….the talking teacher.

I’ve heard this before, but it was brought sharply back into focus for me recently by some of my S4 students. They were working in small groups, having been told they were going to face the dreaded end-of topic test (I really hate these !) I couldn’t bring myself to let them sit it, so I divided them into groups and told them that instead of sitting a test, they were (in their groups) going to write one instead, which another group would sit, and then yet another group would mark and return with feedback. The only criteria was that there were to be no closed questions with yes or no answers, and they could use their texts, computers, and notes to construct the ten questions based on the topic learning outcomes as well as a marking scheme. They would also peer-assess each other’s contributions to the group work.

….so off they went, getting on with the task. I worked my way around the room, interacting and encouraging them. At one stage I found myself in typical teacher mode, holding forth on some biological principle when one of the group looked up at me and said…and I kid you not… ‘can you stop talking miss, you are stopping us from learning’ !!!

And gobsmacked and suitably chastened, I did just that and started to listen to them instead. This was the class who have been working on GLOW for nearly a year now. Has it really changed the way they see education that much ?

Maybe Steven Heppell was right when he said that we are seeing the end of education and the beginning of learning.