to achieve, especially in the typical 1:25 teacher to student ratio (regardless of the number of available digital devices). Twining’s framework suggests that the IT focus and support mode are only a starting point for effective teachers. This suggests that automation of a task, or use of ICTs to perform everyday tasks, is basic and not valuable in itself. Additionally, the use of the support category assumes that it is sensible to view a digital device as a tool that can at times be used without introducing qualitative changes in learning. The view that ICTs can be injected into classroom practice to produce more efficiency without creating other changes (i.e. that computers are a value-neutral tool) is contestable (Lynch 2006). While the DTIF is a useful starting point for planning, activities can be attributed to more than one mode. As the DTIF stands, it may help teachers to think about the type of use they are asking students to engage in when using ICTs, to allow them the possibility to explore further options, and address areas that may be being ignored. The IT skills focus is given little profile, and yet is a valid and often important part of students’ progress in their computer education. An IT skills focus is something that teachers can aim for when they first introduce computer use into their classroom. Arguably, one who starts to utilise ICTs would use the IT skills focus as a fundamental part of a classroom program. Teaching students IT skills has value and using computers with an IT skills focus helps to increase one’s success by taking small steps. Using computers to reward students or keep them busy is probably not a great rationale for using them, but it may be better than not using computers at all — it must be better than having the computer sitting unused, collecting dust. Maths games, spelling games and word games can be used in multiple ways — to reward or motivate students, or to support curriculum knowledge and development. They can also have an IT (skill development) focus. Here are some more questions to consider in light of the DTIF. r When you use an ICT, are you going to employ an IT focus, a learning focus or an ‘other’ focus? r Will the set task have more than one focus? r Are you using the ICT because you are pressured to do so? r Are you using the ICT as a reward, as a distraction or to keep students busy? r Are you developing technical skills in knowledge of hardware or software? r Is the task that uses the ICT actually enabling the students to learn curriculum? r Is this task only achievable through the use of an internet-accessible digital device?

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r Is the efficiency and speed of the task increased by the use of the internet-accessible digital device? r Is the creativity and potential of the task increased by the use of the internet-accessible digital device?

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Consider the benefits and considerations of a bring your own device (BYOD) program within primary and secondary schools. What limitations might there be with constant access to the internet, social media and ‘Incognito’ web pages? What might the benefits be if every student has access to the internet at all times? What learning could be enabled by BYOD? In a BYOD environment, what might you be able to do to transform the curriculum? What happens when the device is broken, not charged, or left at home?

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Use the following observation rubric to analyse the utilisation of ICTs. What ICTs are being used? What is required for everything to work? Hardware

Software

Ratio of hardware to students

FOCUS — What is being developed? IT skills? Learning? Curriculum? Reward? Collaboration? Keep children busy? Motivation?

How are the ICTs being used? What is the rationale for the use of ICTs? Are they being used to support, enhance or transform learning (Twining 2002, 2017)? Support: If you are using ICTs in support mode, the content is the same as if ICTs were not being used (automation). Are the ICTs being used to automate something that could be done with pen and paper? YES NO Enhance: In the enhance (or extend) mode, the content and processes are different than they would be if ICTs were not being used; however, the changes could have been achieved without the use of ICT. Transform: In the transform mode, the content and or the processes are different to what they would be if ICTs were not being used. Without the ICTs the changes could not be achieved. MODE (identify and explain)

Support

Enhance

Transform

How often are the ICTs being used? What is the timeline or time restraints?

What practicalities have been considered? Efficacy levels of students/teacher?

What is the back-up plan if the hardware or software fails?

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 10.5 Explore useful ways to utilise ICTs in the classroom.

As detailed in chapter 6, curriculum has many forms. Many boosters have argued that computers and ICTs can transform curriculum and education itself. Doomsters would argue that it is not possible and that this is an unreachable goal. As explained earlier, it seems difficult to suggest tasks that would transform curriculum rather than just support or extend it. However, if it could happen, what might it look like? Three examples of possible transformation are given.

Examples in practice Bigum (2002a, 2002b, 2003) introduced the idea of knowledge-producing schools (KPS) to capture the idea of implementing ICTs in a useful, beneficial way. Bigum advocates using KPS to help go beyond 352

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traditional concepts of curricula and subjects — and to go beyond being satisfied with putting student’s work on the ‘fridge door’, only to be duly replaced by the next piece of finished work. He argues that this type of production is indicative of formal education that is aligned with a behaviourist notion of reproducing what is in the teacher’s head, and perhaps is not of any real value beyond decorating the fridge. Bigum (2002a, p. 137) defined KPS as: a design sensibility that does not accept [ICT] simply as an educational good. It reads the external world as much changed because of the deployment of [ICT]. It sees these changes in terms of changed relationships which flow from additional modes of communication. It acknowledges that schools need to examine new kinds of relationships with the world outside.

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Examples Bigum cited include counting vehicles on roads, surveys of community attitudes on environmental issues, monitoring local environmental indicators, and contributing to national mappings of local famous identities. Bigum explained that activities such as these are deemed useful and are practically helpful to the community by providing valuable information leading to community improvements. He gives examples of schools that have produced interactive resources and informative videos that not only directly focus on improving a situation or solving a problem, but also have been marketed to other schools and districts. Activities that are valued by those in the local community and/or school are preferable to ‘doing pretend activities in a safe environment as is the case with current curricula’ (Bigum & Rowan 2005, p. 60). Bigum suggested that while positioning students as knowledge producers is not a new idea (see, for example, Kimber & Wyatt-Smith 2006), having students produce products that are directed at non-school audiences is a small step to go beyond the curriculum and employ ICTs as useful media for current school students. Programs such as this have the power to transform curriculum. While Twining’s framework allows for the identification of computer usage that transforms curriculum, it also allows transparency on what does not currently happen in schools, and therefore prompts implementation of ideas such as KPS. The potential of KPS to transform curriculum arguably provides direction for where to go next, though it does not prescribe what must be covered, or when and why. KPS provides opportunities to produce knowledge and new findings, but teachers have to let go (Johnson & Lynch 2004) as they are no longer directing the learning as such. The DTIF will help a teacher to get to a point where they can consider transforming the curriculum and catering for the digitally familiar students in their classroom, rather than delivering a classroom program suitable for students before the introduction of microcomputers (Bigum & Rowan 2005). The classroom program can be transformed, but not through the transform mode of the DTIF — KPS or something similar is needed. The transforming nature of activities will come should teachers desire to create learning experiences that go beyond producing fridge door decorations, and fully embrace a constructivist philosophy that goes beyond the classroom walls and structures of traditional curricula. When thinking about the pedagogy that is used, one needs to decide if students are merely practising skills or if they are solving problems using the ICTs that are provided. One must consider whether the final contribution will contribute something to the community or whether it will simply just decorate a fridge or a bedroom wall.

School examples Allenstown State School (Rockhampton, Queensland) created a dynamic museum that detailed the history of the school. The school applied for and received a community funding grant in 2008 to create, distribute, ‘test’ and produce a series of plaques to be installed around the school site. This KPS project allowed for: r exploring different relationships the school can have with the community r students developing products with value beyond the classroom r students being positioned as knowledge creators, rather than just consumers r students not ‘playing school’, but learning from life. CHAPTER 10 Teaching with information and communication technologies 353

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Since 2006, students had been researching what to write on the plaques and also what to include for a podcast tour of the school. The written reports are included in a guide book that complements the audiovisual walking tour. Pui Ching Middle School is located in Hong Kong and uses project-based learning alongside technological innovation to become what it terms a ‘knowledge-creating school’. They claim to have developed an e-learner–centred curriculum that promotes compatibility with the future and includes learning to learn, construct and create. Pui Ching Middle School uses project learning, which focuses on ‘more than mastering a body of knowledge but on having students be able to use a general understanding of the main or key ideas in making informed decisions and participating in society’ (Yip, Cheung & Sze 2004, p. 81). At Corpus Christi Catholic High School in the Illawarra, the curriculum is not only integrated via flexible timetables and three concurrent ‘connected learning experiences’ occurring over five weeks, but students are each provided with a laptop (jointly purchased by the families and the school). Students are encouraged to work both independently and collaboratively. ‘In this way, learning becomes more powerful for students when content, processes and skills are developed and extended in meaningful, integrated contexts where students construct meaning’ (Corpus Christi Catholic High School 2006). Some students display their work on the school’s website. Programs such as KPS, problem-based learning (PBL) or authentic learning focus on making curriculum relevant and meaningful to the lives of students. Many programs like these do not focus solely on using ICTs. ICT is viewed as an enabler for learning and teaching rather than the primary focus. If consideration is given to what problems can be solved, then there are obvious ones that arise in everyday life in Australia: rubbish at the playground or beach, a lack of activities for youth on a Friday night, unsafe internet usage, messy bedrooms, vandalism of public spaces, disliking school, detesting homework, road safety in the community, and backyard needs such as conservation, composting and recycling. How can these problems be ‘fixed’? What research can the students do in order to make a contribution to their community? When thinking about planning and using ICTs in your teaching, one place to start is to ask yourself what children can do to solve problems that will contribute to the welfare of a local or international community and how ICTs can enhance these undertakings. This will not only provide a meaningful and useful place to begin, it can also help to foster a sense of inquiry and a commitment to problem solving and critical thinking on the part of both the students and the teacher. Of course, there are many other places to begin, such as students’ interests or curriculum outcomes. However, the segmentation of curriculum areas (domains) is an unnatural division of problems we face in the real world. The division of learning areas does not address questions or problems that go beyond or cover multiple curriculum areas. Some topics cannot and should not be contained to fabricated divisions of knowledge. It seems at odds to construct programs that separate essential life skills into concocted, traditional categories (curriculum areas). Having flexible timetables and learning schedules that provide meaningful and relevant context to the everyday lives of students means that necessary skills will be developed. New knowledge can be applied to various situations. A range of resources (including ICTs) can be drawn upon to help solve current issues of significance and future issues that warrant consideration. Students, teachers and parents will value projects that address needs, problems and issues in our local community and within broader society more than projects that ‘show and tell’ that they have been doing ‘work’ at school. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

As part of developing your own professional knowledge as a pre-service teacher, take some time to compare two parts of the Australian Curriculum to find out about their similarities and differences. Have a close look at the Foundation to Year 10 scope and sequence for the ‘Digital Technologies’ section from the Technologies F–10 Curriculum. Compare this to the ICT General Capability (a key dimension of the Australian Curriculum is general capabilities). How do these two aspects of the Australian Curriculum interrelate, and

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how are they different from each other? Place special focus on the organising elements of the ICT general capability and within Digital Technologies, the strands (knowledge, processes, skills) and the use of nouns such as systems and solutions.

As you read the examples of ICT usage in figure 10.4, think about which aspects are covered from your state or territory’s curriculum, or which content descriptions are covered from the Australian Curriculum. Ask yourself what focus and mode are present in each of these ideas. Consider the benefits of each task. For example, in the first task listed below, the learning focus is both supported and extended by ICT. The benefits of the first task are group collaboration, individual responsibility, the work can be done in various settings, the ICT enhances the product, and the ICT skills can be used in the future. Not all of the examples in figure 10.4 constitute ‘good teaching’ or TPCK in the opinion of the author.

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FIGURE 10.4

Examples of teaching with ICT

Primary and middle schools (some examples are also applicable to secondary school) r In small groups, students use a free wiki to contribute to a fact bank of what they have found out about animals in a particular environment (see www.wikispaces.com). They can then review and edit each other’s work. They are able to work on their own but construct a group product that can be publicly shared if desired. r Students use a blog as a daily diary or for creative or reflective writing. Although it is automating a process that can be completed without ICT, there are advantages to using ICT over pen and paper. Students’ typing and editing skills can be improved. Some students can write quicker than they can type. It may motivate some students who dislike handwriting, but it may de-motivate students who dislike typing. The blog provides forums for others to review and comment on their writing if they wish. The downside is that there is no record of work being ‘done’ in their book. Things to consider include: Do students use the class computer(s) or do they use their home computer? How regularly do you expect blog entries to occur? When will you assess them? Will you encourage students to share their blog with other students? r Students use their mobile phones (or other digital recorders) to record snippets for an audio podcast that they edit, produce and share with other class members. The focus of the podcast is researching what stakeholders within the school think of the current canteen menu and, if needed, suggesting possible changes that would be both healthy and affordable. (Issues of access and functionality occur here. If a policy states that mobile phones should not be present at school, then sharing mobile phones for class assignments is not a possibility.) r Students demonstrate their knowledge of a scientific concept or process by designing and creating a Slowmation (a type of stop-animation, see www.slowmation.com). This animation activity demonstrates knowledge, requires that students learn the concept and requires students to develop the skills to represent the concept or process through imagery and audio commentary. r In Years 5 and 6, students research and write a report about what it means to be a successful student at high school. They obtain various opinions and produce a video documentary. r After drafting, making and taking photos of a procedure for assembling a kite, students use Microsoft Photo StoryTM to create an electronic version of the procedure. r Students make a movie of a news report. They present the news as if it is taking place on the day of a disaster in Australian history. r Students type and print a ‘thank you’ letter to parents for a recent school trip. r Students draft a story or storyboard and then record the story on video using objects or people. The videos are uploaded and shared via the internet. r Students use Kidspiration to create mind maps before, during and after a unit to demonstrate growth in learning. r Students survey other school students about ideas they have for tidying up the school. Using ICT, they present their findings to the senior management of the school.

CHAPTER 10 Teaching with information and communication technologies 355

r Teachers begin a class group on a social networking site to share class events and help with class

administration.

r Teachers join Twitter to relate professional thoughts and learn from others. This will not only inform r r r r

teachers’ professional practice but demonstrate to students that you are reflecting on your current practice. Each class schedules a session in which a different student each week shares their favourite website and explains why they like it. Teachers use an interactive whiteboard to monitor and show progression of students’ handwriting skills and/or typing speed. Teachers and students write and produce a class website that is updated daily, instead of producing a regular class newsletter that is printed on paper. Students are rewarded for good behaviour with a class party using Xbox games.

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Secondary schools r Encourage critical engagement and evaluation by giving students a ‘real’ technical problem and asking them to identify what software will help solve the problem. r Establish a class forum (a group space on social media) where classmates share fantastic photography they have spotted on Flickr and comment on how each image has been constructed. r Students create a bibliography of internet references that discuss a piece of classic literature. Ask students to critique the quality and validity of each source and design criteria that prove its worthiness (or lack thereof). r Students design a website that protests the slavery of children in West Africa working on cacao farms. r Students survey prospective employment options via the internet. r Students play Scrabble online. r Students share relevant websites via a social bookmarking site such as Delicious. r Students create a Flickr account where they upload, share and tag their photos about a particular issue in the community. r Students create an anonymous online role play about a controversial issue where other students take on particular characters and make postings in character. r Students contribute to a class blog about resources they have found that are helpful for particular assignments. r Students work on assignments together by using Google Docs to collaboratively contribute to the paper. r Students create a video to share on TeacherTube about a class project. r Instead of asking students to write a short story, get students to create a digital narrative. r Students create a PowerPoint for a class presentation. r Students create a rubric to evaluate apps designed to assist students with final year senior exams. r Instead of writing an essay, get students to record an audio podcast. r Students share their photos of a recent class trip on Facebook. r Students survey other school students for ways to create child-friendly spaces in the community and, using ICT, present findings to the local council. r Students use mobile phones to find out about the weather occurring in places across Australia. Through contacting students in other parts of Australia, plot the weather to show meteorological patterns across the continent. Early childhood r Provide software that enables children to explore creative play on the computer, such as Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, an interactive adventure. r Provide software from www.2simple.com.au (i.e. the Infant Video Toolkit 2) so young children can explore counting, drawing, writing and following directions. r Encourage use of interactive software that ‘reads aloud’ to the children as they read stories. r Timetable students for 15 minutes to use the typing tutor program. r Students create a mind map using Kidspiration or 2Connect or create a slideshow using KidPix. r Students and teachers use the interactive whiteboard to showcase and practise handwriting. r Teachers use an interactive whiteboard to help children identify shapes, colours, animals and objects. r Computer keyboards are used in activities to teach students to identify capital and lower case letters. r Students can play Dora the Explorer: Dance to the Rescue and learn the dance moves.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

With each of the examples in figure 10.4, specify if the focus is learning/curriculum, IT skills or other. If the focus is learning/curriculum, specify if the mode is support, enhance/extend or transform.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Notions of sustainability and the need to recycle are examples of real-life issues that can address curriculum aims while having relevance and meaning for the everyday lives of children. This website — www.weeeman.org/html/impact/facts.html — highlights the problem of waste, the personal footprint we each make and what we can do to solve the problems. Investigate how you could use this website in your teaching of the Australian Curriculum in the Australian context. Document how you could address the cross-curriculum priority of sustainability. Which organising ideas might you address? See www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/CrossCurriculumPriorities/Sustainability.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Is the curriculum static or can it be transformed? Twining’s utopia seems to be aligned with transforming the curriculum. But is it a possibility? This text has suggested that it is difficult to think of tasks that transform the curriculum using ICTs when conceptualising its use via the DTIF. Should you try to go beyond what the ‘curriculum’ encompasses? Or should you just continue to focus on fulfilling and measuring curriculum outcomes?

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INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

Internet overuse? Smartphone ‘addiction’? Concepts about ‘addiction’ and ‘compulsivity’ have been debated, as has the amount of time spent online that is considered to be ‘too much’ (Johnson 2014). For many of us, our lives are mediated by digital technologies and the ability to always be online. However, there is a tension evident with claiming addiction and dependence and overuse if almost every adult in Western society is commonly and normally online. Our connections to knowledge, people, space, geography, culture and the arts are increased through internet access. Our understandings of time, relationships and education have been broadened and challenged. There are fascinating and pertinent questions about current online use. If someone ‘overuses’ the internet, are they really out-of-touch with their real life? When does heavy internet use become overuse? What is the distinction or difference between addiction, dependence, problematic internet use and abuse? Other questions need to be answered surrounding how our lives are changed. Certain people are positioned as unhealthy because they do something that we know little about (Johnson 2009). The Internet Addiction Test devised in 1998 continues to be used now in 2018 and I have critiqued and challenged its use in previous publications (Johnson 2009; 2011; 2014). But it is pertinent to also consider the place of frequent online engagement within educational settings.

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When you give your full attention to your smartphone, who or what might you be ignoring or missing out on? Are you really living in the moment? You may have heard of the phrase ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out), which has been used to explain some people’s need to constantly be online, connecting to others via social media and messaging others who are not in the same room. As you study for your teacher education degree, consider the frequency of your use of social media, your smartphone and your personal computer. To what extent do you depend on these facets of your life for constant interaction and stimulation? At what cost might this be to your health, learning and productivity? Have you ever thought, ‘why am I actually spending so much time looking at a small screen? Is this how I want my life to be shaped?’ Consider the role of your teacher educators who are your tutors and lecturers. Are they competing with your mobile phone for your attention? When is your smartphone use a distraction, a hindrance, or an enhancement? How would you view your students’ constant social media engagement if you were the teacher educator responsible for facilitating your learning opportunities? Finally, consider how you will negotiate your future students’ use of social media within your classroom. Will you need to teach yourself as well as your students to disengage from media?

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SUMMARY Two important points raised in this chapter were as follows. r The effective use of ICTs depends on many factors, including attitude, resources and planning. r It is important that teachers develop technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK or TPACK). Any artefact designed and built to serve a particular service is a technology. Almost everything found in schools may be considered a technology, from pencils to desks to the architecture of the classroom. Often today when people talk about technology, they are referring to information and communication technologies (ICTs). Over the past two decades, ICTs have become so pervasive in society that there are growing expectations of their utilisation in the classroom. Technologies with potential to enhance teaching and learning may be thought of as educational technologies. Technological pedagogical content knowledge is the incorporation of technology into the teacher’s unique amalgam of content and pedagogy. The use of technology in schools is supported and opposed from a number of perspectives. Boosters believe the increased use of ICTs will improve education. Anti-schoolers go further and suggest that technology will make the traditional institutions of schooling less relevant — ICTs may gradually, fundamentally change schooling and the role of teachers. Critics attempt to analyse the pros and cons of ICTs, questioning assumptions and trying to view the issues from multiple perspectives. Doomsters view ICTs as having a negative effect, questioning why ‘proven’ approaches to teaching and education should change. There are various barriers to implementing ICTs in schools including limited funding (for ICTs and the necessary support services), lack of internet access (particularly in rural and remote areas), resistance to change and lack of knowledge of how to use ICTs within teaching programs. Planning to use ICTs in teaching requires consideration of resources, access, skills, efficacy and functionality. The computer practice framework provides a useful way to plan and evaluate ICT use in education. The framework suggests that teachers examine whether they are seeking to support, enhance or transform the curriculum through using ICTs, or whether they are using ICTs for ‘other’ (perhaps not educational) reasons. ICTs may enable teachers to go beyond the boundaries of current schooling that limit them to measuring the achievement of curriculum outcomes. This will need to occur in small steps. As success increases, confidence increases, which will lead to further exploration, utilisation and success.

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KEY TERMS computer practice framework (CPF) A framework that can be used to help plan the effective utilisation of computers into lessons, units and programs. Digital Technology Impact Framework (DTIF) An updated framework that can be used to help plan the effective utilisation of ICTs into lessons, units and programs. educational technologies Tools and processes for doing particular educational tasks in particular ways. focus The objectives supported by ICT use. information and communication technologies (ICTs) Technologies related to capturing, organising, storing and exchanging information. mode The impact of ICT use on the curriculum. pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) The teacher’s unique amalgam of content and pedagogy. technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK or TPACK) The incorporation of technology into the teacher’s unique amalgam of content and pedagogy. technology An object or process designed for an applied purpose.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 10.1

LO1

What are the differences between general technology and digital ICTs? 10.2

LO2

List three good reasons why you should utilise ICTs in your classroom program. 10.3

LO2

List five barriers to the effective use of ICTs in schools. 10.4

LO3

Describe a hypothetical history lesson where each student has their own internet-enabled smart phone or digital device. 10.5

LO3

List four practicalities that you should consider before planning and teaching a lesson that uses ICTs. 10.6

LO3

Revisit the opening case. What considerations need to be given before using ICTs in teaching and learning? 10.7

LO4

What various focuses can occur from Twining’s Digital Technology Impact Framework surrounding using computers in learning experiences? 10.8

LO5

Give examples of how you might use ICTs to transform content descriptions from the Australian Curriculum.

WEBSITES 1 This website provides particular insight into the use of ICTs by Indigenous Australians: www.aph

.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=jscc/ indigenous_australians/report/chapter2.pdf 2 Bronwyn Joyce is a primary school teacher who is currently employed in Traralgon, Gippsland, Victoria. She provides professional development internationally surrounding ICTs and has innovative approaches to learning beyond the classroom: https://bronwynjoyce.com 3 Search for ‘best educational websites for kids’ or ‘best educational apps for kids’. These recommendations are constantly in flux, but are hot! Try out what you find!

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REFERENCES Archambault, LM & Barnett, JH 2010, ‘Revisiting technological pedagogical content knowledge: exploring the TPACK framework’, Computers & Education, vol. 55, pp. 1656–62. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 2017, ‘Australian Professional Standards for Teachers’, www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards, accessed 24 October 2017. Australian Labor Party 2008, ‘Delivering a digital education revolution’, www.alp.org.au, viewed 22 January 2010. Bigum, C 2003, ‘The knowledge-producing school: moving away from the work of finding educational problems for which computers are solutions’, Computers in New Zealand Schools, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 22–6. —— 2002a, ‘Design sensibilities, schools and the new computing and communication technologies’, in I Snyder (ed.), Silicon literacies: Communication, innovation and education in the electronic age, Routledge, London and New York. —— 2002b, ‘The knowledge-producing school: beyond IT for IT’s sake in schools’, Professional Voice, vol. 2, no. 2. Bigum, C & Kenway, J 2005, ‘New information technologies and the ambiguous future of schooling: some possible scenarios’, in A Hargreaves (ed.), Extending educational change: International handbook of educational change, Springer, The Netherlands. 360

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Bigum, C & Rowan, L 2009, ‘Renegotiating knowledge relationships in schools’, in SE Noffke & B Somekh (eds), The Sage handbook of educational action research, Sage, London. Blackwell, CK, Lauricella, AR & Wartella, E 2016, ‘The influence of TPACK contextual factors on early childhood educators’ tablet computer use’, Computers & Education, vol. 98, pp. 57–69. Bulfin, S, Johnson, NF & Bigum, C 2015 (eds), Critical perspectives on technology and education, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY. Corpus Christi Catholic High School 2006, ‘Our learning agenda’, www.ccchs.woll.catholic.edu.au, viewed 22 January 2010. Cuban, L 2001, Oversold and underused: Computers in the classroom, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, UK. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) 2008, ‘Experience the digital education revolution’, www.deewr.gov.au, viewed 22 January 2010. Drummond, A & Sweeney, T 2017, ‘Can an objective measure of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) supplement existing TPACK measures?’, British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 928–39. Graham, CR 2011, ‘Theoretical considerations for understanding technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)’, Computers & Education, vol. 57, pp. 1953–60. Hacker, S 1989, Pleasure, power and technology: Some tales of gender, engineering, and the cooperative workplace, Unwin Hyman, Boston, MA. Healy, JM 1998, Failure to connect, Simon and Schuster, New York. Henderson, M, Auld, G & Johnson, NF 2014, ‘Ethics of teaching with social media’, refereed paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference, Adelaide, 30 September–3 October. Available at http://newmediaresearch.educ.monash .edu.au/lnmrg/blog/acec-2014-best-paper-award. Johnson, NF 2014, ‘Arguing the need for qualitative exploration in the field of emerging digital pathologies’, Studia Psychologica, vol. 14, no. 1, viewed at http://studia.psychologica.uksw.edu.pl/en/node/20. —— 2011, ‘No, they’re not digital natives and they’re not addicted: an essay critiquing contestable labels’, Fast Capitalism, vol. 8, no. 2, viewed at www.fastcapitalism.com. —— 2009, The multiplicities of internet addiction: The misrecognition of leisure and learning, Ashgate, Surrey, UK. —— 2005, ‘Technological efficacy: a new identity category’, Redress, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 8–13. Johnson, R & Lynch, J 2004, ‘Change happens: acceptance of “impermanence” and “flow” in teachers’ professional reflections on technology and change’, paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education, Melbourne. Kimber, K & Wyatt-Smith, C 2006, ‘Using and creating knowledge with new technologies: a case for students-as-designers’, Learning, Media and Technology, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 19–34. Lynch, J 2006, ‘Assessing effects of technology usage on mathematics learning’, Mathematical Education Research Journal, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 29–42. Mishra, P & Koehler, MJ 2006, ‘Technological pedagogical content knowledge: a framework for teacher knowledge’, Teachers College Record, vol. 108, no. 6, pp. 1017–54. Parr, G, Bellis, N & Bulfin, S 2013, ‘Teaching English teachers for the future: speaking back to TPACK’, English in Australia, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 9–22. Passey, D, Rogers, C, Machell, J & McHugh, G 2004, ‘The motivational effect of ICT on pupils’, research report, Department for Education and Skills, Lancaster University, UK, www.dcsf.gov.uk, viewed 22 January 2010. Postman, N 1986, Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business, Heinemann, London. Selwyn, N 2016, Is technology good for education?, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK. —— 2014, Distrusting educational technology: Critical questions for changing times, Routledge, New York, NY. Selwyn, N, Nemorin, S, Bulfin, S & Johnson, NF 2018, Everyday schooling in the digital age: High school, high tech?, Routledge, Oxfordshire, UK. Shulman, LS 1987, ‘Knowledge and teaching: foundations of the new reform’, Harvard Educational Review, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 1–22. —— 1986, ‘Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching’, Educational Researcher, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 4–14. Spender, D 1996, Nattering on the net: Women, power and cyberspace, Spinifex, Victoria. Twining, P 2017, ‘The Digital Technology Impact Framework’, EdFutures, http://edfutures.net/DTIF, accessed 24 October 2017. —— 2002, ‘Conceptualising computer use in education: introducing the computer practice framework (CPF)’, British Educational Research Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 95–110. Yip, CT, Cheung, PS & Sze, C 2004, ‘Towards a knowledge-creating school: a research project on paradigm shift of teaching and learning in IT education’, Pui Ching Education Centre, Hong Kong.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Ronnachai Palas / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © VictoriAnna / iStockphoto.com; © L_amica / iStockphoto; © beinluck / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © RimDream / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock Text: © Taylor and Francis

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CHAPTER 11

Interactive student engagement and management LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 11.1 establish a learning environment that builds trust and attracts a commitment to mutually productive learning relationships 11.2 plan to engage and manage students in a manner that conveys positive expectations and an understanding of students so as to prevent behaviour becoming an issue in your classes 11.3 understand the importance of decoding student behaviour and be able to manage a situation, knowing that it is the character and content of your response that will enable students to manage their own behaviour 11.4 allow yourself to reflect on rather than react to continuing misbehaviour, as this is the key to improving your technique while always maintaining control of yourself and any situation.

OPENING CASE

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Today’s classroom This is Megan and Josh’s story. Megan and Josh had loved their practicum experiences and were thrilled to be teaching in a P–12 school. The first term had gone really well. However, a few weeks into the second term they found their students were unsettled and quite often defiant. There had been an influx of families into the area, resulting in new students in their classes. Some had come from very different schools and a few were from overseas and spoke very little English. Megan and Josh thought they were prepared for the challenges these new students would bring. However, they weren’t prepared for the disruptive behaviours that were beginning to affect the whole class, impact on individual student learning and affect their teaching. They decided to discuss their growing concerns with their mentor teacher, Julia. ‘I’m finding it really challenging,’ said Megan. ‘My class isn’t behaving at all well. It’s frustrating because we set up the rules at the beginning of the year, but the students aren’t following them. You’d think they’d remember, but they don’t, and I have to keep reminding them — but nothing changes. They just seem to do as they please. Our rule about listening quietly and not interrupting just isn’t working. For example, the other day I was in the middle of explaining something important to the class about our school’s “Open Day” and up gets Oliver. I told him to sit down and he replied, “I need to get my book,” and he did exactly that. He totally ignores anything I say and when I reprimand him he always has a smart reply, such as “Well, I have to do my work!” He has attitude and I really feel that I can’t let him get away with it. And it doesn’t stop there. As soon as I started explaining our work for the day, up shoots Sarah’s hand — every time, she has to question and challenge what I say. The others immediately complained and told her to be quiet. They’re getting fed up, too. However, this just opens the door for various others to chime in with “Why do we have to do this? It’s boring!”, “Prajesh’s in my space”, “Lizzie pushed me!” Suddenly all focus is lost as I’m trying to sort out their behaviour. And then in the middle of all this up gets Lennie — one of our new students who I had just pulled up for constantly wriggling on the floor, and he just walked out. No “Please may I?” or “Excuse me”; he just leaves. I had to call the office as we couldn’t find him. His grandmother, who he lives with, didn’t know where he was either.’ Josh chimed in. ‘He has run away before, so we phoned home, but his grandmother didn’t know where he was either. We were just about to call the police when someone saw him playing down behind the shed at the bottom of the yard. His brother Ernie was with him and he still wouldn’t come back into class. So we had to put him in class with his brother for the rest of the day.’ ‘I really felt sorry for you Josh,’ said Megan. ‘It hasn’t been a good week!’ ‘He was okay,’ continued Josh. ‘I gave him something to do and he just sat quietly by his brother, who I also have issues with from time to time. However, at the moment I’m feeling concerned for my students who are weak in English, as I just don’t have time to help them because it takes ages for everyone to settle and we are getting seriously behind in our work. “Hurry up” just seems to fall on deaf ears. It’s almost as though changing tasks has become the accepted “social time” — a chance to wander around, catch up with their friends and have a good chat, even to the degree of surreptitiously texting on their phone or trying to catch up on Snapchat. When I confront them, they totally deny it, but I know what they are up to. And finally, when everyone is settled I can guarantee someone will ask the time-worn question — “What do we have to do now?” I can’t believe they don’t remember!’ ‘That question,’ added Megan, ‘provides the perfect opportunity for my class to chat again. When I tell the girls to be quiet, they say, “We’re just explaining the work”, but I know they’re catching up on the latest gossip. Then there’s Mike, who’s the “cool kid” and who always has a coterie of boys around him, usually to share a joke or to surreptitiously show off his latest acquisition. If I ask him to hand it over, he will deny having it, no doubt having passed it to one of the other boys. He’s becoming a bit of a problem for me!’

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Josh went on, ‘It’s exhausting dealing with all these behaviours, trying to get everyone’s attention and re-focus students on their work.’ Megan added, ‘I get so frustrated when they aren’t listening that sometimes I end up raising my voice and getting angry and I don’t like doing that,’ she said. ‘You know, I really care about my students, but they don’t seem to care back.’ ‘I couldn’t agree more,’ said Josh. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. Have you had experiences like Megan and Josh? 2. What behaviours have most bothered you and how did you deal with them? 3. What would you recommend Megan and Josh do? (Revisit this question after studying this chapter.)

Introduction

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Whether you plan to be an early childhood, primary, middle, secondary or subject-specific teacher, your major concern is likely to be to know what you are going to ‘teach’ — your designated curriculum — and how you are going to manage and achieve this. However, equally important is your ‘hidden’ curriculum (Mackay 2006, Introduction), which focuses on knowing and understanding your learners, so you the teacher, can marry this knowledge of their interests, their needs, their strengths and abilities with the requirements of the curriculum for successful teaching and learning. However, this knowledge and understanding of learners needs to move beyond the theory and into teaching practice, and it is here that you require the knowledge, understanding and skills to engage and interact with your students and establish positive working relationships, in order to successfully manage yourself as a teacher and your students in their learning environment. If attention is not given to acquiring the skills of engagement and interaction and planning for best management of your students and their behaviour — both individually and as a group — then your teaching experience, job satisfaction and professional achievements will be jeopardised, as Megan and Josh discovered. Megan and Josh were confident about their teaching and were excited to have their own classes, but were beginning to despair as their teaching and student learning was being interrupted by student misbehaviour. They couldn’t understand what was going wrong. They felt they had a good relationship with their students — they were always friendly and helpful and their lessons were well planned, but instead of enjoying their classes, they were getting frustrated with students who wouldn’t settle, didn’t listen and were generally disruptive. Megan and Josh even found themselves resorting to threats and punishment. They just felt there must be another way. What Megan and Josh had not taken into account was that managing a group of youngsters requires far more than knowing what and how you are going to teach and being able to get along with people. Being a teacher requires taking a role that involves a professional persona. Just ‘being your friendly self’ will not work in the classroom. This vital concept is best captured in the following story about an experienced teacher. That teacher was quite amazing. She seemed to be adept at catching students just as they were on the verge of misbehaving and turning their behaviour around. Her classes were a pleasure: she was relaxed yet vigilant, firm but empathic, had great clarity in her communication and listened with ease. Finally she was asked what her secret was. Aha! I’ll share it with you, but you may only pass it on to someone who knows how to value such a thing. It’s my invisible coat. I put it on every morning as I enter the school grounds. I walk around with it all day. I appreciate its calming effect. It keeps me sane and my stress levels down; it supports me and is reassuring, particularly when my students are giving me hassles, and — in the very rare times when I really need it — it keeps me safe. For this coat has a multitude of pockets and in every pocket there is a skill, a technique, a strategy. When I face a recalcitrant student, or an annoying, irritating, challenging or rude student, I unzip a pocket and take out a skill.

CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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I spend time adding pockets to this coat. When things have gone wrong in the day, or the lesson has not gone as it should because of what students said or did, I ask myself, ‘What was the possible reason for that, and how will I manage a similar situation next time?’ And in finding a solution, I add another pocket to my coat (Mackay 2006).

You may ask: How can I be sure that I am going to be able to teach successfully? I love the thought of working with children and young people in general, but will I be able to handle difficult students and behaviours? This chapter aims to provide a basic process to guide you, and sets of insights and practical skills, which you may continue to add to as you gain in your teaching experience. As a pre-service teacher it is important to consider, read and discuss various approaches to behaviour and classroom management. Ramon Lewis in The discipline dilemma (1997) discusses different teacher orientations — styles of discipline and models of management along a continuum from more autocratic teacher-oriented to more democratic student-oriented approaches. In both tutorials and on practicum, take opportunities to remove any anxieties and affirm your own management through observing other teachers, asking questions, reading and discussing ‘how can I best engage and manage this student, that class?’ For Megan and Josh, whose experiences were negatively affecting both their teaching and student learning, we have a situation where both teachers need to reflect and consider the possible reasons for such student behaviour and what they can do to change this into a positive experience for all. This may require them to do some extra reading and research into disruptive attention-seeking behaviours, for example as discussed by Dreikurs (1998) in Maintaining sanity in the classroom, while developing their assertive and empathic skills, for example, as outlined by Faber and Mazlish in How to talk so kids can learn, at the same time as discussing strategies and skills with fellow colleagues, so they can both plan to better manage their students and their learning over the following weeks. We will continue to look at, reflect on and learn from Megan and Josh’s situations. As a practising teacher in a school, bear in mind that whatever behaviour management policies and processes exist in your school and classroom, and whatever paradigms, approaches and strategies you use to manage behaviour, all behaviour management is conducted between you — the teacher — and the students you manage. Throughout his book Teacher and child (1997), Haim Ginott provides many conversations between students and teachers and discusses the impact of the teacher’s response on the student and their engagement in learning. Although language and conversations change over the years, the innate essence of the teacher–student relationship remains the same, as does its impact on students and their learning. This chapter focuses you on learning about and becoming skilled in these conversations, which are an integral part of your teaching role. It is important to remember that the character of this engagement and how it plays out is your responsibility alone. In this engagement, if you manage yourself first, you are then in a position to be able to manage and guide your students into acceptable behaviour for learning and achieving at school. Many enthusiastic, knowledgeable and able new teachers battle in their first year. Although well prepared in their teaching area, as both Megan and Josh were, they had not planned for or given credence to the importance of establishing the roles and relationships for all within the class setting — be it room, laboratory, hall or playing field. So, instead of going straight into the ‘curriculum’ — what students need to learn and how to do it — rather focus on who you are going to teach and developing ‘connections’ with your students. You will need to establish the necessary guidelines for work and behaviour, share expectations for learning and achievement, and focus on building teacher–student relationships and the language that enables these relationships. In doing this, be conscious of the importance of your interactions with students and their need for acceptance and acknowledgement to build encouragement, invite cooperation, develop awareness and enable self-worth. When students know what is expected of them, and feel accepted for who they are and encouraged in all they do, a respectful and productive relationship is likely to develop, obviating misbehaviour, enhancing 366

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learning, and enabling students to achieve and succeed to the best of their ability. To begin to achieve all this requires that you give thought to and plan for the following. r Establish a learning milieu in which all members feel safe because the focus is on establishing positive working relationships, where expectations for work and behaviour are known. As a result, students feel encouraged to participate, can learn from their mistakes and are enabled to give their best. r Plan for ‘who’ you are teaching — both for individual needs and group needs, so that behaviour does not become an issue. Doing this enables students to work together, learn from each other and acquire the skills to manage themselves and their own behaviour. r Become skilled emotionally, socially and cognitively so you develop the necessary language and skills and become confident and capable when faced with challenging, difficult or disruptive behaviours from students in your class and school. r Become reflective so that you continue to learn from your experiences — acknowledging the ‘positives’ and working with the ‘negatives’ so you learn and develop your knowledge and skills and improve your management of students, behaviour and classes. Your task is to enable your students to learn to manage themselves and their behaviour — to build a spirit of community and caring in your classes as you model, manage and teach behaviour in order to achieve an effective learning environment. Interactive student engagement and management

Establishing an effective learning environment

Planning for student engagement and management

Basic behaviour responsibilities

Understanding student behaviour

Proactive management

Working from a positive mindset

Behaviour guidelines

Planning for behaviour

Strategies and skills to effectively engage and manage students

Managing behaviour Six-step strategy for taking control Applying interactive skills and strategies

Reflecting on your management

Reflecting on a teacher’s role Reflecting on student management When it’s working When it’s not working Behaviour management plan

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11.1 Establishing an effective learning environment LEARNING OBJECTIVE 11.1 Establish a learning environment that builds trust and attracts a commitment to mutually productive learning relationships.

The foundation of good behaviour in your classroom — and the whole point of behaviour management — is being able to understand student behaviour to the extent that when it needs to be curtailed to enable an effective learning environment (the teacher’s decision) it is done so in a controlled manner that preserves both your own and the student’s dignity. The environment in which this is done is one in which teacher and student understand each other’s roles and responsibilities while at the same time recognising and allowing that everyone is fallible. This ideal need never be achieved; only continuously strived for. In this way, students and teacher feel safe together and learn that teaching and learning can be fun — people who laugh together learn together. CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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Basic behaviour responsibilities In addition to teaching the designated curriculum, teachers have other responsibilities. Let’s consider these.

Creating an effective learning environment When teachers focus on students feeling safe, supported, encouraged, included, engaged and challenged they are laying the foundations for an effective learning environment. These key characteristics apply across both the ‘open’ and the ‘hidden’ curriculum. For example, when a student makes a mistake and is supported and encouraged to learn from their error, instead of ‘getting into trouble,’ they are far more likely to attempt other tasks. If they learn to fear making mistakes they are also learning to avoid tasks, often by misbehaving. Also, if their efforts are rarely acknowledged they are more likely to act out in order just to be noticed. Dreikurs, Grunwald and Pepper (1998, pp. 9–12) discuss this powerful need to achieve a sense of significance and belonging: if students are unable to achieve it in appropriate ways, through acceptable behaviours, they unconsciously search for other ways, such as acting out for attention; whereas if they have been personally acknowledged or affirmed in their work, students are far more likely to settle down and focus on their learning. Teachers who are organised and who have planned well for their lessons send students a strong message that they have high expectations — that they are there to teach and, because they are well organised, there will not be time for misbehaviour. As Megan and Josh discovered, however, no matter how well organised you may be in your teaching, if you do not have the knowledge and skills to manage your students, what you plan to teach will not necessarily happen. When students know that the teacher is in control and able to manage any situation fairly and do not fear loss of face, then students feel safe and secure in their relationships and have little need or desire to act out or misbehave — which results in far less disruption to the flow of teaching and learning.

The teacher’s role and professional responsibility When you walk into a school or classroom your role changes as you don your professional persona or identity. It helps to define your role as teacher and helps to establish the working relationship between you and your students as well as the understanding that must exist between you. The teacher–student relationship is a social contract with clearly defined responsibilities on the part of the teacher governing social behaviour between the two. It cannot be founded on the intimacy of friendship; it is rather a professional relationship based on mutual respect and on an understanding of the roles of teacher and student for learning to be optimised. Overstepping the boundaries through not respecting the social mores of the school, for example tardiness, lack of manners and respect, inappropriate dress and overfriendliness with students, can in many cases lead to much unhappiness for a new teacher in the workplace. Observe those you work with and if in doubt ask a senior member of staff if you are uncertain as to the expectations for the behaviour of teaching personnel in your school.

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Establishing norms and procedures In those first settling-in days, neither you nor your students will know quite what to expect from each other. First impressions count and it is important to plan for your initial meeting and those first few days you are together. Meeting your class, first impressions and things to do to assist you in making this a satisfying experience for all are discussed in Coat of many pockets (Mackay 2006, pp. 2–4). A well-managed establishment phase will smooth the road ahead, but a poorly planned or indeed unplanned one will guarantee a bumpy ride, so focus on laying the foundations — establishing guidelines and developing good working relationships between yourself and your students. The website https://8ways.wikispaces.com/Behaviour+management draws on the experiences of Lightning Ridge Central School, which has a large Indigenous student body. Those of you who work in multicultural schools and those who have the opportunity to work in country schools will particularly 368

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find the ideas shared on this website most helpful. But regardless of students’ cultural background, many of the ideas recommended can be equally supportive and easily adapted in schools throughout the country. Remember, building and maintaining relationships is ongoing, and although some days are better than others, if the foundations are firm, and students feel safe and supported and included, you are well into a positive teaching experience.

Proactive management Being proactive focuses teachers on being solutions oriented and forward thinking so they are as well prepared as possible for all situations and eventualities. There is no simple list of the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to manage classroom and individual behaviour. What may work for one teacher with one student or in one situation may not work again in different circumstances. No-one can tell you what you should do. Others may share ideas, skills, strategies and techniques, but you are in the best position to know, understand, assess and make decisions regarding student behaviour in your own classes. Mistakes are for learning. If you make a mistake, or regret your words or a judgement made, then just put it right. Not only will you build respect, but you will also be teaching your students that they too can rectify their mistakes and their misbehaviour.

School policies and procedures Before school starts, familiarise yourself with the school policies on student management (including welfare, discipline, bullying, harassment, uniforms and homework). Know the school rules and procedures for managing misbehaviour and the emergency procedures for managing hazardous student behaviour. If you are well prepared to manage your students and classes, you should have little reason to call upon the above procedures. However, as a member of the school community you are expected to follow school policy, reinforce school values and have a sound understanding of the school ethos with regard to student management and welfare. You will have lots of questions. If the school does not provide you with a mentor or a person you can turn to for support, then chat to someone experienced. In his book Beyond discipline — from compliance to community (2006), Alfie Kohn contrasts two approaches to discipline in schools: he contrasts discipline where things are done to students to control their behaviour with discipline that involves working with students and making decisions together to create a caring community. His paper titled ‘Progressive education — why it’s hard to beat, but also hard to find’ focuses on progressive versus traditional schools and continues this discussion, asking some interesting questions for your own tutorial discussions (www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/progressive.htm).

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Prepare your classroom A well-organised classroom and learning program allows little time or opportunity for misbehaviour. You should become familiar with your allocated teaching space, classroom, laboratory, library, hall or sports field, so that you can plan your lessons accordingly. The Department of Education and Training (DET), Victoria, has two websites that provide interesting information on innovative ways a number of schools manage their learning spaces. (See www.education .vic.gov.au/about/research/Pages/infrastructure.aspx and www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/ principals/infrastructure/vsdintro.pdf.) Schools differ greatly, from single classrooms to open learning spaces, but no matter what teaching situation you may find yourself in, remember to always give careful consideration to how you can plan your learning space for more effective teaching, best student learning and outcomes. Organise the working environment. r Arrange the furniture (teacher’s table/workspace, students’ desks/tables and so on) in a way that is appropriate to the teaching and learning you are planning. r Consider what arrangements would be best for class discussions, for working groups and for individual learning, always with thought to preventing low-grade disruptive behaviours. CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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Manage the space as appropriate to cater for: r busy spaces, quiet spaces, messy work and uninterrupted work spaces r students who may need separate working spaces or easy access to the board, library area, basin and taps, and so on. Ensure easy movement and access: r from your workspace to students — individuals and groups, whiteboard, computer, teaching materials and equipment r for students — in, out and around the classroom and to work materials r if sharing classrooms, plan how you need the desks/tables arranged and then train your students to do this and to return the room to its original condition at the end of the lesson. Always be prepared. Check the available facilities and prepare the necessary materials and equipment (e.g. check there is an electric outlet if you need one and that there are markers for the whiteboard). In case you suddenly need to move classrooms or take someone else’s class, always carry vital equipment with you — such as pencils, paper, whiteboard pens and cleaner — in a small container (e.g. a pencil bag or lunch box). WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Training students to organise their own classroom for best working can be timed and become a quick and easy exercise. It also gives students a sense of ownership and responsibility for their learning environment.

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Build an environmentally friendly classroom

Ensure students enter a clean, well-organised and attractive classroom. Teach them to maintain it and to tidy up when they have finished. Set the example. Control any external barriers to learning. r Check lighting. Be aware that if lighting is too dull or too bright it can affect some students’ learning ability. r Ensure good ventilation. Check the windows for good air flow and use fans, air conditioners and heaters when necessary; there is nothing worse than entering a smelly, stuffy classroom. r Be aware of external and internal noise. Some students can work in a noisy environment, while others find it difficult. Children with some forms of autism can be very sensitive to noise and react badly. Teach students to manage the noise levels in their class; for example, develop a noise meter that both you and they can use as an indicator for different levels of noise (e.g. inside voices for total quiet, whisper voices for quiet working). Be aware of the needs of individual students: r to sit near the teaching board — for students with poor vision or hearing r for instructions to be repeated or written down — for students with poor hearing or concentration r to get up, move or stretch — for students with innate restlessness. When you are on practicum, ask the teacher whose class you are observing what they have learned about managing students with behaviour and learning difficulties in their classrooms and what suggestions they would give to a new teacher.

Get to know your students Learning can be hard work, but it should also be enjoyable, satisfying and even fun. While the curriculum requires students to focus on subject content (e.g. numeracy, literacy, science, humanities and technology), they will also be learning about themselves and each other. Ensuring you have some initial activities that focus on developing good working relationships will not only benefit learning, but also help establish a positive classroom ethos. These social and group activities should happen at all levels of learning — across primary and secondary classes — and you should not stop them after the first day or week; instead, plan such 370

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activities into your daily or weekly schedule each term. Incorporate fun exercises that enhance self-worth and build rapport, and that can provide a break between learning tasks. It may only be 5 minutes in a 40-minute lesson, but it will motivate and stimulate. Having a little fun together enhances working relationships. Claudia Cornett in Learning through laughter (1986) focuses on the importance of humour, and Peter West in his list of 10 things a teacher can do to help boys learn, places humour as number three on the list (www.boyslearning.com.au). Other valuable references that provide further insight for relationship building are Steve Biddulph’s Raising girls (2013) and Brown and Fletcher’s Boys in schools (1995). Use the following pointers to guide and assist you in planning for student and classroom management. Your choices will be governed by the age and year levels you will be teaching. r Introduce yourself and get your students to introduce themselves to you and any new class members. r Learn your students’ names and take any opportunity to use them. Start with knowing a few names well and build on this as quickly as possible. r On the first day establish one or two key ground rules, for example for listening, and similarly with routines, for example for tidying up. r Keep students active and involved. Plan whole-class, small-group and individual activities that give everyone an opportunity to learn more about you and each other. This will lay the foundations for good working relationships. Remember the importance of enabling and encouraging students to listen to and acknowledge each other. Students need to be provided with opportunities to reveal their individual talents and strengths beyond school (e.g. creative, technical or sporting). Alternate quiet, individual tasks with group work, discussions or physical activities to keep students active, engaged, involved and challenged. If you want to introduce students to curriculum learning straight away, consider doing it through a challenging or fun activity, quiz, game or puzzle. Terry Orlick provides many activities in his book Cooperative games and sports (2006a) that teachers can adapt for different learning environments and bring into school yard activities (see also Cornett 1986; Orlick 2006a, 2006b).

Behaviour guidelines A clear understanding of expectations for behaviour and work is essential for any well-functioning classroom. If students know what to expect when in your class and know how to behave, they will feel contained and safe. The insecurities that come from not knowing what to expect or do will vanish. The need to disrupt or act out generally disappears. On balance, students feel enabled to be ready for whatever learning may be planned for the day. This gives each student a degree of personal responsibility and ownership for managing the class.

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Set behaviour guidelines It is important to state your work and behaviour expectations from the beginning. For example, ‘I expect people to work together and to help each other. I expect people to attempt to do their best at all times’. Class mantras can be an effective way for students to remember how to behave, for example, ‘Is it safe? Is it fair? Is it kind?’ When students know what is expected of them and feel comfortable in their relationships they are far more likely to be cooperative and motivated to work hard. Your aim is to establish a community of learners in which each student feels they have their place and that they are respected and appreciated. The establishment of behaviour guidelines should happen before you begin the process of teaching and learning: if you are a relief teacher, within the first 5 minutes; if you are a subject or specialist teacher, within the first lesson; and if you are the students’ regular classroom teacher, within the first week. Keeping guidelines concise and easy to remember helps everyone to abide by them. Discussing the reasons for and the benefits in having guidelines with your students enables them to feel some ownership CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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and pride in establishing a well-organised classroom. When establishing behaviour guidelines consider the following. Your approach should be appropriate for the age, background and ability of your students. r Routines teach good habits and organisation. Students feel secure and capable when they know, understand and can follow established routines. r Rituals build a sense of belonging and community, reinforce values and establish traditions. For example, rituals might include circle time at the end of the day or week to reflect on the ‘good things’ that have happened in that day/week or a special time at the end of the week where students choose an activity they enjoy in acknowledgement of a week’s good work. r Responsibilities taken enable rights. Ensure students have opportunities to take responsibility. r Individual rights and responsibilities are a social phenomenon found in all communities. Students must learn that these two concepts are intimately bonded. You cannot have rights without accepting responsibility for your actions. r Rules guide behaviour and teach students what is socially acceptable in the classroom. Some rules will be common across classes, for example, those relating to respect (e.g. ‘We listen when others are speaking’), but other rules may vary according to age and ability. ‘We are kind — we don’t hit other people’ may be a rule in Year 1, but in Year 5 the rule may be ‘We are kind — we don’t say things that can hurt others’, and by Year 12 this has been replaced by ‘We guide and care for all students in our school’. If students discuss and decide which rules are needed for everyone to get along and work together in their class, then they are far more likely to take responsibility to see the rules are followed by all. Stating a rule as a positive action rather than a negative one continues to convey positive expectations for behaviour and for cooperation. r Consequences are sanctions in the educational setting. They are an extension of ‘cause and effect’ — understood by all since infancy. Acting for the school community, teachers must teach that when behaviour has transgressed set limits, they are obliged to apply a consequential corrective action that teaches students to change their behaviour, learn to act differently in the future and, as appropriate, make reparation. Consequence and punishment are different. Consequence is not punishment — the transgression is the student’s choice and therefore the student’s responsibility (this is discussed under ‘consequential learning’ later in the chapter). An implicit part of learning about consequences, both positive and negative, is that these arise from choices made either consciously or unconsciously. Dreikurs, Grunwald and Pepper built on Adler’s research into goal-directed behaviour showing there was often little awareness of choice but some awareness of consequence in certain behaviours, as exemplified in chapter 2 (1998). r Benefits of guidelines. Rules and routines guide behaviour and are usually strengthened with ‘consequences’ that students often tend to view as punitive. When this happens rules particularly tend to be negative and often ineffective reinforcers of behaviour. Haim Ginott (1997) in chapter 6 discusses these differences. Instead of consequences, consider using ‘benefits’ as a way to strengthen rules. If students understand the benefits of rules and routines, you have focused them on the positive reasons for having them, which is both encouraging and motivating.

Apply behaviour guidelines At the start of a new class in primary and early secondary school, discuss guidelines for behaviour — classroom routines and rules — and plan them together as an exercise. Your key to this exercise is the maxim ‘Participation leads to ownership, which leads to responsibility’. After questioning students for their understanding of the reasons for rules and their purpose and benefit (i.e. to enable everyone to work and play together, feel safe, supported and included, and for school to be enjoyable for all), brainstorm ideas together and draw up three to five simple rules that will guide everyone’s behaviour. Emphasise the benefits but ensure an understanding of what happens when these rules are broken. Behaviour guidelines should be reviewed every term and adjusted appropriately.

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Class rules may vary according to students’ age and ability.

In secondary school, with older students, or for teachers who see students intermittently, simply stating your expectations for behaviour is more appropriate, as students will already understand general classroom rules. A simple statement from the teacher, such as, ‘I expect my students to be on time for class, always with their books, pens and tablets ready to work, and to have homework and assignments in by the due date,’ can be very effective. With the increasing use of technology there is a need for schools to establish guidelines for teachers and students. These may vary from school to school. It is important that you know and understand the policies and procedures governing the use of technology in your school.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

1. Proactive management — planning for behaviour Reflecting on Megan and Josh’s experiences in the case study, discuss and record your responses to the following. a. What are my expectations for student behaviour? List three behaviours you would expect all students to demonstrate in any class, giving a practical example of the expected behaviour. b. List three to five misbehaviours that you have found to be common across classes and which you would like strategies to manage. We will refer to these later. c. Re-read the case study, list what you see are the behaviour problems and discuss with fellow students what you have learned so far from the chapter that would be helpful for Megan and Josh with regard to re-establishing an effective learning environment. d. List what else you would need to know in order to cope in their situations with those more difficult behaviours and read up on those behaviours. Listing the indicators for ADD, ADHD and ASD can also be helpful for future reference. Share your findings with your fellow students.

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e. Technology is becoming increasingly important and a valuable tool for learning. It can greatly enhance student learning. However, many teachers similar to Josh are finding students not taking responsibility for this learning tool in the classroom. When on practicum, familiarise yourself with the school policy and guidelines for using technology in the classroom, discuss with teachers their thoughts on managing technology for best learning and then discuss and pool your ideas. With fellow students, draw up a guideline for all teachers with regard to the use of technology for responsible learning. 2. Establishing norms for behaviours r Remember ‘participation leads to ownership which leads to responsibility’ and involve students in setting guidelines for behaviour. Then ensure they are visual as well as verbal — post them on the board, wall or door. As a subject teacher, you may wish to carry a laminated sheet that is portable and can be put up when you enter a classroom as a visual display. r Remember, the school rules are already established and are there as a safety net for serious transgressions and emergency situations. r Remember that although you are the teacher, you too are expected to abide by the classroom rules. The maxim ‘I expect of you what I expect of myself’ should be your guide. If you expect your students to be well mannered and courteous, not to swear, to be on time and to work hard, then so should you. Modelling the behaviour you expect builds respect. List three or so behaviours that are important to you and that you expect from your students, and beside each one write what you will do to set the example for your students.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

1. Establishing a learning environment On your practicum, as you experience different classrooms, consider how the environment and general organisation impacts on student behaviour — both positively and negatively. Discuss with other teachers in the schools you visit what they have learned about setting up and managing their own classrooms. Your practicum experiences may have given you the opportunity to observe and participate in both traditional classrooms and in different styles of flexible learning spaces. For those who have yet to experience flexible learning spaces, go to the DET website and read the latest research into the connection between learning spaces and student outcomes and for support when teaching in flexible learning spaces — see www.learningspacesandlearningstyles.com/deecd-victoria-australia-context .html. Consider the implications for you when: r teaching in a traditional classroom r team teaching in a flexible learning space. Ask yourself: what differences will I face and what may be the advantages in each of the learning environments? List these, then discuss your ideas and experiences with your fellow students; consider the impact of a learning space on your teaching practice, student learning and behaviour. Read about Lightning Ridge Central School (http://8ways.wikispaces.com/behaviour+management) and consider the ‘8 Ways’ and the impact that environment can have on children from different cultures. List any ideas from the ‘8 Ways’ that you would like to incorporate into your own classroom and teaching. Then, under the heading ‘Setting up and organising my own classroom,’ draw up two columns. In column 1, list ten ideas or suggestions you will apply in your own practice. In column 2, list those things you will avoid doing. 2. Developing positive student teacher relationships Consider your responses to the following questions and their likely impact on your teaching and your future students’ learning. r Who was your favourite teacher? What do you remember about them and what did you learn from that teacher?

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r What made their classroom an enjoyable place to be, and did you enjoy learning in their class? If so, what were the reasons for this? What did that teacher do or say that had an impact on you, your learning and your achievements? r Which has been the most comfortable classroom you have worked in, and what made it so? Write down what will be important for you to remember in your own teaching — how your experience of those responses and that environment will affect the way you will teach and the kind of teacher you would like to be. 3. Establishing guidelines for behaviour As you experience different teachers’ management of learning environments during your teaching practice, consider the following. r In each class that you observe, ask yourself, ‘What has this teacher done to enable their students to feel safe, supported, encouraged, included, engaged and challenged?’ r Then consider their routines, rituals, student responsibilities, adherence to rules and learning from consequences, and decide how effective these are. Do they work in these classrooms and, if so, why? If not, why not? As the opportunity arises, ask the teacher how they set about establishing behaviour guidelines, what strategies and skills they use, and what works for them in managing student behaviour. Then draw up a list of what you have initially learned about guiding and managing student behaviour and discuss this with fellow student teachers. Add to your list what you would like to apply in your own classroom and why, and discern just what it achieves.

11.2 Planning for student engagement and management

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 11.2 Plan to engage and manage students in a manner that conveys positive expectations and an understanding of students so as to prevent behaviour becoming an issue in your classes.

Planning to manage a class collectively and its students individually is as important as establishing the learning program within the learning environment. Teachers who do not plan for student engagement and best classroom management find that behaviour becomes the dominant factor and learning becomes secondary. Planning how to engage — connect with, acknowledge and encourage your students builds the link to learning. When that link is made, then focusing on maintaining that relationship, through continued modelling, managing and from time to time teaching about behaviour, enables students to learn to manage themselves, their behaviour and their own learning. Enabling students builds a strong sense of self-worth and is fundamental to effective classroom management. Think about Megan and Josh from the opening case in this chapter. Planning for student behaviour and classroom management had not been a priority for them. To a degree they had relied on their well-planned lessons, and being friendly and helpful, and couldn’t see that there would be any problems with behaviour. But there were and they were increasing. As a result, they both found themselves realising that they really needed to think about what had gone wrong and what they needed to do to rectify their situations. Megan continues with their story and those of their graduate friends in relation to student behaviours and the need to plan for your classes. At the suggestion of Julia, our mentor teacher, Josh and I decided to get together with a few graduate friends and share our experiences. Kane, Tomi and Serena joined us and we planned to meet for coffee each week and talk about the behaviour we’d encountered. We also asked Richard to join us, as he had been teaching in the Kimberley and we needed ideas to manage our new Indigenous students. We also invited Ameena to join us when she could, as we hoped her family background and knowledge of the Middle East would help us support the refugee children to settle into school.

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Although Josh and I were eager to share this week, we felt Serena should have first turn as she was new to the school, having replaced a popular teacher who had suddenly taken ill. ‘I have been at the school for just a few weeks and I cannot understand it,’ Serena told us. ‘I have a class that just won’t settle and it’s taking me longer and longer to get going each lesson — it’s really bothering me as I’ve planned so much for them, but I have to keep telling them what to do — to line up quietly, stand behind their chairs, stop talking, get their books out and do their work — and do they do it? No, they just keep talking, they wander into class, they don’t have their learning materials, they ask to go to their lockers or bags and they talk continuously. They don’t listen to a thing I say. You’d think they would’ve learned by now to be ready to start class. They drive me crazy and they know it. It’s so frustrating and I’m getting fed up with them, especially a couple of students who are really irritating. They’re always late, never have their books or tablets, always sit next to each other and talk continuously. I actually dread the days I don’t have a break from them. And then the other day I had to give Mr Johnson a message, and when I arrived at his classroom there was my class — ready for their science lesson. They were sitting like lambs, listening with their books out ready to work. I felt terrible when I realised that it’s only in my class that they misbehave. What’s wrong with me? Why don’t they behave like that with me?’ ‘It’s hard’, said Megan. ‘I felt the same — my students just didn’t listen. We had set our ground rules at the beginning of the year, but to no effect this term. Their behaviour has been awful and with our new students it was almost chaos at times. I didn’t know what to do either, until I spoke to Julia a couple of weeks ago. What has been really helpful for me is that she said she’d had the same horrible experience in her own second term of teaching. She said, remember, you can’t just say something once and expect children to do as asked. You have to revisit it numerous times — sometimes practising, sometimes questioning, sometimes stating, but basically training your students until expected behaviours become part of the daily routine of the class. She said she has a colleague who has no more than 4 “rules” at a time — they all remember them and they focus on getting these right, knowing the benefits of doing so. I decided to revisit our routines and rules and their benefits a week ago and it has already made a difference. I realise now I need to do this every term.’ ‘That is what I need to do,’ said Serena. ‘I need to state my expectations for behaviour and re-establish our routines and ground rules — I like the thought of only four “rules”, too.’ ‘Also,’ added Richard, ‘when teaching in the Kimberley we all took the first week of the year and made it a mini project to establish with the students what was needed for everyone to be able to work together and achieve their best at school. After much discussion and decision making between the students and teachers, we ended up with just a few simple rules. We needed to ensure that the ground rules made sense to our students, and that they knew the benefits of everyone abiding by these simple rules, and understood that we would always follow through if students “broke a rule”. Then they drew a picture of something familiar — a tree or an animal and placed the rules appropriately. This worked really well, as it meant students understood what was expected of everyone; they had a visual picture that reflected their interests and background and culture to remind them. This made them feel safe at school as they knew what to do and what was expected of them.’

Effective teaching includes enabling students to manage themselves and their behaviour, as happens in Mr Johnson’s class where they are able to settle quickly and be ready to learn. Serena, Megan and Josh had not given thought to planning for student behaviour. Effective teaching means effective planning for behaviour. Planning how to manage students and their behaviour in the social environment of a classroom requires teachers to plan threefold: before entering classes, during classes and after classes. It is vital for busy teachers that this process becomes part of their everyday routine, but even more important that it is kept simple. Serena had expected her students to know what to do and had not really considered or planned for uncooperative behaviour. The more she tries to control her students, the worse their behaviour gets. Megan was in a similar position. Rather than trying to control them, she, Serena and Josh need to focus on enabling them to control themselves and manage their own behaviour. In order to rethink their approach and plan for their students’ behaviour, it is important that they all understand what drives particular misbehaviours. 376

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Understanding student behaviour

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The following questions can provide a helpful guide in planning for a solution to any behaviour problem. r Are my expectations (including rules and routines) for behaviour clearly stated and understood? r Have I ensured all students know what to do? If necessary, have we practised the required behaviour (how to behave in this or that situation)? r When students misbehave do I follow through with appropriate consequences and ensure they learn to get it right? r Does students’ misbehaviour meet any unconscious needs they may have, such as avoidance, attention or control?

These questions enable teachers to focus on establishing and maintaining firm guidelines that are understood and followed through. They remind teachers that behaviours have many reasons. So it is of key importance to remember not to take behaviour as a personal affront, but rather to consider that there may be factors beyond the classroom or even students’ own unmet needs that result in both individual misbehaviours and negative class dynamics, and which may require the teacher to specifically plan for these more challenging behaviours, remembering the adage that teachers need to be firm, to be fair and to be kind — courteous and considerate, when planning to manage behaviour in the classroom. We will look at these in further detail.

Firm guidelines Gregory Bodenhamer (1983) says that when given an option, students will often do as they please, which can lead to misbehaviour. Although Bodenhamer’s work was with considerably ‘out of control’ youngsters, his observations are equally relevant in schools and classrooms. He states that ‘Human beings (including children), prefer doing things in their own way, in their own time, and given an option, will sometimes do as they please’ (p. 25). He then continues by asking the question, ‘If you don’t effectively follow through and enforce your own rules, are children likely to follow through and enforce them on themselves?’ (p. 25). CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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If teachers are not firm and clear in their expectations for student behaviour, and do not direct and follow through on behaviour so students learn the appropriate classroom behaviours, then the message students receive is that they can ‘do as they please’. If a teacher does not lead the class, then the students will. This would appear to be the case in Josh’s class where students have taken the opportunity to socialise and this is now habitual behaviour. To change that behaviour, Josh needs to manage his students differently, as just telling them is not working. He needs to acquire some assertive skills — we will refer to these later. For Serena and Megan, ‘doing as they please’ has become annoying and irritating, and in Megan’s class, some students are becoming frustrated, angry and resentful — and are behaving accordingly. For all these teachers the focus on learning has vanished into a milieu of misbehaviours. It is vital for Serena to re-establish her leadership role by clearly restating her expectations for behaviour, ensuring all routines and rules are clearly understood, and possibly even getting students to practise entering and settling into class, until they get it right. Leadership in a learning environment is most valuable when it is an enabling process. For example, a young boy was continually messing around in ‘line up’ before class. His teacher told him to go to the back of the line as he was misbehaving, which he did resentfully. The next day at ‘line up’ he approached the teacher and asked, ‘Could we line up alphabetically and then we wouldn’t fight over our places?’ This teacher learned from her student. Hopefully next time instead of ‘telling’ a student what to do she would ask a question, thus enabling them to speedily find a solution to their problem. Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Factors beyond the classroom Teachers need to be aware that many factors affect student behaviour and that students may have little control over them. Consider these when planning for best classroom management: r developmental needs, for example, the adolescent’s need to individuate, along with the primary school child’s need to be industrious and the early childhood preschooler’s need for autonomy (discussed in more detail in Snowman et al. (2009) chapter 3, which considers Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and its relevance in teaching the child and adolescent) r learning, physical, emotional or social disabilities and difficulties — if not known, understood and planned for within the learning environment, these have quite a serious impact on the class and student learning 378

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r individual temperaments — personalities can impact on relationships in a class r students’ home situation can affect how students behave at school (e.g. family values and norms, and ethnicity, especially when a student’s cultural ethos is at odds with the school’s ethos) r life experiences (e.g. trauma, abuse, bereavement and dysfunctional relationships) r the influence of the media, fashion, pop culture and technology r other external influences, such as the weather, changing learning spaces and interruptions to routine. Many teachers tend to worry about and even try to solve issues that affect student behaviour that are beyond the realms of the classroom and school (e.g. a difficult home life, lack of parental supervision, too much television/computer time or unhappy relationships). Acknowledging the difficulties a student may be facing is helpful, but even more helpful is the teacher who gives time and energy to planning how best to support and enable students within the classroom, despite their problems. In a concerning situation, focus on your ability to increase competency and self-worth in your classroom — it is these that give your students the confidence to cope beyond the classroom.

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Students’ unconscious needs Students often have unconscious needs that for whatever reason are overriding or just have not been met in some way. When a student’s misbehaviour continues no matter what a teacher does, the behaviour is probably not so much driven by a wish to do as they please, but is a compulsion to fulfil unmet needs — with an underlying need to establish their place of belonging and achieve significance, as discussed by Dreikurs (1998, chapters 2–5). These students have learned to misbehave in order to feel okay, or to feel that they have a place in this world and are valued. The need to achieve significance and belonging is so powerful that if this need is only met through misbehaviour, they will persist in this way until they see reason to act differently. The research of Dreikurs, Grunwald and Pepper (1998) indicates that children who continually misbehave for this reason have learned maladaptive ways of achieving significance and belonging. These they call the ‘unconscious goals of misbehaviour’ (see figure 11.1 later in the chapter). Teachers who demand that students change their behaviour without realising that unconscious goals are driving it will almost invariably fail. A student’s unmet needs can be a far more powerful motivator for misbehaviour than anything a teacher may want or demand of them, to the degree that even applying consequences may have little effect on changing the behaviour. The hallmarks of these behaviours tend to be inappropriate and continued attention seeking, repetitive refusals and challenges, dangerous or silly behaviour to gain peer acceptance, always putting others down and cruel teasing. Teachers who understand the needs of such students are able to respond in a manner that enables students to achieve that sense of significance and belonging through more appropriate and acceptable behaviours for their classroom and school. Returning to Serena’s class (see previous discussion), she commented on a couple of really irritating students who would seem to be at the heart of her disruptive class. Is it possible that their attentionseeking behaviours are reinforced by Serena noticing and responding to them when they misbehave? Other students seeing this might choose to act similarly, and for some students negative attention is better than no attention at all — they will continue behaving in this way until they see reason to act differently. If Serena better understood what was driving their behaviour, she would be able to manage the situation by responding to and meeting their needs in other ways. But where to start? It was Kane who brought Serena’s attention to what she could do to begin changing their behaviour.

‘You’re really having a tough time with that class,’ said Kane. ‘It seems they keep doing the wrong thing and you keep telling them not to. What if you only noticed those doing the right thing? What do you think would happen?’ ‘Well, that’s a thought, I’ll give it a go,’ said Serena.

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What Kane suggested is an important skill in managing students, their behaviour and your classes. ‘Catching them doing it right’ reinforces good behaviour, sends a positive message to all and creates a behaviour-friendly classroom. There is never one ‘right’ way to manage behaviour, but some ways are far more effective than others. Sometimes a combination of approaches is part of a teacher’s plan.

Working from a positive mindset

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Teachers whose mindset is positive — who carry positive expectations for behaviour — build a ‘behaviour-friendly’ classroom. Instead of focusing on mistakes and only noticing when things are wrong or pulling students up when they are perceived to misbehave, these teachers look out for students doing the right thing and then skilfully acknowledge this in an affirming manner. Students quickly learn that only when they behave appropriately, in an acceptable manner within the learning environment, will they get a teacher’s attention. Even when students are in the process of ‘getting it wrong,’ a teacher who conveys the expectation that they are just about to ‘get it right’ is enabling students to correct the situation. Showing that they can get it right without being told what to do encourages self-control and enhances self-respect. Teachers who swiftly and succinctly manage students in this way avoid those dominating or time-consuming situations in the future. Trusting students to ‘do the right thing,’ together with an expectation for honesty, gives students positive goals. If students are used to being able to get away with unacceptable behaviour and get pleasure out of not being caught out, it may take some time before they learn that the way they have been behaving does not work for them anymore and that this teacher is different. Misbehaviour can get worse before it gets better as students test to see if the boundaries are really there and if the teacher means what they say.

At their next meeting, Serena was keen to give feedback. ‘Re-establishing some basic routines and ground rules has really helped,’ she said. ‘Things certainly get off to a better start now, and Kane, thank you for your tip about focusing on those students who “get it right”. That’s also helped. I still have some ongoing issues, but I think someone else should have a turn now.’ Megan was glad to share what had been happening as, like Serena, her students were more settled at the beginning of the lesson, having revisited their routines and classroom rules. However, disruptions during the lessons were getting worse and she was becoming very frustrated. ‘I could name half a dozen students who I wish weren’t in my class. Oliver continues to be obstinate, doesn’t listen, won’t look at me, and just continues doing what he is focused on and will get up if he feels like it, no matter what we are doing. I just don’t know what to say or do with him anymore, so I end up sending him to the Deputy Principal along with the “wanderers” who never focus on or achieve anything, like Lennie and his cousin Nellie. They’re a real concern as they just don’t seem to be able to focus on their learning and instead spend their time at the back giggling. If I tell them what to do and they don’t like it they just walk out! Plus “too cool for school” Mike with his cohort is now becoming a bit of a bully. This is a worry as he teams up with his cousin Andre, who is in your class, Josh, and there are some hurtful things happening in the yard. And then there is “bossy” Susan — she even tells me what to do, along with Sarah, my challenger, and Elliott my “interrupter” — he never stops. Plus the “tweetie birds”, who chatter continuously, and of course there’s the elusive Jai, who is always somewhere else and never does any work. Ohh, I feel awful, I sound so negative and I’m beginning to label these students. They really are getting to me!’ Katie, an experienced teacher who had said she would join their sessions when she could, said, ‘A colleague once suggested something to me that might be helpful. She said to take the class list and next to each name write something affirming about that student, then over the next couple of weeks make a point of quietly communicating these positives to each student. She also told me to decide what I liked about this class and tell them. It had to be honest, and it was a bit difficult with one or two of the students, but I was desperate. I shared this with the support teacher and we worked on it together. I began to realise that I was beginning to see these students differently, and it was only when I did this that things started to change and their behaviour began to turn around — and maybe my attitude towards them did too!’

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Megan said, ‘Thanks Katie, that’s really helpful. I’ll give it a try.’ And then, as an afterthought, she added, ‘I wonder if this might help me with Ernie and Nellie — they really worry me.’ Richard, who was interested in the Indigenous students’ integration into the school, added, ‘I think you may be right, Megan. Building caring and respectful relationships with my students in the Kimberley was vital for me in gaining their cooperation. Plus, they loved stories, so I would incorporate these into my teaching to illustrate points I wanted to make. Through these, along with clear guidelines and expectations for their behaviour, which we built together, I found my classes became much easier to manage and the students more involved in their learning. I really like the mantra “Be firm, be fair, but also be kind”. I think that sums up what our students need.’ ‘That’s really great Richard, I like that,’ said Kane. ‘And I agree with Richard,’ said Katie, ‘“Be firm, be fair, be kind” should be every teacher’s mantra and in relation to that, I would like to mention the importance of understanding what some of our students have been through and are still going through. Moving home, leaving extended family, settling into a new environment and coming to a new school can be stressful and anxiety-inducing for many children. Also, some of our refugee children may have suffered communal hardship and even personal trauma. They need our caring and understanding, along with firm guidelines.’ ‘That’s most interesting, Katie. I hadn’t thought of it from their point of view,’ admitted Josh. ‘As teachers, adjusting to a new school can be stressful and make us anxious, and we feel far more confident when we know the rules — what to do and generally what is expected of us.’ We will follow up with what happened later in the chapter.

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Establishing a behaviour-friendly classroom Establishing a positive classroom environment requires special planning and numerous skills and strategies. Continue to add your own and others’ ideas to the list below. r State positive expectations for behaviour — ‘I expect everyone in this class to have their books on their desks and be ready to start work in 30 seconds. Okay? Thank you.’ r Tactically ignore misbehaviour. Focus positively on those who are ‘getting it right’. ‘I see three people ready to work. No, four, five, well done!’ r Reflect back students’ positive actions and state what they have said or done. ‘I noticed you helped Jamal when he was having a problem yesterday.’ r Catch them doing it right. ‘Thank you to all those who had their work in on time.’ r Use positive I-statements. ‘When a class works quietly like this, I’m truly delighted as it means the exercise will be soon finished and we can get on to something new, which I hadn’t expected to do today.’ r Describe with appreciation what a student has done well. ‘I really appreciated coming back to the classroom and finding the paper and paints put away and the paint brushes washed. It meant I didn’t have to stay late after school. Thank you.’ r Have practical and fun activities for when work is completed. r Have special times to have fun, laugh and joke together. Give students opportunities to laugh with each other, not at each other. r A nod of acknowledgement or a smile can say far more than words. r Use small Post-it notes to write a ‘thank you’ or ‘I noticed that’ or draw a ‘smiley’ face to acknowledge individual students’ positive actions or work well done and either stick it on their desk or slip it into their book. r If acknowledging something the whole class has done, write it on the board or stick it on the door so they can see it when they enter or leave the room. r Avoid labelling students or their behaviour. ‘Labelling is disabling’ (Ginott 1997, chapter 5). Negative labels can be hurtful, even if seemingly funny. Positive labels can be burdensome and stressful. Even though a teacher may carry positive expectations and understand the reasons for student misbehaviour and respond appropriately, often by using some of the above behaviourist techniques that CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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reinforce positive behaviours in the classroom, there are still likely to be some students who will act out and misbehave in class. To achieve optimum learning in well-managed classes, teachers need to be proactive and plan for student misbehaviour in the ever-changing milieu of the classroom.

Planning for behaviour Having established routines and simple ground rules, being aware of the importance of understanding behaviour and working from a positive mindset, teachers can then turn to planning for best classroom management. As you plan for your student learning — the what and how in teaching — so should you be planning for who you are teaching and how you will manage them. Managing a class is a dynamic and continuously changing process. Teachers need to prepare for these changes as they affect individual needs, relationships and learning. Planning to manage students and their behaviour requires threefold planning: 1. before entering a class 2. during class — in the moment — when facing unexpected misbehaviour 3. after class — in retrospect — when what you are doing is not working.

Planning before class

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The following suggestions are for you to apply with your classes and as appropriate with individual students. Choose and adapt what will work best for you. For general planning, for example, when planning your lessons for the week, divide the page in two and head one column ‘What I am teaching’ and the other ‘Who I am teaching’, then plan for both. For specific planning for classes and students, keep a little notepad in your pocket or teaching file and record any behaviours that concern you and that are or could become an issue and impede your teaching and student learning. Prioritise your list and select one or two behaviours to focus on for the first couple of weeks, starting either with the easiest behaviour to manage or the one that will have most impact on overall behaviour. Then plan what strategies, skills and techniques will enable you best to manage these. In their next weekly discussion, Josh, Tomi, Serena and Kane, joined by Richard and Katie, were all keen to hear how Megan had managed. ‘Katie, your suggestion of communicating positives to each student has made a difference to how I view my class,’ said Megan. ‘I feel so much better about them now and they seem to be responding better to me. Our relationships are improving and I notice Lennie and Nellie are joining in more.’ ‘I liked the positive class list, and that has helped me too,’ said Josh, ‘but I am still having issues with disruptive behaviour.’ ‘Me too!’ added Serena. ‘Our routines are working, I am “catching those doing it right”, but I still have students who talk and don’t listen to instructions. Some are rude to my face and the classroom is always such a mess. I just get fed up. When I ask a student to do something, more often than not I get backchat or they just ignore me. It goes on and on. But it’s not just their rudeness and lack of respect and manners, there are other behaviours that concern me. I just think I have too many behaviour issues in my class.’ Richard thought for a moment, then asked, ‘What about listing all the misbehaviours? Then prioritise your list and start with one behaviour. Select some skills and strategies and apply these for a week or two until their behaviour is 80 per cent or thereabouts improved. Then move on to the next behaviour on your list, and so on.’ Serena was grateful for the suggestion. She and Josh both decided to give it a go and promised to report back in a couple of weeks.

It is important, as in Serena’s case, when the selected behaviours are greatly improved, to tick them on your list and equally importantly to acknowledge the improvement, for example, ‘It is a real pleasure to come into this class and find the desks all neat, the floor clean, the materials cleared away and the 382

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windows open — a neat, tidy and clean classroom — thank you!’ Then move on to the next behaviour issue on your list. Continue this process, and at the beginning of the next term, draw up a new list and continue planning as before. In comparing these lists each term you will be able to see how well you are managing and feel affirmed in your teaching. Your aim is not to catch students ‘doing it wrong’, which is humiliating, nor to punish mistakes, but to enable students to learn that when they get it wrong they can ‘put it right’ themselves.

Planning in the moment Be aware that despite all your management and planning, incidents are going to occur for which you are totally unprepared. When this happens you need to ‘think quick’, but often it is only after the event that one realises what one should have said or done. Do not despair. Rather than focusing on a swift answer, focus on skilfully managing the situation itself. We will discuss this further when focusing on the strategies and skills in the following section. Following are several skilled responses for those unexpected behaviours. r Tactically ignore, especially when the student is attention seeking. Positively focus elsewhere if appropriate. r When students make challenging statements, just accept what they say with a nod or ‘mmmm’ and/or acknowledge their statement of dislike or negativity. Depending on the occasion, you could say something like, ‘Yes, it’s a bit frustrating’ or ‘I can see that this is boring for you, but let’s see if you can give it your best shot’. r If you have no ready answer, response or skill to use, just turn it around with a question, for example, ‘Well, what do you think?’ or ‘What would you do?’ Alternatively you can say, ‘I need to think about that. I’ll get back to you,’ or ‘Let’s all give that some thought and discuss it tomorrow’ (and make sure you do). Remember that when asking a question you are causing students to think about a situation, behaviour and so on. This builds both self-awareness and an awareness of others. r Avoid being trapped into denying contentious statements or expressions of emotion, because you will get hooked into an interaction that takes the focus away from the subject or task at hand and enables them to waste time and avoid working.

Planning in retrospect We all at some time make mistakes and regret our reaction to something a student said or did. When this happens — usually because we feel annoyed, frustrated or angry — it is important not to focus on the reason, but rather on putting the situation to rights. Doing this maintains our self-respect and the student’s personal dignity, enabling the relationship to move forward. In doing so, we are teaching students firstly that no-one is perfect, secondly that we all make mistakes, and thirdly that the most important thing about making mistakes is learning to make amends, change our behaviour and put things right. Through this experience, students learn the importance of putting right their own mistakes.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

In addition to carrying a small notepad with you during classes to jot down observations and behaviour strategies that work, organise a reflective journal in which you keep a record of helpful ideas, strategies, skills and techniques for behaviour and classroom management. Plan proactively and retrospectively for behaviour and record case studies for future reference. 1. Consider Josh, Megan and Serena’s students — have you come across similar behaviours during your teaching practice? Ask yourself the following. a. What might be the underlying reasons for Josh’s students never being ready to work? List these and discuss ways that would help him cope with these behaviours.

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b. What might be the reasons for certain behaviours in Megan’s class? For example, Oliver, whose behaviour is perplexing, the ‘wanderers’ who never settle down to work, Sarah who continually challenges Megan, ‘bossy Susan’, ‘cool’ Mike who is becoming a bully, Elliott who constantly interrupts, the ‘chatterers’, and Jai, who keeps disappearing. Consider these individual students and discuss what might be the reason for their behaviours. Note what would be helpful to research to assist in managing these students in class. Note: Occasionally you will come across students whose behaviours are extremely challenging. For example, Oliver in Megan’s class doesn’t respond to her at all, and Jai is constantly on the move. These very difficult behaviours require further research to understand and manage. An excellent reference here is Kutscher’s Kids in the syndrome mix of ADHD, LD, autism spectrum . . . (2014). Wallace’s You and your ADD child (1996) also contains helpful management strategies for teachers and parents. 2. When observing classes and student behaviour, watch for those repeated misbehaviours. Record them in your notepad — describing what the student does — then ask yourself what could be the reason for these students continuing to misbehave. For example: r Are behaviour guidelines — routines and classroom rules — unclear or optional, not followed through or not consistently followed through? r Is there negative reinforcement instead of positive acknowledgement? Are the students continually being ‘noticed’ or caught for ‘doing it wrong’ OR are students acknowledged and affirmed? Either way what is the impact on (a) those students who do behave well in class, and (b) those who don’t? Do you see any overall changes in behaviour among the students? If so, what changes do you see happening? r Are the students’ cultural backgrounds different? Which countries do they originate from — Africa, Asia, the Middle East, or are they Indigenous Australians? For example, asking a young Indian girl to speak loudly and express her opinion may not be acceptable behaviour for her, whereas an African child may have learned to speak up in a group situation. Remember the Indigenous children in Megan and Josh’s classes —if much of their learning has been practical and involving the environment around them, the classroom may be strange to them. Do you have an understanding and knowledge of different cultures, such as Indigenous, African, Asian and Arabic? Are you sensitive to the way your practice and manner may be perceived by students who experience behaviour and see learning from different worldviews? r What do you think might be the reasons for the ongoing misbehaviours? Are there external factors, such as home life or personal issues? Or is their behaviour the result of a driving need for significance and belonging — an ‘unconscious goal’ for attention, power, revenge, excitement, peer acceptance or superiority (see ‘Unconscious goals of misbehaviour’ in figure 11.1)? What would you plan to do to enable student(s) to ‘get it right’? Choose one particular repeated misbehaviour and plan the strategies you might use to enable this student to behave differently — in a more acceptable manner for that learning environment. 3. In your reflective journal: a. Start a ‘Teacher’s checklist of effective strategies for behaviour and classroom management’. Start the list with at least five positive strategies you have seen on your practicum rounds and continue to add helpful skills, techniques and strategies to your list throughout your training. b. Draw up a list of ten most concerning behaviours and, as you work through this chapter, beside these behaviours list skills and strategies you would like to try if and when faced with these misbehaviours. c. Keep a record of any behaviours you have had to manage in a class: describe what happened when you faced one of these misbehaviours, record the techniques you applied and any changes in student behaviour. d. If the misbehaviour did not change, then write up this behaviour on a case study sheet and discuss this case study with your tutor for their recommendations regarding possible areas of research and information that would assist you in planning to manage the given situation. e. If you are teaching students from different cultures, make a list of those students whose cultural backgrounds are different to yours so that you may be more sensitive to and aware of the impact these differences may have on their behaviour and learning.

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Note: Keep your notes brief. In reflecting over the year, you will see where and how you have improved in your classroom management, along with having a checklist of skills and strategies for other classes. For example, the following are some strategies and skilled responses to try, which you, like Megan, Serena and Josh, can have ready to pull out of ‘your pockets’. If students regularly call out in class, start with a clear statement of expectation to students, such as, ‘We don’t call out in class. If you wish to say something or respond to a question, what do you do? That’s right, you put up your hand, thank you.’ Then ask, ‘What do you think are the benefits to not calling out?’ so they give you the reasons for not calling out, and finally say, ‘Let’s try this and see how good we can get at it.’ Follow this up by catching them ‘doing it right’ later and acknowledge with, ‘Thank you (use name) for putting up your hand’. You may also remind students by: r raising your own hand in the air r placing your finger on your lips and giving the ‘shhh’ sign r tactically ignoring those who ‘get it wrong’ r focusing on those who put their hands up and thanking them for doing so. Always remember your 100 per cent is not their 100 per cent, so if you reach the majority getting it right, that is possibly good enough. You may occasionally have to remind them again, but they will know and quickly ‘get it right’.

11.3 Strategies and skills to effectively engage and manage students LEARNING OBJECTIVE 11.3 Understand the importance of decoding student behaviour and be able to manage a situation, knowing that it is the character and content of your response that will enable students to manage their own behaviour.

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This section focuses on interactions, teaching the skills that will enable you to manage all forms of misbehaviour, from simple disruptions to the most challenging of behaviours. These skills will require practice if they are to become natural responses. To fully understand how this process works and to learn to apply the associated skills in your management of students, behaviour and classes, it is essential to look at example situations and behaviours that teachers may face in the classroom. In the discussion between graduate teachers Megan had mentioned the problem of rudeness and refusal and Josh had noticed Ari’s response.

At their next meeting, where Ameena also joined them, Josh turned to Tomi, saying, ‘Tomi, I noticed you nodding when I mentioned students not settling down, and also when Megan said she was fed up with rudeness and refusal and Serena said she had too many behaviour issues.’ ‘Yes, I was thinking about a class of mine,’ said Tomi, ‘and those students who wander around and disrupt other students’ learning. When I tell them to go back to their seats, they’ll either ignore me and go on doing exactly as they please, or come up with an excuse like they have to borrow a book — half of them don’t have their books, or get a pencil from someone, or they were only going to put the paper in the bin because I said they have to be tidy at all times. That sort of thing makes me pretty angry, but I keep my cool.’ The others realised that Tomi was unconsciously beginning to list the behaviours that he had to deal with every day, just as Richard had suggested. He continued to add to the list. ‘Then there’s their constant chatter. It doesn’t matter how many times I yell at them to be quiet, they just don’t listen. I get really cheesed off. And then as soon as I turn to the board or to help a student, the flicking of paper starts or one of the boys will swing back on his chair and call out to another and the bantering starts between them. When I tell them to get back to work, they start their mind games with me. And while this is going on the girls start chatting again — usually about the latest TV program or what they did on the weekend, anything, and then they’ll giggle and I’ll realise someone has a mobile phone but do

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you think I can find it? — another game. I try to keep cool, but there is always one who is so blatantly rude to me that I let them have it. Almost every day this happens and it’s only when I shout at them that I have any hope of getting them to do anything. I’ve given up trying to get them all to listen, I just shout at them and eventually they start work. But it doesn’t last for long and off they go again until someone just goes too far. Then I get so angry that I just explode at the student concerned. When I’ve lost my cool they all start grinning — “Gotcha” written all over their faces. That makes me even angrier, usually resulting in the whole class staying in. I don’t feel good about it later, but at the time punishing them feels great. Every lesson’s a battle with them and it’s all such hard work and extremely stressful. I don’t think I can go on doing this for much longer.’ Ameena turned to Tomi and said, ‘I teach little ones, but they’re not much different, especially the noise and not listening and not following instructions. Where I was brought up, children were so keen to learn that they wanted to hear everything you said. I have found it difficult to adjust to the noise, their constant attention seeking and the fact that I have to repeat all my instructions so many times. It drives me crazy too!’

Tomi and Ameena face a number of typical classroom behaviours. Both seem almost overwhelmed by them and unable to see their way past these behaviours to managing them. Although he is not fully aware of it, Tomi, — in discussing the concerning behaviours — has begun to focus on the behaviours that really bother him and already taken the first step in learning to effectively manage his class. Now he needs to understand certain key concepts and clarify his role.

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Managing behaviour When students don’t listen or won’t do as they are told, the frustrated teacher, knowing that they have to control the class and get them working, ends up repeating themselves until eventually they are so fed up they end up shouting, which is exhausting, time consuming, impacts negatively on relationships and impedes learning. What do Tomi and Ameena need to do when things start going wrong? Firstly, they need to understand and take into account three simple concepts with regard to managing behaviour, then apply their guiding principles. These form the cornerstone of effective classroom and student management. The three basic steps are as follows. 1. Learn to decode behaviour — always remember that behaviour is a message. It conveys how a student is feeling and coping with their world. If they do not feel okay or they are not coping, then the first indication is likely to be in their behaviour. On the other hand, if they are coping and feeling fine, their behaviour will reflect this. It is helpful to remember that all student behaviour is a communication to the teacher, whether it be challenging and confronting, cheerful and full of fun, quiet and obliging, or passive and nonparticipatory — as a teacher you need to be aware of these messages so you can respond appropriately. 2. It is your response that decides what will happen next — no matter what a student does, it is what the teacher does in response to student behaviour that governs what will happen next in both the classroom and the school. 3. You always have a choice — you may find Glasser’s discussion on choice of action (2001) in chapters 2 and 3 most interesting, as there are many possible responses to different student behaviours and what you decide to do or say is your own decision. By tuning in, being aware of the messages and considering and choosing their responses, teachers focus on managing students rather than trying to control them. When teachers focus on managing with an understanding that students make their own choices to respond appropriately or not, they are then in a position to enable students to learn to manage their own behaviours. Teachers who become skilled at managing their classrooms know that having a well-managed class is not about controlling students but about being in control of oneself. It is only when you control yourself and your responses that you can control and manage the situations that will confront you. 386

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Six-step strategy for taking control Although our focus is on proactive management and catching students ‘doing it right,’ students will still misbehave for different and various reasons. Learning the following steps will enable you, when you face a situation like Tomi’s, to take control, manage yourself and manage the situation to achieve the best possible outcome with your students.

Step 1. Pause, stand back, take 5 Pausing may be for two seconds as you catch your breath, for a couple of minutes as you consider your possible response or, with severe misbehaviour, to be able to consult with senior staff to ensure best management of the situation. This begins the process of responding skilfully to student behaviour.

Step 2. Manage emotions

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When students are rude, challenge or refuse to do as asked, as in Tomi’s case, and feelings rise until they totally dominate, thinking vanishes. Whatever a person feels is okay — feelings are part of you and they arise from within you. People do not choose their feelings, but they can choose their responses — what they do or say. The first step in managing your emotions is to acknowledge what you are feeling (usually not aloud). For example, ‘I am so angry, I could tell this student where to go!’ or ‘I’m getting really angry with this student but I’m the teacher here,’ or, spoken aloud, ‘That makes me angry, I will speak to you about this later’. As a result of doing this, you will find that the intensity of feelings diminishes and that thinking returns. The phrase ‘but I’m the teacher here’ is an example of ‘self-talk’, which is the ability to manage emotion and regather one’s thoughts. Goleman (1996) provides interesting examples of this in chapter 9 of his book Emotional intelligence. Acknowledging feelings, whatever they may be, followed by simple self-talk enables the teacher to move back into managing mode, as opposed to being reactive and losing control — which opens the door for students to take over. Don’t let this happen! Being in control of yourself is your key to managing any situation. When they next met, Kane decided to share an incident in which he, like Tomi, had difficulty keeping his cool. He said, ‘Let me tell you what happened the other day in science. I feel bad about what I said, but I was so angry. Anyway, here’s what happened. We were doing an experiment and I had set it all up very carefully, and had taken great care to ensure that everyone knew the safety rules, the most important one being that no one was to walk around carrying the glass beakers because they could be dropped and break. But you know what it’s like, there’s always someone who has to get it wrong and suddenly I hear the sound of glass breaking. I was furious, and of course it was Molly. Ever since she walked through the door this term she’s managed to cause problems!’ ‘“You silly, stupid girl!” I said. “I told you not to walk around carrying glass beakers. You know how easily they can be dropped. You never listen, do you?” And I let her have it. I was just so cross with her. And she just looked at me, eyes wide, and then suddenly took off, out of the room. “It wasn’t her fault,” piped up Jimmy. “Someone pushed her. You’re not being fair!” That made me even more angry, so I turned on him, saying, “Fair? Fair doesn’t come into it and neither do you.” ‘I was incensed. And now I had one student missing, another student challenging me and an awful mess of broken glass all over the floor. Everyone else was watching me to see what would happen next and I suddenly thought, “Well that’s one lesson gone out the window!” I have been feeling bad ever since. I know I shouldn’t have lost my cool but I was just so angry with Molly. She never listens and she did exactly the opposite of what I had asked.’

Step 3. Focus on the behaviour, not the person The key word to remember here is describe — describe what you see or hear; describe what is happening or has happened. This immediately focuses everyone on what needs to be dealt with, without blame or shame. As soon as you focus on the person, as Kane had done — ‘You silly, stupid girl . . . You never CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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listen, do you!’ — you place the student in ‘victim mode’ with the option of the fright, flight or fight response (Gray 1988). The situation had escalated out of Kane’s control because he had not paused or managed his feelings. Instead he reacted angrily, blaming Molly, who went into freeze then flight mode, causing Jimmy to defend her (fight mode). If Kane had paused briefly, acknowledged his own anger, applied self-talk (e.g. saying to himself, ‘This makes me really angry but I need to get it sorted out quickly’) and then described what he saw, the situation would have been totally different (e.g. ‘Wow! What a mess! There’s broken glass everywhere. Be careful, everyone! We need everyone to stand aside. Someone please get the dustpan and brush.’).

Step 4. Get perspective — how important is it? What happened to Kane in the above situation? In focusing on Molly and blaming her for breaking the glass beaker, he placed great emphasis on something that could have just been an accident and made it into a major event that became an even greater ‘sideshow’ when Molly ran out of the class. Then there was Nick’s comment in defence of Molly that immediately hooked Kane into a second ‘sideshow’. By this stage the rest of the class are all fully involved, some possibly concerned about Molly, others waiting for more entertainment! The two ‘sideshows’ have completely obscured the need to clean up the mess. The lesson is forgotten — as Kane thought, ‘Well that’s one lesson gone out the window!’ It is important to maintain the flow of teaching and learning. Misbehaviour or, as in the above situation, mistaken behaviour, should be managed as swiftly, succinctly and skilfully as possible to prevent it escalating into a ‘sideshow’. Don’t become part of the entertainment.

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Step 5. Tune in — what is really happening here? In Megan’s situation at the beginning of this chapter and Tomi’s situation with his almost out-ofcontrol class, both were facing ongoing and repeated misbehaviours. Ameena’s students were continually demanding her attention — chatting, interrupting, questioning, complaining, niggling and fighting. She was getting extremely frustrated. Tomi became angry because his students wouldn’t listen and were rude. When you as a teacher become frustrated, angry, hurt, despairing or concerned because there is no change in behaviour despite repetitive threats, tirades and sanctions, it is time to stop and ask yourself, ‘Why continue doing something if it’s not working?’ Don’t settle for the common ‘cop out’ of blaming the student or the class; instead tune in and ask, ‘What is really happening here?’ When the teacher’s approach is not working and misbehaviour continues, no matter what the teacher does, it is time to gain a better understanding of what is driving that behaviour — to be aware of students’ unconscious needs and realise that they, the teacher, must look for a better way to manage the situation. In Ameena’s case, she began to feel that the students were making excessive demands on her with their attention-seeking. For Serena the challenging students really frustrated, annoyed and upset her. She almost felt they were getting at her and began to wonder what it was about her, especially when she saw them behaving so differently with Mr Johnson. She didn’t know what to do about this, but realised that she needed to respond differently to them and, following Katie’s suggestions, she had begun to reframe her mindset — look for the positives in students and acknowledge these. In response to changes in her behaviour, they began to change their own behaviour. Their need for attention was being met in more positive ways and so the need to misbehave lessened (see Dreikurs, Grunwald and Pepper (1998, chapter 3), wherein Dreikurs provides case studies and discusses ways of responding to lessen attentionseeking behaviours). In Tomi’s class, the challenging behaviour escalated into a power struggle and for Tomi it became ‘me-versus-them’, during which he lost control. Tomi became caught in a series of power struggles and became revengeful. The result was a complete disruption of student–teacher relationships with loss of respect on both sides and cessation of learning. If Tomi had avoided the ‘power play’ and defused the situation by apologising when he lost control, more likely than not the students would have accepted this and settled down. Also, more importantly, he would have been able later to consider the situation and start planning to better manage this class and their behaviour — working proactively and 388

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applying the control strategy (see ‘Six-step strategy for taking control’), catching them doing it right as Kane suggested to Serena, refusing to get hooked into their ‘power play’ and, with his really challenging students, meeting their ‘power’ needs through giving them responsible tasks or opportunities to take on organising or leadership roles. He needed to focus on skilful interactions and respectful relationships. We will come back to Tomi’s situation when focusing on specific skills (e.g. choices and consequences).

Step 6. Ask . . . whose problem is this?

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The answer to this question is central to managing more difficult individual behaviours and to understanding how to apply the interactive management process described below. In essence, if the student can change their behaviour and will not, it is your problem. If the student seems unable to change their behaviour, it is their problem. If it is a class issue, it is always your problem. Caring for others is a very positive human trait. However, students get little practice in learning to cope for themselves when, in order to help, a teacher takes over and tries to solve what is rightly the student’s problem. Teachers who ‘rescue’ all the time are really teaching students one of two things: to either sit back and let others do things for them and become ‘helpless’ or, because they see the rescue as invasive and controlling, to rebel and become resistive and obstructive. As a result, the students are disempowered and the teacher is stressed with ever more difficult and challenging behaviours or having to deal with passive and disengaged students. When a student’s behaviour is causing concern or is difficult to manage, the teacher, instead of trying to take over students’ problems, clarifies in their own mind whose problem it is — the teacher’s or the student’s? For example, going back to Tomi’s class and the student who was openly rude to Tomi, Tomi has the problem, not the student. In order for this behaviour to change and for the student to learn to act differently, Tomi needs to apply assertive skills (which are fully discussed later in the chapter). However, if a student enters Tomi’s class and angrily throws his books on the desk, and Tomi either corrects or chastises him or her, the problem will only escalate. This student’s behaviour is communicating that he or she has the problem and is not coping. Tomi’s response needs to enable the student to cope, and here Tomi would apply empathic skills (which are also discussed later in the chapter) for the behaviour to lessen or cease and the learning to take precedence. Although not always easy, the key to effectively managing the majority of behaviour situations that arise within any classroom is to first clarify in your mind whose problem it actually is. This skill develops rapidly with continued practice! Unfortunately, one of the problems with ownership, like many management skills and strategies, is that it may take a little more effort and planning initially as you teach students about their behaviour, but when students feel empowered to manage themselves better and cope with their own problems, everyone benefits. A common concern teachers have is trying to get students to take responsibility, and this is clearly illustrated by Josh when he comments about his students in their next group discussion on behaviour.

‘One of the things I’ve noticed and that some of you have also mentioned,’ said Josh, ‘and that really bugs me, is that students are always excusing themselves. For example, when reprimanded — whether it be to sit still, stop talking, get back to your seat, or they forgot their equipment for class — they are likely to say, “I didn’t do it!”, “It wasn’t me”, “You’re always picking on me”. They always have an excuse. No one takes responsibility anymore and I seem to end up arguing or lending them my stuff — and half the time I never get it back.’ ‘Yes, it’s an age-old problem,’ said Katie. ‘Have you ever asked yourself who really has the problem? That is, who needs to take ownership for the behaviour to change?’ ‘Oh, that’s easy,’ said Josh, ‘the students, of course.’ ‘Correct,’ said Katie, ‘but are you enabling them to do that or are you trying to sort their problem out for them? If you are sorting it out for them, they’re never going to learn to take responsibility for their behaviour or ensure they have all their equipment.’

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‘Oops,’ said Josh. ‘If they forget something I usually lend them mine. I need not to do this. What should I say?’ ‘The best response is to acknowledge their problem — describe it as you see it and then ask a question that focuses the student on finding an answer to their problem,’ responded Katie. ‘For example, “I see you’ve not got your pens and ruler to write up today’s experiment. That’s going to be a problem for you, isn’t it, because this has to be completed by the end of the lesson and handed in for marking. What can you do to make sure your work is completed in time? Give it some thought and decide how you’re going to sort this out and you can tell me in a couple of minutes.” Then move away and give the student space to sort out their problem — find a solution.’

Josh, in order to get on with teaching and learning, just stepped in and solved the student’s problem. Although Josh has the best intentions, he has missed an opportunity to quickly teach this student to solve the problem themselves — an important life skill — and to take responsibility for his own actions. Although this may take an extra minute or two, when skilfully done there will be no disruption to the teaching–learning flow. Further, misbehaviour is prevented.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

1. Write your own abbreviated version of the six steps of the self-control strategy. a. Practise this strategy in any situation that requires you to consider your response to another person and their behaviour, particularly when you find your emotions rising in response to another’s words or actions. Continue practising this strategy until it becomes second nature to you. 2. During your practicum experiences you will observe how different teachers respond to student behaviours. a. You will see some teachers apply self-control. List three examples where a teacher effectively managed a behaviour situation, and describe what they did and/or said. b. Other times you will see teachers react emotionally and without considering possible repercussions. It is always helpful to ask yourself, ‘What would I have done in that situation?’ List three examples when a teacher’s reaction was ineffective and note what might have been more helpful to do or say in that situation. c. Make a note of what you have learned for your reflective journal. Remember, no-one gets it right all the time, but in considering your responses, you are preparing yourself to better manage in your own classes. 3. The self-control strategy brings the teacher into management mode, and the final question, ‘Whose problem is it?’ guides the teacher into being able to respond empathically or assertively, taking either an empathic role or an assertive role is the next step in the interactive process — both of which enable a student to learn to manage their own behaviour. a. As you observe behaviour issues in a classroom, ask yourself, ‘Is this the student’s problem or the teacher’s problem?’ If the problem is the student’s, is the teacher empathising and enabling the student to cope with their own problem? If the problem is the teacher’s, is the teacher responding assertively and in a manner that enables the student to rectify the situation? b. As you practise these skills you will realise the importance of clarifying whose problem it is and whether you need to respond assertively, as in Tomi’s situation, where students are out of their seats, chattering and throwing paper, or empathically, as in Josh’s situation, where a student is without their equipment for learning. You will also realise that sometimes although the problem may be yours, it may be more helpful to respond empathically and acknowledge the other person, and then you can effectively move into an assertive skill. This process is seemingly quite simple, but it takes practice in applying these interactive skills for students to learn to take responsibility for and manage their own behaviour.

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The whole interactive approach to student and classroom management is exemplified in the control strategy, in that it soon becomes habitual and continually easier the longer you use it. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

1. From time to time you are likely to face concerning or challenging behaviour situations in the classroom. William Glasser’s Choice theory in the classroom (2001) focuses on teacher and student responses in the classroom. In his constructivist theory he discusses the choices we make, what motivates us and the individual components in teacher and student responses. Share this reading with fellow students and discuss Glasser’s choice theory and its relevance to you as a teacher. 2. When misbehaviour continues, it is a message to you that what you are doing is not working and that you should put your energy into better understanding the possible reasons and/or underlying causes for that behaviour. With this understanding you are then in an empowered position and better able to effect positive changes in student behaviour. For example, consider Serena’s situation. Have you ever been in a similar situation where you have had to suddenly take over from another teacher? What did you do and how did the students behave? Consider what Serena might have done that could have prevented many of the more minor attention-seeking behaviours that so frustrated her. What would you have done? Remember, behaviour is always a message. Note down your thoughts and we will return to this later when we focus on assertive and empathic skills.

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Applying interactive skills and strategies To manage their students, behaviour and classes effectively, teachers need knowledge, understanding and to be proactive — think ahead so they plan where possible to prevent behaviour issues — but equally importantly they need interpersonal interactive skills (Mackay 2006). To guide teachers in their student management, the interactive management process (IMP) (Mackay 2006) asks five simple questions that guide teachers and enable them to manage behaviour in a manner that empowers students and teachers together to achieve an environment that is conducive to learning. Associated with each question is a set of strategies and skills from which teachers may choose whatever is most appropriate to their particular situation and student issue — always keeping in mind the ultimate goal of enabling students to manage themselves and their own behaviour, and take responsibility for their own learning. Interactive management is dynamic and ongoing. In responding to the five questions, teachers plan for continually changing classes and students and revisit, update and adapt their skills base. IMP quickly becomes second nature when you begin to use it. When planning for best classroom management, always ask yourself the questions listed in table 11.1. The following discussion outlines the essential affirming, assertive and empathic skills that range from situations that need only a brief moment of the teacher’s time to situations where students need to focus, consider their behaviour and learn to act differently. The selected skills are graduated, beginning with those that are least intrusive into the teaching and learning process (the preventing and affirming skills and strategies), then those that take more time but that enable teachers to confront students (the supporting and correcting skills), and finally, when absolutely necessary, those that require follow-through strategies that emphasise the need for students to learn to change their behaviour, act differently and make appropriate reparation.

Preventing and affirming — least intrusive strategies and quick skills These simple and succinct strategies and skills are very effective for bringing students on side: they engage the student, gain their cooperation, prevent misbehaviour, focus them back on task and enable students to change their behaviour with least intrusion into the flow of teaching and learning. However, managing behaviour requires us to take a good look at ourselves — if we do not model the behaviour we expect of others, how can our students learn to behave in a manner that is acceptable within the social environment of school and classroom? CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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TABLE 11.1

IMP table

Question How can I prevent misbehaviour, anticipate it and pre-empt both its occurrence and escalation? How can I affirm so that students can become engaged and motivated, and have little need to act out or misbehave?

How can I support when students can’t behave due to their own issues or problems?

How can I correct when students don’t behave in class and I have the problem? How can I prevent the repetition or escalation of misbehaviours? How can I follow through when students will not behave, when they overstep limits, push boundaries, infringe on rights etc.?

Answer r Be proactive — be organised, plan for behaviour. r Be in control — self-control strategy, be positive. r Apply acknowledgement skills and strategies that affirm, encourage and motivate students to manage their own behaviour and learning. This in turn leads to feelings of competency, general wellbeing and self-confidence. r Apply empathic skills that take away the need to act out or misbehave and enable students to cope — manage themselves and their behaviour and find solutions when needed. r Apply assertive skills that focus on behaviour and enable students to take responsibility for their words and actions and change their behaviour. r Apply follow-through strategies that teach students to take responsibility for their words and actions, change their behaviour, make reparation where appropriate and learn to anticipate future consequences.

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Appearance and body language

First impressions are important and, whether it is a first meeting with a class or the beginning of a lesson, students will be observing you, noticing your appearance, your body language and stance, facial expression, gestures and tone of voice. This focus will immediately inform them as to the manner in which they can respond to you. Remember: r you are a role model for your students — appearance is important: dress professionally and appropriate to your role and position r stand tall, but do not strut or appear arrogant r look confident, no matter how you may feel r be observant r focus on your students as individuals, that is, who you are going to teach rather than what you are going to teach r be welcoming — smile and greet your students: this ritual focuses students and opens the door to positive relationships r be firm and clear when you speak r give simple, brief and clear instructions. Facial expressions can quickly convey a communication between teacher and student. Acknowledge with a smile, remind with a look, focus students with a sound or movement. Establish a routine of gestures so students know, for example, when to stop and listen. Use of voice

Your voice is an instrument; it has a wide tonal range. Use it with consideration and discretion. Model how you want your students to speak. Always speak clearly and firmly. Be brief in your instructions. The louder the teacher, the louder the class, so if you find yourself speaking loudly or shouting to be heard, lower your voice to quieten a class. Keep the loud and high voice for emergencies. If you want students to listen, concentrate on speaking clearly and slightly more slowly — not at normal conversational pace. Teach them to listen carefully (e.g. ‘I will only say this once and when finished, I 392

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would like one of you to tell the others what I said’). If you naturally have a different accent, communicate visually (write key words and phrases on the board) as well as verbally. This is good practice for all teachers. If you feel you are not being clearly heard by students (due to a soft voice, lack of projection or a strong accent), you may acknowledge this in the first lesson, so they are informed, then work to correct this — perhaps take lessons in voice projection or singing. Questions, simple directions, casual statements in passing

Open questions, simple directions followed by a ‘thank you’ and affirmations enable students to quickly correct behaviour without loss of face. When moving around the room it is easy to acknowledge or remind a student in passing. This maintains the flow of the lesson; for example: r affirm: ‘Nice work. Your writing is neat and easy to read.’ r redirect student: point at seat, saying, ‘Over there, thank you.’ r re-focus with: ‘How’s the work going?’, ‘What should you be doing?’ or ‘Remember what we said’. When correcting behaviour keep it brief, do it in passing and move on. Your action is effective because the communication is brief, and in moving away and allowing the student space to correct their behaviour — is non-confrontational. Also, there is no disruption to the flow of teaching and learning. Affirmation and the skill of descriptive praise

Acknowledging students’ abilities, thoughtfulness, strengths and skills causes them to reflect upon their own personal qualities and capabilities and reaffirms their sense of self-worth. This is honest, constructive praise and will be accepted by students. Table 11.2 provides examples.

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TABLE 11.2

Descriptive praise

Affirmation

Outcome

Teacher describes with appreciation what they see and hear.

Student can acknowledge to themselves their personal strengths and capabilities.

‘I greatly appreciated returning to a tidy classroom.’

I guess we’re pretty good at tidying up after ourselves.

‘I saw you explaining to Helen how to do the maths problem. That was a helpful thing to do.’

I did help Helen. She can do her maths problems now. I enjoyed helping her.

‘When students remember materials, then I know we’re going to have a great lesson.’

Good, we’re going to have a great lesson. I can remember to bring my stuff to class.

Praise can be a valuable skill if used correctly, but it can be detrimental to your teaching and relationships if it is over-used, lacks honesty or is lavish, evaluative or judgemental. Students praised in any of these ways will tend to counter the praise, refute it and begin to doubt a teacher’s honesty. They may learn to distrust the teacher’s judgement altogether. Haim Ginott (1997) in chapter 5 discusses ‘the perils of praise’ and the subtle differences between constructive and destructive praise. Constructive praise focuses on acknowledging, for example, acknowledging effort in both work and behaviour. Do not praise poor work or accept poor behaviour. Maintain your standards but enable students to achieve these through focusing on what they can do, rather than what they cannot. Don’t forget humour

Joking and laughing together builds rapport and good relationships. Share some fun moments, laugh together, enable others to see the funny side of a situation; particularly when it is you in the frame and, when the opportunity presents itself, just lighten the atmosphere of the classroom at appropriate moments. Do not neglect to plan for this in your classroom management. Mackay (2006) discusses in chapter 8 different ways of incorporating humour and laughter into the classroom.

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The above selection of skills can be added to as you experience different styles of teaching practice. Additionally helpful is Bill Rogers’s The language of discipline (1994) — in chapters 3 and 4 where he discusses different quick and easy strategies for pre-empting and managing behaviour in the classroom — and Ramon Lewis (2009), who focuses on ‘classroom management techniques for teachers’. Following on from and sometimes intermittent with some of the previous skills are assertive and empathic skills, which provide more appropriate options for managing particularly challenging student behaviours. Remember, your choice of skills will be made according to whether: r the behaviour results from the student’s own problems or issues, in which case you will work with empathic skills r the student(s) can behave but will not, in which case it is a problem for you to manage with assertive skills. Either way you will engage them on their behaviour and enable them to take responsibility for their actions. They will subsequently either correct their behaviour or be better able to manage their own issues. Improved behaviour will follow. The big advantage here is that the student then realises that they can have self-control and manage their own behaviour! This positive internal feedback enhances their sense of selfworth, which in turn results in a much better student–teacher relationship with spin-offs into improved motivation and learning. Behaviour is no longer an issue.

Serena had made some progress with her students; she had focused on the positives and tackled their calling out and out-of-seat behaviours and they were no longer an issue, but they were not responding as well as she had hoped and she didn’t feel they had achieved the relationship she would like to have with this class. She decided to ask the others what they thought and what she could do about it at their next meeting. Serena explained the situation. Katie thought for a moment, then asked if she had mentioned their previous teacher at all. Serena admitted it hadn’t crossed her mind, as she had been focusing on their work. ‘They loved Claire,’ said Josh. ‘If that is so,’ said Katie, ‘then how do you think they might be feeling when just after the term has started their teacher suddenly disappears and they are faced with a brand new person who is a total stranger? Some students don’t adapt well to sudden change. And even though they may know the reason for her absence, they might be a bit upset, even worried about her?’ ‘I hadn’t thought about any of this. You may be right,’ replied Serena. ‘Maybe I should get them to think about something they could do for her. That feels right.’ ‘Yes, but do remember,’ said Katie, ‘students often feel a sense of loss, and can be hurt, angry or upset when a teacher isn’t there for them. It seems a bit dramatic, but to some it’s a bit like being abandoned and they can react quite badly. Don’t forget when you are absent, sometimes casual relief teachers face similar behaviour because students are angry, either with their teacher for not being there or because they can’t cope with someone who doesn’t do as their teacher does.’ Richard added, ‘Remember our earlier discussion on being new to the school? I do wonder how some of our new students must feel when things go wrong for them, like Molly in your class, Kane. She’s just moved here and can’t seem to get anything right.’ ‘Yes’, agreed Katie. ‘Remember, “behaviour is a message which we need to decode”, and students like Molly and your class, Serena, who seemingly have a problem, are far more likely to need your empathy, than a reprimand for getting it wrong. Before they can begin to cope with whatever besets them, they need to feel that someone understands. An empathic response is a powerful skill for teachers as it acknowledges the difficulties, feelings, situation, etc. that the student may be facing. This reduces the intensity of their emotions, which in turn enables them to think and begin to cope with whatever may beset them,’ continued Katie. ‘It can change their world, and yours too, because feeling acknowledged and understood takes away the need to further act out. If you’re wrong in your reflection, don’t be concerned — students will correct you. If you are right, they will know you understand. Either way they will feel acknowledged. For example, in passing you may say to a student, “You look a bit fed up today”, and that may be all they need to pick up their pen again and continue with their work; or they may say, “I’m not fed up, I am frustrated! I don’t understand any of this and I don’t know how to do the work!”’

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‘That is really helpful’, said Serena. ‘I can acknowledge that they may be missing their teacher Claire and then ask what they might like to do for her.’ ‘And I am thinking there may be something I could say that might help Molly,’ added Kane. ‘Okay’, said Richard. ‘Let us know what happens.’

Supporting — empathic skills Empathic skills are applied when the student has a problem and needs to be enabled to cope with it within the classroom. This is discussed in detail in chapter 6 of Coat of many pockets: Managing classroom interactions (Mackay 2006), but in addition to this Roslyn Arnold’s Empathic intelligence (2005) discusses the theory of relatedness and its relevance and depth of contribution to effective teaching and learning. Let’s pick up on Serena and Kane’s concerns and Katie and Richard’s suggestions to them. In Serena’s situation, she needed to address the whole class and acknowledge their possible concerns about Claire, their previous teacher, give them the opportunity to share and then discuss what they wished to do about it. For Kane, it was little more complicated — he needed to help Molly cope with the difficulties she was having in moving to a new school, trying to fit in and trying to adapt to her new teachers and environment. We will follow this up later in the chapter. Open responses

Open responses open the door to listening, convey empathy and acknowledge a student’s feelings, difficulties or concerns. Open responses enable students to consider their situation and to focus on more appropriate behaviour or on finding a solution. This is the first step in enabling students to take responsibility for their problem and manage their own emotions, behaviour or the situation. One of the reasons for students not working in class is because they struggle with the learning — usually they don’t understand or can’t do it and if the teacher says to the student, ‘Hurry up, this has to be finished,’ it is unlikely to be helpful. However, if the teacher acknowledges the problem, for example, ‘It looks as though you’re having a bit of difficulty there’, then the student is far more likely to answer and the teacher can respond with a question, ‘What would help you?’ or ‘Where could you start?’ or ‘Who would you like to help you with this?’, which enables the student to find a solution and continue working. Frequently a student’s behaviour may arise from an emotional state. Reflecting what they may be feeling will help lower the intensity of the feeling and enable the student to begin managing their behaviour. For example, if a student rushes in late for class, looking flustered and angry, admonishing them is likely to result in more feelings being expressed, general disruption and most likely a ‘sideshow’ of some sort. However, if the teacher just acknowledges the student’s presence with a nod and pointing to the student’s seat and then at an appropriate moment quietly says to the student, ‘You seem to be having a bad day’ or ‘You look a bit flustered and fed up today,’ the student is likely to say ‘Yes . . . and I’m sorry I was late’. In this way, the situation is resolved with the least disruption to the teaching–learning flow and the student can now focus on the task at hand. Sometimes just acknowledging how students feel, for example ‘You all look exhausted,’ ‘That’s tough!’ or ‘You seem frustrated with the work,’ is enough to enable students to settle down and get back to the task at hand. Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Open questions

When students need support to sort out a problem, it is time to ask open questions. Open questions begin with what, when, where, who, which and how, but not with why. Keep ‘why’ for facts and information and be careful about asking ‘why’ with behaviour. If you use ‘why’, as in ‘Why did you do that?’ or ‘Why don’t you ever listen?’, you will be interrogating the student and you will usually elicit a resistant response and achieve little. Using ‘why’ focuses on the person, not the behaviour, and it may establish a state of conflict between you and the student. The student is likely to feel attacked and react to defend themselves with silence, denying the behaviour or denying responsibility for it. If you ask, for example, ‘What happened?’ and/or ‘What can you do to fix it?’, you will be maintaining the student’s dignity and enabling them to repair the situation. If you wish to redirect a student, you may ask ‘How’s the work going? How CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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long will it take? When do you plan to be finished? Which book should you be using? Which — pens or pencils today?’ instead of ‘Why aren’t you ready?’ or ‘Come on, hurry up’ or similar phrases. To focus students on solutions, ask ‘What is likely to happen if you . . . ? What if . . . ? How do you think that should be done? Which way would you recommend? Who would you like to show you how to . . . ?’ If a student challenges you (e.g. ‘I’m not doing that!’) or asks a challenging question, you may choose to ignore the latter — as it can become a ‘sideshow’ — but acknowledging their challenge can enhance relationships, save face and maintain dignity. For example, you could respond with ‘That’s an interesting question’ and follow it up appropriately. Empathising takes away defensiveness and invites participation. Observe what students are doing, acknowledge this, then direct or instruct (e.g. ‘Looks like you’re a bit stuck there Ruby, I don’t think that’s going to work out that way. What about trying . . . ?’ rather than ‘That’s wrong, Ruby! Do it the way I told you to.’). Remember to treat students as if they are about to do the right thing, thank them and model the behaviour you want. In the classroom situation all teachers are in loco parentis, Latin for ‘in the place of the parent’. Students will subconsciously identify with your behaviour towards them. Therefore, don’t be late for class; if you are, apologise. Dress smartly, be fair, be consistent, tell the truth, respect them and protect their dignity. Instructing students is in the very nature of teaching, but be aware that ‘telling’ others what to do can be patronising and demeaning. Students are likely to resent it and resist you. If you persist, they’ll likely misbehave, as Tomi realised when he kept telling them to ‘be quiet’, ‘go back to your seats’ and ‘get on with your work’. As Tomi also discovered, they generally make your life difficult. Instead, try the following. r Rather than ‘telling’ students to do something, state what is needed or give a simple direction and follow with ‘thank you’. This conveys an expectation for them to cooperate and more often than not they do. ‘Into your seat, thank you.’ r Empathise, then follow with direction, for example, ‘I see you’re really busy and involved but we need to pack up quickly because it’s only 3 minutes to break time.’ r Consider asking questions in place of ‘telling’ a student what to do, for example, ‘How do you think that should be done?’ or ‘Where should you be right now?’ r Apply assertive skills.

Correcting — assertive skills Assertive skills are applied when behaviour is a problem and there is a need to confront students with what they have done in a manner that teaches and enables them to take responsibility and change their own behaviour. In the classroom, being assertive ranges from preventive strategies to confrontational skills, the aim always being for least intrusion into the flow of teaching and learning. The following gives you a selection of assertive skills to work with. You will find additional examples and assertive strategies in both Coat of many pockets: Managing classroom interactions (Mackay 2006) and The language of discipline (Rogers 1994).

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Offering choices

Give students options. Use ‘either . . . or . . . ’ with ‘you decide’. For example, ‘Either work quietly or you will need to work by yourself. You decide.’ This re-establishes the limits or boundaries for behaviour (e.g. to work quietly). It avoids the ‘victim syndrome’: ‘You’re always picking on me!’ It enables students to take responsibility for and change their behaviour. It teaches students to anticipate the consequences of their actions. A teacher who moves away after giving the student a choice encourages that student to make the decision themselves. The teacher may then respond with: r the thumbs up sign or acknowledge in passing when they see the student is working quietly r if the student is not working quietly, ‘I see you have decided to work by yourself.’ Point to the place saying, ‘Over there, thank you’ r adding, if they disrupt or start to refuse, ‘When you are ready to work quietly you may come back to your seat, but for now you have chosen to sit over there. Thank you.’ 396

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It is often necessary to have a second skill or option if they are not cooperative; for example, empathise with the student, ‘I can see you don’t wish to sit over there, but we need quiet in the room at this stage, so either . . . ’ and then repeat the choice. Be more assertive: ‘If you choose not to move then you choose to see me at break. You can decide.’ When applying skills and enabling students to manage themselves, their behaviour and their learning, it is important to keep it brief. When you have commented or asked a question, move on and give them time to consider what they have done and how to put it right. Do not get hooked into the sideshows of sighs, books thrown on the desk and so on. I-messages

I-statements can provide a skilful response to concerning student behaviour. They are stated in a manner that enables the student to correct their behaviour without defensiveness or resentment. However, I-messages can also positively acknowledge student behaviour, for example ‘I really appreciated coming into a tidy classroom today. Thank you.’ However, when teachers need to confront students about their misbehaviour, I-statements do not blame or criticise but rather focus the student on what they have said or done, its impact on others and the possible consequence of that behaviour. The message, if appropriate to the situation, may also include a question or an expectation for positive change. This skill maintains dignity on both sides as it enables students to take responsibility for their behaviour and rectify a situation without loss of face. Consider the examples in table 11.3. TABLE 11.3

I-statement. A teacher’s communication to students to change their behaviour

Skill

Example

When . . . [describe behaviour]

When students hand in messy work,

I feel . . . [state feeling]

I am extremely frustrated

because . . . [state possible consequence]

because it is hard to decipher and results in lower than expected marks,

so . . . [state action expected OR ask a question to give person responsibility to put right the situation (not always necessary with older students or adults)]

so I look forward to a clean paper and neater work next time. Okay — that’s a deal? Great! OR . . . What can you do to fix this?

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Assertive and empathic skills are widely discussed in books on behaviour management. In addition to those already mentioned, there is Thomas Gordon’s Teacher effectiveness training (2003), which focuses on skills that build positive relationships; Faber and Mazlish’s How to talk so kids can learn at home and at school (2003), which provides very clear and helpful guidelines, examples and discussions on these areas of communication for managing behaviour; and Andrew Fuller in Tricky kids (2007), who carries this one step further and focuses on really challenging behaviours and discusses those skills that enable teachers and parents to manage and empower their children and students to manage themselves. It is interesting to consider Alfie Kohn’s title Beyond discipline — from compliance to community (1996, 2006) as the title tends to reflect the changing focus in education and behaviour and classroom management. This is important for you to consider as pre-service and future in-service teachers as you learn to manage your own learning environments.

Follow-through strategies Follow-through strategies should be considered as a last resort when all other skills and strategies have been applied and have produced clearly unsatisfactory results. Follow-through strategies emphasise accountability and responsibility. Practical examples of these strategies, which may be used for further tutorial discussions, are given in chapter 7 of Coat of many pockets (Mackay 2006). They teach students to anticipate the consequences of their actions and to be aware of the effect their behaviour has on themselves and on others as they learn to change their behaviour and act differently. Follow-through strategies apply when students are not coping or when they break rules, infringe rights or behave in some other unacceptable manner. Working proactively, teachers manage many situations skilfully. However, no CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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matter how skilled a teacher may be, there can arise occasions when follow-through action is necessary in order for students to learn to make amends, put right what they have done wrong and change their behaviour. When this is the case, teachers need to follow through. When a student’s behaviour is the result of their own issues, problems or stresses and their behaviour becomes of some concern, then, working supportively, a teacher can move into the strategy of problem solving. Problem solving

This strategy can be used when the problem is the teacher’s or the student’s responsibility. It is a powerful tool with which to encourage students to take responsibility and put things right themselves. Take students through the following five steps. 1. Describe without blame what has happened — the problem. 2. State any possible strong feelings that may be held. 3. Brainstorm together for a solution — every idea is accepted and written up. 4. Students prioritise these, choose a solution and keep the rest for possible use later. 5. Evaluate after a set period of time. If the solution is working, continue; if not, then go back to the original brainstorm list and choose a different solution. This experience is valuable in teaching students to make a more considered decision because they are the ones who have to make it work. The process for problem solving may also be followed to set behaviour guidelines for the classroom. The follow-through strategy of consequential learning is a stronger assertively corrective response for ongoing misbehaviour. Consequential learning

Consequential learning is not a euphemism for punishment. Consequential learning is the follow-through process that teaches students about the consequences of their behaviour. It is corrective and restorative, teaching responsibility through the process. Many situations are well managed by teachers who, working proactively, are able to skilfully respond to behaviour — to assertively correct or empathically support and generally prevent or curtail student misbehaviour. However, there are students who will break rules, infringe rights or disrupt the learning process and need to be taught that they are accountable and responsible for their behaviour, are expected to put right what they have done wrong and to learn to behave differently. It is in these situations that teachers find the 5 Rs (related, reasonable, responsibility, reparation, respect) of consequential learning to be most valuable. Table 11.4 provides teachers with questions to ask regarding the intended consequence when applying consequential learning.

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TABLE 11.4

Applying consequential learning

Question

Rationale

Is it related to the misbehaviour?

Does it follow on from the misbehaviour, pertain to it and make sense to the student?

Is it reasonable, fair and just?

Not liking the consequence is not the issue. If the consequence is fair, the student may act out, but will accept it and learn from it, even though they may begrudge doing so.

Does it teach responsibility?

Do students understand that it was their choice to behave in that way as they could have chosen to behave differently (which is what is expected next time)?

Does it enable reparation?

Students need to understand and learn that part of the consequence is putting things right, making amends and fixing what is wrong. It can also give them the opportunity to show they can act differently and ‘get it right’ next time.

Does it convey respect?

Does it not hurt or humiliate, but maintains dignity on all sides?

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Do not get drawn into student sideshows such as denial (‘I didn’t do it!’), blame (‘It was his fault!’), not caring (‘I don’t care!’) or excuses (‘You’re always blaming me!’). These are learned behaviours that have enabled students to avoid facing the consequences of not taking responsibility for their behaviour. These can cause problems for teachers when allowing themselves to argue with the student. The best response is to just repeat the problem — describe the situation, what was seen or heard and move them forward into responsibility and positive outcomes through ‘open questions’. Punishment and power

Punishment meted out by the teacher can create conflict between teacher and student and produce further behaviour for the teacher to manage anew. The student will almost always resent punishment and retaliate in some way — either overtly with blatant misbehaviour or covertly with refusals, sulking and poor work — because punishment, when it is the application of power, creates a hurtful sense of powerlessness in the student. This is a narcissistic injury; an affront to dignity and self-esteem, which generates the need for revenge as a way to restore self-respect. You cannot make someone agree to do something: they will only agree to do it if they see just cause or reason. If they are forced to do it you will have other problems. As Ginott (1997, p. 147) purports, ‘the essence of discipline is finding effective alternatives to punishment’. Punishing traps both student and teacher in a cycle of revengeful misbehaviour and further punishment, which can then deteriorate into a power struggle, ego against ego, and student against teacher or school. Teaching and learning are completely forgotten. When teachers understand students’ behaviour they themselves are empowered to enable students to achieve positive changes (see the section on ‘The unconscious goals of misbehaviour’ later in this chapter). Consider carefully the difference between consequences and punishment, because what is so often labelled a consequence may carry a different message to students and be seen as punishment. Consider and decide what will enable you to effectively follow through on behaviour and achieve your intended outcomes for positive change. Always ask yourself, ‘What am I really teaching by what I am saying or doing?’ Should you ever find yourself in an extreme situation with regard to behaviour, it is time to refer to a senior member of staff for guidance. Punishment removes the rights of individuals and occasionally — rarely — may be appropriate to a student’s behaviour or may be required by the school’s behaviour policy, which would be a decision for the school administration.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

1. When things are going wrong, if you are having a tough time or you have just had a bad day, become aware of people’s different responses to you. Which responses are helpful, and which just make things worse? Write down examples of both and ask yourself, ‘How do I respond when others are in a similar situation? Do I need to reconsider my responses?’ On these occasions, who do you prefer to be with and why? What does that person do that makes you feel comfortable in their presence? How do you feel when someone really listens to you? What is real empathy and how does it affect you? How important is empathy for you as a teacher managing students and classes? What effect will this awareness of people’s situations have on your teaching — your response to students? How do you react now when someone tells you what to do? Do you become resentful? Don’t feel like cooperating? Feel inferior, put down? Do you start asking yourself, ‘Who are they, ordering me what to do?’ Do you remember being told what to do by your teachers and your response to this? 2. How do you feel when you have done something wrong and someone responds to you using the word ‘you’? (e.g. ‘You know you shouldn’t have done that, don’t you!’ or ‘I told you what to do and you took no notice, did you!’ or ‘You’re always forgetting to clean up after yourself. It drives me crazy!’) These are all ‘you’ messages. They accuse, blame and punish. Listen for these coming your way and see how defensive and reactionary you become. Then consider how you would respond if someone gave you an I-message instead. And remember, I-messages are equally powerful to affirm behaviour.

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3. When consequences were applied when you were at school, which ones taught students to change their behaviour and which ones did not, and why? When on practicum rounds, observe how teachers apply consequences and ask yourself how effective they have been in enabling responsibility and changes in behaviour. Did the consequences from one teacher have an impact on students’ behaviour whereas when other teachers applied consequences nothing changed? What were the reasons for these differences? Make a note of those consequences that were effective and the reason for this, and add these to your list of skills and strategies in your reflective journal.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

1. What works with one student or class may not work with another or in a different situation. If one thing doesn’t work, then try a different strategy or skill. r From this section draw up a list of those skills and strategies that you feel will be most helpful to you when in the classroom. r From your practicum experiences add further skills and strategies you have seen teachers apply successfully in their learning environments. r Add these to your list in your reflective journal. 2. To achieve a well-managed classroom and create a positive and effective learning environment, two things are necessary: (a) planning for management of students and classes (b) practice in applying skills and strategies of management. Check the following and work with whichever suggestions will help you to practise and improve your confidence in applying your interactive skills and management strategies. r Get someone to video you during your school practicum. r Take lessons in personal presentation, do a drama course, or take voice training or singing lessons. r Find a couple of colleagues or friends and work together on presentation, voice projection and nonverbal communications. r Meet regularly with friends and colleagues to focus on interactive skills such as empathic or assertive and quick responses to typical student misbehaviours — present concerns and share solutions. r Role-play behaviour scenarios with colleagues, deciding which response would best enable the student to ‘get it right’ or, if pushed too far, what follow-through strategy would best teach for behaviour change and ‘putting it right’.

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Preparation for your teaching During your school practicum, as you experience different styles of teaching, continually ask yourself the following questions. r What strategies has this teacher applied with an aim to prevent misbehaviour in the learning environment? r How does this teacher correct misbehaviour? Does the correction enable the students to ‘get it right’, that is, rectify the situation? Which assertive skills does the teacher apply? r How supportive is this teacher in enabling students to cope for themselves? Does this teacher work empathically? What skills does the teacher apply? r When students really push the limits, stepping way past the bounds for acceptable behaviour, what happens? Does the teacher follow through and is it effective in teaching students to change their behaviour and act differently? What did the students learn from the teacher’s sanctioning of their behaviour? r Do students feel affirmed in this class? How does the teacher acknowledge students? What skills and strategies are used?

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In response to these questions, decide which combination of strategies and skills work best in a particular situation. Add them to your management repertoire. You will see both the skilful and unskilful management of students and classes. Remember, nobody is perfect and no matter how experienced or inexperienced a teacher may be, we all make mistakes — which are only valuable if we learn from them and put things right. Return to your reflective journal. Check your reminder list of quick skills, techniques and so on, and have them ready to apply on your practicum rounds. Start a second list of empathic, assertive and affirming skills. Choose one or two skills at a time and practise them. When you feel confident using a particular skill, strategy or technique, add it to your skills list and put it in a ‘pocket’ for use anytime. Continue in this way until you have a good selection of skills and strategies to bring with you into your teaching practice. You will find that you will continue to add to this list throughout your teaching career. Now draw up a list of misbehaviours you have noticed during your teaching practice rounds. Divide these behaviours into three categories — minor behaviours, troublesome behaviours and really challenging behaviours. Decide which strategies or skills you would use from your interactive management skills list to manage these behaviours. You may select more than one skill. Don’t try a skill or strategy once and give up if it does not seem to work. Focus on teaching students acceptable behaviour in the classroom, but remember that change sometimes takes time and you may need to be persistent. The skills will work, so repeat the response if necessary. Should a student repeatedly misbehave, it is a message to you that there are other factors involved and you will need to reconsider your response (e.g. look at possible unconscious goals or problems beyond the classroom). To gain insight and build your awareness of behaviour management guidelines for schools, discuss with a colleague (or colleagues) either the behaviour management policy of one of your practicum schools or the policy for Djididjidi Aboriginal School (see http://djididjidiaboriginalschool.wa.edu .au/Portals/0/Information%20Page/Behaviour%20Management%20Policy.pdf) and highlight the positive or negative suggestions for managing behaviour in relation to this chapter so far, keeping in mind the context in which these schools function.

11.4 Reflecting on your management

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 11.4 Allow yourself to reflect on rather than react to continuing misbehaviour, as this is the key to improving your technique while always maintaining control of yourself and any situation.

You will become a more confident and effective teacher by learning to assess your management, taking a critical view of your own teaching, dealing with the negatives and acknowledging the positives. You will have realised by now that behaviour management is not a linear process. Classically, to master a topic, one begins with an understanding of the relevant concepts and terminology and then progresses to examples, planning, practice and further reading. Behaviour and classroom management deals with the most complex topic in the natural world: the human personality. This is why the preceding sections are structured as they are. A linear approach is not only impossible, but would be counterproductive if used as an approach to the topic. Behaviour management is a dynamic process and the classroom is the usual milieu in which it occurs. Teachers require the skills to enter any point in this process and alter it to produce the desired outcome. After studying this part of the chapter, you will be able to enter your class with the knowledge that you are able to manage situations that may arise with your students with regard to their behaviour.

Reflecting on a teacher’s role The classroom is a dynamic, evolving environment, filled with individuals who need to learn to work and grow together. It is the teacher’s task to lead and mould this group of individuals into a cohesive working body, where the needs of the group and the individuals within it are met, while ensuring that they feel safe, supported, encouraged, included, engaged and challenged. This is the ultimate goal, and CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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although seldom achieved at all times, continually striving for it will enable teachers to master their classroom. As the students’ teacher and leader, you need to be in control of what is happening in your class and be able to manage any eventuality. To achieve this, you will need to reflect on your students’ needs and behaviour and your own teaching needs and management. Along with knowledge and skills, you need a vision and a process to guide you. For teachers, their vision of a cohesive working body is achieved through a process that: r establishes firm foundations r has structure — a plan for all to follow r has a repertoire of skills and strategies to enable r involves reflection in order to continually adapt and improve. All of these factors combine to ensure the flow of effective teaching and learning and help build the underlying foundation to all teaching — the teacher–student relationship.

Reflecting on student management Reflection is an important part of the ongoing process of planning, managing, reflecting, then re-planning with changed management strategies and reflecting again. All three are interdependent as they focus the teacher on the positive and negative aspects of managing within the learning environment. Time set aside for reflection at the end of a day, week or term is valuable, but even more valuable is the ability to stop and reflect when you are facing a new, different or challenging situation or when the planned outcome did not occur. Through reflection, teachers develop and improve the skills of pausing, assessing, acknowledging and making choices for best management. Reflection also: r builds self-awareness — you become conscious of the impact your own words and actions have on individual students and the class as a whole r focuses your attention on improving your understanding of childhood and adolescent behaviour r highlights the need to keep a reflective journal to increase your interactive skills base and record valuable insights and information for future reference and practice r builds on your achievements and successes r helps you to learn from your mistakes r improves practice r increases self-confidence and enhances self-worth.

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The changing milieu When everything goes right and your classroom management is such that behaviour is not an issue, the flow of teaching and learning is maintained. You will have laid firm foundations, planned well and prepared for most eventualities. For those outcomes you have not yet considered, your skilled management is such that you are well able to think on your feet and deal with whatever may arise. This is a perfect situation, but it does not happen all the time. Every class, student and situation is different and every teacher at some time faces difficult classes, has off days or faces extenuating circumstances (e.g. a sudden change in routine, school events, emergencies, student disasters or illness) that disrupt routine and can negatively impact on behaviour. Be prepared for these. Reflecting on your day or week focuses you on maintaining what is working well and improving on what needs to be changed or done differently.

When it’s working When teachers such as Megan, Josh and their friends and colleagues reflect, plan and rethink their management approach, their self-confidence is immediately obvious to students through their body language and tone of voice. Now we will return to this group of ‘behaviour boffins’ (as they now call themselves) and reflect on what they have learned from their own reflections and discussions. 402

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‘Hi everyone. Guess what? Serena, Josh and I have good news,’ said Megan when they met up with Kane, Tomi and Ameena again. ‘Are Katie and Richard coming?’ asked Ameena. ‘They are so experienced and their ideas are really helpful.’ ‘They are both tied up at the moment, but said they’d join us later,’ replied Josh. ‘But let me tell you, the three of us are beginning to see improvements in the behaviour in our classes.’ ‘Me too,’ added Ameena. ‘I have been listening to and following everything you have all said and I realised that I talk too much. Now I keep it short and simple and my children have learned to line up, come into class, say “good morning” and settle down in three minutes — they’ve learned to time themselves and love it. It’s taken a while — planning and practising, but I was firm and clear in my instructions and I didn’t let them get away with not doing as I asked. Oh, they moaned and carried on, but now it’s routine, they settle quickly and we’re beginning to catch up on some work. Yes, there are still days when some forget, but they are pretty good overall and it is so much better. I feel in control now, there is far less attention-seeking and I’m focusing on those doing it right. I’m managing the behaviour far better and I’m feeling so much better. It’s really wonderful!’ ‘I’m thrilled too,’ said Serena. ‘Like Katie suggested, I mentioned to the students that they must miss their previous teacher and wondered if they were concerned about her. I listened to them all — each had a turn to speak, and then they all decided to send her a card from the class. The atmosphere has totally changed and our relationships are much improved.’ ‘I am so glad for you,’ said Katie as she and Richard joined the group. ‘How about you, Kane? How is Molly these days?’ asked Richard. Kane looked up and said, ‘I did speak with Molly and when I said “It can be difficult adjusting to a new school. You must have been so upset when I shouted at you, Molly. I do apologise — I should never have spoken like that,” her eyes opened really wide and then she looked down. “It’s okay Molly, I know it won’t happen again and I look forward to seeing you do really well in science. I think you may have a talent there.” She just looked up and smiled. “Off you go”, I said. I felt great, and I think she did too. I’m looking forward to our next lesson.’ Richard smiled. ‘I reckon that will change her world,’ he said. ‘I still don’t know about her family situation, but a couple of the children have mentioned in passing how unhappy she is and I think whatever is upsetting her, along with being new to the school, has made it a tough time for her. But I also think she knows now that I want the best for her at school. I feel much better about her now.’ Serena then asked if she could share something she had been doing. ‘I’ve continued to catch them doing it right, as you suggested, Kane. Now I use Post-it notes, usually about five a day, and whenever it’s appropriate I pop one on a desk or in a student’s book. I find I can quietly acknowledge something I’ve noticed and appreciated — no fuss, no big deal. They usually look at it and put it away. But what’s interesting is that they listen to me now and I find they’re more cooperative when I ask for something to be done. There’s a different feeling in this class. If I had to describe it I’d say we are more tuned in to each other and more respectful towards each other. Listening to them, acknowledging any problems and catching them doing it right seems to have changed their attitude towards me and of course I’m far more observant and tuned into them. Thank you, Katie and Kane.’ Josh then turned to Tomi. ‘How about you Tomi?’ ‘Well,’ Tomi said, ‘I’ve had to think a lot about how I was handling my class and found that in just telling you about it, I began to see what was going wrong. So I went home and wrote down all the things I wanted to change, starting with me, and I’m tackling them one at a time. The first one is to be clear in my expectations, then when behaviour gets difficult, to stop and think what will work best here, not just losing it as I used to. The students are beginning to realise that I’m not going to get hooked into their ploys and if they start I now have a few strategies to choose from — and it’s working. I must admit like you, Ameena, some days we aren’t quite there yet, but we’re getting better.’ The discussion continued as Megan and Josh reflected on their week, sharing their concerns.

When students see the teacher taking control and managing the class, as Ameena, Serena and Tomi did, their unconscious need to vie for leadership of the class falls away and they can relax into their student roles. Sometimes they may challenge, as Tomi experienced — just to ensure the teacher means what they CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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say and that it is not just another case of teacher manipulation; or they may moan and complain, as with Ameena — as they were quite happy doing it their way and simply do not want to change. Remember, although not eager to change themselves, if what the teacher is doing makes sense to students and they can see the benefits, they are far more likely to adapt to the changes. When what you are doing is working (e.g. Serena’s ‘catch them doing it right’ Post-it notes), make a note of it in your reflective journal for future reference. Teaching is a demanding profession and teachers are rarely acknowledged or rewarded for the daily achievements they make, so it is important that you keep a record of the positive changes you achieve with individual students or a class. Also remember to acknowledge your students when they are managing themselves well and when they make an extra effort in their behaviour — not just their work. Always describe what it is they have done: it will enhance selfworth. Celebrate the good things that happen with your students. Incorporate rituals into your classroom whereby you celebrate together who they are and their achievements as a class as well as individuals.

When it’s not working The following offers a plan with some ideas and suggestions for managing more entrenched or challenging behaviours. Choose what will work best for you in your teaching situation. First, go back to your notebook or journal and write down those behaviours that remain unchanged and most concern you in your class. In secondary or specialist teaching, focus on your most difficult class — as the skills you acquire there can be applied across your other classes. Divide the list into two categories: r lesser, low-grade behaviours (usually repetitive), which may irritate, frustrate or annoy you and others in the class, but which only create minimal disruption r more challenging, difficult behaviours, which disrupt the flow of teaching and learning. Plan your management, remembering to check through the interactive management process. Ask yourself the following. r Can I prevent this behaviour? Consider and build yourself a checklist of possible reasons for the misbehaviour. Consider classroom organisation, relationships and indicators, for example learning difficulties, autism and ADHD. Knowledge and insight enable you to make small but impactful changes to the learning environment and in your own management of situations. r Do I need to correct, support or affirm in any way? Choose the appropriate skills and strategies to manage those behaviours on your list to prevent repetition and escalation. r If more serious transgressions occur, how can I follow through? Be prepared with strategies that are more appropriate to those intractable behaviours and that enable change and resolution.

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Low-grade behaviours Low-grade behaviours, such as students getting out of their seats, calling out, chatting, throwing things or being late, do not respond well to chastisement or punishment. Far more effective is a nonjudgemental indicator for correct behaviour. Depending on the circumstances, use a quick verbal or nonverbal response that is either assertive, empathic or affirming. From your list, choose one or two of these low-grade behaviours, which if well managed will make a difference in the class. Write down exactly what happens. Decide which skills or techniques are most likely to achieve a positive response from students and teach them to take control and manage their own behaviour. Put these into practice. If the approach works, acknowledge students with a thumbs-up, smile or ‘thank you’. Then cross the problem off your list, but keep a note in your journal in case you should face a similar situation with another class. Move on to the next couple of behaviours on your list, following the same process. However, if your approach does not work, choose another skill or strategy from your skills checklist. Always carry a few in reserve so that you can revert to them immediately (e.g. ‘Into your seat, thanks’ or ‘I notice Lilli and Pierre are not talking’). Acknowledging when students ‘get it right’ reinforces positive behaviours, ensuring they become the norm. Sometimes a quick reminder may be necessary, but always convey the expectation that they are about to get it right. If they continue not to work, when you have 404

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tried different approaches and skills, then move these behaviours into your list of more challenging and difficult behaviours; they will require more extensive planning and research on your part.

Challenging, difficult behaviours Difficult behaviour situations can arise at any time in any class. Most teachers at some stage have experienced: r challenging behaviours that can quickly escalate and take over and dominate the class r time-wasting behaviours when students avoid learning and working r concerning or disturbing behaviours that seem not to respond to any approach.

In a previous discussion Megan had shared her difficulties and concerns regarding the challenging behaviours of both Oliver and Jai, and this had brought up questions of autism and ADHD, neither of which are easy to manage in a class of students, especially if you do not understand what the student is trying to cope with. Megan, who had been reading up on autism to help her better manage Oliver, offered to share what she had learned. Serena said she was interested in ADHD and would be happy to research that for everyone. Josh mentioned their concerns regarding Ernie, and his younger brother Lennie and their cousin Nellie. ‘And Molly,’ added Kane, as he turned to Richard, saying, ‘We really need to better understand how we can engage our Indigenous children so they don’t walk out of class and do settle down and learn and enjoy school.’ Richard said he would be happy to share some ideas and teaching tips to help engage Indigenous students in their learning and in school. Ameena, whose family had come from the Middle East, offered to share what it was like to grow up in a family such as hers and to explain how it affected their behaviour as children, as well as describing the difficulties she had faced in adapting to her new country and going to school. Tomi, who has an Asian background, was pleased to be able to share some of his insights and knowledge, too. This led to a number of their coffee sessions where individual teachers led the group as they focused on a specific topic that related to the sometimes perplexing and challenging behaviours of their students. They discussed ways of managing the behaviours of students with personal challenges and how they could best help them cope in the classroom. They gained insights into the cultural backgrounds and different worldviews of their students, and discussed how they could help these children to feel that they belonged at their school. The knowledge they gained gave them insight into their own behaviour as they learned to manage children whose cultural backgrounds and/or life experiences were different from their own.

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In almost every classroom you will come across two or three children with a personal challenge: whether it be in learning difficulties, personal difference such as autism, or life experiences resulting in anxiety, depression or trauma, for example, it is important to be prepared. Your task is to enable them to learn to cope and manage and achieve to the best of their ability in your classroom. In addition to personal difference, it is also important to understand the behaviour of those children whose basic human needs are not being met, and it is helpful to reflect on what drives their behaviour. Josh and Julia had an interesting discussion about behaviours that are particularly difficult to manage as they can be hurtful and damaging to other students.

Towards the end of term Josh had asked Julia, their mentor teacher, to join one of their coffee sessions as he was greatly concerned about the behaviours of a number of students in his class and he felt the others would find her thoughts valuable. Josh explained his concerns. ‘I think I have the worst class in my year level, not from the aspect of classroom management — I feel I am handling that better now, but rather it’s their inability to get along with each other, and this is beginning to affect how we work together in class. I’d like some ideas to manage these students. Let me explain. Megan mentioned she was concerned about a boy in her class, Mike, who was becoming a bit of a bully.

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Well, I have his cousin Andre, who likes to act really tough and seems determined to break all the rules in the school. He fights, hits, pushes, shoves — hurts at the first chance. For example, he’ll pinch or kick another student surreptitiously so they call out and get into trouble — until I realised what was happening. He calls people names and will scribble over others’ work, given half a chance. I watch him closely in class and he knows that and has learned to behave in the classroom, but when I’m not around, notably in the yard, he’s becoming a real problem. However, he is not my only concern. I’ve recently had girls coming to me complaining about bullying, and then I had a parent say their daughter was being bullied. I began observing more closely and discovered we had a clique of girls in the class who enjoy acting superior, putting others down, saying mean and spiteful things to their faces, talking about them behind their backs and, like hawks, dive on whoever is most popular at the time and manipulate her into feeling excluded from everyone. The students aren’t coping with either kind of bullying, and taking the culprits aside doesn’t seem to help because as soon as I’m not there they do it again. ‘I remember in our mentoring sessions when you talked about our concern regarding students continually demanding our attention. You mentioned that students have an unconscious but driving need to establish a sense of significance and belonging and if it doesn’t happen in positive ways then they will do anything to achieve that belonging, like always demanding attention. Since then I have been thinking about this class and realised that so much of their behaviour revolves around hurting people.’ ‘Yes, that’s interesting,’ said Julia, ‘and it’s natural for some of them to come to you when they’re hurting and needing help, but remember, “Who has the problem here?”’ ‘Well, it’s not me, it is them, but they can’t seem to solve it. Actually, neither can I at this stage,’ added Josh. ‘It’s a tough one,’ responded Katie. ‘Let’s look at the boy first. He’s hurting — for whatever reason. Maybe he’s being bullied outside school or his home life is unhappy or he can’t cope with school, or he’s moved schools and is very unhappy. The thing is, he carries this hurt to school and as soon as the opportunity arises he hurts someone — unconsciously this meets his need for revenge — to hurt back. Then, because when he sees they are hurting too, he is not alone. That book we read (Dreikurs, Grunwald & Pepper 1998, pp. 13–15) called it “a mistaken belief” about what belonging means. Now, if that feeling is more powerful than anything you can say or do, consequentially — even if he knows it’s wrong — he will repeat the behaviour. It meets his need. That is why this is so difficult. And you can see how it cycles into revenge. With the girls I would guess that it originated in one girl getting hurt and then learning to do to others what she had probably experienced herself and, like the boy, hurting others gives her some feeling of belonging — they feel like I feel. It is another mistaken belief about what belonging really means. However, the problem here is twofold because she has sensed her power in hurting others, and the more she hurts, the more powerful she feels, which increases her sense of belonging and significance. Interestingly, you may find that the other girls who have been hurt by her may now hurt others in order to protect themselves and stay her friend. The cycle of revenge and power is there too — mixed into the need for peer acceptance. With these combinations of power and revenge, relationship dynamics change into that of persecutor and victim. Understanding this will enable you to support these students so that they learn to manage themselves and their relationships better. The question is how to take away the need to persecute while enabling the victim to not be a victim anymore.’ ‘Well,’ said Josh, ‘they need to stop hurting each other, that’s obvious.’ ‘So, what’s the opposite of hurting people?’ asked Katie. ‘Loving, helping, caring,’ chimed in the others. ‘So,’ said Josh, ‘I need to think about how this class can learn about caring for each other and give more thought to the unconscious goals of misbehaviour and to changing the persecutor–victim dynamic. Well, that’s given me plenty to start with.’ ‘One other thought,’ said Katie. ‘Remember in a clique there is always a leader and maybe you can respond to that need for power by enabling her to use that need to lead others in more responsible and positive ways in the class instead of using it to hurt others.’ ‘Thank you,’ said Josh. ‘So much to think about.’ ‘That goes for us too,’ echoed Megan. ‘I think we all need to think about this.’ Note: Should you feel at any stage concerned that one of your students may need further support — for example, problems at home, personal or health issues, or relationship issues — then don’t hesitate to speak to the wellbeing coordinator, student counsellor or a senior member of staff.

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The unconscious goals of misbehaviour Understanding the basic human need for significance and belonging makes it possible for teachers to respond in ways that reassure students — they can then acknowledge, support, manage, challenge and enable students in their classes. There is then little need for students to act out or misbehave. However, when students cannot achieve a sense of belonging and significance, have a ‘mistaken belief’ or have learned unacceptable ways to achieve belonging and significance, then students are likely to seek attention, power, revenge, excitement or inappropriate peer acceptance, or display obvious inadequacy or superiority, all of which are unacceptable behaviours in the learning environment. When a teacher, for example, faces attention-seeking or power-seeking behaviours and fails to recognise the unconscious need underlying the student’s behaviour, the teacher is likely to inadvertently respond in a manner that meets the student’s need and reinforces their misbehaviour. For example, Megan had a couple of students who continually challenged or questioned her. Every time they did this she responded. This met their need for attention, so they continued to challenge or question. The fact that she got annoyed and cross with them did not stop the behaviour because they had got what they needed — attention — and as long as that need remained, so would the misbehaviour. When Serena unexpectedly focused on only noticing them when they did positive things, their need for attention was met by her interest and caring, which also reinforced those positive behaviours. There was then little need for them to misbehave — attention had already been given and their needs for significance and belonging met. Students may be aware of the consequences of their misbehaviour but unaware of the purpose of that behaviour (their unconscious goal). To better understand these unconscious goals of misbehaviour, refer to figure 11.1, where the ‘flag-waving’ messages indicate the students’ faulty beliefs and their unconscious goals that lead to the kinds of misbehaviours listed in column 1. Teachers in turn, reacting on their feelings, are generally ineffective, as indicated in column 2. In column 3, the teacher’s thinking responses provide more effective ways for managing these misbehaviours. A quick way to discover a student’s possible unconscious goal is to consider how you (or the recipient of the behaviour) feel when a student continues to misbehave in a certain way. Megan was irritated by attention seeking; Tomi was angry when challenged (power); and the students in Josh’s class were hurting (revenge). For the remaining feelings and unconscious goals, see figure 11.1. FIGURE 11.1

Unconscious goals of misbehaviour

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Notice me! Student’s faulty belief: I belong only when I am being noticed or you do things for me. Student’s unconscious goal: Attention Teacher’s feelings: Annoyance, irritation, frustration, resentment Examples of behaviour Disrupting, fooling around, play-fighting, swearing, dawdling, giggling, interrupting others, bothering others, over-eager to please, crying, using charm.

Teacher reaction r Feels student takes up too much time, shows pity, reminds, coaxes. Student reaction r May stop, but resumes later.

Teacher’s thinking response r Ignore. r Give attention when not expected. r Enable significance through useful contributions.

Try and make me! Student’s faulty belief: I belong only when I’m boss, in control and you do what I want. Student’s unconscious goal: Power Teacher’s feelings: Provoked, angry, concerned, defeated

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Examples of behaviour Always taking over/telling others what to do; challenges authority, argues, resists rules, stubborn, doesn’t/won’t work, undermines instructions, feels like ‘I only count if others do what I want them to do’.

Teacher reaction r Gets angry, forces to obey, must not get away with it — fights or gives in. Student reaction r Intensifies or submits defiantly — more problems later.

Teacher’s thinking response r Disengage from power struggle. r Don’t get pulled in or angry. r Do the unexpected. r Enlist their help — give opportunity for control or responsibility in a positive way (you can win an argument but lose a relationship).

I can hurt you! Student’s faulty belief: I belong only by hurting others. I’m okay when you hurt like me. Student’s unconscious goal: Revenge Teacher/other students’ feelings: Hurt, revengeful, dislike, hatred, fear Teacher’s thinking response Teacher reaction Examples of behaviour r Avoids, dislikes, wants to teach r Don’t retaliate. Hurts others (e.g. peers or r Remain calm. the student a lesson, tells teachers), breaks things, makes r Show goodwill — be aware parents. mean comments, lies, damages student needs to stop hurting property, is vicious or destructive, Student reaction r Hurts back (unconsciously), is others to change cycle of steals, sulks, accuses others of revengeful, intensifies revenge. unfairness, takes it out on others r Acknowledge feelings. behaviour. when can’t get own way, bullying. r Apply consequences — enable May feel disliked. reparation. r Build trust and relationships. I can’t do it! Student’s faulty belief: I belong by convincing others not to expect anything from me. Student’s unconscious goal: To display inadequacy Teacher’s feelings: Discouragement, despair, helplessness, feels like giving up Examples of behaviour Work not done. Feels unable — always asking for help — what should I do? Expectations too high — can’t meet them. Gives up easily, doesn’t participate, won’t try. Complains about others. Belongs as one who ‘can’t/doesn’t’.

Teacher reaction r Tries hard but discouraged, finally giving up. Student reaction r Passively responds or fails to respond, shows no improvement.

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It’s really dangerous! Student’s faulty belief: I belong only when I create excitement. Student’s unconscious goal: Excitement Teacher’s feelings: Concern for student’s health and safety Teacher reaction Examples of behaviour r What’s happening — on guard, Negative behaviour, avoids wants to warn, protect. routine, dieting, smoking, interest Student reaction in drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, r Resists, continues exciting daredevil sports, exciting behaviour — can be a power events — all of which are dangerous to health and safety. struggle. Takes chances with others’ feelings.

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Teacher’s thinking response r Recognise deep discouragement due to over-ambition, competition, pressure, failure. r Don’t pity. r Eliminate criticism. r Focus on the student’s strengths and assets — encourage positive effort. r Encourage group support.

Teacher’s thinking response r Influence through curriculum and good teacher–student relationships, discussion groups etc. r Schools can meet these needs and be positive outlets for excitement: sport, drama, major school events, youth projects.

I’ll do anything to join you! Student’s faulty belief: I belong only when I have widespread peer acceptance. Student’s unconscious goal: Peer acceptance Teacher’s feelings: Concern for student’s behaviour and work Examples of behaviour Constantly attempting to obtain widespread peer acceptance through being noticed/ acknowledged through negative behaviours — clowning in class, challenging teachers, stealing, taking dares to gain acceptance.

Teacher reaction r Tries to influence student. Student reaction r Resists, continues to keep up with ‘friends’.

Teacher’s thinking response r Developing ‘good’ teacher–student relationships built on mutual respect will provide a counterbalance to negative influences. r Affirming strengths: acknowledging tasks and needs of adolescence and meeting peer acceptance needs through planning these into classroom activities etc.

I’m better than you! Student’s faulty belief: I belong only when I’m best at everything or better than most. Student’s unconscious goal: Superiority Teacher’s/other students’ feelings: Put down, inadequate, inferior Examples of behaviour Puts people down: teachers, parents, classmates. Arrogant and patronising.

Teacher reaction r Attempts to put student in their place. Student reaction r Continues striving to put others down, defend their self-image.

Teacher’s thinking response r Recognise that low self-esteem is a problem. r Use different skills to counterbalance this. r Build relationships and focus on values.

Source: Adapted from Kelly and Sweeney (1979), Dinkmeyer and McKay (1996), Dreikurs, Grunwald and Pepper (1998).

When teachers realise their normal reactions may reinforce misbehaviour, they understand by selecting a more appropriate skilful response, that they can enable students to change their behaviour themselves. However, if a student’s misbehaviour is driven by an unconscious goal and this is not taken into account, then the behaviour may not necessarily change even with a changed teacher response. You have to understand the student’s motivation to be effective in managing such misbehaviours. Privately revealing to students the possible purpose of their behaviour also enables change. For example, with attention, describe what you observe, then ask, ‘Could it be that (observed behaviour) makes everyone notice you and that makes you feel good? What other ways can you feel good in class without disrupting people working?’ (Dreikurs, Grunwald & Pepper 1998, pp. 28–31).

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Behaviour management plan You will likely come across students who, unconsciously, only feel good when they are hurting or making others do what they want, as Megan, Serena and Josh discovered in their classes. These and other examples of repeated misbehaviours require teachers to develop a behaviour management plan, as Josh needs to do for his class and few individuals in his class. The following five simple questions from the interactive management process guide teachers in formulating an appropriate management plan for individual students, groups of students or for whole-class issues and leads them into the appropriate interactive skills. Remember to always start your behaviour management plan with a clear description of the behaviour, be it individual, small group or whole class. Then ask the following. 1. How can I prevent misbehaviour occurring, escalating or repeating? 2. How can I assertively correct when students don’t behave? CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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3. How can I empathically support when students can’t behave? 4. How can I follow through when students won’t behave so they learn to act differently and make reparation? 5. How can I affirm students so they can behave? These five questions should be written into the front of every teacher’s reflective journal or notebook as a quick reminder when managing misbehaviour. Note: If you have support staff available to you, their knowledge can be invaluable to you in the management of your students and class. For example, you may have Indigenous support workers who you can consult, or support staff who both understand the culture and speak the language of immigrant children. When teaching with the aid of support staff, remember to discuss with them not only what you are planning for individual children’s learning but also consult with them when planning for the management of individual behaviours, particularly when they are familiar with each student’s personal challenges, for example in learning, in managing their disabilities or in coping with having different language and cultural backgrounds. In these situations, it is important to ensure that you work together as a team for the benefit of the students in your classroom. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

1. It is highly likely you will meet ‘hurting’ behaviour in some form, as Josh did. Children are not born with the insight and skills to manage social situations and relationships. How they act — what they do and say — is behaviour both learned and driven by conscious and unconscious needs. What would you do if you were the teacher of Josh’s class? Discuss it with fellow students and colleagues and add your thoughts to your journal, listing the skills that could be helpful in this kind of situation. 2. With the ever-increasing use of technology in our daily lives, we also face managing this effectively in the learning environment. Discuss with teachers and fellow students the difficulties that can arise within the classroom and ask yourselves if these can be prevented and if not, how to enable students to take responsibility and learn how best to manage technology in relation to themselves, their learning, their behaviour and their relationships. 3. Many ideas develop over practice and through reading and sharing with colleagues. Among your most valuable resources are the practising teachers with whom you have contact during your practicum visits to schools. Do not hesitate to ask questions. Listen and take opportunities to discuss with them how they manage their students. Your peers will also be experiencing different teaching approaches and management. Make opportunities to discuss and share your experiences (e.g. establish discussion groups on student behaviour and classroom management to share your experiences and readings). 4. When reflecting on your day, always focus on one good thing that happened — acknowledge this and make a note in your diary — what it was and why it went well. If it was a behaviour incident, describe it and what you did in response to it. Then put your working day to bed with that positive memory.

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

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The following text was written by Margaret Callingham, an experienced community, primary and secondary teacher and school principal, currently working towards a Doctor of Philosophy. The establishment of a respectful and productive community of learning is a foundational aspect of an educator’s role which, tragically, can be overlooked if a teacher’s focus is solely on delivering the curriculum. A teacher who has spent time outside of the classroom focused on planning the subject discipline can be disappointed to find that time inside the classroom is spent dealing with behaviour discipline. In such situations, the lesson flow is disrupted due to a lack of planning to optimise other key components of learning (i.e. the physical environment, administrative and lesson organisation, learning engagement, individual needs and relationship building). Research has revealed that ‘effective classroom management

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is a greater influence on students’ academic achievement than intelligence, home environment, motivation, or socioeconomic status’ (Pane 2010, p. 91). Teaching literature indicates that behaviour and classroom management are the most challenging aspects of teaching and rate highly as sources of stress for pre-service, graduate and experienced teachers (Lewis 1997, p. 15; Sokal, Smith & Mowat 2003, p. 8; Teacher Learning Network 2007, p. 3). A major cause of this stress is the teacher’s perceived inability to develop good working relationships with students (Lewis 1997, p. 15), which obviously also impacts on the students’ ability to learn. Teachers who establish and maintain constructive learning relationships with students understand the importance of positively and effectively managing classroom interactions — and they do this through their understanding of behaviour. When teachers utilise their understanding of behaviour to proactively plan for and constructively respond to classroom interactions, they enhance student–teacher relationships and promote learning engagement. In this way teachers establish an inclusive community in which the potential of all learners is valued and enhanced. With Australian classrooms more heterogeneous than in the past, the demands on teachers are greater than ever. Important aspects to support teachers and to counter the teachers’ isolated classroom existence (Britzman 2003) are ongoing, collaborative opportunities to reflect on and discuss with peers, and ways to positively and productively engage students in order to reach and teach all learners. As teachers begin to work collaboratively outside the classroom to enhance learning relationships, it more naturally follows that they begin to work more collaboratively inside the classroom to enhance learning relationships.

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SUMMARY Teaching has become far more complex in its demands and a teacher’s role has become multidimensional. No longer can the dynamics of student–teacher interactions take a back seat; they have become an integral part of teaching. In our present world — where children are pandered to by marketers, where access to the adult world is available through television, films, the web and life itself, where our expectations as teachers for compliance, respect and responsibility are often disappointed — there is a great need for teachers to understand their widening role. Teachers need to become highly skilled in their management of students, behaviour and classes. To establish an effective learning environment, teachers must become familiar with the values, norms and procedures within their schools, focus on planning and organising the working environment, develop positive working relationships and establish guidelines for behaviour. Throughout this process the emphasis is on prevention and managing proactively. Planning for student engagement and best management involves carrying a positive mindset to encourage students in all aspects of schooling, developing an understanding of student behaviour and what motivates and drives them to act as they do, and exploring planning itself as an ongoing process. The development of strategies and skills to effectively engage and manage students requires teachers to not only plan for behaviour but also to become highly skilled in their interpersonal management techniques. The interactive management process guides teachers in their management along with the strategies and skills that will enable them to become effective managers of students, behaviour and classes. However, teachers are also learners and, to this end, self-reflection is important. Self-reflection enables teachers to learn from their experiences, acknowledge their successes and achievements, and learn from their mistakes — emphasising the importance of putting right the wrong — so that they may better manage next time. Finally, the underlying focus is on a professional approach to teaching that incorporates a simple process for building collegial support and ensuring ongoing professional development in the hidden curriculum of teacher–student interactions, behaviour management and classroom management.

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KEY TERMS individuate Individuation is the process by which a person differentiates the self from all others and from the external world and by which they establish ‘self’ as the primary entity of importance in all their experience. interactive management process (IMP) A style of social engagement, the goal of which is to form a working bond with someone else who has shared objectives. open responses Recognition of a person’s situation, conveying understanding and empathy. Open responses enable responsibility and encourage further interaction if appropriate. positive mindset An attitude that conveys a confident and optimistic expectation for the capacity to succeed. unconscious needs Needs a person is completely unaware they have.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 11.1

LO1

Learning to become a teacher requires firstly, that you observe how others teach and manage their classes and students. What have you observed? List what you have learned about creating an effective learning environment, for example with regard to: (a) classroom organisation 412

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(b) values and guidelines for behaviour and learning (c) teacher management of student behaviour. Tick the items on your list that you would like to apply in your own classroom. Discuss and share these with your fellow students. From the ideas shared, compile your own practice list to take into your classroom. Enter it in the front of your reflective journal or notebook. 11.2

LO1

It is said that the beginning of a successful relationship with any class is determined by what a teacher says and does in the first 5 to 10 minutes. What is it you need to establish? What is it you need to communicate? (a) What first impressions do you wish to convey — how will you do this? (b) What information do you wish to convey — how will you do this? (c) What are your expectations for behaviour — how will you best communicate these? Draw up a list of what you wish to convey to students in those first 5 to 10 minutes of a lesson. Note it in your journal. Do not forget a positive mindset and clarity in communication, and that every social group needs both a leader and guidelines for behaviour. 11.3

LO2

Planning for an effective learning environment requires teachers to be proactive in their management. What does proactive mean to you? Discuss this with your fellow students, along with what you need to do for students to feel safe, supported, encouraged, included, engaged and challenged; that is, to ensure an effective learning environment. (a) How will you achieve a positive and friendly classroom? (List five skills or strategies you will practise to achieve this.) (b) How will you establish behaviour norms in classes? (Discuss with fellow students the practical steps needed to establish guidelines for behaviour and ensure that everyone participates in the process so they are able to take responsibility to see these are maintained in the class. Enter the process in your reflective journal for future reference. Discuss other processes you need to put in place to ensure a well-organised and happy classroom — not forgetting the importance of students knowing what is expected of them, understanding the benefits of rules and routines, and celebrating the ‘good’ things. Add these ideas to your reflective journal.)

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11.4

LO3

How can understanding and insight into behaviour empower and enable teachers to become more effective managers of student behaviour? (a) When facing misbehaviour of any kind, what do teachers always need to do, remembering that ‘behaviour is a message conveying how students are feeling and coping with their world’? With your fellow students, draw up a list of ongoing, oft repeated and troublesome behaviours that you have observed in classes. Discuss the possible underlying factors or the unmet needs that can lead to such ongoing behaviours. In groups, research each of these concerning behaviours and present your findings, focusing on what enables better management for the teacher and what removes the student’s need to misbehave. Note those relevant to your own teaching experiences. The reasons for misbehaviour can range widely from the inability to concentrate or read, to the unconscious need for belonging achieved through, for example, hurting others or seeking attention, to life experiences and trying to cope with personal challenges or having a different cultural background and world views. (b) Throughout your teaching career you will come across students whose behaviours indicate they are trying to cope with personal difference, which can affect their learning and sometimes relationships. You will also need to research and become familiar with behaviours that indicate autism, ADD and ADHD, and giftedness, and be aware of the various difficulties students may have in a learning environment. Understanding the behaviour indicators is the first step in learning to manage and enable students to cope with their area(s) of disability, high ability or personal challenge, so they may achieve to the best of their ability in school and in the classroom. CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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During your practicum rounds, observe how teachers manage students with disabilities or personal difference and note down any helpful techniques or strategies. Where relevant, discuss these with your practicum teacher and in your tutorials. Do your own research into that particular disability or personal difference and present your findings to your fellow students. For future reference, build a file of information on the intellectual, physical, social and emotional differences that can challenge learning for students, and add to this the information gained as you acquire experience and knowledge in the management of student behaviour. 11.5

LO3

Effective management stems from a teacher’s ability to acknowledge, understand and decode behaviour, respond appropriately and be in control. However, the concept of ‘control’ in the classroom, as you will have observed, can be viewed and practised quite differently by teachers. (a) Discuss with fellow students the importance of ‘control’ in the classroom, the different ways it is practised by teachers and how this impacts on the students, the teacher, the student–teacher relationship and the learning environment. List different teacher practices and discuss the outcomes. (b) Consider how you are going to ‘be in control’ and manage your own classes — what do you wish to achieve? List what you need to remember when planning to manage a learning environment and need to feel in control in your classroom. Enter the key points in your reflective journal. 11.6

LO3

To engage and manage students effectively in their learning you have been given an interactive process with five simple questions to guide you. Each of the five key questions incorporates a series of interactive skills, strategies and techniques. Discuss this process with your fellow students. (a) Visualise the sequence of actions and draw yourself an action/flowchart. Highlight the strategies and skills that are of key importance for you personally to remember and apply in your practice. Remember, planning for behaviour requires that you ask yourself the five key questions so you can apply the interactive skills, strategies and techniques that enable you to be proactive, prevent the occurrence and re-occurrence and escalation of misbehaviour, and build positive relationships. (b) With your fellow students, list 10 to 15 common misbehaviours. Using your visual chart as a guide, together compile sets of skills, strategies and techniques that enable teachers to effectively manage each behaviour. From this exercise, develop your own behaviour management strategies by choosing those behaviours that you realise concern you most, and select the skills you feel will be most relevant and helpful to you personally and will enable you to better manage your students and classes. Enter these into your journal.

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11.7

LO3

Technology such as laptops, tablets and phones are becoming tools for learning in the classroom. This requires planning to achieve best practice in the classroom. Teaching students how to use technology as learning tools will ensure fewer behaviour issues. To ensure students gain most benefit from technology and taking into account your own experience and observations to date, what would be your recommendations for most effective usage to schools and teachers in the classroom? Discuss this with your fellow students and draw up a guide for the use of technology: (a) in schools in general (b) for the teacher in the classroom. 11.8

LO4

Reflecting on all you have learned to date, what has been most important and helpful for you personally? Draw up a list of the most valuable insights, strategies or skills you will want to have in your reflective journal — as a quick reminder, so when needed you can apply these in your classroom and behaviour management. 414

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11.9

LO4

Working with colleagues and building good relationships with members of the staff and parents in your school community is important for everyone’s well-being. Remember, support comes from many areas; for example, the administrative staff, the general and ground staff, the education support staff and your teacher colleagues. You are joining a revered profession. As a member of this professional body, what do you think is important for you to remember when you join a school or college community as a new member of staff? Share with your fellow students what you have learned from this chapter and from your practicum experiences. Together, draw up a list of what you all feel would be helpful for any graduate teacher starting out in their profession as a new member of staff in a school or college.

WEBSITES 1 This is an extremely helpful website for those who are teaching Indigenous students:

www.whatworks.edu.au 2 Although centred on Indigenous education, the ideas presented here would be valuable for any teacher

to consider when in any school environment: https://8ways.wikispaces.com/Behaviour+management 3 This website provides teachers with a helpline and already includes many examples of common

behavioural issues that arise at school and in the classroom and provides suggestions for managing these behaviours: http://jennymackay.com.au/behaviour-help.html

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REFERENCES Arnold, R 2005, Empathic intelligence: Teaching, learning, relating, UNSW Press, Sydney. Biddulph, S 2013, Raising girls, Finch Publishing Pty Ltd, Warriewood, NSW, Australia. Bodenhamer, G 1983, Back in control: How to get your children to behave, Fireside Simon & Schuster, New York. Britzman, D 2003, Practice makes practice: A critical study of learning to teach, revised edn, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY. Browne, R & Fletcher, R (eds) 1995, Boys in schools — addressing the real issues — behaviour, values and relationships, Finch Publishing Pty Ltd, Warriewood, NSW, Australia. Cornett, C 1986, Learning through laughter: Humour in the classroom. Fastback 241, Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Bloomington, Indiana. Dinkmeyer, D & McKay, GD 1996, Raising a responsible child, revised edn, Fireside, New York. Dreikurs, R, Grunwald, BB & Pepper, FC 1998, Maintaining sanity in the classroom: Classroom management techniques, 2nd edn, Taylor & Francis, Washington. Erikson, E 1950, Child & society, WW Norton & Company Inc, New York. Faber, A & Mazlish, E 2003, How to talk so kids can learn at home and in school, Scribner, New York. Fuller, A 2007, Tricky kids, Finch Publishing, Warriewood, NSW. Ginott, HG 1975, 1997, Teacher and child: A book for parents and teachers, Simon & Schuster, New York. Glasser, W 2001, Choice theory in the classroom, Harper Collins Publishers Inc, New York. Goleman, D 1996, Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ, Bloomsbury Publishing, London. Gordon, T 1974, 2003, Teacher effectiveness training: How teachers can bring out the best in their students, Random House, New York. Gray, JA 1988, The psychology of fear and stress, 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Kelly, EW & Sweeney, TJ 1979, ‘Typical faulty goals of adolescents: a base for counselling’, School Counsellor, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 236–46. Kohn, A 1996, 2006, Beyond discipline — from compliance to community, Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria VA, USA. Kutscher, ML 2014, Kids in the syndrome mix of ADHD, LD, autism spectrum, Tourette’s, anxiety and more!, 2nd edn, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London, UK, Philadelphia, Penn, USA. Lewis, R 2009, Understanding pupil behaviour — classroom management techniques for teachers, Routledge, Oxon. —— 1997, The discipline dilemma, The Australian Council for Educational Research, Camberwell, Victoria. Mackay, J 2006, Coat of many pockets: Managing classroom interactions, ACER Press, Australian Council for Educational Research, Camberwell, Victoria. CHAPTER 11 Interactive student engagement and management

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Orlick, T 2006a, Cooperative games and sports: Joyful activities for everyone, 2nd edn, Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois. —— 2006b, The second cooperative sports and games book, Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois. Pane, D 2010, ‘Viewing classroom discipline as negotiable social interactions: a communities of practice perspective’, Teacher and Teacher Education, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 87–97. Rogers, W 1994, The language of discipline — a practical approach to effective classroom management, Northcote House, Plymouth, UK. Snowman, J, Dobozy, E, Scevak, J, Bryer, F, Bartlett, B & Biehler, R 2009, Psychology applied to teaching, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, QLD. Sokal, L, Smith, D & Mowat, H 2003, ‘Alternative certification teachers’ attitudes towards classroom management’, The High School Journal, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 8–16. Teacher Learning Network Journal 2007, vol. 14, no. 2, Abbotsford, Victoria. Wallace, I 1996, You and your ADD child — practical strategies for coping with everyday problems, Harper Collins Publishers, Sydney, NSW, Australia. West, P n.d., www.boyslearning.com.au.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Steve Debenport / Getty Images Photo: © Hannamariah / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Artem Oleshko / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com

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CHAPTER 12

Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 12.1 contextualise assessment and identify its role within the process of teaching and learning 12.2 use the language of assessment and related concepts 12.3 select appropriate assessment strategies for identified purposes and evaluate the design and quality of assessments 12.4 explain the forms and purposes of assessment feedback 12.5 differentiate various forms of recordkeeping; produce and interpret anecdotal records 12.6 evaluate reporting approaches according to purpose, context and audience 12.7 engage with assessment issues that continue to produce debate and dilemmas within education and that will have implications for teachers in the future.

OPENING CASE

What to assess and how? In my role as a consultant, I spend considerable time in classrooms. It has become apparent that children often set the standard for what is expected during sustained writing time, as was evident in Ava’s kindergarten classroom. Based on my observations, the children wrote one to two sentences in their 20 minutes daily writing time and spent the remainder of the time embellishing their pages with illustrations. The standard for the class is evident in Ava’s book (figure 12.1). If I was to assess what was in their books as the standard of writing, I would have an incomplete and misinformed understanding of the standard. This was apparent when I conferenced with Ava. I asked Ava about her cat and produced the Post-it note (shown in figure 12.2). Ava described her cat, Pussu — grey, fat, wobbles, stares with an ugly face. She proceeded to state the title as ‘The Wonders of Pussu’, and shared other ideas, such as that Pussu chases lizards, she dresses him up in doll’s clothes and they go on adventures. I looked at Ava and told her she had 12 minutes left in writing time today, and that I thought she could write a page in that time, maybe even two. She nodded in agreement. In 12 minutes, she wrote her story of ‘Pussu’ (figure 12.3).

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FIGURE 12.1

Ava’s writing sample

FIGURE 12.2

Conferencing notes

FIGURE 12.3

Ava’s revised writing

Figure 12.3 gives a very different perspective on Ava’s capabilities as a writer. A ‘one-off’ snapshot of what students can and cannot do is not enough. As Tomlinson and McTighe (2006) point out, using a variety of assessment tools we construct a ‘photo album’ of students’ lives, knowledge and understandings from multiple perspectives, collected over time using a variety of tools focused on learning. It would be easy to judge Ava’s competency as a writer as being limited to one or two sentences. It was only when she was given the opportunity and encouragement to produce more that her true potential became apparent. Assessment when ‘done with children’ instead of ‘done to children’ shines a different perspective on what they know and what they can do. Ava’s needs in writing and how the teacher adjusts

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instruction to meet her needs will vary considerably depending on whether assessment data is derived from and/or limited to figure 12.1 or figure 12.3. This example demonstrates the need for assessment to be continual, dynamic, and inextricably linked to teaching and learning. Assessment informs teaching, guides the processes of learning and promotes learning. Assessment provides evidence of how learners are progressing according to defined standards throughout a period of learning, as well as achievement at the end of the learning period . . . Quality assessment includes both the cognitive and affective domains. It is informed, purposeful, authentic, valid and reliable (Teachers’ Guide to Assessment 2016).

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. Recall and record three examples of assessment that you have completed to date. They could be examples from a workplace, school, hobby or sport that you have pursued. Draw a table and record: (a) a brief description of the assessment task (b) rationale — why you thought it was necessary (c) outcome — how it assisted your learning of the content, skill, etc. 2. At the time, were your views about the importance of the assessment event the same as those of your teacher, employer or parents? Have your views changed since?

Introduction Interestingly, the word assessment comes from the Latin root ‘assidere’, meaning to sit beside another. The connotations of ‘sitting beside’ are not those replicated in the contentious, polarising and consistently newsworthy issues surrounding assessment: NAPLAN: School students’ performance shows small improvement after 10 years of testing (2 August 2017) NAPLAN 2017: Year 9 results improve, but 68 per cent will still have to re-sit an exam (2 August 2017)

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Australian schools are in ‘absolute decline’ globally, says PISA report (6 December 2016)

The complicated and contentious nature of assessment has Masters (2014, p. 1) claiming that ‘Assessment concepts and terminology introduced in the past half century sometimes now function as impediments to clear thinking and good practice. And worse, the field itself is in a mess’. Needless to say, stakeholder groups, including teachers, parents, policy and decision makers, test producers, publishing companies and politicians, have a vested interest in, and strong views about, the contribution assessment makes to improved learning outcomes for students and its impact on teaching. Research suggests assessment is one aspect of education that is not always managed correctly (Black & Wiliam 1998, 2003). Stakeholders agree there is still room for improvement with a need to place more emphasis on the interaction between assessment and classroom learning and less on assessing for assessing’s sake. Tomlinson and McTighe (2006) contend effective assessment is not a ‘snapshot’ of what students can and cannot do, it is a ‘photo album’ of lives, knowledge and understandings from multiple perspectives, collected over time using a variety of tools focused on student learning. Together, the collection of ‘photo albums’ informs instruction. The photo album is rich in evidence and includes: r knowledge and understandings (facts, generalisation, deep conceptual understanding) r skills and processes (research, thinking, problem solving, communication) r attitudes (preferred practices, dispositions) r values (beliefs or principles that are held as personally or socially preferable) r behaviours (personal and interpersonal) r outcomes (class, school, state). CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 419

This chapter explores issues of assessment, assessment feedback and reporting and the role of assessment in the teaching and learning cycle. The chapter considers what contemporary teachers and students think and feel about assessment and its relationship to teaching and learning. The chapter also identifies how the benefits to learning are optimised through the setting of clear priorities to guide planning and assessment, the selection of assessment processes and strategies, and the communication of the process to others. The chapter explores the reasons behind the patterns and trends that govern assessment decisions and practices. Throughout, comments from practising teachers and students have been included to provide varying perspectives. These demonstrate how teachers and students think about and interpret various aspects of assessment and represent the complexity and diversity surrounding some of the issues. Assessment plays multiple roles in teaching and learning and this impacts on what is assessed, how it is assessed and why it is assessed. For example, providing learning feedback to individual students, tracking a student’s progress over time or measuring student outcomes against some external standard or population demand different approaches to assessment. Masters (2014) states that the assessment process might be ‘designed to establish a student’s overall level of proficiency in a school subject, but at a more detailed level it might be designed to establish the student’s levels of proficiency in a number of different areas of learning within the subject or, at a still finer level, their mastery of specific skills and concepts, or errors and misconceptions’. Therefore, approaches can be informal or formal and high stakes, designed solely for the benefit of the student or to meet the accountability needs at a system level. In all cases, assessment must be inherently fair for the learner being assessed. This presents challenges when students being assessed have diverse backgrounds, contexts and experiences in areas such as language and culture. The NSW Board of Studies K–10 syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Advice on Assessment recommends that assessment activities be: r valid and based on syllabus outcomes r include criteria to clarify for students what aspects of learning are being assessed r enable students to demonstrate their learning in a range of different contexts r reliable, free from bias and provide evidence that accurately represents a student’s knowledge, understanding and skills r enable students and teachers to use feedback effectively and reflect on the learning process r inclusive of and accessible to all students r part of an ongoing process where progress is monitored over time. This chapter outlines some specific tools and strategies, but these are illustrative examples rather than an exhaustive list of what is available to the teacher. The more important issue of why a teacher selects one strategy in preference to another is the critical question. Assessment choices are closely aligned with curriculum priorities and pedagogical principles. Recommended and available tools and strategies change as a curriculum evolves. Therefore, the focus is on the basic principles of assessment that have currency in varying curriculum contexts into the future. Here is an example from a secondary teacher/school curriculum coordinator.

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Decisions on forms of assessment are made by collaborative teams of subject teachers at our school. They are made according to a set of principles we have developed from those provided by the National Curriculum (ACARA). Our adapted principles are: 1. The primary purpose of assessment is to gather data about student achievement in relation to outcomes. 2. Assessment provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and can do. 3. Assessment data informs instruction and is an integral component of course design. 4. Good assessment requires clarity of purpose, goals, standards and criteria. 5. Good assessment requires a variety of measures and is ongoing rather than episodic. 6. Assessment methods used should be valid, reliable and consistent. 7. Assessment for improved performance involves feedback and reflection. We also consider the need to have a range of assessment types, across the year and we also take into consideration what is required in later years.

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An administrator gives a system-level perspective when explaining the role of assessment in schools. At a system level, assessment: r allows a system-wide approach to analysing and reporting achievement and progress of students r provides the impetus for effective and targeted decision-making to improve student learning outcomes r ensures quality and equity across the diocese r provides stakeholders with evidence of what students know and need to know r demonstrates the benefits of system-wide initiatives and use of the curriculum to support student growth r enables comparability across cohorts, year levels, education systems and schools. At a classroom level, teachers with a sound understanding of the curriculum use assessment to: r inform their teaching r clarify where students are in their learning, what they know, where they need to go and how best to get there r monitor and document progress r differentiate instruction so that it is responsive to students’ needs r provide the basis for feedback and feed forward r substantiate their interpretation of student achievement and progress to students and parents.

While generally endorsing the above principles, Gusky (2007) adds that to be effective, assessments must be followed with high-quality corrective instruction and students should be allowed second chances to demonstrate success. Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness

Assessment in learning and assessment audiences

Assessment concepts and terminology

Equity and culture-fair assessment

Informal and formal assessments

Evidencebased learning

Diagnostic assessments

Assessment for learning

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Theoretical frameworks for conceptualising student achievement The link between assessment, curriculum, teaching and learning Assessment can be problematic

Summative and formative assessments Assessment for, of and as learning Normreferenced and criterionreferenced assessment frameworks Outcomes, standards, benchmarks and performance measures

Assessment design, strategies and techniques

The assessment process: quality issues Selecting and implementing assessment strategies and techniques

Assessment feedback

Why feedback is important Feedback techniques

Monitoring and recordkeeping

Forms of records

Reporting on student learning

Expectations on schools Expectations on teachers Sample report — primary Sample report — secondary

Assessment and reporting: future challenges and dilemmas The system and the individual Empowering the student Focus of learning and operational changes

Authentic assessment Rubrics Portfolios Selfassessment and peer assessment Assessment and digital environments

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Wiliam (2011), on the other hand, extends the purpose of assessment to include teaching, learning, feedback and information sharing within a broader community to: r support and enable students to determine where they are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there r monitor student learning r inform instructional decisions r create learning experiences that move students to the next phase through an effective feed up, feedback and feed forward process r provide information to students, parents and the wider community. Most education department/system websites will have policies and principles guiding assessment within that working context, such as the ACARA site mentioned by this teacher. It is recommended that the following is read in conjunction with such specific information from the particular system with which you are working.

12.1 Assessment in learning and assessment audiences LEARNING OBJECTIVE 12.1 Contextualise assessment and identify its role within the process of teaching and learning.

Assessment plays a crucial role in the education process, but it is not always felt to be a positive one by those enacting the assessment or by those whose work is subjected to it. The overriding purpose of assessment is to improve learning outcomes and inform instructional decisions, but the manifestation of this creates some tensions. Afflerbach (2016) asserts that the role of assessment is to produce information that is useful in helping students improve their learning and, unequivocally, that ‘assessment should do no harm’. When teachers use assessment data to inform their teaching, they are well equipped to meet students’ needs. They make educated choices about what and how to teach. Their teaching is purposeful and mindful. However, in practice, assessment is not always perceived to fulfil this role in the optimal way. Consider the following comments made by three secondary students. When done well, I think the assessment and feedback process helps me develop a much more effective learning relationship with my teacher. Secondary student I do not like assessment at all and just want to get it over and done with. I feel I just become a number and find it more stressful than helpful. Secondary student I get grades sometimes that I just don’t understand, even when I think I have done my best work. What does a ‘C’ or a ‘D’ really mean . . . or six out ten for that matter? Secondary student

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Why bother . . . I know I always fail. Tell me something I don’t know. Secondary student

These comments highlight the different effects assessment has upon how students feel about their learning and themselves. These comments represent possibly the best and worst attitudinal outcomes for students regarding the role of assessment in their development as learners. Morgan (2006) claims that effective and useful feedback depends on three things: (a) motive (the student needs it), (b) opportunity (the student receives it in time to use it), and (c) means (the student is able and willing to use the feedback). However, even with motive, opportunity and means, there is still large variability of feedback effects on performance and learning, including negative findings that have historically been overlooked in the literature (Kluger & DeNisi 1996). Hattie and Timperley (2007, p. 81) contend that ‘Feedback is one 422

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of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement, but this impact can be either positive or negative’. They state that feedback answers three questions: Where am I going? ⇒ Feed up How am I going? ⇒ Feed back Where to next? ⇒ Feed forward It is imperative that feedback is firmly based on the belief that all students can achieve success in learning and that all students have untapped potential. Students need to feel safe to take risks, feel encouraged to share their growing understandings without fear or threat, and be free to make mistakes in their pursuit of progress. Shute (2007) outlines appropriate and effective ways to support learning through the feedback process; these are described in table 12.1.

TABLE 12.1

Feedback to enhance learning

To do

To avoid

Focus feedback on the task, not the learner.

Do not give normative comparisons.

Provide elaborated feedback to enhance learning.

Be cautious about providing overall grades.

Present elaborated feedback in manageable units.

Do not present feedback that discourages the learner or threatens the learner’s self-esteem.

Be specific and clear with feedback messages.

Use praise sparingly, if at all.

Keep feedback as simple as possible but no simpler (based on learner needs and instructional constraints).

Try to avoid delivering feedback orally.

Reduce uncertainty between performance and goals.

Do not interrupt the learner with feedback if the learner is actively engaged.

Give unbiased, objective feedback, written or via computer.

Avoid using progressive hints that always terminate with the correct answer.

Promote a learning goal orientation via feedback.

Do not limit the mode of feedback presentation to text.

Provide feedback after learners have attempted a solution.

Minimise use of extensive error analyses and diagnosis.

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Source: Shute (2007).

Wiliam (2011) outlines four possible responses to feedback — the learner changes behaviour, changes the goal, abandons the goal or rejects the feedback. Not all these responses lead to improved learning. According to Wiliam, much of the feedback students receive has little or no impact on their learning, and some kinds of feedback are counterproductive. He claims some student responses to assessment at best do nothing and at worst result in lower performance. Clymer and Wiliam (2006–07, p. 36) argue that ‘ . . . our current grading practices don’t do the one thing they are meant to do, which is to provide an accurate indication of student achievement’. Whether it be a grade or comment, Kluger and DeNisi (1996) state that it is impossible to predict how a student will respond to feedback. The response depends on the individual receiving the feedback, the task, the timing and the recipient’s perception of the person giving the feedback. Teachers express a range of attitudes about assessment and reporting. In order to gauge the standard of our students, we need to consistently and frequently assess their progress and adjust our teaching accordingly. It is important that the intention of assessment is not lost or used for recording and reporting purposes only. Secondary teacher CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 423

As soon as you discuss a student’s work, as a teacher you have made a judgement on the quality of the work, identified where you think the student can improve and given the student important information about what it is that you value about their work. Primary teacher

Pre-service teachers, although still being assessed themselves, are moving from having their work assessed to assessing the work of others, while at the same time trying to develop a positive relationship with their students. The balance within these two roles is not self-evident. How do we provide positive comments and support to a student if their work really isn’t up to standard? Pre-service teacher

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This is not an easy question to answer. However, it is essential that teachers know and understand the curriculum, their students, the role of assessment (formative, diagnostic, and summative) and the relationship between assessment and instructional decision making. The F–10 Curriculum position paper (ACARA 2011) states that the ‘Development of the curriculum is based on the assumption that teachers, when planning for teaching and learning, will account for current levels of learning of individual students and the different rates at which students develop’. Effective teachers know their students and what has to be achieved in their subjects, that is, the learning expectations of students at a particular age and stage. They are also aware of what the student has accomplished to date and where they need to go next. They use the learning of their students to guide their teaching. Their intention is to provide feedback to move learning forward. They understand that assessment is the bridge between their teaching and learning. Assessments are undertaken for different audiences, even though the student is invariably the one being assessed. Assessment not only provides vital information for the student and the teacher, but provides the basis of parent reports and school-wide and system-wide accountability frameworks. According to Newton (2007) and Murchan and Shiel (2017), assessment fulfils four broad purposes for a variety of stakeholder groups: r Support learning — teachers, parents, peers, support services r Quality assurance — school management, local authorities, policy makers, public, tax payers r Policy development — policy-makers, public representatives, researchers r Selection and other — college admissions, employers, test developers, publishers, media. The fact that there are different stakeholder groups vying for assessment to fulfil different agendas is sometimes contentious and a point of frustration for teachers and students. It is always important to question the role of assessment in relation to the priorities of the various stakeholder groups. The curriculum/ assessment pedagogy model within this section places the student at the centre of assessment. At a system level, however, the key concern may be better described in terms of student learning outcomes and teacher/school accountability, rather than the individual needs of the student. The rest of this section of the chapter considers the various roles assessment brings to the education process and how both macro and micro elements of those roles may work in a more mutually consistent way to assist student learning.

Equity and culture-fair assessment National benchmark data (e.g. NAPLAN) consistently reports patterns of underachievement by Indigenous students. In order to address such inequity, it is essential for stakeholder groups to advocate for and adopt culturally responsive curriculum and assessment. Data across school, national and international levels consistently demonstrates that Australian schools are not addressing equity issues effectively (Sullivan, Tobias & McDonough 2006). The intention of culture-fair assessment implies that no particular culture has an advantage and/or privilege over another. According to Klenowski and Gertz (2009), culture-fair assessment is realised when issues such as language, content, developmental sequence, framing, content and interpretation, and reporting needs are addressed. When addressing such issues, it is imperative 424

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that the values and perspectives of the assessment designers be transparent. Brayboy and Castagno (2009) state that the starting point for culturally responsive schooling (including pedagogy, curriculum and assessment) must privilege the cultural identity and social background of students as an essential starting point.

Evidence-based learning Over the past two decades, greater accountability has been expected within the education process than previously. This, combined with shifts in thinking about curriculum design and priority setting, has resulted in different approaches to learning, assessing and reporting generally. It has been touted that by implementing accountability measures there will be greater ‘learning success’ across a system, as well as for individual participant learners. This success is to be made clearly evident to those outside of the classroom. This has led to scrutiny and disagreement around what constitutes ‘evidence of learning’. One outcome of assessment for accountability purposes has been to make the teacher’s role much more public and, as one might assume, create increased stress for teachers. It is not uncommon for teachers to feel that they are being assessed, and to some extent the evidence is used to provide insight into teacher effectiveness as well as student learning.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

As a tutorial/workshop group, undertake the following activity to open up discussion on the role and focus of assessment tasks: Who and what is being assessed? Barrier drawing 1. In pairs, each participant draws a common animal without seeing the other participant’s drawing. 2. Use a book to construct a barrier between the two participants. Participant 1 describes their drawing using only shapes, directions, and concepts. They must not mention the name or any identifying features of the animal being described. Participant 2 follows Participant 1’s directions and attempts to replicate the drawing on a separate piece of paper, sight unseen. 3. Repeat with Participant 2 describing their drawing and Participant 1 following instructions.

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Discuss Examine each of the drawings. Assign a score out of 5. r What criteria were used to decide on a score? r Who decided that the criteria were appropriate and why? r What data was used to determine a mark? r To what degree did background, shared cultural understandings and language knowledge play a part in the assessment gained? r To what degree did the ‘language knowledge and communication skills of the participant giving instructions play in the assessment gained? r What other factors need to be taken into consideration in assigning a score? Why? r Who is advantaged in this activity? Why?

A more transparent and evidence-based assessment process also has the potential to make the entire learning process (including the assessment process) much more explicit for the learners themselves. This allows them to take an increased role in their own learning and opens the possibility of more targeted communication between the teacher, learner and other stakeholders such as parents. Over the last few years there has been considerable exploration of the question ‘What should (or can) constitute evidence of learning and how is this best stated, measured and communicated?’ In other words, what should a contemporary assessment process focus on and how should it be enacted? Would this perspective be consistent across all stakeholder groups? Why? Why not? CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 425

Learning evidence: the classroom level and the system level One of the issues for teachers working within an evidence or data-based system is that a student who has made little effort and achieved a certain standard or outcome is deemed equivalent to a student who has worked extremely well, perhaps against significant hardship, to achieve the same standard. The best efforts of one student may be equivalent to the underdeveloped attempts of another. Any externalised measure of achievement for the two would rate them the same, but, for the teacher, equating them as learners sometimes causes unrest and the issue of ‘fairness’ for the students being compared goes unchallenged. Irrespective of where students are developmentally, it is imperative that assessment leads to all students’ improved efforts in learning. Are attainments against pre-set learning goals the best (and fairest) measure of learning? What would the student’s reaction be to achieving the same standard despite their lack of effort or extreme effort to achieve the same result? This issue highlights one of the tensions assessment brings into the classroom and the teacher–learner relationship. Curriculum priorities and assessment, however they are framed, should be focused on moving learning forward. Too often assessment focuses on identifying ‘the deficit’. The only opportunity then is for the student to view learning through the rear-view mirror, instead of through the windshield in the direction of possible progress. The NSW K–10 Curriculum Framework, Assessment for learning, highlights the following considerations when designing assessment to move learning forward: r provides feedback that helps students understand the next steps in learning and plan how to achieve them r reflects a belief that all students can improve r involves setting learning goals with students r helps students know and recognise the standards they are aiming for r is an essential and integrated part of teaching and learning r involves students in self-assessment and peer assessment r involves teachers, students and parents reflecting on assessment data. It is important to point out that assessment should not be a tool for managing anything other than learning. For some students, their only experience of assessment has been to fail. Kluger and DeNisi (1996), in their review of 131 studies on the topic of feedback, found that about one-third of feedback interventions decreased learning. Feedback is often focussed on what is ‘wrong’ and Voerman et al. (2012) propose the ratio of 3:1 positive:negative feedback in classrooms. If that is students’ ongoing experience of feedback and learning, it has to result in limited participation or engagement. Brown (2012, p. 14) reminds us of the detrimental implications of the shame of failing.

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If we want to reignite innovation and passion, we have to re-humanise work. When shame becomes a management style, engagement dies. When failure is not an option, we can forget about learning, creativity, and innovation.

According to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL n.d., p. 3), effective feedback practices provide the bridge between assessment and learning. High-quality feedback can improve student learning by as much as eight months. According to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, all teachers are required to assess student learning and provide feedback about learning. Feedback should focus on effort or process rather than ‘intelligence’. Comments such as ‘You are very clever . . . smart, etc.!’ imply a fixed intelligence and/or ability. According to Dweck (2007), such comments contribute to students becoming less confident, less resilient, less motivated and more risk averse. When it comes to assessment, issues regarding student behaviour or attitude have to be considered. For many students, poor behaviour and inappropriate attitudes provide a way of coping. They would rather be perceived as lazy, the class clown or invisible, than a failure when it comes to assessment. Their survival in the classroom depends on avoiding the shame and humiliation of failing. Wiliam (2011) states that ‘As soon as students compare themselves with someone else, 426

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their mental energy becomes focussed on protecting their own sense of well-being rather than learning anything new’. An effective teacher adopts a range of assessment options to engage all students, irrespective of where they are on the learning continuum. Assessments do not have to be formal to gain insights about learners. Observations, conferencing and collaborative activities are often less threatening to the struggling learner than a formal assessment and serve to inform teaching and learning. Frank Smith, a leader in reading research, claims that if we have to ‘test’ reading then we have not been listening to kids read. The same would apply to any discipline — by interacting with students, conferencing and observing their learning, perceptive teachers know a lot about who they teach and what instructional decisions they are required to make. Often, when teachers listen to students they do so with a focus on whether the response is correct or incorrect rather than being focused on what can be learned about the student and the student’s understanding. When teachers depend solely on the results of formal assessments, inaccurate and incomplete understandings of the learner’s knowledge and capabilities ensue. The struggling reader for example, may know a lot more about the topic being assessed but fails to comprehend the multiple-choice questions. The following teacher poses issues arising from the implementation of a formal assessment.

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Formal assessments are a pain in the neck, because you [think you] know where each child will sit on the continuum before you mark them. Another problem is that unless there is one correct answer, it is subjective. Sometimes, the result doesn’t give you enough information. If you give two students a problem to solve and they both get the final answer correct, does the student who uses a more sophisticated method get it ‘more’ correct?

In an assessment context, ‘subjective’ means that the teacher’s interpretation impacts on the outcome or results; in other words, the assessment task is designed such that there are multiple possible ‘correct’ answers. It could be (and often is) argued that assessment methods that are totally objective (if that is even possible) are fairer to the students than those that are subjective. ‘Objectivity’ within this context means that the assessment tasks are designed such that only one answer is correct and therefore interpretations or inferences by teachers are not needed. (One could question whether the mere act of determining which questions are contained in the test depletes the notion of objectivity.) Another issue that can interfere with teacher’s subjectivity in assigning a grade or mark is incorrect spelling and illegible handwriting. The question then becomes what is actually being tested: content knowledge, spelling, handwriting or in some instances, the students’ reading ability? Another contention within education and assessment is that tasks or potential outcomes by their very nature contain a degree of subjectivity (e.g. marking an essay). To remove all subjective elements because they do not conform to purely objective assessment approaches would change much of the curriculum that students experience. The value in subjective assessment tasks is that they allow students to utilise and display their knowledge, skills, creativity and understandings instead of merely identifying the required answer. They are therefore better at assessing the more complex or higher-order learning goals of the curriculum including critical thinking, problem solving or self-directed learning. This leads to an obvious and central question: what legitimate learning priorities and outcomes should be assessed? Depending on the stakeholder group, the responses will vary according to the groups’ priorities and agendas. If all stakeholders had an agreed response and if their priorities did not continually change, there would be much less debate in education. Irrespective of what evidence teachers collect, their pedagogical knowledge and level of curriculum expertise has a profound impact on what is done with the data and the feedback provided to students. For example, according to Heitink et al. (2016) teachers who are cognisant with the curriculum and have a deep pedagogical understanding will provide more beneficial feedback to students.

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 427

Are some elements of learning incompatible with an evidence-based model? If you were asked to demonstrate to an outside, unknown person how well you can use a computer, you could probably think about ways to do so. However, what if you were asked to demonstrate your appreciation of art or ability to behave ethically? Curriculum statements and school priorities and policies have often included things such as ethical behaviour, tolerance, aesthetics and creativity within stated goals of learning programs, but can these be assessed in the same way as arithmetic or spelling aptitude, or even the structuring of an argument through an essay? What constitutes the boundaries of the assessable (and explicit) curriculum priorities is an issue of debate that will be returned to later in this chapter. It is also an area much explored by academics and researchers in recent years. (For further consideration of such issues, see Stobart 2008.) The assessment debate often fails to address the need for culturally responsive assessment that is based on a genuine understanding of students and their needs. Often, assessment decisions are predetermined by the world view of the teacher and their perceptions of their students and their families. The New York University Steinhardt brief on Culturally responsive classroom management strategies (2008, p. 3) claims that in culturally responsive classrooms, ‘Teachers . . . recognise their biases and values and reflect on their interactions with students as well as what learning looks like’. Gay (2000) states that culturally responsive teachers analyse curriculum documents in terms of cultural strengths and weaknesses and take into consideration accuracy, purpose, significance, authenticity of narrative texts, visual illustrations, learning activities and authorial sources. Richards et al. (2007) highlight the need for teachers to be responsive to cultural differences and discuss how to address these differences through teaching and assessment. They identify the following characteristics of culturally responsive practice: r understands the concept of culture and its importance r is aware of one’s own and others’ group memberships and histories r considers how past and current circumstances contribute to presenting behaviours r examines one’s own attitudes and biases and how they impact on relationships with students r articulates positive and constructive views of difference r makes tangible efforts (e.g. home visits, student inventories) to reach out and understand differences.

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Assessment for learning As mentioned above, the primary role of the assessment/reporting process is to improve student learning and inform teaching. There has also been a shift in how assessment is situated within the learning process over the past two decades. When defined as assessment ‘of’ learning, the assessment process was primarily the concern of the teacher and linked to the role of the teacher. However, if assessment is defined as ‘for’ learning or even ‘as’ learning (this is discussed in a later section), it becomes a joint responsibility of teacher and learner. Within this chapter, assessment will be defined as an integral part of the learning process and not just a role enacted by the teacher — that is, assessment is not something done by teachers to students, it is something done by teachers with students. When this process is explicit, negotiated and transparent, learning moves forward. According to Parr et al. (2007), students who understand learning goals and either receive or self-generate feedback about their progress in reaching them are more successful learners than those who do not. Brookhart, Moss and Long (2008, p. 52) agree. It’s a paradox. When teachers hand over to students the power to shape their own learning, the learning that occurs is often more powerful than what would have transpired if the teacher had directed learning activities. Even the most effective teacher can’t do students’ learning for them. Effective teachers create opportunities that maximize the chances learning will happen. By providing students and teachers with specific, regular feedback on how well students are mastering key concepts and skills, formative assessment helps teachers create such opportunities.

428

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The strategies considered in this chapter accommodate the ‘mutual empowerment’ role of assessment.

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Theoretical frameworks for conceptualising student achievement Assessment measures aspects of student learning including knowledge, skills, attitudes and understandings against some framework for thinking about learning achievement. These frameworks essentially take two forms: r frameworks that measure depth or complexity of learning at a given point r frameworks that measure development over time against the student’s previous work and/or some external representation of anticipated progress (this form is explored more in the standards and benchmarks part of the next section). One theoretical frame that measures cognitive learning depth at a point in time is Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom et al. 1956). It has been highly influential on thinking about learning and assessment and is still one of the most cited references in education. This taxonomy is a representation of depth of learning from the most basic knowledge to the deeper and more complex categories of learning outcomes. Bloom’s taxonomy has had such impact and longevity because it describes learning beyond test-assessed factual recall and describes complex layers of learning. The model is still referred to because it recognises and articulates the importance of application of knowledge rather than just knowledge recall in student learning. Originally developed in 1956 (Bloom et al.) to define categories of cognitive learning, it was revised four decades later (Anderson 1999; Anderson & Krathwohl 2001). Further revisions have been undertaken (Churches 2009) to cater for the digital classroom. Churches offers Bloom’s digital taxonomy to account for the new behaviours, actions and learning opportunities emerging as technologies advance and become more ubiquitous. The digital taxonomy revisits Bloom’s work with a focus on digital activity and outcomes. This provides a focus for the use of ICTs to enable teachers to sequence classroom activities and develop higher order skills in each (digital) teaching and learning program. Digital learning does not require a remake of successful pedagogical approaches for teaching and learning content, but recognition of the possibilities to use alternative platforms for established learning activities and assessment — discovering new ways to support all learners. As is evident in Bloom’s digital taxonomy (figure 12.4), options for teachers and learners have expanded and offer new possibilities at all stages of the learning process. Bloom’s taxonomy has been used as a reference point for assessment design since its creation. It must be recognised, however, that it is not to be interpreted as a development-over-time model (as are most of the standards frameworks), but as a taxonomy. It describes depth of possible cognitive functions at a particular time. The more sophisticated levels of the taxonomy are typically referred to as ‘higher-order’ thinking or ‘deep’ thinking. Students at all ages are presented with tasks that allow them to perform at a range of levels of complexity; they do not necessarily start at the superficial and then, over time, progress to the deeper levels (although of course, to some degree that will occur as they become better learners, thinkers and communicators). Bloom’s taxonomy is applicable to all learners capable of learning beyond the superficial. Student ‘development over time’ frameworks are what the various iterations of curriculum outcomes and standards frameworks around the country embody. The curriculum organisers represent the priority domains, themes or subjects of the curriculum while the specific outcomes within them represent the developmental framework for that domain. The assumption behind each of these models is that it is possible to identify things that students can get better at over time (as a consequence of the teaching and learning process), and that those changes are relatively predictable and can be mapped.

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 429

FIGURE 12.4

Bloom’s digital taxonomy (diagram revision by Churches 2009; additional words in blue)

Verbs

designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing, devising making, programming, filming, animating, blogging, video blogging, mixing, remixing, wiki-ing, publishing, videocasting, podcasting, directing/producing

Verbs

checking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging, testing detecting, monitoring, (blog/vlog) commenting, reviewing, posting, moderating, collaborating, networking, refactoring, (alpha & beta) testing

Analysing

Verbs

comparing, organising, deconstructing attributing, outlining, finding, structuring, integrating, mashing, linking, tagging, validating, reverse-engineering, cracking

Applying

Verbs

implementing, carrying out, using, executing, running, loading, playing, operating, hacking, uploading, sharing, editing

Verbs

interpreting, summarising, inferring, paraphrasing, classifying, comparing, explaining, exemplifying, advanced searches, boolean searches, blog journaling, tweeting, catergorising, commenting, annotating, subscribing

Verbs

recognising, listing, describing, identifying, retrieving, naming, locating, finding, bullet pointing, highlighting, bookmarking, social networking, social bookmarking, favouriting/local bookmarking, searching, googling

Bloom’s digital taxonomy Creating

Key terms

Evaluating

Understanding

Remembering

Source: Bloom et al. (1956), diagram revised by Churches (2009).

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The link between assessment, curriculum, teaching and learning Assessment is integral to all aspects of teaching and learning. Most contemporary curriculum design includes some form of outcomes or standards-based ‘backward design’ model (Wiggins & McTighe 2005), where priorities for the learning and assessment process are determined and made explicit at the outset and represented as a part of the curriculum. Without a clear statement of learning intentions (so that students can identify what they are being asked to do) optimal learning will not occur, as students cannot be full participants in the process. Students need to understand what they are aspiring to achieve. In the model for developing assessment activities contained in Advice on Assessment (NSW Board of Studies K–10 syllabus for the Australian Curriculum), the connections between ongoing assessment, teaching and learning are apparent. The model emphasises: r that outcomes are central to the decisions teachers make about teaching, learning and assessment r the importance of gathering evidence about student learning in relation to the outcomes 430

PART 3 Preparation, practice and process

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r how teachers use evidence to determine how well students are achieving in relation to the outcomes r the importance of teacher feedback and student reflection r how evidence of student achievement informs future teaching and learning. Ongoing assessment provides a feedback loop against these intentions within the learning process based upon resultant student work. This provides a learning framework that students can respond to as learners. It assists them to plan and target their personal learning focus and goals (both short and longer term). Assessment therefore is an ongoing process of priority setting, professional judgement and communication by both teachers and students, and is an integral part of curriculum design and planning for any learning (see chapter 7 for details on planning for practice). If any one of these aspects (assessment, curriculum or pedagogy) is unclear, weak or inconsistent with the remainder, the value of the process to the learner is greatly diminished, or at the very least confusing. As well as having clear links to curriculum, assessment also has implications for pedagogy and vice versa. The pedagogical principles that underpin the choices a teacher makes regarding what is taught and how it is taught impact significantly on the role of assessment and the types of assessment used in classrooms. The teacher who believes in a top-down model of teaching where students are passive recipients of teacher-directed learning will define assessment to fit this model. By comparison, the teacher whose pedagogy is embedded in a constructivist, inquiry model where students are active participants and collaborative learners will hold a different set of beliefs about the role and value of assessment. Most analyses of pedagogy focus on the importance of the teacher–learner relationship. When one partner within that relationship is continually judging the work of the other as a part of their role, that behaviour influences and has an impact on the overall relationship. Wiliam (2011) shifts the emphasis from ‘teacher as judge’ to make the analogy of ‘teacher as high achieving sports coach’ in order to maximise learning. The coach not only identifies talent, but also nurtures it, produces it and often has learners achieving beyond their expectations. He claims that feedback is critical in moving the learner forward and is only effective if the information fed to the learner is used by the learner to improve performance. Students understand the goals and expectations in such classrooms and are familiar with the criteria for success. They receive timely feedback, advice and support. Assessment plays a critical role in determining the nature of the relationship that exists between the learner and the teacher. How it influences this relationship is a major consideration if assessment and feedback is to be an ever-present and a positive dimension of the educational process. Assessment not only provides information for and about the learner, but is also a critical component of feedback to the teacher about a learner’s knowledge, understandings, beliefs, attitudes, interests and needs over time. It provides an essential way for teachers to know who they are teaching and is the critical link in determining what needs to be taught and how. Sparks (2007, p. xviii) claims that ‘the lack of clarity, resignation and dependency on the part of principals and teachers are major barriers to quality teaching in all classrooms and successful learning of students’. In comparison, Black and Wiliam (2010) claim that in classrooms where the focus is on progress, development, improvement and achievement, each student works on specific goals and receives targeted advice about the next steps, and teachers interact frequently with small groups and individuals.

Assessment can be problematic Assessment needs to fulfil a variety of purposes for a variety of audiences and this sometimes causes tensions, especially for the teacher and student. Assessment has to meet the needs of a system, a school, parents and the individual without adversely impacting on the critical relationship that exists between teacher and student. The teacher must be supportive and build learning confidence and rapport with students while continually judging their work and providing feedback. Some form of these assessments must ultimately go beyond the learner and the classroom to a broader audience, including parents, school administrations and government departments. To do this effectively requires a high degree of skill, knowledge and informed strategy selection on the part of the teacher. This chapter provides CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 431

insights into how this can be done to maximise the effectiveness of assessment within the total education process. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Assessment often is embedded in classroom practice in ways that are not obvious to the students. Think about how ongoing assessments of student learning would look in your classroom and how students can become active and self-aware informants in this process. Identify ten indicators that learning is occurring in your classroom.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Some time ago, the assessment and reporting system in one state changed so that no specific grade was to be placed (on feedback and reports) against any subject in which a student received a less than satisfactory mark. The box for the grade was just to be left blank. At the time, one teacher stated, ‘But if I can’t give them a poor mark, how can I get the message across to them that they aren’t working hard enough?’ What is this teacher’s view of each of the following? 1. The teacher’s role in assessment 2. The student’s role in assessment 3. Do this teacher’s beliefs about assessment cater for the diversity of student needs and equity issues found in the classroom? How? Fogarty (2010, p. 218) maintains that if the delivery of schooling and curriculum is going to meet the needs of the aspirations of Indigenous people, ‘it must be able to both include Indigenous knowledge and provide mainstream Western education’. Respond to this quote in light of the above. Watch the video at https://lsia.acu.edu.au/2016/03/15/examining-educational-progress-of-indigenous-andnon-indigenous-australian-school-students-from-year-3-to-year-5-in-queensland-naplan-outcomes/. Reflect on your response.

12.2 Assessment concepts and terminology LEARNING OBJECTIVE 12.2 Use the language of assessment and related concepts.

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Education professionals use correctly the language and concepts of their profession as would any professional in any other field or discipline. They are expected to not only know the language of their content area (e.g. science, history or English), but also the language and key concepts of education itself. One aspect of this professional knowledge is the terminology and concepts associated with assessment and reporting. This section of the chapter focuses on the central concepts within assessment and key terms applicable to classrooms and schools.

Informal and formal assessments Assessments can take many forms, but all will fall into one of two broad categories: informal and formal. As such, the range of assessment processes is extensive and ranges from specific, designed and predetermined tasks, to ongoing informal interactions between teacher and students, to the collection of student work samples.

Informal assessment Much of the assessment conducted in classrooms is informal. Each time a teacher responds to a child, comments on their work or answers a question, they are involved to some degree in an assessment process. 432

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Informal assessments are a ubiquitous component of the teaching and learning process. Most teachers greatly value the place of informal assessment in their teaching as it provides daily, minute-by-minute insight into the individual and their learning development as the learning occurs. Consider this statement by a secondary teacher: Informal approaches using collaborative activities, class discussion and group interaction can provide a more accurate assessment of ability/understanding of my students. Although formal assessments are necessary, they remain rudimentary and not necessarily accurate.

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Informal assessments influence all aspects of the teaching and learning process, curriculum interpretation and translation and strategy selection. They provide valuable insights into and for the individual student. This is where a teacher’s curriculum knowledge and pedagogical skill play a large role in the overall effectiveness of the process as an ever-present component of the classroom. One short classroom exchange with a student informs a teacher’s reflections on learning and instruction if the teacher views such exchanges as a critical part of the informal assessment process. In such cases, the results of the informal assessment influence planning the student’s future learning opportunities. r What is an effective question? r Who is asking the questions? r How should questions be phrased and answers interpreted? r What does it say about the understanding of that particular child and the challenge or task? r How does the student’s response align with what the teacher anticipates at their present developmental stage regarding this aspect of their learning? r What insights can be gained about the student’s attitudes and motivation to the topic at hand? r What does it tell the teacher about the student’s learning awareness and personal learning skills?

Short exchanges with students can be a critical part of the informal assessment process.

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Informal assessment and feedback occurs constantly and is the greatest source of information regarding achievement; collectively, it also informs ongoing strategy and curriculum planning. Primary teacher Teachers are continually assessing students informally on a daily basis. It is sometimes difficult to attach a grade to student understanding, or the development of thought processes, but it is this progress which ultimately affects the overall outcome of their learning. For instance, when students develop the ability/ maturity to effectively and cooperatively work with other group members to achieve a goal, then the learning process is more likely to be successful and the objective is more likely to be achieved. On the other hand, if that same group struggle to cooperate, then the outcome will alter dramatically, reducing the likelihood of the learning objective. Teachers are able to see this process in action and can assess the students’ ability to interact, develop and share ideas and work towards reaching the learning objective. Secondary teacher

Formal assessment Formal assessment is the planned and structured assessment process that is designed to provide the evidence that is required by a range of audiences regarding a student’s progress and levels of achievement. Some formal assessments are planned and enacted by the teacher; others are implemented from beyond the classroom (e.g. national literacy testing or final-year exams in secondary school). The formal assessment process is very much a part of the overall accountability framework within which teachers operate. As far as accountability goes, formal assessments can be useful because the results provide evidence to support and justify the final grade on the student’s report. Primary teacher Formal assessments such as NAPLAN just give me another perspective on my learners’ progress . . . just another slice of an overall understanding of who my students are and what they know. Primary teacher Traditionally, student performance is assessed by using a range of indicators such as assignments, essays, exams, oral presentations and group tasks. These remain because such a clear assessment process is required for external purposes such as reporting at the various levels. Secondary teacher

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The key thing about formal assessments is that they are accessible to others (beyond the teacher) as a defined and linked process of the learning intention/priority, challenge or student task, evidence gained and interpreted. Increasingly the results of such assessments are used in a comparative way against an externally designed continuum of expected student development allowing a student, class or school (or in some instances at a state or country level) to be compared within a wider framework. In this way, formal assessments play a significant role in terms of overall accountability for the teacher, the school and the system. However, Weinstein et al. (2004) contend that this type of assessment can privilege select groups of students while marginalising or segregating others. They state that such tests generally require literacy in the dominant language and, consequently, are culturally and linguistically biased, in spite of the best efforts of writers to ensure otherwise.

Diagnostic assessments Diagnostic assessments are also defined by their intent. The purpose of any diagnostic assessment is to map the student as a learner, either in a holistic way or through specific identified traits. Traditionally, a diagnostic assessment was seen as a formal, normative assessment developed to identify specific developmental aspects of a student (e.g. reading age) against some external continuum or level of expectation. Alternatively, they were used to identify the existence or nature of any learning inhibitors (in a purely medical sense this may include hearing impairment, for example, but also may be things such as study skill levels or cognitive functioning). This narrow, traditional definition has been criticised because it 434

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represents a deficit model, with students often being referred for such diagnostic testing, or results from such tests only being considered, if there existed a perceived learning problem. Diagnostic tests have also been used (and still are) to identify students who are operating above generally anticipated levels in order to place them into accelerated or extended learning programs (sometimes called ‘gifted and talented’ programs). Diagnostic assessments are still a part of the contemporary education framework but — along with the shift in interpretation of assessment purposes generally — there has been a broadening of the function of diagnostic assessments. It is a mapping of the student, but may include many other elements influencing their learning. In addition to assessing conventional cognitive development and skills, it may include aspects such as values and dispositions. Diagnostic assessments are no longer just a response to perceived problems or giftedness. This wider definition therefore potentially includes much of the informal assessment, analysis and feedback process that teachers undertake within their classroom. The data gathered helps the teacher understand the student as a learner and class participant and can be used in a diagnostic way. Such cumulative knowledge makes the classroom teacher an active participant at all levels of gathering and interpreting assessment data. If we receive information about a student that diagnoses some particular learning issue — what do we do with that information in the classroom? Pre-service teacher Diagnostic tests can be valuable in giving one perspective or snapshot of the learner. They contribute to determining the specific needs of students within benchmark parameters. Careful analysis of test results combined with other assessment data and prior knowledge of student abilities, understandings, and attitudes enables teachers to design interventions that target the specific learning needs of the individual. Primary teacher

Summative and formative assessments The majority of assessments that take place within the classroom are informal and formative, with summative assessments most commonly linked to the more formal external reporting and accountability frameworks mentioned previously. The two aspects of assessment are not mutually exclusive and many assessment processes will have both summative and formative functions attached to the same task. The difference is one of purpose rather than of assessment type. The important thing is to first clarify the purpose of the assessment and then choose the appropriate assessment tool taking into consideration purpose, audience and context.

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Summative assessment Summative assessment strategies and processes are those that lead to a formal assessment of a student’s learning progress at a particular point in time. The primary purpose of summative assessment is usually attached to certification of, or reporting on, the learning achievement to that point and is associated with mastery and accountability. Summative assessments may be expressed as a final mark, a grade or a point on some particular standards or outcomes continuum. The mark or grade may be accompanied by a comment or statement, but if it has a purely summative function this will also be expressed in a way that describes only what has been achieved. Typically, in a school context, summative assessments focus on the end of a stage or unit of work, at the end of term, whenever reports are to be produced, or at the end of a course. Summative assessments are often derived from assessment tasks such as assignments and exams, but may also be linked to outcome tasks such as a final performance (e.g. in music) or artefact (e.g. a designed and constructed piece of technology). Increasingly, more complex and authentic assessment tasks are making a contribution to summative outcomes. At our school all assessment tasks are expected to have assessment criteria that are known to students in advance of any summative assessment task. At the Year 12 senior level these criteria are provided by CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 435

VCAA but in Years 7–11 they are developed at the school and then used across year levels. Often in Years 7–10 rubrics are developed to allow discrimination of standards across these criteria. These rubrics are usually designed by teachers but sometimes in consultation with students and distributed in advance. They are used to explain the requirements of the task. The same rubrics are then sometimes used for student self-assessment, peer assessment and lastly by the teacher to determine the final grade. Secondary teacher/curriculum leader High-stakes assessments

As the name implies, high-stakes assessments are those that are summative in nature and have long-term implications for future opportunities (e.g. acceptance into a particular tertiary course). In the Australian system, as students move into the senior secondary years, assessments become increasingly high stakes, culminating in the final Year 12 assessments, which often form the basis of immediate post-school study opportunities. In many countries, high-stakes assessments begin at much younger ages, including primary school contexts. High-stakes assessments give rise to their own collection of controversies — social, political and educational — as education moves more into competitive and commercial arenas. At the beginning of the year I just wanted to do my best, not because of any career aspirations but for personal satisfaction. However, because of the stress now that the end of the year is approaching I feel more pressured to do what I must do and really just focus on my strengths. Year 12 student

Formative assessment Formative assessment provides information about what the student knows, understands and can do and it results in feedback to improve future learning. It is assessment, formal or informal, that is designed specifically to provide evidence and information to improve future learning decisions and actions by the student being assessed. Formative assessment is assessment ‘for’ learning rather than ‘of’ learning as explained by Black and his colleagues (2004, p. 10).

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Assessment for learning is any assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting pupil’s learning. It thus differs from assessment designed primarily to serve the purpose of accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying competence. An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be used as feedback, by teachers, and their pupils, in assessing themselves and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.

Research clearly demonstrates that when assessment and feedback function optimally in the classroom they play a critical role in student learning (Black & Wiliam 1998). The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL n.d.) claims that quality feedback has the potential to both markedly improve student learning and reduce the gap between higher- and lower-achieving students. Wiliam (2011) contends that research into formative assessment practices in classrooms shows that these practices have a much greater impact on education achievement than most other reforms. To concur, OECD/CERI (2005) points to substantial gains in student achievement that can be effected through the use of formative assessment in the classroom. Achievement gains associated with the use of formative assessment in the classroom have been characterised as ‘among the largest ever reported for educational interventions’ (OECD 2013). In addition, research by Wiliam and Thompson (2007) states that formative assessment produces greater increases in students’ achievements than class size reduction or increases in teachers’ content knowledge, and at a fraction of the cost. Many products and service touted as ‘formative assessment’ were produced as a result of the strong research evidence supporting the value of formative assessment. A cautionary warning to teachers is that few embody the principles that the research shows as essential to enhancing students’ learning (Shepard 2007). Wiliam (2011, p. 51) claims there are five key strategies of formative assessment, with one big idea. The five key strategies are: 1. clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success 2. engineering effective classroom discussions, activities and learning that elicits evidence of learning 436

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3. providing feedback that moves learning forward 4. activating learners as instructional resources for one another 5. activating learners as the owners of their own learning. The one big idea is that evidence about learning is used to adjust instructions to better meet student needs. Many of the assessment quotations from students and teachers cited earlier in this chapter refer to this formative function of assessment and its impact. Formative strategies that I use include mind mapping pre-existing knowledge, discussions of assessment or rubric criteria, observations of progress, use of a research diary to record activities completed, informal questioning, reflective journal writing and think, pair, share activities identifying progress on a task. At the end of an assessment task students often use a rubric to either self-assess or peer assess. Formative assessment gives me feedback about the progress in understanding of a student and helps me plan future learning activities. Secondary teacher

Formative assessment was not designed as a ‘quick fix’ or ‘magic bullet’ to fix student achievement or improve quality teaching. It takes work and sustained focussed attention to implement effectively. Wiliam claims that there is ‘evidence that sustained professional development focussed on minute by minute and day-by-day formative assessment can improve students’ engagement, enrich the daily experience of educators, and produce substantial increases in students’ achievement’ (Wiliam 2007). Sadler (1989) states that the only way to tell if learning results from feedback is for students to make some kind of response to complete the feedback loop. According to Boud (2000), this is one of the most often forgotten aspects of formative assessment. He claims that unless students are able to use ‘the feedback to produce improved work, through for example, re-doing the same assignment, neither they nor those giving the feedback will know that it has been effective’ (p. 158). Murchan and Shiel (2017) adds that there is a significant connection between formative assessment and differentiation. Differentiated instruction, according to Heacox (2012, p. 5), involves ‘changing the pace, level or kind of instruction you provide in response to individual learners’ needs, styles or interests’. It is difficult to imagine how effective teachers could differentiate instruction without formative assessment.

Assessment for, of and as learning Summative and formative forms of assessment have typically been described as assessment of learning (summative) and assessment for learning (formative), but with the contemporary view of the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment as an integrated learning process has arisen a third concept of assessment — assessment as learning. By introducing the notion of Assessment as Learning, I intend to reinforce and extend the role of formative assessment for learning by emphasising the role of the student, not only as a contributor to the assessment and learning process, but also as the critical connector between them (Earl 2003, p. 25).

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Assessment as learning In recent years, an emphasis on empowering the learner through greater student metacognition, along with a more integrated view of the overall learning process, has given rise to the concept of assessment as learning (Earl 2003). Assessment as learning involves students as active participants in the assessment process, not just the providers of data and receivers of feedback. In a classroom with an assessment as learning approach, students continually reflect upon their learning in a metacognitive way that manifests as ongoing self-assessment and response (usually through learning strategy selection or goal setting). The ultimate aim of an assessment as learning approach is to develop greater learning awareness, increased responsibility, motivation, independence and proficiency within the students themselves, resulting in them becoming more responsible and effective learners. It is worth noting that students do not necessarily know CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 437

what their ‘next’ goal is and how to achieve it. The teacher (as curriculum expert) plays a facilitating role in negotiating and informing ‘where to next’ with each student. When students are engaged in assessment as learning, they: r learn about themselves as learners and become aware of how they learn — enhance metacognitive skills r engage in self-reflective practices on a regular basis r determine future learning goals by self- and peer assessment in collaboration with the teacher r can learn to be self-regulating and self-reliant r experience increased motivation to learn r assume greater responsibility for their learning and monitoring their future directions. Questions to guide the students’ learning include: r What do I know and understand about this topic? r What is the purpose of learning about this topic, concepts and skill? r What strategies do I know that will help me learn this? r What are the criteria for improving my work? r Have I accomplished the goals I set for myself? (Adapted from Schraw 1998.) When assessment as learning drives pedagogy, the teacher’s role is focused on monitoring, guiding and collaborating with students. The teacher works with students to establish clear criteria of good practice and students are given greater autonomy in setting their own goals and self-monitoring. Students are taught the skills of self-assessment. They are encouraged to be risk-takers, reflective learners, innovators and problem solvers in an environment that is safe and nonthreatening. The teacher provides examples of quality work, resources that support and challenge learning, and ongoing descriptive feedback not only about the task at hand but also the student’s metacognitive processes. With technology, the escalation in participative tools and ever-increasing access to information, it is inevitable that there be an appeal by students for greater autonomy in learning. Consequently, the role of teacher as assessor is forced to change. A report by the National Center on Education and the Economy (2007, p. 8) states ‘that our education and training systems were built for another era’. Wyn (2009, p. 2) agrees: ‘One of the greatest challenges that faces educational leaders today is the legacy of the last educational transformation — the mass secondary education system that was designed to meet the needs of Australia in the 1950s . . . Secondary schools that were built all over Australia in the 1950s still stand as a reminder of the thinking that informed educational design at that time’. Several educators have put forward models of teacher and learner roles and interaction in a technologically enabled era; these include John Seely Brown’s (2006) notion of studio or atelier learning, Curtis Bonk’s (2007) notion of educator as concierge, and educator as curator (Weisgerber 2012). Weisgerber explains that ‘educator as curator’ is about social learning and has great potential with the explosion of social learning tools. However, Weisgerber (2012) also predicts such a model will face acute resistance as the concept collides with traditional teaching methods.

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At the lower secondary levels, there is a temptation for teachers to treat students generously, citing their young age and principles of pastoral care. In the long term, however, this does nothing to enhance a student’s grasp of reality and what his/her learning needs are. No-one can improve if they are not given a higher level to aim for and a reasoned justification of where their work is falling short of expectations. Young people are generally honest in their own assessment of their work progress and tend to be more respectful of teachers who deal with them in the same framework of honesty. Secondary teacher I regard assessment of learning as one of the most important parts of the assessment process. At the end of each assessment task in my Year 7–12 classrooms I ask students to complete a piece of reflective writing. This reflection usually covers the key questions of: r What did I do well? r What did I not do well? r How could my work be improved and why I think this? 438

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This reflection is usually completed after students have completed their self-assessment and a peer assessment using a carefully designed rubric. Sometimes these reflections are then posted into a student digital portfolio which gives a powerful ongoing record of a student’s reflections on their learning over time. Secondary teacher

Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment frameworks When assessments are produced, they are often designed to match the evidence produced by a specific student to some external framework to allow a summative judgement to be made about comparative levels of achievement. There are many variations of such frameworks, and some specific ones such as benchmark testing will be considered later; however, two definitive and common forms are norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment frameworks.

Norm-referenced assessment Norm-referenced assessment (also known as normative or norm-based assessment) frameworks arise from the premise that there exists some external, ‘normal’ set of outcomes or distribution of scores against which a student’s or group of students’ work can legitimately be compared, contrasted or ranked. Typically this ‘norm’ is a set of assessment outcomes derived from similar students. Consequently, the grading for a particular student is dependent upon the performance of others. The best-known normative framework is probably the ‘bell curve’. If a population sample is sufficiently large the distribution of possible outcomes will be symmetrical around the most typical or average. As the distribution moves out from that central point it falls away in both directions to produce a bell-shaped curve if represented graphically. If it is assumed that for any specific task the spread of achievements for a large population would manifest as a bell curve distribution, it is possible to map any reasonably sized outcomes set against such a curve to determine where any individual would fit against a ‘normal’ population. Where any individual falls on the curve is determined by their performance and their alignment with the performance of the larger population represented by the curve. Such measures are still used to some degree in contemporary assessment practices; however, at the classroom and school level they are not used as frequently as they were in the past. Normative assessments have limited transparency for students as they often have no idea how their work might compare to the large population norms until they are plotted against them. Even if they are told which elements of their work scored well and which did not, this provides little insight into why they scored the way they did, nor why or how to respond in the future other than perhaps where to target their efforts in a general way. Knowing where they sit on the bell curve can also have a detrimental impact on students at the lower end. It does little to support their growth and even less to tell them why they are where they are and what they need to do to improve.

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Criterion-referenced assessment Criterion-referenced assessment (or criterion-based assessment) is assessment that compares a student’s work to a set of defined, explicit and objective criteria, rather than to the performance of others. Once a set of criteria for assessment has been determined, any given student’s work is judged against those criteria rather than against other students. Criteria may be drawn from a developmental set of level statements, benchmarks or standards, which may or may not have been tested against a large population sample. Other than the initial development of these benchmarks or standards, the performance of others has no bearing on a given individual’s assessments. One of the strongest arguments in favour of criterion-referenced assessment is that it is clearer to the students from the outset what they are expected to demonstrate to receive a particular assessment outcome. A detailed criterion-based system will not only communicate the broad criteria the assessment is to be made against, but also expectations and interpretations aligned to potential levels of achievement CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 439

against those criteria. When criterion-based assessment systems first began to replace the more traditional normative ones, concern was expressed that under such a system all or any number of students could pass or fail (whereas under a normative system that could be controlled by a simple decision of where the pass line would be drawn across the distribution). The move to criterion-based assessment marked the initial major step in involving students in the assessment process that has evolved and developed into the metacognitive assessment as learning approaches now being advocated. The key to developing effective criteria-based assessment sheets is to keep the language explicit, with one idea per criterion. There is no point in developing criteria that are couched in language that students do not comprehend. It is also crucial to have criteria that are balanced in their coverage of knowledge, understanding, evaluation and communication of the relevant content/ideas/skills. I have seen many examples that are either overweighted in simple content knowledge, or, on the other hand, skills are so generic as to be meaningless. Secondary teacher

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Outcomes, standards, benchmarks and performance measures Assessment-related terms have become a central component of the language of teaching and learning since the advent of the accountability agendas in education over the past two decades. ‘Success’ in learning is increasingly judged against learning outcomes that can be expressed in a number of ways. There has been considerable debate, over the past ten years in particular, about the value of various forms of outcomes-based education. However, much of this debate is not about whether learning outcomes that are identified and assessed should exist, but rather what the nature of those outcomes might be (Killen 2005) and at what age particular outcomes should be met. The person acknowledged as refining the term outcomes-based education (OBE) to inform current thinking was William Spady (1993, 1994). Spady’s view was that the complex range of learning outcomes that the education system held as its ideal needed to be clearly identified, followed by ‘organising the curriculum, instruction and assessment to make sure this ultimately happens’ (Spady 1994, p. 1). That is, these identified high-priority learning outcomes should provide the structure for the curriculum itself. The goals of education identified by Spady were to be broad and relevant for all students and represent the complex futures they were to face beyond school. The issue of outcomes as drivers of the planning process have already been mentioned in an earlier section and in other chapters so will not be entered into again here. In most curriculum structures the learning outcomes are outlined in a developmental way such that later outcomes within a particular learning strand presume knowledge and/or mastery of earlier ones. This developmental structure provides the curriculum with a differential form over the ages and stages of schooling. In some frameworks it is also expected that, at a specific age or school level, students will have achieved a specific level of accomplishment, usually called a ‘standard’. Such standards frameworks may be calibrated by referral to a smaller number of fixed age or grade standards called ‘benchmark’ standards (e.g. the national literacy and numeracy benchmark tests [NAPLAN] focus on Years 3, 5, 7 and 9). Benchmark standards are commonly (but not always) developed through large-scale normative testing to determine achievement distributions. It is then possible to place a student within a certain achievement range by comparing results against that distribution. Collectively, such formal statements of potential achievements are referred to as student performance measures. In order to measure student performance against others across a wide range of contexts (e.g. the state or country) the assessment processes must be standardised.

Standardised assessment A standardised assessment is one that uses uniform implementation and scoring procedures in such a way that students’ results can be compared across a given population. The uniformity or standardisation refers not just to the design of the assessment task, but also to the conditions under which the students perform it. Therefore, to be standardised, an assessment task must contain precise and unambiguous 440

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instructions for both the students and the assessment supervisors. These instructions must be followed carefully. The context or environment within which the assessment is completed is controlled. Finally, all involved with the scoring or evaluating of the student’s work have clear and precise statements of expectations for levels or grades that need to be followed. Often these will be provided in the form of a rubric or set of performance standards against set criteria. The data, for example, from NAPLAN, need to be viewed in the wider context of a student’s overall performance on various assessment tasks because a standardised test is only a snapshot of what a student can achieve for a defined set of skills, as defined by this test, at a single point in time. Moreover, for test results to be of use you need to think about students as individuals with the capacity to develop cognitively and emotionally over time. The question to ask is not so much how did they perform but how might they be helped to improve. Given these cautions, standardised tests can be one source of useful information that contributes to the development of individual learning strategies and goals for each student. Of course, students will share many of their goals; the point is that effective teaching begins with a sound knowledge of a student’s current abilities, understandings and attitudes and uses explicit strategies to build on those levels towards a desired outcome. Secondary teacher/curriculum manager

This section has provided basic definitions of key terms, but many references are available if finergrained definitions are required (see, for example, ACARA www.acara.edu.au; Airasian & Russell 2008; Greenstein 2010; Hayes, Mills, Christie & Lingard 2006). WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

As mentioned in the introduction to this section, it is expected that you can correctly use the language and concepts of your profession. With this in mind, become familiar with the language surrounding assessment and develop confidence using it in contexts related to your profession. Also, as a part of the move to make education more transparent and accessible to students, teachers often use such terminology (or studentfriendly versions of it) when discussing a student’s work with them. Listen when teachers are having such conversations with students and take note of the language used to describe these elements of learning. For example, it is a good idea to maintain a learning journal that includes such notes and an ongoing glossary of terms and examples that can keep you up to date and aware of specific contextual interpretations of terms and ideas.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Any professional must understand the language of their profession. It is important that you understand terminology such as that considered within this section on two levels. First, you need to be able to use the language appropriately and accurately in order to participate effectively within the profession itself. Second, you need to understand the language and these concepts clearly enough to be able to communicate to others such as parents and students about assessment and learning issues and implications in ways that will have meaning for them. Third, you need to examine your own beliefs about assessment and how tasks can be designed to specifically support all learners to demonstrate their learning.

12.3 Assessment design, strategies and techniques LEARNING OBJECTIVE 12.3 Select appropriate assessment strategies for identified purposes and evaluate the design and quality of assessments.

Assessment designs, strategies and techniques are many and varied. The majority used by the classroom teacher are those of an immediate, informal and formative nature. Effective teachers draw upon a wide CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 441

range of formal and informal strategies and have a good understanding of how each strategy matches with purpose, audience and context. Teachers who adopt best practice in assessment are those who align their assessment choices with the identified curriculum priorities and a sound pedagogical approach in a timely manner. They employ a wide variety of assessment strategies that are relevant, reliable, meaningful, clear, transparent, purposeful and integrated with the whole learning process. It is important that this alignment exists from the initial planning stage. This section considers a range of designs and strategies associated with different contexts and purposes.

The assessment process: quality issues Assessment as a process involves the setting and/or identification of priorities, implementing strategies to collect data against those priorities, interpreting the data and making informed decisions that the data you have entitles you to make, and communicating insights and understandings to others (most commonly the student being assessed). Learner relevancy issues aside, an assessment process is only useful if it is clear and explicit to all and actually does what it claims to be doing.

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Fairness in assessment Assessment must be fair for all learners being assessed. The following fairness criteria were originally developed based on core concepts in the United States’ Standards for Psychological and Educational Testing (AERA, APA & NCME 1999) and are consistent with MCEECDYA’s Principles and Protocols for Reporting on Schooling in Australia (MCEECDYA 2009). In order to be fair, assessment must be: r accessible, enabling all students to show what they know r to the extent possible, free of knowledge and skills that are irrelevant to the target of the assessment (e.g. language demands) r sensitive to a range of student abilities and learning status r appropriate for students at the range of developmental levels likely in assessed population. To be fair, an assessment process must allow every student to best demonstrate their level of attainment of the learning being assessed. Therefore criteria and expectations must be clear, explicit and communicated to the students before the learning takes place. Learning experiences must be designed with these expectations and criteria in mind. Assessment tasks should aim to eliminate language or cultural elements that could alienate or disadvantage specific students. To be fair, any assessment should allow students to do equally well regardless of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, culture or socioeconomic background. Inclusivity is important at every stage of the process — preparation and communication of expectations, opportunities for seeking clarification, assessment task design (for example, individual, peer-support, collaborative groups), negotiated outcomes (for example, flexibility in presentations, posters, report, or digital), and marking and scoring (for example, self-assessment, peer assessment, teacher assessment, resubmission). According to Gipps and Stobart (2009), fairness in assessment requires teachers and systems to consider the social contexts of assessment that moves beyond the technical definition of a concern with test construction to a more encompassing view of ‘what precedes an assessment (for example, access and resources)’ or recognitive and redistributive justice. Gipps and Stobart go on to explain that in the pursuit of fairness and equity in assessment, it is fundamental that all students are given the opportunity to demonstrate learning and that the form of the assessment does not override the knowledge to be assessed. Students from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds or social circumstances have different qualities and experiences that they bring to the classroom learning contexts, and not all students are the same.

Transparency A key feature of any fair assessment process is transparency. If the purpose of assessment is to improve learning, then all aspects of the process must be explicit and transparent. Communication is an important element of any high-quality assessment process in relation to expectations and learning priorities, ongoing 442

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feedback and the communication of the assessment task itself. Once an assessment is completed, it should be clear to the student what was achieved, why they achieved the standard they did and what they need to do to improve.

Educative assessment Any quality assessment process will fulfil an educative role. This means that the assessment will include ‘complex and rich tasks’ that allow students to demonstrate their understandings, knowledge and skills. The assessment process is not only well-focused, explicit and fair, but is embedded within the learning process. See the ‘Assessment as learning’ section earlier in the chapter.

Assessment validity

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Any assessment design or strategy must meet its intended purpose. An assessment task has validity if it measures what it is supposed to measure. If an assessment task claims to measure a student’s ability to construct an essay but allows insufficient time to complete the task, what is actually being measured may well be the students’ ability to write quickly rather than the stated criterion, and if a task is to be completed online, the test could actually be a measure of students’ competence and confidence in using technology rather than an indication of their subject knowledge. It is not uncommon for invalid conclusions to be drawn from assessments. If an assessment, of whatever kind, assumes unacknowledged skills or background, is pitched at the wrong level, or if expectations are communicated poorly, then it is highly likely that the decisions made about the students’ achievements will lack validity. Quality assessment has high validity. Imagine a person who had only ever driven an automatic car. When they arrive for their driving test they are put into a manual car and consequently fail. It is valid (provided the actual driving test was adequate) to conclude that the student cannot drive a manual car; however, it is not valid to conclude that they cannot drive an automatic one, as that judgement is not aligned with the evidence provided by the test undertaken. An example from education would be to conclude that a student cannot write because they cannot spell very well (as you will discover talking with colleagues, this is a somewhat contentious issue). This may be a valid judgement if ‘being able to spell’ is a clearly defined component of being able to write, but that needs to be made explicit. Spelling is the tool of the writer. It is not the writing. The OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education (2011) identifies the validity criteria to judge individual student assessments according to two broad categories. Criteria related to assessment characteristics: r learning-based, aligned with standards r fairness r utility r consequences (i.e. models sound pedagogy and supports professional practice) r credibility r feasibility. Criteria related to validity of score interpretations: r technical soundness r generalisability and extent of transfer r instructional sensitivity (i.e. that test scores reflect the quality of instruction) r consequences (i.e. models sound pedagogy and supports professional practice) r fairness/lack of bias r comparable, across sites; time, within and across years.

Assessment reliability An assessment has reliability if it yields similar results across different contexts (time or place). Consequently, an assessment has high reliability if a student receives a similar result if repeated in a different CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 443

time and place and marked by a different assessor. For this reason it is particularly important for any assessment that is going to be used to make comparisons across different contexts or times (e.g. assessment to determine: ‘Are Year 8 students as adept at science problem solving as they were 3 years ago?’). The standardised assessments mentioned earlier are a strategy to increase assessment reliability by reducing potential errors in measurement or judgement. Both validity and reliability are about ‘degrees’ within an assessment process. It is not something they have or do not have; rather, an assessment process will have high, moderate or low degrees of validity and reliability. If an assessment is considered valid, it will also have a high degree of reliability, but high reliability does not guarantee validity. Validity and reliability need to be considered for any assessment a teacher makes, including informal assessments that may lead to influential advice (e.g. influencing goal setting or subject choices). If an assessment is not valid and reliable then advice or action arising from that assessment is at the very least, problematic. Care must be taken not only with assessment design, but also with decisions resulting from assessment experiences. Klenowski (2016) highlights that high-stakes, standardised testing in Australia is dominated by secondary as opposed to primary uses of student achievement data; that is, it is used by systems, schools and policy makers to make decisions rather than being used to inform teaching and learning. Klenowski calls for a broader understanding of assessment that incorporates and better addresses increased student diversity and recognises the cultural needs of Indigenous students.

Improving reliability and validity When designing an assessment, a teacher must first be clear what the assessment is designed to assess (the purpose of the assessment) and make sure there is a clear alignment between these stated priorities, the task or strategy employed to gain data from the students and the assessment process itself. Second, the teacher must check that there are no external inhibitors (i.e. resource availability or time allocation) that would negatively impact on a student’s ability to fairly demonstrate their ability to complete the task. If all of this is not in place, then important decisions should not be based on resultant outcomes. Remember, high reliability does not equate to validity.

Selecting and implementing assessment strategies and techniques Most assessment strategies can be used in formal or informal ways with formative or summative functions. In this section three approaches/strategies are considered to explore in greater detail the role strategy selection plays within the assessment process. The three were selected because they represent a variety, are widely recommended as compatible with current curricula and/or are useful to teachers and learners.

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Choosing assessment strategies Often assessment strategies are selected because they are deemed to be ‘more objective’, ‘trustworthy’, have higher reliability and therefore are more appropriate for the students being assessed. Alternatively, particularly in the past, they have been selected because traditionally knowledge has been valued for itself rather than its relevance or application, or because specific strategies were deemed to be more time efficient or the assessment tool was accessible (sometimes mandated) in the school situation, and sometimes because it is cost effective. Consequently, strategies selected are not always the best possible for the educational purpose or outcome being assessed. Tests and exams are an example of assessment strategies that are often chosen because they are seen to be efficient (for example, administered on a class or group basis) and are not so teacher dependent (and therefore can be administered and marked by someone other than the teacher). They are also uniform (all students complete the same task in the same way at the same time). As a result of these factors, tests and exams can be overused as assessment devices, particularly in secondary classes. However, some exams and tests can be quite subjective and are not necessarily always the most efficient or fair way of assessing student performance. Before any 444

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assessment is designed or strategy selected, the question needs to be asked ‘What is the best data that demonstrates how well a student has met some specific set of learning outcomes and how could I best obtain that data?’ Of course, time, resources and other factors cannot be totally ignored, but they should not be the first or only ones considered. Assessment strategies are often chosen based on the group of students in any given class. For example, many students will not thrive in an environment which bases much of its assessment on a rigid testing schedule. Students who are high achievers academically may not be developing other areas of learning such as effective interaction with peers or creativity. A well-rounded assessment strategy incorporating multiple measures would be the most beneficial, but more difficult to implement when taking time restraints and teaching experience into account. Secondary teacher If you look at this student’s writing on a daily basis, the quality and quantity is consistently well above what he has demonstrated in NAPLAN. A more effective strategy would be for teachers to assess what they know their students are capable of rather than having students sit a formal test that gives a totally different perception of their true ability. Primary teacher

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Examples of assessment approaches compatible with a more integrated curriculum The notion of a ‘rich task’ arose from the New Basics curriculum reforms in Queensland. The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (Lingard et al. 2001) found that much student work was of limited intellectual quality or ‘richness’. This notion has evolved into a designed learning experience with assessment as learning embedded within the task. The rich task is a reconceptualisation of the notion of outcome as demonstration or display of mastery; that is, students display their understandings, knowledge and skills through performance on transdisciplinary activities that have an obvious connection to the wider world (Education Queensland 2001). Assessment tasks are defined as ‘rich’ when they provide assessment information across a range of learning outcomes (within the one task) thus optimising expressions of learning and diversity. Matters (2005) defines the design criteria for ‘rich tasks’ as intellectual rigour, authenticity, accessibility and credibility. She further explains that the features of rich tasks are many and varied, but primarily, the task is based in the curriculum. Students know what is expected and recognise the task as worthwhile and relevant, and the task elicits an optimal performance from students (p. 2). Education Queensland (2001) states that rich tasks: r address a wide range of learning outcomes r allow greater pedagogical diversity r are authentic and relevant to the world outside of school r improve student engagement and promote deeper learning. Other approaches that embed assessment in learning and utilise rich tasks for data gathering are inquiry models. The International Baccalaureate’s Making the PYP Happen defines inquiry as a ‘process initiated by the students or the teacher that moves the students forward from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level of understanding’ (2007, p. 29). Similarly, Coffman (2009, p. 5) defines the inquiry process as an activity that ‘encourages students to think, ask questions, explore information and then present possible solutions or ideas’. Kuhlthau, Caspari and Maniotes (2007) stress that it is vital that students be ‘involved in every stage of the learning process, from selecting what to investigate, to formulating a focussed perspective, to presenting their learning in the final product’. (For more detail on the design of these refer to chapter 7.) Such inquiry models have, as a perceived benefit over the more traditional curriculum and assessment designs, greater authenticity, relevance, and a broader set of outcomes assessable within a specific learning task. These models have had considerable impact on classroom practice in recent years, particularly in the primary and middle years of schooling. CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 445

The mistake that many teachers make is to assume that inquiry-based learning and assessment is without structure; in fact, the reverse is true. If students are to have the opportunity to work through learning experiences by themselves, they need to be taught how to plan and work through such a task whilst keeping the stated objective in mind. Making mistakes in the course of learning is one thing; having the skills to use those mistakes as a springboard to progress is another, and the assessment of inquiry-based learning needs to reflect this. Secondary teacher FIGURE 12.5

The inquiry cycle Initiation Pose the problem or identify the learning focus Teachers/students pose questions, problems and themes, focusing on the data and knowledge of the curriculum.

Evaluation

Building on the known

Students adjust, revise, start again, disseminate information, identify what is working/not working, pose new questions and enact the outcomes.

Students draw on their knowledge, experiences and expertise to connect to a topic. Teachers continue to guide the discussion through throughtful questions and by considering the context.

Presentation

Acquisition

Students communicate, share their understandings, and insights, articluate findings, review, ask new questions and take action.

Students ask questions, observe, review, plan, explore, research, collect evidence, reason, interrogate, reframe the question, experiment, analyse information, interact with information, seek resources and gain new perspective.

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Formulation consolidate and evaluate Students interpret, analyse, share, suggest, interact, discuss, clarify, review, reflect, respond, conceptualise, create, synthesise, provide/receive feedback and feedforward, ask new questions and draw conclusions.

Irrespective of the pedagogical model a teacher adopts, cultural competence is embedded in the mandatory Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL 2017): 1. knowing students and how they learn 2. knowing the content and how to teach it 446

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3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

planning for and implementing effective teaching and learning creating and maintaining supportive and safe learning environments assessing, and providing feedback and reporting on student learning engaging in professional learning engaging professionally with colleagues, parents/caregivers and the community.

Informal questions and discussions Teachers on a daily basis through their informal questions and discussions are observing, interacting with and gathering data about students. They regularly converse with their students about what they know, understand and can do. The most common assessment strategies by far are those used informally by teachers on a minute-by-minute basis. Asking questions, conferencing, listening to students talk about what they have read and researched, observing collaborative projects, reading their work, discussing their work samples and products, noting their interactions with others — all of these constitute informal assessments if used to make decisions about learning and teaching in the classroom. When aligned with constructive and purposeful feedback the ongoing impact on subsequent student learning and teaching is significant. With ongoing informal questioning and discussions, students receive feedback that can be acted upon immediately. The process, although informal, and relatively unstructured, allows students to demonstrate what they know, do not know and need to know. The teacher collects data; makes informed decisions based upon the data; and provides constructive feedback to support student learning and to move learning forward. The teacher also uses this data in a timely manner to inform instructional decisions. Assessment in this context is made potentially more complex because the teacher’s interpretation of what they observe, gather and hear is critical. As with all forms of assessment, teachers need to be clear about what they are assessing and why. Airasian and Russell (2008) warn that inferences drawn by teachers based upon classroom observations and questions can be invalid. They point out that there are two potential threats to validity in these circumstances: a ‘lack of objectivity by teachers when judging their own instruction’ and ‘incompleteness of the evidence used to make decisions about instruction and student learning’ (p. 106). This is something that teachers improve with increased knowledge of curriculum and experience. Possibly more than any other, it is this skill and strategy set that determines the effectiveness of the teacher within the classroom in terms of student learning outcomes.

Authentic assessment Authentic assessment refers to assessment tasks that resemble learning in the real world and for real purposes (Frey et al. 2012; Wiggins 1993). Gulikers, Bastiaens and Kirschner (2004, p. 69) define authentic assessment as:

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An assessment requiring students to use the same competencies, or combinations of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they need to apply in the criterion situation in professional life.

In such instances, authentic assessment moves assessment away from being ‘assessment for assessment sake’. Assessment tasks are deemed authentic when they have increased relevance for students and provide greater possibility for knowledge and skills transferal to other situations and contexts. The intention of authentic assessment is to assess learning in a range of contexts that closely resemble actual situations in which those skills, understandings and abilities are used. Authentic assessment values the thinking behind the student’s work and the learning process, as much as the finished product (Valencia & Pearson 1987; Wiggins 1989; Wolf 1989). Authentic approaches are particularly prevalent for primary and middle years students. There is a growing view that the nature of the shift in assessment thinking typified by the move towards authentic assessments must increasingly become part of secondary schooling (Groundwater-Smith et al. 2009), including the senior grades. However, there is not always agreement as to the important elements that make an assessment authentic. CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 447

Authentic assessment provides students with opportunities to: engage in meaningful activities with real-world relevance contribute to and define learning/assessment tasks investigate complex problems and inquiry questions over sustained periods of time explore topics from different perspectives, using numerous resources, in a variety of ways — collaboration, peer to peer, online, community-based 5. examine multiple solutions and diverse outcomes 6. reflect on their learning 7. integrate learning across different subject areas and beyond discipline specific outcomes 8. combine learning and assessment 9. innovate and create worthwhile outcomes and products that best represent the learning experience. Current learning theory emphasises the importance of learning with understanding (Bransford et al. 2000). Therefore, it is essential that assessment reveals the quality of students’ understanding and thinking, as well as specific content or processes. This means that students need opportunities for in-depth study where assessment and learning are combined. When students are given adequate time to research and pursue topics, devise inquiry questions, explore concepts and solve problems, they build in-depth understandings and recognise and connect with meaningful patterns of information. Authentic assessment allows students to demonstrate their deep understandings and relate their findings to real-world situations rather than focus their attention on surface knowledge and recall of facts. According to Marsh (2008, p. 283), ‘Authenticity arises from assessing what is most important, not from assessing what is most convenient’. This statement raises a number of questions regarding authentic assessment — Who decides what is ‘most important’ and why? What is meant by ‘convenient’? Who decides what is ‘convenient’ and why? And the bigger questions: Who decides that an assessment task is authentic? For whom is it authentic? 1. 2. 3. 4.

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As a component of a unit of work on space exploration, students were given the opportunity to pose an inquiry question that they were interested in investigating. During the week, I conducted conferences with groups of students to clarify and confirm their inquiry questions. A group of four students decided to combine their efforts because of the similarity of their question. They determined to create a short film clip using the computer program ‘Claymation’ and agreed to compose a script, design the set and to use the characters to demonstrate both the factual knowledge as well as their understandings and the concepts gained during their inquiry/research. Assessment of this authentic task took place throughout the duration of the project. I observed their interactions, listened to their discussions, collected samples of their work, and asked questions during whole class discussion time. In addition, in the final stage, students completed a self-reflection where they reflected on ‘3 things I learned about space, 3 things that I learned about myself as a learner, 3 questions I still have’. I also viewed the final presentation as another source of data about the students as learners, their learning about space, and their technology skills. The data I gathered during this experience helped me review and reconsider my instructional goals. Primary teacher

Wiggins and McTighe (2004) use the acronym GRASPS to highlight the key considerations when creating authentic assessment task: G — what is the goal in the scenario? R — what is the role? A — who is the audience? S — what is your situation (context)? P — what is the product or performance challenge? S — by what standards will work be judged in the scenario? Authentic assessment tasks enable students to develop more metacognitive view of their own learning and experience a variety of learning pathways. The criteria for assessment is more focused on general learning skills and interaction with the content of the curriculum rather than narrow specifics often associated with specific content knowledge. For all students involved in authentic assessment, it is essential to 448

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provide a clear and transparent framework for the assessment criteria. They need to know and understand the data that counts. One common tool for developing and providing this information to students is the assessment rubric.

Rubrics Many specific tools are recommended and employed to plan and enact the assessment process, from online assessments and questioning techniques to various forms of cognitive mapping (e.g. mind maps). One assessment tool that has become plentiful in recent times is the ‘rubric’. A rubric is a tool designed to link identified curriculum outcomes to planning and assessment. Primarily it is a tool for the expression of developmental learning or graded performance. What matters in terms of effectiveness is not the structure itself, but that students understand what it contains; that is, the criteria and developmental or performance statements. The intention behind a rubric is to make explicit the ‘expected’ developmental pathway for students against specific, predetermined, and stated criteria. If written well it can inform planning, strategy selection, communication and reporting, and many other aspects of the assessment process. If students are undertaking peer and self-assessment, elements of the rubric can be negotiated with the students at the start and provide a decision-making and communication structure for that process. Negotiated rubrics involving student and teacher input move the emphasis from ‘assessment done to students’ to ‘assessment with students’. When students and teacher create the rubric, students are likely to have a better understanding of what is required and are more likely to assume more ownership of the expected outcomes. Students know that there are required assessments that have to be completed. If it is a formal essay that they need to submit as a course requirement then as a class, we discuss what the assessment criteria would look like. Together, we create the rubric. Secondary teacher

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Rubric design A typical rubric has the overall structure shown in figure 12.6. The number of performance levels and criteria are selected to meet requirements as listed below. A well-designed rubric adheres to the following. r Criteria statements and developmental descriptors are clearly expressed. The criteria you select will denote the focus, priorities and structure within the work/assessment tasks undertaken that the assessment (and planning) will target. r The total criteria for the assessment period that the rubric targets are included. This should not include everything that may be assessed; rather it should identify the priority areas for that piece of work. r As descriptor statements move up through each developmental or performance level they are clearly developmental, discriminatory, incremental, unambiguous and observable or measurable by the assessor completing the assessment. r The stepped performance increments represented within the rubric are such that it is clear what is necessary to move up to the next level. r Labels and language within the rubric focus on positives. Each performance statement focuses on what students can do at that level. The next step in the sequence highlights what they still need to accomplish to improve. r For maximum benefit the rubric is shared with students. Headings and labels used on the rubric must be meaningful, clear and succinct. Labels such as ‘poor’ or ‘unsatisfactory’ assume a focus on deficits and what students cannot do rather than what they can. Such labels are to be avoided. r Other terms such as satisfactory, very good or appropriate are also judgmental and ambiguous as one teacher’s idea of very good may not match the judgement of another teacher or the students. The focus of the rubric is on learning and the rubric provides feedback about the learning journey of the student. Communication about progress is explicit, succinct and transparent. r The performance levels (they need not be four in number but are usually around that) cover and are inclusive of a range of competencies. CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 449

It is strongly advised that rubrics be written in language that students understand. The rubric is a valuable source of information for students and assists them to locate, plan and track their own learning development against specific, transparent, and assessed criteria. It also indicates where they are and where they could go next. FIGURE 12.6

Example structure of a rubric Performance level 4

Performance level 3

Performance level 2

Performance level 1

Criterion 1

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Criterion 2

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Description of what a student can do to place them at this level against this criterion

Consider the basic numeracy rubric shown in figure 12.7. r Each developmental level is unambiguous and it is clear what data justifies the student’s accomplishment. r The levels are clearly discriminatory: each achievement is different to the others. r Levels are incremental and developmental. It is unlikely a student could perform at a higher level without first achieving the lower ones. FIGURE 12.7 Criterion focus: Early number competence

Basic numeracy rubric Has a concept of quantity and 1:1 correspondence

Can count to five using concrete objects consistently and accurately

Can count to 20 consistently and accurately

Can skip count or count in multiples

A rubric serves to frame assessment. It provides one source of data and is merely a structure for the assessment process — it is not the assessment itself. The assessment is the interpretation based on the data and interpreted against the rubric. It is simply a tool to guide assessment in an effective and transparent way. Rubrics are useful in identifying the criteria to be tracked and assessed in cross-disciplinary or integrated units. In such rubrics, the criteria selected are representative of the multidisciplinary nature of the unit being planned.

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Examples of rubrics provided by teachers

The rubrics depicted in figures 12.8, 12.9 and 12.10 were provided by teachers. As you study them, consider whether they are examples of quality rubrics. Do they meet the criteria for a ‘good’ rubric written earlier? Are they constructed in such a way that another teacher or a student could interpret them without ambiguity?

Portfolios A portfolio is a repository for a range of selected artefacts that represent a student’s work. As defined in the Teachers Guide to Assessment (2016), portfolios are collections of student work that exhibit the students’ efforts, progress and achievements in one or more areas. In the case of a student portfolio, the artefacts could be developmental, representative or exemplars of the student’s work. Portfolios are 450

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regarded as compatible with current assessment agendas partially because of their relative authenticity (Moss & Hay 2005). The format of learning portfolios, including digital portfolios, varies widely. Digital portfolios or e-portfolios can include blogs, journals, ongoing student reflections and can be presented publicly or privately to peers, parents, teachers and the community. FIGURE 12.8

Design graphics (partial rubric only, provided by a secondary teacher) Level A

Level B

Level C

Demonstrates originality and design ability related to problem solving

Can independently work through a design brief to find an original solution

Can produce an original solution to a design problem after some help

Requires continual help to solve a design problem, or uses an existing design solution

Interpret and convey ideas and information

(a) Can read, understand and act on information (b) Can produce a graphic communication that clearly conveys all required information

(a) Can interpret information with some help (b) Produces a graphic that conveys some of the required information

(a) Needs help understanding given information (b) Produces a graphic communication that conveys little or no required information

FIGURE 12.9

Rubric for self-assessment (partial rubric only, provided by a primary teacher)

I know I am performing at my best when I:

I don’t do this well at all

I make a reasonable effort

I try to do a good job

I do this really well and consistently

Complete and submit homework on time Don’t talk or interrupt while others are talking Respect others and their property Try my best Obey rules Listen to instructions Cooperate with others

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FIGURE 12.10

Voice

Student podcast project (partial rubric only, provided by a secondary teacher)

5 Points

4 Points

3 Points

2 Points

1 Point

Voice is clearly heard. Volume, pace and tone are varied for effect. Delivery is error free.

Voice is heard. Volume, pace and tone varied somewhat. Delivery is reasonably error free.

There are occasions when the music is too loud and the voice cannot be clearly heard. There are a few problems with volume, pace and tone in delivery.

Voice quality varies. Problems are evident with volume, pace and tone in delivery.

There are significant problems with all aspects with voice delivery.

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 451

Enhancements

5 Points

4 Points

3 Points

2 Points

1 Point

1. Images are not pixelated. 2. Images are in sync with text and are relevant. 3. Music relates to speech. 4. Enhancements add to the presentation. 5. Chapter markers are used.

Any 4 of the listed 5 points included as evidence

Any 3 of the listed 5 points included as evidence

Any 2 of the listed 5 points included as evidence

Any 1 of the listed 5 points included as evidence

Portfolios fulfil both a formative and summative function and incorporate a wide variety of data that maps a student’s progress over time. As with other assessment tools, the portfolio itself is not the assessment. The purpose will drive the design of any particular portfolio approach (Godinho & Wilson 2005). The assessment consists of the teacher and student interpretations made against that learning purpose using the portfolio as evidence. The ‘assessment’ in portfolio development and presentation exists (Benoit & Yang 1995) when: r a clear assessment purpose is defined r criteria or methods for determining what is put into the portfolio, by whom, and when, are explicated r criteria for assessing either the collection or individual pieces of work are identified.

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Portfolio purpose and design Before any attempt is made at developing a portfolio, the overall purpose of the portfolio must be clear to the teacher and student. Essentially there are two basic approaches to portfolio content selection: topdown and bottom-up. In the top-down approach, students are told what the portfolio is to contain and they provide those predetermined artefacts for assessment purposes. In the bottom-up approach, the student decides what work samples are to be included. There is a possible third approach involving negotiation between the teacher and the student. This may be particularly relevant if the audience for the portfolio includes other stakeholders such as parents. Purpose and assessment criteria determine whether the content of the portfolio will be ‘best’ examples or examples that represent student progress or development in some way (if so, it may contain a mix of drafts and completed work). It can be organised chronologically, by criteria, category or be representative of change over time. It could include photographs, digital images or models. It is imperative that the criteria regarding what to include is clear from the outset. The ‘best’ portfolio provides the clearest alignment with the learning outcomes being assessed. A part of the metacognitive development for the students is to increase understanding of the link between how they represent themselves through their work and how their decisions impact on the assessment outcomes based upon that work.

Self-assessment and peer assessment In keeping with the notion of increased student involvement and responsibility in their learning, self- and peer assessment has increased at all ages and stages. This approach is often combined with other tools and strategies such as rubrics, portfolios and student performances/presentations. Once the assessment process is made transparent, students participate by looking at criteria and expected data sources, making their own decisions about ‘what counts’ and are given the opportunity to reflect on their process and 452

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learning. They provide feedback to themselves and others as a part of the assessment as learning approach. The most successful application of self-assessment I have witnessed was when the teacher negotiated the rubric with the students prior to the unit of work or activity. From the outset, students understood what was expected. On completion of the unit or activity, the students completed the rubric citing evidence to support the overall grade they self-assigned. The rubrics were stapled so the teacher could not read the students’ comments nor see the final grade. The teacher then independently graded the students’ work using a copy of the template. The teacher’s rubric was returned to the student for comparison with their self-assessments. Where there was a discrepancy, teacher and student conferred and re-negotiated the final grade. In all but a few cases, the grade and comments were almost identical. It could be assumed that the similarity in responses resulted from the shared construction of the rubric. Both parties, teacher and students, were cognisant of clearly defined learning goals, standards and expectations. In the process of completing the self-assessments, the assessment was integral to the learning. Students increased their knowledge of the assessment process, the role of evidence and they became more aware of how to maximise learning efficiency and outcomes.

Assessment and digital environments Assessment tasks are increasingly moving into digital and online forms. For example, large-scale national testing tasks are increasingly being completed online. In 2013, NAPLAN as a computer-delivered assessment was administered to 23 000 students in reading, numeracy and writing across 250 schools. This online administration will continue to expand. Schools across Australia will start to go online from 2018 on an opt-in basis. The most significant impact of digital environments for assessment is the increasing availability of diverse forms of multimedia for students to use to communicate and present their work in non-traditional forms. The options are boundless. It is becoming more and more commonplace for students in the early years to give multimedia-based presentations of their work and complete digital portfolios. This trend demands new thinking about the role of assessment and how to assess. Authentic assessment, interactive tasks, and global collaborations are just a few of the ways digital learning is causing teachers to rethink new assessment possibilities. Today’s students face a world that demands new knowledge, skills and behaviours that have not yet been defined (Segers et al. 2003). More and more, students are called upon to demonstrate not only a deep understanding of knowledge, but increasingly they must be equipped with abilities to analyse, synthesise, make inferences, think critically, and problem solve. No longer can teachers perpetuate an outdated model of assessment based on the mastery of content and the recall of information. What is assessed and how it is assessed has changed.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

When preparing lessons for your next practicum, consider how you might: r embed the assessment into the learning tasks (try planning an assessment task as a performance or demonstration of learning that is also an element of the learning task itself) r make the tasks and assessments more authentic for students (e.g. by making the tasks contextualised within a real-life activity or situation) r involve the students in the learning and assessment process by jointly constructing an assessment rubric.

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 453

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Assessment tasks must accommodate varying student learning differences, interests, attitudes and needs through a differentiated approach. Choose five learning outcomes and design five assessment tasks, including: r a formal assessment r an informal assessment r an authentic assessment r a rubric r a technology-based task. Define your role in each of the tasks. List the benefits of each task for students. List the shortcomings of each task in terms of students’ learning.

12.4 Assessment feedback

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 12.4 Explain the forms and purposes of assessment feedback.

Feedback is an aspect of the assessment process that has not always received the attention it warrants. Feedback in the context of education is crucial to improving knowledge and skill acquisition (Epstein et al. 2002; Moreno 2004). The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers make explicit that all teachers are expected to assess student learning and provide feedback to students on their learning. Feedback not only improves student learning and contributes to quality teaching, it also proves to be, according to Narciss and Huth (2004), a significant motivator of learning. It is undeniable that feedback can significantly improve learning processes, student performance and outcomes, if delivered correctly. Shute (2007) points out that it is these final three words that are crucial when considering the impact of feedback — ‘if delivered correctly’. Shute (2007) and Mory (2004) identify studies where feedback has had either no effect or debilitating effects on learning. Such feedback includes: feedback construed as critical or controlling (Baron 1993) and often thwarts efforts to improve performance (Fedor, Davis, Maslyn & Mathieson 2001); feedback that impedes learning, for example, providing grades or overall scores indicating the student’s standing relative to peers and coupling such normative feedback with low levels of specificity (i.e. vagueness) (Butler 1987; Kluger & DeNisi 1998); and feedback from an external source that interrupts a student who is actively engaged in problem solving (Corno & Snow 1986). Consequently, it is imperative that teachers are aware of what constitutes quality feedback as well as developing the skills required to deliver it effectively. Wiliam (2011) contends that feedback needs to direct students to what’s next rather than focusing on how well or badly the student did on the task. This, he states, rarely happens in the typical classroom. Morgan (2006) claims that useful feedback depends on three things: 1. motive (the student needs it) 2. opportunity (the student receives it in time to use it) 3. means (the student is able and willing to use the feedback). However, Morgan (2006) also reinforces the caveat that even with motive, opportunity, and means, there is still large variability of feedback effects on performance and learning, including negative findings that have historically been ignored in the literature (Kluger & DeNisi 1996). Broadly defined, the purpose of feedback is to increase student knowledge, skills, and understandings. Feedback occurs in multiple forms (for example, a verbal response immediately delivered, written comments). Black and Wiliam (1998) identify two main functions of feedback: r directive — tells the student what needs to be fixed or revised and is usually specific r facilitative–directive feedback — provides comments and suggestions to help guide students in their own revision and conceptualisation.

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Why feedback is important Hattie and Timperley (2007, p. 81) contend that ‘Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement, but this impact can be either positive or negative’. These implications are evident in the following two quotations from undergraduate students. Criteria and grades tell you where you are but not necessarily where you went wrong or where you could improve. I don’t really understand what I am required to do to improve . . . I just know I am not doing well. I feel like giving up. Both rubrics and grades are good but ineffective without written suggestions or other feedback in conjunction with them. My tutor took the time to go through the rubric with me so that I know what I did well, where I went wrong and where to concentrate my effort next time.

All assessment has a potential formative role, and the quality of the feedback provided to students greatly impacts on how any particular assessment event may improve future learning. Recent research considering factors that influence student learning outcomes suggests that assessment feedback plays a crucial role in effective student learning and motivation. In fact, feedback according to Hattie (2003) may be the most important contributor to learning that is directly in the control of the teacher. Research has been pointing to this critical role played by feedback for some time (Wiggins 1998). Black and Wiliam (1998, p. 139) purport that ‘there is a firm body of evidence that formative assessment is an essential component of classroom work and that its development can raise standards of achievement. We know no other way of raising standards for which such a strong prima facie case can be made’. Feedback has recently come under greater scrutiny because it provides students with more opportunities to be closely involved in their learning decisions and the monitoring of their progress. According to Wiliam and Thompson (2007), feedback is integral to the whole learning process and is pivotal in establishing: r where learners are at in their learning r where they are going r how they will get there. Feedback may be formal written comments in response to a major assessment piece, a passing comment within the context of a classroom interaction or a range of things in between. The research shows that not only is feedback very important in student learning, but also that it is greatly valued by students as a contributor to their learning.

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What constitutes quality feedback Effective feedback is the sharing of information (using a variety of methods) about a student’s progress towards a learning goal. According to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL n.d., p. 5), effective feedback is: r for the learner and teacher about the learner’s performance r about performance relative to learning goals r based on evidence of learning r from the teacher, the student or peers r leading to changes in teacher and student behaviour. Feedback is neither praise nor criticism; nor is it merely guidance (Wiggins 1998). In fact, the role of praise in this learning context is somewhat controversial and not recommended as a feedback strategy. Effective feedback is a structured and informed analysis (presented in an informal or formal way) of a piece of work or an action by a student. For feedback to be effective, students have to be receptive to it. When learning and assessment are relevant and students understand their learning objectives, they display more positive attitudes towards learning, more effort and perseverance, and greater engagement in their schooling (Pintrich & Schunk 2002).

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 455

Feedback that is then used to improve work is an invaluable tool in teaching. Individual conferences and observing children engage with the activities and improve their work over time is very rewarding. Primary teacher Quality feedback is the foundation to any learning. Students have the right to know how well they are doing. They also need to know what, how and why they could do better. It is feedback which allows a student to progress and improve their learning. Secondary teacher

The focus of the feedback is grounded in student data. Interpretations are made, and guidance is provided to assist in improving outcomes for similar tasks in the future. Effective feedback makes the analysis process transparent to students so they can see which elements of their work lead to assessment decisions and conclusions. The feedback process is more meaningful and considerably enhanced if from the outset, expectations and goals are clear to the student. Feedback is much more effective when it is delivered in a way that reinforces the belief that the student can improve (Black & Wiliam 2003), shares the learning intention (Clarke 2001) and is timely (Wiggins 1998). Quality feedback enhances understanding about learning and approaches to similar learning tasks in the future. Feedback and guidance may be provided formally or informally, and each has benefits. To reiterate, research clearly demonstrates that if the listed attributes exist in a negative way (e.g. feedback is not based on a shared learning intention or is not timely) it can actually diminish learning. Feedback can have a negative as well as a positive role. Hattie and Timperley (2007) also point out that feedback can only build on something and is of little use when there is only surface information or limited initial learning. ‘Feedback is what happens second, is one of the most powerful influences on learning, too rarely occurs, and needs to be more fully researched’ (p. 104).

Feedback techniques An important part of a teachers’ repertoire is the range of feedback techniques they employ in different circumstances. These techniques may be informal and part of the interactive dynamic of the lesson or they may be more formal and built into the structure of the assessment process.

Formal written feedback Students want feedback to: r be timely r acknowledge what they are doing well r identify what needs improvement (i.e. be targeted) r focus on the important elements of the work and relate clearly to any criteria set (i.e. be specific) r offer constructive advice for improvement, focusing on problems in the work r be provided in such a way that follow-up discussions or questions can occur if the student so desires.

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Oral feedback Students want this to do the same as the formal written feedback, but also to be interactive and focus on all aspects of the work as it is in progress. Oral feedback is one of the most important skill sets a teacher has, but again it needs to be targeted, specific, constructive and timely.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Investigate the feedback that you give to students on a daily basis. Collect ten examples of your oral and written feedback given to students during the school day. Examine each piece of feedback in relation to the following questions.

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Did the feedback support the student’s learning? If so, how? If not, why not? Was the feedback timely and targeted? What was the student’s response? Did the feedback inform, affirm or change the trajectory of the student’s learning? How?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Think back over your learning career. Recall a ‘significant other’ (parent, teacher, mentor) in your life who gave you feedback. Were you receptive to the feedback? Why? How did the feedback make you feel? How did the feedback you received change your behaviour, attitude and/or performance? Why was this feedback effective?

12.5 Monitoring and recordkeeping LEARNING OBJECTIVE 12.5 Differentiate various forms of recordkeeping; produce and interpret anecdotal records.

Accountability in schools is always seen as a priority and teachers must communicate and justify assessment decisions, comments and grades. If ever an assessment outcome is queried, teachers are expected to explain how the outcome was reached with reference to the assessment framework (e.g. preset outcomes and criteria), the data produced by the student and the interpretations made by the teacher. This is only possible if the teacher has clearly documented and extensive records and has been sufficiently monitoring the student’s progress. Such records also portray individual student development across time and therefore are important for planning and report writing. It is normally left to the individual teacher to decide what form their recordkeeping will take and the level of detail it will contain. For this reason, records kept by teachers vary, but those that are the most useful for their overall purpose will have certain identifiable characteristics.

Forms of records The records kept in relation to the assessment process will normally take two forms: formal and informal (or anecdotal). Formal records are the lists of grades, marks and comments that will collectively contribute to an ultimate summative assessment. Anecdotal records are the notes, work samples and observations teachers keep to better inform decisions about the learning process, including planning, assessment tasks, feedback and, ultimately, report writing.

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Formal records Some schools — or departments within schools — require teachers to adhere to a specific format for the recording of grades (e.g. a quality assurance pro forma on significant assessment items). Usually, however, teachers have free reign as to the format, so long as they make sense at reporting time. At this time, grades and/or numerical marks are added, evaluated against algorithms (i.e. what configuration of As and Bs equate to a Credit, Distinction or Pass) and weighted according to the relative value of different assessment tasks (i.e. what proportion of assignments/tests/presentations counts towards the final award). Ideally, such records should be transparent, current, and meticulous. The confidentiality and the storage of these records needs to be considered carefully. Students’ results are sensitive and confidential. This is especially salient at parent–teacher interviews and student interviews where the marks of other students in the class must not be visible to parents or other students nor shared with them.

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It’s so easy to become entangled in everyday exigencies and minutiae of teaching that the recording of assessments can sometimes fall by the wayside. Blanks in the marks book are difficult to catch up with and ultimately cast doubt upon a teacher’s credibility. Secondary teacher

Teachers have a legal responsibility of accountability to students, parents and their employer. Recordkeeping and reporting processes form a part of that legal responsibility. Another component of this responsibility is the need for schools or education departments to keep records of periodic summative assessment outcomes (such as the subject results in yearly reports) for up to seven years. Teachers should keep any records they have that relate to summative outcomes until they have been processed and approved.

Anecdotal records Confidentiality is also imperative in respect to anecdotal records. These are absolutely for teacher consumption only. As these are often fairly subjective, written informally (usually in a kind of ‘shorthand’), and encompass academic, behavioural and social information about individual students, they are susceptible to erroneous interpretation by others. This valuable information can inform planning, feedback and reporting, including the direction of discussion at parent–teacher interviews, since many parents are actually more concerned with this kind of feedback than they are about marks. This can also provide helpful ‘profile’ details for such areas as school-based disciplinary action, awards and counselling. Examples of the way these records can be used include comments such as these from a secondary school teacher: r 2/5/17 Sandra — presentation not up to usual standard — heavy cold r 3/3/18 Michael — problems at home, very withdrawn, didn’t participate in discussion. Counsellor? r 30/11/17 Brodie — amazing example of metaphor — really gets it! As useful as it is, such anecdotal record keeping can be very time consuming, so teachers develop a format that works best for them. For students in the early stages of schooling in particular, aspects of their development undergo rapid change over relatively short periods of time and so recordkeeping needs to be efficient to include every child. This makes the collection of samples (sometimes called records of development) of work very valuable as representations of their learning and for reference for assessment and reporting purposes.

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Recordkeeping is certainly a task that can be completed efficiently and usefully or inefficiently with little real value. Each time you are in contact with experienced teachers, talk to them and look at how they maintain ongoing records. Some formal records will vary from school to school in terms of format and expectations, but the daily records you keep to monitor student learning are largely designed by you. The only recommendation is to include the date on every entry. Design a simple format that will work for you. Experiment. In many primary classrooms, teachers document their daily 1:1 reading and writing conferences using anecdotal notes. A simple grid format is used each week and in each cell, the teacher writes relevant data including the date, the topic, the focus of the feedback and future aspirations. Writing conference (Week __)

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Salim

Jaxon

Seth

Olivia

Mathew

Mia

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

List at least five experiences of assessment that you recall from your schooling. List them in order of effective to ineffective. How did you decide on the order? In relation to each of these assessments, how were your results reported to your parents/carer? What was their response? How did their response impact on your learning and your self-perception as a learner? How would you change these assessment experiences to better serve students, teachers and parents?

12.6 Reporting on student learning LEARNING OBJECTIVE 12.6 Evaluate reporting approaches according to purpose, context and audience.

Reports are the main mandated communication between the school and the parent. They have undergone major change in content and format over the past two decades. Shifts in curriculum design, priorities and assessments require different formats for reporting. This change has not always been without tensions for some teachers and students. It is mandatory that regular communication of a student’s learning progress takes place between a teacher or school and the parent or carer of that student. This has been the case for some time, but increasingly the format and content is also being externally stipulated. Within a given education system or school, other content and formatting can be added to this mandated component, resulting in each school having slightly different elements, but much is similar from school to school. In addition, formal reports are often complemented by opportunities for parent/teacher interviews.

Expectations on schools

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It is expected that when it comes to assessment, Australian schools ensure that: r assessment processes comply with national and state/territory requirements r documentation includes procedures for implementing effective assessment processes (for example, student and parent information regarding assessment and analysis of student assessment information) r external and internal assessments are carried out effectively r appropriate assessment processes are carried out for various year levels. When it comes to reporting to parents, comment protocols vary from school to school and it is important to be familiar with school expectations from the beginning of the school year. Some schools are pedantic in their requirements for a very formal reporting style (e.g. prohibiting the use of second person: ‘Well done on a great year, Dino!’) and require uniformity of grammar conventions across the school; others endorse a more conversational, informal style, reflecting the individual teacher’s approach. Typically, reports to parents: r tell parents what their child can do r tell parents how their child’s results compare with peers either on a class, grade, or state basis r are forwarded to parents according to a predetermined schedule.

Expectations on teachers The most important considerations when report writing, as with most forms of writing, is to write succinctly, truthfully, and with the intended audience in mind. The most common form of report is the one each term or semester to communicate student progress to parents in a summative way. When asked what they want from a report, parents’ most common answer is ‘How is my child going at school and should I be worried about anything?’ It seems a simple process to report that to parents but parental communication is not always a straightforward matter. Teachers work in a particular environment with its own concepts and language, with which parents are not familiar. As much as anything, the reporting process is an act of translation by the teacher. The following is an example. CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 459

A colleague who took over the role of principal in a small country school was concerned about communication between the school and parents generally and so using some software that had recently become available, completed an analysis of written parent communications (primarily newsletters and reports) for the previous three years. These were then matched to the likely reading and education levels of the intended audience, that is, parents within the local school district. The finding was that it was likely that less than twenty per cent of the parents receiving the information would have understood much of what was being communicated. There is no doubt that the teachers were making a considerable effort to communicate what they were doing but much of that effort was being wasted.

This is not an isolated story and parent communications often misjudge the degree of knowledge or resources to understand or respond to what is being communicated (Vincent 2001). Such issues are magnified if parents have little English or no experience of educational systems such as those in Australia (Bitew, Ferguson & Dixon 2008). As well as undertaking this general translation for parents, teachers often place themselves in a position for their own work to be misinterpreted or misjudged, which can lead to considerable anxiety. I was never confident in completing written reports for parents. I spent many hours agonising over the wording of the reports but in the end they were rarely very specific or informative. The need to state things in a positive way means it is easy to state what the child can do and very difficult to address weaknesses. I don’t really want my students to proudly take their reports home only to find out that it contains only negative comments. That can be devastating for some students especially those whose parents have high expectations. If I have negative and substantiated comments to make, I call the parents in for a meeting to discuss such issues before I send the report home. Primary teacher

This quotation typifies the position that teachers often find themselves in at report writing time. Parents, on the other hand, are entitled to know how their children are progressing at school.

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Teachers often find it difficult to give tough messages and, of course, they do not want to send home information that may lead to a child being chastised or punished. However, it is equally painful to parents to find their child has a serious learning difficulty at a point where it is hard to remedy (GroundwaterSmith, Ewing & Le Cornu 2007, p. 285).

When writing reports it is important that: r parents gain an honest (but constructive) view of how their child is developing at school in the area being reported upon. If problems are identified they also need to know what is suggested or being done to address these concerns r ‘insider’ educational terms (especially jargon) that the parents will not understand are avoided — clear and plain language is used r teacher comments and interpretations are supported by data r parents understand that they can request a follow up meeting to discuss their concerns r comparison of the individual student is made to benchmarks, standards or other norms, and is done in an explicit and clear way. For example, to say a student is a ‘C’ means nothing unless there is a clear understanding of what being a C student means. Generally, school-based reporting includes a summative assessment based on the level a student has reached; and comments regarding the student’s performance against expectations. Parents overwhelmingly want to know: ‘Should I be worried about anything?’ In other words, how does that level or reported score compare with what would be expected of the student at this point in time? School reports contain differentiated sections that report to parents on achievement in the various learning areas in one part and teachers’ comments on student effort, conduct, participation and attitudes in another. Computer-generated reports are the norm these days. Although more time efficient and uniform (and compatible with many of the mandated reporting elements), teachers often feel these to be too impersonal and so they are often combined with something more ‘representative’ of the child’s work such as a learning portfolio (particularly in primary school contexts). 460

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Sample report — primary Learning areas/subjects English Language Literature Literacy

Mathematics Statistics & probability; Measurement & geometry; Number & algebra; Proficiencies: Understanding; Fluency; Problem solving; Reasoning.

Science Science understanding (Earth & space sciences; Physical sciences; Biological sciences); Science as a human endeavour; Science inquiry skills.

Humanities and Social Sciences

Teacher comment

Allow enough space for descriptive reporting comments. Schools choose the subjects for which they write descriptive comments. Teachers use descriptive reporting to provide detailed information about students’ engagement and achievement, about what they have learned, what they need to learn next, and how the teacher, student and parent/carer can support these next steps to happen.

Grade

The mid-year report should reflect student achievement demonstrated against the standard, taking into account what has been taught to that point in the year. The endof-year report should reflect student achievement across the whole year.

Effort

or word equivalent

Civics and Citizenship (Years 3–8) Economics and Business (Years 5–8) Geography History

The Arts

Dance Drama

Delete subjects not taught and assessed in the bands for HASS, Arts, Technologies and Languages at this year level.

Media Arts Music

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Visual Arts

Technologies

Delete subjects not taught and Design and Technologies assessed this term. Digital Technologies

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 461

Learning areas/subjects

Teacher comment

Grade

Effort

Health and Physical Education Language Insert language taught

Number of school days:

Days absent:

Days late:

Reporting on student attendance on a school report is one method of promoting the benefits of regular attendance. Student reflection on learning This space allows the student to write about their learning achievements, progress, goals and participation in school activities. Teacher comments Additional teacher comments could refer to learning, progress and achievement, school service, school values/priorities, attitudes and work practices. Challenges could include information about pathways to improvement in student learning, information how they can be addressed and how the student will be supported. Class teacher(s)

Principal/School Leader Date

This statement is a requirement somewhere on the report for schools with more than 10 students in a particular year level or cohort. ‘You can ask the school to provide you with written information that clearly shows your child’s achievement in the subjects studied in comparison to that of other children in the child’s peer group at the school. This information will show you the number of students in each of the 5 achievement levels.’ (Department for Education and Child Development 2014)

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The following table provides descriptions for the A–E grades used in reporting on student achievement. Grade

Word equivalent

A

Your child is demonstrating excellent achievement of what is expected at this year level.

B

Your child is demonstrating good achievement of what is expected at this year level.

C

Your child is demonstrating satisfactory achievement of what is expected at this year level.

D

Your child is demonstrating partial achievement of what is expected at this year level.

E

Your child is demonstrating minimal achievement of what is expected at this year level.

Source: Department for Education and Child Development South Australia (2015).

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Sample report — secondary School logo

NAME OF SCHOOL End of Semester 1/2 Report

Year …………

Student name ………………………

Learning areas/ subjects

Grade

English

or word equivalent

Mathematics

Humanities & Social Sciences

% Tasks completed

Civics & Citizenship Economics & Business Geography History Dance

Delete subjects not taught and assessed this semester.

Drama Media Arts Music

For a year level subject, the end-of-year report should reflect student achievement across the whole year. The end-of-semester report should reflect student achievement demonstrated against the standard, taking into account what has been taught to that point in the year.

Visual Arts Technologies

Effort and attitude to learning Comments in this box could include comments on work habits and completion of tasks.

Insert name of subject teacher

Science

The Arts

Lessons attended

Design & Technologies Digital Technologies

Health & Physical Education

Insert language

Language

Number of school days:

Reporting on student attendance can provide both current term and/or cumulative year figures to reinforce the importance of regular attendance. Days absent:

Days late:

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Home Group Teacher comment: Teachers could include comments on attendance, NEP, diary organisation, punctuality to home group, community service, cooperation, school activities including sport, SRC, other school committees, effort and attitude to learning. Home Group Teacher

Principal/Senior Leader Date

Source: Department for Education and Child Development South Australia (2015).

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 463

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

While still involved in your pre-service study you are unlikely to be involved in the formal report-writing process. However, make a point of looking at what the processes and formats are in the schools you visit so you can be better prepared for what you will encounter once you start teaching. When experimenting with anecdotal records for students try drafting some report-style statements to summarise each individual student’s learning accomplishments and challenges.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

1. Read through the ‘Insights into education’ section at the end of this chapter and reflect on the teacher’s comments. What might a report that takes into account the whole cross-section of learning in contemporary classrooms read like? 2. Read through these generic comments and list three things you could add to quantify these statements, making them more relevant and personal to the student: (a) Your child has made great progress across the curriculum since the beginning of the school year. (b) It has been a pleasure having the opportunity to work with (student) during this year. (c) (Student) demonstrates behaviour that sets the standard for our class. (d) (Student) actively engages in working carefully and conscientiously.

12.7 Assessment and reporting: future challenges and dilemmas LEARNING OBJECTIVE 12.7 Engage with assessment issues that continue to produce debate and dilemmas within education and that will have implications for teachers in the future.

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If history is any guide, it can be assumed that during any teacher’s career span there will be significant change in pedagogy, curriculum priorities along with assessment and reporting expectations and procedures. Some of these changes arise as a result of educational research and others as responses to political, social and technological shifts. New understandings have led to rethinking about the connectivity between teaching, learning and assessment. According to Segers et al. (2003) major shifts include the shift from decontextualised to authentic, contextualised assessment practices; from using one single measure to using multiple measures to build a student’s learning profile; from assessing low level of competence and understanding to assessing high level skills; from assessing a few to assessing many dimensions of intelligence; from isolated assessment to integrating assessment within the learning and teaching practices; and from teacher directed assessment to increasing student responsibility in the assessment process (p. 3). Is it possible to foresee at the start of a teacher’s career what the future may present? There are some indicators that enable us to make some informed speculations.

The system and the individual Major trends over the last generation give us some information to speculate about potential futures. One clear trend is the result of increased accountability measures across the education system. The OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education Australia (2011) states: ‘Against the background of considerable variation in approach across jurisdictions, the developing programme as part of the move to co-operative federalism involving the federal government and the states and territories aims to bring about greater consistency in approach’ (www.acara.edu.au). In addition, agreements reached in COAG and MCEECDYA provide a clearer framework of national expectations together with new national infrastructure and a firm commitment to improved transparency and accountability (Santiago et al. 2011). 464

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Common nationwide testing in areas such as literacy and numeracy may well be expanded to cover other curriculum domains; these tests and benchmark expectations are increasingly set at a national or even international level rather than at state or local district level. The National Education Agreement focuses explicitly and deliberately on outcomes rather than inputs or processes. It makes clear the responsibility of state and territory governments to monitor and review the performance of individual schools in relation to national objectives while recognising the need to take account of local circumstances and priorities. There is an explicit expectation that all schools will meet a common set of high level school performance and reporting requirements. Requirements include participation in annual full cohort national testing of literacy and numeracy and a number of specific requirements relating to forms of national and local reporting. The Schools Assistance Act 2008 applies the same requirements to all non-government schools. Greater uniformity of curriculum and procedures across the country will undoubtedly result in even greater mandatory elements attached to priority setting, testing and reporting. While this social and political pressure moves education to greater standardisation, research into pedagogy increasingly emphasises the learner as a unique individual within the system. Learning profiles, styles and dispositions along with constructivist and sociocultural learning theories identify the learner as someone who interacts with the curriculum and learning experiences in unique ways. These issues are particularly important for students who are currently deemed to be underachieving according to systemwide testing. This includes Indigenous communities. Australia’s Indigenous students performed at a lower level than non-Indigenous students in the three assessment areas — reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy. Their results were below the OECD mean (Australian Council for Educational Research 2009). This places the teacher in a position of being asked to plan for and respond to an increasingly standardised system while at the same time planning, implementing, differentiating learning to accommodate a range of needs, and assessing for targeted and specific groups of learners. This tension continues to create angst for many teachers. In part, the resolution requires teachers with a skill set to employ and translate the large-scale and somewhat impersonal data and considerations into decisions and actions with relevance to the individual and their instruction. At the very least, this assumes a functional understanding of the larger-scale developments and processes as well as the classroom-based skills and techniques that have to always been expected of teachers. There is some evidence that system-imposed tests such as NAPLAN that initially were highly contentious are beginning to be accepted by teachers as having some potential benefits at the school level. When NAPLAN was first being undertaken teachers felt that the student was being lost within the system and that it was just another pressure to be placed upon schools. However, now that it has been in place long enough to be able to track students’ progress over time we are finding a really helpful additional monitoring tool to provide feedback about students as well as the overall school. I think once this longitudinal data develops further it will become increasingly helpful for us to identify students who need particular help and provide strategies for them.

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However, for others the value of NAPLAN remains dubious: This year — the eighth of NAPLAN testing — it is not uncommon to hear of parents withdrawing their children from the tests. I know teachers who spend weeks preparing their students for NAPLAN. Ultimately, they ‘teach to the test’. They focus on mastering a particular genre in the hope that will help their students do well. Their teaching suffers as they rely on outdated methods and content to get the message across. Literacy co-ordinator

Empowering the student There is a trend towards greater transparency of the learning and assessment process and increasing responsibility and involvement of the student in their learning decisions at all ages and stages. Goal CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 465

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setting and negotiated approaches to tasks, including assessments, are now commonplace in classrooms where such practices were previously overlooked. The assessment as learning model is a contemporary manifestation of this trend. Greater student engagement requires an expanded skill set in pedagogical practices that value student as participant, informant and collaborative learner. It cannot be assumed that teachers know how to accommodate new ways of assessing without first considering new ways of teaching and learning. A move towards assessment as learning, requires that teachers explore their beliefs about teaching, learning and assessing. The answer is not in a quick fix set of strategies but is embedded in understanding the connections between teaching/learning and assessment. The notion of assessment as learning sits within a view of learning where the learner is active participant who shares responsibility in the process. Collaboration, interaction, negotiation, are key considerations along with a complex mix of diagnostic and formative strategies, including feedback to maximise student learning.

In relation to empowering Indigenous students, Sarra (2007) claims that the problem with current under-achievement patterns relates to the culture of low expectations by teachers. According to the Stronger Smarter Institute, teachers often bring ‘underlying and “out of awareness” beliefs and assumptions’ into classrooms, stemming from the fact the majority of Australian teachers are drawn from AngloAustralian middle-class backgrounds. The Stronger Smarter Institute (2014) introduces the concept of High-Expectations Relationships, which, together with a ‘positive sense of cultural identity’ and ‘embracing positive Indigenous leadership’, forms one of the three ‘pillars’ of the Stronger Smarter philosophy and approach. High-Expectations Relationships provide a framework to describe the behaviours, dispositions and conversational processes needed to develop quality relationships within the classroom, staffroom and school community to create a high-expectations learning environment where students thrive and succeed. The Stronger Smarter Institute believes that school and community leadership to develop High-Expectations Relationships and cultures within their school environments is the key to improving Indigenous education. 466

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Focus of learning and operational changes The third identifiable trend over recent years is a move away from key outcomes of information and factual recall to those that are more interpretive, analytical and decision based. This outcome shift has been paralleled by operational changes in the way learning takes place and is assessed. The most obvious manifestation of this is the increased presence of information and communication technology (ICT) strategies. The development of a broader skill set by the learner will require a more diverse range of assessment strategies to judge their developmental levels. With the advent of ICT, questions arise that have not had to be considered in traditional pedagogies. How do teachers assess students for sharing their knowledge and expertise with others? How do teachers grade participation in chat sessions? How do teachers assess the contribution students make to moving a conversation beyond the bounds of the prescribed curriculum? The test and the exam continue to be problematic and even in high-stakes senior secondary contexts, are used in conjunction with other assessment forms. This trend will likely continue and there will be greater expectations on teachers to design and employ a range of assessment strategies, targeting different learning outcomes while still being fair, transparent, and meaningful. This range will need to include diverse responses — individual, group, written, verbal and interactive, technology-based strategies. For further perspective of debates, issues and tensions associated with assessment and alternative assessment futures, see Lissitz and Schaffer (2002), Stobart (2008) and Ewing (2009). WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Your future as a teacher will differ from what you experienced from teachers in your past. Reflect on the following: 1. List five beliefs you hold about teaching. Why? 2. List five beliefs you hold about learning. Why? 3. How will these beliefs shape the decisions you might make regarding assessment in your classroom? Why? 4. How will you use assessment to recognise your students’ strengths and then differentiate your teaching to accommodate all learners? 5. How can your classroom assessment allow students to build on their strengths and, in doing so, contribute to closing the gap?

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

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Talk to teachers you encounter and ask: how they use assessment to inform their teaching? Ask: how they use their assessment data to differentiate student learning opportunities so that all students have the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths rather than reinforce their failures? Ask: how they think their assessment could advantage some students over others and why this might be the case? Ask: how they differentiate their assessment to better meet the needs of their students?

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

OECD (2013) reports the following research findings that impact on how and what is assessed at a school and system level: r School systems in which more schools seek written feedback from students about lessons, teachers or resources tend to be more equitable.

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 467

r Between 2003 and 2012, students in most (27 out of 38) countries and economies became more likely

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to be in schools that use student assessments to compare the school’s performance to that of other schools. During the same period, students in most countries and economies also became more likely to attend schools that use student assessment data to monitor teacher practice. r If offered a choice of schools for their child, parents are more likely to consider such criteria as ‘a safe school environment’ and ‘a school’s good reputation’ more important than ‘high academic achievement of students in the school’. The topic of assessment is always controversial and influenced by the competing perspectives of those with a vested interest in knowing the results. The pressure on teachers to improve students’ outcomes is a ‘hot topic’ and, as pointed out in the OECD report, ‘monitoring teacher practice’ and ‘a school’s good reputation’ are deciding factors for where parents send their children, and the ramifications for schools and systems are immense. The vernacular surrounding assessment has shifted and words such as feedback, accountability, transparency, self-assessment, authentic, and informative assessment are at the centre of discussions that bind assessment, curriculum and instruction. The focus of assessment is shifting from something ‘done to students’ to something done ‘with’ students. The demand is for students who are: r critical thinkers r problem solvers r innovators r effective communicators r collaborators r self-directed learners r synthesisers of information. Assessment practices have to move with the times. Teachers continue to modify, adapt or discard assessments to reflect the new directions associated with teaching and learning priorities of the future. Pedagogical changes and challenges are part and parcel of all teachers’ professional futures and assessment is at the core.

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SUMMARY No doubt, assessment will continue to be a complex and contentious aspect of the education process. Quality assessment requires planning, skill and an expanding professional knowledge set. Changes in emphasis and the broader contexts within which schools operate have led to greater accountability surrounding assessment, in turn leading to greater pressure on teachers. It is certainly an area of the education process that has not been perfected at any level. Along with the assessment activity that takes place within the classroom is a whole framework of other activity related to things such as teacher accountability, mandated testing, record keeping and reporting, equity and fairness to name just a few. There is little doubt that the pre-service teacher can assume that ever-increased levels of such accountability measures will impact on their day-to-day practice.

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KEY TERMS anecdotal records Regular, documented and dated notes kept by a teacher, based upon observations and work samples, about student work, understandings, and behaviour to be used in planning or as reference for formal reporting. assessment The process of identifying, gathering and interpreting data about students’ learning. assessment feedback Formal and informal oral or written information provided by the teacher in response to some assessment task to help students improve learning outcomes. authentic assessment An assessment task that meets specific criteria that embed it into real-world experiences. benchmarks Standards that align with a particular age or stage of development that all students are expected to meet. criterion-referenced assessment Assessment that compares students’ work to preset criteria rather than to the work of other students; therefore resultant grades are not dependent upon others. diagnostic assessment Assessment designed for the purpose of identifying specific traits attached to a learner; can be ability or process related. evidence-based assessment An education/assessment process that explicitly links teaching and learning decisions on evidence derived through student performance. formal records The lists of grades, marks and comments that will collectively contribute to an ultimate summative assessment. formative assessment Assessment designed for the purpose of providing feedback to the learner. high-stakes assessments Assessments that have long-term consequences in terms of future pathways and opportunities. metacognition The process of reflecting upon and understanding your own learning abilities, strategies and processes. monitoring Ongoing observation and recordkeeping associated with student learning. norm-referenced assessment Assessment based on a comparison against the achievement of others. Grades are therefore partially dependent upon the standard of work of others. portfolio A collection of students’ work used as the basis of assessment judgements. reliability The extent to which an assessment produces similar results across different contexts. A highly reliable assessment piece is not dependent upon time, context or assessor. reporting A formal process teachers undertake at given periods to provide summative information on a student’s progress to parents. rich task A task in which students display their understandings, knowledge and skills through performance on transdisciplinary activities that have an obvious connection to the wider world.

CHAPTER 12 Assessment and what matters: feedback, reporting and fairness 469

rubric An assessment tool that makes explicit the assessment criteria, the levels of achievement a student may make against them and the performance required for each level. standardised assessment Assessment designed and implemented for high reliability and based upon common tasks and clear, uniform instructions for the student, the assessment supervisor and the marker. standards A series of performance or developmental outcomes that a student is expected to attain. subjective Relating to tasks that allow for multiple interpretations and therefore no single answer. This then requires a higher degree of teacher interpretation and, consequently, teacher decision making. summative assessment Assessment designed for the purpose of providing a statement of level of achievement or grade at a particular time. It is often used for certification purposes or for periodic reporting. validity The degree to which an assessment task/process actually measures what it claims to be measuring.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 12.1

LO1

There have been many changes in education over recent years, some of which relate to assessment and have been described within this chapter. It is probably reasonable to say that in relation to those changes, curriculum and pedagogical change came first and assessment is only now catching up. What are some of the changes in curriculum and pedagogy, in your particular state, territory or system, that have implications for assessment practices? What advantages and disadvantages are associated with a national assessment agenda? 12.2

LO2

Complete the following table. Assessment type

Formal

Informal

Formative

Summative

Definition Purpose Example (2) Title Brief description

12.3

LO3, 7

What is the difference between assessment for learning and assessment as learning? Complete a Y chart and in each segment describe what you would see, hear and feel in a classroom where assessment as learning is valued. List three advantages of ‘assessment as learning’.

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12.4

LO3

What do you understand by the term ‘inquiry-based learning’? How can an inquiry approach be used to accommodate the diversity of learners in a classroom? Choose a learning outcome and design a ten-minute teacher-led inquiry. Describe the activity and the questions that you would ask to guide student participation. 12.5

LO4

According to Hattie and Timperley (2007), feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement. Do you agree? If so, why? From your experience, describe a positive experience of feedback. Why did you perceive the feedback as positive? Describe a negative experience of feedback and why you perceived it this way. Observe a class and list the feedback given by the teacher. Rate it as effective or ineffective. What are the advantages (5) and disadvantages (5) of peer feedback? 470

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12.6

LO4

At the midpoint of a unit of work, a student appears to be ignoring the rubric that you negotiated on day 1. He appears to be disinterested and his half-hearted attempt is poorly presented and lacks coherence. Identify six questions (two per question) that you could ask to assist the student reflect on: r where he is going r how he is going r where he is going next. 12.7

LO1, 2, 6

What are the five most significant principles of assessment that underpin your state or territory requirements? How are these principles reflected in the classrooms you have observed? From your personal experience and your observations of classrooms, how has assessment changed since you were at school? Why do you think that is the case? 12.8

LO4, 7

Interview a friend, family member or peer regarding something they have learned to do in the last five years. To guide your inquiry, document your responses to the following questions. r What was your learning goal? r Was it important to you? Why? r How did you decide it was important? r How did you monitor your progress in achieving your learning goal? r When did you know that you had achieved your goal? How did you know? r Who contributed to your achieving the learning goal? How did they contribute? r What feedback did you receive? How did it support you achieving your goal? When was feedback most useful to you? Why? r Did their feedback move your learning forward? How? r How did colleagues or your peers contribute? How did you interpret their support? r What insights did you gain about the role of assessment in supporting the learner’s journey?

WEBSITES

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1 Dylan Wiliam’s website has up-to-date information on the role and use of formative assessment

in classrooms. It also provides links to podcasts and resources to support classroom teachers: www.dylanwiliam.org/Dylan_Wiliams_website/Podcasts/Podcasts.html 2 The Introduction to Stronger Smarter Online Professional Learning Module presents the Stronger Smarter approach and meta-strategies, and examines critical elements of practice in schools working to make a difference in Indigenous education. This project was funded by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership: http://strongersmarter.com.au/resources/onlinemodule/ 3 This PDF provides the background and context to the important issue of assessment and equity in relation to Indigenous students in Australia: www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/approach2/ indigenous_research_klenowski.pdf

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Fedor, DB, Davis, WD, Maslyn, JM & Mathieson, K 2001, ‘Performance improvement efforts in response to negative feedback: the roles of source power and recipient self-esteem’, Journal of Management, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 79–97. Fogarty, WP 2010, ‘Learning through Country: competing knowledge systems and place based pedagogy’, Unpublished thesis, Australian National University. Frey, B, Schmitt, V & Allen, J 2012, ‘Defining authentic classroom assessment’, Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, vol. 17, no. 2. Gay, G 2000, Culturally responsive schooling: Theory, research, and practice, Teachers College Press, New York. Gipps, C & Stobart, G 2009, ‘Fairness in assessment’, in C Wyatt-Smith & JJ Cumming (eds), Educational assessment in the 21st century: Connecting theory and practice, Springer, London, pp. 105–18. Godinho, S & Wilson, J 2005, ‘Portfolios for a purpose’, in J Moss & T Hays (eds), Portfolios, performance and authenticity, Pearson Education, Sydney, Australia. 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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Chinnapong / Shutterstock.com Figure 12.1: © Kaye Lowe Figure 12.2: © Kaye Lowe Figure 12.3: © Kaye Lowe Figure 12.4: © Andrew Churches Table 12.1: © From Shute, VJ Focus on formative feedback, pp. 30–1. Copyright © 2007 Educational Testing Service, www.ets.org. The ETS materials are reprinted by permission of Educational Testing Service, the copyright owner. All other information contained within this publication is provided by John Wiley and Sons Australia and no endorsement of any kind by Educational Testing Service should be inferred. Text: © OECD, Public Domain Text: © Sage Publications, Inc. Text: © Brookhart, S, Moss, C & Long, B 2008, ‘Formative assessment that empowers’, Educational Leadership, vol. 66, no. 3, November, pp. 52–7, http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leader ship/nov08/vol66/num03/Formative-Assessment-That-Empowers.aspx. Text: ‘Report example — Primary all pages’ (excluding the cover) and ‘Report example Secondary’ (4th page only) © Government of South Australia found at http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/assessment/pages/ Reportexamples/.

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PART 4

EFFECTIVENESS, PROFESSIONALISM AND THE FUTURE 13 Reflective practice 477 14 Theorising about teaching practice 503 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 545

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16 The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change 581

CHAPTER 13

Reflective practice LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 13.1 differentiate between observation and reflection 13.2 articulate the value of reflection to your practice 13.3 use a range of data sources as inputs to aid in your own reflective practice 13.4 understand the value and the limitations of autobiographical exploration 13.5 explain the similarities and differences between reflective teaching and critically reflective teaching 13.6 refer to a range of techniques that can be used to structure and facilitate reflective practice 13.7 explain the importance of contextual factors in shaping and making sense of reflection 13.8 advocate for the notion of teachers as critically reflective practitioners.

OPENING CASE

All reflected out! Sohyun couldn’t believe her ears. This was the sixth subject in her Early Childhood/Primary course that required the students to keep a reflective journal. Frankly, she thought, I am all reflected out! She wondered if this was the newest fad in education. Even in this, her final semester of study, the students were still being asked to reflect. Imani, her lecturer, had asked the class to keep a weekly reflective journal recording what they were noticing and the questions that were arising while they were on professional experience placement for two days per week for the duration of the semester. They would refer to these entries periodically in class as a way to share experiences and problem-solve for one another. Imani would refer to their entries to draw out points in class and to illustrate some of the concepts and theories that they were learning about. The entries would also form the basis for students’ final e-portfolio submission for the subject. Sohyun felt she had nothing to lose, so she raised the issue with Imani the following week in class, tactfully asking if it was really necessary for them to once again do what they have been doing for the past three years — reflect. Imani was receptive to the concern, and in turn asked the class what they thought the purpose of reflecting, or engaging in reflective practice, was. Imani was amazed at the responses. ‘To account for what we’ve done and seen.’ ‘To show that we were really there.’ ‘In order to review what we saw, heard and thought.’ ‘So we could remember what happened at a later date.’ ‘To identify the things we’d done wrong or that had gone really badly, so we could fix them.’ Imani realised that she had taken it for granted that fourth-year students would not only be wellpractised in reflection, but would have come to realise its importance and usefulness to their practice. She now had to acknowledge that this probably wasn’t the case. Imani realised she needed to backtrack and explicitly spell out the case for reflection, tying it to effective practice and improving the quality of the learning environment for students. Sohyun and her classmates were willing to be convinced, but to date it had mostly felt like busy-work. Imani printed in large letters on the whiteboard ‘The Case for Reflection’, and lively conversation ensued.

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........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. Have you ever felt like Sohyun during the course of your degree, or in previous years of schooling, or heard peers voicing concerns similar to Sohyun’s? Maybe you still feel that way or hear others further along in your degree express these feelings? 2. How frequently have you been asked to reflect on your own learning or to keep a reflective journal? What rationale(s) did your instructors offer when the ask you to reflect? 3. When Imani asked her class what the purpose of reflecting was, what would you have said? Something already offered up by a class member above, or do you think it serves a different purpose?

Introduction Reflection is common in teacher education and the everyday practice of teachers. It often manifests itself in teacher education courses in a formal and elaborated manner — notes, reflective journal entries, a blog, tweets — while in practice it can sometimes be much more informal and seemingly ‘on the fly’. However, no matter how well you are doing in your teaching, there is always room for improvement and refinement. This is not to imply that reflection is all about finding or fixing problems or unsuccessful 478

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lessons (although it can be helpful in these instances), but rather that even when things are going well, they warrant close scrutiny and deliberation about how to improve them and learn from them. This chapter aims to travel along the continuum from reflection to critically reflective practice in order to examine and unpack these various methodologies and to reveal what benefits can be attained through reflective practice. A strong case will be made for the value of reflection and reflective practice. Several sources of data for reflection will be canvassed, as well as a range of technologies that can foster and record one’s reflections. We’ll finish the chapter by making a case for all educators to be critically reflective practitioners, and then we’ll look at how reflective practice can assist teachers to be leaders.

Reflective practice

Reflecting on reflection: beyond the gaze

Thinking differently about thinking

Reframing thinking Reflection on action Reflection in action Reflective practice in teacher education

Mobilising reflection

Making reflection manageable

Autobiographical reflection

Critically reflective practice

Technologies of reflection

Autobiographical writing

Understanding Notes/written reflections ‘critical’

Why use multiple data sources to reflect upon?

Critically reflective teaching

Reflective journal Portfolio or e-portfolio

Reflexivity and teaching: beyond the self

Reflexivity fosters insights Reflexivity in action

Blogs and wikis Audio and video recordings Observation by a critical friend Pedagogical documentation Practitioner research

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Professional learning communities

13.1 Reflecting on reflection: beyond the gaze LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.1 Differentiate between observation and reflection.

Pre-service teachers often comment that they do not see their supervising teacher reflecting (or recording reflections), and wonder why they are being asked to do so. Lesson plan templates completed before teaching often include a section for the pre-service teacher to record personal reflections about the lesson. There is sometimes a space for the supervising teacher to record reflections as well. Similar to their feelings about elaborated lesson plans, some pre-service teachers wonder if they are being required to CHAPTER 13 Reflective practice 479

Teachers as critically reflective practitioners

Why does this matter? Teachers as leaders

do something that practising teachers do not do or at least not to the same extent. They often do not see their supervising teachers occupied with writing elaborated plans, so they wonder if this is just busy-work assigned by the university rather than a core practice of teaching. You have probably engaged in some forms of reflection, whether formalised or more informal, for many years of your life. When is the last time you can recall reflecting about something? What caused you to engage in reflection? How did that process of reflection occur, and what were the results of reflecting? Would you do something differently the next time, or were you pleased with how it went? Was any tweaking necessary, or was it in need of a complete rethink and overhaul? Let us start by distinguishing observation from reflection. Observation can be broadly understood to involve many senses, not just the visual. Observations can be recalled at a later time and recounted. The act of observing involves attuning one’s sense to what is going on. However, it is mainly an ‘input’ process: taking in all that’s occurring, or making a mental note of it. Yes, it can be remembered; however, the retelling of it is merely a recounting of events or actions as they were, or as they occurred or are remembered. It is a straightforward account of what happened. Reflection, on the other hand, entails making sense of what occurred, not just reporting on it or repeating it back at a later time. This is a key distinguishing factor that moves observations to reflections. Observations that are analysed, with an eye to discovering the hows and whys of what occurred, constitute reflections. Reflection is a common process — so common in fact that it can be one of those things you find difficult to explain or define: ‘Reflecting is . . . well, it is about reflecting, you know!’ So this chapter will take some time to reflect about reflection, especially as it applies in the contexts of learning and teaching. Reflection and reflective practice are cornerstones of teacher education programs and teachers’ practice. They are often prevalent within teacher education programs, as Sohyun’s experience in the opening case illustrates. However, there are many meanings of these seemingly commonsense terms (Calderhead 1989; Moon 2000), and as LaBoskey (1993) has noted, there is a wide variation of understanding among researchers, theoreticians and practitioners about what reflection is. This chapter will aim to achieve some definitional precision and then explore not only the ‘why’ of reflection, but also the ‘how’ of reflection and the effects of reflective teaching, or reflecting upon one’s practice.

13.2 Thinking differently about thinking LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.2 Articulate the value of reflection to your practice.

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In 1910, American philosopher of education John Dewey was writing about what distinguishes reflective thinking from other forms of thinking. He noted that it was different from other forms of thinking because it was aimed ‘at knowledge, at belief about facts [and] in truths’ (1910, p. 3). He articulated one of the earliest configurations of the preconditions for reflective thinking to take place — problem-setting, means/ends analysis and generalisation (LaBoskey 1993). He drew a distinction between ‘routine action’ and ‘reflective action’, noting again that reflective action was guided by an ongoing self-appraisal, rather than by habit, tradition or the demands of institutional authority and expectations. There was an intent to reflection that was missing from other ways of thinking. He wrote: Active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends, is reflective thought . . . it is a conscious and voluntary effort to establish belief upon a firm basis of reasons (Dewey 1910, p. 6).

It is this ‘reflective thought’ that seeks to ‘establish belief upon a firm basis of reasons’ that is the focus of the chapter.

Reframing thinking Inspired by Dewey, Donald Sch¨on engaged in some of the most influential thinking and writing about reflection as a purposeful, systematic inquiry into practice. His work ‘almost instantly became important 480

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in teacher education, especially in North America’ (Erlandson & Beach 2008, p. 409). When practitioners can take a new and different view on an event, situation or recollection, they thereby reframe it, making possible new ways of understanding it and opening new possibilities for action. This ability to reframe is what is important. Reframing can liberate teachers from the ‘routine’ that Dewey wrote about. Because we often draw on our own experiences and learning to inform our actions, reframing our thinking can help us step outside our comfort zone to ask different questions and explore different possibilities. Beginning teachers can easily fall into the trap of uncritically teaching as they were taught. While this might not always be a limiting or negative thing, it can mean that while being able to see and attend to certain factors, we can be blind to others. If we don’t keep challenging our worldview as teachers and continue to grow and learn, we are doing ourselves and our students a disservice. Reflection is one process to challenge and expand our worldview. A good example that breaks this down into very useful learning activities is the ‘Know yourself/Know your world’ module in the 3Rs program about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures (http://rrr.edu.au/unit/module-1). Notice how the learning activities within the module scaffold your self-examination and learning. To extend your reframing in relation to these topics, also see Bennett, Power, Thomson, Mason and Bartleet (2016). Sch¨on (1983, 1987) writes about the related but distinct notions of reflection on action and reflection in action. They are related because both processes involve reflecting upon events, situations or recollections in a manner that reframes them, but they are temporally distanced because they happen at different times in relation to the events, situations and recollections being reflected upon.

Reflection on action Reflection on action occurs after the events that are being reflected upon. Because of this, the reflection can happen in a manner where the teacher is free from other distractions and can focus their attention on framing and reframing the events that have occurred. This sort of reflection relies on memories and forms of data collection such as notes, photographs, video recordings and comments from supervising teachers, university supervisors or peers. This is the type of reflection that you are asked to do after you teach a lesson on practicum. You rely on your memory or a recording of the lesson, student work and feedback, and the comments from your supervising teacher or the students to engage in and formulate your reflection — or, to use Sch¨on’s term, to ‘reframe’ your experiences.

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Reflection in action Reflection in action means that ‘practitioners reflect on professional action at the same time as they carry this action out’ (Erlandson & Beach 2008, p. 411). This reflection occurs simultaneously to engaging in professional practice — planning, teaching and assessing. Over the long term, reflection in action involves learning by doing and developing the ability for continued learning and problem solving throughout your professional career. Sch¨on (1987) noted that this kind of reflection was where ‘professionals engage in reflective conversations with practical situations, where they constantly frame and reframe a problem as they work on it, testing out their interpretations and solutions’ (in Calderhead & Gates 1989, p. 1). The ‘practical situation’ was the grist for reflection and the reflection in turn enables the practitioner to refine his or her practice ‘on the go’.

Reflective practice in teacher education Reflection in action becomes more common as people become more experienced in their profession. With more experience, they are able to engage in the level of multitasking required to concurrently practise and reflect on practice — in this case, teaching and reflecting on that teaching. Less experienced teachers allocate more time to the logistics and sequence of lessons and to issues of curriculum and classroom management, which might preclude the ‘head space’ to engage in simultaneous reflection on their teaching. Reflection in action is a skill that develops as a teacher becomes more experienced CHAPTER 13 Reflective practice 481

and more adept at the cognitive juggling required to sustain simultaneous teaching and reflection on teaching. Marcos, Miguel and Tillema (2009, p. 191) note that, ‘regardless of nuance, the central idea in the research literature is that through reflection the teacher better understands and extends his/her professional activity, and that reflecting on teaching problems will lead to new insights for practice’. As a result, a great deal of attention was paid to the notions of reflection and reflective teaching in teacher education programs in the late 1980s and early 1990s (see, for example, Brookfield 1995; Calderhead 1989; Calderhead & Gates 1993; Grimmett & Erickson 1988; Pedro 2005; Smyth 1989; Zeichner 1987). This attention to reflective practice is maintained in many teacher education programs today — maybe even the one you are in.

Reflection in action occurs simultaneously with practice — planning, teaching and assessing.

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Reflection as central to the field In her study of exemplary teacher education programs, Darling-Hammond (2006, p. 83) noted that these programs were distinct from others in many ways, including that ‘they seek to develop teachers’ abilities as reflective decision makers who can carefully observe, inquire, diagnose, design, and evaluate learning and teaching so that it is continually revised to become more effective’. As Pedro (2005, p. 49) notes, ‘in the name of reflection, many teacher education programs have incorporated strategies to encourage pre-service teachers to think critically about their practice’. Killen (2007, p. 92) affirmed that ‘reflection is a form of inquiry through which teachers can question their actions, the contexts in which they teach, and all the influences on those actions and contexts’. In light of the central role and importance of reflection in teacher education, many authors view an attention to reflective practice as an important indicator of professional competence of teachers (Cole & Knowles 2000; Hatton & Smith 1995; Zeichner & Liston 1996). As a mode of thinking and a habit of mind, reflective teaching is central to one’s role and responsibilities as a professional. 482

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Which form of reflection have most of your reflections on your own teaching practice taken — reflection in action or reflection on action? Why do you think that is the case? If you have not yet had any practicum experiences, what forms of reflection are you asked/required to engage in according to your practicum handbook or guidelines? Make a list of strategies that you could use to help your reflection on your teaching to become a habit of mind, something that you do almost as a reflex.

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Practise reflecting on action. After your next university class, record your reflections about your own actions/inactions and contributions (or lack thereof) as a student, and how your participation contributed to the success of the class (if at all). What role did you play (or not) to help make it a successful class or ‘lesson’? What could you have done differently to have engaged more or learned more (or to help classmates learn more)? Reflection on action positions you well to consider all of these factors and to decide on actions that will strengthen what you take away from each class.

13.3 Mobilising reflection LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.3 Use a range of data sources as inputs to aid in your own reflective practice.

This section will examine potential ‘data sources’ for your reflection in order to construct a case for the value of reflection and reflective practice in your work as a teacher (and initially as a pre-service teacher). It also advocates for utilising multiple complementary data sources in your journey to make sense of your practice. It is one thing to understand what reflection is, but another to ponder what it is you reflect upon. What are the things that one draws upon to reflect about? Reflecting upon your practice has been discussed — but what are the ‘tangible’ aspects of practice that facilitate reflection? As Noffke and Brennan (1988) write, the choice for teachers is not so much whether to reflect or not, but what to reflect upon! Let’s move from ‘reflect upon your practice’ to something more detailed and self-evident.

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Making reflection manageable One simple target for reflection might be ‘all that happened in that lesson’ or ‘all that happened in the classroom today’, but even the events of a single lesson can prove too numerous and overwhelming to focus your reflection upon. Pondering ‘all that happened’ can be such an onerous task that it risks leading to paralysis. So how can you make it manageable and ensure that you are reflecting on what matters most? Your observations, whether remembered or recorded (written, typed, photographed or videoed), are a valuable starting point for reflection. What caught your eye? What puzzled you? What worried you? What was your biggest challenge in that lesson? What heightened students’ engagement, and where did the lesson seem to fall flat? By pondering answers to these sorts of questions based on your observations, this is how you turn your observations into reflections.

Focus your thinking Create a template to focus your thinking. Use the questions above or focus on particular aspects of your practice that are challenging, puzzling or troubling you. Do not try to reflect on everything that happened, for you are likely to become overwhelmed. As you gain more experience, you can widen your focus, but, CHAPTER 13 Reflective practice 483

initially, keep the focus tight — say on a particular aspect of your practice such as transitions, involving all students, authentic links to children’s lives, your questioning strategies or formative assessment techniques. Figure 13.1 is a template that you can modify or expand upon to facilitate reflection. FIGURE 13.1

Sample template for reflection

Date:

Class:

Lesson topic:

What caught your eye, or was most memorable about this lesson? What was your biggest challenge in the lesson? What might be some possible ways to overcome or work around that challenge? Did the lesson seem to fall flat at any point(s)? Why was that so? Judging by student reactions and engagement, what part of the lesson was the highlight for them? What lessons can you draw from that? What was the high point of the lesson for you? Why was that so? How might that translate to other lessons? Did anything worry or puzzle you during the lesson? How can you learn more about that?

On your journey towards reflecting in action, try audio- or video-recording a lesson and then reflecting on it as you review the recording. This retrospective technique approximates reflecting ‘in the moment’ as you can verbalise or write down what you were thinking and what was directing your decisions during each minute of the lesson. Initially, simply try to recall the reasons for the decisions that you made and the actions that you took (or did not take). Then you can reflect upon these decisions and actions in light of your reasons for them. That does not mean, however, that you have to be the lone practitioner with sole responsibility for gathering or noticing all of the data to enable you to reflect. Have a peer come in as a ‘critical friend’ to make observations that can be shared with you. Again, ask them to focus on some particular aspects of your practice — such as how you handle transition times, what they gauge the level of student engagement to be, or how you use your voice and body language to build rapport with the students — to receive observations and feedback on those specific areas.

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Involve your students Seek feedback from the students in your class and ask them about what they observed. Share your goals with them and elicit their observations about how you are (or are not) meeting them. If this seems too confronting in the first instance, involve your students indirectly by asking them to write down ‘three stars and a wish’ about the lesson, about your teaching or about their learning (i.e. three positives and one thing that could have been included or improved), or by reviewing their work to make observations about the quality and engagement of the lesson or experience based on the quality of their work. Also think about how you can listen to gather data for reflection. What did the students say and ask that offer you ideas about what they were understanding or learning and what was still eluding them? What can be heard from careful listening and what can be noticed? What about the silences — what did not get asked or said? Who talks a lot and who never seems to speak up — what does that tell you about 484

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your teaching? What do the students say or ask when you give directions, or when you move from one part of the lesson to another? These are worth noticing too. As Schultz (2003, p. 8) points out, listening refers to ‘more than just hearing . . . it suggests how a teacher attends to individuals, the classroom as a group, the broader social context, and, cutting across all of these, to silence and acts of silencing’. There are also often differences in scale between observing and listening. Schultz (2003, p. 8) reminds us that ‘Observation can be done from a distance; listening requires proximity and intimacy’. With ‘proximity and intimacy’ come more clues — facial expressions, body language, mumbles, murmurs and whispers — that can help us to analyse the situations and events we are reflecting upon. Artefacts of your work with students — your notes, running records, students’ work and your planning documents — are useful additional sources of data to fold into your reflections about your practice. They provide other perspectives on the planning, implementing and assessing that you do in the classroom and can lead to more robust reflections as a result of considering more ‘inputs’. Artefacts from students — their notes, drawings and even doodles, what puzzles them, what they really enjoy — can also be extremely useful and helpful. As well, anecdotal reports can be a useful addition to more formalised ways of collecting evaluative data to reflect upon. After studying this first part of the chapter, do you feel you are in a better position to anticipate answers to the question ‘Why reflect?’ This is essentially how Sohyun framed the question in the opening vignette. How would you answer her concerns at this point in the chapter? Given your own experiences and what you have just read, what would you offer as an answer to the question? What value could be derived from it? This chapter will continue to flesh out an answer to this important question. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Can you think of any other ‘data sources’ that you could reflect upon from your teaching practice? Emphasis has been placed on visual and auditory data derived from the senses of seeing, speaking and hearing, but what about the other senses? Can you think of data you could reflect upon that is derived using your sense of smell or touch? It seems a strange question to ask, doesn’t it, since most people are so oriented to seeing and hearing? But does anything come to mind? How about the feel or ‘vibe’ you receive when you walk into a classroom or school? What about your ‘gut reaction’ to a situation — could that offer data for reflection? How so?

WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

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To date, what sources have you used as the basis for reflecting on your practice, or even just reflecting on your day? Make a plan to try using a new source of data as the basis for your reflections. What needs to be in place so that you can collect and utilise those data? And how might newer technologies, like Twitter, Flickr or Instagram, assist in capitalising on these new sources of data?

13.4 Autobiographical reflection LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.4 Understand the value and the limitations of autobiographical exploration.

This section of the chapter focuses on autobiographical reflection as a way to know and understand yourself in order to better position yourself within the context of the classroom, school, community or school system. As Brookfield (1995, p. 50) writes, ‘Our autobiographies as learners in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood frame our approach to teaching at the start of our careers, and they frequently exert an influence that lasts a lifetime’. Deeply interrogating past experiences and analysing their potential effects on future (or even already emerging) actions and philosophy as a teacher is important work. CHAPTER 13 Reflective practice 485

Autobiographical reflection is not merely ‘navel gazing’, but rather an evocative method for examining your beliefs and seeing if your past and present actions are in sync with those beliefs. As such it fosters a greater self-awareness. A heightened self-awareness can overcome the tendency to see yourself and your experiences as ‘at the centre’ or as the norm, and allow you to reframe them and see them differently. It can foster a greater appreciation of varying contexts, an uncovering of assumptions and biases, and a situating of yourself and your actions in larger social and cultural contexts. Suddenly you can see more clearly that your experiences are not universal, shared by all, or the one right way to do, interpret or teach something.

Autobiographical writing Autobiographical writing fosters an airing of your history and experiences that can help you contemplate how they influence your work with students. Such exploration facilitates a greater self-awareness — knowing yourself helps you know others (e.g. students and colleagues). An important aspect of analysing autobiographical writing is self-critique (Hughes 2009). Rather than taking your reflections for granted, self-critique compels you to take a critical stand towards your writing and to strive to unearth the assumptions and received wisdom that your reflections are built upon. This de-naturalises your life and experiences and so opens you to multiple perspectives and explanations, rather than believing there is only one ‘right’ way. In her review of ‘powerful’ teacher education programs in the United States, Darling-Hammond (2006, p. 108) found that ‘all the programs emphasise the importance of prospective teachers understanding their own educational beliefs and values (including how they were formed and are re-shaped) and their own learning strategies and cultural identities, as well as those of others’. In addition, in a commissioned report entitled ‘Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do’, the authors declare (Bransford et al. 2005, pp. 84–5): Experiences like case writing and analyses on learning may be made even more effective if students have also had an opportunity to think about and reflect upon their own learning experiences . . . Reflecting on their own learning can also help new teachers take a first step in making their own assumptions about teaching and learning explicit — a key part of then critically examining them.

As noted earlier, reflective techniques, and in this case specifically autobiographical writing, still enjoy a great deal of attention in teacher education for the gains articulated here.

Limitations of autobiographical writing Autobiographical writing is neither straightforward nor unproblematic. As Brookfield (1995, p. 71) cautions:

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Autobiographical self-reflection is fraught with dangers. We all have blind spots in our work as teachers — practices and assumptions that we never investigate. Perhaps they feel like mere details to us. Perhaps they seem so self-evidently right that we think that there’s no need to examine them. Or perhaps we can’t see them clearly because they’re too close to be brought into sharp focus.

There are also emotional challenges (Hughes 2009) associated with autobiographical writing as you ponder, perhaps with a sense of regret or shame, past choices made and actions taken or not taken. The possibility that such forms of writing can evoke powerful emotions that may need to be worked through is an important ‘side effect’ to consider. Further, the turn inward can conceal or obscure important contextual factors that will influence our reflections. Boud and Walker (1998, p. 194) cautioned against noncontextualised reflections becoming ‘self-referential, inward looking and uncritical’. These cautions notwithstanding, delving into your history and the origins of your beliefs can be a useful way to not only make your beliefs explicit, but also to understand how your past experiences manifest themselves now in your beliefs and actions.

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Why use multiple data sources to reflect upon? What could be a shortcoming to only relying on your own point of view in order to reflect — whether just recalled or viewed as video footage? Even if you have honed your analytical skills, what could be a drawback to relying only on your own viewpoint and judgement? Even those most experienced at reflecting run the risk of biases and blind spots, and these can prevent them from allowing for possible explanations for their teaching practice and/or delimit what they can come up with as possible changes to enable ways forward. As previously noted, they can also enable some practices to be seen as self-evident and go unquestioned. Your practice interfaces with students, parents, colleagues and the community (at least!) — it is not an isolated, disconnected or solo endeavour. So, involve these partners and collaborators in your reflecting. Multiple data sources for reflection help ensure that one’s reflections are not merely idiosyncratic. They provide points of comparison and other standpoints from which to consider what has happened and why. Three different data sources allow one to ‘triangulate’ one’s reflections: to validate one’s reflections by arriving at them from three (or more) different sources. This cross-verification from more than two sources attempts to overcome biases inevitably present when only a single standpoint is considered. Teachers only asking themselves ‘How did that lesson go?’ might yield very different reflections than if they also asked the students and a knowledgeable peer the same question. The analysis of one’s actions and experiences — that is, their reflections — is richer, more complex and more balanced when one views their practice from multiple perspectives. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

One approach to autobiographical writing is to recall a noteworthy incident (often called a critical incident) from your own schooling — something still emblazoned on your memory. It can be a positive or a negative experience. Record everything you can recall about the incident and then explore the effects the incident has had on you since it occurred. Does it manifest itself in your current teaching practice? Does it remain at the front of your mind or is it more tacit? Is there anything you would now do differently in the lead-up to or in the aftermath of the incident? Why? Another approach is to think of a noteworthy critical incident and to write a counter-narrative (Giroux et al. 1996) to it; that is, to write about the incident in a way diametrically opposed to the way you remember it. Counter-narratives are often stories that violate the ‘official’ versions of the ways things ‘should’ be. For example, a dominant narrative in our country is that everyone is given a chance to succeed in school, but a counter-narrative would be a story that illustrates that this claim is not entirely true — not everyone has the same opportunities to succeed in school. What new insights are available when considering the critical incident when written as a counter-narrative? What explanations about the critical incident that may have previously eluded you are now available to you in considering this critical incident rendered as its opposite? The counter-narrative is an intentional reframing to allow you to see things differently — what can you see differently?

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Why do teachers find value in asking students to write autobiographically about aspects of or content areas in their education? For instance, a teacher may ask students to write brief maths autobiographies to learn about their past experiences with and feelings about (learning) maths. What sort of autobiographies could you ask the students in your next practicum classroom to write? Why might this information be useful to them as students and to you as the teacher? How could you use it in your own reflections about your teaching and their learning?

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13.5 Critically reflective practice LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.5 Explain the similarities and differences between reflective teaching and critically reflective teaching.

Different types of reflection exist along a continuum of reflective practice. This chapter does not try to cover the entire continuum. Based on the definitions of reflection and reflective practice that were articulated in the first section of this chapter, some part of this continuum has already been explored. This chapter did not start all the way to one end, which might characterise reflection like entries in a ‘travel journal’ or a ‘scrapbook’ — recalling experiences, cataloguing them and musing about these recollections. From here one might then move into reflection as writing diary entries — what happened, how you felt and some analysis of the experiences. This chapter started even further along this continuum, considering reflection in terms of what might be captured in a reflective journal — moving well beyond merely observing, recounting and recollecting and also beyond sense-making to analyse what occurred and to think about how it could be changed, refined or improved. In this section, focus will move all the way across the continuum to consider the merits of critically reflective practice, because ‘reflection is not, by definition, critical’ (Brookfield 1995, p. 8).

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Understanding ‘critical’ As we have reiterated throughout this text, the word ‘critical’ is often associated with criticising, finding fault with or identifying shortcomings (as it was used in the opening case of this chapter). In some contexts it also means important or urgent, as in a critical incident or critical care. As you have studied this text, you may have begun to reframe your understanding of ‘critical’. Critical means digging deep to uncover the strengths, enabling conditions and benefits of something, as well as its shortcomings, barriers and disadvantages. A critical stance enables a holistic and balanced analysis of an experience, event or situation. Critical perspectives allow teachers to ‘interrogate knowledge that seductively poses as self-evident truth’ and compel them ‘to forsake the comfort of certainty and accept a less-than-certain orientation to knowledge about the field’ (Alloway 1997, p. 5). They also compel teachers to challenge what is seemingly obvious or self-evident about something, and to question received wisdom (Moon 2007) that can render things as natural or normal — just the way they have always been. Therefore, critical reflection entails deconstructing events enough to be able to canvass both the strengths and weaknesses of a particular situation, occurrence or recollection. Put another way, with specific reference to teaching, it involves interrogating the social, political and ethical implications of one’s teaching practice — situating one’s own actions (and inactions) in larger cultural, social and societal contexts to make sense of them and think about productive ways forward. This method of reflecting moves well beyond merely making sense of what has occurred. Sense-making ‘is single loop learning confined to fine-tuning and adaptation of present knowledge’ (Ng & Tan 2009, p. 40). In contrast, critically reflective practice is iterative, or cyclical, and concerns itself with understanding the situated nature of events and the impacts that contextual factors have on one’s actions, in this case primarily in the classroom. As Larrivee (2008, p. 343) notes, ‘At this level teachers reflect on the moral and ethical implications and consequences of their classroom practices on students. Critical reflection involves examination of both personal and professional belief systems’.

Critically reflective teaching Out of critical reflection arises critically reflective teaching, which ‘happens when we identify and scrutinize the assumptions that undergird how we work’ (Brookfield 1995, p. xii). By taking multiple perspectives on how you work and the effects of your teaching, you introduce the element of ‘being critical’ to your practice. Brookfield (1995, p. xiii) continues as follows. 488

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What turns this into critical reflection is a consistent focus on unearthing and scrutinizing two kinds of assumptions: (1) those that mask the ways in which the variable of power affects and often distorts educational interactions; (2) those that seem congenial but that actually work against our own best interests.

Therefore, the ‘critical’ element in this reflection signals that the larger picture is being considered and analysed, not just the individual actions of the teacher and the class. This is a significant shift in scope and scale. No longer are the lone practitioner’s actions the focus of concern, but all of the contextual factors that either foster or inhibit that teacher from acting also come in for scrutiny and analysis. As Larrivee (2008, p. 344) writes, ‘Many advocates of reflective practice take the position that teachers should not only reflect on behaviours and events within the confines of the classroom but should include the influence of the larger social and political contexts’.

Linking to broader contexts Consider the issue of power in the classroom. Brookfield (1995, p. 9) states that ‘An awareness of how the dynamics of power permeate all educational processes helps us to realize that forces present in the wider society always intrude into the classroom’. Power is always present, but often unacknowledged or invisible in its workings. Through critical reflection, the existence of power can be brought into sharp focus and its flows through the classroom can be noted. It can be observed when teachers and students overtly exert it and when it is present in subtle ways. Its coercive effects may also be observed, as well as how it is used to buoy a struggling student or the teacher when they are having a bad day. Critical reflection might allow observation of who has and who lacks status in the classroom, and what that means for those individuals. It might also allow the observation that power can be activated, enacted, deployed or refused, rather than being something that is gained or lost. Such an analysis of the larger cultural context that permeates and circulates within the classroom impels teachers to think about ways to change those conditions that are challenging or dispiriting, or to at least mitigate their effects. Therefore, critically reflective practice is intimately bound up with social justice in schools and schooling. Discovering inequities and facing them with an eye towards changing them is at the heart of the work of critically reflective practice. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Can you see evidence that your lecturer is a critically reflective practitioner? Do not answer too quickly; think through what you would be looking for in order to answer this question. If you cannot think of any evidence, does that necessarily mean that they are not critically reflective? Why or why not? Maybe ask your lecturer this question to gain better insight into their practice and to learn about some of the things that might not be visible to you as their student. Do you aspire to be a critically reflective teacher? If so, why? What case would you make in favour of being critically reflective? If not, are there other ways that you think you could engage deeply with the contextual issues of teaching?

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WHAT CAN I TAKE TO THE CLASSROOM?

Choose a sociological concept like privilege, power, inclusion or difference. What’s the broad rationale for identifying and examining this construct and how it is manifest in your classroom and through your teaching? What would you take notice of and what data/evidence would you gather in order to reflect upon this contextual factor?

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13.6 Technologies of reflection LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.6 Refer to a range of techniques that can be used to structure and facilitate reflective practice.

The technologies of reflection are the strategies and techniques that practising and pre-service teachers use to facilitate reflection. These range from ‘low-tech’ methods such as keeping a journal to ‘high-tech’ methods such as e-portfolios and virtual professional learning communities. The common element in all these technologies is the ability to foster reflection and provide a context through which reflection can occur. The research literature is replete with methods for reflection. This section reports on the most common methods, but think about what else you could add to this list.

Notes/written reflections Notes are an obvious and straightforward way in which to record reflections — after you have taught a lesson, after a day of teaching, at the conclusion of a unit, in light of formative and summative assessment results for your students. Notes can be made casually and kept for future reference, or can be something more systematic, such as the reflections you are asked to do now at the end of each lesson that you teach when on practicum. The idea behind writing your reflections down, as opposed to merely thinking about them (or hoping you’ll remember them!), is to record what you thought about as you reflected on a specific situation. This allows you to return to a particular reflection or series of reflections to see if the same issues are repeating themselves or if your practice is improving as you refine it. In line with the notion of creating a template to foster your reflection, there is research into the use of protocols to guide the process of reflection (see, for example, Hole & McEntee 1999; Husu, Toom & Patrikainen 2008; McEntee et al. 2003). A protocol is an organiser that helps focus the reflection and gives you something to respond to about the event you are reflecting on, rather than trying to capture it all. In addition (as opposed to yielding a series of potentially disconnected or disparate reflections, as could happen if you are taking sporadic written notes), a guided reflection process is more comprehensive and systematic because it walks you through a process from what occurred to what it might mean to your practice.

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Reflective journal The reflective journal is the most common technology used in teacher education to stimulate and capture ongoing reflection. The journal provides a single receptacle, whether in hard copy or electronic, to collect your reflections. As mentioned earlier in the chapter, this is different from a diary of what happened each day as it captures your analysis and sense-making for the day’s actions and events. A key to their usefulness as part of education and practice is regular and robust feedback on one’s own reflecting. This feedback might come from the author of the entries some time after they are written, or it could, very usefully, come from a lecturer, colleague or someone you know who is not connected with teaching (bringing a different sensibility to the act of reviewing and commenting upon the reflections). Also imagine seeking reactions to your reflections from your students themselves — who better to acknowledge if you are on the right track or not?

Portfolio or e-portfolio Portfolios, including electronic portfolios (e-portfolios), ‘present opportunities for robust documentation of practice and for candidate reflection’ (Darling-Hammond 2006, p. 106). By capturing instances of learning or instruction as artefacts, portfolios and e-portfolios provide archives that can be analysed piece by piece or in their entirety. Often created within teacher education programs for a single subject, they can actually function as organic assemblages and grow and change over time. DarlingHammond (2006, p. 106) further notes that ‘Portfolios help make teaching stand still long enough to be 490

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examined, shared, and learned from’. Like a series of snapshots, the artefacts tell a story individually and collectively. Portfolios for reflection differ from those used to attest to or document one’s work. Portfolios used as vehicles for reflection contain carefully chosen artefacts, each accompanied by a rationale for its inclusion and an analysis of its significance. Lyons (2006, p. 156) explains: each portfolio entry carries a crucial element, i.e. a reflection. Here reflection is defined as an intentional act of mind, engaging a person alone or in collaboration with others in interrogating one’s teaching, especially a compelling or puzzling situation of teaching or learning to construct some understanding of it.

In a portfolio, your teaching ‘stands still’ to be analysed, and for its analysis to have meaning to you and others who might engage with your portfolio (students and their parents and guardians, administrators, colleagues and potential employers) as a means to understand (and maybe even evaluate) your teaching and what underpins it — your philosophy of learning and teaching.

Blogs and wikis Using technologies such as blogs and wikis to foster and capture reflections involves a profound shift in that they are more public forms of reflecting than reflective journals or portfolios tend to be. The very structure and intention of a blog or wiki is to invite comment, elaboration, critique, questioning and interaction. They bring multiple perspectives and interpretations to bear on the sense-making one engages in to reflect upon one’s practice. They allow the participants to add to and even overwrite what is posted, but also valuably keep a record of all that was contributed, allowing for a sort of genealogical analysis of the development and evolution of the ideas and the critique.

Audio and video recordings

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Technologies today are so ubiquitous that one can easily incorporate audio and video files into one’s repertoire of reflection. Because ‘technology provides tools that aid in reflection and improvement, including video tools that allow teachers and others to consider and analyse their personal practice and the practice of others’ (Darling-Hammond et al. 2005, p. 188), these methodologies for capturing our practice and fostering reflection are flourishing. Audio recording of teaching practice allows you to attend to some of the issues mentioned above by Schultz (2003) — by really listening to what is happening and what is being said and asked in the classroom, and where there are noteworthy silences. In addition, video recording teaching ‘can be a wonderful, though sometimes shocking, way of getting to see ourselves as others see us’ (Brookfield 1995, p. 79). The video camera brings another vantage point to the act of teaching — an introspective lens not available to individuals through their own eyes. This new perspective can offer new insights and access to things that perhaps would never have been seen or noticed from a teacher’s individual vantage point. Setting up the video camera next to the teacher aimed back at the class could yield some very interesting data that would undoubtedly stimulate lots of thought and reflection!

Observation by a critical friend As mentioned earlier, inviting a critical friend to observe your teaching is a valuable way to bring a new perspective to your practice and send a message that teaching is a public act worthy of peer review, not just a private act predicated on trust of the teacher (Shulman 1993). A critical friend can offer general impressions or focus on specific aspects of your practice that you would like feedback on. If you reciprocate, you can also learn from the teaching of a colleague, in terms of what they have asked you to focus on, how you notice that and convey your impressions to your colleague, and generally just by experiencing and analysing the teaching of another — something that we probably rarely have opportunities to do. This could certainly be employed at the pre-service level, particularly if you have several peers CHAPTER 13 Reflective practice 491

on placement in the same school. This would constitute a kind of an observation different from the ones conducted by your university supervisor or associate teacher, would it not?

Pedagogical documentation Although still more common in early childhood settings, pedagogical documentation is slowly being recognised as a powerful way to make children’s learning visible in the school sectors as well. Pedagogical documentation is ‘a tool for reflecting on pedagogical practice, and . . . a means for the construction of an ethical relationship to ourselves, to the Other and the world’ (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence 2007, p. 145). It consists of both content — that which gets documented in some way — and a process of analysis by creating that documentation. As a process ‘it involves the use of that material (the content) as a means to reflect upon the pedagogical work and to do so in a very rigorous, methodical and democratic way’ (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence 2007, p. 148). Pedagogical documentation makes use of quotations, narrative, students’ work, visual representation, photos and other artefacts in order to capture both the students’ learning and the teacher’s reflections on that learning. It is ‘not merely about recounts of what children have done’ (Wien 2008, p. 10) but rather an invitation to construct theories and represent thinking in multiple media. The pedagogical documentation is a provocation for further learning and exploration, not an end point into itself. It is a ‘cycle of inquiry’ (Fraser 2006) and ‘a form of conscious teacher research’ (Wien 2008). The intention is to make children’s thinking and learning visible through a product that can be retained and revisited numerous times (Avery, Callaghan & Wien 2016). As such, when teachers revisit documentation with children and others — colleagues, family members, politicians and policy makers — they invite revision, elaboration, conversation and new insights into children’s thinking and learning (and into their own practice as teachers). In this way, pedagogical documentation can serve several purposes simultaneously: it can capture what students are learning and the teacher’s analysis of and reflection upon that learning, but it can also serve as a basis for reflection by the teacher about their own practice. It also serves as an incitement for further investigation, inquiry and learning. Because ‘pedagogical documentation stops the train of standardized expectations and slows down our thinking processes to consider some topic with exquisite care’ (Wien 2008, p. 154), it affords teachers the time and space to think deeply about their own practice, especially as it is manifest in the learning of their students.

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Practitioner research Practitioner research (Cochran-Smith & Lytle 2009) sees inquiry as a stance — reflective, inquiry-based and invoking analytic thinking. As noted by Cochran-Smith and Lytle (2009, p. 39), practitioner inquiry or research is a broad umbrella that encompasses the following traditions, movements and methodologies: r action research r participatory action research r teacher research r self-study r scholarship of teaching r using practice as the site of research. These variants have a number of characteristics in common: they view the practitioner as researcher; professional contexts are the sites of study; there are blurred boundaries between inquiry and practice; community and collaboration are important constructs; and they act to make new knowledge public and have this new knowledge lead to improved practice. McNiff and Whitehead (2005, p. 1) describe action research as ‘a common-sense approach to personal and professional development that enables practitioners everywhere to investigate and evaluate their work, and to create their own theories of practice’. Action research is aimed at changing/improving practice and generating new theory through a systematic and disciplined process that aims to make the results of the work public. Teachers are researchers (Kincheloe 2002) when they enact such methodologies as action 492

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research to reflect upon and improve their practice. Kosnik and Beck (2000) describe how action research works well in pre-service teacher education programs to enhance pre-service teachers’ skills, behaviours and understandings. There is a critique that some practitioner research can be ethically questionable because teachers are placed simultaneously in the ‘dual role’ of practitioner and researcher. Cochran-Smith and Lytle (2009, p. 47) describe this situation: ‘when practitioners (especially teachers) are engaged in research they inevitably face conflicts of interest that jeopardise the best interests of their students’. In the face of this critique, more work has been done to clarify and highlight the attention to ethical issues built into practitioner research. Campbell and Groundwater-Smith’s edited collection (2007) on this topic focused around the question ‘How can we best conduct ourselves in ways that do justice to our practice and our profession?’ (p. 172). This scholarship urges teachers to theorise the ethical dilemmas that arise in their work (Mockler 2007) rather than trying to avoid them or explain them away — thereby making them a part of teachers’ work, not barriers to be overcome to get on with the ‘real’ work. What started as a critique of practitioner research has acted as a catalyst to better articulate the ethical and methodological commitments to this form of inquiry, thereby strengthening it.

Professional learning communities A technology that has become increasingly prominent in recent years is the professional learning community (PLC), which has grown out of the ‘learning community’ movement of the past few decades. Attention has focused specifically on teacher education, exploring the benefits of forming learning communities at university, in practicum schools and through professional networks (see, for example, Beck & Kosnik 2001; Kosnik & Beck 2003). ‘Community’ in this context is both a means and an end. It is a means in that it creates the conditions for colleagues to learn and reflect collaboratively, offering one another critique, clarification and elaboration of their reflections. Community serves as an end in that CHAPTER 13 Reflective practice 493

it is beneficial for any school to have its staff, or some portion of its staff, functioning as a democratic learning community — supporting one another and challenging each other to extend themselves and learn more. PLCs can be instrumental in fostering reflection when based around topics that pertain to teaching and learning, and insisting upon an empirical basis for the ensuing group conversations. Like having your teaching critiqued by a critical friend, PLCs afford you the opportunity for many perspectives to be brought to bear on one’s practice. The research literature contains many other technologies to aid reflection, including action learning, analysis of critical incidents, drama/role play, mentoring, mind mapping, and storytelling and other narrative strategies. You may wish to investigate some of these. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

What else could be added to this list of technologies for reflection? How could social media, such as Twitter, be effectively used as a technology for reflection? How could you use it as the teacher? How might you ask your students to use it to aid in your reflective practice? Think about the subject you are studying with this text. What questions do you have about the subject or aspects of it that could become questions for action research (conducted by you, your peers and/or the lecturer)? What are the aspects of the subject that you think need to be changed/improved? What changes might come about as a result of this action research?

13.7 Reflexivity and teaching: beyond the self LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.7 Explain the importance of contextual factors in shaping and making sense of reflection.

In the midst of all of this talk about reflective practice in education, consideration also needs to be given to reflexive practice. Reflexivity involves self-awareness of presuppositions, stereotypes and biases that shape how one thinks and acts. To be reflexive you must analyse how your practices and perceptions could (unwittingly) be perpetuating inequities and prejudices. Being reflexive involves deeply knowing and understanding how we think and on what knowledge base our actions are predicated.

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Reflexivity fosters insights Reflexivity can offer new insights into how your otherwise unanalysed beliefs could serve to undermine or disrupt the work you are trying to do in classrooms with students. This call to be reflexive might remind you of some of the issues raised previously in the section about autobiographical reflection — and it should! Reflexivity is about turning your gaze inwards so that you are your own object of study. However, this is not to portray our ‘experience’ as an unproblematic account of what has happened, or as something fixed and entirely knowable. The texts produced through your reflections, as Davies and Davies (2007, p. 1157) remind us, ‘cannot give . . . a fixed or fixable truth about particular identities or particular categories or particular social worlds’. Instead, they form an archive that can be mined and analysed to gain insights into your beliefs and the ways your actions uphold those beliefs. In the context of your teaching, this could entail unearthing and interrogating the investments you have in, say, particular gendered regimes within classrooms, and how those investments manifest themselves in your teaching. What lessons do students learn about gender, for instance, from teachers, even though that is rarely the explicit focus of planning or teaching? What is the hidden curriculum (see chapter 6) of gender and gendered relations in classrooms that even teachers may not be aware of? Self-examination by being a reflexive practitioner can help explore and answer difficult questions and identify how tacit beliefs manifest themselves in practice.

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Reflexivity in action Sumara, Davis and Iftody (2008) have written about the mismatch between their intentions in crafting a lesson and the ways the classroom activity was taken up by their students. They offer a reflexive account of how, in their practice, a variety of different, sometimes contrasting, definitions of ‘normal’ were manifest in their classroom. In this instance the authors are not reflexive about their own personal beliefs, but rather about what beliefs are structured into teacher education programs and how those beliefs warrant closer scrutiny. Think about your own teacher education program and see if any of what they write about rings true for you. They studied a section of a subject that one of the authors taught about a young adult novel in an English language arts subject in a teacher education course. The novel was included in the class readings to challenge normative sexuality stereotypes, but the authors concluded upon a reflexive analysis of the progression of the lesson that ‘the generative possibilities of literary fictions are eroded by normative structures when they are included in “methods” courses for pre-service teachers’ (2008, p. 156). In other words, what they had hoped for and planned in the use of the novel went unrealised and even served to work against what they were intending. Instead of the lesson progressing as planned, the authors (2008, p. 158) note: Although this novel was represented as one that addressed cultural diversity, we argue that because of the way it became situated within normative structures of teacher education it functioned not only to reproduce stereotypes about gay people, but to support the continued production of homophobia and heterosexism. As one student, Lisa, commented: ‘I think that many students in our class walked away being reaffirmed with every stereotype that they thought was possible about homosexuality.’ It is our contention that what occurred was structured by the normalizing discourses of teacher education.

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What did these authors gain from taking a reflexive stance? They realised that despite intentions guided by an explicit attention to equity and social justice in their teaching, their students interacted with the text in ways that could not be controlled and the encounter with the novel worked in the opposite direction to what was intended. It fostered a reinforcement of stereotypes and a continuance of homophobia and heterosexism — all things the authors hoped to work against with the choice of this novel. These ‘normalising discourses’ of teacher education flourished despite the instructor’s explicit attempts to offer other ways of seeing and understanding the novel. This is a reminder of the power of the status quo. Reflexivity gives us access to understandings that might otherwise not be thought possible or at least not be known to exist. Such an inwardly looking stance can enhance your reflections and your work to change, refine and improve your practice. It does so by offering an additional layer of insights from which to challenge your understandings and create a more robust teaching practice. Notice that these insights are often about contextual factors related to teaching and learning — sociological issues such as power, gender and status — rather than specific subject matter that forms part of the intended curriculum. Also notice that these issues manifest themselves as much through a teacher’s pedagogies as they do through the material being taught. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Find an example from practice (your own, or the practice of one of your lecturers) to illustrate the power and utility of taking a reflexive stance about one’s teaching/learning practice.

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13.8 Teachers as critically reflective practitioners LEARNING OBJECTIVE 13.8 Advocate for the notion of teachers as critically reflective practitioners.

The following statement (Larrivee 2008, p. 343) is a call to action to be critically reflective teachers: Teachers who are critically reflective focus their attention both inwardly at their own practice and outwardly at the social conditions in which these practices are situated.

This chapter has examined two ways that can be used to understand her call to focus ‘inwardly’. Most of the chapter has examined what focusing inwardly to interrogate one’s practice would look like. The previous section examined the advantages of turning inwardly in a reflexive manner, to locate and examine biases, presuppositions and prejudices and to think about the effects they have on our practice. Consideration has also been given to the gains possible if practitioner teachers also looked ‘outwardly’ and paid close attention to the enabling and obstructing conditions that impact upon their work with students in classrooms.

Why does this matter?

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Brookfield (1995, pp. 22–25) articulates the following reasons that critically reflective practice is important and how it can assist teachers in their work. It: r helps them to take informed actions r helps develop a rationale for practice r helps avoid self-laceration r grounds them emotionally r enlivens their classrooms r increases democratic trust.

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Critically reflective practice informs our work in and out of the classroom; it offers explanations for why things might not be going as well as we wish and can suggest ways forward; it can help us to make sense of situations that we cannot explain when they first occur; it can bring a new sense of purpose and intent to our work; and it can foster a more democratic school by taking us on a journey that interrogates not only our own practice, but also the contexts within which our practice occurs. As an action-oriented habit of mind, critically reflective practice can offer new insights that will improve our work and our relationships with our students. Taking up the call to become a critically reflective practitioner could allow you to embrace Shulman’s (1993) exhortation to view ‘teaching as community property’ — as a public enterprise, rather than the act of solitary teachers working with their classes essentially in isolation and in private. In this view, teaching would be ‘made visible through artefacts that capture its richness and complexity’ (1993, p. 7) — and these artefacts could include your own critical reflections. Imagine if your own acts of reflection — not just the changes that result from them — were ‘public’ acts, visible not only to your students, but also to your colleagues, administrators, parents and guardians, and the public. Not only would you end the ‘pedagogical isolation’ that Shulman (1993) writes of, but you would send a bold statement about what really matters — the quality of your teaching and its impact upon your students through their learning. Treating both the acts and results of your critical reflection as ‘community property’ might foster better outcomes for students and communities. Returning to the case of Sohyun from the beginning of the chapter, if you were Sohyun’s lecturer, how would you respond to the question ‘Why reflect?’ What case would you articulate to convince your class that, far from being ‘busy-work’, reflection is an essential component to their work as teachers?

Teachers as leaders Collay (2011, p. 75) writes, ‘Teaching is leadership, and leadership begins in the classroom as teachers “act with meaning,” seeking greater learning for their students and colleagues’. One way to continue to ‘act with meaning’ is to review and refine your teaching (and the students’ learning) through reflection. What gets learned through the act of analysis necessary to move from observation to reflection provides the platform upon which teachers can act as pedagogical and curricular leaders. Collay sees the classroom as the ‘nucleus of leadership in schools’ (2011, p. 75) and views the acts of teaching, collaboration, inquiry and partnership all as acts of leadership. She notes that critical reflection ‘deepens the already vital process of storytelling or narrative by linking individual experiences to larger social patterns’ (p. 13). One way that reflective teachers can enact leadership is via their own theorising that emerges from the act of systematic critical reflection. Both Whitehead (1989) and McNiff (2007) write about how a practitioner’s ‘living educational theory’ can emerge from deep and sustained reflection about their practice. Whitehead (1989, p. 41) notes that:

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systematic reflection on such a process (one’s practice) provides insights into the nature of the descriptions and explanations which we would accept as valid accounts of our educational development.

Such an organic and dynamic view of educational theory, which arises from practice and reflection on practice by educators, is ‘located not solely within these accounts but in the relationship between the accounts and the practice’ (Whitehead 1989, p. 47). So teachers are leaders, but their leadership potential and the quality of their leadership can certainly be enhanced by a patterned approach to embedding reflection as a central part of their day-to-day practice — by making it a habit of mind, as mentioned earlier. INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION Pedagogy involves two aspects of learning. The first is associated with what and how students are learning; the second is about the teacher as a learner — learning about teaching and building expertise.

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Thinking about pedagogy in this way helps to highlight teaching as an educative process for both partners in the relationship rather than a set of technical skills. Researchers have illustrated how learning through reflection on experience is important in the development of such expertise and expert–novice studies have consistently demonstrated that: r novices tend to view experiences and events as separate and isolated whereas experts search for patterns and relationships; r novices’ approaches to planning are not as organised and focused as those of experts, who carefully plan to meet their goals; and r novices tend to be captured by the immediacy of the situation whereas experts are not only aware of their thoughts and actions (in action), but also the impact of these on their practice. Therefore, the development of pedagogical expertise can be viewed as a learning process that combines theory and practice in ways that help to build knowledge. Teaching is not just a matter of doing, it is about the doing informing the practice and how that doing is captured, reflected upon, deconstructed and reconstructed in a genuine effort to learn from experience (Loughran 2010, pp. 37–8).

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In this passage, Loughran (2010) does a couple of very important things that work well to wrap up this chapter and connect it to others in this text. First, he makes a direct connection between pedagogy (see chapters 7 and 8) and reflective practice. And second, he acknowledges that in addition to attending carefully to the students and their learning, the reflective practitioner must be concerned with their own learning as a teacher. He points to the differences that exist between novices (where you are now) and experts (where you’re headed!) in the development of pedagogical expertise, and he illustrates how pedagogical expertise is achieved through frequent and thoughtful reflection. When novice teachers move beyond thinking about their teaching as ‘doing’ to conceptualising how their ‘doing’ informs their practice, they are on the road to turning their experience into expertise. In this way, Loughran is reclaiming important ground that is often absent in current depictions of teachers and teaching in the popular press and media. A commitment to critically reflective practice goes a long way towards offering a rationale for their professional practice — to themselves, their students, their profession, their communities and society. This is a powerful attestation to the important and complex work that teachers do.

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SUMMARY Pre-service teachers sometimes wonder whether reflective practice is something they are just asked to do as part of their studies. They question whether practising teachers actually take a reflective approach to their work. That’s understandable, because many of the ways that teachers reflect can be invisible unless made explicit to an observer. It is important to understand that reflection and reflective practice are powerful approaches that can help you understand and improve teaching practice now and throughout your teaching career. They are not simply about identifying and fixing problems; they are about continuous development and improvement. Reflective teaching is central to your role and responsibilities as a teaching professional. Successful reflection requires taking a critical perspective and being able to reframe issues; that is, to question underlying assumptions and fully explore events, processes and situations from different points of view. Reflection may be on action, looking back to a memory or recording of past professional practice, or in action, which occurs while engaged in planning, teaching or assessing. Reflection in action requires the ability to multitask and requires more experience. A range of data sources and technologies can be used to capture material for reflection and to record and structure the material for review: written notes, a journal, a templated notebook, audio and video recordings, blogs, wikis and so on. Others can be involved in your reflective activities, including supervisors, peers, friends and students. Other avenues for collaborative reflection include establishing professional learning communities. Related to reflection, reflexivity involves being deeply aware of one’s own biases, presuppositions and stereotypes, how these may affect one’s practice and the result this will have for students. It’s not enough to identify that we have biases and presuppositions, we need a plan for acting — to learn more, to hear the voices of others we’ve not heard before, for thinking through new possibilities for pedagogy and/or curriculum. Critically reflective practice, when part of everyday teaching practice, helps teachers take informed actions, develop a rationale for practice, avoid overreactions to negative experiences, stay emotionally grounded, enliven the classroom and increase democratic trust (Brookfield 1995).

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KEY TERMS habit of mind A way of thinking that is so well rehearsed and practised that it becomes a routine way of thinking, easily invoked and deployed. reflection The act of recalling and reviewing, or analysing, one’s practice in order to refine and improve upon it. reflexivity Turning a critical gaze inwards to reveal assumptions, biases and received wisdom that are the basis of one’s beliefs and understandings but that masquerade as unremarkable, self-evident truths until revealed. reframe To look anew; to see differently by freeing oneself from ‘business as usual’ presuppositions that delimit thinking; to refuse received wisdom by looking at something as if it is for the first time, liberating yourself from what you were expecting to see; making the familiar strange.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 13.1

LO1, 2, 6, 8

Why do you think reflection, and the technologies of reflection such as reflective journals and reflective portfolios, are so commonplace in teacher education today? CHAPTER 13 Reflective practice 499

13.2

LO1, 2, 3, 4

Interview a couple of teachers from a couple of different sectors (early childhood, school, VET, post-secondary) about their practices and methods of reflection. What similarities and differences are apparent? What reasons do they offer for why they engage in reflective practice? 13.3

LO3, 4, 6, 7

Common barriers to reflection include: r the practicum leaves little time to reflect, and certainly not enough time to make it a priority r reflection is not a habit of mind that comes easily to you r you have difficulty being self-critical r you have difficulty stepping far enough away from your own practice to critique it r you feel your associate teacher doesn’t provide you with enough detailed and specific feedback to reflect upon. Devise a strategy to help you overcome each of these barriers. 13.4

LO2

Why do you think most pre-service teachers report that the majority of their reflections on their teaching occur as reflection on action, rather than reflection in action? 13.5

LO1, 2

Sch¨on stresses the importance of being able to reframe an event through reflection upon it. Why is reframing it so important? What is a recent example of you working to reframe your thinking? 13.6

LO5

Alloway notes that critical perspectives allow teachers to ‘interrogate knowledge that seductively poses as self-evident truth’ (1997, p. 5). What are some examples of such knowledge you have encountered in classrooms? Why is it so difficult to identify such knowledge? 13.7

LO6

What is a question that arose during your last practicum that you could explore via action research? 13.8

LO8

Do you think it’s more challenging to focus your critically reflective gaze inwardly, on your own practices, or outwardly, on your students? Why?

WEBSITES 1 The Critical Reflection Resources website brings together research, tools and strategies for

reflection: www.scoop.it/t/critical-reflection-resources 2 Using pedagogical and cultural resources, the Respect, Relationships, Reconciliation modules help

facilitate reflection on one’s self, one’s students, and about what you teach: https://rrr.edu.au 3 This presentation takes a deeper dive into models of reflection, expanding on the information in

this chapter: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AfHPV-YBdI 4 This presentation discusses a twenty-first-century reflective practice model to deepen your thinking

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and extend some of the ideas discussed in this chapter: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fsqGxpdmrc

REFERENCES Alloway, N 1997, ‘Early childhood education encounters the postmodern: what do we know? what can we count as “true”?’, Australian Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 1–5. Avery, J, Callaghan, K & Wien, CA 2016, Documenting children’s meaning: Engaging in design and creativity with children and families, Davis Publications, Worcester, MA. Beck, C & Kosnik, C 2001, ‘From cohort to community in a preservice teacher education program’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 925–48.

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Bennett, D, Power, A, Thomson, C, Mason, B & Bartleet, B-L 2016, ‘Reflection for learning, learning for reflection: developing Indigenous competencies in higher education’, Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, vol. 13, no. 2, http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol13/iss2/7. Boud, D & Walker, D 1998, ‘Promoting reflection in professional courses: the challenge of context’, Studies in Higher Education, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 191–207. Bransford, J, Derry, S, Berliner, D & Hammerness, K with Beckett, KL 2005, ‘Theories of learning and their roles in teaching’, in L Darling-Hammond & J Bransford (eds), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do, National Academy of Education, Washington, DC. Brookfield, SD 1995, Becoming a critically reflective teacher, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Calderhead, J 1989, ‘Reflective teaching and teacher education’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 43–51. Calderhead, J & Gates, P (eds) 1993, Conceptualizing reflection in teacher development, Falmer, London. Campbell, A & Groundwater-Smith, S (eds) 2007, An ethical approach to practitioner research, Routledge, London. Cochran-Smith, M & Lytle, S 2009, Inquiry as stance: Practitioner research for the next generation, Teachers College Press, New York. Cole, A & Knowles, G 2000, Researching teaching: Exploring teacher development through reflective inquiry, Allyn & Bacon, Boston. Collay, M 2011, Everyday teacher leadership: Taking action where you are, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Dahlberg, G, Moss, P & Pence, A 2007, Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Languages of evaluation, 2nd edn, Routledge, London. Darling-Hammond, L 2006, Powerful teacher education: Lessons from exemplary programs, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Darling-Hammond, L, Banks, J, Zumwalt, K, Gomez, L, Sherin, MG, Griesdorn, J & Finn, LE 2005, ‘Educational goals and purposes: developing a curricular vision for teaching’, in L Darling-Hammond & J Bransford (eds), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do, National Academy of Education, Washington, DC. Davies, B & Davies, C 2007, ‘Having, and being had by, “experience”: or, “experience” in the social sciences after the discursive/poststructuralist turn’, Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 13, pp. 1139–59. Dewey, J 1910, How we think, DC Heath, Boston. Erlandson, P & Beach, D 2008, ‘The ambivalence of reflection — rereading Sch¨on’, Reflective Practice, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 409–21. Fraser, S 2006, Authentic childhood: Experiencing Reggio Emilia in the classroom, Nelson, Toronto. Giroux, HA, Lankshear, C, McLaren, P & Peters, M 1996, Counternarratives: Cultural studies and critical pedagogies in postmodern spaces, Routldege, New York. Grimmett, PP & Erickson, GL (eds) 1988, Reflection in teacher education, Teachers College Press, New York. Hatton, N & Smith, D 1995, ‘Reflection in teacher education: towards definition and implementation’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 22–49. Hole, S & McEntee, G 1999, ‘Reflection is at the heart of practice’, Educational Leadership, vol. 56, no. 8, pp. 34–7. Hughes, G 2009, ‘Talking to oneself: using autobiographical internal dialogue to critique everyday and professional practice’, Reflective Practice, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 451–63. Husu, J, Toom, A & Patrikainen, S 2008, ‘Guided reflection as a means to demonstrate and develop student teachers’ reflective competencies’, Reflective Practice, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 37–51. Killen, R 2007, Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice, Thomson Social Science Press, Melbourne. Kincheloe, J 2002, Teachers as researchers: Qualitative inquiry as a path to empowerment, Routledge, London. Kosnik, C & Beck, C 2003, ‘The contribution of faculty to community building in a teacher education program: a student teacher perspective’, Teacher Education Quarterly, Summer, pp. 99–114. —— 2000, ‘The action research process as a means of helping student teachers understand and fulfil the complex role of the teacher’, Educational Action Research, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 115–36. LaBoskey, VK 1993, ‘A conceptual framework for reflection in preservice teacher education’, in J Calderhead & P Gates (eds), Reflection in teacher development, Falmer, London. Larrivee, B 2008, ‘Development of a tool to assess teachers’ level of reflective practice’, Reflective Practice, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 341–60. Loughran, J 2010, What expert teachers do: Enhancing professional knowledge for classroom practice, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW. Lyons, N 2006, ‘Reflective engagement as professional development in the lives of university teachers’, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 151–68. Marcos, JMM, Miguel, ES & Tillema, H 2009, ‘Teacher reflection on action: what is said (in research) and what is done (in teaching)’, Reflective Practice, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 191–204. McEntee, G, Appleby, J, Dowd, J, Grant, J, Hole, S & Silva, P 2003, At the heart of teaching: A guide to reflective practice, Teachers College Press, New York. McNiff, J 2007, ‘My story is my living educational theory’, in DJ Clandinin (ed.), Handbook of narrative inquiry: Mapping a methodology, Sage, London. McNiff, J & Whitehead, J 2005, Action research for teachers: A practical guide, David Fulton Publishers, New York.

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Mockler, N 2007, ‘Ethics in practitioner research: dilemmas form the field’, in A Campbell & S Groundwater-Smith (eds), An ethical approach to practitioner research, Routledge, London. Moon, J 2007, Critical thinking: An exploration of theory and practice, Routledge, London. —— 2000, Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice, RoutledgeFalmer, London. Ng, PT & Tan, C 2009, ‘Community of practice for teachers: sensemaking of critical reflective learning’, Reflective Practice, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 37–44. Noffke, S & Brennan, M 1988, The dimensions of reflection: A conceptual and contextual analysis, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April. Pedro, J 2005, ‘Reflection in teacher education: exploring pre-service teachers’ meanings of reflective practice’, Reflective Practice, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 49–66. Sch¨on, D 1987, Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. —— 1983, The reflective practitioner, Basic Books, New York. Schultz, K 2003, Listening: A framework for teaching across differences, Teachers College Press, New York. Shulman, L 1993, ‘Teaching as community property: putting an end to pedagogical solitude’, Change, November/December, pp. 6–7. Smyth, J 1989, ‘Developing and sustaining critical reflection in teacher education’, Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 2–9. Sumara, D, Davis, B & Iftody, T 2008 ‘101 ways to say “normal”: revealing normative structures in teacher education’, in A Phelan & J Sumsion (eds), Critical readings in teacher education: Provoking absences, Sense, Rotterdam. Whitehead, J 1989, ‘Creating a living educational theory from questions of the kind, “How do I improve my practice?”’, Cambridge Journal of Education, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 41–52. Wien, CA (ed.) 2008, Emergent curriculum in the primary classroom: Interpreting the Reggio Emilia approach in schools, Teachers College Press, New York. Zeichner, K 1987, ‘Preparing reflective teachers: an overview of instructional strategies which have been employed in preservice teacher education’, International Journal of Educational Research, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 565–75. Zeichner, K & Liston, D 1996, Reflective teaching: An introduction, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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CHAPTER 14

Theorising about teaching practice LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 14.1 evaluate how your tacit understanding of your personal values and beliefs, including your own cultural background and worldview, may have influenced your understanding of practical theory 14.2 investigate how practical theories are developed and maintained throughout a person’s teaching career 14.3 explain and illustrate the relationships among the major components of teachers’ practical theories 14.4 develop a metaphor to describe your personal beliefs about the role of a teacher and explain how that could be realised in your teaching practice 14.5 evaluate how your own cultural background and associated worldview has influenced your growth as a teacher and learner and how you have adapted this understanding to new contexts 14.6 explain how the novice-to-expert model can be applied to the development of your practical theory 14.7 explain and use the concept of critical reflection in your development as a professional educator 14.8 identify techniques you could use in your practice to assist in the articulation and evaluation of your practical theory of teaching.

OPENING CASE

We can make a difference I had gone to an event to celebrate Refugee Week. The guest speaker was a former student, now a lawyer with experience in the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. After the formal welcome and introduction, she began by saying, ‘I see in the audience my former Grade 7 English teacher. We were so very lucky to have someone who inspired us to look beyond our world as we knew it.’ After the speech concluded, she came to me and thanked me for coming. I quietly said, ‘I did not think you would remember me after so long — it must be 20 years.’ ‘Of course I remember you — you were the most influential teacher in my life. You challenged us to work hard, yet provided us with the tools and skills to be able to achieve the best we could. Our classes and assessment tasks were interesting and made us think about who we were, how we came to believe what we did and what we might become. You were always so passionate about the learning you shared with us. The one big thing I remember was that you encouraged all of us to believe in ourselves and speak up confidently about what we believed was important, even when it may not have been the accepted worldview of that time. The special memory that has stayed with me and has influenced all I do was that you listened and took the time to give considered responses to all we said and wrote. You made a difference to my life.’ That night as I sat down to mark those endless English essays, I thought about what she had said. I finally understood that my belief in learners, no matter their cultural origins, the need to reach and extend minds, and yes, to demand excellence, were the hallmarks of my teaching and that they were valued. It is so rare to hear confirmation that what we say and do matters. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. Consider a teacher who has impacted on your learning. This can be a positive or negative influence. What is your enduring memory? Why has it been so influential in what you believe about being a teacher? 2. Identify words or actions that are part of that memory. Did the words and actions match or mismatch? 3. Identify the key values and beliefs that the speaker identified in the opening case as relevant to the teacher. 4. Consider how the speaker’s learning experiences may have influenced her later life choices. 5. How would you want to be remembered as a teacher?

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Introduction Beginning teachers want to know ‘How do I do this teaching stuff? What do I need to be able to do so that I can “survive” in this new role as a teacher?’ Learning to teach, however, is far more than a toolkit of strategies and rules. Ultimately it is about knowing what it is that guides your decisions — your beliefs and intents that govern your choices among the myriad of planning options, teaching strategies, resources and modes of assessment. Teaching has been described as ‘ . . . the most privatised of all the public professions’ (Palmer 2007, p. 146). Palmer also states: Though we teach in front of students, we almost always teach solo, out of collegial sight — as contrasted with surgeons or trial lawyers, who work in the presence of others who know their craft well. Lawyers argue cases in front of other lawyers, where gaps in their skill and knowledge are clear for all to see. 504

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Surgeons operate under the gaze of specialists who notice if the hand trembles, making malpractice less likely. But teachers lose sponges or amputate the wrong limb with no witnesses except the victims.

This may appear a negative picture, but too often the ‘specialists’, the learners, are discounted as evaluators of their own learning and a teacher’s expertise. It is too easy to become locked down into covering the curriculum, ensuring all the state and national requirements are met, ensuring your ‘bag of teaching tricks’ is up-to-date and working well — and forget why you are there: for the learners. Palmer (2007, p. 11) presents a far more positive picture below for us to hold onto when the ‘press’ of the classroom becomes overwhelming. Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness. They are able to weave a complex web of connections among themselves, their subjects, and their students so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves . . . The connections made by good teachers are held not in their methods but in their hearts — meaning heart in its ancient sense, as the place where intellect and emotion and spirit and will converge in the human self.

The content and activities for this chapter will explore how attitudes, beliefs and values associated with teaching and learning are constructed: the practical theory of pedagogical expertise. In the process, what is meant by a teacher’s practical theory will be explored along with the components that may need consideration and inclusion in your personal theory. Making that theory explicit is not always an easy task, so a few reflective activities and strategies will be used to first uncover and assess your current practical theory.

Theorising about teaching practice

Tacit knowledge

Components A teacher’s of a teacher’s Images and practical metaphors practical theory theory How do I build it?

Novice to expert

Beliefs

The novice

Values

Advanced beginner

Principles Rules Aims and goals Strategies and tactics Student cues Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Contextual variables

Teacher attributes

Process of critical reflection

What is critical reflection?

Becoming Competence a critically Proficient reflective and expert practitioner Effective teachers continue to grow in expertise

Investigating your own practical theories Journal keeping Personal narratives Critical incidents

Unpacking and applying the critically reflective model to our practice

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When you enter the teaching profession, you bring with you long-held and firmly rooted beliefs about what a teacher does, how classrooms and schools should operate and how teachers and learners should behave, based on your own experiences within a specific cultural context. As a learner in classrooms during your own time as a student at school, you perceived the classroom management and the custodial moments (e.g. the ability to enforce rules, impart textbook knowledge, grade papers and manage classroom discipline). However, the pedagogy was hidden. Those sepia-toned ‘school photographs’ of inappropriate images and inadequate expectations can become frozen in a time and context unreal to the reality and complexity of present day schools, classrooms and day-to-day teaching. Before you can begin to construct your own practical theory, you need to do a little digging into the beliefs and values you may be carrying within your ‘heart’ that filter all you see and experience on your journey to becoming a professional educator. You need to reconsider the filters that may influence your future decisions as an educator and ask questions such as how your beliefs regarding such things as gender, race, cultural context, religion and class may influence your decisions and actions. One key question to keep asking yourself is, ‘Will I have one practical theory and will it have some central core, but be pliable to meet the needs of different learners and contexts and a world in a constant state of flux?’

14.1 Tacit knowledge LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.1 Evaluate how your tacit understanding of your personal values and beliefs, including your own cultural background and worldview, may have influenced your understanding of practical theory.

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Learning to teach is a tacit cultural process begun in school, and continued in teacher education programs and in the schools themselves. People carry what Bruner (1999) calls ‘folk pedagogies’ built from individual learning experiences and the culturally sanctioned appropriate ways to teach and learn. These ‘folk pedagogies’ influence how teachers visualise themselves and their assumptions about the role of learners. If you see a child as an imitative learner, then you assume the learner will share the goals of the adult and want to imitate that behaviour; if you view the learner as a tabula rasa (a blank slate to be filled with knowledge), then other beliefs and actions come into play; whereas seeing the child as a constructor of knowledge through social exchanges with a capable other (who may be the teacher or another learner) brings into play a whole different set of beliefs, intents and actions as a teacher. So just what is this ‘tacit’ knowledge that individuals carry around in their heads and hearts? This tacit knowledge is like an iceberg — you are aware of and share only a fraction. Sometimes you have ‘stripes’ on your ‘iceberg’ you are unaware of until you bump into ‘events’ that challenge your tacit beliefs or cause a disturbance in your managed views of teaching and learning. Tacit knowledge (Polyani 1958; Sch¨on 1983) is akin to ‘know how’ or ‘knowing more than you can say’, learned through personal, context-specific experience, and precedes articulated or explicit knowledge. Consider how you would describe riding a bike — what are all the different skills needed to stay upright, pointed in the right direction and in motion? Korthagen (1993, p. 320) would define this tacit knowledge as a gestalt: In a gestalt, as we conceive it, the person’s needs, values, meanings, thoughts, feelings and actions are all united into one inseparable whole.

Tacit knowledge has been described as ‘embodied knowledge’ or tact (van Manen 1995), a felt sense of context, a sense of the self within that context, and a sense of the participants and the mood of that world. Expert teachers are open to and connected to the ‘that, how and with’ of knowing. Yinger (1990) describes this tacit knowledge as the language of practice when teachers think and act in appropriate ways; a set of integrated patterns of thought and action rarely heard, but seen and felt. A great definition of tacit knowledge is like sugar in your tea or coffee. You know when it is there, but because it is dissolved you cannot identify it as an ingredient in its own right (Hill 2006). This tacit ‘knowing’ is nonlinear, in 506

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that many aspects of one idea can be entertained at any given moment and always imbued with personal meaning and tact:

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. . . teaching is not only governed by principles of effectiveness, but also by special normative, ethical or affective considerations . . . the head and heart working together knowing what is appropriate for the changing contexts in the group and for the individual (van Manen 1995, p. 33).

Like the portion of an iceberg that is above water, we tend to be aware of only a small fraction of our tacit knowledge.

Beginning and experienced teachers bring with them tacit knowledge of what works in teaching built on an apprenticeship of observation while they were learners in school (Lortie 1975). These strongly held beliefs, which are usually tacit, may or may not be sensibly derived or consciously tested. The challenge for all teachers and teacher educators is to confront that knowledge and those beliefs about teaching and how they were acquired and evaluated in the first place (LaBoskey 1994). It is easier to depend on snap judgements on the basis of personal experience. However, the authority of experience may limit the vision CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

507

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for change (LaBoskey 1994) if those paradigms of teaching and learning acquired through one’s schooling apprenticeship restrict attention to assumed relevant particulars of content, context and individuals: one can have the experience but miss the meaning. Consider your own worldview of what is real, true and good. If you grew up in an all-white learning environment with a school curriculum that did not recognise or acknowledge the history, culture and worldview of Indigenous peoples, you might have the view that all Indigenous peoples were nomadic hunter-gatherers. You may wish to follow up on a book by Bruce Pascoe, Dark emu: Black seeds: Agriculture or accident? (2014), which explores and dispels the myth that the pre-colonial Indigenous peoples were only hunter-gatherers. Pascoe argues and provides evidence that the Indigenous peoples had successful and sophisticated economic and sociopolitical systems for producing food and crops, managing the land, and that there were large, settled populations with semi-permanent dwellings. The hunter-gatherer myth was used to justify dispossession by the explorers and colonials, who arrived to what they claimed was terra nullius. Now consider what you learned in school about Indigenous people and their ways of life. Did Pascoe’s research challenge your beliefs? It is important to keep in mind that ‘ . . . there is no single, unitary way of being Indigenous’ (Santoro, Reid, Crawford & Simpson 2011, p. 65), just as there is no one way to teach Indigenous students. Indigenous peoples are not a culturally homogenous group — their cultures are multiple and complex and depend on where they teach, where they grew up and whether they are within or beyond their traditional country (Santoro, Reid, Crawford & Simpson 2011, p. 73). What is required is getting to know your students and seeing and hearing them as people who bring their ways of knowing and learning into your classroom. The Australian school curriculum has too often reinforced these myths through the lack of Indigenous content and failure to recognise and acknowledge another view of Australian history. As a consequence, many teachers’ tacit knowledge has been constrained and contained to individual experience and ‘school learning’. The cross-cultural priorities and Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Standards 1.4 and 2.4 are a step towards redressing teachers’ understanding and ability to become knowledgeable in content and ways of learning of Indigenous peoples. A valuable resource you may wish to explore to develop your own understandings is Phillips and Lampert’s Introductory Indigenous studies in education (2012), which explores issues such as how to build Indigenous perspectives into your teaching and students’ learning, becoming a socially just teacher, and explorations into Indigenous knowledge perspectives. The tacit knowledge held by teachers will involve cognitive models (paradigms, schemas, frames and scripts) and technical elements (concrete know-how, skills and crafts). It will also include the deep and connected knowledge of content (Hattie 2012; Shulman 1987), of pedagogy, of the learners as a group and as individuals, of the culture of the individual school and community, and of the interrelationships among all of these. When you examine the components of a teacher’s practical theory, these elements will be explored in more detail. Your future teacher expertise will be built from all the items above. The long apprenticeship of observation of teaching (Lortie 1975) means it is easier to develop and sustain routines of habit that are comforting for both teachers and parents. There are multiple discourses, for example, ‘Never smile till Easter’, some of which are institutionally and culturally sanctioned and dominant, to be learned. Teaching is a conservative occupation and new teachers quickly become socialised into the school culture, especially as that is what the system rewards. Conditions in the press of the classroom mitigate against reflection beyond the technical or routine level (i.e. beyond teaching techniques and classroom management), and a means–end thinking dominates at class, school, state and national levels. This press is now exacerbated by the demands for accountability of student results with state and national testing. The call for ‘quality teaching’ as the means to achieve better student results is prevalent in the media, but how that quality is defined and ‘measured’ reflects the differing agendas of a multitude of players: learners, teachers, parents, politicians, business leaders and even teacher educators (Brundrett & Rhodes 2011; Goe 2013). Carson (1995, p. 151) states that ‘ . . . teaching is always an uncertain enterprise in which teachers are called upon to respond pedagogically to unanticipated 508

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events’. However, becoming a proficient craftsperson has an inherent danger: it is easy to stop growing. Learning, and continuing to learn (Barth 2001), from experience is essential, but the disposition and attitudes necessary to replace unsubstantiated opinions with theoretical, moral, ethical and empirical principles based on grounded belief (Dewey 1933; LaBoskey 1994) need to be continually developed and reinforced as teachers grow into the life and profession of being a teacher. So what is a teacher’s practical theory? What are the ‘bits’? How do you build and rebuild them? And, as you develop as a teacher, how do they change? WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Uncovering your tacit knowledge is not an easy task. So let’s take a seemingly simple task — making a sandwich. Write down all the steps as if you were going to teach someone how to do this — it is called a task analysis. Consider which are the essential steps. Which steps have safety or hygiene factors that are critical? Ask someone to follow the steps exactly. What steps were left out? What knowledge and skills did you assume? We know them tacitly, but when you teach someone a skill or knowledge that you know, it is easy to assume they know what you know. Now repeat the process on how you would instruct a class on how to hand out a worksheet. Look at your instructions — are they clear? Did you assume knowledge they did not have? Being a learner and a teacher are very different roles. What we know how to do as a learner is very different to the knowing we need to make explicit as a teacher.

14.2 A teacher’s practical theory LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.2 Investigate how practical theories are developed and maintained throughout a person’s teaching career.

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The term teacher’s practical theory has taken many forms, each sharing many characteristics: r teacher’s lore (Schubert & Ayers 1999) r craft knowledge (Brown & McIntyre 1993; Leinhardt 1990) r working knowledge (Yinger, Hendricks-Lee & Johnson 1991) r practical knowledge (Connelly & Clandinin 1988) r teachers’ professional learning (Korthagen & Lagerwerf 2001) r a practical theory (Handal & Lauvas 1987; Kettle & Sellars 1996; Maaranen, Pitkaniemi, Stenberg & Karlsson 2016; Stenberg, Karlsson, Pitkaniemi & Maaranen 2014) r educational platform (Sergiovanni & Starratt 1979) r practical philosophy (Goodman 1988) r theory of practice (Argyris & Sch¨on 1978). Putting this simply, it is the explanation of why you choose to do what you do when you choose to teach a particular group of learners. These theories reside in your head and inform your practices. All practical activities are guided by some theory . . . for teachers could not even begin to ‘practice’ without some knowledge of the situation in which they are operating and some idea of what it is that needs to be done. In this sense, anybody engaged in the ‘practice’ of educating must already possess some ‘theory’ of education which structures his activities and guides his decisions (Carr & Kemmis 1983, p. 1110).

You know more than you can say; it is embedded in what you do (Sch¨on 1983). The reasons you will choose certain activities, content and ways to deal with individuals in a classroom context are influenced by your own schooling and life experiences. No teacher shares an identical ‘theory’ with another teacher — they are all individualistic because everyone had different school and life experiences. They are dynamic — constantly evolving and adjusting to new learnings, understandings and contexts. In addition, CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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they can change according to the context you are in. For example, if you are in a small rural classroom, would you make the same choices as you would in a large inner-city classroom? Consider how you would teach mathematics to a Year 1 class compared to a Year 10 class. Theories are individualistic, dynamic and context driven, and it is also possible to possess multiple theories, each true and credible for a particular set of circumstances. There is no single, universally applicable entity called the ‘theory of teaching’, and the individualistic ‘theory’ will continue to change within the same individual. In addition to this ‘fuzzy’ construct, it is rare to be able to articulate clearly just what is in your theory and how you apply it in different contexts. So if it is tacit, how do you build it? What could be in it? And if it is so individualistic and changeable, what is its value?

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How do I build it? One way of looking at this ‘theory’ is to see it as built of different pieces or ‘frames’ of understanding (see figure 14.1). 1. Teaching ‘craft’ knowledge (Brown & McIntyre 1988, 1993) — the knowledge you build from critically informed classroom experiences during practicum and especially in your years of being a teacher in real classrooms. 2. Personal practical knowledge — the ‘tacit’ knowledge you have built from past experiences in classrooms (what Lortie [1975] described as ‘our apprenticeship’) and your current experiences in classrooms as a pre-service teacher, which may or may not be critically informed and may or may not match the context you are currently experiencing. Add to this mix your knowledge of yourself, your students, how to teach, content and the context (Elbaz 1983). Now add in the unconscious ‘taking in’ of parental models of teaching when you were very young. Think about how young children set up their toys and play school — the way the toys are set up, how they are spoken to, what they are taught and how they are disciplined. Much of this is unspoken and unexamined — and sometimes even unconscious. 3. Personal and life experiences that may present a complementary or contradictory lens through which you see the current events and context. 4. Formal education and experiences on your journey to becoming a teacher — your studies in educational psychology, planning for learning, assessment for, through and of learning, strategies for learning, an examination of the social construction of knowledge, studies of society, educational philosophy, curriculum design and curriculum content areas such as English, mathematics and science. Each of these frames of understanding can assume a higher priority depending on your context. The type of metaphor you choose to describe your understandings often provides insight into that tacit knowledge. This chapter will discuss how to develop metaphors later. A metaphor that may assist you to understand these interconnections in your own teaching theory is the construction of a quilt. As one answers each question and makes a decision, the complexity and interconnections increase. Keep in mind the terms complex, dynamic and fluid! r What is the purpose of the quilt? (Lap, cot, king size, travel?) r Who is the quilt for? (Self, a gift, for a child, adult, man, woman?) r What design will I use? (Nine patch, shoofly, strip, crazy, appliqu´e?) r What materials could I use? (Soft, hard wearing, cotton, synthetic, smooth, textured, patterned, plain?) r What colours will I use? (My favourites, their favourites?) r How will I blend them into a whole? r Do I have the skills for that design and for sewing those materials? r What batting will I use? (Cotton, polyester, bamboo?) r What backing will I use? Will this contrast or complement the front? r How will I quilt it? (Hand, machine, get a professional?) r Do I need to look for help from mentors, formal classes or published materials? r How will I bind the raw edges? How will my fabric and colour choices tie all of the quilt together? 510

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r Will these choices suit the purpose of the quilt, the materials and design chosen and the receiver of the quilt? r How much will it cost? How much time will it take? Can I afford it? r How can I personalise it for me and/or for the person who will receive it? A point to keep you grounded is the old quilting saying that the quilt itself ultimately decides what will work together. You can make decisions, but ultimately the receiver and user will decide its purpose and value. FIGURE 14.1

Model showing the interconnections of the underpinning frames of understanding of a teacher’s practical theory

Context

Context

Craft knowledge

A teacher’s practical theory

Personal/life experience (components of teacher wisdom)

Personal practical knowledge Practical knowledge

Formal teacher education courses

Context

Context

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Using the model in figure 14.1, begin to identify specific examples you could place in each box. It is valuable to share these so that you consider and reconsider when the tacit becomes open to the scrutiny of current realities. Now consider those answers if you were to move to a very different context. For example, some of you will consider the opportunity to teach overseas. Let’s use an example of a country where the content is clearly prescribed, the teaching methods are in line with a transmission model of teaching, the class sizes are very large and assessment is designed to filter learners in terms of their progression. Which of your original answers you placed in the model (figure 14.1) would remain and which would need to change?

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Let us consider a context closer to home. The Australian Curriculum has Indigenous perspectives embedded and these are required to be addressed in order to meet the AITSL standards. You are teaching Science, in particular the seasons, in a Foundation/Prep class — Daily and seasonal changes in our environment affect everyday life (ACSSU004). How will you explain how Western and Indigenous organisation of the seasons are different and why?

14.3 Components of a teacher’s practical theory LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.3 Explain and illustrate the relationships among the major components of teachers’ practical theories.

Adding to the frames of understanding requires unpacking the building blocks of a teacher’s practical theory. The list presented below is not exhaustive and every individual will choose different components that suit their stage of development and their current context. Keep in mind that your theory is individual and context dependent. The following components draw on the work of Marland (2007).

Beliefs The definition of belief is hard to pin down — it is often defined as a proposition you hold to be true, but you cannot provide factual unequivocal proof. Calderhead (1996) suggested that we could categorise our educational beliefs into the following: r beliefs about learners and learning r beliefs about teaching r beliefs about discipline areas r beliefs about learning to teach r beliefs about one’s self and as a teacher. To explore your beliefs in a little more detail, consider the following questions (Pratt 2016, pp. 19–24). Even if you are not in a teaching context right now, answer the questions, but once you are through your first practicum you may wish to revisit them and note changes and additions. Some may not be relevant to you at this stage of your development as a teacher. One way to handle the number of possibilities below is to select two from each area and consider them in detail. For example, how do you routinely start an instructional/teaching session? Do you have a routine for ending a session?

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Actions r r r r r r r r

How do you routinely start an instructional/teaching session? Do you have a routine for starting or ending a session? If I observed you teaching, what would I see you doing; what would I see the learners doing? How do you assess whether students have learned? What type of feedback do you provide your students? What is ‘typical’ of your teaching? What do you do well, as a teacher? What do you want to learn to do better?

Intentions r r r r r

What are you trying to accomplish? Do you have an agenda or mission that guides your teaching or is this decided for you? What would you say is the essential purpose of your course, program, rotation, workshop, etc? Do you have a clear sense of purpose and intention that guides your instruction? What is your role and responsibility in achieving that intention or sense of purpose?

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Beliefs r r r r r r

When students/learners are having difficulty, what do you do? Why do you do that (what is your rationale for doing that)? What characterises highly effective teaching in your area/discipline/field? What is the most important thing you have learned about effective teaching? What do you want people to take from your teaching; and why is that important? What is learning; and how do you know when someone has learned what you are teaching?

Content

r How do you decide what to teach and what should be learned? Do you have a choice in what and how? r If something has to be left out/reduced in terms of coverage of the curriculum, how would you decide? What criteria would you use? r What do you want people to learn? r And the big question: What ideals, beliefs or values influence your teaching and would be important to understand if someone were evaluating your teaching?

Values Too often values are not articulated overtly, yet they underpin all the decisions you make as a teacher. Teaching is a value-laden profession. You cannot not teach your values! Everything you do, say, respond to, decide and even ignore reflects your values. Ironically it is when you bump into a ‘critical incident’, often associated with behaviour that does not match your expectations that these values spring into relief. Sometimes you will be asked to implement local, state or national directives that do not sit easily with your values. How you handle these ‘rifts’ or disturbances is linked to the beliefs and the values under challenge. So what could you include as possible values? Here are some possibilities, but keep in mind different cultures will hold some in common and others will be very different: r respect for self and others r sanctity of life r honesty and integrity r personal autonomy r self-discipline r neatness r modesty r punctuality.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Discuss each of the questions below and identify what you do and why you do it. Then explore the values that underpin these choices. r How do you interact with learners? What values would they learn from you (e.g. mutual respect and integrity)? r Why do you plan a lesson, unit or program of learning in a particular format and process? Some of you may be in contexts where these decisions are made for you. Consider how you might respond to directives to plan, teach and assess in specific ways. r What kind of learning experiences/activities do you include in your planning? Which ones do you not include? r What would your ideal classroom look like and sound like? How does that match/mismatch with your professional experiences and your memories of what school looked like and sounded like? r What is the role of teachers and learners in the classroom?

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r r r r

What ways are learners rewarded in your classroom? Do you believe in overt rewards? Teachers are learners. How might someone observing your classroom in action see this played out? Why and how do you conduct assessment for, through and of learning? How do you provide feedback? What is the difference between feedback and ‘feed forward’? Teachers are leaders. An easy statement to make and within this statement are some very important personal beliefs and values. But what does it mean in practice in a classroom? Ask yourself what that statement means to the learner, the teacher, their colleagues, parents and carers. Some clues to consider: How are you a change agent? Do you foster shared beliefs and respect among the class and the school community? Do you communicate and work explicitly from strong ideals and beliefs about learning and teaching? Are you an advocate for your learners? You may have found it easier to say what you do, but the values beneath these choices may take more exploration, and it is best done with a partner or a small group who can provide the key questions of ‘Why?’ and ‘What happens when your values and those of your learners, colleagues, parents, school administrators and even politicians are different?’

Principles Principles are the general guidelines we try to follow. They are in some ways similar to the intents you explored earlier and focus on areas such as student expectations, managing learner behaviour, choice of activities, and the kind of classroom atmosphere and environment you want to create. Note the use of ‘try’ — sometimes contexts and events can mean you will not meet those principles. The following are examples of principles that a teacher may hold. r I try to check prior knowledge before beginning a new topic. r I try to make the lesson as hands on as possible. r I try to find something positive in each child’s work. r I try to stress respect for each learner in every interaction. r I try to avoid making unreasonable demands on learners with low self-esteem. r I try not to deviate from my lesson plan. r I try not to punish a whole group for the behaviour of a few. r I try to ensure we cover the curriculum content each lesson. r I try to have high expectations for all learners.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Identify principles that might guide you in the following contexts: r planning a lesson r designing assessment tasks r handling a student who exhibits learned helplessness r dealing with a student who has downloaded inappropriate material from the web in your class. How would you explain to a parent how you graded a piece of work as a C, when the parent believes it should have been an A because his daughter gets As in other subject areas? You may wish to work with a colleague so that ideas are explored and even challenged. Keep in mind that not everyone shares the same principles. Also consider how the principles might be played out in different school and classroom contexts.

Rules If principles are for teachers, then rules are for the students. Sometimes they are imposed by external bodies, such as the state laws, department directives or even school-wide rules, and some you will develop 514

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with your own classes. Classroom ‘rules’ are established to set patterns of acceptable behaviour to each other, to ensure teachers can teach and learners can learn, and other things such as how to listen and to take turns. As you visit different classes during professional experience, take note of what rules are in place and how these have been developed. They give an interesting insight into the beliefs, values and principles of the teacher. You may wish to ask why certain rules were chosen, who chose them and how they are enforced. Many teachers work to phrase these in a positive tone — rather than ‘Thou shalt not’ — and hopefully the rules apply to learners and teachers. Some examples are as follows. r Treat each other as you would wish to be treated. r Be broad and adventurous in your thinking. r Listen when others are talking. r Be prepared to apologise if you are wrong. r Instructions are not open to interpretation. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Pre-service and graduate teachers often express concern about managing classroom behaviour. The types and forms of the rules established in your classrooms and the consequences when they are observed (or not) reflect the values and beliefs you hold at that time about your role as a teacher and the role of the learner in your classroom. Consider how these rules might be developed, how they will be displayed and what will happen when they are not met. What rules might you develop for your classroom to manage: r student talk and discussions r movement in a classroom r sharing resources r copying another person’s work r being late for class r teasing r a member of a group not contributing to a group activity r a student interrupting when you are answering another student’s question? Consider now the consequences for meeting or not meeting those rules. How will you ‘enforce’ them? Then revisit some of your identified beliefs, values and principles. How are your tacit beliefs and values finding form in these rules?

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Aims and goals Aims and goals are the big statements at the beginning of curriculum documents or even declarations such as the 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Goals are about what a society intends its learners to learn as they move to becoming participating adults — the knowledge, understandings, skills, abilities and attitudes. For example, if the words ‘active citizen’ are used, what values and beliefs underpin the choice of the words ‘active citizen’? Goals and aims can be at the macro and micro level. Sometimes the goals and aims are set by national and state governments, education departments or even school boards. Teachers also set personal goals and aims for their classrooms and learners. A teacher’s goal could be to help learners to become independent, critical thinkers; to gain a sense of self-confidence and sense of mastery in their own abilities; to develop a love of science or reading; to become lifelong and life-wide learners; and to be a compliant member of society (or not). It is at this personal goal-setting level that the connections with those beliefs, values and principles begin to move into a concrete form — into actual choices and behaviours by a teacher.

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Strategies and tactics Pre-service teachers often focus on this area — how do I build my toolkit of things to do in a classroom? Strategies usually refer to teaching approaches that are broad and long term, whereas tactics usually refer to short-term or immediate activities that can be quickly adjusted. For example, a strategy could be cooperative learning and a tactic could be a Y chart. Alternative terms for strategies and tactics include methods, techniques and models. The questions that are often not asked are to do with ‘How will this activity help learners achieve the objective of the lesson?’ and ‘Why did I choose that activity and not another?’ Both questions link to the goals, beliefs and ultimately values of a teacher. If you see your role as central to learning, then you will choose certain strategies and tactics.

Student cues Student cues are the traffic signals in a class that tell teachers whether things are moving in the direction of their goals or not. Sometimes these are verbal, but more often they are nonverbal (e.g. facial expressions, posture, eye contact and how they communicate with you and their classmates). Pre-service teachers are often focused on ‘what’ they are teaching or just getting through the session, with hopefully some learning occurring, and will often miss the subtle cues that indicate learners are engaged and ready for a new challenge, lost, muddled, bored or ready to make life interesting! Kounin (1970) called this ‘withitness’. Look at your supervising teacher’s feedback — often they will draw attention to a student being disengaged and the reason why. Compare it to the cues you look for and notice in the classroom. You might find it useful to look at the reports from your supervising teacher and see if they have provided any advice. Keep in mind that cues are culturally specific. It is easy to misread them if you interpret them only from your own perspective. For example, a student might say they understand even when they do not, concerned that their lack of understanding is a reflection on your teaching, or because they may not believe it is appropriate to draw attention to one’s lack of understanding.

Teacher attributes

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To state the obvious, all teachers bring themselves into a classroom. Already you have seen you cannot not teach your values, but you also bring in your strengths, weaknesses, interests, talents, hobbies, knowledge, emotional state, sense of humour, self-confidence and personality. One teacher often wore a pink jacket or a grey jacket — the students read the colour cue, knew what ‘emotional state’ she was in and acted on that information. Ironically she was not aware — it was tacit to her, but the learners knew the cues all too well. Keep in mind that teacher attributes can be positive and not so positive — consider how sarcasm can destroy a learner and a classroom environment. Sometimes learning to teach is as much about learning about yourself as it is about learning about learning and teaching. Consider the frames in figure 14.1 — your teacher attributes are embedded in your personal practical knowledge. These attributes can affect your goals and choice of strategies and tactics, but you have to keep in mind that different contexts and times will require certain attributes to be predominant.

14.4 Images and metaphors LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.4 Develop a metaphor to describe your personal beliefs about the role of a teacher and explain how that could be realised in your teaching practice.

Images and metaphors can be used to access your tacit understandings of yourself and yourself becoming a teacher, providing insight into your values, beliefs, goals and attributes (Stofflett 1996). An image is a snapshot — think of the iceberg simile we used to describe the ‘hidden’ or tacit aspects of teacher expertise. Consider the ‘photo album’ you carry in your head of your school days and how 516

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those images bring back smells, sounds, emotions and memories of justice or injustice and rightness or wrongness of actions. All these can colour the choices you make as a teacher. A metaphor makes a connection to the similarities between two things. The metaphors you use to describe yourself and how you view learners, classrooms and your role can reveal tacit values and beliefs. For example, if you hear ‘Back to the coal face’, what is this saying? Hard work, toil, chipping away at resistant lumps of impersonal ‘stuff’? Metaphors are used to make sense of your beliefs and guide your reflective practices. Sometimes the understanding of these metaphors are tacit and bringing them into examination can reveal many of the values and beliefs that guide our principles, rules and even strategies. Revisit a few of the images and metaphors already used in this chapter — the school photo, icebergs and the quilt. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

If you were to develop a metaphor to describe yourself as a learner, what would it be? A sponge? An explorer? Repeat this exercise as a teacher — suggestions to get you started could be storyteller, ringmaster and coach. Ask teachers how they would describe themselves in an image or metaphor. You can even ask your learners how they might describe themselves or even you! Hint: Look back at your earlier responses on how you describe the role of the learner and the teacher. How might your own personal schooling and personal history affect how you choose your metaphor? Keep in mind we often use metaphor unknowingly, so check some of your earlier answers.

14.5 Contextual variables

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.5 Evaluate how your own cultural background and associated worldview has influenced your growth as a teacher and learner and how you have adapted this understanding to new contexts.

Contextual variables have been a constant throughout this chapter — both in terms of how each teacher’s theory can change according to context, how their frames are affected by context and throughout the components of a theory (Flores & Day 2006). Variations from the expected can mean a change in teaching plans, change of tactic, checking of student cues and even goals. So, what are a few of the contextual influences that need to be considered? Reflect on your first professional experience and select three of the possible contextual variables listed below. Can you identify how the variables affected your choices in terms of goals, tactics and expected outcomes and then the realities of the experience? r What age were the learners and were they all at the same stages of physical, cognitive, social and emotional development? r How many were in the class — were you working with one year or was it a multi-year class? r What variations of socio-economics/culture/ethnicity were immediately obvious within the class? What differences and similarities did class members share? How would you have to adapt the lesson to cater for individual differences? r How available and appropriate were the resources? r What were the levels of ability and disability in the class? r How much time do you have to plan and teach? r What was the time of day and which day of the week was it? r What might have been happening at home, in the school, in the community, the upcoming formals, school-wide testing programs and on the oval at lunchtime? r What were the relationship histories between you and this group of learners and among themselves? r What was the weather like? (Think of windy days.) r Who was in the class that day? Who was not? Did it make a difference — if so, how? CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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r Identify three different learners — how did you plan for their individual learning? r How similar or dissimilar is that context to the one you experienced as a learner in school? r Identify three points of difference in the two contexts — how did you manage this potential dissonance? WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

When we first become a teacher, our focus is on ourselves and what we will be doing. That is a normal stage of our initial steps to becoming a professional educator. You may want to begin to build a collection of strategies and tactics. When you see and hear great ideas you want to capture them for yourself. However, try not to develop a ‘grab bag’ of good ideas: try to be critically reflective in terms of what you ‘grab’. How was it used? Who was it used with — year level, context and content? When was it used? Look for any issue associated with its use. Always keep in mind ‘For what and for whom?’ Great ideas for one person can be a recipe for disaster for another. Our tacit values and beliefs and own learning experiences influence the ones we will select and implement and the ones we will reject. Step now to the really big picture — the Australian Curriculum. What are the implications of the move to a national curriculum, as a beginning teacher? How would you decide what to teach, what should be learned and how it should be assessed? Who and what might influence your decisions? How has NAPLAN affected what and how teachers teach? Ask your mentors on your professional experiences how these major changes affect what they do in classrooms.

14.6 Novice to expert LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.6 Explain how the novice-to-expert model can be applied to the development of your practical theory.

The ability to read and adjust to changing contexts is one of the key markers of a teacher’s growth to expertise. One framework used to describe how to develop and grow as teachers is the novice-to-expert model. The novice-to-expert model of professional development initially developed by Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986), and applied by Benner (1984) to nursing and Berliner (2004) to teaching, is a valuable framework to consider the growth of a teacher’s knowing and application of that knowing within a practical teaching context. According to Berliner’s model, expertise (content- and context-specific) develops when propositions, hypotheses and principles are tested and refined over a period of deliberate practice time. A teacher’s preconceived ideas, notions and expectations (part of their tacit knowledge) are challenged, refined or disconfirmed by actual experience. The stages are novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient and expert.

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The novice These practitioners are characterised by context-free, rule-governed behaviour and can be quickly thrown off balance by the ‘unexpected’ as their understanding of the ‘rules’ is limited and inflexible. Planning is didactic, focusing on the anticipation and sequencing of teaching actions in advance — a diachronic use of time. Success is judged by how well the rules are adhered to and the plan executed, but with little sense of responsibility for that action. The focus is on what they do — the tactics, the mechanics of teaching and managing, and coverage of content. Cues from learners are often missed. If asked why they chose certain activities or assessed in a particular way, it is unusual for novices to be able to explain in terms of their beliefs or values. Think about your first formal teaching experience. What did you do and how did you feel?

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Advanced beginner The second stage continues to run on rules. Mastery of content and pedagogy remains in the forming stage. However, with a small pool of experience the ‘young’ teacher begins to recognise variations in aspects of a situation that may lead to trying new ways of dealing with the ‘problem’ or ‘perplexity’.

Competence The third stage, competence, is usually reached after 3 to 5 years of experience (Berliner 2004). Conscious, deliberate planning is still characteristic, but it is done with increased efficiency and a sense of responsibility for and emotional involvement in the actions taken (i.e. success or failure are experienced at a very personal level). There is now an ability to identify what is important in a specific context. Eraut (1994, p. 125) describes competence as ‘the climax of rule-guided learning and discovering how to cope in crowded, pressurized contexts’. The competent teacher still must rely on conscious, deliberate, analytic problem solving. Those who remain at this stage become efficient technicians who operate within fixed and uncritically assimilated frameworks of knowledge. They learn to become good disciples within a framework of narrow expectations and goals and unchallenged assumptions — to operate successfully within ‘the system’.

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Proficient and expert The first three stages are governed by rules whereas the last two, proficient and expert, entail ‘vision’: an ability to operate in a synchronic time of immediacy with the idiosyncrasies of the ‘here and now’ and a willingness to question expectations, goals and assumptions. These teachers are able to process and understand events by drawing on their subject matter proficiency. They can tap into abstract knowledge structures built through experience and relationships over time. These teachers can improvise, just like musicians when they ‘jam’ (Yinger 1990). The seemingly effortless improvisations are the consequence of intelligently composed patterns created on the spot to meet the changing demands and purposes of that specific context. Those holistic patterns are built from past experience, through the knowledge of the discipline becoming ‘embodied’ thought, and through action blending the expected and the unexpected. There is a ‘conversation’ between ‘players’, instruments and the audience. Think about classes that ‘hum’ with activity and engagement. The proficient practitioner is able to perceive a situation as a whole, rather than in terms of specifics, with little dependence on the ‘rules’. They quickly recognise the salient points of a situation and are intuitive organisers, but still reflect analytically; that is, identifying a problem, proposing a series of possible options, weighing the pros and cons of each, choosing the most appropriate response for the context, and finally acting. The consequences of this action may become the basis for further ‘perplexities’, which are then processed in the same analytical manner. Teachers at the final stage, expert, perceive the situation as a whole and recognise meaningful patterns faster than those who are novices. This expertise is, however, context, content and time dependent (Berliner 2004). Past concrete experiences are used, allowing expert teachers to focus on the problem without considering irrelevant options. It is important to keep in mind that experience does not automatically equate to expertise. Expert teachers can recognise the subtle shifts and changes in the context and the ‘players’. They can identify problems before they occur; that is, they display Kounin’s (1970) ‘withitness’. Expert teachers display an appropriate flexibility and opportunism not characteristic of novices and advanced beginners. They are able to go with what ‘feels’ right based on thousands of hours of extensive and deliberate practice. Their behaviour is characterised by speed, directedness and accuracy. If time is constrained and outcomes are critical, expert teachers will deliberate before acting, but the reflection is on their intuition rather than the action itself. They demonstrate an ‘intelligence of practice’ whereby they make ‘in-flight’ decisions to ‘effortlessly’ fit the tool and method to the specific needs of people and place. Teachers at this stage are CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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able to shift easily and fluidly from a didactic approach to a pedagogic approach to meet the constantly changing context, and academic and affective needs of learners. They use their tacit knowledge to make what appears to be instantaneous decisions. If asked, expert teachers can explain their work in terms of their beliefs and values about learning and teaching and their role as a teacher, but if the understanding and explanation of the underpinning beliefs and values are still in tacit form, they are often stumped and may respond ‘Because it works!’ Hattie (2004) has developed an alternative framework that differentiates an expert and experienced teacher. 1. Expert teachers have what he calls deeper representations of their content knowledge. It is not how much they know, rather it is how that knowledge is organised and integrated. The spontaneity that Berliner identified is possible because they are able to focus on what are the essential points of learning, are able to identify what misconceptions can interfere with learning and are attuned to how the learners are grasping (or not) those key principles. 2. Expert teachers are able to build and maintain a classroom climate where learning is the key focus and engagement is the norm. Knowing each learner’s strengths, potential weaknesses and how they learn is central to how they build this learning context. 3. Being attuned to each learner is central to the importance of feedback — are they engaged, lost, showing initiative, rising to challenges and expectations? Expert teachers can think on their feet and adjust the flow and processes to suit the constantly changing learning context. 4. Respect is central to interactions with learners. Expert teachers are passionate about learning and teaching and actively seek feedback on how they can improve. 5. Expert teachers believe they have a positive and vital role in students achieving. They challenge learners to achieve appropriate goals through engaging them in the learning process. You may wish to revisit the introductory case and identify how the teacher met/did not meet those five criteria!

Effective teachers continue to grow in expertise

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The novice-to-expert model of teacher development is not permanently fixed (Berliner 2004). Progress is influenced by the educational context, subject-matter proficiency, experience in methodologies and personal characteristics of the teacher. If a new methodology is introduced, many ‘expert’ teachers find themselves experiencing characteristics more akin to those of the novice and advanced beginner. The same thing happens if the context changes radically (e.g. having taught successfully in Year 6 does not automatically ensure immediate success in teaching Year 1). LaBoskey (1994) suggested that personal characteristics or attributes, in particular a personal propensity for inquiry and critical reflection, would lead to the division of novices into ‘commonsense learners’ and ‘alert novices’. Both begin with the self-orientation that is characteristic of novices — which moves from self and subject matter alone to what learners need explained. They share an inquiry orientation: commonsense learners ask questions with a ‘How to?’ or ‘What works?’ focus, whereas alert novices ask ‘Why?’

Commonsense learners Commonsense learners believe their long apprenticeship as learners in schools has equipped them to teach. All that is needed is the experience gained through trial and error in practice to refine those ‘knowings’. What is needed is ‘tips for teachers’ to solve immediate short-term problems of transmission. Ironically, commonsense learners are unaware of what they need to learn until they begin to practise and they appear to be content with broad generalisations, certain conclusions and a willingness to accept the existing structures as givens. For many teachers, the pressures of what has been described as ‘The Teacher Press’ (Huberman 1993) keeps them at the competent level. Great technicians who meet deadlines and produce results, but are 520

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they the memorable teachers who really make a difference in learners’ lives? Carson (1995, p. 160) has described teaching as living ‘in the flux of newness of the world and in the play of competence and vulnerability’. The classroom press

The ‘classroom press’ (Huberman 1993) has four characteristics. 1. The press for immediacy and concreteness: Teachers experience as many as 200 000 interchanges a year. Most of these are spontaneous and requiring action, often immediate. 2. The press for multidimensionality and simultaneity: In teaching folklore it is often said that teachers need to be able to ‘see out of the backs of their heads’. One is required to work with individuals while monitoring others and being able to predict where the next individual and group ‘need’ will be — in other words, to apply Kounin’s (1970) skills of ‘withitness’. At the same time one has to know when to move forward within the ‘content’ of the lesson and when to step back or to go on hold while another need is met. 3. The press for adapting to ever-changing conditions or unpredictability: What worked brilliantly with one group last year may not work with the current group of learners. Learners (and teachers) may don new ‘affective clothes’ each day. Teachers are required to cope with this unpredictability and to seize those brief ‘windows’, those pedagogical moments (van Manen 1991) when a learner’s mind is ‘open’ and receptive. 4. The press for personal involvement: Learners need to believe that they are truly ‘seen’ (van Manen 1991) and valued as people in their own right. Teachers need to develop and maintain personal relationships with learners — what van Manen (1991) defines as ‘tact’. The consequences of the ‘press’ for teachers are that they focus on the day-to-day effects. That is, they retain a short-term perspective; live on the surface of the classroom; become exhausted; have limited opportunities for sustained reflection; and have to make compromises. In order to survive and manage the complexity of life in a crowded classroom, teachers need to develop routines, automaticity and ways of knowing, yet those very life rafts can limit our growth to expertise if they remain unquestioned.

Alert novices In contrast LaBoskey (1994) identified the alert novices as those who tend to function more frequently at the analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels of Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy (1956) by following the processes of problem definition, evidence gathering, deliberation and evaluation of possible options and implications for action all into a well-grounded conclusion or solution. Dewey (1933, p. 9) described this grounded conclusion as the:

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active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends constitutes reflective thought.

This predisposition to inquiry and critical reflection results in the final stage: the pedagogical practitioner. The characteristics shown at this level are: r a student orientation with a long-term view to the means and ends of actions and decisions r acknowledgement that conclusions are tentative r the need for feedback and triangulation r strategic and imaginative teaching grounded in knowledge of oneself, learners and subject matter r an ability to differentiate and honour the different roles teachers play in learning and teaching as a moral activity. In addition, there is a propensity or disposition to value open exploration and continual growth and a passionate belief about the teaching and learning process. The motivation to act in this manner comes from an ability to read and meld the internal metacognitive motivations with the external effects of context, purpose, structural features of the task, timing and location. The pedagogical practitioner has both the ability and propensity to be reflective or, as van Manen (1991) describes it, ‘tactful’. A teacher has reached CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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expertise for that class and context in that time and, through the processes of critical reflection, can assess and re-assess that expertise as the contexts change. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Each time you enter a new school or classroom, or change year level, you will feel as if you have to start learning all over again. At first you will feel as if you never get beyond the novice level, but as you build your knowledge and skills as a teacher you move far more quickly into a competent stage. Ask your mentors what it was like when they started to teach and what strategies they used to help them move into a stage where they felt ‘in control’. The process of critical reflection will assist you to make the adjustments necessary as the contexts change. Do not be concerned if initially you are focused on what you do, rather than on how and what the students learn. That is also quite a normal process and as you become comfortable with your knowledge and skills as a teacher, then you will find that your focus and questions will move to ‘How can I best help these learners to learn?’ When those questions arise, then you are well on the way to becoming a teacher.

14.7 Process of critical reflection LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.7 Explain and use the concept of critical reflection in your development as a professional educator.

As you worked through the practical theory components of this chapter, you were called upon to engage in reflection. By sharing and exploring each other’s answers, you began the process of critical reflection. Reconsider the steps when you discussed successful and less successful strategies and tactics.

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What is critical reflection? There are many definitions of reflection and explanations of its application within learning, teaching and teacher education. While there appears to be a common underlying assumption that all teachers should use logical, rational, step-by-step analyses of their own teaching and the contexts in which the teaching occurs (Korthagen 1993), reflection has very different connotations and purposes for different people. A starting point for ‘reflection’ could be ‘looking back on an experience, trying to understand what happened and why’. Let’s explore this definition with the following tale. One day Pooh and Piglet (Milne 1965) were in the forest following the track of a strange visitor. Soon another set joined the single set of tracks. The two animals became frightened as the tracks began to multiply: first one set, then two, then four! Trapped in their own ‘actions’ they were unable to understand what was happening, why these ‘things’ were happening and more importantly how they could stop or change them. Pooh and Piglet did not reflect on their experiences and therefore did not learn. It was only when Christopher Robin, sitting in a tree observing their behaviour, intervened by saying ‘Silly old Bear. What are you doing?’ (Milne 1965, p. 37) that Pooh could understand and act upon his experience. Dewey (1933, p. 4) suggests that the ‘ . . . perplexed wayfarer’ may even ‘ . . . climb a tree’ to look for ‘ . . . signs, clues, or indications’ to resolve the perplexity. Brookfield (1995) suggests that through reflection and its linkage to theory, teachers gain a language to name their practice and a way to break the circle of familiarity so that unlike Pooh and Piglet they do not fruitlessly continue to go around in circles hunting themselves. The initial definition of reflection can now be expanded to include and value the exploration of one’s perceptions and understandings of a specific experience; the ability to climb Dewey’s (1933, p. 14) metaphorical tree and regard the experience in a critical manner; and the ability to change behaviour based on that critical reflection. By looking at the ‘stories’ of your experiences, you will begin to find 522

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your ‘voice’ — the sound of your beliefs about what you do as a teacher when you interact with learners and your peers. Teaching (and learning) has been described by Brookfield (1990) as a complex and passionate experience that requires the reflective process for success. Thus the definition of reflection could now be the process whereby individuals respond to experience, explore their learning and teaching practices, and begin to reframe their understandings of why they do what they do so that they may better understand the reasons for change to their practice (Brookfield 1990, 1995; van Manen 1991). Life in a classroom means being embedded in a continuous flow of experience with many variables. Routines (e.g. frames, schemas and paradigms), patterns of order and a set of ‘taken-for-granteds’ keep mental effort at a reasonable level and help keep order in both internal and external worlds. It is difficult to deconstruct and reassemble your routines without disorientation and the fear of not coping. For example, imagine the consternation felt if a centipede were asked to explain how it walks (Sch¨on 1983). In such a ‘hot’ context the pressure for action is immediate; to hesitate is to stall and maybe lose control (Brookfield 1990). The choices are to stay safe ‘in the comforting and soothing nature of everyday life’ (Shor 1980, p. 213) or to reflect on what you do in your practice and why. Reflection is more than ‘deckchair musing’ and requires courage to set aside the demands of the performance aspects of teaching (Carson 1995). It is an active process whereby you are required to hold out your beliefs, perceptions, actions and behaviours to better understand your own world views and how these may match or conflict with others. It will mean choosing to ‘burrow’ through the ‘taken for-granteds’ (Greene 1986), to ‘stir the chalkdust’ (Wasley 1994), to ‘penetrate the habitualness of teaching’ (Freire 1972) and to think critically and adopt a critical attitude. One is required to step beyond single to double-loop learning (Argyris & Sch¨on 1978). To remain at single-loop learning means one detects errors, often at a private and tacit technical level, and introduces changes to one’s practice, but the central theory-in-action with its norms and value systems remains unchanged. To move to double-loop learning means that important errors are still detected, but now the strategies, assumptions and norms involved in effecting and evaluating the performance are explicitly and publicly examined. The consequences of double-loop learning may be the setting of new priorities and weighting of norms or even reconstruction of those strategies, assumptions and norms. Now the variables that govern the way you teach are contested and debated within a framework of the critical issues about politics, ethics and morality of teaching (Smyth 1987). So why bother with reflection? Reflection is a means of sustaining one’s professional health and competence; a means to clear the tangle of espoused theory and actions and create space for coherence and cohesiveness (Carson 1995); a time when teachers can ‘construct and reconstruct our understandings of ourselves as teachers, our students as learners and the classroom as a setting for learning’ (Beattie & Conle 1996, p. 312). The use of reflection and reframing can help teachers to question those ‘stable states’, to re-assess those assumptions and add new teaching skills to their repertoire. The development of a new frame does not mean an end to puzzles and problems. One needs to continue the scrutiny and reflective judgements of one’s own practices in order to move to even more elaborated views of practice: ‘new actions and new frames for practice go hand in hand’ (Russell & Munby 1991, p. 185).

Why bother with critical reflection? The first reason is that the learners, teachers, community and society are in a state of economic, technological and sociological upheaval (Degenhardt & Duignan 2010; Friedman 2005; Moran 2000; Rotherham & Willingham 2009; Zhao 2009). Teachers are required to cope with and manage these changes as they apply to learning contexts. The process and practice of reflection are central to coping with the upheavals, uncertainties and ambiguities of change: we live in liquid times (Burman 2013). The second reason is if you accept that learning is central to teaching and reflection is central to learning (Loughran 1996), then the ‘habits’, dispositions or virtues of the reflective practitioner need to be encouraged and reinforced throughout the period of teacher education. If teachers are to be thoughtful CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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professionals reflecting on their craft, then they must develop and retain the mindset and disposition of a learner. Dewey (1904/1962, p. 20) stated that: Teacher education should be pointed towards making the professional student thoughtful about his work in the light of principle rather than to induce in him recognition that certain special methods are good, and certain other special methods are bad. Dewey’s dispositions

Dewey (1933) listed as essential for reflection: open-mindedness, whole-heartedness and responsibility. Open-mindedness is: an active desire to listen to more sides than one; to give heed to facts from whatever source they come; to give full attention to alternative possibilities; to recognize the possibility of error even in the beliefs that are dearest to us (Dewey 1933, p. 30).

It is being open to new themes, facts or questions by moving out of the rut of least trouble and least resistance, as ‘external monotony and internal routine are the worst enemies of wonder’ (Dewey 1933, p. 52). Whole-heartedness occurs when one is totally immersed in solving a problem and being prepared to risk finding answers. Questions occur to him spontaneously; a flood of suggestions pour in on him; further inquiries and readings are indicated and followed; instead of having to use his energy to hold his mind to the subject, the material holds and buoys his mind up and gives onward impetus to thinking (Dewey 1933, p. 31).

Responsibility requires one to ‘extend and unravel the thoughts taken up by an open mind’ (Loughran 1996, p. 60) and to be prepared to consider the consequences of following an action through to its conclusion, unlike, for example, the teacher in the film Dead Poet’s Society who encourages the students to ‘seize the day’ but leaves many ill-equipped to handle the consequences of such an action. ‘Any decision will affect the future and any future is not acceptable’ (LaBoskey 1994, p. 13). Readiness to consider in a thoughtful way (Dewey 1933) requires courage and practice. If the habit of reflection can become established during the early days of becoming a teacher, then there is a chance that the practitioner may rise above history (personal and institutional), tradition, authority and circumstantial analysis and evaluation of events and reasonings. However, only when one begins to learn to be a teacher and to practise one’s skills and knowledge is the Meno paradox faced in action:

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(I)n the first instance, he can neither do it nor recognize it when he sees. Hence, he is caught up in a self-contradiction: ‘looking for something’ implies a capacity to recognize the thing one looks for but the student lacks at first the capacity to recognize the object of his search. The instructor is caught up in the same paradox: he cannot tell the student what he needs to know, even if he has the words for it, because the student would not at that point understand him (Sch¨on 1988, p. 83).

It is not easy to explain your practical theory or uncover why you do what you do. First, teachers get very little practice in doing this. Your work as a teacher will put a premium on action, and often you will be provided with very little time or encouragement to reflect on what you do and why — the teacher press in action. Second, it is only in the last decade or so that the practical knowledge of teachers has been acknowledged as an important kind of knowledge. Ways of representing the practical knowledge of teachers and of assisting teachers to articulate them are still being developed. To even begin this is a very demanding task, especially when you are still in the novice or advanced beginner stages, when just managing each day is the priority and the Meno paradox is at times overwhelming. Third, many of the bases of your teaching are deep-seated and tacit or unspoken. They have been incorporated into your life-view in a subtle, covert way, without you formally learning them. Many of your values and beliefs, 524

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for example, have been internalised unconsciously during your formative years. In a similar way, your childhood experiences, in family and community circles, and your exposure to the formal and hidden curricula of schools have been very influential in shaping your life-views. Such components of your practical theories are embodied in your very being and are, therefore, not easy to make explicit. Everyone carries an album of sepia-toned photos — or perhaps corrupted electronic ones. Moreover, some aspects of your practical theories, such as the tactics you use, are tacit or implicit because they have become incorporated into your routines. In other words, their use becomes automatic. Though once you might have had to think about whether and how to use them, that is no longer the case. The model depicted in figure 14.2 is a great way to visualise this process. FIGURE 14.2

Conscious competence

Unconsciously skilled

Unconsciously unskilled

Consciously skilled

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Consciously unskilled

Learning to drive a car is a good illustration of how actions become routinised. Before your first lesson, you do not know what you need to know — you are unconsciously unskilled. When you learn to drive, there are aspects of your driving, like starting the car and changing gears, that at first you have to pay conscious attention to (you are consciously unskilled). Later, these become considered, but you feel capable of doing them (you are consciously skilled). Finally, you learn to do them automatically, without conscious thought (you are unconsciously skilled). So it is with teaching. You will develop routines so that more of your information-processing capacity can be devoted to the unusual, the novel and the unexpected. Hence, the reasons for using your teaching tactics may no longer come readily to mind. Uncovering them may require you to reach well back into your teaching past. Returning to the learning to drive analogy, you proceed quite unconsciously skilled. Then context changes and you are asked to drive a manual car when you learned in an automatic. Your expertise receives a ‘wake-up call’. As a pre-service teacher, you know you need to look for something but not what it is you are looking for. If you do not understand something, then you cannot set about learning it, since you do not know enough about how to begin. To be prepared to reflect and cope with the Meno paradox requires what Sch¨on (1988) and Dewey (1933) describe as the willing suspension of belief and the disposition to be prepared to ask questions such as ‘How do we know what we know?’ and ‘How else might it be viewed, seen, considered?’ The novice teacher must give up the sense of competence, control and confidence. To relinquish the ‘control’ requires the development of those Deweyan dispositions conducive to reflection: open-mindedness, responsibility and whole-heartedness. Then add in the opportunity to safely experience that risk of loss of ‘control’ in an environment that supports and encourages reflection as: a logical consequence of learning to teach; not as a generalist process skill but as an appropriate tool for unpacking and learning from the uncertainties of practice (Loughran 1996, p. 17).

A fourth reason for learners becoming teachers to bother with reflection is that it provides a means to cope with the three reasons discussed previously and the pressures of the classroom press. CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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What sensible organisation would forbid its workers to ask their colleagues for help, would expect them to carry all relevant facts in their heads, would require them to work in 35 minute spells and then move to a different site, would work them in groups of 30 or over and prohibit any social interaction except at official break times (Handy 1989, p. 173)?

The busy, and at times hectic, classroom environment can encourage a means–end thinking so that the focus of reflection is on solving immediate ‘technical’ problems of classroom organisation and teaching strategies. There is little time or thinking space for issues such as the purposes of the curriculum and education, let alone the social and institutional context in which the teaching takes place. If teachers are to be the creators, engineers and moral guides of learning, then they need the dispositions, habit and time to engage in reflection at all three levels — technical, practical and critical — and must be in a learning environment that supports their moves to restructure their practice and build and rebuild their expertise.

Becoming a critically reflective practitioner The Smyth model (1987, p. 216) depicted in table 14.1 provides a useful framework to identify the progressive stages of the reflective process as experienced by teachers and learners: they describe, inform, confront and restructure. TABLE 14.1

Stages of reflective practice

Action

Question

They describe what happened

What did I do?

They question what the experience meant

What does this mean?

They confront their own value systems

How did I come to be like this?

They reconstruct

How might I do things differently?

Describing — what did I do? Teachers begin to develop their ‘third eye’ on their teaching through journals, diaries, blogs, Twitter and even Facebook — the written ‘evidence’ of what has happened can be revisited and shared. When experiences are visited in our memories, they tend to become rewritten — especially with the retelling. Writing means one has to be clear about what actually happened; our thinking becomes public to ourselves and potentially others. The focus of the writing is on who, what, when and where. Narrative provides a new arena for the describing of what is done to be shared with other learners and teachers.

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Informing — what is the meaning within my teaching? Informing occurs when the broader pedagogical processes — the learning and teaching theories that underpin our action — are unpicked or untied. When the beliefs that help make sense of those situations, moments and critical incidents that occur in your teaching experiences are brought forward and examined, you are asking what they meant for you and for your learners. Each teacher brings a suitcase filled with their experiences from their own schooling with all the rules, principles and tactics they endured or enjoyed. Through the sharing of experiences and narratives there is an opportunity to reflect on one’s own meanings and to have those meanings questioned by one’s peers in a safe environment. By questioning the meaning you will begin to get behind the ‘habits’ and ‘taken-for-granteds’ — the tacit knowledge of how you teach and learn. The answers provide the first tools to empower yourself as a teacher and as a learner of teaching.

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Confronting — how did I come to be like this? Confronting is the stage when teachers and learners have to move out of their comfort zones — a time of discomfort and disequilibrium, when change and learning may occur. Teaching is never innocent or value-free. To answer the question ‘How did I come to be like this?’, one has to identify, clarify and accept or reject the values that underpin one’s beliefs about the teaching and learning process. A teacher may insist that students complete a task before moving on to a new task. What values are behind this belief? Where did this belief come from? Why does a teacher keep hanging onto this belief when it is blatantly obvious there are times when situations change and one cannot finish the immediate task? Is it a realistic expectation? As we reflect in action, the question ‘What does this mean?’ is central. Tripp (1993, p. 142) states that ‘the judgements teachers make come more from their understanding of the situation and who they are than from any set of teaching procedures that they may follow’.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

The following questions proposed by Smyth (1987, p. 222) provide valuable prompts to explore ‘How did I come to be like this?’ — to begin to uncover those beliefs and values that underpin any teacher’s theory of how to be a great teacher. Select two that may challenge your understandings so far of your growth as a teacher. r What do my current practices say about my assumptions, values and beliefs about teaching? r Where did these ideas come from? r What social practices are expressed in these ideas? r What is it that causes me to maintain my theories?

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r What views of power do they embody? r Whose interests are served by my practices? r What constrains my views of what is possible in teaching?

Dislodging those beliefs and illusions listed above is difficult, painful or even dangerous. These beliefs are part of your self-concept and they give direction and meaning to your life. Yet rarely are they exposed to the light of scrutiny. Once exposed, you have the choice to continue with these beliefs or to change. It is the choice, and knowing why the choice was made, that is important (Sch¨on 1990, p. 137).

Reconstructing — how might I do things differently? There must be an active dimension to reflection; otherwise you remain speculative. If you introduce change, you know why. If you choose not to change, you know why. It is no longer a case of it just feels right or ‘learning blind’ (Sch¨on 1990, p. 137). Rather there has been the opportunity to learn what Sch¨on (1990, p. 125) describes as ‘disciplined freedom’. As you develop as a teacher, you develop your teacher voice — the way you describe your understandings, confusions, successes and failures. The way you voice these understandings can be ‘reproductive’ in that they describe what has occurred or they can be ‘transformative’ and create new realities. The traditional transmission model of learning and teaching is now being challenged by the constructivist paradigm whereby learners (and teachers) internalise, reshape or transform new information: a process that requires reflection by agents conscious of their own development. Learning can then become a dialogue where students (and teachers) are helped to name, honour and understand their own experience (Wasley 1994).

Unpacking and applying the critically reflective model to our practice We will now revisit the Smyth framework in more detail. Now we are consciously unskilled about the critically reflective process, it is time to explore each stage in more depth to expand our understandings and engage with the ideas at a deeper level. This exploration will assist us to build these understandings into our eventual theory of how to become an expert teacher.

Describing (the technical level)

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The first level (technical, describing or instrumental) is the ‘how to’ of teaching: the practical techniques for handling groups of learners of different needs and abilities; planning and implementing individual and group learning programs; classroom management strategies; teaching and assessment strategies; and how to report to and work with parents. As a novice or advanced beginner, your focus is on surviving and getting it right. Sch¨on (1983, p. 68) raised concern about teachers who remain locked at this habituated level of technical expertise: They have become too skilful at techniques of selective in-attention, junk categories, and situational control, techniques which they use to preserve the constancy of their knowledge-in-practice. For them uncertainty is a threat; its admission is a sign of weakness.

Despite Sch¨on’s (1983) vehement disparagement of technical rationality, novice and advanced beginner teachers highly value these critical instrumental aspects of ‘knowing’ in the first years of teaching. They are relevant to you as a pre-service teacher. This level of knowing provides a basis for the surprise and wonder: the impetus to move to the second level of reflection.

Informing (the contextual level) The danger of reflecting only at the technical level is that the question ‘Why am I doing this?’ is not asked. External bureaucratic bodies predetermine efficiency, effectiveness and economy as the standards 528

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of success. These predetermined ends and the institutional contexts of classroom, community and society are regarded as unproblematic. These ‘tips for teachers’ can become armour to ward off the unexpected and to control engagement — they become codified as espoused theory (Carson 1995). However, experience can thin, dint or buckle the armour when one’s values are in conflict with the presupposed means and ends. The attitude of openness can create opportunity for reflection at the second level. The second level has various labels: practical, contextual or situational. At this level technical or instrumental problems still require deliberation and action for a solution, but now there is a relativistic quality (i.e. the importance of understanding a particular context before acting). The theoretical and institutional assumptions behind the curriculum, pedagogy, goals, competing educational ends and the potential effects of the actions are now considered. Classroom routines and rituals are reconsidered as routines that embody meaning. At the technical/instrumental level, the teacher takes the privileged knowledge and applies it to instrumental problems of practice. At the second level of reflection, the emphasis is on the development of one’s own theories of teaching. Within this theory there needs to be an understanding of why certain choices are made and how these choices are constrained by context and influenced by history, social and institutional factors and one’s personal value system. Teachers at this second level of reflection need to analyse and clarify their own individual and cultural experiences, as well as the meanings, perceptions, assumptions, prejudgements and presuppositions they carry about teaching and learning (i.e. how their own educational histories are embedded within their practice). The personal/practical and personal/life experience frames are re-examined.

Confronting (exploring our own values and beliefs)

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When teachers begin to reflect upon the existence and role of competing educational goals and the hidden curriculum at personal, institutional and national levels, then they move to the third level of reflection: that of the morally, ethically and politically critically aware practitioner. Reflection at this third level involves becoming aware of the influence of one’s sociocultural context and the underpinning ideologies that constrain or support the various power groups. Critical questioning of what is taught, to whom, why and how is central to this level of reflection. The moral and ethical implications of pedagogy and school structures are open for debate. Whose ‘knowledge’ is valued and why? What is regarded as true, important and relevant in the culture? What gets spoken about? What remains unsaid? Ends and means are now problematic as they interact and intersect with specific contexts. To accept this personal construction of teaching as a moral enterprise involves questioning the ‘taken-for-granteds’ and competing views, and gaining control over them. Teaching expertise is now characterised by both adeptness at the technical level and willingness to demonstrate openness, wholeheartedness and responsibility when deliberating on the worth of what is learned and the manner of its learning. To educate is to teach in a way that includes an account of why you do as you do. While tacit knowledge may be characteristic of many things that teachers do, our obligation as teacher educators must be to make the tacit explicit. Teachers will become better educators when they can begin to have explicit answers to the questions: ‘How do I know what I do? How do I know the reason for what I do? Why do I ask my students to perform or think in particular ways?’ The capacity to answer such questions not only lies at the heart of what we mean by becoming skilled as a teacher; it also requires a combining of reflection on practical experience and reflection on theoretical understanding (Shulman 1987, p. 33).

Reflecting at this third level enables you to inform your practice by deliberating and choosing among competing versions of good teaching and to know why possibilities for action were chosen. Craft knowledge, formal learning and the two earlier frames are all now under review.

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Reconstructing (moving forward) If reflection is not to become just a part of education ‘jargon’, learning to reflect must be ‘a matter of pedagogical fitness of the whole person. What we might call “pedagogical fitness” is a cognitive and emotional and moral and sympathetic and physical preparedness’ (van Manen 1991, pp. 205–6). This fitness includes the abilities to appreciate or apprehend one’s own practice; the propensity for inquiry into the purposes, processes and sources of that practice; and the attitudes of opennness, whole-heartedness and responsibility towards one’s decisions for action. Life in a classroom means being embedded in a continuous flow of experience with many variables. Routines such as frames, schemas, paradigms, patterns of order and a set of ‘taken-for-granteds’ keep mental effort at a reasonable level and help keep order in our internal and external worlds. It is difficult to deconstruct and reassemble your routines without disorientation and the fear of not coping. Becoming a teacher is not something you grasp, but what you are and do. An alternative model proposed by Stenberg (2011) provides an emphasis on dialogue and transformation. There are similarities with the Smyth (1987) model, but there is greater emphasis on the role of dialogue, which can increase the opportunity to change teaching practice, and, importantly, on knowing why or why not making changes to one’s knowledge, beliefs and actions in practice is necessary. Routine

Routine reflection is focused on teaching practice, with no questions raised and no justification for the action provided. There is no indication of the need for any change for future practice. This would match with the Smyth (1987) technical definition. Rationalisation

Rationalisation does entail asking why, and includes personal reaction and reasoning, but again, there is no evidence of change to future practice. This would match with the Smyth (1987) informing definition. However, it is at the next two levels, dialogic and transformation, that the potential for change could be realised. Dialogic

Dialogic entails being able to entertain differing viewpoints, space for new questions and insight into how practice might be improved. Through what Isaacs (1999) defines as reflective and generative dialogue (with ourselves and especially with others), whether that be in writing or speech, the potential for new insights and possibilities can be realised. There is now the potential for change to practice. Transformation

It is at the transformation level that real change to practice is possible. Here, the focus is on the personal and professional identity. Beliefs and values (and even moral and ethical standards) are considered, along with the way one’s tacit knowledge may have unconsciously influenced actions and proposed actions.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Learning about a framework for critical reflection is of little value if it remains just an interesting idea. It is when we apply it to our learning and development as a teacher and use it to assist us to clarify and formulate our practical theory that it gains personal meaning. Think about that very first lesson you planned and delivered. r What did you do? r Why did you do it that way? r Whose learning was being advanced? r Would you do it the same way again? r What surprised you about the lesson? r What challenged you?

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Consider Dewey’s dispositions. How were you able to demonstrate openness, whole-heartedness and responsibility? Think of specific events, actions (yours) and reactions (learners). These questions can start you on your journey of building your own theories of teaching and learning.

14.8 Investigating your own practical theories

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 14.8 Identify techniques you could use in your practice to assist in the articulation and evaluation of your practical theory of teaching.

Carson (1995, p. 151) states that ‘teaching is always an uncertain enterprise in which teachers are called upon to respond pedagogically to unanticipated events’. However, becoming a proficient craftsperson has an inherent danger: it is easy to stop growing. Learning from experience is essential (Barth 2001), but the disposition and attitudes necessary to replace unsubstantiated opinions with theoretical, moral, ethical and empirical principles based on grounded belief (Dewey 1933; LaBoskey 1994) need to be continually developed and reinforced as teachers grow into the life and profession of being a teacher. The reflected ‘pictures’ that you expect, receive and interpret require you to find ways to thoughtfully consider and exercise Dewey’s (1933) dispositions of openness, responsibility and whole-heartedness. So what are some of the strategies you could use as a pre-service teacher to investigate your own personal practical theories and that nascent expertise? One way to critically reflect on your teaching and learning to be a teacher is through self-study. Self-study can take many forms of inquiry, but central is the concept of close analysis of one’s own practice where we examine and explore all the pluses, not-so-goods and, yes, even the minuses — what went right, almost and the ‘oh nos’, should not have done that! It is not about beating ourselves up about what we did wrong. Rather, it is exploring what we did right so we can capture just what it was that made this a great learning experience for our learners and ourselves. If we can identify just what it was, then we have a chance for us to learn and to repeat that process. The not-so-goods mean most of it was okay, but it could have been better. Just where did you feel that Deweyan ‘discomfort’, that it was not quite right and what could you do in the future to avoid/manage the discomfort? We all have those times where it goes pear-shaped in the classroom and wish it would all go away, or we could disappear like Alice down the rabbit hole. Escape is not an option and you have to manage and learn. It is about learning about ourselves as teachers, finding ways to explore that tacit knowledge that can drive our decisions and actions. It is tempting to stay at the technical level, the obvious things we do — the ‘whats’ (teaching strategies, resources, managing student behaviour) and these are important as beginning teachers. If we want to grow into our knowing about being a teacher, we need to engage in an exploration of why we did what we did, why we responded the way we did and what learning we can take forward into our future practice — that third level where we begin to explore just what it means to be a teacher, why we do what we do and how we can build a pathway to learning about being a successful teacher and learner. The chapter will now look at three-and-a-bit strategies that are well suited to a pre-service teacher’s growth.

Journal keeping What would you record in a journal? (Note that many journals are at the technical level of reflection.) What format will your journal take — written notes, audio or video recordings, blogs, Twitter or other social media avenues? Whatever the format, journal keeping is a powerful strategy to develop your voice as a teacher and begins to uncover much of the tacit knowledge and understandings that will inform your growth to expertise. Consider the following questions for your journal. CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

What activities did you use and why? What resources did you use and why? How did you respond to student answers or questions? What types of contact did you have with students and where? What were some of the student cues you picked up on and how did you respond? How did you judge a successful or less than successful session? What kinds of feedback did you get from the students and your mentor? What ‘bits’ did you like or not like and why? A great way to visualise the journal-keeping process is to think of it as a way to move through from ‘grumbling’ to ‘grappling’ (Mason 2002, p. 9). If you use this approach, revisit your own practical theory — specifically beliefs and values — and consider what the grumbles and gripes were really about and what drove your thinking when you may have groped, grasped or grappled with options. Figure 14.3 (previously outlined in chapter 8) demonstrates this concept. FIGURE 14.3

Grumbling to grappling

Gripping Gripping Grasping Grumbling

Grasping

Grappling

Groping

Grumbling

Grappling

Groping Griping

Griping

Grumbling about how things are, leading to about specific frustrations, leading to Griping Groping for some alternative, leading to Grasping at some passing possibility, which with luck leads to Grappling with some issue and proposed actions, developing into Gripping hard to ‘something that works’, then finding further Grumbling and Griping as the substance seems to leak out. Source: Mason (2002, p. 9).

Having recorded your responses, revisit the reflective steps — what did your responses mean and why did you recall these? These journal entries can also form part of your professional portfolio where you can record your personal growth as a teacher.

Personal narratives Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Personal narratives are a step beyond the recording of events and can become part of your portfolio. The power of narrative and dialogue as contributors to reflective awareness in teachers and students is that they provide opportunities for deepened relations with others and serve as springboards for ethical action. Understanding the narrative and contextual dimensions of human actors can lead to new insights, compassionate judgement, and the creation of shared knowledge and meanings that can inform professional practice (Noddings 1991, p. 8).

There are a number of strategies you could use here — story, life history and anecdotes. Teachers use stories to make sense of events and outcomes and so bring order and coherence to the stream of experience within a classroom (Carter 1993). They help build models or schemas of understanding that can guide future action and decisions. A teacher’s core knowledge comes from their practice — their 532

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actions in classrooms. Teachers use stories to explain to others what happened and why, but also to find a way to understand for themselves ‘a bridge between personal understandings and the world of classrooms and educational knowledge’ (Carter 1995, p. 326). Teacher stories are ‘a way of grasping the richness and indeterminacy of our experiences as teachers and the complexity of our understandings of what teaching is’ (Carter 1995, p. 326). ‘Stories convey the multiplicity of ways actions and situations intertwine and thus accurately represent the complex demands of teaching’ (Carter 1993, p. 10). Stories are the building blocks of your educational theories of how you teach and how learners learn. These stories form your teacher lore, whereby you blend your evolving ideas and personal belief systems and your practice through reflective action. ‘Stories have the power to direct and change our lives’ (Noddings 1991, p. 157). Stories have been used across time to understand and share experiences and information, to communicate the essential values of a culture, to validate individual experiences and to strengthen community bonds. They connect individuals to their past, present and future and may even shape how each person experiences the world (Bruner 2002). ‘Through narrative, we construct, reconstruct, in some ways reinvent yesterday and tomorrow. Memory and imagination fuse in the process’ (Bruner 2002, p. 93). It is the primary way experiences are made meaningful to individuals and those around them, a way of knowing yourself and how you are known by others.

Life histories

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Having teachers write their own life histories is a useful way of giving them access to their personal practical knowledge (Connelly & Clandinin 1988). In addition to an autobiographical approach, having someone else construct an individual’s past (biography) can provide valuable insights into that individual’s approach to teaching. Moreover, as Connelly and Clandinin point out, reading another person’s biography can also help us ‘understand ourselves differently’ (p. 37). The account below (Marland & McGill 2009) is part of one primary teacher’s professional life history. It reveals some interesting and intimate insight into the unique pattern of the teacher’s professional growth and also into his beliefs, values and goals as a teacher at the time the account was written. At present I am being challenged to make significant changes. The changes are motivated by an awareness of ideas that I had not seriously contemplated before. As a consequence my theory (of teaching) is not what it was before beginning this vacation course, and it will change again when I resume teaching. Many agents prompted me to change in search of an effective theory for action . . . Many of the agents and motives for change that were, and remain, important to me do not focus on the children . . . I cringe uneasily when I think of the awful job I did in my first years of teaching. I still feel very dissatisfied with the present situation but I feel confident the change that has occurred in my teaching has benefited the children in my class. The ‘distinction’ I achieved for my practice teaching at college did not predict the quality of my teaching for the first few years in the classroom. I think the reason is that I did not have a ‘big picture’ of teaching. I really had little idea of what the job entailed. At first there was a war between the children and me. Many times I took on the whole class, punishing everyone for the actions of a few. Often what caused me to invoke drastic action was their minor noncompliance with my rules. I believed that I should be boss. I had the knowledge and they would need to behave as I told them to if they were to learn effectively. The children’s acquisition of basic facts and simple concepts, whilst conforming to my rules, were the primary aims of my teaching. I lost those early battles and came away sick and tired of teaching. I had to change because, psychologically, I couldn’t continue to live in those awful environments. When I was 16 and 17, I was reading about Summerhill and talking about it with friends . . . I needed to make changes because I couldn’t resolve the conflict between personal values and the classroom reality. That conflict continues to motivate me to change. Ultimately I would like to work in an environment where all participants wanted to be there and were all learning something personally significant. Important changes to my practical knowledge of teaching sometimes happened because of ‘chaining’ where one event led to many others that were not intended or anticipated. For instance, in my second year of teaching, an inspector commented that I had a good teaching voice but advised me not to use it CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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all the time. He said the best pre-school teachers had quiet voices so that the children had to be quiet to hear. I asked the school relieving teacher who had the best class in his opinion. The teacher whom he nominated taught in the upper school and had a very quiet manner with her class. I interpreted the two pieces of information as evidence and I made a pact with myself to stop shouting, and to teach using a quiet voice. I like to remember that it was at the start of a year but I’m unsure if that is true; however, the consequences were very significant. If I did raise my voice, I engaged in considerable self-criticism. The class was quieter, I was happier with the environment and I started to build up a range of class management skills. I started to isolate where behaviour problems were occurring and dealt with them quietly. Many of those techniques I still use and many are based upon letting the student know that I was aware of a particular inappropriate action — proximity, eye contact, voice tone and significant body language. I still think the quietness is very important; it’s something I need to become conscious of again; raising my voice is counter-productive or worse. It’s ironic that a couple of years after, I became aware of some children’s complaints that I couldn’t be heard clearly. Information gleaned from teachers acted as an agent for change to my theory for action. At some point I started asking teachers who saw a lot of teaching styles, because of their jobs, who were the effective teachers and to discuss why . . . I have asked the internal relieving teacher, the music specialist, the mother who comes in to teach Italian, and supply teachers. Already this year I have asked most of those people, and had a long conversation with the music teacher about our opinions of what is effective teaching. The discussion left me with the impression that rigid, conformist classes are not well taught. A strong motive for change stems from being a member of a small rural community. When I’m in the street, go to a party or have other social contact within the community, I meet past and present students frequently. I want to face past students when they are older and feel that I have been of value and service to them. I would also wish to be respected by them . . . I had such serious conflicts with one child that he abused me in the street for years after. My theory of practice has changed as a consequence of that experience. The result is a much more considered treatment of children with whom I could potentially engage in long-term conflict . . . Undertaking university studies was a vehicle for change. Deciding to undertake study was a conscious decision to improve the quality of learning in my room. I was determined to apply what I learned to my classroom situation. The way maths changed illustrates the kind of changes that occurred. Maths moved away from number facts and algorithms to focus on processes, problem solving and many more hands-on activities. I also started to find some maths in which I was interested, and the idea of affective outcomes started to interest me as I saw children eager to do some maths. Now I’ve built up quite a repertoire of activities that the children in past classes have enjoyed and that have, in my assessment, some educational value. I usually try to avoid gimmicks. I think the most important change that has occurred is my attitude to children. Nearly three years ago, our first child was born. The birth of E____ changed my outlook towards children profoundly. I love E____. The appreciation I have of children generally has improved because I have had a close relationship with my own child. I’m starting to be able to talk with children, not at them, and am beginning to become interested in their realities. I’ve always felt responsible for the children, but now I’m becoming interested in them as people. I now see this attitude towards children as essential to effective teaching, and am glad it is developing in me because I doubt whether it could be faked or forced. By getting to school at 7:30, much of the essential preparation for the day is finished before the children begin to arrive, and I can at least devote some time to talking with the children informally as they come into the class to set up before lessons begin. Many of them stay in the classroom, and I notice friendships, their characters in an informal context, and something of their interests. I’m also one of the soccer and cricket coaches, which keeps me in touch with children not in my class. I should know more about psychology so that I can make better sense of my observations and interaction with children.

If you were to analyse this autobiographical extract, you would see that it tells a lot about the events that caused this teacher to change and his motives for change. It also describes his current theory for practice. You can see, for example, that a principal goal of this teacher is to create a convivial learning environment in which all students are learning something ‘personally significant’. This new goal supplanted his earlier goal directed at ‘children’s acquisition of basic facts and simple concepts, whilst conforming to my rules . . . ’ His new goal implies a very different set of values too. As he said, he now sees little virtue 534

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in rigidity and conformity, appears to value a much more active student role in the learning process and gives a new emphasis to enjoyment in learning. These new values are exemplified in such tactics and strategies as his use of activities in mathematics, his commitment to speaking quietly and his use of less obtrusive and less confrontational management practices. His approach to teaching children reflects also a new appreciation of children. The birth of his own daughter has led him to place a new value on children and their ‘realities’; that is, the way they view events in their lives. As a result, he seeks more opportunities to observe and interact with children in order to gain a broader and deeper knowledge of students — he mentioned their ‘friendships’, ‘interests’ and ‘characters in informal contexts’. To these ends, he has adopted certain tactics such as arriving at school very early and coaching students in sport.

Anecdotes

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An anecdote is a literary genre that requires one to focus on specifics — events, people and contextual details. The anecdote’s three-part structure of situation, encounter or crisis, and resolution marked by a ‘pointe’ or ‘punctum’ provides a perimeter to frame that specific event, give it ‘concrete’ form and allow the writer the opportunity to climb Dewey’s metaphorical tree (Dewey 1933). During the writing and rewriting stage, the writer/teacher is dealing with their responses to that event. How that anecdote is related and structured reflects the writer/teacher’s perspective and understanding of that event. The conversation that follows, be it as a written coda or a discussion with a colleague, provides an opportunity to reach levels beyond the descriptive, to explore why that event is of such significance and how those understandings are related to current practice. The anecdote and the following conversation offer a safe space in which to revisit, re-experience and reframe one’s practical theories. The features as defined by van Manen (1999, p. 20) of an anecdote are as follows. 1. It is a very short and simple story. 2. It usually relates one incident. 3. It begins close to the central idea. 4. It includes important concrete detail. 5. It often contains several quotes. 6. It closes quickly after the climax. 7. It requires punctum for the punch line. Below is an example from one teacher’s collection of anecdotes.

Year 4 had weekly knitting lessons with Miss Crabb — and she lived up to her name. She set the bar high in terms of ability and quality — we had to make a cushion cover! ‘Eyes to the board. Take your needle like this, wind the wool around . . . ’ Any mistakes were made public. ‘How could you make such a mess of this?’ ‘That’s not what I told you to do.’ None of us enjoyed that class. My knitting certainly would win no prizes! But with Grandma’s help, both pieces were finished over my holidays. I approached Miss Crabb expecting a tongue-lashing. She scrutinised the work, but paid more attention to my tidier knitting. She folded the cushion in half, held the best side up and said, ‘All eyes this way. I want you to look at how neat this knitting is. I expect all knitting to be as neat.’ Praise had not been expected: I felt relief and newfound pride in my new skill.

The telling, writing, rewriting and discussion of an anecdote can bring interpretations of an experience into a visible, discussable and tangible form. This is another strategy you could integrate into your journal writing or in constructing a personal narrative or biography. They appear to work well for teachers because of the following. 1. The fairly strict guidelines of the genre of anecdote force the writer to focus and distil the essence of the event. There is no room for extra information to cloud, obscure or even conceal the meaning. CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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2. The telling, writing and multiple rewritings reinforce this distillation of the essence of the tale. This rewriting process provides a framework to analyse, frame and reframe the events and responses. The sharing, rewriting and editing processes enable and encourage the teachers to move through the technical, contextual and confrontational levels of reflection (Smyth 1987) to uncover and clarify their understandings of the events described in the anecdote. An oral telling or reading of a story has benefits, but when it is written down it makes our thinking and understanding explicit. Our thinking is made public to ourselves and others and there is a space to reconsider our initial understandings and maybe even engage in internal and external dialogue that can lead to a new perspective and understanding. 3. The use of concrete details and quotes provides the opportunity for personal response and immediacy for both writer and reader. The tales gain a presence, an embodied experience and a present reality whereby the writer and the reader may become a part of that experience, albeit vicariously. 4. The discussion with peers and the process of horizontal evaluation with those peers provides space for the teacher to step away from the event and verbalise what is essential about the tale. Reflection through private journaling can lead to a one-way conversation with oneself. Through discussion with others, a ‘conversation’ is generated in spoken and written form that provides a vehicle for the writer and listener/reader to critically reflect on their own and other tales, a means to unlock beliefs, perceptions, assumptions and experiences, a direction to focus their reflection and, lastly, a strategy to encourage teachers to move beyond the technical to the contextual and especially confrontational levels of reflection. The anecdote and the ensuing conversation offer a space in which to revisit, re-experience and reframe one’s tacit practical theories. The outcome or resolution may be a reinforcement of one’s beliefs, a change to one’s practice, a different understanding of that event or a reflexive conversation as the event is reframed and new understandings are developed.

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Critical incidents Tripp (1993) has shown how the analysis of critical incidents in teachers’ lives can be professionally rewarding and can lead to the development of a capacity for professional judgement, which is a crucial part of the real art of teaching. Though not focused only on gaining an understanding of self as teacher, Tripp does show how the analysis of critical incidents in classroom life can disclose details of our personal theories. You could use this approach as a strategy to construct your journal. To appreciate what Tripp offers, you need to understand what Tripp means by a ‘critical incident’. Often the term is used in reference to a life-changing event of notable significance. This is not what Tripp means by the term. He writes: ‘The vast majority of critical incidents, however, are not at all dramatic or obvious; they are mostly straightforward accounts of very commonplace events that occur in routine professional practice which are critical in the rather different sense that they are indicative of underlying trends, motives and structures. These incidents appear to be “typical” rather than “critical” at first sight, but are rendered critical through analysis’ (pp. 24–5). Tripp suggests that teachers keep a critical incidents file and analyse them in a variety of ways. Once you have written up the incident, there are a number of ways you can begin to critically reflect on it and identify areas for building your expertise: r plus, minus and interesting r identification of the alternatives or choices and why they were chosen r reversal — turning the incident and your response on their heads r omissions — analysing what you left out and why. The critical incident questionnaire (CIQ) (Brookfield 1995) is another excellent tool to assist your reflective process. The beauty of this tool is that it allows you to gain input from your learners. It is too easy to see it only from your perspective and understanding. If you are working with younger children, you may need to adjust the language of the questions. You could also use the backtalk questions — what surprised and/or challenged you about the lesson/class and what is still muddy. Consider the choice of 536

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the word ‘muddy’ — there is no judgement involved. The use of ‘what I didn’t understand’ could imply judgement. Some of you may find this a challenging exercise, but it can provide you with insight into the potential for the incongruity between espoused theory and theory in action. You need to set up a response sheet to distribute to each student — it will take about 10 minutes. They do not put their name on the paper. Emphasise that you will read them and use their answers to help you be the best teacher you can be for them. Some questions you can ask (Brookfield 1995) are as follows. r When did you feel most engaged with what was happening in our class? r When did you feel not engaged with what was happening in our class? r What did I do that was most helpful for you as a learner? r What did I do that you found confusing or puzzling? r What about today’s lesson surprised you most? r What about today’s lesson was challenging? These three narrative approaches (life history, anecdote and critical incident) have the potential to encourage new levels of critical reflection and to provide an opportunity through dialogue with others (or even oneself) to reach what Stenberg (2011) defined as transformative. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

In this age of mobile phones, Skype, blogs and so on, we have new ways of capturing our experiences and sharing these with trusted others. The people who are with you on your journey to becoming a teacher can be invaluable to listen, comment constructively and share their experiences. The strategies discussed above are still invaluable — you could set up a group who share experiences using a critical incident format or as an anecdote and then engage in a critically reflective conversation. Sometimes we are too close to the incident to be objective — becoming a teacher can be a very emotional journey; sharing the events and having an objective listener who understands what it means to become a teacher can help each of us place the event into a context and a safe space to step back and re-assess our actions and responses and, more importantly, explore options for future actions and to know why those choices fit with our own values and beliefs.

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

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Developing a practical theory of teaching The extracts below are from experienced teachers who explored and developed their practical theories. They share their thoughts as to the value of the process of exploring and understanding their own theories about teaching practice. Teachers have a powerful, long-lasting influence on their students. They directly affect how students learn, what they learn, and how much and to what depth they learn. Considering the influence a teacher has on a student’s learning, it is important to understand what a teacher truly is, does, and believes in. With an understanding and comprehensive synthesis of the components of teaching such as metaphors, images, values, goals, and teacher attributes, a teacher can unveil one’s own practical theory of teaching. By further critically studying the strengths and areas of improvement in one’s own teaching, a personal resource is made available, improving the quality of one’s own teaching and the learning of their students. KEVIN Teachers shape the world for generations to come. Their inspiration and wisdom become the powerful thread in the fabric of the future time. The learning of an individual is both a collective process and a personal choice making us a productive member of our society. I am called to be a teacher . . . to be a catalyst for change and empower young minds to embrace change. I should walk my talk. JENNIFER

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Does my theory promote improvement in my teaching abilities/awareness? Does it promote student learning and development? Is it dynamic? I will answer these questions by reiterating Gleick’s definition of chaos: ‘a science of process rather than state, of becoming rather than being’. It is in the process of constructing and examining my personal theory that I was able to reflect upon both my teaching and the students’ learning. The diagrams I have drawn help me to clarify my thoughts, but it was the thinking that went into it that holds the potential for promoting improvements in my teaching and in student learning. The question is: will I keep zooming in and out of my teaching, looking with different lenses to see the complexity and wonder of each aspect or will I become the teacher who teaches the same year 12 times? (Hill 2006, p. 3). MELANIE

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Three strategies are described above. The ‘bit’ is building your own case book of experiences. You can use narratives such as anecdotes and critical incidents in your journal, or you can collect a series of anecdotes — the good, the bad and not so good — and analyse them individually and as a pattern. Is there a pattern? Likewise, the critical incidents — one is fine, but a series can often allow us to see a pattern of behaviour. For example, how well prepared were you for the lesson? If you then add the feedback from your learners and mentor, you will begin to develop a 360-degree picture. Your self-study will have evidence of actions, evidence of your own reflections and evidence of others’ understandings and reactions. You will have a way to see through your own eyes and the eyes of others. This then has the potential for learning, planning for future learning, building our knowing as teachers and learners, and being in a position to take considered action based on new understandings. And we have come full circle to uncovering our tacit knowledge, values and beliefs that guide our actions as teachers and with knowledge and skills to be able to understand and explain our theories of teaching and learning to ourselves, learners and colleagues.

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SUMMARY Applying knowledge of the components and structure of practical theories to illustrate the principal features of your own practical theory of teaching and development of teacher expertise is the culmination of a journey of exploration into your own life (personal and educational). The alignment with concepts such as tacit knowledge, frames of understanding of how your practical theory is built (its skeleton), the individual components that have meaning for you such as beliefs, values, goals, principles, tactics and cues, and the matching of this nascent theory into a larger picture — that of the novice-to-expert framework — are indicators of your growth in becoming a professional educator. Becoming a teacher is not something you grasp, but what you are and do — having the dispositions to continue to investigate and redevelop your own practical theory and expertise as a professional educator. The issues and questions below underpin this chapter and are worth deep consideration. r What makes a ‘good’ teacher? r What would you want your mentor teacher to see and hear when you are being observed as a pre-service teacher? r How will their and your own worldview impact on what is seen, not seen, valued or not valued? r How would you describe yourself as a pre-service teacher? r How would you define your role and responsibility in the lives of your learners? r How would you decide what to teach, what should be learned and how it should be assessed? r What do you want your learners to learn? r If you were asked to define your pedagogical beliefs, where would you begin? r How comfortable would you feel making these views public? r How would you defend or explain the theory that underpins your practice? Your journey has taken you on an exploration of how your understandings, beliefs and values of what makes an ‘expert’ teacher have developed throughout all aspects of your life — your family, schooling, educational studies and practical experiences. This chapter has enabled you to begin to unpack that tacit knowledge, hold it up for re-evaluation, keep some of those understandings and knowledge, change other bits and even add new understandings. You will hopefully have begun to make explicit what the keystones of your practical theories of teaching are and why those keystones are so central to who you are as a teacher and the teacher you can become. You have ‘dabbled’ in a few strategies that can be used to ensure critical reflection on your ‘theory’ and your experiences so you can move beyond the technical of ‘what’ you did to ‘why’ you did it and ‘how’ you possibly can do it better. Building your teacher expertise is never finished — it is always changing to meet new contexts, new learning and especially new learners. Perhaps the last notes need to come from Carter (1995, p. 327): [T]he act of teaching, teachers’ experiences and the choices they make, and the processes of learning to teach are deeply personal matters, inexorably linked to one’s identity and, thus, one’s life story.

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and Palmer (2007, p. 34): Authority comes as I reclaim my identity and integrity, remembering my selfhood and my sense of vocation. in kind. Then teaching can come from the depths of my own truth — and the truth that is within my students has a chance to respond in kind.

KEY TERMS contextual variables Personal, professional, historical and physical events, emotions, beliefs and understandings (and misunderstandings) that can change the expected patterns of your class or your life. CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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expert Someone having extensive knowledge and ability who has had long and intense experiences in a specific field (such as teaching). Meno paradox A problematic situation where you do not know what you need to know until you begin to learn or do a task or problem. novice-to-expert model A framework to consider the growth of a teacher’s knowing and application of that knowing within a practical teaching context. The model focuses on the growth of expertise, which develops when propositions, hypotheses and principles are tested and refined. Preconceived ideas, notions and expectations are challenged, refined or disconfirmed by actual experience. proficient Skilled and experienced; knowing how to perform competently and skilfully based on experience in a variety of contexts. self-study An inquiry process to critically examine our teaching and consider alternative perspectives. student cues Verbal and nonverbal signals that a teacher can read when scanning a class that inform the teacher if individuals (and the class) are engaged, puzzled, intrigued, bored, lost and so on. tacit beliefs What you believe is true, real and good about the world and your place within it. These tacit beliefs guide our behaviour often without our conscious awareness. tacit knowledge Knowledge of ideas, concepts, cultural norms and even habits you have built through your personal and educational life that have become so taken for granted you are no longer aware of them or even able to articulate them. teacher attributes The personal characteristics a teacher takes into a classroom (e.g. sense of humour, loves, dislikes, interests, personality and confidence as a professional educator). teacher’s practical theory A theory we build as we begin to teach. A theory that is based on practice and informed by accessing knowledge of others in terms of their practices, their knowledge of research into teaching, our own research into the art and science of teaching, and critical reflection on our own understandings and the actions we take as teachers. It is personal, contextual, dynamic and context driven. terra nullius A term meaning ‘nobody’s land’, implying that the first nation to discover it is then entitled to take it. worldview A worldview has been defined as a philosophy of life which can pertain to an individual, group or society. It is a set of beliefs and values honoured and held by a large number of people of a particular group. This often-tacit philosophy includes how people or a group interacts with other people of that group and people of other groups

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

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14.1

LO1

Identify two of your key values and beliefs. Visit www.teachingperspectives.com/tpi and participate in the Teacher Perspective Inventory (TPI) developed by Dan Pratt and associates at the University of British Columbia. As you answer the questions, keep one context in your mind — perhaps your first practicum experience. You will be asked to provide your email address so the report can be sent directly to you. When you get your report, it is important to look at the overall pattern, but pay particular attention to your scores for action, intent and belief. You may wish to download the explanatory material provided on the website. Keep in mind there is no one ideal pattern — we are all different and will all teach differently. Consider the implications for your own practice. 14.2

LO1

You are in a school where the staff is using explicit instruction as their primary pedagogical approach. Investigate why this form of pedagogy has been adopted (you may need to link to the debate on quality teaching) and identify what skills this approach requires of you as a teacher. Consider how this approach fits (or does not) with your current understandings of the role and 540

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purpose of a teacher and the context of this classroom, especially the cultural and socio-economic background of the students. 14.3

LO2

You are going to use group work for a class activity. How will you set up the groups? What criteria will you use to choose who goes into each group, or will students select their own group members? What are you going to do if one person is left out? Identify two strategies you could use to organise groups and provide an explanation of how your beliefs guided the choice of strategies. 14.4

LO2

You are introducing a unit of work on the people who explored Australia. One of these will be Captain Cook. You are a teacher in a rural location with students who are predominantly Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. How could you explore the difference in values and beliefs (including your own) associated with the different understandings of Australian history? 14.5

LO3

Using the suggestions of some of the components of a practical theory, develop your own framework showing how each component is linked and influences the others. You may find it easier to develop a concept map, a model, a flow chart or even a painting. You may wish to revisit this after your last professional experience and again at the end of your first year of teaching. 14.6

LO3

Identify four tactics you have used successfully while on practicum. Explain what you did first. Identify which learners it suited best. Then explain why you thought it was successful. Now identify two tactics or even strategies that did not work as well. Repeat the process above, but this time identify the possible causes of the problems. If you have feedback from your mentors, check this as it may be the context that is the contributing factor. Now identify what you could do next time to ensure more success. Identify why you classified one experience as successful. Was it because the students were: r engaged (or not)? r attentive (or not)? r enthusiastic (or not)? r on task (or not)? r cooperating (or not)? Ensure you clarify the context: learners (e.g. age, gender, socioeconomic issues, ethnicity, rural/urban); type of school; time of day; and any other contextual feature that may have affected the success or otherwise of the tactics. 14.7

LO4

Develop a metaphor to describe your personal beliefs about the role of a teacher and explain how that would be realised in your teaching practice.

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14.8

LO5

Mentally revisit your first professional experience. What were your primary concerns? Be honest — were they about managing behaviour, getting the content right or something else? Now revisit your memories of a later professional experience. Were there changes in your focus? How did you know? What had changed? What stage are you now at in the novice-to-expert continuum? Where are you on the ‘consciously unskilled’ to ‘unconconsciously skilled’ continuum (see figure 14.2). What happens when you change grades, subjects or schools? What remains constant? What changes and why? 14.9

LO7

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers were released and endorsed in 2011. There are seven standards. The role of critical reflection in promoting professional practice is not a separate standard, but is included in Standard 6 ‘Engage in professional learning’. In Queensland and other states this had been a stand-alone standard. Consider the implications for critical reflective practice being included within an overarching standard. CHAPTER 14 Theorising about teaching practice

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14.10

LO8

Develop your own mini casebook with at least three critical incidents from your practicum — one great, one not so great and one you would prefer to forget. Try to use the structure of an anecdote and write it down. Share these with your mentor and a trusted colleague. Explain what happened, what it meant to you and your learners, why it was important to you and how you can learn from the experience. Engage in dialogue in terms of what your mentor and colleague understand was happening and why. Be open to alternative interpretations and consider as objectively as you can those alternatives. Then write a coda about your learning from the process and the outcomes. A coda is like a summary of the key points and includes at least one statement of what your understandings might mean for your future practice.

WEBSITES 1 The resources here provide a wealth of material on Indigenous identity, exploring knowledge

and cultural bias, the role of values and how these have been articulated in educational policies: http://rrr.edu.au/unit/module-1 2 This article provides an insight in what it means to be an Indigenous student in a context where they often feel ‘invisible’: www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-06/indigenous-students-highlight-lackof-cultural-understanding/8682202 3 This is a useful site to explore the understandings of western and Indigenous worldviews: https://teachingtreaties.wordpress.com/understanding-first-nations-and-british-western-historicalworld-views

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REFERENCES Argyris, C & Sch¨on, DA 1978, Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co, Reading Massachusetts. Barth, R 2001, Learning by heart, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Beattie, M & Conle, C 1996, ‘Teacher narrative, fragile stories and change’, Asia–Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 309–26. Benner, P 1984, From novice to expert excellence and power in clinical nursing practice, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co, Menlo Park, California. Berliner, DC 2004, ‘Describing the behaviour and documenting the accomplishments of expert teachers’, Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 200–14. Bloom, BS (ed.) 1956, Taxonomy of educational objectives handbook 1: Cognitive domain, Longman, New York. Brookfield, S 1995, Becoming a critically reflective teacher, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. —— 1990, The skillful teacher, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Brown, S & McIntyre, D 1993, Making sense of teaching, Open University Press, Buckingham, UK. —— 1988, ‘The professional craft knowledge of teachers’, Scottish Educational Review, special issue, pp. 39–45. Brundrett, M & Rhodes, C 2011, Leadership for quality and accountability in education, Routledge, London. Bruner, J 2002, Making stories. Law, literature, life, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York. —— 1999, ‘Folk pedagogies’, in J Leach & B Moon (eds), Learners and pedagogy, The Open University Press, London, pp. 4–20. Burman, Z 2013, Liquid times: Living in an age of uncertainty, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK. Calderhead, J 1996, ‘Teachers: beliefs and knowledge’, in D Berliner & R Calfee (eds), Handbook of educational psychology, Simon & Schuster Macmillan, New York, pp. 708–25. Carr, W & Kemmis, S 1983, Becoming critical: Knowing through action research, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria. Carson, TR 1995, ‘Reflective practice and a reconceptualisation of teacher education’, in MF Wideen & PP Grimmett (eds), Changing times in teacher education. Restructuring or reconceptualisation, Falmer Press, London, pp. 151–62. Carter, K 1995, ‘Teaching stories and local understandings’, The Journal of Educational Research, vol. 88, no. 6, pp. 326–30. —— 1993, ‘The place of story in the study of teaching and teacher education’, Educational Researcher, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 5–12, 18. 542

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Connelly, FM & Clandinin, DJ 1988, Teachers as curriculum planners: Narratives of experience, Teachers College Press, New York. Degenhardt, L & Duignan, P 2010, Reinventing traditional schooling for the 21st century, ACER Press, Camberwell, Victoria. Dewey, J 1962, The relation of theory to practice in education, Association for Student Teaching, Cedar Falls, Indiana. —— 1933, How we think, DC Heath, Boston. Dreyfus, HL & Dreyfus, SE 1986, Mind over machine. The power of human intuition and expertise in the era of the computer, The Free Press, New York. Elbaz, F 1983, Teacher thinking: A study in practical knowledge, Croom Helm, London. Eraut, M 1994, Developing professional knowledge and competence, The Falmer Press, London. Flores, MA & Day, C 2006, ‘Contexts which shape and reshape new teachers’ identities: a multi-perspective study’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 219–32. Freire, P 1972, Pedagogy of the oppressed, Penguin, London. Friedman, TL 2005, The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, New York. Goe, L 2013, ‘Quality of teaching’, in J Hattie & EM Anderman (eds), International Guide to student achievement, Routledge, New York, pp. 237–9. Goodman, J 1988, ‘Constructing a practical philosophy of teaching: a study of preservice teachers’ professional perspectives’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 121–37. Greene, M 1986, ‘In search of critical pedagogy’, Harvard Educational Review, vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 427–41. Handal, G & Lauvas, P 1987, Promoting reflective teaching: Supervision in practice, SRHE and Open University Educational Enterprises, Milton Keynes, UK. Handy, C 1989, The age of unreason, Business Books Ltd, London. Hattie, J 2012, Visible learning for teachers. Maximising impact on learning, Routledge, London. —— 2004, ‘It’s official: teachers make a difference’, Educare News: The national newspaper for all non-government schools, no. 144, pp. 24–31. Hill, A 2006, Making sense of methods in the classroom. A pedagogical presence, Rowman & Littlefield Education, Toronto. Huberman, M 1993, The lives of teachers, J Neufeld (trans.), Teachers College Press, New York. Isaacs, W 1999, Dialogue and the art of thinking together, Doubleday, New York, NY. Kettle, B & Sellars, N 1996, ‘The development of student teachers’ practical theory of teaching’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1–24. Korthagen, F 1993, ‘Two modes of reflection’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 317–26. Korthagen, FA & Lagerwerf, B 2001, ‘Teachers’ professional learning: how does it work?’, in FA Korthagen (ed.), Linking practice and theory: The pedagogy of realistic teacher education, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, London, pp. 175–206. Kounin, J 1970, Discipline and group management in classrooms, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York. LaBoskey, VK 1994, Development of reflective practice: A study of preservice teachers, Teachers College Press, New York. Leinhardt, G 1990, ‘Capturing craft knowledge in teaching’, Educational Researcher, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 18–25. Lortie, DC 1975, Schoolteacher: A sociological study, Chicago University Press, Chicago. Loughran, JJ 1996, Developing reflective practice: Learning about teaching and learning through modelling, Falmer Press, London. Maaranen, K, Pitkaniemi, H, Stenberg, K & Karlsson, L 2016, ‘An idealistic view of teaching: teacher students’ personal practical theories’, Journal of Education for Teaching, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 80–92. Marland, P 2007, Learning to teach: A primer for pre-service teachers, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, NSW. Marland, P & McGill, M 2009, ‘Teachers’ practical theories’, study book, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland. Mason, J 2002, Researching your own practice: The discipline of noticing, Routledge Falmer, London. Milne, AA 1965, Winnie the Pooh, Methuen, London. Moran, T 2000, The next decade. A discussion about the future of Queensland state schools, Queensland Department of Education, Office of Strategic Planning and Portfolio Services, Brisbane. Noddings, N 1991, ‘Stories in dialogue. Caring and interpersonal reasoning’, in C Witherell & N Noddings (eds), Stories lives tell: Narrative and dialogue in education, Teachers College Press, New York, pp. 157–70. Palmer, PJ 2007, The courage to teach. Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco. Pascoe, B 2014, Dark emu: Black seeds: Agriculture or accident?, Magabala Books, Broome, Australia. Phillips, J & Lampert, J 2012, Introductory Indigenous studies in education: Reflection and the importance of knowing, 2nd edn, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, NSW. Polyani, M 1958, Personal knowledge: Towards a post-critical philosophy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Pratt, D 2016, Five perspectives on teaching: Mapping a plurality of the good, 2nd edn, Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, FL. Rotherham, AJ & Willingham, D 2009, ‘21st century skills: the challenges ahead’, Educational Leadership, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 16–21.

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Russell, T & Munby, H 1991, ‘Reframing: the role of experience in developing teachers’ professional knowledge’, in DA Sch¨on (ed.), The reflective turn, Teachers College Press, New York, pp. 164–87. Santoro, N, Reid, J-A, Crawford, L & Simpson, L 2011, ‘Teaching Indigenous children: listening to and learning from Indigenous teachers’, Australian Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 36, no. 10, pp. 64–76. Sch¨on, D 1990, Educating the reflective practitioner, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco. —— 1988, ‘Coaching reflective teaching’, in P Grimmett & GL Erickson (eds), Reflection in education, Teachers College Press, New York, pp. 19–29. —— 1983, The reflective practitioner, Temple Smith, London. Schubert, WH & Ayers, WC 1999, Teacher Lore. Learning from our own experience, Educator’s International Press Inc, Troy, New York. Sergiovanni, T & Starratt, RJ 1979, Supervision: Human perspectives, 2nd edn, McGraw-Hill, New York. Shor, I 1980, Critical teaching and everyday life, Black Rose Press, Montreal. Shulman, L 1987, ‘Knowledge and teaching: foundations of the new reform’, Harvard Educational Review, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 1–22. Smyth, J 1987, ‘When teachers theorize their practice: a reflexive approach to distance education’, in T Evans & D Nation (eds), Critical reflections on distance education, The Falmer Press, London, pp. 197–233. Stenberg, K 2011, Working with identities — promoting student teachers’ professional development, PhD, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Stenberg, K, Karlsson, L, Pitkaniemi, H & Maaranen, K 2014, ‘Beginning student teachers’ teacher identities based on their practical theories’, European Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 204–19. Stofflett, RT 1996, ‘Metaphor development by secondary teachers enrolled in graduate teacher education’, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 577–89. Tripp, D 1993, Critical incidents in teaching, Routledge, London. van Manen, M 1999, ‘The language of pedagogy and the primacy of student experience’, in J Loughran (ed), Researching teaching: Methodologies and practices for understanding pedagogy, Falmer Press, London, pp. 13–27. —— 1995, ‘On the epistemology of reflective practice’, Teachers and teaching: Theory and practice, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 33–50. —— 1991, The tact of teaching, State University of New York Press, Albany, New York. Wasley, PA 1994, Stirring the chalkdust. Tales of teachers changing classroom practice, Teachers College Press, New York. Yinger, R 1990, ‘The conversation of practice’, in RT Clift, WR Houston & MC Pugach (eds), Encouraging reflective practice in education, Teachers College Press, New York, pp. 73–94. Yinger, R, Hendricks-Lee, M & Johnson, S 1991, ‘The character of working knowledge’, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago. Zhao, Y 2009, ‘Needed: global villagers’, Educational Leadership, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 60–5.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Matej Kastelic / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Alones / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Figure 14.3: © Taylor & Francis Group UK Text: © Harvard Educational Review

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CHAPTER 15

Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 15.1 understand the breadth and scope of the work and role of teachers, and how traditional and media images of teaching do not reflect the contemporary realities of teachers’ work 15.2 demonstrate awareness of how teachers think about their work and how this thinking has both conscious and unconscious influences on the actions teachers take in the course of that work 15.3 discuss the professional frameworks that define the work of teachers and the resulting implications for their work, given the strengths and weaknesses of such frameworks 15.4 explain, in context, contemporary professional ethical expectations of teachers 15.5 understand the key issues involved in identifying and managing the legal responsibilities and risks associated with teachers’ work 15.6 understand the importance of professional learning throughout a teaching career and identify various professional organisations and their potential to contribute to ongoing professional leadership and learning.

OPENING CASE

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The cases of David, Jazmine and bullying unchecked by policy David Gregory had delayed growth and delayed physical maturation, with these factors signalling his difference to his fellow adolescents at secondary school. David made no friends and was actively excluded by his peers, many of whom called him names such as ‘Baldy’ or ‘Midget’. He became the target of physical attacks from other students across year levels through repeated incidents of hitting, tripping and stone throwing. By all reports Jazmine Oyston had been a happy and well-adjusted student at primary school, but when she commenced her secondary education at an all-girls school in Year 7 she was subjected to ongoing bullying via exclusion, and physical and verbal harassment at the hands of other students in her year, including being called names such as ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’. A high-achieving student in his early secondary years, David edited the school magazine in Year 11 and then completed Year 12. Through his secondary school years, however, he also developed behaviours including obsessive washing with strong disinfectant, self-harming by cutting himself with razor blades, panic attacks, nightmares and, later, agoraphobia. In Jazmine’s case, her academic performance deteriorated and she left school after Year 11, despite having changed schools early in Year 10. As with David, Jazmine developed self-harming behaviours, going as far as contemplating suicide. On a number of occasions both David and Jazmine complained to the relevant staff at their respective schools and both had extensive sessions with their school counsellors. Both schools had relevant policies in place where bullying was described as unacceptable. Despite this, neither school did anything to stop the repeated bullying David and Jazmine experienced over their years as students. This suggests that in reality, the way bullying was treated at each school did not accord with either school’s policies. A few years after he completed his secondary schooling, David took legal action against the school, alleging that he had suffered significant harm as a result of the school breaching its duty of care to him. Similarly, two years after she left her school, Jazmine also took legal action, alleging that the school’s negligence had led to her injuries. Both cases were heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. While disputing some elements of David’s claim, the school admitted it had breached its duty of care by not having supervisory arrangements that could have prevented other students from bullying David and by not having dealt with his mistreatment after he had made repeated complaints. Jazmine’s school argued that she had not been subject to bullying and that, even if she had been, it could not be expected to have been aware of any such behaviours. In the end, the judges in each case ruled in favour of the ex-students and awarded each of them damages around $500 000. It is possible that, at times, both David and Jazmine may have displayed personal behaviours and attributes that marked them out as different. However, blaming the victims by suggesting that they may be their own worst enemies is no defence against a breach of duty of care. Duty of care is a responsibility that cannot be delegated or otherwise voided. The rise in cyber-bullying, which can make bullying a ubiquitous ‘all-day, nowhere to escape’ experience for the victim, does not let schools off the hook — it simply makes the problem more complex. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. How do schools and teachers define and recognise the sorts of behaviour that constitute bullying? 2. Do all teachers (and students) at a school have access to a clear policy that is designed to prevent bullying and to respond to any incidents that do occur?

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3. How should a teacher respond to an initial complaint from a student who claims to have been the victim of cyber-bullying at the hands of other students from the school, but out of school hours? 4. Research either or both of these cases further (see Gregory v State of New South Wales, Supreme Court of New South Wales, (2009), NSWSC559, and Oyston v St. Patrick’s College, Supreme Court of New South Wales, (2011), NSWSC269). In what ways do you think the schools and their staffs failed to conduct their work adequately? Consider this question first from an ethical perspective, second from a professional perspective, and third from a legal perspective. 5. Students who are characterised by their peers as ‘different’ are often subjected to various forms of cruel treatment at school. Consider the experiences of Fox News presenter Hannah Hollis — see www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/fox-tv-star-hannah-hollis-reveals-racist-vilification-atscholl-over-aboriginal-background/news-story/0116a05657a960b26582f700800c2833.

Introduction Various factors and institutions affect the learning environments in which teachers work. This chapter explores how legal, ethical and professional considerations influence teachers’ work. The structure of the chapter is shown in the following diagram. The first section of this chapter reviews what can be learned about teaching from the established research literature. It becomes clear that teaching is a complex, multi-faceted enterprise that is growing in intensity, along with the expectations of government, employers, business, taxpayers, colleagues, parents and students.

Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers

The nature of teachers’ work

Conceptions of teachers’ work

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What constitutes good teaching?

Teachers’ thinking about their work

Teachers’ thinking through the career life cycle Other perspectives on teachers’ thinking Teacher culture

Professionalism and accreditation

The development of professional standards in Australia The implications of professional standards for teachers

Ethical frameworks and codes of conduct for teachers

The Melbourne Declaration

Teachers and the law

Professional learning for your career

Teachers, accountability and the law

Ongoing professional development

Schools, accountability and the law

Professional associations

Issues in duty of care in practice Implications — sufficient and reasonable Issues in duty of care revisited

CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 547

Partially as a consequence of increasing public scrutiny on the work of teachers, over the past 30 years or more there have been many attempts to define the work of teachers in various frameworks. This chapter examines the use of frameworks of standards to define and regulate teachers’ work, as well as the ethics and values that impact on the teaching profession. The next section of the chapter explores key concepts relating to issues for which all teachers carry a level of legal responsibility. Duty of care is the key issue: the adult teacher is responsible for taking care to ensure that the students in their care are protected while their development is promoted. A number of real cases that found their way into Australian courts are examined. Finally, the chapter turns to some of the ongoing professional learning opportunities with which all teachers need to engage to maintain the professional knowledge and skills necessary for effective teaching work. It also considers the contributions that early career teachers can make as leaders in their schools.

15.1 The nature of teachers’ work LEARNING OBJECTIVE 15.1 Understand the breadth and scope of the work and role of teachers, and how traditional and media images of teaching do not reflect the contemporary realities of teachers’ work.

Contemporary research into the lives of teachers, and consequent understandings of the nature of their work, can be said to date from Lortie’s classic sociological study School teacher (1975). Lortie (1975, p. 10) saw the public perception of teaching as full of paradoxes: . . . honoured and disdained, praised as ‘dedicated service’ and lampooned as ‘easy work’ . . . social ambiguity has stalked those who undertook the mission, for the real regard shown those who taught has never matched the professed regard.

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In a very similar light, Jacques Barzun opined, ‘teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition’. Lortie (1975) suggested there were five factors that attracted people to the teaching profession: 1. contact with young people and other learners 2. the self-perception of teachers performing a valuable service to society 3. the opportunity to revisit or continue positive experiences of their own schooling 4. material rewards, which were less accessible elsewhere to women and socially upwardly mobile male teachers 5. the scheduling patterns of the school day and of the academic year, which gave teachers more free time to attend to families and other responsibilities. With only minor modifications, these motivations are the same as those that pre-service teachers cite today when they are asked about why they have chosen to enter teaching in Australia, over 40 years later. There may well be other areas in which little may have changed since Lortie’s day. In his view, one of the key difficulties teachers faced related to their own inherent doubts about the value and effectiveness of their efforts. The problem here is that the real impact of a teacher’s work on students’ lives may take years to become apparent. Lortie (1975, p. 146) said ‘the highest hopes of some teachers — moral influence — cannot be assessed until the person’s life has begun to unfold’.

Conceptions of teachers’ work Images of teachers and their work have been pervasive in popular fiction in various forms of texts for many years. Some, perhaps many, people hold assumptions about teachers and the nature of their work that are not entirely inconsistent with portrayals of schools and teachers such as those found in television programs such as Glee, the musical comedy series set in an Ohio high school and the ‘mockumentary’ Summer Heights High. From a more disturbing perspective, The Teacher, a recent film set in the Cold-War era in Eastern Europe, presents a different picture altogether. Such portrayals, however, reveal little of the complex reality of teachers’ professional lives in Australian schools. 548

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Media depictions often inform popular conceptions of teaching and teachers, but they reveal little about the complexity of teachers’ professional lives.

The overwhelming majority of depictions of the work that teachers do, and of how this work is done, have conceptualised teachers’ work in one of two ways: either as work and worker, which are both constrained significantly by social, political, economic and institutional factors; or as work that is the product of the exercise of professional judgement on the part of autonomous professionals, who are seen as being largely free of contextual constraints. In this chapter, we take the view that individual teachers will be found across a continuum between determinism and autonomy. For each teacher, personal factors (e.g. age, experience, self-concept, pedagogic skill and particular motivations) interact with contextual factors (e.g. systemic requirements, school climate, leadership styles and changing political and economic circumstances). For most teachers the reality will be between these two extremes: the individual experience of a teacher’s life will be shaped by contextual or environmental factors, and the impact of these factors will differ according to the personal factors specific to each teacher. Even when they work at the same schools or within the same year levels, teachers do not simply share identical subjective experiences of the factors that influence the contemporary educational context. An understanding of teachers at work is, therefore, an understanding of teachers as individuals — sometimes struggling to survive; sometimes building careers; and always faced with the twin imperatives of creating elements of the classroom context and of responding to elements created by others. Even within the borders of a single nation such as Australia, it is not reasonable to think that the work teachers do can be encapsulated in a singular understanding. Despite the existence of powerful common factors influencing teachers’ culture and their work, individual differences among teachers and their workplace contexts mean that it is too simplistic to speak of teachers as if they comprised a homogeneous group. CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 549

There is, however, an acceptance of the existence of cultures of teaching and of their workplaces, and an understanding that these cultures influence how teachers perform the various aspects of their work in schools. Given the expansion in the amount and complexity of the out-of-classroom duties that today’s teachers are called on to perform, the most typical workplace for teachers in Australia is the school (and the school community) as a whole, rather than merely a classroom within the school. This stands in contrast to the established view of the teacher at work almost totally engaged in classroom duties. It can be hard to get beyond this entrenched clich´e: ask anyone to draw a picture of a teacher at work and you will see the teacher depicted among blackboards or whiteboards and surrounded by pupils, rather than in a staffroom engaged in management or policy endeavours or negotiating work experience arrangements in the boardroom of a local business. Nevertheless, a drawing of a solo adult with a group of young people in a classroom would be readily identifiable by most people as a picture of a teacher at work, even though it would fall well short of an adequate depiction of contemporary teachers’ work: work that varies wildly from day to day, from class to class, from teacher to teacher and from school to school. Although made more than 20 years ago, the ABC documentary First Day presents a revealing portrayal of this variety, even though all the teachers are working with children engaging with school for the very first time.

The bricolage conception of teachers’ work The uncertainties of classroom events have often led teachers to modify prescriptive models of classroom planning and adopt a style of working that was described by Hatton (1988) as bricolage — meaning, essentially, tinkering. This understanding of school events and school cultures as characterised more by moment-to-moment unpredictability than by anything else (despite rigid timetables, room allocations and often a plethora of rules) is consistent with the well-known depiction of the reality of daily school life as one in which ‘nothing never happens’. In the bricolage conception of teachers’ classroom work, teachers are portrayed as independent artisans applying, adapting and modifying available tools and resources in response to constantly changing circumstances, in order to meet goals associated with student learning. Teachers are adapters, rather than adopters — even when they are expected to implement centrally prescribed policies or curriculum programs. In the literature on teachers as bricoleurs, however, teachers’ adaptations are said to be conservative, their creativity is described as limited and the expansion of their pedagogic repertoires is understood to occur incidentally and pragmatically. This view of the nature of teachers’ work concurs with McLaughlin’s (1993, p. 98) notion of teachers as ‘brokers who construct educational arrangements that acknowledge the goals of society, the characteristics of the students with whom they work, their professional judgement, and the character of the workplace context’. Skills in making good decisions constantly and quickly are critical for this form of work.

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What constitutes good teaching? While it is accepted that good teaching generates improved learning, attempts to come to a shared understanding of the nature of teachers’ work have been undone by a lack of universal agreement on just which activities actually constitute good teaching. One monumental endeavour (Hattie 2009) involved an examination of over 800 meta-analyses (with each of these covering multiple separate studies) of what, in teaching, makes a difference to student learning. Key findings of Hattie’s huge undertaking include that almost anything teachers do has some degree of positive impact on student learning, and that certain approaches have been found to be more effective than others. In subsequent volumes (Hattie 2011 and other iterations), implications are identified for how the findings might be used to maximise student learning, but even a study of this size falls short of providing an adequate depiction of good teaching. Other such attempts to provide a clear understanding of good teaching — often through describing what teachers do or should do — have been fraught with difficulties. In particular, efforts to study teaching invariably involve over-simplifying aspects of teaching and looking at them in isolation. This is the 550

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chief problem facing those who have sought to detail professional standards for teaching and for teachers. Even the most detailed list of individual tasks or functions performed by the teacher fails to deliver much beyond the broad understanding, discussed earlier, that teaching is, indeed, a highly complex form of work. This complexity is not expected to diminish in the foreseeable future. Any attempt to identify the variety of roles of teachers in the schools of the twenty-first century would need to include facilitator, subject expert, coach, tutor, mentor, role model, pedagogic expert, pastoral carer, family counsellor, law enforcer, friend and others. Nevertheless, perhaps it is both right and proper that the literature on the work conducted by teachers retains its traditional focus on classroom-related teaching and learning — as the classroom remains the main focus of teachers’ own thinking about their work, even in an era when information and communication technologies have made these classroom walls ultimately permeable. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

If there is no consensus on exactly what constitutes quality teaching and if almost anything a teacher tries makes some sort of difference to student learning, does this mean that anything goes? No, of course it doesn’t. Who were the very best teachers who taught you? What was it about them and about how they did their work that led you to choose them? What does all this tell you about the sort of teacher you want to be? How can you make this happen?

15.2 Teachers’ thinking about their work LEARNING OBJECTIVE 15.2 Demonstrate awareness of how teachers think about their work and how this thinking has both conscious and unconscious influences on the actions teachers take in the course of that work.

Perhaps the single most important element in how teachers think about their work is that teaching is a moral craft (Fullan & Hargreaves 1992, p. 5). Thus, teaching has a purpose and has goals that are valued highly in the minds of those who perform this work. Australian teachers certainly see teaching more as a vocation than as mere work. It is viewed generally by those engaged in it as a caring profession.

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Teachers’ thinking through the career life cycle In Michael Huberman’s landmark work, The lives of teachers (1993), the three most common reasons for becoming a teacher are identified as: 1. deriving pleasure from contact with young people and their achievements 2. earning a living and acquiring financial independence 3. maintaining involvement with, and passion for, the content of a particular subject area. Although these reasons echo Lortie’s explanation of motivations that lead people to enter the teaching profession (discussed earlier), Huberman’s explanation of the career life cycles of teachers is replete with depictions of the rich variety of alternative pathways that individual teachers may take as they progress through their careers. He identified a number of phases that might be discerned in the career experiences of the archetypal teacher. Thus from the phase of career entry (characterised by survival and learning on the job), a teacher may pass on to a stabilisation phase (characterised by a reaffirmed commitment to teaching as a career and by increased pedagogic mastery). From then on, the teaching career life cycle becomes more complex, with some teachers moving into a phase of experimentation and diversification (characterised by highly motivated, dynamic involvement in ventures extending beyond the limits of the classroom), while others move instead into a phase of reassessment (characterised by self-doubt and questioning of the value of working as a teacher). Reassessment, or experimentation and diversification, CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 551

are the two routes teachers may take on their career journeys to a subsequent phase of serenity (characterised by self-acceptance and by being at ease with, but more distant from, students in the classroom). For those teachers who do not achieve serenity, the alternative seems to be a phase of dissatisfied conservatism (characterised by expressing unflattering views of students, of public attitudes toward education, and of colleagues in comparison with the respective equivalents during the earlier years of their careers). Finally, whether from a position of serenity or from one of conservatism, teachers in the last years of their careers may concentrate their energies on those elements of the job that they value particularly, rather than on dealing fully with all of the myriad aspects of a teacher’s work — and thus enter a phase of disengagement.

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Other perspectives on teachers’ thinking Other work, particularly from feminist and postmodern researchers, challenges Huberman’s and others’ mainstream accounts of teachers’ work. Postmodern understandings of teachers’ work, for example, caution that such generalisations ignore the fragmentation within teachers’ work and their career pathways, and underestimate the diversity within the teaching profession. Mainstream or generalised accounts of teachers’ work, for example, have been criticised as ethnocentric and as class- and gender-blind. In particular, accounts such as Huberman’s have been criticised as lacking in their effective integration of a gender lens in their attempts to understand the complexity of teachers’ work. In this respect, gender analyses, especially in the earlier studies of teachers’ thinking, as exemplified by Huberman’s work, tended to be either absent or reduced to commenting on differences between males and females. As such, there was a lack of focus on, and critique of, the gendered assumptions and expectations embedded and institutionalised in schools that shape teachers’ work. Given that the overwhelming majority of classroom teachers are women, this should, perhaps, be seen as highly problematic. Feminist work, such as that of Sandra Acker (see Acker 1995), has been most useful in demonstrating an alternative view of teachers’ work that integrates gender as central to its analysis. Such gender-sensitive research has importantly provided a counter to dominant and often sexist ‘truths’ about teachers’ work, such as attributing the overrepresentation of women in primary and early childhood teaching to their ‘natural’ roles as caregivers, and the disproportionately high representation of men in administrative and principal roles to their ‘natural’ roles as managers and leaders. This work has importantly disrupted simple male–female stereotypical understandings of teachers and their work by highlighting the gender diversity within the teaching profession and by illustrating the many ways in which gendered assumptions and, in particular, the gendered division of labour shape the structures and regimes of schools and the practices of teachers. Whether male or female, teachers experience satisfaction from their contact with their students and share a belief that their work is meaningful, while also occasionally facing frustration and disappointment that their work may not be as effective as they might hope. Teachers’ views of their schools, colleagues, classrooms and commitment to the teaching profession are all affected deeply by the needs, abilities, attitudes, backgrounds and behaviours of their current groups of students. In terms of self-efficacy at work, therefore, teachers’ feelings are malleable rather than constant, with changing degrees of selfefficacy being felt with changes in the student groups they are assigned. In an illustrative, albeit extreme, example of this, in September 2014, the Supreme Court of Victoria awarded ex-teacher Peter Doulis $1.279 million in compensation for the damage to his mental health as a consequence of his school allocating him large numbers of classes with ‘feral’ students.

Teacher culture Teacher culture is a complex matter. For Hargreaves (1995), teacher culture centres on the relationships teachers share with their colleagues, particularly those colleagues who share their current school context, as would be the case with the members of any other social group. A critical form of every early career teacher’s learning is, in effect, socialisation into the established teacher culture at a particular workplace — learning to be accepted as a teacher takes place on the job through observation and experience. 552

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Those pre-service teachers who have completed school-based professional experience placements will already have had personal experiences of the power of the school-based teacher culture that encourages them to go along with ‘the way we do things around here’. From school to school these differing workplace cultures influence a teacher’s interactions with students (work that teachers often distinguish from the other tasks they perform by referring to it as ‘real teaching’), and this is further complicated by the fact that teaching, as a profession, has not adopted a broadly accepted theory of instruction — a factor not unrelated to the lack of a single clear picture of good teaching, as discussed earlier. The absence of a shared understanding of good teaching, in the context of wide diversity in student groups and an architecture of schools, which until the recent re-emergence of open-space learning areas has acted to isolate one group of teacher and students from the next in walledoff classrooms, fostered a culture of autonomy and a tolerance among teachers for each other’s individual pedagogic preferences. In this culture, teachers tacitly agree to leave their colleagues’ teaching practices unquestioned and expect reciprocal leeway themselves. The result has been termed the ‘persistence of privacy’. Teachers tend to have collective, as well as individual, patterns of thinking about their work. In much of what has been written about teachers’ work, these shared or group conceptions are understood as constituting key elements of teacher culture.

Teachers tend to have collective and individual patterns of thinking about their work.

One key element of teacher culture is the valuing of practical knowledge, which teachers use in the immediate task of teaching. A second element of teacher culture is that of individualism. Derived from the uncertainties involved in coping as the sole adult in the classroom, teachers’ individualism, in the form of personal habits and survival strategies, has become a sacred cow of teacher culture. In studies of the reasons teachers give for their instructional decisions, it emerges that these are far more often influenced by individual experience than by the principles of educational theory. Teacher culture is CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 553

not underpinned by adherence to an accepted or agreed upon body of knowledge. Rather, the personal, institutional and experiential characteristics of the individual teacher’s practical knowledge reinforces the autonomous, but isolated, position of the individual within broader teacher culture. Despite the importance of this consensual individualism within teacher culture, clear expectations of appropriate professional behaviour do exist within teacher communities. Teachers view working hard to attain the best results possible, forming positive relationships with students, and working well with teacher colleagues as three key imperatives of teacher culture. Significantly, however, an important element of working well with teacher colleagues has been said to involve a willingness to respect other teachers’ professionalism, thus entrenching individualism still further and making genuine collaboration between teachers somewhat problematic, especially when such might require a de-privatisation of practice. The working relationships that exist between teachers need to be understood in the context of these key aspects of teacher culture. Under the guise of the norm of professional equality there is at least implicit acceptance of each teacher’s right to make their own professional decisions in their work with their students. The desire for teachers to feel in control, and to be seen as being in control, of their own work seemingly requires that their work practices remain free from the direct scrutiny of their colleagues. In effect, however, the mutual acceptance of privacy and professional egalitarianism can act to block attempts to promote or to enforce collegial standards and expectations. It has also stymied the personal and professional benefits accruing to teachers and the learning benefits accruing to students when there is de-privatising of practice in terms of teachers critically reflecting on their own and each other’s practice. Further, entrenched individualism may also act to exacerbate teachers’ tendencies towards negative thoughts and emotions about themselves and their work. Uncertainty and guilt, for example, are relatively common in teachers’ feelings about their work. Teachers may experience uncertainty and guilt related to their commitment to the notion of care (How much care is enough?); to the open-ended nature of the work (Is the work ever really finished?); to increased accountability (Can others’ expectations be met?); and to anxieties about being perceived as competent by colleagues (Am I good enough to be accepted here?). WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

r Why have you decided to become a teacher? r What do you think of current representations of teachers and teaching in popular culture (e.g. in news-

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papers, on television, in film and in popular music)? What are the dominant representations and how much do you think they reflect the realities of teachers’ work lives? r What are your concerns about teaching? r What aspects of your teaching are you most positive and confident about? r How do you conceive of and describe ‘good teaching’?

15.3 Professionalism and accreditation LEARNING OBJECTIVE 15.3 Discuss the professional frameworks that define the work of teachers and the resulting implications for their work, given the strengths and weaknesses of such frameworks.

The nature and quality of teachers’ work and their impact on student learning outcomes — which, in turn, are presumed to have a significant influence on young people’s future lives and opportunities in post-industrial economies — have been of increasing public interest over the past two decades. In many jurisdictions, the interest in and scrutiny of teachers’ work have produced measures to ensure teaching quality though regulation (e.g. teacher registration) and attempts to define the elements of quality teaching through frameworks of professional standards or competencies.

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The move to establish professional standards for teachers gathered momentum in the second half of the 1990s in Australia and overseas, including New Zealand, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. This was driven by a diverse range of factors including the demand for greater accountability, the desire to reform teacher education, the need to strengthen teacher professional development and the introduction of teacher performance appraisal. As a result, a wide range of employing bodies, professional organisations and registration authorities have developed sets of professional standards for teachers. The development of standards frameworks gathered pace in the first decade of the twenty-first century, with Teaching Australia, the then peak national body (subsequently, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) was announced in September 2009), heavily engaged in that work. AITSL developed a national framework of standards for all graduates of pre-service teacher education, effectively a standards framework for entry to the teaching profession (AITSL 2011, 2017).

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The development of professional standards in Australia In the quarter-century after the Schools Council for the National Board of Employment, Education and Training published Australia’s teachers: An agenda for the next decade (National Board of Employment, Education and Training 1991), there were several national initiatives in the field. The Australian government sponsored a number of professional standards initiatives particularly aimed at pre-service teachers. In 1996, the National Project on the Quality of Teaching and Learning published the National competency framework for beginning teachers, which identified five generic areas of competence: 1. Using and developing professional knowledge and values 2. Communicating, interacting and working with students and others 3. Planning and managing the teaching and learning process 4. Monitoring and assessing student progress and learning outcomes 5. Reflecting, evaluating and planning for continuous improvement. Subsequently, the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) published a set of National standards and guidelines for initial teacher education (ACDE 1998). In this publication the Council proposed a national system for accrediting teacher education courses based on 14 attributes that were seen to be necessary for effective beginning teaching. These attributes covered areas such as general professional attributes, duty of care, students and their communities, Indigenous education, assessment and evaluation, and working with others. The move to develop standards for the profession was given further support by the report from the Senate Employment, Education and Training Reference Committee titled A class act: Inquiry into the status of the teaching profession. This report, published in 1998, argued that a national body should be established to develop standards for teachers. Over the past 15 years, state and national authorities have made varying degrees of progress towards the establishment of comprehensive standards frameworks for teachers. A framework is emerging for the work of principals and school leaders, but the two states that made the most significant initial progress in establishing standards frameworks for teachers’ work were Queensland and Victoria. In the Queensland context, the move to a standards framework (both for teachers and for the accreditation of pre-service teacher education programs) occurred mostly under the auspices of the old Board of Teacher Registration and its successor body, the Queensland College of Teachers. The Queensland Government’s implementation of many of the recommendations of the ‘Report of the review of the powers and functions of the Board of Teacher Registration’ (McMeniman 2004) resulted in Queensland developing and adopting a standards framework aligned with the then new National framework for professional standards for teaching (MCEETYA 2003). The Queensland College of Teachers duly published its Professional standards for Queensland teachers in 2006 and ‘graduate level’ equivalent standards for graduating pre-service teachers in 2008.

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In Victoria, the Standards Council of the Teaching Profession (SCTP), part of the Victorian Department of Education, developed a set of Professional standards for teaching (SCTP 1999). These standards outlined five dimensions of teaching: 1. The content of teaching and learning 2. Teaching practice 3. Assessment and reporting of student learning 4. Interaction with the school community 5. Professional requirements. Subsequently the Victorian Institute of Teaching developed Standards of professional practice for full registration (2003) and Standards for graduating teachers (2009). Building on the work done in Queensland, Victoria and other states, AITSL developed and released a set of Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL 2011, 2017), in which the professional work of teachers is characterised into seven standards grouped into three categories: 1. Professional knowledge (Standards 1 and 2) 2. Professional practice (Standards 3, 4 and 5) 3. Professional engagement (Standards 6 and 7) (AITSL 2017). These standards apply to all teachers, but differentially according to four identified levels of experience and/or expertise: graduate teachers, proficient teachers, highly accomplished teachers and lead teachers (AITSL 2017). Regardless of these dissections of teaching into similar constructions of its component parts, the issue of teaching quality has remained at the forefront of the political and public consciousness. There is a particular focus here on the perceived quality of newly graduated teachers. A Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG), with a membership involving school principals and senior teacher educators, presented its report, Action now — classroom ready teachers on 13 February 2015. The advisory group acknowledges that some pre-service teacher education programs prepare beginning teachers more effectively than others. The inescapable conclusion is there is a belief that a proportion of graduates from some teacher education programs are not equipped to begin teaching. Suggested remedies have included stricter gate-keeping of those who enter teacher education programs (through, for example, requiring much higher ATAR scores), and testing to ensure that graduates are able to demonstrate appropriate levels of skill and knowledge in the key areas of literacy and numeracy via the LANTITE testing process.

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The implications of professional standards for teachers Standards frameworks such as AITSL’s Australian Professional Standards for Teachers carry an aura of authority drawn from their development and endorsement by the applicable professional bodies. In the Australian context, the development of frameworks of professional standards for teachers has been a deliberate policy effort to enhance the status and quality of teaching. Remember, however, that such sets of standards are derived from particular sociopolitical constructions of teaching and each represents only one of a number of possible views of the power relations inherent in the theory and practice of teaching and of teacher education. Given this, it is no surprise that the move to a standards framework for teaching and teacher education has been a journey marked by widespread debate. For some, the point at issue is not so much what the standards might be (in the sense of how they depict teaching), but the uses to which a set of standards might be put. It will only be the implementation and application of standards frameworks that reveal them to be either more enabling or more constraining of innovation and diversity in teaching. Nevertheless, it is apparent that some aspects of professional practice are common to virtually every set of standards for teachers developed in Australia and overseas. They all emphasise: r reflective practice r the design of learning activities 556

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r constructive student assessment r development of relationships with families and the community. Further, there seems to be a general agreement that teachers must be: r independent and confident users of technology r able to build effective relationships with parents, the community, business and industry r skilled in designing and delivering flexible and innovative learning experiences for students within curriculum structures r able to facilitate the delivery of new approaches to learning that are child centred, including by working in teams with teacher aides, para-professionals and others r able to design and deliver new approaches to learning that are cognitively challenging, culturally, economically and socially inclusive and that link the classroom to the world beyond school. The AITSL framework of Australian Professional Standards for Teachers is designed to be applicable to all teachers who will be registered in Australia. However, as the difficulties encountered in a number of approaches to developing national curricula have made clear, the fact that under the Australian federal constitution education is a matter for regulation by each state means that it remains a very challenging endeavour to get commitment to a truly national approach to teacher standards and registration. Regardless, as noted already, there is much that is common in the various standards frameworks that have been developed in many places, and moves are well advanced to establish a national framework for teacher registration and the accreditation of programs of pre-service teacher education. No-one should be under the misapprehension that implementing professional standards will rapidly decrease levels of public concern about teaching quality. In this regard, connections are still being drawn between teaching quality (not good enough) and national productivity (not high enough). See, for example, Ross Gittins’s article ‘Something badly awry in classrooms’, published in The Age on 11 November 2017. Demonstrably, the adoption of AITSL’s professional standards framework will not be a guarantee of improved teaching quality. A major problem with the AITSL framework is that it tends to treat all seven standards areas as being of equal significance for the professional work of teachers. This conception runs counter to the lived everyday experience of teachers and of their principals, which is that a much smaller number of capacities constitute the essentials for effective teaching. In recent research conducted through La Trobe University by ex-school principal and Principals Association representative Graham Speight, these essentials have been identified as: r adequate planning for teaching that promotes student learning r the ability to communicate clearly and to manage student behaviour r the capacity to engage positively with students and other staff. Speight’s research (2017) goes further. It holds that school principals see these three capacities as so vital for effective teaching that the lack of them defines incompetence in a teacher which should result in dismissal and loss of registration. Leaving this critique aside for now, and in anticipation of a national approach, we will use the AITSL Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2011, 2017) graduate level as the reference point from which to consider various aspects of a contemporary teacher’s work. Despite ‘entrance’ measures, such as the move to higher ATAR scores and ‘suitability for teaching’ screening, this framework is most likely to be that of most immediate relevance to current pre-service teachers, and its standards are those that will need to be met on graduation. In this regard, table 15.1 offers a snapshot from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers — graduate level, Standard 2 (AITSL 2011, pp. 10–11) in its description of the expectations for beginning teachers in terms of content knowledge and teaching strategies. A reference for the full framework is provided in the list at the end of this chapter.

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TABLE 15.1 Standard

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers — graduate level: Professional knowledge Focus

Graduate

2.1

Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area

2.2

Content selection and organisation

Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence

2.3

Curriculum, assessment and reporting

Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans

2.4

Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages

2.5

Literacy and numeracy strategies

Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas

2.6

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students

Source: Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2011, pp. 10–11).

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Construct your own table of the three key elements of a beginning teacher’s professional competence (described earlier) using a matrix for each of these elements: r planning for teaching that promotes student learning r communicating clearly and managing student behaviour r engaging positively with students and other staff. Use the AITSL standards approach in preparing your matrices. For each of the three elements identify a number of key ‘focus’ sub-areas. The next column should describe the level of performance/knowledge/ skill that should be expected of a beginning teacher. Then add a ‘Me, now’ column, identifying your current strengths and areas needing further development. Don’t be daunted by this task. When filling in your matrix, make sure you think about the targets that are most important for you, given your current circumstances.

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15.4 Ethical frameworks and codes of conduct for teachers LEARNING OBJECTIVE 15.4 Explain, in context, contemporary professional ethical expectations of teachers.

It is important to consider how your personal values and your thinking about teaching as a profession fit with statements of ethics and codes of conduct that apply in the profession — or in your sector of the profession. For example, early childhood students should refer to Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics, which is available at www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au. Each Australian state and territory has its own version of such statements because, as noted earlier, schooling and education are primarily state/territory responsibilities under the Australian Constitution. You should ensure that you are thoroughly familiar with the codes and statements that apply in your state/territory. Three such examples are as follows. 558

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r Victorian teaching profession code of conduct (Victorian Institute of Teaching 2015) at www.vit.vic .edu.au/professional-responsibilities/conduct-and-ethics r NSW Government 2014, The code of conduct, NSW Department of Education and Communities, Sydney r Teachers Registration Board Tasmania 2006, Code of professional ethics for the teaching profession in Tasmania, TRB Tasmania, Hobart at www.trb.tas.gov.au/Documents/Code%20of%20Professional%20 Ethics%20for%20the%20Teaching%20Professional%20in%20Tasmania.pdf. Codes of ethics (and the codes of conduct that represent how codes of ethics should be applied in practice) often centre on values-based principles which are seen as central to the understanding of teaching as a moral craft (discussed earlier). Typical of the principles underpinning such codes are those specified in the Tasmanian code of ethics for the teaching profession: the principles of dignity, respect, integrity, empathy and justice.

The Melbourne Declaration At various times, attempts have been made to agree on nationwide statements that apply to guiding the work of all teachers and schools across Australia. One such attempt produced the ‘Hobart Declaration’ in 1989. A second, under the auspices of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA), produced the ‘Adelaide Declaration on the National Goals of Schooling’ in 1999. On 5 December 2008, the state, territory and federal ministers of education met as the MCEETYA and agreed on what has been published as the ‘Melbourne Declaration’. The Melbourne Declaration is an aspirational statement which specifies the goals for the education and development of young Australians. The key sections of the Melbourne Declaration identify two educational goals for young Australians (MCEETYA 2008, p. 7): r Goal 1: Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence r Goal 2: all young Australians become

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– successful learners – confident and creative individuals – active and informed citizens.

The Melbourne Declaration states that ‘Australia values the central role of education in building a democratic, equitable and just society — a society that is prosperous, cohesive and culturally diverse, and that values Australia’s Indigenous cultures as a key part of the nation’s history, present and future’ (p. 4). Further, it claims that ‘Australia’s capacity to provide a high quality of life for all will depend on the ability to compete in the global economy on knowledge and innovation. Education equips young people with the knowledge, understanding, skills and values to take advantage of opportunity and to face the challenges of this era with confidence’ (p. 4). In language like this you can hear the echoes of where the second section of this chapter started — with an understanding that teachers’ work has significance for the life chances of the next generation. Of further significance for teachers, the Melbourne Declaration states that ‘schools play a vital role in promoting the intellectual, physical, social, emotional, moral, spiritual and aesthetic development and wellbeing of young Australians, and in ensuring the nation’s ongoing economic prosperity and social cohesion. Schools share this responsibility with students, parents, carers, families, the community, business and other education and training providers’ (p. 4). However, the Melbourne Declaration acknowledges there are several areas in which Australian school education needs to improve significantly. Among these areas are: r the failure to improve educational outcomes for many Indigenous Australians (hence, the perceived need for the Australian government’s initiatives under the Closing the gap policy umbrella)

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r the fact that ‘students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are under-represented among high achievers and over-represented among low achievers’ (p. 5) r the need for improving the rate of Year 12 completion. The Melbourne Declaration also puts a view of the key elements of requisite knowledge for the twentyfirst century. In this it reiterates that ‘literacy and numeracy and knowledge of key disciplines remain the cornerstones of schooling for young Australians’ (p. 5); calls for the ‘development of skills in areas such as social interaction, cross-disciplinary thinking and the use of digital media which are essential in all 21st century occupations’ (p. 5); and promotes ‘national values of democracy, equity and justice, and personal values and attributes such as honesty, resilience and respect for others’ (p. 5). Taking the two key goals and the various other statements of intent together, all of this can be understood to mean (MCEETYA 2008, p. 7): that all Australian governments and all school sectors must: r provide all students with access to high-quality schooling that is free from discrimination r ensure that the learning outcomes of Indigenous students improve to match those of other students r ensure that socioeconomic disadvantage ceases to be a significant determinant of educational outcomes r ensure that schooling contributes to a socially cohesive society that respects and appreciates cultural, social and religious diversity r encourage parents, carers, families, the broader community and young people themselves to hold high expectations for their educational outcomes r promote a culture of excellence in all schools.

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The Melbourne Declaration’s relevance to your work Several problems exist for coherent education policy and these are inherent in Australia’s system of democratic government. As governments change, so do policy directions. A clear example of this can be seen in the paradox of the Melbourne Declaration and Closing the Gap (2017) identifying the significance of Indigenous perspectives for Australia and for improving the educational attainments of Indigenous Australians on the one hand, while the review of the national curriculum commissioned by the federal government and released in October 2014 advocates dropping Indigenous perspectives as a cross-curriculum focus. Regardless of such paradoxes, the challenge (and the highly worthwhile goal) at the core of the Melbourne Declaration is that teachers must all work to develop and facilitate learning opportunities and other experiences that will assist in the broader task of helping students (MCEETYA 2008): r ‘have a sense of optimism, self-worth, self-awareness and personal identity that enables them to manage their emotional, mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing’ (p. 9) r ‘develop personal values and attributes such as honesty, resilience, empathy and respect for others’ (p. 9), including how these apply to the value of Indigenous cultures and the significance of reconciliation r ‘have the knowledge, skills, understanding and values to establish and maintain healthy, satisfying lives’ (p. 9), including the desire to pursue further learning beyond school r ‘relate well to others and form and maintain healthy relationships’ (p. 9), including those involved in ‘potential life roles as family, community and workforce members’ (p. 9) r develop a commitment to democracy, equity and justice, and participation in civic life at local, national and global levels for the common good.

Putting the Melbourne Declaration to use The Melbourne Declaration may be seen as a legitimate, authoritative basis that can guide the work of schools and teachers in their consideration of all sorts of ethical problems, dilemmas and educational challenges. Such guidance is highly important given the inequities reproduced through schooling. For example, differences in the distribution of school resources and in the curriculum pathways students select continue 560

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to perpetuate broader structures of economic inequity, while the enduring high levels of homophobic, racist and sexual discrimination in schools continue to perpetuate broader practices of cultural inequity. It remains that schools do not cater well to students of difference and marginality — this has been particularly the case with regard to the prevailing educational disadvantages experienced by minority groups such as Indigenous Australians. Their academic outcomes continue to lag well behind those of other students, and they continue to suffer cultural marginalisation. In Closing the gap — Prime Minister’s report 2017, the Prime Minister acknowledged, ‘While many successes are being achieved locally, as a nation, we are only on track to meet one of the seven Closing the Gap targets this year’ (2017, p. 4). That the level of challenge is high is beyond doubt. Think, for example, of the nature of the task facing the community of Shepherdson College in the Northern Territory, where the main campus is at Galiwinku on Elcho Island, some 550 kilometres northwest of Darwin. In addition to the main campus, Shepherdson College has seven homeland education centres based in even more remote Indigenous communities. Up to 14 different languages are spoken across the school community, where the 40 staff offer programs covering the junior years to the end of secondary schooling. Nevertheless, as both the Melbourne Declaration and Closing the gap make clear, these issues simply cannot be put in the ‘too-hard basket’. There may be limits to what a single teacher or single school community may be able to achieve in terms of resolving national challenges, but there are already examples of what determined, committed school communities can achieve.

As principal of Cherbourg State School, Chris Sarra implemented a ‘Strong and Smart’ vision that valued Indigenous students and their culture, and set high expectations.

In 1998, Chris Sarra was appointed principal of the local primary school in the town of Cherbourg, the centre of an Indigenous community in Queensland. When Sarra, himself an Indigenous Australian, first arrived, the school’s performance was well below the state average on virtually any measure that might be applied. Under Sarra’s leadership, the school community developed and implemented a ‘Strong and Smart’ vision as a vehicle for pride, improvement and achievement. The vision and its implementation, CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 561

based on valuing Indigenous students and their culture, alongside high expectations of teachers, community members and students, and a belief in the power of teachers to inspire their students, lifted community expectations. The school’s performance changed to such a degree that it demonstrated below-average rates of truancy, growth in student numbers and low levels of vandalism. Importantly, long after Sarra’s departure, the improvements remain. In 2008 the school achieved its best results in five years — statewide testing revealed results similar to or above like schools and similar to or above the state average in many areas. Numeracy scores were above like schools in every year level. The school’s goal is set at having every student achieving the key indicators in reading, writing and numeracy. Cherbourg State School’s achievements are illustrative of what can be achieved across a whole school and community in relation to the goals expressed in the Melbourne Declaration. Such achievements require not only the school and teachers’ commitment and action around professional standards such as those articulated earlier, but also a deep understanding and appreciation of the Indigenous issues in this particular context and a deep commitment to making a difference in terms of equity and justice for Indigenous Australians. For Sarra, this especially involved challenging and transforming deficit views of Indigenous students in terms of raising educational expectations beyond those usually held for these learners — both by others and by themselves. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Think about a particular school that you know. r In terms of the broader issue of simply getting kids to school, consider the possible factors and reasons behind Indigenous students’ rates of non-attendance at school. See, in this regard, https:// theconversation.com/indigenous-students-skipping-school-to-avoid-bullying-and-racism-25433. r Considering the goals set out in the Melbourne Declaration (e.g. that schooling should be free of discrimination and should contribute to socially cohesive communities that respect cultural, social and religious diversity), what key educational concerns are salient for the school you have in mind? r What sorts of social, political or economic understandings might be necessary for addressing these concerns by staff and students? Which of your own ideas and assumptions might you need to re-examine? r How might such understandings shape how documents such as the Australian Professional Standards, NAPLAN, or Closing the gap targets are taken up in this context?

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

All of this discussion about teachers’ thinking, teacher culture, professional standards, ethics and aspirational policies like the Melbourne Declaration and Closing the gap can seem a long way away from the day-to-day demands on a busy beginning teacher. This is a problem: a problem in which the ‘urgent’ becomes foregrounded at the expense of the ‘important’ in teachers’ work. For your teaching to have real meaning and purpose, you need to find a way of reminding yourself about what you really want to achieve in your work. Try the following strategy. 1. Get a clean sheet of paper and a stamped envelope. 2. Write yourself a formal letter, beginning ‘Dear . . . I’m writing to help you remember what is really important about you and your teaching.’ 3. Start a new paragraph with ‘The thing that has always been really important to me about teaching is . . . ’ — then finish that paragraph. 4. Start another new paragraph with ‘In order to achieve what I believe is important about teaching I know I need to . . . ’ — then finish that paragraph. 5. Start a final paragraph with ‘Today I promise myself that I will . . . as a critical step in the process of achieving what I believe is important in my teaching.’ — fill in the action step as you go. 6. Sign off, address the letter to your home address and give it to a friend, asking them to mail it to you a month from now.

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15.5 Teachers and the law LEARNING OBJECTIVE 15.5 Understand the key issues involved in identifying and managing the legal responsibilities and risks associated with teachers’ work.

All teachers, whether in the first or last year of their career, need to understand and act on their legal obligations in the course of their work. We will not attempt to deal exhaustively with all the potential issues over which a teacher’s work and life might intersect with the law. Our focus is instead on the areas that will be important for pre-service teachers and graduate teachers — these are the issues relating to duty of care and record keeping.

Teachers, accountability and the law Teachers, like any other citizens, are bound by ‘the law of the land’ — criminal law and common law. Teachers, by virtue of their position as teachers, are further bound by common law and by statutory requirements. Teachers are also bound by formal regulations under certain Acts (such as the Education Acts) and by various policies and directions of their employers.

The law of the land

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Criminal and civil laws apply to teachers just as they do to everyone else. These might relate to matters to do with punishment, searches, restraint, touching, sexual relations and harassment. Teachers are no more, or less, bound by criminal law than any other citizen; however, a teacher’s position puts them under more scrutiny than most, especially in matters that pertain to their role with young people (e.g. child pornography offences, offences involving acts or threats of violence, or serious drug offences).

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Statutory requirements and regulations under the Education Acts The basic statutory requirement in most jurisdictions in Australia is to be registered before practising as a teacher. It is a serious offence (for both teacher and school) to work as a teacher without registration. Each state’s Education Act, as amended from time to time, has a body of appended regulations. These regulations amount to lengthy documents, covering areas such as corporal punishment, detention and teaching controversial issues — the list is very long. The Education Acts and their appended regulations are public documents and can be accessed via each State’s education department website. Besides the Education Acts, other legislation is also relevant to the work of teachers; for example, legislation dealing with child safety, anti-discrimination, occupational health and safety, family law and social security. Each employer may also impose their own set of rules and these naturally vary somewhat from one employer to another. They are usually not enforceable by law. Examples include attitudes to teaching religion and whether or not corporal punishment is allowed and, if so, in what form. They can (and often do) extend to include issues of teachers’ out-of-school lifestyles, including any relevant activity posted by or about a teacher on social media. The ultimate sanction is dismissal, but in such cases the teacher may also have recourse to the law — perhaps in terms of seeking damages or restitution for defamation or wrongful dismissal. Nevertheless, it would be wise for any would-be or beginning teacher to ensure the material on their social media sites is privacy protected and that it projects a public image that the community would see as appropriate for a teacher.

Intersections Many events or issues cross the boundaries between criminal law, common law, statutory requirements and employer directions. Such things might include illegal search, corporal punishment and sexual relationships. These matters can be dealt with by criminal and/or civil courts, by statutory authorities or by employers (each of whom may apply different standards and have access to different sanctions). It is worth noting that each year several teachers in each state have their registration cancelled as the result of an inquiry conducted by the relevant teacher registration authority. See, for example, www.trb.sa.edu.au and follow the links home//professional responsibilities//professional conduct//case summaries.

Schools, accountability and the law

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In addition to common law (which will be returned to shortly), schools must have procedures in place to deal with statutory requirements in: r workplace health and safety r anti-discrimination r child protection, including mandatory reporting of abuse and/or neglect r freedom of information r juvenile justice r taxation and government payments. Accountability for performance — a reality for all Australian schools — relates to legal matters that confront teachers and schools daily. Hence, the onus is on schools (via the principal) to have appropriate procedures in place, and on teachers to follow these procedures.

What does this mean for teachers? Teachers need to understand the law sufficiently to recognise and manage legal problems (both before and when they arise). The problem in teachers’ work is that a lot of decision making happens ‘on the run’. There is often inadequate time for considered decisions. However, some teachers’ levels of concern in this area are unrealistic. It is simply not the case that teachers who take reasonable precautions for the welfare of their students will be held personally responsible for all the consequences should something go awry. The issue here is just what is sufficient and just what is reasonable in varying situations.

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Common law — duty of care Perhaps the most important legal construct with which teachers need to be familiar is duty of care. Some think duty of care is associated only with students’ physical welfare, but this is not the case. The concept of duty of care is much more extensive and covers matters associated with: r students’ physical welfare r matters on and off school grounds r matters in and out of school hours r moral, intellectual and social wellbeing r other members of the school community. Perhaps you can think of examples from each field where teachers may have a duty of care (think about the two cases that opened this chapter, or a scenario involving a class excursion, for example).

Negligence The common law ‘tort’ (or ‘wrong’) of negligence is the most likely legal action in which teachers may find themselves embroiled. Negligence relates to failing to exercise the duty of care. Usually a legal action is taken out on behalf of a pupil alleged to have suffered damage as a result of a teacher’s alleged negligence (although it is not always the case, as exemplified in the case mentioned earlier in which a teacher was awarded compensation for damage to his mental health resulting from being allocated too many difficult classes). Negligence may be found in either commission (a teacher’s actions) or omission (failing to act).

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Issues in negligence actions

In negligence actions, liability depends on four related requirements: (1) the existence of a duty to take/provide care, (2) a failure to take/provide the level of care reasonably expected in the circumstances, (3) the suffering of damage or harm, and (4) the establishment of a causal relationship between the failure to take care and the damage. These can be summarised as duty, breach, harm and causation. 1. Duty: The existence of a duty of care is imposed by law. The relationship between the parties (teacher–student, even more so with younger children) is relevant. It includes a duty to protect students against the consequences of their own immaturity or lack of experience. Therefore, the duty of care virtually always exists for the teacher, simply by virtue of the existence of the teacher–student relationship. 2. Breach: Five factors are considered in determining whether or not there has been a breach of the duty of care in a given circumstance: r the foreseeability of harm — could/should the risk have been predicted? r the magnitude of the risk of that harm occurring — from quite likely to theoretically possible, but infinitesimal r the gravity of the harm should the risk eventuate — from a scratch to death r the cost and practicality of prevention of the harm — is the cost of avoiding the risk out of the question? r the justification for running the risk of the harm — does the educational value of the activity outweigh the risks associated with it? 3. Harm: The establishment that harm occurred is usually relatively straightforward. The ‘evidence’ may often be medical and drawn from expert witnesses. 4. Causation: Courts acknowledge that accidents happen. The key issue in terms of causation is the extent to which the failure to take/provide care is causally related to the damage suffered — did the failure to take care cause, or at least contribute to causing, the damage? Decisions of various courts in negligence cases emphasise the need for: r sound behaviour management and supervision skills r schools to provide adequate safety by ensuring that they establish and follow sound preventive strategies. Essentially the umbrella term for the appropriate approach might be risk management. CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 565

Issues in duty of care in practice The following brief summaries outline some of the key aspects associated with several real cases that have found their way into Australian courts. Many of these cases are selected from a wider pool of cases discussed in Stewart and Knott (2002). The full case names are given at the end of the chapter. Take time to consider the facts in each case before progressing to the next. We will look at the outcomes of each case a bit later in the chapter.

In deciding negligence cases, courts consider the issues of duty, breach, harm and causation.

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Syme A number of early primary students bought plastic toy planes from a shop near the school. Each was fitted with an elastic band on a plastic rod that could be used to launch the plane. The plaintiff was 6 years old and in Year 1 at the time he was hit in the eye by a plane fired in the classroom by another student. He lost the sight in that eye. A week earlier, the principal had announced that the planes were not to be used indoors, but were permitted on the oval. The teacher had confiscated several of these planes when children had played with them on their desks. On the last day of the school year, the children were cleaning out their desks when one child took out his toy plane, pointed it at the plaintiff and said, ‘I am going to shoot you in the eye’. The boy let the plane go and it did strike the plaintiff in the eye. At the time, the teacher was working at her desk, which was facing the class, but on the other side of the room. She did not see the incident and was not aware of it until told that the plaintiff was crying.

Barker The student was almost 12 years old and in her first year at a secondary school in Elizabeth in Adelaide’s north. One afternoon, she hurt the base of her spine when she fell from her chair in the classroom. At the time of the incident the teacher had left the room for a few minutes, although she had written some work on the board and told the students to carry on with it. 566

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Ramsay A 6-year-old student had gone home after school and then returned to the school grounds a short time later with his brother. They climbed the back fence and walked across the school grounds. They came across three other boys who were making balls out of a white material. The two brothers joined in and the game progressed to throwing the balls at each other. One of the balls hit the 6-year-old in the eye, causing lime burns that destroyed the cornea and he lost sight in the eye. The substance had been left in an open bag and rain had made it soft and pliable. The material had been left behind that day by government workers who had been conducting maintenance at the school. The deputy principal had given permission for students to come onto and play in the school grounds after hours, and numerous students had done this from time to time.

Introvigne Around 8.25 am a student was skylarking in the school quadrangle. He seized the halyard attached to the flagpole, jumped off the nearby steps and swung with his full weight, carried by the halyard. Shortly afterwards, the large wooden disk to which the halyard was attached fell from the top of the flagpole and struck another student on the head, causing severe injury. At the time, all members of staff bar one were at a staff meeting called by the deputy principal to inform them that the principal had died in the early hours of that morning. The meeting was called for 8.20 am and lasted just over five minutes. The deputy principal had expressly detailed one member of staff to supervise students in the school grounds during the meeting.

Kretschmar A 13-year-old student attending a special school was injured in the classroom playing a game of ‘rob the nest’ involving 11 students. The game was being supervised by the physical education teacher and a regular class teacher. Desks, chairs and other objects had been moved away for safety reasons. The game involves taking/placing beanbags from and into large hoops. The students all had normal motor coordination, but intellectual impairments. The children were instructed how to play the game and a demonstration was given. Close supervision was carried out during the vigorous activity. While trying to place a bag in his team’s hoop, the student, Kretschmar, received a fracture to the front of the head when his head collided with the knee of another student. As a consequence, Kretschmar suffers from loss of short-term memory.

Graham

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The plaintiff, Graham, was a 12-year-old Year 7 student with impaired eyesight and poor balance. Normally her mother met her after school to assist her across the only busy street between the school and her home. This day, either the mother was late or Graham was early. She tried to cross the road without assistance and was injured in the accident that resulted. The staff knew of her impaired eyesight and poor balance, that it was dangerous for her to attempt to cross the street unaided and that an accident could result. The mother had applied for transport to be made available and this application had been supported by a doctor. The Education Department had rejected the transport application and informed the mother.

Richards The plaintiff, Richards, was 16 years old when he was injured in the classroom during a middle-stream mathematics lesson. He was seated in the back row of the class when an argument developed between him and an 18-year-old student sitting at an adjoining desk. The argument developed into a scuffle, then into a fight. The fight ended when a blow swung at Richards by the 18-year-old hit him on the side of the left temple and ruptured an artery, resulting in partial paralysis. The teacher had taken no action to prevent the fight, and did not intervene when it erupted.

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Ayoub Rene Ayoub was one of 50 secondary students who went on an excursion to a working farm. The excursion was supervised by two teachers, one of whom had visited the farm previously. The excursion involved traversing a section of the farm, requiring the opening and closing of typical farm gates. Instructions were given in English (not Rene’s first language), but neither teacher was in the near vicinity when Rene was one of a number of students involved in opening a particular swinging gate. In the opening process Rene was thrown backwards and he fell from the gated path down a long and steep drop, causing significant head injuries and brain damage. The level of damage was such that Rene was never likely to be able to maintain gainful independent employment.

Nicholas Felicity Nicholas was 14. She was one of a group of 21 male and female students who attended a threeday end-of-term camp. The camp was an approved school excursion and written consent for the activities on the camp program had been given by the school principal and by parents. Three staff members accompanied the students on the camp. The camp involved a major day trek, for which there were two routes available. As there had been rain in the period leading up to the start of the trek, it was agreed that all the hikers would take the lower, safer track as the higher track would likely have become very slippery. During the trek, some of the students became separated from the main group and diverted to the higher track. While working her way across a narrow section of the higher track, Felicity fell 3 metres to a rocky ledge and suffered a relatively minor injury to the side of her face. Very shortly afterwards, a second student fell from the same point and sustained serious head injuries. It was decided that one teacher would remain with the two injured students, while the other teachers took the remaining 19 students to seek help. Subsequently, in worsening weather during the rescue, one student died of his injuries and Felicity suffered nervous shock. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Given the four principles — duty, breach, harm and causation — consider the above cases. For each case, consider the background information provided, then: r decide whether a duty of care existed r decide whether such duty was breached r decide whether harm occurred r decide whether that harm was caused by the breach of duty. Finally, make your judgement — decide whether you think a claim of negligence should have been upheld or denied. The decisions of the courts in each case are presented at the end of this section — but you be the judge and arrive at your decision before checking whether or not the court agreed with you.

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Implications — sufficient and reasonable To predict and manage risks in the course of their work, teachers need to understand how much is sufficient and what is reasonable in varying situations. Every case is different, so there is no single fixed level of sufficiency or definition of reasonableness. Even expert judgements are variable. What is certain is that teachers, by virtue of their training, qualifications and experience, are expected to demonstrate a higher level of knowledge and skill than are other ‘reasonable adults’.

‘Reasonable’ — seven implications for teachers The following seven implications of the notion of duty of care will serve as a useful guide in your work as a pre-service and graduate teacher. 568

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1. Be where you are supposed to be — don’t leave students unsupervised. 2. Be observant to identify ‘danger signs’ (in areas such as bullying or child abuse) and think ahead to anticipate potential risks of all out-of-class activities. 3. Evaluate the likelihood of the risk and the potential severity of the possible harm. 4. Decide whether the educational value of an activity is such that it justifies taking the associated risk. 5. Take risk management actions in advance. 6. Obtain written/signed parental permission, but bear in mind that this does not remove the duty of care owed by the teacher. 7. Be aware of school protocols — and follow them. WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Maintaining appropriate documentation is an increasing imperative of accountability in the work of teachers. Keeping accurate attendance records is important, as is the case with assessment records. Accident/ incident reports are critical documents. You must find out how your school/system handles these and other matters such as the administration of medication and then comply with these requirements and procedures. As a basic guideline there are three things to remember: 1. Keep everything (throwing away, carelessly disposing of or losing records will leave you in a vulnerable position). 2. Make contemporaneous notes (notes recorded at the time of an incident are regarded as being much more reliable than any reconstruction of your version of the events that is produced much later). 3. Be careful what you write down (you should be aware that your notes are not necessarily ‘for your eyes only’ as you may be compelled to produce any such documents on request, and it may be an offence to refuse to do so).

Issues in duty of care revisited The following text identifies the outcomes of the cases looked at earlier in this section. In particular, we identify whether there was a duty of care, a breach, harm and causation, as well as the final judgement. Compare this with your outcomes from the ‘What are the implications for me?’ exercise. Bear in mind, of course, that the courts’ decisions were based on much more information than we have included in our summaries.

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Syme

r Duty? Yes — the principal exercised this in the in-class ban of the toy planes. r Breach? No — the teacher cannot be expected to watch all children all of the time and to prevent all fleeting incidents. r Harm? Yes. r Causation? No — there was no breach so there was no causation. r Decision? The plaintiff’s claim was denied. The judge’s decision here was based on the view that, in his words, ‘It is not in the interests of society to impose artificial standards that would encourage the rearing of a greenhouse generation’.

Barker r r r r

Duty? Yes — via the teacher–student relationship. Breach? No — a teacher’s temporary absence from children of high-school age is not unreasonable. Harm? Yes. Causation? No — there was no breach so there was no causation. The behaviour may well have happened in the teacher’s presence. r Decision? The plaintiff’s claim was denied. CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 569

Ramsay r r r r r

Duty? Yes — to keep the grounds safe for all who may enter. Breach? Yes — permission to be on the land meant that safety had to be assured. Harm? Yes. Causation? Yes. Decision? In favour of the plaintiff — the material left by the workers was deemed to be ‘a concealed trap’.

Introvigne r r r r r

Duty? Yes — always. Breach? Yes — the level of supervision was inadequate. Harm? Yes. Causation? Yes — the lack of supervision heightened the risk of injury from misbehaviour. Decision? Damages were awarded to the injured student — the deputy principal was found to have been negligent in not scheduling more staff to supervise students while the staff meeting was held.

Kretschmar r r r r r

Duty? Yes — the game should be safe and supervision of the game was required. Breach? No — the game was not so dangerous that it should not have been played. Harm? Yes. Causation? No — there was no breach, so there was no causation. Decision? The plaintiff’s claim was denied — despite the harm, there had been no breach of the duty of care.

Graham r r r r r

Duty? Limited — there was no duty to provide transport or escort the child home. Breach? No. Harm? Yes. Causation? No — there was no breach so there was no causation. Decision? The plaintiff’s appeal was denied.

Richards r r r r

Duty? Yes — inherent in the teacher–student relationship. Breach? Yes — the teacher should have foreseen the likelihood of a fight and should have intervened. Harm? Yes. Causation? Undecided — verbal intervention may have had no effect; physical intervention could have led to other injuries. r Decision? The decision in favour of the injured student at the original trial was confirmed by the higher court.

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Ayoub

r Duty? Yes — inherent in the teacher–student relationship. r Breach? Yes — the level of supervision (two teachers for 50 students) was inadequate to effectively supervise the gate opening and closing process. r Harm? Yes. r Causation? Yes — the lack of direct supervision of students opening the gate was a consequence of the inadequate level of supervision. r Decision? The decision was in favour of the injured student.

Nicholas

r Duty? Yes — at a high level, given the potential risks of the excursion activities. This high level of care was not reduced by the obtaining of parental consent.

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r Breach? Yes — the level of supervision in the 3:21 staff–student ratio was deemed inadequate in the circumstances. r Harm? Yes. r Causation? Yes — the inadequate level of supervision meant that a group of students were not prevented from diverting to the more dangerous track. r Decision? The decision was in favour of the injured student.

15.6 Professional learning for your career LEARNING OBJECTIVE 15.6 Understand the importance of professional learning throughout a teaching career and identify various professional organisations and their potential to contribute to ongoing professional leadership and learning.

In contemporary schools, teachers are asked to participate in a wide range of whole-school activities and in decision making related to how a particular school community will respond to issues of educational importance and significance. In this sense, teaching varies from many other professions (in their first day at work following graduation a new doctor would not be conducting complex surgery, nor would a new lawyer be pleading their case before the High Court of Australia, yet a new teacher will have their own class on day one!) and this brings both challenges and opportunities. The challenges are obvious enough: having to do essentially the same work as a skilled and experienced colleague without the benefit of that experience. The opportunities lie in the possibility of exercising forms of leadership right from the commencement of one’s career. In increasing numbers of schools, leadership is distributed among many people, rather than held and exercised only by those in senior positions. While the verdict on the question ‘Does shared/distributed leadership make for better schools?’ is not yet definitive, there is a body of research (see, for example, Mulford 2007) that indicates that such forms of teacher leadership may be associated with enhanced student learning and teacher performance, raised teacher satisfaction and improved school outcomes. Newly graduated teachers have considerable potential to contribute to school communities that adopt a distributed approach to leadership, particularly through their capacity to bring energy, new ideas and fresh perspectives informed by recent study in education.

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Ongoing professional development Each teacher’s capacity to meaningfully contribute to decisions about actions to be taken at school level depends on the extent of their professional knowledge about the relevant issues and their capacity to apply this knowledge. Given the scope and complexity of teachers’ work, and the pace and extent of change in society, it is not tenable for teachers to think of themselves as adequately prepared for a full teaching career on the basis of a pre-service degree alone, despite the energy and enthusiasm associated with joining the profession. The completion of your current degree will mark only the first stage of the professional learning for your teaching career. All teachers continue to need deep up-to-date knowledge and awareness of a wide range of issues — and of how these issues are relevant at both global and local levels. Your current studies should contribute knowledge and understanding of how learning works, how children develop, how a range of teaching strategies work and how to choose the most appropriate strategy at the time, how to plan learning experiences, how to guide and manage individuals and groups of students, how to assess their progress and report on it, how to work with others, how to conduct your work ethically and professionally, and how to bring all this together in the role of the teacher. Successful completion of this first stage of your professional learning gets you to the certification point — the point at which authorities responsible for gatekeeping the teaching profession will agree that you have met the academic requirements for entry to the profession. In many jurisdictions graduates may apply for provisional teacher registration and accept employment as a beginning teacher. However, CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 571

despite the advent of programs with names like ‘Master of Teaching’, completion of your degree is not the end of the learning process, nor does it represent the acquisition of real ‘mastery’; rather, it is the first step in the journey. This step aims to equip you to be a competent beginning teacher. Programs of preservice teacher education make no pretence that their graduates are, as yet, expert teachers — hence the applicability of ‘graduate level’ professional standards to early career teachers in the AITSL framework discussed earlier in this chapter. So, the journey of professional learning extends well beyond the final seminar in the final subject in your degree, followed by the formality of, and celebrations associated with, the graduation ceremony. Your professional learning needs to continue throughout your career; the speed with which knowledge and understandings change, and the growing shift towards continuing teacher registration being dependent on teachers providing evidence of ongoing professional learning, will make this an absolute necessity. In what follows, some of the pathways that beginning teachers may consider in planning for their ongoing professional development are presented; however, they are presented with the caveat that these represent only some of the sites and pathways available to you on your learning journey.

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Professional learning communities in schools A great change in education over the past 25 years has been the extent to which the once very autonomous work of teachers has come to be a collaborative and shared enterprise at the school level. School communities now work together towards common goals in ways that were once rare. At the informal level, much learning from each other goes on in schools. This is as true for teachers as it is for the students they teach. As teachers in a school you will observe and hear how your colleagues speak to (and with) students — and then adopt and adapt the words and approaches that resonate with you. Of course, at times the opposite is also true — you will try to avoid repeating those behaviours you judge to be inappropriate, ineffective or even counterproductive. Staff rooms or offices are also often places of camaraderie, where new teachers learn how to behave in order to become accepted as part of the staff group at the new school. As noted earlier, all schools have their own culture in terms of an understanding of ‘the way we do things around here’. Although initially it may be hard for a beginning teacher to understand why a school’s culture is how it is, the reasons will soon emerge; often this can be seen through the metaphors in use in the school (you can tell something about the school if the staff are called ‘troops’ and the classrooms ‘trenches’, for example). Suffice to say that one aspect of professional learning is learning how to be a teacher at a particular school, and this is often very different from how to be a teacher at another school. This sort of learning tends to occur in informal groups at school level. It is powerful, though: so powerful that studies illustrate that even highly effective teachers experience a (temporary) decline in expertise on moving to a new school. More formally, the move to school-based management that has been such a defining feature of the past 30 years in Australian education has been implemented through school councils, committees and other groups at school level. Leaving aside committees and groups that meet purely for the purpose of ensuring the smooth running of the school (senior management teams and the like), there is still a wide array of policy development and implementation groups in virtually any school of reasonable size. These groups are not necessarily permanent; they are often set up for a specific purpose and they disband when that purpose is achieved or abandoned. Such purposes might include the development (or review) of a schoolwide behaviour management policy, an approach to literacy or curriculum alternatives, and so on — the list is almost endless. When these groups come together, their members bring a wealth of knowledge, but there are also gaps in the members’ collective knowledge and it is likely that this knowledge contains unquestioned assumptions. Hence, to be truly effective in making a difference at school level, these formal groups need to go outside themselves (to experts or the research literature) to broaden their understanding. Too often this crucial step in the work of professional learning groups in schools is neglected and the groups fall back on the knowledge held within the group already — often resulting in relatively shallow outcomes 572

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that generate only short-term gains, despite the enormous efforts of the teachers involved. Nevertheless, these sorts of groups constitute important sources of professional learning for teachers and they have the crucial advantage of being connected to the reality of the particular school context. One area that often challenges school-based professional learning communities is how the school might best meet the educational needs of Indigenous students. This is certainly an appropriate area of professional interest and learning and, despite the presence of guides such as What works, one in which much remains to be learned and achieved. Those with an interest in this area might begin by consulting www .kidsmatter.edu.au/sites/default/files/public/Solid%20Kids%2C%20Solid%20Schools%20Summary.docx.

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Professional associations Education is a huge industry and there are hundreds of interest groups outside of a teacher’s ‘home school’ that consist of people with a particular interest in education or schooling. What follows is a brief sample of some of the organisations that a teacher may access as sources of professional information, support and contacts throughout their career. Early Childhood Australia’s mission is to advocate for quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to 8 years. The full details of this organisation and descriptions of its activities can be found at www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au. There continues to be international interest in the middle years of schooling. While some Australian professional interest groups in this area (such as the Queensland-based Middle Years of Schooling Association (MYSA)) are not as active as they once were, other organisations pursue similar purposes, such as: r informing individuals, professional educators, parents and the wider community about the nature of responsive education in the middle years of schooling r promoting the achievements and efforts of individuals, professional educators, parents and the wider community in meeting the developmental needs and interests of young adolescents r providing a voice for those interested in and committed to the education, development and growth of young adolescents r identifying and encouraging relevant research in the areas of the middle years of schooling. In Australia, the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) has a special interest group that focuses on middle schooling, and there are many other organisations worldwide — see, for example, the Association for Middle Level Education in the USA and the National Middle Schools Forum in the UK. Details of these organisations and a raft of other links to educators with an interest in middle schooling can be found at http://aussieeducator.org.au/education/levels/middleyears.html. Each of the key learning areas tends to have its own state and/or national association. There are too many to list here, but as an example, explore the website of the Australian Science Teachers Association at www.asta.edu.au. The Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) is the major professional association for educational leaders and their views are sought and respected by government and policy makers. The Council draws its membership from all sectors of education in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the rest of the world. You can find out more about the Council at www.acel.org.au. The Australian College of Educators (ACE) has been a voice for the teaching profession since its establishment as the Australian College of Education in 1959. Membership is by annual subscription. Some educators list the initials MACE (Member of the Australian College of Educators) or FACE (Fellow of the Australian College of Educators) in their qualifications. You can find more about the College through a meeting of your local chapter or via the web at www.austcolled.com.au. The Association of Women Educators (AWE) works actively to further the participation of women and girls in education. AWE (n.d.): r encourages and supports women, so that they can effectively pursue careers in education works to eliminate all forms of discrimination in curriculum, in institutional practices and in policies

r undertakes research projects to make a difference to girls’ education

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r responds to issues of concern for women both in education and the community r lobbies for further reforms and change generally to enhance the position of women in education and society.

You can find out more about the Association of Women Educators and its work at its website at www.awe.asn.au. The Australian Curriculum Studies Association was established in 1983 to support teachers in their work so that all students have access to a worthwhile, relevant and engaging curriculum. The association is committed to curriculum reform based around principles of social justice and democracy. It is involved in research, development and dissemination of curriculum ideas. It is the publisher of journals of particular interest to teachers: Curriculum Perspectives and Primary and Middle Years Educator. For further information, see www.acsa.edu.au. Teacher unions are not just industrial organisations — they also function as important sources of professional learning. In most states there will be one union for members who work primarily in government schools (the Australian Education Union or its state-based affiliate) and a separate body for those who work in non-government schools. The AARE is a great source of research-based information about virtually any topic in education. It conducts a major conference for educational researchers each year and provides links to thousands of research papers of direct relevance to education in the Australian context. You can find out more at www.aare.edu.au. Similarly, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is the longestablished conductor and publisher of research in education in Australian schools and education systems. Its web address is www.acer.edu.au. The Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA, 2009) links people with a diverse range of interests in education and training to promote the development of rural Australia by: r promoting a positive view of education in rural areas and encouraging innovation and initiative in the provision of rural education services r supporting and encouraging rural communities and educators to work towards the provision of quality education and training r providing a framework for the sharing of concerns, issues and experiences relating to education and training in rural areas. You can find out more at www.spera.asn.au.

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Certificate-level courses and qualifications Some teacher employers consider it compulsory for teachers to hold a current Senior First Aid Certificate. It is not a requirement for teacher registration or employment in all states and territories, but it is of such obvious and crucial importance in the work of the adult who is responsible for the wellbeing of a group of young people that all teachers should ensure that they have current first aid skills and certification. In certain categories of teachers’ work it is now compulsory to hold the relevant Certificate IV in training and assessment. Sports coaching roles often require the teacher/coach to hold a particular level of coaching certificate in that sport. Particularly in vocational education and training (a burgeoning area of the curriculum for many students from Year 10), it is not sufficient to hold teacher qualifications and registration; the relevant industry-based certificate (and often Certificate IV) is also required. In-service training courses for teachers are made available by a wide variety of organisations — by education departments and other teacher employers, by professional associations of the type discussed in the earlier paragraphs, by special interest groups (e.g. those representing the interests of children in remote communities) and by commercial interests (e.g. where the ‘training’ of the teachers is part of a package purchased by the school in areas such as literacy). There are always costs associated with in-service training (even if the course itself is free of any charge to the participants), with the most significant costs coming in the replacement of the teacher at the school during the time away. The costs of the supply/relief teacher mount up very quickly at over $400 for each day the regular teacher needs to be replaced. As it is so expensive for a school to release a teacher for in-service training, there is often an expectation that 574

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the teacher released will return to the school and share their new knowledge with their colleagues. When this happens effectively, the value of the experience is multiplied many times over; when it does not, the literature tends to suggest that often there is little benefit to the school community that bore the cost of the initial in-service experience.

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Postgraduate study Further study may well be the last thing on your minds at present. However, postgraduate study leading to formal qualifications is a pathway not only to increased knowledge, but also opportunities for promotion and careers in education beyond schools. In terms of formal postgraduate university study in Australia, there are three main programs of study you should consider. 1. Graduate certificates, as the name implies, require a prior degree for entry. Generally graduate certificates are offered by universities and are taken part-time over a period of up to two years. They consist of the equivalent of one semester of full-time study. These programs usually consist of a suite of courses that relate to a single area of interest or specialisation — TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages), special education and so on. You should look at the websites of the faculties of education (or the faculties/colleges of which education is a part where there is no stand-alone education faculty) at Australia’s universities to see what each has to offer. 2. Masters degrees are rapidly becoming expected (especially in non-government schools) of teachers seeking promotion to key teacher, department head or school management positions. Masters degrees can be taken in a variety of fields, such as educational leadership, curriculum and pedagogy, and educational technology. To find the Masters programs currently available at any Australian university, simply check out their websites. A small number of universities still offer Commonwealth-supported places (as in undergraduate degrees), but increasingly Masters degrees by coursework are fee-paying (although the Fee-Help system makes this initially less onerous than it might appear). It is possible to undertake Masters degrees in a number of different ways: r within a specialist area (e.g. early childhood or special education), or as a general degree without a specialisation r by coursework, or with a significant research component. Those interested in going beyond the Masters level should take the ‘significant research component’ pathway. This may well have the added advantage (depending on the program and the university concerned) of being associated with a Research Training Scheme (RTS) scholarship, meaning that participation in such a Masters by research degree may possibly be free of any fees. 3. A doctorate is the final step in the postgraduate study hierarchy. There are a number of different options, with the main choice being either a Professional Doctorate (Doctor of Education — EdD) or an individual research program leading to the award of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The EdD is often favoured by people wanting to stay working within schools or an education system, while the PhD is often preferred by those people who want to work in a university or some other institution where research is core business. Doctorates may be completed over a minimum of two years’ full-time study. The usual patterns, however, are three years full-time or double that for part-time. Doctoral students must have a topic of sufficient interest to sustain their commitment over the time of candidature, a good relationship with a committed supervisor, and a very supportive and understanding family — as you may have found out already over the time of your current degree. Eligible PhD students are offered an RTS place and pay no tuition fees; the same applies to some EdD students. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

All teachers beginning their first year of teaching face many challenges. However, in order to thrive, rather than merely survive the first year or two, beginning teachers must identify areas where their current

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knowledge and skills need development. Think about your own current ‘skill set’ and identify two areas in need of improvement. Identify specific targets you would like to achieve within each of these two areas. Then make a plan which details the steps you will take and the sources of assistance you will consult in a systematic pursuit of these targets. Set dates for a review of your progress towards these targets. Think of this as a professional learning plan for the first year of your career.

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

The quotations below highlight the importance of the roles teachers play in the protection and fostering of young people. If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job. DONALD D QUINN Modern cynics and skeptics . . . see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing. JOHN F KENNEDY Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. UNATTRIBUTED CRITICISM OF TEACHERS Those who can, do. Those who understand, teach. ARISTOTLE

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These quotes seem to sum up two of the key issues examined in this chapter: the scope and importance of teachers’ work on the one hand; and the lack of recognition and value associated with such work, on the other. It is the first of these perspectives that is embedded in the professional, ethical and legal frameworks that were examined in this chapter and that will support your future role as a teacher entrusted with the minds of children. You might like to seek the reactions of today’s teachers to these views of the importance of teaching. r How do the teachers with whom you speak react to each of the quotations? r Do these teachers think parents (of the students they teach) agree with them? If not, why not? r Do these teachers feel that society at large values the work of teachers highly enough? If not, how might individual teachers, and teacher groups, seek to enhance the public perception of the work of teachers overall?

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SUMMARY The common view of what it is to be a teacher draws much more from the past than from the present. Most important in this understanding of teaching are people’s recollections of their own schooldays and of the teachers who taught them. Also influential are media images of two types: first, images of fiction as in, for example, the staff of Summer Heights High (from Australian television) or from overseas, as in Teachers or Hearts and Minds (from Britain), Glee (from the USA), or the noir film The Teacher; and, second, news reporting of issues related to teachers and education. Memory and media, however, produce only a partial picture of the reality of contemporary teachers’ work. These sources tend to be blind to the full range of expectations of the contemporary teacher’s role — a role in which the teacher manages, counsels, cajoles, consults, cares, advises, disciplines, collaborates, assesses and reports, and engages in all these tasks and more in conjunction with their school colleagues in long-term, wholeschool endeavours to promote the quality of teaching and learning for all students. It is a complex, and sometimes contradictory, role. From the turn of the twenty-first century, teaching in Australia has come to be increasingly defined and regulated by official accreditation frameworks. Typical among these regulatory structures have been systems of teacher registration (based on the academic and character requirements to be met in order to be deemed eligible to practise as a teacher) and professional standards (which identify the key elements of teachers’ work and the expectations of performance that teachers are to demonstrate in that work). School principals may have a simpler and clearer understanding of competence, involving planning, classroom management and the establishment and maintenance of positive relationships. Regardless, registration and standards structures are thought by governments and education departments to be working in conjunction to address issues related to teacher quality. Registration and professional standards relate, in part, to expectations that teachers will behave ethically and comply with all the requirements of them imposed by law. In addition to the expectations that the law of the land imposes on every citizen, teachers need to be particularly aware of the duty of care imposed on them by common law. Simply by virtue of their position, as adults in charge of the welfare of young people, teachers are required to be able to predict, recognise and manage all forms of risk that may be associated with the activities for which they are responsible. Teachers who take reasonable and sufficient care in their work need have no concerns about potential legal liability, but others could be considered negligent should they fail to do so. ‘Being there and taking care’ might be key watchwords in this area. The fact of the matter is that, in order to be effective, teachers must continue to be learners. This does imply a need for ongoing professional learning, but more importantly it points to the sort of mindset Confucius spoke of around 500 BCE:

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Only through education does one come to be dissatisfied with his [sic] own knowledge, and only through teaching others does one come to realise the uncomfortable inadequacy of his knowledge. Realising the uncomfortable inadequacy of his knowledge one then feels stimulated to improve himself. Therefore, it is said, the process of teaching and learning stimulate one another.

KEY TERMS bricolage The act of tinkering — in order to create or make something. Teachers are bricoleurs in the sense that they characteristically use the resources that happen to be available to them to adapt curriculum and create learning experiences. consensual individualism In many schools, this is a key element of teacher culture in which teachers implicitly consent to allow each other to make their own individual decisions about how they teach, free of any sort of collective review or examination of the appropriateness of each teacher’s pedagogic decisions. CHAPTER 15 Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers 577

de-privatisation of practice A deliberate process in which teachers collaborate to examine their individual and collective pedagogic actions and make their own teaching practices open to the review of their colleagues in the collective pursuit of improvements in teaching and learning. gender lens Adopting gender as a central issue when examining teachers’ work. An imperative here is a focus and critique on the gendered assumptions and expectations embedded and institutionalised in schools that shape teachers’ work. pedagogic repertoires The range of teaching skills, strategies, knowledge and understanding that a teacher is able to use in their work with students. These base elements are varied from time to time and place to place by factors such as the teacher’s own beliefs, students’ backgrounds and school contexts. professional standards A set of statements intended to articulate the knowledge, skills and understandings that define good teaching. teacher culture Shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterise how teachers typically think about issues related to their work. Teacher culture has relatively constant elements (such as teachers expressing care for their students’ welfare) and other elements that vary between contexts.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 15.1

LO1

Teachers conduct their work in public — mostly in classrooms, staffrooms and the like. Thus, their students, their colleagues and other stakeholders form opinions of them based on what they see. What do you want your students and colleagues to think about you? In what ways will you need to behave as a teacher in order for them to form these opinions of you? 15.2

LO2, 6

Which of AITSL’s seven professional standards is the area in which you need to develop most at present? What steps might you take to promote this development? How might this sit with the three priority areas of planning, managing and relationships seen as critical by many principals? 15.3

LO3

In many jurisdictions, registered teachers now have to provide evidence that they have kept up with the latest developments in their field in order to be eligible for continued registration. How might you plan for your own continued professional learning, and for its documentation, in order to satisfy the requirements for the renewal of registration in your state? 15.4

LO4

In what areas of teachers’ practice do you feel you could currently show leadership as a beginning teacher on a school staff? In what areas do you feel you would benefit from someone leading you? 15.5

LO5

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An unpopular student in your class complains to you that he is being teased and socially excluded by the other students in your class. How would you respond, taking into account both the legal requirements associated with duty of care and the culture of care which is a central element of teachers’ thinking about their work? 15.6

LO5

What potential risks should you consider in planning a three-day excursion by bus to Canberra? What measures could you put in place to minimise these risks?

WEBSITES 1. State education departments generally provide programs and advice for early career teachers throughout the period of induction into the profession. The Education Queensland induction website offers 578

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a range of online resources for beginning teachers: www.education.qld.gov.au (and then progress through Professional Development > Employee groups) 2. This website offers statistics, case studies and advice relating to ways of engaging Indigenous students, tips on how to create a culturally responsive classroom and on preparing students to walk in two worlds: www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/education 3. A broader range of issues related to duty of care can be found in the Law handbook 2017. Based in Victoria, but with applicability to other jurisdictions, the site offers guidelines on emergent challenges for teachers, such as dealing with anaphylaxis: www.lawhandbook.org.au/04_08_02_duty_of_care

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REFERENCES Acker, S 1995, ‘Gender and teachers’ work’, Review of Research in Education, vol. 21, pp. 99–162. Association of Women Educators (AWE) n.d., ‘About AWE’, www.awe.asn.au, viewed 26 February 2018. Australian Council of Deans of Education 1998, Preparing a profession: Report of the national standards and guidelines for initial teacher education project, Australian Council of Deans of Education, Canberra. Australian Government 2017, Closing the gap — Prime minister’s report 2017, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2017, ‘Australian Professional Standards for Teachers’, www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards. —— 2011, Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, MCEEDCYA, Carlton South. Fullan, M & Hargreaves, A 1992, Teacher development and educational change, Falmer Press, London. Hargreaves, A 1995, Changing teachers, changing times: Teachers’ work and culture in the postmodern age, Cassell, London. Hattie, J 2011, Visible learning for teachers: Maximising impact on learning, Routledge, London. —— 2009, Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxford, UK. Hatton, E 1988, ‘Teachers’ work as bricolage: implications for teacher education’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 337–57. Huberman, M 1993, The lives of teachers, Teachers College Press, New York. Lortie, D 1975, School teacher: A sociological study, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. McLaughlin, M 1993, ‘What matters most in teachers’ workplace context?’, in J Little & M McLaughlin, Teachers’ work: Individuals, colleagues and contexts, Teachers College Press, New York. McMeniman, M 2004, Report of the review of the powers and functions of the Board of Teacher Registration, The State of Queensland, Brisbane. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) 2008, Melbourne Declaration on educational goals for young Australians, MCEETYA, Melbourne. —— 2003, National framework for professional standards for teaching, MYCEETYA, Canberra. Mulford, B 2007, Overview of research on Australian educational leadership 2001–2005, Australian Council for Educational Leaders, Winmalee, NSW. National Board of Employment, Education and Training 1991, ‘Agenda papers: issues arising from Australia’s teachers: An agenda for the next decade’, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, www.dest.gov.au, viewed on 9 November 2009. National Project on the Quality of Teaching and Learning 1996, National competency framework for beginning teaching, NPQTL, Leichhardt, NSW. Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) 2006, Professional standards for Queensland teachers, Queensland College of Teachers, Brisbane. Senate Employment, Education and Training Reference Committee 1998, A class act: Inquiry into the status of the teaching profession, Senate Employment, Education and Training Reference Committee, Canberra. Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia 2009, ‘Mission and goals’, www.spera.asn.au, viewed 9 November 2009. Speight, G 2017, ‘Dismissing incompetent teachers: Principals’ experiences’, unpublished PhD thesis, LaTrobe University, Melbourne. Standards Council for the Teaching Profession (SCTP) 1999, Guidelines for the evaluation of teacher education courses, Department of Education, Melbourne. Stewart, D & Knott, A 2002, Schools, courts and the law: Managing student welfare, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW. Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) 2015, Victorian teaching profession code of conduct, VIT, Melbourne. —— 2009, Standards for graduating teachers, VIT, Melbourne. —— 2003, Standards of professional practice for full registration, VIT, Melbourne.

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LEGAL AUTHORITIES Ayoub v. Downs, unreported, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 5807/1976, 7 October 1982. Barker v. The State of South Australia (1978) 19 SASR 83. Commonwealth of Australia v. Introvigne (1982) 150 CLR 258; (1982) 41 ALR 577; (1982) 56 ALJR 749; (1982) APLE P60-003. Graham v. New South Wales, unreported, New South Wales Court of Appeal, CA40075/00, 20 July 2001. Gregory v. State of New South Wales (2009) 2007/20256, NSWSC 559, 19 June 2009. Kretschmar v. The State of Queensland (1989) Aust Tort Reports P80–272. Nicholas v. Osborne and Others, unreported, Victorian County Court, 15 November 1985. Oyston v. St. Patrick’s College (2011) Supreme Court of New South Wales, NSWSC269. Ramsay v. Appel [1972–73] ALR 489; (1972) 46 ALJR 510. Richards v. State of Victoria (1969) VR 136. Syme and Syme v. Minister of Education, unreported, Supreme Court of Western Australia, 83/1969, 5 March 1970.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Photo: © Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy Photo: © Liquorice Legs / Shutterstock.com Photo: © Lyndon Mechielsen / Newspix Photo: © create jobs 51 / Shutterstock.com Photo: © ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com Table 15.1: © 2011 Education Services Australia as the legal entity for the Education Council. ISBN: 978-0-9871650-2-2. Text: © Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Text: © Association of Women Educators Text: © Donald D Quinn, Public Domain

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CHAPTER 16

The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 16.1 identify how different understandings about the purposes of education can influence how equity is understood and pursued in schools 16.2 appreciate the significance of equity as a key imperative of schooling 16.3 identify some of the complex realities of contemporary teacher practice and schooling 16.4 understand some of the broader social trends that shape contemporary teacher practice and constrain the quality of pedagogy in schools 16.5 articulate some of the ways in which teachers’ socially critical pedagogy can make a difference in terms of enhancing equity outcomes 16.6 identify schooling processes that can support high-quality pedagogy towards enhanced equity outcomes.

OPENING CASE

Purposes of schooling A leading international education snapshot released overnight shows Australian science students are now seven months behind where they were in 2006, an Australian maths student is a year of schooling behind where they were in 2003 and Australian students’ reading abilities have also dropped by a year since 2000 . . . (Birmingham 2016)

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This snapshot was published on Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham’s parliamentary website in December 2016. In the larger article, Birmingham outlines his concerns about Australia’s performance on the 2015 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) test, which provides international data on the levels of mathematics, reading and science literacy in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Birmingham’s concern was that Australia’s decline in these areas was detrimental at a time when the job and economic prospects of Australians and Australia rely on high educational outcomes. The ‘worries’ expressed by Birmingham about Australia’s ‘slipping’ performance echoed many other media reports at the time. PISA assesses scholastic attainment in mathematics, science and reading and is administered to 15-year-old students from schools in more than 70 countries across the world. It does indeed provide an ‘international snapshot’ of attainment in these areas. But it is a particular kind of snapshot. PISA results are, as Birmingham suggests, a respected account of attainment that have gained legitimacy as a global measure of school quality that works in tandem with many other international and national tests. While no-one would argue that performance in mathematics, science and reading is not important, problems arise when the worth of schooling systems and schools themselves are reduced to attainment in these areas. At one level, this reductionism can be misleading. In the case of Australia, for example, when PISA results data are disaggregated by state and territory, we find that our performance is above the OECD average in all but Tasmania and the Northern Territory (where specific geopolitical factors associated with poverty and Indigeneity have led to ‘under’-performance). At another level, this reductionism promotes a particular vision of schooling purpose that, in Birmingham’s words, centres on ‘job’ and ‘economic prospects’. Many educators and researchers question the narrowness of this vision, arguing that it prioritises social mobility and credentialling at the expense of social equity and citizenship goals. This opening case points to some of the contention that surrounds debates about the purposes of schooling. While some insist on the merits of a back-to-basics approach to education, others insist that this call is undermining the moral and social purposes of education. Some believe education should conserve the status quo, while others believe that it should transform it. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ QUESTIONS 1. What do you think the purposes of schooling should be? 2. Should schooling aim to transmit a particular, agreed-upon body of academic knowledge or should it play more of a socially critical role?

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Introduction Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela

This chapter examines schooling, equity and social change. The chapter begins with an exploration of different understandings about the purposes of schooling from a conservative standpoint and a more progressive perspective. Such understandings are located within an account of the history of the purposes of mass schooling in Australia. The focus is on equity as a key imperative of education where schooling is understood as powerful in both re-inscribing, but also transforming, the broader injustices of the social world. The chapter provides a snapshot of contemporary teacher practice and an account of how inequities can be reproduced through education policy, structures and practices. The discussion then turns to the broader context of social change and the trends in education that constrain teachers’ efforts to pursue equity in schools. Drawing on the central premise that schools can contribute to the goals of social equity, the chapter details key philosophies and knowledge that support critical and socially just pedagogy through the presentation of two vignettes of teacher practice. The chapter concludes with a consideration of how other schooling processes associated with the curriculum, the school, and teacher–student relationships might better reflect social equity. The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change

The purposes of schooling

Schools in crisis?

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Can schools be neutral or apolitical?

Equity: a mandate of schooling

Contemporary teacher practice: realities and constraints

A brief history of the purposes of mass schooling

A snapshot of contemporary teacher practice Attempting to address inequity through education

The broader social change context

Political– economic trends impacting on schools

Teachers making a difference

Teacher practice: critical and socially just pedagogy

Supporting equity and justice: a whole-school approach

Relationships at the core of teachers’ work

16.1 The purposes of schooling LEARNING OBJECTIVE 16.1 Identify how different understandings about the purposes of education can influence how equity is understood and pursued in schools.

In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer

If the content of much of what appears in the mainstream media is anything to go by, the Australian public education system is in crisis. Not a day seems to pass without media headlines bemoaning the CHAPTER 16 The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change

583

poor state of our schools, the poor quality of our teachers and the low levels of achievement of our young people: One in five students fails literacy test The Australian Ugly truth of school bullying . . . The Daily Telegraph Not fit to teach The Sunday Times

Students are failing basic skills tests, discipline is poor, schools are rife with bullying, teachers are poorly trained and curriculum is unclear and lacks rigour. Attesting to this apparent crisis are results like those described in the opening case, which paint a picture of Australia as lagging behind other countries in global rankings of education performance.

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Schools in crisis? A prominent and longstanding feature of discussions about ‘schools in crisis’ has been public contention around the failure of contemporary schooling to teach ‘the basics’. The literacy wars between conservative and progressive education stakeholders (see Snyder 2008), played out in the media, have brought this debate to light. In this ‘war’, advocates of conservative education have led a campaign against contemporary understandings of literacy, such as whole language learning and critical literacy that underpin current approaches to the teaching of reading and writing. Advocates of conservative education condemn such approaches as failed experiments that have compromised students’ academic achievement. They portray these ways of teaching as destructive in terms of detracting from learning of the (real) basics. Further, such approaches are characterised as irresponsible in their ideological promotion of political correctness or, in the words of social commentator Kevin Donnelly (2005), ‘wacky’, ‘new-age’ curriculum ideas. These criticisms have been accompanied by strong calls within conservative public and policy discourse for a return to apolitical schooling and traditional approaches to literacy learning that are supposedly neutral and unbiased (see Snyder 2008 for an extensive review of these debates). A key discourse sometimes seen as fuelling this conservative back-to-basics agenda is ‘gap talk’. In Australia, and more broadly, an enormous amount of attention has been directed towards ‘closing the gap’ — especially between the academic (namely, literacy and numeracy) performance of Indigenous students and their non-Indigenous peers. Indigenous students’ low levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and their poor rates of school attendance, retention and tertiary participation are key areas of concern. As noted later in this chapter, such ‘under-performance’ and disengagement can be attributed to the tendency for mainstream schooling to be culturally exclusive and alienating for Indigenous students. It is a context that tends not to value Indigenous cultures or represent Indigenous peoples. This is despite a long history of policy efforts to ‘close the gap’ through, for example, culturally inclusive curricula and pedagogy and greater Indigenous teacher representation (see Burridge & Chodkiewicz 2012). This equity issue is discussed in more detail later in this chapter. Another prominent feature of these crisis discourses is criticism of schools’ social justice agendas as overly accepting and accommodating of cultural difference. There have been deliberate attempts to discredit these agendas and especially schools’ efforts to promote social activism and multicultural education (McInerney 2006). Efforts in schools to recognise and be inclusive of cultural diversity have been criticised by conservatives as overly tolerant of ‘difference’ and thus as producing social division and compromising ethnic integration. Linked to the charge that schools are failing to promote multicultural cohesion has been increased public scrutiny of schools’ social and citizenship programs and heightened surveillance around what is taught in schools and how it is taught (Giroux 2003). Underlying this scrutiny have been efforts to reinstate an assimilated, homogeneous version of Australian identity and culture. For 584

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example, in 2005 the then Coalition federal government introduced a National Values Education Program to encourage national unity. This was accompanied by a flagpole initiative and calls for more rigorous teaching of Australian history, in order to develop national pride among young people. More recently, conservative calls for such ‘rigour’ have been reflected in proposals for more traditional approaches to teaching morals, values and spirituality in schools to better recognise the contribution of Western civilisation (see Australian Government 2014). Such approaches can be situated within a broader socio-political context of overt suspicion of the ‘other’, namely, Islam. Islamic schools, for example, have been subject to high levels of government surveillance of curriculum and pedagogy and attempts to police particular cultural traditions that some see as contrary to the ‘Australian’ way of life, such as Muslim girls wearing the hijab in public schools (see Keddie 2017).

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Can schools be neutral or apolitical? Notwithstanding the simplistic nature of the crisis discourses described earlier, what they do highlight is the enduring contention around what constitutes the purposes of schooling. For conservative education advocates, a central purpose of schools should be the preservation of existing social structures and practices. For these advocates, contemporary schools are failing young people because they lack clear curriculum direction, lack authoritative expert teacher instruction and overemphasise the social elements of schooling at the expense of rigorous academic studies. In working towards changing this situation, these stakeholders call for greater teacher accountability and compliance, greater prescription and uniformity of curriculum and teaching, and increased standardised testing of student outcomes, skills and achievements (McInerney 2006). For these stakeholders, schools and classrooms should be teacher-directed; teaching should be neutral and apolitical; curriculum content should reflect ‘legitimate’ knowledge; and schooling should transmit such knowledge from those positioned with authority and power (teachers) to those positioned without authority and power (students). The purposes of schooling for conservative education stakeholders thus tend to be about preparing young people to participate in and preserve (rather than challenge or change) the broader social world. Progressive education advocates, on the other hand, contend that the social aspects of schooling are an imperative of, rather than separate from, rigorous academic studies and high-quality education. Advocates of progressive education believe that calls for greater accountability, prescription and standardisation undermine teachers’ professionalism and capabilities and ignore student diversity. Instead, schools should be student-centred places where learning is co-constructed and challenging and where curriculum is flexible and contextual. Advocates of progressive education recognise the power of schools and schooling to re-inscribe, but also transform, the broader inequities of the social world. They recognise teaching as a political act and schooling and classrooms as sites of resistance and of possibility for equity and justice (see Giroux 2003). Schooling thus has the potential to eliminate some of the structures and practices that unfairly discriminate on the basis of, for example, gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality and ability. For advocates of progressive education, schooling is much more than teaching ‘the basics’; it is about preparing young people to actively, but critically, engage in the broader social world (Hayes et al. 2006; Keddie 2012).

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

The following questions are designed to stimulate reflection and debate concerning your own and others’ thoughts about these issues. r Do you agree with a back to basics approach in schools? What might be right or wrong with such an approach? r Do you agree we should be adopting a more traditional approach to the teaching of moral values and spirituality in schools that better recognises Western civilisation? What might be right or wrong with such an approach?

16.2 Equity: a mandate of schooling

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 16.2 Appreciate the significance of equity as a key imperative of schooling.

A progressive view of schooling underpins and frames what follows in this chapter. Indeed, we contend that progressive conceptualisations of education and schooling are imperative in light of the broader social change context. Schools must prepare students for new times, times in which their lifeworlds and future trajectories are shaped around shifting notions of identity; changes in family structures; rapid population shifts; new economies and workplaces that become less secure and predictable with the dismantling of industrial economies and the rise of new knowledge economies; increases in poverty, social dislocation and cultural diversity; and new digital and communications technologies. Such are the conditions of reflexive modernity (Beck 1992), where individual biographies and identities are shaped in response to these broader cultures of risk, insecurity and change. Productively engaging with these conditions necessitates enterprising skills, technical expertise, entrepreneurial behaviour and critical literacy capacities. Such skills and capacities are central for knowledge workers in a knowledge economy that both features and requires expanding knowledge and learning across a wide spectrum of industries (Casey 2006). Productively engaging with these conditions also necessitates an appreciation of, and respect for, difference and diversity. The old order, the way most adults have been used to things being, will simply not be characteristic of the adult lives of today’s school students. The importance of developing such skills and capacities has been recognised in education policy (MCEETYA 1989 & 1999) and is reflected in the most recent national framework on the Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008). The goals of the Melbourne Declaration promote equity and excellence in schooling and support for all young Australians to become active and informed citizens (see chapter 15). Such goals reflect the unprecedented diversity and change within and beyond Australia that heighten ‘the need to nurture an appreciation of and respect for social, cultural and religious diversity and a sense of global citizenship’ (2008, p. 4). The framework is explicit in its positioning of education as central to building socially cohesive societies through teaching about democracy, equity, justice and respect for others. Teachers are seen as fundamental to achieving these educational goals through their capacity to inspire and nurture active, responsible and informed citizens. This progressive agenda is a relatively new schooling mandate in terms of national policy and it requires contextualising.

A brief history of the purposes of mass schooling Despite the equity and citizenship mandates within schooling policy such as the Melbourne Declaration, there remains a predominant relationship between schools and the economy in terms of expectations that schools should be about preparing students for their economic wellbeing as future workers in the labour market. This was not always the case, however. Before World War II, school qualifications were not relied on to maintain or advance economic wellbeing. As Teese and Polesel (2003) point out, many Australian children were not educated beyond the end of primary school. It was generally the case that boys left 586

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school for work on their family farm or to take up manual jobs that required little training, while girls, if indeed they could find paid work, tended to take up domestic service or factory work. Thus, school qualifications held little economic significance other than for those who completed secondary schooling — which provided (for a largely-privileged few) entree to ‘better’ jobs or higher education. Changes in industry and economic expansion in the decades following the war, however, signalled a huge growth in secondary schooling and an associated increase in its economic significance. Before the war, only half of Australian children progressed to secondary school, but by the 1970s a large proportion were receiving four years of secondary education, and by the 1980s the majority of students progressed to the final year of secondary schooling (Connell et al. 1982). Today, nearly eight out of ten children complete a school program that can lead to university (ABS 2016). Growth in schooling in the post-war period was supported by the high demand for skilled and specialised workers, rising incomes, increased aspirations towards white-collar and professional careers, and the decline of employment pathways for those leaving school early. Growth in schooling from the 1950s was also supported by an understanding that education could provide greater equity and improved living conditions for all. For example, it was thought that class biases in the education system could be eliminated by extending greater schooling opportunities to marginalised groups. The advent of the comprehensive (i.e. for all) coeducational state secondary school was seen to reflect a positive alternative to the class stratification embedded in selective high schools and technical or vocational schools. However, the curriculum organisation of these mass schools reflected such stratification in their distinction between academic and non-academic learning. As is invariably the case today, the ‘more able’ (and generally more class privileged) students predominated in the more prestigious and influential academic programs, while the ‘less able’ (and generally underprivileged) students were concentrated in the non-academic programs. Although recent progressive curriculum reform designed to address these inequities has since gained acceptance, the failure to renovate curriculum did little to disrupt broader social inequities, as was initially hoped with the introduction of mass secondary schooling (Connell et al. 1982). Other dilemmas around issues of curriculum and teaching emerged and continue to be salient within today’s classrooms (as we detail in more depth later). These related to the increasing disciplinary problems in schools and a new disrespect for teachers, particularly from ‘non-academic’ students who did not see the relevance or meaning of their school learning. Such problems brought into sharp relief dilemmas relating to the purposes of schooling, which remain today — then, as today, teachers and other education stakeholders were arguing between the relative merits of socially relevant curricula and student-centred learning on the one hand, and established standards and teacher control on the other (Connell et al. 1982). These dilemmas around what the purposes of education should be within a stratified society were reflected in the lack of stable policy for mass schooling from its inception, despite many official attempts to devise such policy. However, The Karmel Report, commissioned by the Australian government in 1973, officially recognised that the introduction of mass schooling had not been effective in terms of enhancing equity outcomes. Indeed, it revealed the high levels of disadvantage experienced by many socially marginalised children; teachers’ inadequate professional training; outmoded curriculum and classroom practice; and a lack of shared decision making in schools. These issues remain enduring problems in today’s schools and classrooms. The report was committed to promoting equity through schooling and thus recommended reform in these areas. For example, it recommended greater resource support for disadvantaged schools and greater curriculum relevancy and differentiation for students. The Karmel Report was highly significant. It was the first official policy in Australia to spell out the importance of equity as a central purpose of schooling. While variously effective, there have been many equity-focused national and state education policies since that have similarly focused on attempting to address economic and cultural disadvantage. At the national level, as we have already mentioned, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008) expresses a ‘commitment to action’ to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous youth and disadvantaged young Australians, especially CHAPTER 16 The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change

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those from low socio-economic backgrounds. More recently, the Gonski reforms have sought to more equitably distribute funding and resources to those schools in most economic and social need. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

The following dot points are provided to help you to reflect on issues of equity and education. How do your perspectives align with others’? r What does social equity mean to you? r Is social inequity a personal responsibility (i.e. up to the individual to sort out), a societal problem (i.e. up to society to sort out), or a combination of both? r Can and should schools do anything about social inequity? Why? Why not? r Are schools doing anything about social inequity? How? How not? While we can all appreciate the significance of equity as a key imperative of schooling, these points begin to demonstrate the complex realities involved in pursuing this imperative. In the next section, we examine these realities.

16.3 Contemporary teacher practice: realities and constraints LEARNING OBJECTIVE 16.3 Identify some of the complex realities of contemporary teacher practice and schooling.

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It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry. Albert Einstein

This section provides a snapshot of current practice within Australian classrooms derived from evaluations of pedagogy and schooling (Hayes et al. 2006; Mills et al. 2017). While the findings of such research in many ways paint a picture of classrooms and teacher practice along conservative lines (in terms of an emphasis on basic skills, teacher-directed learning and a lack of focus on the social aspects of education or the critical analysis of knowledge), they also indicate that today’s schools and classrooms are, typically, socially supportive places. Similarly, while such research shows that quality pedagogy is in limited evidence in most classrooms, it also illustrates its prevalence in some classrooms within particular contexts and under particular circumstances. Further, this research draws attention to the broader issues at the state, national and global level that constrain classroom and school practice and that need to be considered in understanding and addressing the generally low levels of quality pedagogy in our classrooms. As Luke (2004) argues, while new times require a new cosmopolitan teacher with critical capacities for dealing with unprecedented local and global change, many current education policy trends are not supportive of such a style of teacher. Indeed, much current system-level policy and practice tends to support teaching that is prescriptive and parochial — teaching that is focused on narrow, parochial concerns, issues and priorities, rather than on genuinely engaging with the connections between relevant local and global contexts. The following snapshot of contemporary teacher practice provides a nuanced account of a highly complex issue. It is an important counterpoint to the reductionist media discourses presented earlier that have gained a truth status in the general public’s consciousness, perhaps because of their appeal to a time when the world was seemingly simpler to understand and navigate. The snapshot also provides an important starting point from which to begin to think about classrooms as potential sites of resistance and possibility for equity and justice, where young people are encouraged to actively and critically engage in the broader social world.

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A snapshot of contemporary teacher practice Since the late 1990s, US-based research around ‘authentic pedagogy’ has had a considerable impact on school reform in Australia. The work of Newmann and associates (1996), in particular, has informed many research studies into the potential of pedagogical reform to improve student outcomes (see, for example, Hayes et al. 2006; Ladwig et al. 2007). Models of pedagogy, such as the Productive Pedagogies framework in Queensland and the Quality Teaching model in New South Wales, focus on the core principles of authentic pedagogy — principally in-depth understanding, real-world connection and substantive communication. Many models are currently being drawn on in Australia to help teachers to plan and support student learning. Some of these models are focused predominantly on cognition processes within a constructivist approach such as the Dimensions of Learning framework, while others are more broadly focused on the social context within which learners are situated. Whatever framework teachers might use, it is generally agreed that optimum learning can be achieved when teaching: r challenges students intellectually and fosters their deep understanding r encourages questioning about how knowledge is constructed r allows opportunities for conversation and dialogue r connects with students’ lives and aspirations and the world beyond the classroom r is conducted in a supportive and inclusive environment that encourages self-direction and autonomy r recognises and values difference and diversity.

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Unfortunately, the findings of much research into the quality of teaching in Australian classrooms (for example, Hayes et al. 2006; Mills et al. 2017) confirm that these sorts of optimum learning conditions are not widespread. Generally, classroom practice is seen to lack in terms of: r engaging students in higher order thinking, substantive dialogue and the questioning of knowledge r making connections between learning and students’ background knowledge and the world beyond the classroom r supporting student choice and direction of learning activities r valuing and working with cultural difference and promoting active citizenship. According to this research, classrooms also tend to reflect managerial, rather than pedagogical, concerns with an overemphasis on basic skills. This is understandable given the broader and rising testing demands and curriculum recommendations that focus on these skills (we explore these demands more later in the chapter). On a more positive note, however, classrooms generally reflect high levels of supportiveness and a strong concern for developing positive student–teacher relationships. This research also detects variations in the quality of pedagogies across year levels, with significantly higher levels of quality pedagogy observed in the primary years and a clear decline in the quality of pedagogies observed in Year 8. Such disparities are associated, in the main, with the emphasis on integrated curricula in the primary years and the high-quality teaching such curricula tend to generate. Another key finding of these studies is the lack of access to, and integration of, information and communication technologies or digital pedagogies in most classrooms (see also Carrington 2006). Such findings are a concern given the educational goals that aim to support the development of students’ enterprise skills, technical expertise and entrepreneurial behaviour, and their appreciation of and respect for social and cultural diversity. Despite progressive policy and initiatives aimed at changing schools to better reflect wider social change, these findings reiterate that schools are generally not preparing students well for new times; indeed, many of our schools and classrooms continue to reflect the cultural and schooling experiences of the past. These findings are at odds with the progressive view of education framing this chapter, especially in terms of the role of education in supporting young people’s critical engagement within the broader social world. Of particular concern, this research observes consistently poor practice in relation to teachers valuing and working with difference in their classrooms and little evidence of teachers promoting active citizenship. In terms of equity, the focus is generally restricted to improving academic outcomes rather than associated with cultural equity and justice.

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Attempting to address inequity through education While improving academic outcomes is a matter of equity, and should be a central focus of all teachers’ work, educational research has long expressed concerns about the ways in which such a focus can sideline the social and moral purposes of schooling (Apple 2005, 2012). Many have argued, consistent with the opening case that begins this chapter, that education should be focused on more than just the basics. As reflected in the ‘equity and excellence’ platform of the Melbourne Declaration, education should focus on both private and public goals. Private goals are about: 1. social efficiency (i.e. preparing young people to be competent and productive workers) and 2. social mobility (i.e. providing individuals with a credential that will advantage them in the competition for desirable social positions) (Cranston et al. 2010). Public goals are about: 1. democratic quality (i.e. preparing all young people to be active and competent citizens) (Cranston et al. 2010) and 2. equity (i.e. challenging and transforming the injustices of the existing status quo towards the betterment of society) (Giroux 2003). Schools are microcosms of the broader social world and thus tend to reflect and reproduce its inequities. In Australia, it is still the case that your postcode is the most accurate predictor of your education and 590

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future life success. Education determines employment credentialing and students’ subsequent access to the labour market. In terms of preparing students for this access, the benefits of education do not accrue equally to all. Those who are class disadvantaged tend to remain so, while those who are class privileged also tend to remain so. This disadvantage and the cycle of poverty it leads to are amplified if you are Indigenous. As we have mentioned, there have been many attempts to address inequities in education through various policies and practices. Many of these attempts have focused on economic disadvantage and have involved the allocation of extra funding and resources to students on the basis of economic need to support increased school participation and achievement. In Australia, for example, the Disadvantaged Schools Program, instituted by the federal government in 1972, allocated additional funds to schools on the basis of students’ socio-economic deprivation — lessening some of the negative impacts of poverty on students’ educational outcomes. Similar efforts to more equitably distribute resources are evident in the National Partnership Scheme in Australia and the Gonski reforms, with funding allocated to schools on the basis of their location within low socio-economic communities. While these initiatives focus on economic disadvantage, others have focused more on cultural and political disadvantage. The underperformance of racial minorities (especially Indigenous students) in Western education contexts like Australia has highlighted how these contexts tend to privilege white and middle-class knowledge, practice and voices. Most schools across the globe not only privilege this knowledge (i.e. through what is taught and valued within the curriculum) and practice (i.e. through particular pedagogic and assessment regimes), but, in contexts like Australia, they also tend to be overwhelmingly populated by white, middle-class teachers and students. There has been long-held concern about how such contexts can undermine the recognition and autonomy of students whose racialised identities are ‘other’ to the mainstream. In Australia, for example, the under-representation of Indigenous teachers (at less than 1 per cent of all teachers) is seen to be a contributing factor to the poor academic performance of Indigenous students and their low levels of school retention (relative to their non-Indigenous counterparts). Since the 1970s there have been many education policies that have attempted to remedy the cultural exclusivity or ‘whiteness’ of mainstream Australian schooling with the aim of supporting a more inclusive and productive education experience for Indigenous students. While early policies (i.e. before 1970) tended to reflect colonialist and ethnocentric notions of race and culture, more recently we have seen a consultative policy approach towards achieving this aim (see Burridge & Chodkiewicz 2012). Significant here, as Burridge and Chodkiewicz (2012, p. 20) point out, is a whole-school approach that: (a) values Indigenous cultural heritages, (b) works in ways that are collaborative and inclusive of local Indigenous communities, and (c) connects with and values what Indigenous students bring to the school and classroom. This approach is reflected in key national and state policy. We have already mentioned the Melbourne Declaration (MCEETYA 2008) and its commitment to improve the education outcomes of Indigenous students. Significant here is a focus on cultural inclusion and, in particular, educating for greater understanding and valuing of Indigenous histories and cultures. Such a focus is prioritised in the Australian Curriculum, which includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures as one of the three cross-curriculum priorities to support the integration of culturally inclusive content across relevant learning areas. (see ACARA 2011). It is also prioritised in various state curriculum guides, such as Queensland’s EATSIPS (Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools) framework (Queensland Government 2011). This guide is a tool to help schools build long-lasting, meaningful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional and contemporary cultures. It uses a framework that: r defines Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives r promotes an Indigenous standpoint that challenges and supports existing structures r focuses on professional reflection, planning and practices around four components: professional and personal accountability; community engagement; organisational environment; and curriculum and pedagogy CHAPTER 16 The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change

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r provides tools for schools to engage with Indigenous community members in a meaningful way (see Queensland Government 2011, p. 13). Other policies aimed at fostering greater cultural awareness and understanding of Indigenous issues have focused on increasing the number of Indigenous teachers in Australian schools. This is important not only as a means of providing Indigenous students with positive role-models, but also to increase cultural diversity within an overwhelmingly ‘white’, Western and middle-class teaching profession (Australian Government 2008). WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Think about the school you went to. Did it privilege white, Western and middle-class knowledge and practice? How? Think about the following aspects of your school, and schools more broadly, and ask yourself what messages are being conveyed: r School type: there are a multitude of different sorts of schools (independent, faith-based, government, alternative etc.). What factors contribute to schools being seen as prestigious? Who tends to go to these schools? What is the message here in terms of what is valued/de-valued? r Teachers: Describe the teaching profession in terms of gender, race, religion and class. Think also about teaching areas and managerial responsibilities. What is the message here about what is valued/ de-valued? r Teacher practice: How might teachers unknowingly reproduce their own biases (e.g. about gender, race, religion and class) through the curriculum or through their informal relations with students? Can you think of any examples?

16.4 The broader social change context LEARNING OBJECTIVE 16.4 Understand some of the broader social trends that shape contemporary teacher practice and constrain the quality of pedagogy in schools.

The current realities of classroom practice cannot be fully understood without acknowledging their situation within the broader social change context — a context that, in many ways, has worked against teachers’ efforts towards progressive practice. In particular, progressive practice continues to be stifled through broader global and national political–economic trends, which have narrowed school priorities.

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Political–economic trends impacting on schools The forces of economic globalisation, underpinned by the ideals of neoliberalism, have had a major impact on public institutions such as schools. Briefly, neoliberalism equates improved human wellbeing with wealth accumulation and understands this wellbeing as best advanced through the market forces of economic efficiency, competition and consumer choice (Harvey 2005). In terms of government policy, neoliberal reform has focused on liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms towards encouraging private wealth and personal responsibility. The public good is seen as best served by the market’s efficient distribution of resources according to consumer effort and demand, rather than through state intervention and social welfare policy. Such state intervention is seen as interfering with the inherent fairness of the market and thus is opposed under neoliberal ideals. The era of neoliberalisation (from the 1980s to the present day) has witnessed a decline in social welfare policy with the privatisation and deregulation of social services. This has involved transferring social services, such as those associated with education, from the public sector (government) to the private sector (business) and consequently a reduction in government intervention and regulation of such services. For education, such processes have led to an increasing emphasis on markets to drive education systems and provisions. For example, the marketisation of schooling towards ideals of consumer choice in education has led to reduced centralised (i.e. government) funding for education systems; a disproportionate amount of federal funding 592

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being distributed to private schools; greater accountability and compliance attached to funding for public schools; and increased user pays schemes for public education (Apple 2005). Even within the context of redistributive needs-based funding to schools in Australia (e.g. through reforms such as Gonski), the distribution of resources under these ideologies has meant public schools must do more with less.

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A narrowing of equity priorities These ideologies have shifted schooling priorities from the notion of education as a public good (i.e. focused on democratic quality and citizenship goals) to more of a private good (i.e. focused on social efficiency and social mobility). This has strengthened the relationship between education and capitalism and a vision of students as human capital. Towards ensuring students’ capacities to contribute productively to the competitive global economy, this has led to educational reform that focuses on education for employment and involves greater emphasis on higher academic standards and more rigorous testing (Apple 2005). These trends have rearticulated the priorities of schools and their systems of management as well as understandings of what constitutes quality schooling. Evidence of school and school system effectiveness is now associated with test scores, whether they be in relation to PISA, TIMMS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) or PIRLS (Progress in Reading Literacy Study) at an international level or NAPLAN (National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy) at a national level. These are key mechanisms of public accountability that are part of the standards and audit culture in education — a culture that draws on business-derived concepts of measurement and evaluation to quantify, compare and rank schools nationally and internationally. This culture is exemplified in Australia with the MySchool website where NAPLAN test results for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are presented and where schools are compared with and ranked against ‘like’ schools. Such mechanisms have been effective in providing a broad picture of school performance. In relation to equity, they have had some positive effects in drawing attention to areas of need (e.g. particular groups of underperforming students in particular schools) and targeting resources to these areas. These mechanisms have also produced many negative effects and much criticism for the way they construct student success along fixed and narrow lines; delimit curriculum to focus on a narrow range of tested subjects; degrade pedagogy to a limited focus on instructional and rote learning; and reduce school and teacher value to their capacities to drive up student achievement on tests. Stephen Ball (2003) goes so far as to suggest that for teachers the high stakes of the standards and audit culture have produced a sense of ‘terror’. The astounding array of ‘excellence’ indicators and measures currently imposed on teachers is, he argues, amplifying their fear, anxiety and self-doubt. The standards and audit culture has encouraged a prioritising of management and basic skills over quality pedagogy and longer-term student learning. It has promoted a superficial performance approach to learning; a de-professionalisation and mistrust of teachers and their practice; and a blaming and exclusion of underachieving students and their families. These circumstances tend not to be conducive to a socially critical pedagogy that teaches about the values of democracy, equity and justice. Recognising these broader pressures on schools and teachers helps to better understand the current realities of classroom practice (as outlined earlier). Such pressures work against teachers’ efforts for a progressive practice that supports students’ active and critical engagement with the broader world. Indeed, they encourage a focus on prescriptive, superficial and disconnected learning, teacher-directed classrooms and the reduction of equity concerns to improving academic (i.e. literacy and numeracy) outcomes. Such pressures encourage a conservative approach to education that is counter to the equity and citizenship mandates of broader education policy (MCEETYA 2008). They also encourage a ‘banking concept’ of schooling (Freire 1993) where teachers are positioned with authority and power; where selective knowledge is legitimised and transmitted; and where students are positioned as lacking. Recognising these broader pressures also sheds some light on why low-level pedagogies persist in so many contemporary classrooms despite many progressive educational reforms and initiatives. Socially critical pedagogy is non-prescriptive and draws on complex theorising and knowledge of social identity, the social world, teaching and schooling. Such pedagogies have been resisted in schools because they invariably require challenging and changing teachers’ political ideologies, personal beliefs and CHAPTER 16 The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change

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fundamental aspects of their practice. In a climate where school success is equated with academic performance on selective indicators, and where the broader social change context has produced ever more complex and increasing demands on teachers’ work lives, such pedagogies are unappealing to schools. Moreover, teachers often express negative attitudes towards complex theory — for many teachers it continues to be the case, as education commentator Andy Hargreaves (1984) has indicated, that experience counts, theory doesn’t. Furthermore, many of these ideas are uncomfortable for many people, including many teachers. None of us really enjoys having our deeply held and sometimes subconscious beliefs about ourselves, our world and our work challenged to such an extent. Yet that is what it will involve if teachers and schools are to make any real contribution towards a genuinely socially just society. One of the factors undermining schools’ equity priorities, as this chapter has already discussed, is the increased demand on teachers to be accountable to external measures of their students’ academic performance. Accountability is nevertheless a necessary and important part of education. However, there are different forms of accountability: professional models of accountability tend to be based on trust, expertise and responsibility, whereas external measures tend to undermine teachers’ sense of professional and personal accountability. Although many of the broader pressures detailed in this chapter have compromised the justice and equity goals of schooling, many schools and teachers are making a difference towards enhancing these goals. It is well established that quality pedagogy, curriculum and school leadership can make a difference in this respect, as the following section brings to light.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

List the ways in which teachers are currently held accountable to (1) the state, (2) the school, (3) parents, (4) students and (5) themselves. r What are the advantages and disadvantages involved in such forms of accountability? r What forms of accountability do you think are most effective and productive? r How might such measures undermine teacher professionalism? r How might such measures support teacher professionalism?

16.5 Teachers making a difference LEARNING OBJECTIVE 16.5 Articulate some of the ways in which teachers’ socially critical pedagogy can make a difference in terms of enhancing equity outcomes.

Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it. Marian Wright Edelman A teacher affects eternity; he [sic] can never tell where his influence stops. Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

Henry B Adams

There are many ways in which teachers and schools can support the goals of democracy, equity and justice. It is important, however, not to overstate the role schools can play in creating positive social change. Schools are not a panacea for all social ills and cannot alone compensate for the inequities of society, especially in relation to circumstances of poverty. Efforts to support equity in schools must then be accompanied by complementary social policies seeking to overcome poverty and inequality. It is important, therefore, to acknowledge how broader factors such as student background impact on learning outcomes. Nevertheless, it is clear that classroom practices can mediate these factors to enhance the educational outcomes of all students.

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Towards supporting students’ development of the skills and capacities necessary to productively engage in the world of the future, this section focuses in particular on critical and socially just pedagogy: pedagogies that promote intellectual engagement, connect with students’ lives, take place in socially supportive environments and value and work with difference (Hayes et al. 2006; Lingard & Keddie 2013). The section also articulates the kind of teacher necessary for enabling such pedagogies: teachers who recognise the political nature of teaching and the importance of linking pedagogy to social change; who understand and challenge the ways in which economic and cultural injustices are constructed and perpetuated within the social world; and who critically reflect on the ways in which their own personal/political understandings impact on their practice in terms of justice and equity outcomes (Giroux 2003). Such ways of teaching support the citizenship goals of the Melbourne Declaration outlined earlier in relation to the expectation that teachers will nurture and inspire active, responsible and informed global citizens.

Teacher practice: critical and socially just pedagogy

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As noted earlier, there are key pedagogical considerations that will support optimum conditions for learning and the progressive view of education and teaching promoted in this chapter. Such conditions: r challenge students intellectually and foster their deep understanding r encourage questioning about how knowledge is constructed r allow opportunities for conversation and dialogue r connect with students’ lives and aspirations and the world beyond the classroom r are supportive and inclusive, and encourage self-direction and autonomy r recognise and value difference and diversity. These conditions provide a strong framework for teachers in their efforts to develop critical and socially just pedagogies. Challenging students intellectually, fostering their deep understanding and encouraging questioning about knowledge construction, for example, are important because they facilitate students’ exploration of multiple perspectives and realities. These conditions help students to think about the social structures and relations that construct knowledge and to realise that knowledge construction is far from an objective process. These conditions help students to recognise and challenge the power inequities that privilege particular ways of knowing and being while marginalising others. Connecting with students is also an important condition for developing effective critical pedagogies. This condition fosters meaningful learning because the issues explored are relevant to students’ lives and aspirations as well as the world beyond the classroom. The condition of supportive and inclusive relations where learning is self-directed and autonomous is also important in students meaningfully engaging in critical learning. As much of the values education literature argues, students are more likely to engage with value-related content in meaningful and open ways when teacher–student relations are mutually respectful and when they are scaffolded and guided to learn, rather than directed to think, in particular ways. Finally, the condition of recognising and valuing difference and diversity is key to critical pedagogy because there is a focus on validating knowledge and identities that are traditionally marginalised or silenced. The following vignette (summarised from Keddie & Mills 2007) provides an example of these conditions.

Ross’s story Ross is a religious studies teacher at a prestigious single-sex Catholic school for boys from Years 5 to 12. The school caters to students who are generally from white, affluent and Catholic backgrounds. Given what Ross describes as the school’s ‘mono-cultural’ and ‘privileged’ environment, he has shaped his teaching around broadening students’ understandings and appreciation of class and cultural diversity.

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Ross is concerned about the boys’ sense of elitism, materialism and Anglo-centrism, and thus expresses the importance of encouraging his students to learn to see and challenge their own ‘privilege’ and to ‘think from another angle’. Such concerns inform his commitment to facilitate his students’ capacities to question and think critically about issues of identity and power to be more inclusive of difference and diversity. He sees such skills as particularly important in a day and age where dominant Anglo-Australian views distort political and religious issues in ways that endorse inequitable understandings of marginalised groups. He supports students’ development of these skills through the practices of critical literacy and, in particular, highlighting knowledge construction as problematic; foregrounding the ‘missing voice’; and encouraging debate and dialogue to support students to ‘think from the unspoken person’. For example, in response to some boys’ expressing anti-Muslim views in his class, Ross developed a series of lessons to examine issues of race and religion to explore relations of power and the representation of Muslims in the media. In these lessons Ross used the television programs Media Watch and Today/Tonight to demonstrate the power of the media to legitimise discriminatory views about Muslims. For example, he showed a Media Watch program that highlighted how a Today/Tonight story about Muslims and issues of assimilation into ‘Australian culture’ had been edited to present Muslims in a negative light. This opened up conversation and debate about the racial and religious power inequities behind such representations and how they serve particular interests that, in this case, affirmed and re-inscribed the ‘status quo’ of inequitable race and religious relations in Australia. Ross also attempted to broaden his students’ understandings about marginalised groups through supporting critical learning experiences beyond the school setting. Within particular community contexts, Ross supported his students to examine and question stereotypical assumptions about minority groups (e.g. Indigenous peoples and individuals with mental illness). As part of a broader program of community service that he runs at the school, this involved the boys working with and getting to know people from marginalised backgrounds through their involvement in various community service programs. The purposes of this task were to challenge narrow views and stereotypes and to mobilise the students’ collective political consciousness and agency with their broader social world.

Such learning experiences reflect the notion of schools as sites of contestation, resistance and possibility for social change. This is only one brief snapshot of teacher practice, but it does illustrate how learning can be structured to challenge inequitable relations of privilege and marginalisation; legitimise the voices and experiences of non-dominant groups; scaffold learning that is engaging and allows for student autonomy; and connect with the histories that students bring to the classroom. Importantly, in relation to issues of connectedness, Ross takes a critical justice approach in his choice to examine the discrimination against economically and culturally marginalised groups. In this respect, he connects with the boys’ realities/lives (e.g. their anti-Muslim views), but seeks to challenge and change, rather than accept, their narrow views. Such an approach, importantly, moves connectedness beyond the parochial to deal educationally, as Luke (2004, p. 1439) argues, ‘with cultural “others”’, with the kinds of transnational and local diversity that are now ‘a matter of course’ in classrooms and schools. This is in contrast to the more common forms of connectedness and social support in classrooms that tend to tap into and thus collude with stereotypical and superficial understandings of student culture to engage and motivate learners. For example, popular culture is often used to connect with and support adolescent learners, which, if used uncritically, can re-inscribe highly negative and antisocial understandings. So, just what do teachers need to know and understand in order to operate in such ways?

Teacher threshold knowledge The conditions outlined earlier are a useful guide for teachers to critically reflect on and improve their practice. They provide pedagogical knowledge to facilitate equitable and just practice. However, working to support social justice through these conditions requires a particular kind of teacher. Teaching is, of course, a political act: it regulates student identities and produces particular versions of classroom reality that make more possible some ways of being and not others (Davies 1993). As is clear from Ross’s story, 596

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for example, his assumptions, knowledge and understandings about equity and difference influenced what justice issues he chose to address, why he chose them and how he addressed them. Such teaching is explicit in its recognition and challenging of the social patterns and structures that produce broader injustices. According to Fraser (2009), injustice in society arises from three dimensions: 1. economic — where some individuals or groups are marginalised on the basis of inequitable economic structures (e.g. Indigenous and ethnic minority groups in Australia, through lack of opportunity and access to resources, suffer high levels of economic disadvantage) 2. cultural — where some individuals or groups are marginalised through social practices that dominate, devalue and disrespect their cultural identities (e.g. women, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, allied (LGBTQIA) community, Indigenous Australians and religious minorities, such as Muslims, tend to be trivialised or maligned in social discourses, which reflects cultural injustice) 3. political — where some individuals or groups are not accorded a voice in decision making about their lives (e.g. Indigenous and ethnic minority groups, women, the LGBTQIA and disabled communities are not well represented in the political/public sphere, they thus are vulnerable to political injustice). Schools, as microcosms of society, reflect and re-inscribe these injustices. For example, economic disadvantage is perpetuated in schools through racialised and gendered curriculum pathways that circumscribe future employment prospects and opportunities; cultural disadvantage is perpetuated through the high prevalence of racism, sexism and homophobia in schools and through the different levels of value and respect ascribed to particular learning areas and activities; and political disadvantage is perpetuated through schooling structures that deny autonomy for particular groups. Teachers’ identification and challenging of particular social patterns and structures will, as Ross’s story illustrated, be shaped by their recognition of difference. For Ross, issues of religious difference and marginalisation were salient in his context and shaped his recognition and addressing of discrimination against Muslims. Such recognition is justified because Muslims, as a religious minority, are subject to cultural and political marginalisation in Australia and other Western contexts on the basis of their religion. Challenging this discrimination towards greater social cohesion, it is thus equitable and just to allocate educational resources to remedying this. Ross’s example highlights the imperative of teachers adopting a critical theory of recognition — so that claims for recognition that advance the pursuit of social equity are identified (Fraser 1997). For instance, it would not be equitable or just to allocate educational resources to boys as a group on the false but popular premise that boys are educationally disadvantaged — because boys as a group do not suffer economic, cultural or political disadvantage on the basis of their gender. It is, however, socially just to allocate educational resources to groups of boys and girls who are genuinely disadvantaged through, for example, circumstances of poverty or Indigeneity — as these circumstances do lead to disadvantage. There are thus tensions in terms of supporting diversities within schools when such diversities conflict with social justice principles. The following vignette provides a practical example of these tensions (summarised from Keddie & Mills 2007).

Brad’s story Brad is a young modern history and English teacher at a large state high school in a small and prosperous rural community. He is responsible for addressing discipline issues at the school and is highly regarded by the staff for his success in addressing boys’ disruptive behaviours. Brad’s philosophy about quality teaching is about developing positive relationships and connections with students, but he admits that he finds it easier to connect with boys than girls. Brad believes he has earned the boys’ respect and attributes this to his involvement in activities like boxing and his efforts to ‘spend as much time out in the playground’ as he can having ‘a yarn’ with the boys. To these ends, his teaching practice is explicit in its connection

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with boys’ interests. For example, in attempting to engage a particularly disruptive Year 12 boy, Brad went ‘pig-chasing’ with him, which had a ‘massive transfer’ in the classroom in this boy ‘toeing the line’ for him. Other attempts to engage disruptive boys involved spending time in class talking about cars and a celebration reward system to encourage reading that offered rewards designed to ‘appeal to the boys’. For Brad the strategic use of humour is an important part of his building positive relationships with boys and managing their behaviour. For example, Brad finds that a well-chosen and well-directed sarcastic remark that ‘cuts them down to size’ is effective — it demonstrates to the boys that you can ‘hold your own’ in a ‘battle of wits’ because boys see resorting to external measures for behaviour management as ‘weakness’, ‘a cop out — like you can’t stand up for yourself’.

Brad’s approach reflects quality pedagogy in terms of connectedness (i.e. connecting with the backgrounds and interests of students) and social support (i.e. in terms of developing positive and mutually respectful teacher–student relationships). However, in contrast with the approach adopted by Ross, it does not reflect a critical theory of recognition towards teaching for equity and justice. In particular, Brad’s ‘boy-friendly’ approach draws on stereotypical beliefs and assumptions about boys that homogenise their behaviours, motivations and interests as similar and promote a particular version of dominant masculinity. Such an approach, while clearly effective in Brad’s case in developing positive relationships with some of the boys he teaches, fails to acknowledge gender diversity; affirms limited notions of gender; and plays into, and legitimises, broader inequitable relations of gender and power. Unproblematically giving space to ‘blokey’ pursuits and blokey ‘rewards’ ignores and, by implication, affirms the inequitable cultures that accompany such pursuits and activities. His approach is also likely to exclude and alienate many female students, as well as those boys who are not interested in, or who do not measure up to, the masculinity valorised in such pursuits. Brad’s views about boys and relations of control and domination also align with stereotypical beliefs about boys and their behaviour. Here he talks about the importance of showing boys that he can ‘hold his own’, win in a ‘battle of wits’ and ‘cut them down to size’ — associating successful masculinity with power and strength and unsuccessful masculinity with ‘weakness’ and ‘copping out’. In this sense, Brad’s ways of connecting with and supporting the boys, through re-inscribing these stereotypes, compromise equity and justice principles. What the Ross and Brad vignettes demonstrate is the importance of teacher threshold knowledge about justice and equity. It seems that Ross recognises the political nature of his teaching; is aware of how he can translate his understandings of justice and equity into connected and inclusive critical pedagogies; and adopts a critical theory of recognition in valuing and working with claims for recognition that advance the cause of social equity. Moreover, his recognition of difference engages with locally relevant but transnational concerns. Brad, on the other hand, while adopting connected and inclusive pedagogies for boys, seems not to recognise the ways in which his teaching might undermine the cause of equity. He fails to adopt a critical theory of recognition that might, for example, address non-dominant gender constructions. Furthermore, his recognition of difference remains local and parochial (Luke 2004). A lack of such knowledge and practice leads to teachers either stereotyping group difference uncritically, as indicated with Brad’s story, or avoiding addressing issues of difference altogether out of fear of getting it wrong. Either approach compromises schools’ promotion of equity. Socially critical pedagogy, together with particular threshold knowledge about such issues, can provide a framework to support critical reflection in terms of: r reshaping future practice r enhancing professional self-determination and judgement r enhancing the processes of professional learning, renewal and integrity. It is important for teachers to critically reflect on their political ideologies and personal beliefs about issues such as equity and justice and their implications for practice. As highlighted in this section, such 598

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reflection is imperative towards enhancing educational outcomes. The following questions are designed to stimulate your thoughts in this regard. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

List as many identity groups as you can think of (e.g. girls, boys, Indigenous peoples, disabled people, the LGBTQIA community, atheists, Christians, Muslims, bogans, gingers, smokers, footballers, ballet dancers — be as creative as you like). Go through each group and decide which ones suffer injustice and on what basis. Ask yourself: does this group suffer economic disadvantage? Cultural disadvantage? Political disadvantage? In what ways and why? Place your groups in three justice columns (economic, cultural and political) — some groups may be mentioned in more than one column. Now think of the complexities that this exercise brings to light. Are there members within these groups who suffer more disadvantages than others? On what basis (e.g. someone who identifies with multiple oppressed groups such as an Indigenous woman who is disabled and same-sex attracted)? Think about the ways in which schools ignore or silence students who are members of the groups you have identified as suffering economic, cultural and/or political injustice. Can you provide a few examples? Think about the ways in which schools support students who are members of the groups you have identified as suffering economic, cultural and/or political injustice. Can you provide a few examples? Think about your own personal biases in all of this — do you think that some members of marginalised groups are more deserving of support than others? Why? What do you attribute your bias to? What do others think? How might these biases impact on your teaching and your relationships with students?

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Like the media example in Ross’s story, there are many really interesting and engaging ways that you can support students to ‘think from another angle’. The main point of critical pedagogy is to support learners to broaden their understandings and perspectives in relation to the way they see themselves and think of others. Often this will be done by providing counter-narratives to dominant ‘truths’. Jot down some ideas in groups or individually about some ideas and activities that will support students to challenge and provide nuance to some of today’s dominant truths, such as: r boys are naturally disposed to physical activity r girls are naturally disposed to deference and passivity r Islam supports terrorism r Islam oppresses women r Sharia law is un-Australian r homosexuality is abnormal r there is an authentic Indigenous culture r there is an authentic Australian culture. When thinking about counter-narratives, it is important to guard against ‘reverse’ binary thinking where the ‘other’ (i.e. the marginalised group) is simplistically recognised or valued on the basis of its marginality. It is important to recognise that both privileged and marginalised truths or knowledge can be problematic and oppressive. An important starting point for teachers may lie in awareness of the nature of how they tend to view the world themselves. All of us have inherent assumptions that underpin, usually unconsciously, how we react and respond to ideas, events and other people. Being able to identify the things we take for granted as ‘right’, and then to be able to question this unchallenged ‘rightness’ is a key prerequisite for a teacher’s professional thinking.

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16.6 Supporting equity and justice: a whole-school approach

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE 16.6 Identify schooling processes that can support high-quality pedagogy towards enhanced equity outcomes.

A generation ago the typical understanding of a teacher at work would have featured a lone adult working solo with up to 30 young people in a traditional classroom. Now the reality is very different, even if the stereotypical image is still the same in the minds of many. Contemporary teachers work together in groups and teams for much of their working week — and their work involves a range of tasks and contexts that extend well beyond single classrooms. So it is at the whole-school level that teachers’ efforts to promote equitable outcomes and social justice are either assisted or obstructed. Progressive classroom practice requires more than teachers changing their practice; it also necessitates school and system support. As Hayes et al. (2006) argue, the development of the kinds of teacher practices that make a difference requires the support of both school communities and the systems within which these schools are situated. There are particular characteristics within schools and systems that both constrain and enable teachers’ progressive practice. We have already detailed some of the broader social trends that have re-articulated priorities at the school and system level to constrain teacher practice; for example, the narrowing of school priorities to a focus on selective academic outcomes and intrusive accountability measures. There are, conversely, key structures and practices within school communities that support progressive practice. The whole-school approach outlined in the EATSIPS guide referred to earlier (Queensland Government 2011) provides an excellent example of such enabling structures and practices. In this framework, there are four action areas that are identified as key to embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives to the level where Indigenous perspectives become an integral part of a school’s philosophies and practice. Underpinned by two reflective attributes (personal histories and attitudes and perceptions), these areas are: (1) professional and personal accountabilities; (2) community engagement; (3) organisational environment; and (4) curriculum and pedagogy (illustrated in figure 16.1). In this chapter, we have focused predominantly on the areas of curriculum and pedagogy, as well as professional and personal accountabilities in relation to how they might support or undermine equity and social justice in schools and classrooms. Consistent with the EATSIPS guide, we have highlighted how social justice issues can be embedded within curriculum and pedagogy and are shaped by personal histories, attitudes and perceptions (e.g. in Ross’s and Brad’s stories). We have highlighted that while there are professional accountabilities that teachers and schools are subject to in terms of national and state equity policy, this does not necessarily lead to a sense of personal accountability for pursuing equity. Developing personal accountability, as indicated in the EATSIPS guide, requires that teachers critically reflect on their identities and social histories (e.g. their social and cultural baggage) in terms of how they shape their equity work. The examples and exercises throughout this chapter support you to do this critical reflection in relation to a whole range of identity relations and issues. Two areas not focused on in this chapter, but which are equally important to supporting a wholeschool approach to equity and justice, are a school’s organisational environment and its engagement with the community (Queensland Government 2011). In relation to school organisation, factors such as school leadership and management, school values, staffing, resourcing and physical environment, are significant in shaping how a framework like EATSIPS (or any progressive initiative) will be taken up. Important here, for example, is a coherent and inclusive vision and set of values for action and change and transparent and participatory processes for decision-making and modes of communication, active recruitment and provision for staff diversity and professional learning (e.g. for Indigenous staff) and creating a sense of place and belonging for all (especially those from non-dominant groups). Important factors to consider in relation to community engagement are devising processes and practices within and beyond the school for different groups to work together towards common equity goals in sustainable, mutually beneficial and 600

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contextually relevant ways. Such engagement is productive when personal relationships are fostered and there is a reciprocal relationship between school and community (Queensland Government 2011). In a practical sense, this may involve schools liaising with social service/community agencies and include, for instance, specialised counselling and therapy services, housing assistance, childcare services and other community/social outreach services. For many disadvantaged or ‘at-risk’ students this support is imperative to their school retention, participation and achievement, and reflects long-term benefits in relation to improved future social and economic welfare (Malin & Maidment 2003). FIGURE 16.1

Whole-school approach for embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives

Per ce

s& de

ions pt

Att itu

Professional and personal accountabilities

Community engagement rs

on

al

or

Pe

ie s

Organisational environment

His

t

Curriculum and pedagogy

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WHAT CAN I TAKE INTO THE CLASSROOM?

Equity issues and priorities are context dependent, i.e. they differ depending on the demographics and context of a particular school. From a web search, list the different schools in your area. From this search get a sense of each school’s climate, its ethos, its academic performance and its social focus. Try to find mention of any special support structures that the school provides to its students. What are they? Who do they target? What are they focused on supporting (e.g. are they focused on supporting better academic outcomes? Are they focused on supporting ESL language learning? Are they focused on supporting respectful relationships?) Do these schools offer any specialised support (e.g. for refugee students who have experienced trauma? For homeless students? For young parents?). Is there any association you can make between type of school, type of learner and the type of support? Do you see any issues or problems in how learners are being or not being supported? What do you think of the idea of alternative schooling and the reality that some alternative schools are ‘idealistic havens’, while others are ‘dumping grounds’ (Kim 2011).

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Relationships at the core of teachers’ work

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While much of this chapter has been about how much things change, and while we have tried to acknowledge the complexity and paradoxical nature of contemporary teachers’ work, the following key issues remain. r The quality of the teacher and of the teaching are key factors in determining the level and quality of student learning. r Ongoing professional learning is a critical part of the capacity for teachers to become and remain the sort of teachers they really want to be — teachers who make a real difference in their students’ lives. r The quality of relationships with colleagues, students, their parents and the local community will be critical in determining the extent of the contribution teachers are able to make to their students. In this sense, it might be said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This somewhat clich´ed truism should help us to understand that, no matter what changes in education the future holds, the establishment and maintenance of high-quality positive relationships is perhaps one of the most crucial must-have capacities in the makeup of the twenty-first century teacher. Underpinning the establishment and maintenance of positive relationships are certain ways of thinking. These frame teacher practice in all situations. They include: r a belief in the value of education r a belief that all students can be successful learners r an openness to the views, knowledge and perspectives of others r a genuine respect for students, regardless of age, gender, background or apparent ability r a commitment to social equity and justice r a positive, upbeat attitude and demeanour r excitement at the prospect of the pursuit of learning for self and others r a desire to lead, rather than a need to control r a global perspective tied to the future, rather than a parochial perspective grounded in the past. These ways of thinking may come more easily to some teachers than to others, but we believe that they can be learned or acquired — most readily through reflection and practice.

The establishment and maintenance of high-quality positive relationships is perhaps one of the most crucial capacities in the make-up of the twenty-first century teacher.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ME?

Here is a brief exercise to think about as you continue on the journey towards becoming the sort of teacher you would really like to be. r Think back carefully over your experiences as a student at school and come up with an answer to the question, ‘Who was the best teacher you ever had?’ r Write down their name. r Think a little more about them, and then answer the question, ‘What was it about this person and what they did in their work as a teacher that led you to see them as your best teacher ever?’ r Write down your answers. Now analyse these qualities and characteristics. Our bet is that they will overwhelmingly reflect relationship issues — this teacher will have taken a genuine interest in you and/or your learning; they will have been consistent and fair; and they will have been encouraging, helpful and approachable. They may well have been knowledgeable and a good classroom organiser or very skilled in a range of other technical areas too. But our money is on the relationship factors appearing first and more often — try it with your friends just to see if we are right. What does this tell you about the sort of teacher you are going to be?

INSIGHTS IN EDUCATION

I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. All reforms which rest simply upon the law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile . . . But through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with definiteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move . . . Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art conceivable in human experience. John Dewey (My pedagogic creed, 1897) Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world. Paulo Freire (2000)

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What sort of teacher are you going to be?

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SUMMARY This chapter has been informed by a progressive view of education — one that has been a long-held hopeful vision, as the above insights from Dewey and Freire highlight. This view understands education as a ‘powerful weapon to change the world’ and ‘improve the lives of others’. This view of education, as argued in this chapter, understands that current schooling practices can improve to better prepare students for the increasing complexity, diversity and uncertainty of the future. Although broader educational trends and structures have done much to constrain teachers’ work, teachers and teaching can make a difference towards the goals of equity and justice that are embedded in national schooling policy in Australia. Supporting students’ development of the skills and capacities necessary to productively engage in the broader social change context, critical and socially just pedagogy promotes intellectual engagement, connects with students’ lives, is undertaken in socially supportive environments, and values and works with difference. To enable such practice, it is important that teachers understand the processes of schooling as political and their teaching as amenable to both re-inscribing and transforming broader social inequities. Teachers must draw on particular threshold knowledge about equity and justice and engage in regular critical reflection towards improving their practice. In terms of broader school structures, such ways of teaching are supported by productive democratic leadership, provision for ongoing teacher learning within professional learning communities and a holistic approach to supporting students that extends beyond the school.

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KEY TERMS apolitical schooling A view of schooling that assumes that school structures and practices are neutral and unbiased. conservative education An approach to education concerned with preserving existing, or restoring traditional, school structures and practices. cosmopolitan teacher A teacher who focuses beyond local or provincial concerns to critically engage with the global context. critical theory of recognition The recognition of claims that advance the pursuit of social equity, as opposed to those that undermine it. deregulation Reducing or removing government control. equity A concept concerned with, and committed to, fairness for all groups within a society. human capital The valuing of, and investment in, human capacities to perform labour of economic value. justice The pursuit of greater equity in terms of transforming the structures and practices that constitute economic, cultural and political injustice. knowledge economies Economies in which knowledge resources produce economic benefits and are as significant as other economic resources. They have arisen with advances in digital and communication technologies. marketisation of schooling A reduction of the state’s responsibility for schools based on the premise that schools will operate more efficiently in a deregulated environment driven by market forces. This has forced a corporatisation of schools where schools compete with each other for students and are increasingly being managed like businesses rather than as a social/public service. multicultural education The schooling practices that address issues of cultural diversity towards a greater appreciation and understanding of such diversity. neoliberalism An ideology that equates improved human wellbeing with wealth accumulation and understands this wellbeing as best advanced through the market forces of economic efficiency, competition and consumer choice. 604

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privatisation A process whereby government functions are transferred from the public sector (government) to the private sector (business). progressive education An approach to education that advocates student-centred, co-constructed and flexible teaching approaches and rejects traditional teacher-centred approaches such as rote learning and strict discipline. It facilitates broader social change by preparing young people to actively and critically engage in the broader social world. reflexive modernity A process of social development that is characteristic of a risk society (i.e. a society organised in response to risk, uncertainty and change). This process involves a reflexive/critical view of the systems and structures of modernisation (e.g. politics, science and religion). social activism Challenging existing patterns within the social world that are seen to be unjust and acting in ways to bring about change to those patterns to exhibit greater equity. socially critical pedagogy Pedagogy that aligns with a progressive view of education, supporting students’ active and critical engagement with the broader social world. standards and audit culture A culture that draws on business-derived concepts of measurement and evaluation to quantify, compare and rank schools nationally and internationally.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE 16.1

LO1

What understandings about equity underpin a conservative view of schooling? What understandings about equity underpin a progressive view of schooling? How do these perspectives differ and what are their broader social implications? 16.2

LO2

Find and briefly describe the current key schooling policies for Australia that address equity at the national level and at a state level relevant to you. Compare the main emphases within these policies in relation to the significance placed on equity and enhancing the social justice outcomes of schooling. 16.3

LO2, 3

Discuss the merits, disadvantages and implications of ranking schools on their performance on externally driven standardised tests (e.g. the national Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy tests) and publishing these results, as in the MySchool website. Consider this issue from the perspective of (a) principals, (b) teachers, (c) parents and (d) students. 16.4

LO4

In what ways are broader political–economic trends impacting on the private and public goals of schooling? How might these trends be affecting your understanding of the key purposes of your work as a teacher? Copyright © 2018. Wiley. All rights reserved.

16.5

LO5

Discuss the following scenarios from a socially critical perspective. How might these scenarios be addressed through pedagogy that supports students to think from another angle? (a) A group of boys in your class is engaging in hyper-masculine behaviours — they are sometimes physically aggressive with each other, they challenge teacher authority, they often engage in work avoidance and they truant together. (b) You are aware of some sexting going on in your class. Some of the boys are sending pornographic images to girls on their phones. (c) You are aware of a Facebook bullying campaign against one of the girls in your class. This girl appears to be struggling with her sexuality. CHAPTER 16 The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change

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(d) You are aware that one of the Muslim girls in your class is being harassed by other students in the school when walking home from school. Yesterday, one of them tried to rip her hijab from her head. (e) You are trying to engage students in learning about and respecting Indigenous culture, but some students are really resistant. Some of the students think that Indigenous people are undeserving of the welfare they receive. 16.6

LO6

How might broader schooling processes (e.g. the curriculum, connections with agencies beyond the school) support the socially critical practice/pedagogy identified in question 5?

WEBSITES 1 This website (Education Policy Outlook Snapshot: Australia) is hosted by the OECD. Referring to

PISA data, the site provides an international comparative analysis of Australia’s educational context, indicators of expenditure, governance and performance, key issues and goals for improvement and selected policy responses: www.oecd.org/australia/highlightsaustralia.htm 2 Supported by the International Academy of Education, this resource provides a set of principles and strategies to be considered in the development and implementation of results-based accountability systems. Accountability in relation to the goals of schooling, including those associated with equity, are considered: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001409/140986e.pdf 3 The ‘Teaching for change: engaging in transformative education’ website offers practical resources for educators in Indigenous Australian studies. While focused predominantly on tertiary education, it includes teaching and learning resources and useful weblinks underpinned by an innovatively configured transformative approach to Indigenous education: www.teaching4change.edu.au

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REFERENCES ACARA 2011, The shape of the Australian curriculum, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, Sydney, NSW. Apple, M 2012, Can education change society?, Routledge, New York. —— 2005, ‘Are markets in education democratic? Neoliberal globalism, vouchers, and the politics of choice’, in M Apple, J Kenway & M Singh (eds), Globalizing education: Policies, pedagogies, and politics, Peter Lang, New York. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, 4221.0 Schools, Australia, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/4221.0. Australian Government 2014, ‘Review of the Australian Curriculum’, https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review_ of_the_national_curriculum_final_report.pdf. —— 2008–2009, ‘First step in closing the gap’, retrieved from www.budget.gov.au/2008-09/content/ministerial_ statements/html/indigenous-03.htm. Ball, S 2003, ‘The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity’, Journal of Education Policy, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 215–28. Beck, U 1992, Risk society: Towards a new modernity, Sage, London. Burridge, N & Chodkiewicz, A 2012, ‘An historical overview of Aboriginal education policies in the Australian context’, in F Whalan, N Burridge & K Vaughan (eds), Indigenous education: A learning journey for teachers, schools and communities, Springer. Carrington, V 2006, Rethinking middle years: Early adolescents, schooling and digital culture, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, Vic. Casey, C 2006, ‘A knowledge economy and a learning society: a comparative analysis of New Zealand and Australian experiences’, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 337–43. Connell, RW, Ashenden, DJ, Kessler, S & Dowsett, GW 1982, Making the difference: Schools, families and social division, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Cranston, N, Mulford, B, Keating, J & Reid, A 2010, ‘Primary school principals and the purposes of schooling in Australia’, Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 517–39. Davies, B 1993, Shards of glass: Children reading and writing beyond gendered identities, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW. Donnelly, K 2005, ‘The wacky curriculum’, The Age, 7 March, www.theage.com.au, viewed 14 December 2009. Fraser, N 2009, Scales of justice: Reimagining political space in a globalizing world, Columbia University Press, New York. 606

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—— 1997, Justice interruptus: Critical reflections on the ‘postsocialist’ condition, Routledge, New York. Freire, P 1993, Pedagogy of the oppressed, Continuum, New York. Giroux, H 2003, ‘Public pedagogy and the politics of resistance’, Educational Philosophy and Theory, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 5–16. Hargreaves, A 1984, ‘Experience counts, theory doesn’t: how teachers talk about their work’, Sociology of Education, vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 244–54. Harvey, D 2005, A short history of neoliberalism, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hayes, D, Mills, M, Christie, P & Lingard, B 2006, Teachers and schooling making a difference: Productive pedagogies, assessment and performance, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, Vic. Keddie, A 2017, Supporting and educating young Muslim women: Stories from Australia and the UK, Routledge, New York. —— 2012, Educating for diversity and social justice, Routledge, New York. Keddie, A & Mills, M 2007, Teaching boys: Classroom practices that work, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, Vic. Kim, J-H 2011, ‘Narrative inquiry into (re)imagining alternative schools: a case study of Kevin Gonzales’, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 77–96. Ladwig, J, Smith, M, Gore, J, Amosa, W & Griffiths, T 2007, ‘Quality of pedagogy and student achievement: multi-level replication of authentic pedagogy’, paper presented at the annual AARE conference, Fremantle, 26–29 November 2007. Lingard, B & Keddie, A 2013, ‘Redistribution and recognition: working against pedagogies of indifference’, Pedagogy, Culture and Society, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 427–47. Luke, A 2004, ‘Teaching after the marketplace: from commodity to cosmopolitan’, Teachers College Record, vol. 108, no. 7, pp. 1422–43. Malin, M & Maidment, D 2003, ‘Education, Indigenous survival and well-being: emerging ideas and programs’, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, vol. 32, pp. 85–100. McInerney, P 2006, ‘Blame the student, blame the school or blame the system? Educational policy and the dilemmas of student engagement and school retention — a Freirean perspective’, paper presented at the annual AARE Conference, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia. Mills, M, Keddie, A, Monk, S & Renshaw, P 2017, The politics of difference in schools, Routledge, London. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) 2008, The Melbourne Declaration on educational goals for young Australians, MCEETYA, Carlton, Victoria. —— 1999, The Adelaide Declaration on national goals for schooling in the twenty-first century, MCEETYA, Carlton, Victoria. —— 1989, The Hobart Declaration on schooling, MCEETYA, Carlton, Vic. Newmann & associates 1996, Authentic achievement: Restructuring schools for intellectual quality, Jossey Bass, San Francisco. Queensland Department of Education and Training 2011, ‘Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in schools’, Queensland Government, www.deta.qld.gov.au/indigenous/pdfs/eatsips_2011.pdf, viewed 1 July 2012. Snyder, I 2008, The literacy wars: Why teaching children to read and write is a battleground in Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Teese, R & Polesel, J 2003, Undemocratic schooling: Equity and quality in mass secondary schooling in Australia, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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CHAPTER 16 The future of teaching: schooling, equity and social change

607

INDEX

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4B model 320 ABC Kids 334 ABS See Australian Bureau of Statistics absolute stressors 134 ACARA See Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority accomplished teacher 8 achievement standards 226 A class act: Inquiry into the status of the teaching profession 555 Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers 8, 31, 556 Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century 198 adolescence and learning 97 advocacy groups 48 AITSL See Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership alert novices 521–2 algorithmic framework 87 amygdala 131–2 anatomy of neuron 94 anecdotal records 457, 458 anecdote 535 anti-schoolers 338–9 anxiety 109, 135 apolitical schooling 584 Apple, Michael 201, 268 apprenticeship of observation 6 Aristotle 9, 576 arts-based curriculum 205–6 assertive skills 396–7 assessment 222–4, 422 See also assessment as learning; assessment design; assessment for learning authentic 447–9 challenges with 464–8 considerations when designing 426–8 criterion-based 439–40 diagnostic 434–5 evidence-based 426 expert teacher’s reflection of 467 formal 434 formative 435–6 future trends 465–6 high stakes 138, 436 impact on stress and motivation 135–6 informal 432–4 links between curriculum, teaching, learning and 430–1

608

INDEX

norm-referenced 439 ongoing 431 online 452–3 overuse of exams and tests 444 peer 452–3 planning opportunities for 222 potential benefits of NAPLAN at school level 465 problematic 431–2 related terms 440–1 reporting challenges and dilemmas 464–7 self 452 standardised 440 student reflection on task 438 students’ attitudes towards 422 subjectivity in decisions 426–7 summative 434, 435 teachers’ attitudes towards 426 theoretical frameworks for assessing achievement 429–30 underachievement of Indigenous students 465 assessment as learning 222, 437–9, 452 as empowerment tool for students 465–6 rubrics 449 assessment design 446–58 approaches compatible with integrated curriculum 445–7 authentic approaches 447–9 choosing assessment strategies 444–7 common strategies 447 educative role of 443 fairness 442 feedback 454–6 informal questions and discussions 447 portfolios 450–2 quality issues in process 441–4 reliability 443–4 rubrics 449–50 self-assessment and peer assessment 452–3 transparency 442–3 validity of 443 assessment feedback 454–6 assessment for learning 222, 426, 428–9 assessment of learning 222, 428 Association of Women Educators (AWE) 573–4 audio recordings 491

Australasian Teacher Regulatory Authorities 9 Australia development of professional standards in 555–6 negotiated and inquiry learning in 170–1 professional standards for teachers 558 Australian Abecedarian Approach 293 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 121 data 5 Australian Children’s Television Foundation 16 Australian Council for Educational Research 51 Australian Council of Deans of Education 555 Australian Curriculum 26–8 coalition 199, 200 design 232 pedagogy 232 view on 199 website 27 Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 199, 225, 286 Australian Curriculum and state curriculums 225–7, 508 Australian education curriculum reform 26–8 historical development of 47 historical influences on 10 renewal of interest in pedagogy 22–6 Australian government ‘supportive’ policy initiatives 315 Australian Human Rights Commission 157 Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 6, 8, 226, 233, 275, 555 graduate standards overview 30 standards 508 video clip 232 website 8 Australian policy 154–6 Australian Professional Standards (APS) 8, 9 Australian Professional Standards for Graduate Teachers 9, 41, 232 Australian Professional Standards for Teaching 31, 274

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Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 247 Australian teacher regulatory bodies 9 Australian teaching standards 30 Australia’s teachers: An agenda for the next decade 555 authentic assessment 447 authentic pedagogy 589 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 108, 173, 181 autobiographical reflection 485–6 autobiographical writing 486 Ayoub, duty of care case 568, 570 backward design 238–9, 241, 251, 430 Barker, duty of care case 566, 569 barometer 99 Barzun, Jacques 548 behaviour-friendly classroom 381–2 behaviour guidelines 371–3 behaviourism 85 behaviourist approaches to learning 85–6 behaviourist approaches to motivation 127–9 behaviour management plan 409–10 belief, teachers practical theory 512–13 benchmarks 439 Beyond Blue Invisible Discriminator 55 Birmingham, Simon 28 blogs 64, 491 Bloom’s digital taxonomy 430 Bloom’s taxonomy 287, 429 bodily–kinaesthetic intelligence 105, 111 Boomer, Garth 232 boosters 338–40, 342, 352 Boyer, Ernest 206 brain full maturation 124 neurological differences in 124 neuroplasticity 124–6 reward systems 131 brainstem 98 bricolage 550 bring your own device (BYOD) 68 Britzman, Deborah 12, 13, 220, 264 broader social trends 592–4 Broca’s area 95 Bruner, Jerome 13 bullying 311–12 cyber 64, 314 dealing with 406 reasons for 313

Cable News Network (CNN) 124 Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA) 271 Career-related Program (CP) 223, 227–8 Carnine, Wesley 271 case study curriculum 193 New times . . . new learning 81 purposes of schooling 582 wanting to learn 119 causation 565 cerebral cortex 94, 98 cerebrum 98, 100 challenge and engagement 321–3 Charter for the Australian teaching profession 71 children’s television programs 126 classroom discourses 280–1 learning environments 304–7 management 59, 62–4 practice 324 press 521 rules 515 Closing the gap 152, 293–4, 316, 559–62 cognition 97, 107 and learning 97 cognitive constructivism 90 cognitive development 86 cognitive knowledge dimensions 235 cognitive levels of processing 235 collaborative learning 281 collaborative pedagogy 279–85 commonsense learners 520 competence 519 competitive academic curriculum 160 computer-generated reports 460 computer practice framework (CPF) 348 concepts 241 confronting 527 connectedness 262–3 conscious competence 525 consensual individualism 554 conservative education 584 constructivism 13, 221 constructivist theory of learning 13 contextual variables 517 contracts 250 Cooper, Harris 136 cooperative learning 180, 281, 282 components of 180 defined 282 cosmopolitan teacher 588 criterion-referenced assessment 439 critical incident questionnaire (CIQ) 536

critically reflective teaching 488–9 critical pedagogy 268 critical perspective, value of 44–5 critical reflection 522–3, 523–4 critical theory of recognition 597 critics 338 cross-curriculum priorities 236 Cuban, Larry 276 cultural construction 201 Culturally responsive classroom management strategies 428 cumulative talk 289 curriculum 59, 166, 193, 221–2 arts-based 205–6 as cultural construction 201–3 defined 194 differentiation from syllabus documents 195–6 emergent curriculum 206–7 hidden 208–9 inquiry-based 205–6 integrated 203–4 as lived experience 197 models of 203–8 outcomes-focused curriculum 207–8 pedagogical view of 197 personal consequences of 204 as praxis 211–13 shared understanding 212 social consequences of 204 transformation 351–7 curriculum design McTighe’s 223 Wiggins 223 curriculum development, layers of 228 curriculum mind map 167 curriculum planning 221 curriculum planning layers 224–9 Curriculum Standing Committee of the National Education Professional Association (CSCNEPA) 199 CyberSMART campaign 314 cyberbullying 64, 314 cyberspace 123 Dana Street National School 66 deficit discourses 161 deficit positioning 161 Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) 266, 280 de-privatisation of practice 554 deregulation 592 descriptive praise 393 destructive praise 393 Dewey, John 13, 480 Dewey’s dispositions 524 diagnostic assessment 434 dialogic pedagogy 285–91

INDEX

609

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Digital Education Revolution (DER) 340 digital environments 453 digital natives 121–4 Digital Technology Impact Framework (DTIF) 348 direct instruction (DI) 271 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 159 Disability Education Standards 2005 159 Disadvantaged Schools Program 10, 591 discipline of noticing 263–4 discourses of education 53–4 disengagement phase 552 dispositional thinking 291 disputational talk 289 dissatisfied conservatism phase 552 distress 135 diversity and difference 152–8 Dodson, Patrick 10 doomsters 339–40 dopamine 131 double-loop learning 523 drama- and arts-based pedagogy 178 duty of care 311, 546, 548, 563, 565–71 early childhood education ethical frameworks 558–62 facilitating Standard Australian English skills curriculum 62 group work 284 home visits 281 importance of play for development 97 Montessori approach 56 seating configuration 276–7 economic rationalists 61 Education Acts 564 educational equity 158–66 educational policies 305 educational principles 305 educational technologies 64, 335 educative assessment 443 eight Aboriginal ways of learning 276, 158 Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools (EATSIPS) framework 46, 215, 591, 600 emergent curriculum 206–7 emotion 107 student motivation 130 emotional intelligence 106, 109 emotional states 138 emotions 103, 129 emphatic skills 395–6

610

INDEX

enduring understandings 242 engagement 269, 289, 317–19 applying interactive skills 391 basic steps for managing behaviour 386 planning for student 375–6 strategies and skills needed for effective 385–401 through use of technology 322 Engelmann, Siegfried 271 enhance learning, feedback to 423 enhancing learning 103–4, 103–10 episodic memory 102 e-portfolio 490–1 equity 60, 173–4, 585–8 analysis of 153 culture-fair assessment 424–5 priorities 593–4 Erickson, Lynn 241 essential questions 242 eustress 135 evidence-based assessment 425 evidence-based learning 425–8 exclusion 154 experimentation and diversification phase 551 expert 519 explicit memory 101 explicit teaching 271–3 exploratory talk 289 extrinsic motivation 128 Facebook 64, 121 factory model of education 82 fear of missing out (FOMO) 358 feedback assessment 454–5 assessment process 454–6 effective 459 formal written 456 to learning 426 oral 456 providing appropriate levels 139 quality 455–6 reflecting on student 484–5 reflective journals 490 techniques 456 fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband 340 First Day (documentary) 16 five interrelated dimensions of reconciliation 161 five principles of effective learning and teaching 23 focus 348 focus questions 242 follow-through strategies 397–400 formal assessment 434 formal records 457

formal written feedback 456 formative assessment 436 fostering motivation 139–42 four commonplaces of schooling 196 Freire, Paulo 209 Friedrich Herbart, Johann 18 frontal lobes 98, 131 full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff 154 Gardner, Howard 104–6, 248 gender lens 552 general capabilities 168–9, 226, 236 general pedagogical knowledge 21 Giroux, Henri 268 Glee 548 Global Experience Program (GEP) 150 goals 515 Goleman, Daniel 106 Google 122 Gore, Jenny 24 governance 49–51 graduate teacher 8 Graham, duty of care case 567, 570 Gregory, David 546 group processing 180 group think 289 group work difference from cooperative learning 282 ideal group numbers 281 learning focus via ICTs 349 open-ended group tasks 282 roles that support 284 teacher-facilitated 284 grumbling to grappling 532 Grundy, Shirley 195 guided practice 273 habit of mind 482, 497 harm 565 Hattie, John 247, 285 hegemony 160 hidden curriculum 208 high-equity curriculum and pedagogy 163–6 high-impact teaching strategy (HITS) 282, 286 high-performing schools 164–5 high-stakes assessments 436 high-stakes national testing 59 hippocampus 131–2 Hobart Declaration on Schooling 198 Holt, John 15 homework 67–8, 136 Huberman, Michael 551 human brain structure 98 human capital theory 593

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ICTs in schools 338 attitudes to 338–9 iGen 121 I-messages 397 I-statement 397 images and metaphors 516 implicit memory 101 inclusion 154, 317 inclusive, learning-friendly environment (ILFE) 305, 308, 317–18 model 318–19 planning for teaching 319–20 inclusive pedagogical approach in action (IPAA) framework 165 Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) 3, 150 score 5 Indigenous communities 151–2 assimilation into Anglo-Australian culture 46 education 45 exclusion from education 47–8 Indigenous education 151–2 transforming deficit views on 572 Indigenous Education Consultative Bodies (IECBs) 48 Indigenous knowledge and absence from curriculum 201–2 Indigenous pedagogies 57–9 Indigenous students 182–4 educational disadvantages 560–1 marginalisation in curriculum 60–1 marginalisation in education 591 under achievement in assessment areas 465 individual accountability 180 individual education plans (IEPs) 249 individual lesson plans 233–8 individualism 553 individual learning plans (ILPs) 249 individual success 139 individuate 378 informal assessment 432–4 information and communication technologies (ICTs) 64, 326 access to 343–4 approaches in schools 338–48 attitudes to 338–40 barriers to adoption 341–2, 359 checklist when setting tasks 344 common 334 computer practice framework (CPF) 348 concerns and restrictions 346–7 confidence level of student 346 definitions 334–5 early childhood 356 functionality of 345 funding resources 340–1

how to maximise use of 348 integration into teaching practice 354–5 intentions and purposes behind using 349 in learning environments 325–6 level of skill 345 maximising use of resources 347–8 methods of transforming curriculum 352–4 middle and primary schools 355–6 observation rubric for analysis 357 persistence and attitude to 343 planning teaching with 354 practicalities of using 336 secondary school 356 information-processing model 86 inquiry-based curriculum 205 inquiry-based learning 91, 99 inquiry-based pedagogy 245–7 inquiry cycle 446 inquiry learning 170 inquiry learning and activist teaching 171–2 Instagram 122 instructional pedagogy 271–3 integrated curriculum 203–4 intelligence 103 intelligence quotient (IQ) 103, 181 intelligence tests 103–4 intended learning objectives 234 intentions 58 interactive management process (IMP) 391–2, 409 interactive student engagement and management 363–411 interdisciplinary approaches 204 International Baccalaureate (IB) 223–4, 227–8, 230, 236, 242, 250, 288 interpersonal and small group skills 180 interpersonal intelligence 105 intrapersonal intelligence 105 intrinsic motivation 128 Introductory Indigenous studies in education 508 Introvigne, duty of care case 567, 570 iPad 121, 334 iPhone 121 IQ score 103 Islander Education Officers (IEOs) 181 journal keeping 531–2 justice 585 Kids Matter 305 knowledge-producing schools (KPS) 352–3

knowledge, skills and values/ attitudes 233 knowledge economies 586 Kretschmar, duty of care case

567, 570

Ladwig, James 24 LANTITE testing process 556 law of land 563 layered classroom conceptual model 326 learned helplessness 135 learner-centred education 89 learning 83–5 adolescence and 97–9 assessment 437–9 behaviourist orientations to 85–6 cognition and 97 cognitive orientation to 87 constructivist orientations 90–1 early development and 95–7 humanistic orientations to 88–9 implications for 129 multiple intelligences 248–9 new insights into 92–103 recognising culture 150 social/situational orientations 89–90 theoretical perspectives of 85 thoughts on orientations 91–2 traditional beliefs 84 Learning and Teaching Scotland 318 learning environment 303, 307–9, 367 designing 140 Learning Environments Applied Research Network (LEaRN) 277 learning goals 236 learning style approaches 105 learning windows 95, 96 neurobiological aspects of 96 legal education cases, duty of care cases 566–8 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer intersex, allied (LGBTQIA) community 597, 599 lesson planning proforma 234 limbic system 98, 107, 130–2, 131 limiting stress and enhancing success 135–6 linguistic intelligence 105–6 literacy 465 logical–mathematical intelligence 105 long-term memory 101 Lortie, Dan 6 low-grade behaviours 404–5 marketisation of schooling 592 Marzano, Robert 247 Maslow, Abraham 88 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 89 Mason, John 263

INDEX

611

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Mason’s cycles of personal development 265, 266 mass schooling, brief history of the purposes of 586 McNiff, Jean 31 Media Watch 596 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians 198, 226, 559–60, 562 memory 99–102 explicit 101 implicit 101 Meno paradox 524 mentor 29 metacognition 437 metacognitive awareness 231 metacognitive thinking 231 Middle Years Program (MYP) 227 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) 198 misbehaviour unconscious goals of 407 mobilising reflection as central to the field 482–5 mode 348 models of curriculum 203–8 monitoring 457 Montessori, Maria 13 motivation 129 behaviourist approach 128 behaviourist views of 128 defined 128 extrinsic 128 humanist views of 128–9 intrinsic 128 social cognitivist views of 128 motivational theories 129 motivation to learn 134–8 anxiety 134–5 impact of stress 134–5 learned helplessness 134–5 multicultural education 584 multidisciplinary approaches 204 multiple intelligences (MI) 104, 230 Gardner’s theory of 105 musical intelligence 105 myelin 95 myelination 95 MySchool website 5, 169 National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 59, 169, 593 table 72 National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education 14 National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future 22

612

INDEX

National competency framework for beginning teachers 555 National Curriculum Board 23 National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 243 National framework for professional standards for teaching 555 National Partnership Scheme 591 National Safe Schools Framework (NSSF) 309 National standards and guidelines for initial teacher education 555 naturalist intelligence 105 negligence 565 neoliberalism 592 neoliberals 61 neuroeducation 103 neurogenesis 93 neurons 93, 95 anatomy of 94 neuroplasticity 124–6 neuroscientists 82, 132 neurotransmitter 131 New Basics project 23 New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) 267 Nicholas, duty of care case 568, 570–1 normalised practice 43 norm-referenced assessment 439 notes/written reflections 490 novice 518 novice-to-expert model 518 NSW K–10 Curriculum Framework 426 numeracy 465 objective model 238 open-mindedness 524–5 open responses 395 operant conditioning 85 oral feedback 456 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 282 orientation phase 273 othering 158 outcomes-based education (OBE) 440 outcomes-focused curriculum 207–8 overarching integrative structures 305 Oyston, Jazmine 546 parent–teacher interviews 457–8 pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) 21, 268–70, 336 pedagogical documentation 492–3 pedagogical frameworks 266–7 pedagogical processes 526

pedagogic repertoires 550 pedagogies arts 178 drama and conflict resolution 178 philosophy for children 178–9 pedagogy 20–2, 57–8, 261, 266 critical pedagogy 268 critical perspective on 58 defined 20 instructional 270 knowledge 20–2 learning places and spaces 275–9 pedagogical content knowledge 268–70 pedagogical frameworks 266–7 practices 20 quality teaching framework 24 renewal in Australia 22–6 technological pedagogies 270–1 peer assessment 452–3 Personal Learning Pathways 249 personal narratives 532 Pestalozzi, Johann 18 Piaget, Jean 13, 103 Piaget’s stages of development 88 place-based pedagogy 275 planning, guiding principles for 229–33 planning for learning 219 portfolios 450–2, 490 positioning theory 280 positive mindset 382 power 58 PowerPoint 64 practical knowledge 553 practitioner research 492–3 praise 393 praxis 193, 211 pre-service teacher 8 prefrontal lobes 98 presentation phase 273 Primary Years Program (PYP) 227 Principles of Learning and Teaching 25 privatisation 592 proactive management 369–70 proactive planning 305 problem-based learning (PBL) 91, 99 procedural memory 102 productive pedagogies 267 Productive Pedagogies and the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning 267 Productive Pedagogies framework 23 professional associations 573–4 professional decision making, challenges of 70–1 professional development 571 professional identity 19

professional knowledge categories 21 contextual applications for classroom issues 306–7 continuum of teacher 8 contributing to base 31–2 development focus 304 and educational equity 158–66 landscapes 222 professionalism and accreditation 554–5 professional learning community (PLC) 493–4, 572–3 professional practice 41–2 professional standards 6, 555 Professional standards for Queensland teachers 555 Professional standards for teaching 556 proficient practitioner 519 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 46, 582 Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 593 progressive education 585 progressive technologies 67–8 psychology 157 pubescence 97 purposeful talk 285–6

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quality issues 442 quality teaching 24–5 quality teaching framework 25 quality teaching model 24 QSRLS See Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (QSRLS) 23 questioning 286 framing 286–7 open-ended 288 providing adequate response time 285 role in communities of inquiry 178–9 student 287–8 student-generated 204 supports for thinking dispositions 291 Ramsay, duty of care case 567, 570 reactive discipline 305 reassessment 551 reconstructing 528 records, forms 457–458 reflection 479–80 assessment tasks 438 autobiographical 485–7 bias and blind spots 487 classroom achievements 402–3

difference from observation 480–3 guided process 490 involving students in 484–5 learning 110 mobilising 483–5 potential data sources for 483–4 student management 402 teacher education 478 teacher’s role in classroom management 401–2 technologies of 490–4 template for use in 484 using multiple data sources 487–8 what to focus on 483–4 reflection in action 481 reflection on action 481 reflection process 480 sample template for 484 reflective journal 29, 384, 401–2, 404, 490 reflective practice 28, 479, 488–9 stages of 526 reflective practitioners 83 reflexive modernity 586 reflexivity 494–5 reframing thinking 480–1 Reggio Emilia schools 278 relative stressors 134 reliability 443, 444 report writing 459–64 computer-generated reports 460 primary student report 461–2 secondary student report 463 writing in plain language 460 reporting 222–3, 423 reporting process 459–4 assessment challenges and dilemmas 464–7 expectations on schools 430 expectations on teachers 459–60 formal records 457–8 primary school student report 461–2 secondary school student report 463 resources 237 responsibility 372, 389 critical reflection 524 reward systems 132–3 reasons for 132 Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education Australia 465 Richards, duty of care case 567, 570 rich task 445 Ritchhart, Ron 276 Rogers, Bill 279 Rogers, Carl 88 Rorrison, Doreen 261 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 18 routines 372 benefits of 372

rubric 449 rubric design 449–50 rules 372 benefits of 372 teacher’s practical theory 514–15 sacred cow of teacher culture 553 safety 310 Sahlberg, Pasi 239 sample report 461–3 scaffolding learning 87, 139, 143, 271, 596 Sch¨on, Donald 29 school-based curriculum work 251 school culture 177 schooling buildings as 65 purposes of 583–5 technologies of 64 school subjects 227 SCTP See Standards Council of the Teaching Profession self-assessment and peer assessment 452–3 self-efficacy 90 self-study 531 Seligman, Martin 135 semantic memory 102, 111 service learning 170 short-term memory 101 six-step strategy for taking control 387–90 skills 236 smartphone addiction 357–8 Snapchat 122 social activism 584 social cognitive theory 90 social constructivism 90 social intelligence (SI) 103–9 social learning theory 89, 90 social participation 55 social technologies 64, 65–7 socially critical pedagogy 593 sociocultural policies 305 sociocultural principles 305, 309–21 SOLO taxonomy 288 South Australian Aboriginal Education and Training Consultative Body 48 spatial intelligence 105 special education 159 stabilisation phase 551 stages of memory 100 stakeholders 47 stakeholders’ interests and voices 49 standardised assessment 440–1 standardised testing 136–8 standards 439 standards and audit culture 593

INDEX

613

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Standards Council of the Teaching Profession (SCTP) 556 State of Reconciliation in Australia 10, 13 storying teaching 16–17 strategies and tactics 516 stress 109 Stronger Smarter Institute 466 student achievement, theoretical frameworks for 429–30 student behaviour 377 student-centred curriculum planning 222 student diversity 184–5 student learning 459–64 student learning survey 175 Student Wellbeing Hub 157 substantial conversations 288 substantive talk, characteristics of 289 summative assessment 435–6 Summer Heights High 16, 548 sun exposure 312 support 315 syllabus 227 Syme, duty of care case 566, 569 synapse 93 synaptic pruning 99 tacit beliefs 506 tacit knowledge 506 teacher in-service training courses 574 pedagogical considerations 595 threshold knowledge 596–7 teacher attributes 516 teacher culture 552–4 teacher-directed learning 431 teacher education 32–3 as central to the field 482–3 reflective practice in 481–2 teacher-facilitated group work 284–5 teacher identity 16, 17 teacher practice 588–92 teachers codes of conduct 558–9 as curriculum workers 209–11 expectations on teachers 459–60 impact of governance on 51 implications of professional standards 556 teachers and the law 563–71 Teachers Guide to Assessment 450 teacher’s practical theory 509 Teachers Registration Board Tasmania 559 teacher’s role 401–2 teacher–student dialogue 290

614

INDEX

teachers’ work 602 bricolage conception of 550 conceptions of 548–50 nature of 548–51 teaching 3 assessment of pre-service and graduating teachers 30 critical perspective 6 discourses of education 54 planning with ICTs 342–5 as a profession 4, 6–8, 29 professional knowledge 31–2 quality 24–5 recognising culture 150 twenty-first century 5–6 teaching and learning practices 176 Teaching for tomorrow 142 teaching matters 12 teaching portfolio 30 teaching quality 13 technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) 336 technological pedagogies 270–1 technology 123 potential impact of 125 Tenorio, Rita 197 terra nullius 508 The Age 14 The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 226 The Karmel Report 587 The lives of teachers 551 theories of motivation 127–8 theorising teaching and identity 17–18 The Teacher 548 thinking dispositions 291, 292 thinking routines 292 Thomas Tallis School 22 Thorndike, Edward 108 Thorne, Barrie 209 Threshold Concepts 22 Thriller 124 tools 325 tools and issues 324–5 Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy 46 Torres Strait Islanders across Australia on education 48 TPACK framework 323 TPCK See technological pedagogical content knowledge transformative teaching practice 44 transparency 442–3 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) 46, 593 triadic reciprocality 90 Tumblr 122

twentieth-century curricula 60–1 early 60 late 60–1 recent developments 61–2 twenty-first century learner, digital natives 121–4 Twitter 48, 64, 122 unconscious goals of misbehaviour 407–9 unconscious needs 379–80 unconsciously skilled 525 unconsciously unskilled 525 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 155 Understanding by Design (UbD) 221, 223, 239 UNESCO framework for inclusion and equity 155 UNESCO model 325 United Nations Education and Scientific Organisation 157 unit-level questions 171 unit planner proforma 240–1 University of Newcastle 10 unschooling 15 utopia 338 VAK inventory 81 VAK learning styles 81 validity 443, 444 values 513 victim syndrome 396 Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 222 Victorian Government’s Student Wellbeing Hub website 310 Victorian teaching profession code of conduct 559 video recordings 491 Vygotsky, Lev 13 War Crimes Tribunal 504 warm floaty feeling 131 Western civilisation 585 Western intelligence tests 104 whiteness 6, 29, 591 whole-school action 165 approach 600, 601 Wikipedia 122 wikis 64, 491 Yahoo 122 YouTube Kids

334

zone of proximal development (ZPD) 87, 230

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