One of my responsibilities in my new role as Deputy Headteacher is to take a fresh look at our primary curriculum. Ever since I began I have had numerous conversations about the process we are going to go through over the course of the next year.
We are seeking to build upon the successes of what we already do and make our curriculum more relevant and connected to the community it serves.
When the Rose Review was dashed on the rocks of the parliamentary washup, and then the UK coalition government put a large red line through the proposed changes, many primary teachers were disappointed. Much of what it outlined made a great deal of sense. Despite that we are continuing with our own curriculum redevelopment.
Next week we have our second staff meeting about curriculum development and I am keen to share one of three films with the staff to provoke some discussion about education change. I am unsure about which to use and I would appreciate your thoughts on which might be most effective. I will, no doubt, share all of them in time but for now I am looking for one which resonates the most with teachers about how we should better connect our curriculum with our pupils.
An entertaining talk from Sir Ken Robinson, the follow up to his “Killing Creativity” piece. I liked the way that he described the system of education conforming, as he says:
…we have sold ourselves into a fast food model of education. And it’s impoverishing our spirit and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.
We should build learning establishments that are more like Michelin starred restaurants than fast food chains – providing children with a locally grown curriculum that meets the needs of those it serves and not and all for one menu.
I enjoyed listening to this from Charles Leadbeater and appreciated how he outlined the need for more learning that starts with questions and not just going through the motions of filling children with knowledge. We feel that this will be central to how our curriculum may be designed. This has led me to explore Project and Challenge Based Learning and would appreciate any thoughts from those that have experienced this approach in the classroom.
Interestingly he touches upon the food outlet idea that Robinson also used. Leadbeater perhaps refines the idea somewhat in the sense that there are thousands of schools and yes they are all have the same purpose but they should be locally unique.
A small remark that was important to me was that schools,
…often hit the target but miss the point.
Crucially we need to reposition the primary curriculum so that it has a clear and unfettered purpose and that the children understand that more than anyone else.
Dan was (very recently) a classroom teacher like me. That very fact is important. His perspective was from within the classroom and not from the outside looking in. Although Dan speaks about the changes he sees vital for the maths curriculum, what he says is relevant to the whole curriculum.
He takes apart the mundane questions presented in maths textbooks and cuts to the chase. His approach is about developing patient problem solvers in our pupils. This could be applied to how we approach topics within a curriculum. We can extract a much more general theory from what Dan puts forward and once again it boils down to children being faced with problems, challenges or questions.
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In a way the three different perspectives are clear. Meyer speaks from within the classroom, Leadbeater after seeing learning in different circumstances and Robinson from a wider more systematic stance. Arguably they are at different distances from the point of learning.
Each has their strengths, but which do you think would be the most relevant to busy teachers at this early stage of primary curriculum development?
I watched the talk of charles leadbetter and liked what he explained about the curriculum being an integrated course of academic studies. It sounded so inspirational. Let there be more creativity inside the classroom. Let out of the box ideas come to fore!
Of course removing support or immediately being less helpful needs careful thought. I think children need to gradually develop better skills to thrive in such an environment. Developing patient problem solvers would require a patient and gradual reduction in “crutch” style support, so that children have the broader skill base and confidence to work more independently.
I agree, I think most of Dan's principles could have a huge impact if brought across to discussions of the primary curriculum. 'Patient problem solving', 'What can you do with this' and ' Be less helpful' are powerful ideas, which need teasing out to apply to younger children. Since watching that video I am always checking mybteaching for ways I can be 'less helpful'. Will certainly be teasing out these ideas in my own planning for next year.
Thanks Kevin – I hope that the gradual development of our curriculum will take advantage of the “perfect opportunity”. My initial thoughts were to use Leadbeater's talk but then I explored a little wider. I think it provides a clear message about the structure we want.
I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
I agree, the fact that Dan was a classroom teacher provides a resonance in his talk that the others won't have. However it is harder to see the wider application of his ideas to, say the primary curriculum. Leadbeater on reflection is more broadly applicable as it talks of the whole curriculum.
Thankyou, it is good to hear you find some of my own writing inspiring. The practical, real stories are always the most important to me too.
However, as you say, I think the Leadbeater talk is the most accessible, it provides enough thought provoking points to engage staff.
Hi Oliver thanks for taking the time to comment, I have already had a look at your blog for your thoughts on negotiated projects and I will try to delve deeper.
I think that you are right about the Leadbeater video, that and the Meyer one are certainly the most relevant. I think Dan provides an alternative subject view on the same possible change. It would be good to take the time to further extract a wider theory based around his thoughts on patient problem solvers.
Hi Tom,
I think the talks from Leadbeater and Robinson are undoubtedly inspiring and they do denounce the elephant-in-the-room situation that we find ourselves in terms of education policy.
Robinson in particular is very amusing to watch – I'd recommend his books too – but, as I think you've picked up on in your post, his denunciations are sadly not accompanied by real-life suggestions of how his revolution could be achieved in practice. Nice rhetoric but little in terms of course of action. In my opinion, evolution is much better and achievable in this context than revolution.
Dan Meyer's talk is the one with which any teacher anywhere can immediately connect instantly, perhaps because he has actually been a classroom teacher. In addition to that, Dan is clearly an intelligent guy and has that wonderfully rare ability of simplifying the complex so it becomes clear for the rest of us to see and hits us like a punch to the face. For those reasons, I'd opt for him.
Having said that, all three talks are excellent and anyone of them would serve to inspire and promote change.
I watched the Charles Leadbetter talk for the longest time (approx 9mins) – it chimed with some of my own experience of visiting schools in India. I might consider going back and viewing the rest of this video. I was really exasperated by the ego trip of Ken Robinson and though I can see why he indulged himself with a live audience, and he's clearly a consumate performer, I found it simply irrating to watch – I certainly wouldn't want the first 4 mins and I found myself switiching off after 6 – so maybe if you can edit out the bit you want he'd be OK. At one level I quite liked the maths teacher but on another I found the US high school maths context not terribly relevant to my needs and switched him off.
Personally I've always been attracted to the inspirational and very practical creativity that you have shown via your blog – I recently shared with some teachers your ideas about using Under the Sea and the Wii and talked about how it had been part of my inspiration for focusing on the Coral Triangle as an issue. The teachers thought this was great too. Teachers (me included) are inspired by the practical – most people are not so hot on the theory and philosophising. Though on a personal level I enjoy talking with colleagues and friends about what makes for real and valuable educational experiences I would want to use something like a P4C approach if I was going to go down this route with teachers.
One video (based on a poem) that I find particularly inspirational is `Flip Fllotsom' – it's one of the few videos that I feel could be used from 5 to 16+ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cGlcjQkPbA Why not challenge colleagues to see how they could use something like this with their class and then bring their ideas back to your next staff meeting. That way you could be focusing on a `creative approach to learning' in a very practical way.
Whatever you choose – good luck! I remember my early days as a DH all too painfully.
I'd go for Charles Leadbeater as a resounding call for creativity and developing questioning in the classroom. His talk is inspiring and quite strait forward to put into place. If you wish to develop a curriculum that begins from questions rather than given knowledge then his talk will inspire and promote discussion.
I have used Dan Meyers idea with my own class and it's brilliant as long as the class have the skills in place. You can't really use it as is. Like Pete points out, it is aimed more at high school and further education Maths studies. But, when you want to challenge a group or even a whole class, his idea of providing very little direct teaching and allowing children to use their skills to solve the problem is a great tool for learning.
No one should be put off by what the current government's ideas are for education as they are just that, ideas. There is nothing set in stone apart from the use of the National Curriculum as the basis for a schools curriculum. We need to be as creative as we wish to be, to explore various approaches in teaching these requirements and to be flexible. We have a perfect opportunity to redesign a school approach to learning and use what we feel will be the best tools for our own schools. These videos will encourage and inspire your staff towards your developing a curriculum that is more relevant and connective to your community.
Really interesting following your thoughts on this Tom. Dan Meyer's video here is one of the most inspiring talks I have ever seen on education. However, I can see some people might think it too specific to high school maths, especially if the kind of thinking he is demonstrating in terms of curriculum is new to them, they may find it a challenge at first to make the links (depends on your staff obviously, it might be just right for them!). As a first video for all staff I think Charles Leadbeater's is best, as it chimes well with what you want to achieve. The idea of starting with questions is very general, but powerful, and the interesting analogies provoke thinking about change.
We've been working on project based learning a lot this year, and vie been blogging my thoughts on how I have implemented this in my classroom (Www.oliverquinlan.co.uk/?cat=4 ESP posts on negotiated projects).
I like Sir Ken's comedy but I feel to echo your line that he hits the target but provides no tangible direction for the solution. Fair point that edu is hard elsewise we would not be having this debate but ammo for the school-knockers is not in short supply and Sir Ken having 2nd helpings seems a shame.