“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth learning can be taught.”

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth learning can be taught.” 

   — Oscar Wilde

Most of what we learn before, during, and after attending schools is learned without it being taught to us, how to walk, how to talk, how to eat. In many schools, memorisation is mistaken for learning. Attainment is mistaken for progress.  Summative is mistaken for formative.  Assessment for learning is mistaken for assessment of learning.  But what matters to our learners most is the journey, the progress and most important the believe that the CAN.

There are many different ways of learning; teaching is only one of them. We learn a great deal on our own, in independent study or play. We learn a great deal interacting with others informally — sharing what we are learning with others and vice versa. We learn a great deal by doing, through trial and error.  We learn a great deal using technology. And we don’t all learn different things the same way. The objective of education should be learning, not teaching.

When teaching becomes synonymous with the motivation to learn we begin to get somewhere. The reason we are in teaching is that we believe that what happens in the classroom leads to student learning.  But learners need to be motivated and inspired to want to learn and to take action.

According to John Hattie, what teachers collectively believe, impacts greatly on student outcomes.  If teachers all focus on learning collaboratively then learning happens.  

I use three indicators to motivate for learning against any identified learning intentions or curriculum objectives.  Allow the students to be creative in the way they learn, ensure that they think deeper and more critically explaining why, and also focus on asking them to communicate their learning using their own selected media.   Different situations different styles of learning.

What I find happens in the classroom is there is then a maximum impact on student learning as it comes alive. It is about real life and students relate to it. They are digging deeper, they are taking ownership of their own learning and being creative according to their own learning styles. Where collaboratively teachers believe that a focuses action can make a real difference to student learning, almost always the evidence suggest that they do! A teacher is an inspirer and a motivator. 

I also believe that where high performing schools have a clear definition of learning, and the collegiate focus is on learning, magic happens. There is no doubt that teacher expert knowledge and understanding is important, after all, our teachers are well qualified and in many cases scholars. However, deep learning happens when teachers are more imaginative and creative, when they use challenging questions, when their discussions are insightful and have a link to real life, when there is regular reflection, when learners are allowed to be enterprising, independent, they use critical thinking and problem solving to challenge their - and the teachers thinking.  

Based on my experience collaborative, evidence-based professional conversations amongst teachers on a daily basis using evidence-driven strategies, have most impact on learning. Data matters.  Recently, I used the GL Education – CAT4 and NGRT to identify students start points.  We collectively found that the weakness was in verbal and reading comprehension.  This with a focused strategy on literacy, drop everything and read, write, literacy intervention  - within one term we experienced a 10% increase in SAS.  ( Standard Age Scores ).  Focused intervention, together with creativity in what students read, how they read, how they explain, describe, write, verbalise, communicate – with a whole team focus, magic happened.

Teachers that can, and believe that everyone can succeed bring dramatic changes to self-confidence and self-belief inspiring a hunger for learning.   

Creating this leadership of learning, for teachers and students there is no limit, as the success and the quality of learning, becomes not about the test but by creating a classroom experience  for best learning. A conscious move from ‘teaching’ to inspiring “learning.’ The  development of a real learning culture where students can take risk and experimentation in how they provide evidence of their learning. A culture where learning is meaningful. So much more powerful than resourcing, than staffing, them curriculum changes, than paying teachers more, than purchasing expensive technology.

The professional dialogue that results from teachers talking about pedagogy, using learner evidence to examines student progress data, should we intervene, should we inspire further is like lighting a fire.  The focus on the quality of teaching, the stressful lesson observations where teachers increase their talk, their detailed lesson planning is about putting out the fire.   Giving authority and trusting your teachers to discuss collectively student progress, creatively and do what matters most to the learners leads to real learning, resulting in real student progress, and learning that is meaningful and will stay with our students just like it did when they learnt to walk and you learnt to drive.

And allow your learners dream.....

Tassos Anastasiades