next-ed

I am thinking that the major impediment to the creative use of ICT in the classroom is neither the technology, nor the capacity of teachers, which is growing daily.  The major obstacle is actually teacher self-concept.  How we conceive of ourselves and our role in our classroom will determine the limits of our creativity.

So, if we finally decide that we are not required to master the technology, and only master the teaching, we can be liberated to be the best teachers we can be.  I don’t know about you, but I did not sign up to be a computer programmer: I am a teacher.

Well that is what some teachers at St Mary Star of the Sea College are given every year.

They will head in to the new year with the resources to study, measure, design and implement a plan to improve student engagement and learning outcomes.  Using the principles which underpin the NSW Quality Teacher Framework, these leaders and their teams will create a cycle of action learning as courageous and innovative as their imaginations will allow.

Most importantly, they will listen to what students have to tell them about their learning.

What would your students say if you asked them, say, at the end of a lesson:

• what point in the lesson was the most exciting?
• what did you learn today that was valuable?
• how would I know you succeeded in this topic?
• what would you tell next year’s students about this lesson?

Practitioner enquiry – an ethical approach to student learning.

What should we be asking?