This week I got to learn about rockets and it wasn’t via a NASA podcast but sitting down with a group of Year 7 students reflecting on their learning. It was as John Hattie states a demonstration of the teacher becoming the learner and the learners becoming the teacher. What I found impressive (apart from their inherent curiosity), was … More Stop labelling; start doing
It seems quite ironic the most effective way of becoming an independent learner is through the process of interacting with others. This was social psychologist Lev Vygotsky‘s zone of proximal development argument. Essentially we learn best when we learn from and with others. Alma Harris and Michelle Jones from the Institute of Educational Leadership, University of … More Deeper learning is shared learning
Last week I had the great pleasure of sitting down for a Q&A with Larry Rosenstock. Larry is the founder and CEO of High Tech High in San Diego and one of the keynote speakers at last week’s PBL World Australia 2013 hosted by one of our high schools, Parramatta Marist in partnership with the Buck Institute … More World Class Leader
For a number of years, we have had a strategic partnership with Republic Polytechnic (RP), a tertiary institution in Singapore that leverages problem-based learning to provide an industry-relevant curriculum to Diploma level. It is geared towards students becoming innovative and entrepreneurial professionals with global perspectives. A number of our schools in the Parramatta Diocese such … More Building capacity through strategic partnerships
I’m often asked what 21st century learning and teaching looks like for teachers and students. When I was speaking at the 2012 Technology in K-12 Education National Congress in Sydney recently, I had the chance to sit in on the student panel and was impressed to hear our own year 12 student, Mark Elias, from … More A student’s take on learning and teaching
Steve Jobs had a profound influence on the world of technology. One could argue that under his leadership Apple redefined the user experience so much so that technology has seamlessly integrated with every aspect of our lives. Jobs’ biographer, Walter Isaacson has written a concise piece in this month’s Harvard Business Review on the Real … More Learning from Jobs
We had the great pleasure of welcoming Anrig Professor Richard Elmore from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and our colleagues Darrell Fraser and Judy Petch from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Victoria last week. Although it was a flying visit, our guests had the opportunity to meet with our leadership team and … More The proverb of the tree
Parramatta Marist recently introduced Year 10 students to 151 – the extension of the Problem Based Learning (PBL) model into the senior curriculum. Unlike PBL, the 151 model gives students an introductory period (1), whole day (5 periods) and a follow up period (1) per subject over a two week cycle. This allows teachers to work intensively with senior … More 151
How many of us have fond memories of Year 9 science? I suspect most of us don’t unless we had a natural aptitude for the subject. The reality is it probably had something to do with the way the subject was taught – a one size fits all approach to science that was far removed from our lives and yet … More The science of learning
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