Administrator ' s Corner
AN OPPORTUNITY MISSED … OPENING UP THE LEARNING SPACE TO THE STUDENTS
BY GRAHAM NORRIS
interval ( 10.30 ) and lunchtime ( 12.15 ).
OUTCOME : The lesson had a positive ethos , relationships were constructive and friendly , and the students enjoyed showing they could position the hands on the clock correctly . By the end of the lesson , most students ’ familiarity with hour , quarter-past , half-past and quarter-to was secure and they showed this by completing the worksheet correctly .
My last few articles have explored the importance of capacities and skills in the future lives of children and young people . I have looked at how schools can prepare students for an unpredictable future , including how great teachers promote ‘ learning to and how ’, recognising that teaching and assessment that focus solely on knowledge acquisition are not serving students ’ future interests sufficiently . I have referred to a range of capabilities and learning skills that are vital for handling unpredictable change and which underpin students ’ capacity to be ‘ change adept ’. We know this stems from being able to apply a wide range of skills and having the experience to choose the best suited strategies . Most recently I explored the concept of ‘ learning space ’ – the cognitive space that effective teachers give over to students so that students can develop , apply and consolidate capabilities and skills for themselves . I offered a few questions to help schools evaluate the extent to which they provide students with ‘ learning space ’. To illustrate this approach further , I will now describe a lesson I ’ ve seen many times and which you will probably recognise . I will then offer reflective questions focusing on what I see as missed opportunities , pointing to how the lesson could have added much greater value by providing students with ‘ the learning space ’.
PURPOSE : The lesson is intended to consolidate young students ’ recognition of analogue time using a conventional clock face - all students are expected to recognise hour , quarter-past , half-past and quarter-to . The teacher also declares an intention to promote students ’ creativity .
APPROACH : Each student has a cardboard clock face and is required to place the clock hands at the time requested by the teacher . For around 20 minutes , the teacher asks the students to show a range of times on their clock faces . The teacher then gives the students a worksheet comprising six blank clock faces alongside specified moments in the school day . Students are required to draw clock hands to illustrate these moments including , for example , assembly ( 9 ), morning
But , how well did the lesson promote students ’ wider capacities and skills ? Can you identify how students developed creativity , for example , as the teacher had intimated they would ? Probably not . But students could have been invited to create their own ways to illustrate time . They might have done this using all sorts of imaginative approaches , perhaps not even involving a worksheet , and in so doing could have taken forward the teachers ’ intention to develop their creativity . However , in creating the worksheet , the teacher occupied the ‘ learning space ’ rather than the students .
And what about learning skills ? We can all see the many opportunities where students could have worked collaboratively , for example , or where they could have consolidated their learning using peer-assessment approaches . But these skills were not required because this was a wholeclass , teacher-directed lesson . As such , students had little substantive space to think or learn for themselves . Their engagement was limited to following instructions and answering questions .
Overall then , while the lesson was successful in consolidating students ’ knowledge of clock faces and time , it did not promote students ’ capabilities and skills . What could have been a complete and enriching learning experience contributing to students ’ future needs turned out to be an opportunity missed .
Graham is an international specialist in transformational change . An experienced conference speaker , he is a freelance school-improvement consultant who also works with the International Futures Forum and British Council . He has designed , led and quality assured school inspection , review and improvement approaches in the Middle East and Europe , including as HM Assistant Chief Inspector in the UK .
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08| Jan - Feb 2018 Class Time
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