How do we implicate children in their own learning?

This week I have been reading a variety of views about a learning and teaching strategy called mantle of the expert, an approach first proposed by Dorothy Heathcote in the 1960s. My first introduction was a series of blogs by Debra Kidd (links below), which caught my attention as they talked about engaging a group of 21 Century pupils in a learning experience through imagination and taking responsibility for solving a learning problem. The basis was I suppose somewhere between drama and role play, but with a real thinking experience.

These attractive articles started me thinking about what learning experiences we offer in the classroom each day, and also how much time teachers have to be reflective about the way they choose to teach for creativity, independence and enthusiasm. These characteristics are all too easily overlooked as the curriculum is so stuffed with facts, skills and knowledge that appear to need drilling, learning by rote and inculcating that the delivery of knowledge though old fashioned leaning and practising might seem to be the only time efficient and effective approach.

It would be so easy to forget that the pure content of the curriculum can mean very little in educational terms if it fails to challenge the child in a way that develops cognition, wisdom or intelligence. Without the engagement of thinking processes, adequate challenge, high expectations, fascination, time to problem solve, encouragement to think independently and to evaluate with real honesty and resilience, learning will be very limited. Learning, certainly for primary and younger secondary aged pupils, really means developing thinking skills, extending and enhancing vocabulary, improving thinking speed, working on listening skills, and building on the ability to concentrate in a variety of situations. Children that learn to love the world of books and imagination do better in public examinations. Pupils that ultimately need to retain facts and manipulate these to answer questions for GCSE and A Level perform far better if they have mastered that knowledge through teaching that demands something of them rather than hands something to them. 

Last week a visitor to Notre Dame School spoke to us in broken English, and rather quaintly, referred to our teachers being "implicated" in the education of the children. However, he was utterly right and I believe this to be a brilliant description: we are all implicated in the process of educating a child - but that must, if it to be of any long term use, mainly implicate the child as master of their own learning.

So I urge you read the blogs mentioned at the top of this piece,

debrakidd.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/bottoms-on-fire  and debrakidd.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/bottoms-up  as they remind us how important it is to create educational experiences that allow the child to take part in the learning experience and to learn by inspiration and instinct, creative imagining and having fun. I’m not sure if I wear the mantle of the expert, but I do know that good teaching must make use of every strategy it can to fully involve the children, and that will undoubtedly create experts of the future.

Girls' Education

It is a commonly understood notion that girls perform better in single sex environments. This makes sense for several reasons, firstly girls tend towards a more communicative, articulate and less physical style of learning in the classroom, and secondly they are likely to be made self-conscious or shy by the more physical and assertive learning styles used by boys. Developmentally girls mature both physically and neurologically more rapidly than boys, with better fine motor control, and ability to concentrate on small tasks for longer periods of time, and a useful ability to listen actively whilst absorbing information. Single-sex schools for boys and girls make the most of these diverse attributes, and although children do not arrive with stereotyped personalities and skills, the differences are worth noting so that the styles of teaching can be tailored to suit. The gender stereotyping that can occur in mixed schools can be avoided, instead building on the genuine interests of the child and finding her true strengths rather than perceived ones. Girls mature emotionally faster than boys and although this often means there is a need to address the resultant issues head on, and to understand the anxieties, it does help to know that there is at least a level of emotional intelligence and some common ground among the peers that enable girls to develop emotional tools for the future.

Girls’ schools have a responsibility to develop the whole person, emotionally and physically as well as academically, and to create aspirations to head for the most highly sought after professions and places in society, so confidence is high on the agenda, with added sport, drama, dance and public speaking to allow girls to develop a sense of themselves and to become assertive in the right way when it matters.

The curriculum also needs careful management, so that subjects which in the past were considered ‘best for boys’ such as science, mathematics, design technology and digital technologies are elevated and introduced early and encouraged through the girls’ emotional, communicative and creative attributes – all of which come more naturally to girls as a group. At Notre Dame Preparatory School the girls are encouraged to undertake a combined humanities and arts approach to learning, using the tools of digital technology, including iPads, data-logging, and interactive whiteboards, as well as an education rich in the sciences which are taught practically, but with a curve towards the needs of society, for example, in Year 6 all our girls undertake the St John Ambulance Young First Aider Certificate, learn how to create and deliver presentations on technical scientific knowledge and learn to set up and manage a debate on ethical issues, as well as following the broader National Curriculum. This initiative is called TASK, with the T standing for thinking – certainly the most important thing for any girl to learn.

In the sporting arena the school offers a rotating ‘sport for all’ session, as many girls love participating in team or accuracy sports, but begin by being far less confident than their brothers about experiencing unfamiliar activities or trying out for a team. The idea here is that the more competitive children,  as well as those quietly competent, have the freedom to participate and to be themselves, which can spur the remaining few into enjoyment and success. The school is then able to offer both competitive and non-competitive sports for the girls to enjoy, and to develop life-long fitness and wellbeing, away from the enthusiastic proactivity of physically confident boys. Sports ranging from racket sports such as badminton and tennis, to team sports such as hockey, football, lacrosse and netball to activities such as golf or cross country are offered to bring out the best in each girl. Success breeds success and the girls need to be taught this in order to broach their reticence and develop their skills to reach out to try new things. The football clubs are particularly popular in girls’ schools, because there is no stereotype to confuse those who want to join in and have a great time.

Music and drama have a very immediate pull for girls and drama groups, choirs, orchestras, ensembles and class activities are able to pick up on themes in other lessons as well as teaching beyond the basic skills and giving them poise. The relative emotional maturity allows for thoughtful improvising and a nurturing of the different aspects of personality. Girls enjoy humour in the classroom but are less able to cope with sarcasm or jokes that put them into the limelight. Creative lessons allow them to explore this as well as leading to fantastic performances and success in the future. The idea is to capitalise on the feminine side and to develop the skills needed to become an all-round amazing person.

A fear often expressed to me is that girls in single sex schools will not have the opportunity to get to know boys – but I ask them to consider what that might mean for some girls: less chance to play stereotypical boys sports, a leaning away from sciences and certain technical subjects, a reluctance to be noticed in a classroom and often being uncomfortable in a physically active (and as many girls see it, aggressive) environment. Boys are a fact of life, and there will be plenty of opportunities throughout life to play and work alongside them, and schools are aware of this, taking care to present role models of successful male teachers alongside the women, but for some girls, the sanctuary of an all-female class offers the most positive and effective start to the educational journey.