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>> Here’s a picture of a teacher showing some kids something, showing them how to do
it and she’s having a go and you sit there watching it and whatever. And here’s another
picture of kids working together over a book. And so when you look at that picture, which
way do you like to learn? Do you like the teacher to show you and then you have a go,
or do you like to have a go yourselves and work with other kids and if you need help
ask the teacher? And to a tee every one of the Yr1 & Yr2 kids said we want to have a
go ourselves and ask for help when we need it. To me I’m seeing Yr1/Yr2 in this environment,
the learnable side, that whole disposition to learn, is still alive and well.
>> And then I also asked them when do you feel like this when you’re learning? Do
sometimes you feel like that and what’s it like? One little boy Jarrod was just sitting
there, and some of them drew pictures, and he drew a picture of it and he had in the
picture, in the middle of it, was just a blank sheet of paper and stuff all over it. I said
tell me about that and he said, “Well that’s a blank page.” And I said, “What do you
mean a blank page?” And he said, “Well sometimes we’re asked to write things and
all I’ve got is a blank page and this teacher, she’ll say to me just write something, get
started, but it’s just a blank in my head. It’s just a blank there’s nothing there.”
And I said, “Ok so what happens then?” and he said, “Well I just don’t know how
and she’ll say well just write anything” and he said, “But I don’t know how to
come up with anything”. And so what he’s saying is here is I am not getting supported
in that instance, for what he actually needed. No strategies, if you like, to go forward.
And a lot of the others talked about the frustration thing. Most of them then though went on to,
I guess what Jarrod was really asking for is the type of help I need is at the point
where, I’m really wanting to have a go at something that you know as a teacher how to
help me do that thing. That was the point he seemed to be really getting at. And it’s
not that I’m against writing, it’s that I just have a blank in my head.
>> Anyway, by the time I got through to Yr7,8,9 and 10 in that school, because high school
started in Yr7, it’s in an eastern state, what I found was the dominant images of learning
from those kids were this; just tell us what we have to do, show us how and we’ll do
it. They didn’t actually draw that picture but that was one of the dominant metaphor
that came through from the kids from Yr7,8,9 and 10 upwards. And I’m thinking well what’s
happened? Between baby climbing out of the cot to the Yr1/2 kids who so actively talked
about wanting to learn and get help where they needed it, through to Yr9 & 10 saying,
well just tell us what we have to do and we’ll do it.
>> To me that’s part of the reason why we’re putting forward the challenge around instructable
versus learnable. Because I think in our world we’ve been overtaken by the instructable.