THE IMPERIAL EMPEROR AS DESPOT

Despotism is a form of governance by a single authority, either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute authority and power. On its classical form, despotism is a state where one single person wields all the political power, and everyone else is considered as slaves. This form of despotism was the first known form of statehood and civilization; the Egyptian Pharoahs were a hallmark of a classical despot.

The term now implies tyrannical rule. Even though the word has modern pejorative meaning, it was once a legitimate title of office in theByzantine Emperor Just as the word "Byzantine" is often used in a pejorative way (for specific reasons by certain Enlightenment authors wishing to express disapproval of that period in history), the word Despot was equally turned around for negative meaning. In fact, a Despot was an Imperial title, first used under Manuel I Komnenos(1143–1180) who created it to his appointed heir Alexius-Bela. According to Gyula Moravcsik this title was a simple translation of Béla's Hungarian title 'úr', but other historians believe it comes from the old Roman title 'dominus'.

So what does all that have to do with education and leadership?
I was having a discussion on the subject of health and education with a friend, who is a practicing acupuncturist. We were both acknowledging how much education has changed, and how radically different thinking processes are now, compared to 500 years ago. To describe this change, we used the term 'evolution of consciousness', agreeing that the youth of today have entirely different thought processes, with great potential for subtlety and sophistication . My friend then lamented the way certain systems have remained static, and unable to respond to change, especially in regard to his field of expertise.
He went on to describe how the the heart was still considered the Emperor of organs, a belief that can be traced back over 5000 years to ancient Chinese medical practice. He then described a new model, outlining a dynamic way to review this ancient wisdom. As the once Emperor, now faded from absolute power, he saw the heart, not as a distant tyrannical ruler inflicting slavery upon all the other organs, but rather a benevolent, wise watcher, always open to communication, whilst remaining strong and effective. This particular metaphor caught my attention, especially in relation to some of Margaret Wheatley's work on leadership and the future. Her comments opposing mechanistic and robotic systems also resounded in our conversation in relation to erroneous belief that the heart is simply a pump.
In 1932, Bremer of Harvard filmed the blood in the very early embryo circulating in self-propelled mode in spiralling streams before the heart was functioning.The heart, an organ weighing about three hundred grams, is supposed to `pump' some eight thousand litres of blood per day at rest and much more during activity, without fatigue. In terms of mechanical work this represents the lifting of approximately 100 pounds one mile high! In terms of capillary flow, the heart is performing an even more prodigious task of `forcing' the blood with a viscosity five times greater than that of water through millions of capillaries with diameters often smaller than the red blood cells themselves! Clearly, such claims go beyond reason and imagination. Due to the complexity of the variables involved, it has been impossible to calculate the true peripheral resistance even of a single organ, let alone of the entire peripheral circulation. Also, the concept of a centralized pressure source (the heart) generating excessive pressure at its source, so that sufficient pressure remains at the remote capillaries, is not an elegant one.

I really thought the above analogy drew humorous conclusions to a tyrannical dictator who was defeated from the onset by the very nature of the human condition to organize itself into a functional system. The inevitability of demise was palpable. I felt inspired by this quote from Margaret Wheatley:

"Western cultural views of how best to organize and lead (now the methods most used in the world) are contrary to what life teaches. Leaders use control and imposition rather than participative, self-organizing processes. They react to uncertainty and chaos by tightening already feeble controls, rather than engaging people's best capacities to learn and adapt. In doing so, they only create more chaos. Leaders incite primitive emotions of fear, scarcity, and self-interest to get people to do their work, rather than the more noble human traits of cooperation, caring, and generosity. This has led to this difficult time, when nothing seems to work as we want it to, when too many of us feel frustrated, disengaged, and anxious."

Margaret J. Wheatley is a writer and management consultant who studies the behaviours found in organizations. Her approach includes systems thinking, theories of change, chaos theory, leadership and the learning organization: particularly its capacity to self organize. She describes her work as opposing "highly controlled mechanistic systems that only create robotic behaviours."

Maybe it is time to review Despotism in all shapes and forms in favour of living dynamism and effective communication.

References:

Despot-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despot
Margaret Wheatley-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Wheatley
The heart is not a pump- http://www.rsarchive.org/RelArtic/Marinelli/

HAVE TEACHING STANDARDS FALLEN?

According to new survey research by The Australian National University, academic standards of new teachers are significantly lower than a generation ago. Both literacy and numeracy levels are said to have suffered. In relation to literacy I have a theory on why a generation of less literate graduates are now emerging. During the 1960s a series of controlled research studies concluded that explicit teaching of grammar did not produce significant advances for the development of literacy. These findings were one of the contributing factors in the large-scale abandonment of grammar in the curriculum, instigated in the 1970's and 80's. Not only are students no longer being instructed in grammar, it is now becoming apparent that teachers today do not know how to instruct or advise their students in relation to grammar, let alone correct their flaws. I must say, from time to time, I have felt intimidated by a present participle or a split infinitive.....or spent a quiet moment dreading being asked to explain the difference between a nominative, objective, dative or possessive 'case'. What is to be done? Two linguists from the University of Melbourne have come up with an idea to reintroduce grammar in a more 'supple and interesting' way. In a paper titled Putting grammar back in the school curriculum they outline their ideas The debate featured in the media at present continues to focus on 'merit pay', that is, teachers whose students achieve at higher levels, or schools with overall better results, will receive more pay. I find this argument flawed from the onset in that it proposes measuring a number of variables that will be difficult to ascertain. For example, are schools that accept a certain calibre of student, thus screening out students with potential learning difficulties, to be rewarded for their discrimination? And whose the principal's pal this week? Are these new measures to be in the hands of the central figurehead of a particular school as is being suggested. What about schools that operate at the coalface of teaching in areas with high ESL student numbers? Rural schools, disadvantaged schools, the list goes on. There are so many teachers out there giving their all against considerable adversity. These new measures sound almost patronizing. Why not instead take teaching as a profession into the 21st.C with a decent minimum wage and the respect it deserves, perhaps this is in fact the best way to ensure that teaching standards are at an optimum.
Read more on the recent media coverage of these issues......

Teachers less literate than 20 years ago. August 27 2006 -'New teachers have lower standards of literacy and numeracy than those who entered teaching 20 years ago, a new study has found.'
27th August 2006, Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28.8.2006.

Labor backs performance pay for teachers -'The federal government has Labor's backing for its push to link teachers' pay to their performance, but Australia's largest parents' group does not support the plan.' 28th August 2006, Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28.8.2006.

Teachers need performance pay: Bishop -'Declining literacy and numeracy rates among new teachers highlight the need for performance-based pay and incentives for educators, the federal government says.' 28th August 2006, Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28.8.2006.

Kids struggle with verbs, adjectives -'Fewer than half of all Year 7 students could identify verbs or adjectives and only 7 per cent could spell "definitely" in a literacy test sat by all NSW students entering high school this year.' 10th August 2006, Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 28.8.2006.

Teacher literacy falls with salaries -'Evidence that the academic standards of new teachers are significantly lower than a generation ago will underscore a Howard Government push for the introduction of merit pay.' Sydney Morning Herald, 28th August 2006. Retrieved 28.8.2006.

Why teach grammar in school?-Melbourne University linguist Jean Mulder on why grammar is important. 2nd September 2006. Retrieved 28.8.2006.

Putting grammar back in the school curriculum-Australian Style, Macquarie University Volume 3:2 June 1995. Retrieved 28.8.2006.

DESIGNING THE FUTURE

Innovation, Difference, Performance Designing the Future- Educational Research Conference held at Flinders University 2003
Dr. Bill Wood presented a paper at the Designing the Future Education conference in 2003 titled, Innovation, Difference and Performance, in what Dr. Wood describes as the ’marriage between general education and the higher education performance of students at The Mount Barker Steiner School.’
The Australian Department of Education states that 'education of the highest quality is the foundation for all our futures. It is education which empowers us to rise to the challenges of social, cultural, economic and technological change that we confront daily.' In his paper Dr. Wood sets out to identify examples of innovation, difference and performance in Rudolf Steiner Education.
Innovation: Dr Wood distinguished marked innovation in the curriculum of Rudolf Steiner Schools compared to other government or non-government schools. The 'curriculum physiology' is based on child development. It is under this chronological scheme that the schooling is structured. Dr. wood went to great effort to research the relationship of the Rudolf Steiner system with other contemporary theories, only to conclude that it was "quite different from other schema. The curriculum noticeably varies from other schools and could be said to be innovative."Curriculum-A brief history The Learning Program
Difference: The main structural difference of Rudolf Steiner Schools from other schools is that are divided into three main areas of development as descibed by Dr. Steiner. The first stage caters for the child from birth to the age of 7 years, or the change of teeth. The emphasis of this period of schooling is physical development. Education Under 7 Kindergarten
In the second stage emphasis is given to the child's emotional development. Here the life of the soul is developed through specific imaginative and artistic content provided by the teacher. Unlike most schools, the one teacher stays with the one class from grade 1 to grade 7. These teachers are given specialist support in some subjects, for languages or crafts, for example.Dr Wood notes, 'in the literal sense, teachers of these age groups are the individual authors of the curriculum they teach.' Primary School
In the third stage students are aged from 13-18 years. What is emphasised at this stage is cultivating the development of the students' capacity for independent thought accompanied with a sense of right judgement-'a philosophy of freedom.' Teachers at this level are specialists in their subject area, and are bound in a mentoring role to their students through pastoral care called 'guardianship.' Year 12 school leavers are often older than other school leavers, usually by one year. High school- Middle /Upper
Organizational Difference- Consistent with Rudolf Steiner's indications, Rudolf Steiner Schools have no principal. The legally responsible body at the school is the College of Teachers. Membership to this body is generally open to all teaching staff who are willing to commit time to running the school and maintaining its general well being. Decisions of the college are by consensus. As Dr. Wood says, "this form of Collegiate is rare in any educational institution." The college is supported by a number of sub-committees with specific functions, eg. The Finance Committee, The Camp Committee and so on. Decisions of these committees are referred to the college for approval. Often times there is a Parent Council, which constitutionally has a supportive rather than executive role. Dr wood cites Hargreaves who suggests that ‘diversity entails the acceptance of innovation at the school level but this entails that central control is weaker.' Hargreaves also suggests that ‘the challenge for policy is to address the issue of how the curriculum can “create a sense of community and common values in a context where knowledge cannot be restricted in any way and where individual control of access to knowledge is much more powerful than that which might be exerted by an external agency.”
Dr Wood concludes "Teachers are largely autonomous in professional matters, though there are industrially agreed periods of peer review of all staff. Being autonomous does not mean there is little or no collaboration between staff, or de-facto no general oversight or control of staff by the college." On the contrary, the level of autonomy is in direct relation to the level of individual responsibility- a trait highly regarded in Steiner Schools. Communication is embedded into every level of interaction, and is given a high level of priority. Teachers are required to participate in both general college and faculty college meetings on a weekly basis. Parent teacher meetings take place generally once per term. Communication
Curriculum Differences: As Dr Wood astutely observed, "bridging the gap from school organization to curriculum, is the general organization of the school day." The school day is broken into three periods; Main Lesson, Middle Lesson and Block Lesson.
The main lesson primarily addresses the head or intellect. This lesson runs from the time the students arrive at school for roughly two hours, with appropriate short breaks. The wisdom behind this method has been rediscovered in the rhythm of 'peak-performance'. The maximum blood circulation is centralized in the head region, promoting optimum clarity at this time.
The middle lessons address the trunk region and consequently stimulates the heart forces. Here the student is contained in a rhythmic balance and all care is taken to provide an environment rich with curriculum activities that appeal to the feeling life.
The afternoon arrives and already much of the forces that were fresh and centralized at the beginning of the day have been dispersed. Here it necessary to provide a focused activity but this time through the engagement of the will, found in the limb system. Much of the afternoon in Rudolf Steiner schools are spent 'doing'.
Each area of study is taught for a period of 3-4 weeks. For example a main lesson will continue with one theme or topic in the mornings for 3 weeks. The students gather and record their work in their 'main lesson books'. These books are a record of student achievement that is consistent throughout the school from class one to twelve. There is a strong emphasis on artistic presentation in these books, including a marking system whereby the students are given comments rather than grades in the books.
Practice lessons occupy the middle part of the day, often employing rhythm and movement to stimulate and reinforce concepts.
In the afternoon artistic and expressive lessons occupy a regular part of the curriculum across all grades.
The Rudolf Steiner School curriculum is based on the premise that a broad general education is important for all students, therefore all students must do all subjects. Specialization is only possible in upper high-school and even then students are encouraged to maintain a balance between the humanities, the social sciences and the sciences.
In year 12 students are given the opportunity to initiate a major project. This involves choosing a subject area upon which to base the project, finding a mentor and supervisor to oversee and support the project production, writing a ‘thesis’-usually between 3000-10000 words, and finally giving a presentation to the school and wider community at the end of the year-usually of 45 minutes duration. As Dr Wood says, ‘the project functions as a profound learning experience for most students. It is part of the rites of passage that end in the students moving from the closed environment of the school to the wider world.’
In preparation for University entrance some Rudolf Steiner High Schools offer regular state accreditation, for example, The Higher School Certificate in N.S.W, including University Admissions Index. Shearwater, The Mullumbimby Steiner School: options for senior studies
Dr Wood’s paper, Innovation, Difference, Performance presented at Designing the Future- An Educational Research Conference held at Flinders University in 2003, concluded by giving some examples of major works completed at The Mount Barker Rudolf Steiner School, the school upon which his research was based. At Mt. Barker Rudolf Steiner School students can opt for either school developed grades ‘South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre’ (SATAC) grades, or school assessment. Students from Mount Barker Steiner School in South Australia are enrolled into university entrance through SATAC. This followed initial acceptance of the students by the universities.
Performance: The final part of Dr Wood’s paper is devoted to empirical research based on initial figures and results of all Mt. Barker R.S. School graduates that have gone on to university. These results have been published and now stand as an independent picture which is both favourable and fascinating.They indicate clearly that the students of this schooling system are able to move into the next phase of education with competency and confidence along side their non-Steiner educated peers.
Summary: Dr. Wood’s paper sets out to present his findings on the culture of innovation, difference and performance in a Rudolf Steiner School and what Dr. Wood describes as the ’marriage between general education and the higher education performance of students at The Mount Barker Steiner School.’ Dr. Wood makes reference to the UNESCO Institute of Education publication written by Rist and Schneider (1979), where he cites the phase ‘lifelong learning’ in relation to Steiner education. It was noted this book dealt with integrating the general and vocational education of students at the Hibernia Steiner School in Germany. Dr Wood goes on to describe the process of Steiner Education being an ‘almost accidental preparation for university itself, rather than the current preoccupation of senior secondary schools with preparation for university entrance.’
....Sounds almost ideal!
References: Dr. Bill Wood - Innovation, Difference, Performance, a paper presented at
Designing the Future; Educational Research Conference, held at Flinders University 2003.
N.B The hyperlinks in this document are examples taken from Shearwater, The Mullumbimby Steiner School. Dr Wood based the research for his paper on Mt. Barker Rudolf Steiner School.

UNITY IN DIVERSITY

'Everything alive interprets its world through its self, and must be free to determine its own responses. It is impossible to impose anything on life.' I was very interested to read this statement made by Margaret Wheatley in a talk she gave in 1999 titled 'Bringing Schools Back to Life: Schools as Living Systems'. This comment reminded me of the words enshrined on Indonesian's coat of arms, "Unity in Diversity". I believe it is now more pertinent to our lives to celebrate our differences and explore our mutual interests. This concept could be in applied to any living social system, including a school community.
Working together becomes possible when people discover they have a shared interest in a project that is strong enough to embrace all interested parties. Held together in this rich center of meaning, people will let go of many interpersonal difficulties, and work around traditional hindrances. They are willing to struggle with relationships and grapple to find solutions when challenges arise, because they realize this is the only path to achieving their aspirations.
In his Australia Day Address in 2002, Dr. Tim Flannery spoke about the potential for positive community building. “While I celebrate Australia’s diverse cultural mix, I don’t think that Multiculturalism is the future for Australia, simply because no culture can exist unmodified in a new environment. Old practices die away and new ones, that help people adapt to their new home, spring up. At the most fundamental level that is what cultures do – they help us to survive in our particular circumstances.”
Margaret Wheatley echoed these sentiments when she said, "Over many years of work all over the world, I've learned that if we organize in the same way that the rest of life does, we develop the skills we need: we become resilient, adaptive, aware, and creative. We enjoy working together. And life’s processes work everywhere, no matter the culture, group, or person, because these are basic dynamics shared by all living beings."
Building upon this theme, I was very excited when I came across an article in my local newspaper announcing the launch of a ‘Living Library Project’; a concept that entails volunteers from diverse cultural and social backgrounds becoming a resource to be ‘borrowed’. The idea is that you borrow a human book for a half-hour chat to get an insight into the lives of people from outside the mainstream of society. It’s an opportunity to ask questions you’ve always wanted to ask. I could see this becoming a wonderful opportunity for students in high school to explore and develop understandings of diversity, leading to tolerance and greater acceptance.
References:
‘Living Library Project’-The Northern Star newspaper- Local News- 26.8.2006. Retrieved 26.8.2006
'Bringing Schools Back to Life: Schools as Living Systems'. Margaret Wheatley 1999 http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/lifetoschools.html Retrieved 26.8.2006
Australia day speech in the year 2002, Dr. TimFlannery- -http://www.australiaday.com.au/tim_welcome.html Retrieved 26.8.2006

GROWING OPPOSITION OF A TO E GRADES

Making news today is more controversy over the government's proposed grading system. Primary and High School teachers alike are expressing their philosophical opposition to the oversimplification of a grading system that goes from A to E. I think it is a sad day when a principal says he opposed to the A to E grades but has to support it to secure federal funding. What are our politicians thinking? What educational expertise do they hold? As if Brendan Nelson's 'Values in Education' weren't bad enough, now this grossly inadequate grading system. What next?
More stories of dissent:
Leading principal gives new reports system an E grade Sydney Morning Herald, August 21st 2006. Retrieved 25. 8 2006
Teachers set to ditch new A to E card- Sydney Morning Herald, August 20th 2006. Retrieved 25. 8 2006
Report card stance risks school funding-Sydney Morning Herald, August 2nd 2006. Retrieved 25. 8 2006

998 PETALS LATER

IMAGINATION IS NOT A BOARD OF STUDIES OUTCOME
At our school, teachers agree on a contractual basis to undergo continual professional development, and are encouraged to seek further personal development in relation to their profession as teachers. At present we are undertaking an overview of our entire curriculum in relation to child development.
This entails looking at a particular subject area, say, English, and following through how the curriculum content is bought to the child at varying stages of his/her school life. All teachers from K-12 are present, as each stage has it development embedded in the previous stage. Rudolf Steiner described this approach as 'The Curriculum Physiology': age specific subjects that speak to the corresponding evolution of human development. Today we looked at the vast realm of the imagination, an intangible quality or indeed phenomena that is rarely referred to as an educational outcome. I believe otherwise, and at our school we are actively working to protect this childhood wonder from the ravages of continual attack, including sensory bombardment from the Internet, mass media, excessive computer games and television. As educators we are continually asking ourselves how to best support the child's age-appropriate needs. In doing this we take into account the child as a whole; physical, mental, psychological and spiritual. It is an ongoing research and my hope is that all these perspectives can provide stimulus and motivation for us to really meet the children as they come toward us as bearers of both great gifts, and hindrances to be overcome. I would like to share the following short summary of what we discussed in our meeting today, including some scientific research on the two amazing glands, hard at work to ensure we don't allow our imaginations to wither, atrophy, or even diminish beyond repair.
The pineal gland was the last endocrine gland to have its function discovered. Its location deep in the brain seemed to indicate its importance. This combination led to its being a "mystery" gland with myth, superstition and even metaphysical theories surrounding its perceived function, it has even been described as the 'third eye', or 1000 petalled lotus.
The pineal gland is large in children, but shrinks at puberty. It appears to play a major role in sexual development, hibernation in animals, metabolism, and seasonal breeding. The abundant melatonin levels in children are believed to inhibit sexual development, and pineal tumours have been linked with precocious puberty. When puberty arrives, melatonin production is reduced. Calcification of the pineal gland is typical in adults.
The true function of this mysterious gland has long been contemplated by philosophers and Spiritual Adepts, believing this area in the middle of the brain to be the connecting link between the physical and spiritual worlds; the world of the imagination. Ancient Greeks believed the pineal gland to be our connection to the Realms of Thought.
The pituitary gland is sometimes called the "master" gland of the endocrine system, because it controls the functions of the other endocrine glands. The pituitary gland is no larger than a pea, and is located at the base of the brain. The gland is attached to the hypothalumus by nerve fibres. The pituitary gland secretes hormones regulating a wide variety of bodily activities, including trophic hormones that stimulate other endocrine glands. It was known in Ancient India as the 2 petalled lotus.
Scientists have discovered that the emphasis from pineal to pituitary function occurs from the 7th year onward, until the 14th year when the pituitary function becomes dominant. Prior to this the child lives under the influence of the pineal gland activity, which is in direct relationship to the development of the imagination. That is why in Rudolf Steiner schools we prioritise the cultivation of the imaginative forces that are at work in the child. Later, these same forces, if nurtured to their potential, will become the basis for ideas and deep learning in a healthy teenager, a meaningful transition filled with optimism into young adulthood, and indeed may resound throughout an entire lifetime.
If we look at the biographies of such industry giants as Bill Gates and the guys at Google, we will find that in fact he did not spend their early childhood in front of a computer screen or television, rather they spent their time exploring, playing, adventuring and being. All health giving activities engage and stimulate the imagination
Today our government spends about 7 billion dollars on education, at least twice that on defence, and 4 times that amount on health. Imagine what savings we could make on health if we further valued educational incentives, particularly those that speak to the imagination of the young child.
.

CASH INCENTIVES FOR EXPERT TEACHERS

CASH INCENTIVES FOR EXPERT TEACHERS
It seems that both the government and the opposition are on the same page in relation to their valuing of expert teachers. Under a new proposal principals would get more money to attract and retain the best teachers. Making headlines in The Australian today, new data reveals that Australia is experiencing an exodus of teachers, due to a number of factors, including lack of fiscal incentive and a culture that undervalues teachers.
I must say I can relate to these sentiments. I have often felt undervalued and underpaid. Teaching, for the most part, is a fairly thankless task and at times it can feel like you are 'out to sea'. As for the pay, well, let's just say teaching would definitely do well in the vocational olympics. Teaching is a unique profession that requires a renewal of vows, sometimes on a daily basis, (like a demanding relationship). The school I work at provides many incentives including scope for personal and professional development. It is here we strive together to make a difference and to support one another on a collegial basis to meet the challenges. Of course a major factor in our commitment is the students themselves. I teach in a Rudolf Steiner School, which promotes pastoral care as a major focus throughout the curriculum. It is here we have the potential to develop strong positive relationships with our students and take a life long interest in their wellbeing. For me, that is the most important part of my commitment.

SELF ASSESSMENT-PEER ASSESSMENT- TEACHER ASSESSMENT

THE GARGOYLES COMMENTARY
YEAR 7 Art Making
I have been reflecting on a recent art making lesson with Year 7 titled, The Gargoyle's Commentary....Sacred Art in Profane Times.
The aim of the lesson was for the students to explore art making including a basic understanding and small exploration of the ways we look at and interpret art. Students were asked to investigate ways to develop and document their emerging ideas in a visual arts process diary. The task was to assemble an installation comprising ready made objects that gave representation to a personal alter or shrine. There were three forms of assessment: self assessment, peer assessment, teacher assessment.
1. Self Assessment- Students were asked to describe and evaluate their artwork. Here students develop their ability to think critically and reflectively about their work.
2. Peer Assessment-Students were asked to look at another students work and describe what they could see and apply analysis, interpretation and judgement. Peer assessment can be used to develop in students the ability to work cooperatively, to be critical of others work and receive critical appraisals of their own work.
3. Each students work was critiqued by a practicing artist. This was the highlight of the lesson for most students. They really enjoyed hearing feedback from an expert and then measuring this against their own ideas and interpretations.
I was really impressed with the maturity of the students and their application to the various forms of assessment. Although they were able to do assessment 1 and 2 they really flourished with assessment 3. This reinforced to me how important the teacher is in the validation of student work and how positive it is for everyone in the learning environment to have experts on hand.

MONITORING AND FEEDBACK IN EDUCATION

I think monitoring and feedback is an essential feature for keeping students engaged and motivated. Too often I think we see lessons that begin we a dynamic initiative, have deep representations but fall short on the overall feedback to students.
I teach in a Rudolf Steiner School. In our teaching practice we have worked with the indications from Dr. Steiner in relation to the duration and rhythm of the lesson programme. Steiner places great emphasis on the three fold order, which directly relates to the way the day and each lesson unfolds in a Rudolf Steiner school. This approach allows for a certain amount of flexibility. Students from years 1 through to 12 arrive at school and receive integrated teaching in what we call the main lesson, from approximately 9-11 am with appropriate short breaks. There is one teacher in the class teaching a specific subject, and that subject alone will be taught for 3-4 weeks, with each days succeeding work linking back to the day before. This encourages real focus, and has even become a familiar rhythm, known in medical and academic circles since the 1960's, under the title 'peak performance rhythm'.
Here it is acknowledged that the body core and in particular the head are better supplied with blood than the metabolic and limb system and that this is reversed in the second performance peak when the body core or metabolic activity comes into focus and later the limb system. For this reason Steiner speaks of the need to focus morning lessons on subjects which primarily address the head, and require students to sit still so that 'head activity' can occur in an uninterrupted and concentrated way. Towards midday and afternoon, in contrast lesson focus should be on subjects which address the will and the limbs.
Steiner spoke of establishing these rhythms so that the teacher would have sufficient peace and time to really impart something to the students, and to enter into intensive learning processes with them. Here deep learning can occur.
I work in the area of high school as a specialist art teacher and a class guardian of a specific year. Here particular subjects can be enriched from a variety of angles, where one or other specialist is involved in a main lesson, requiring intense supervision and optimum pupil/teacher relationship. Teacher training is a continuous process of great importance. We actively encourage teachers to regularly attend classes for further training and support the process of teachers observing other teachers' lessons.
When we teach a 3 week main lesson we provide monitoring and feedback throughout the lesson and then we 'revisit' the lesson one week hence. This is where the students receive their main lesson book back which has been marked and commented upon, but not graded. The reason for this is a matter we have devoted much attention to. We have come to the conclusion that a grade, say A, B, or C; or a mark out of 10, say 5, 7, or 9 does not have have a clear meaning; it does not give students feedback on what they did well or badly; it may even lead to an adversarial and competitive atmosphere. In a recent speech, Peter Elbow, director of the writing program at the University of Massachusetts, expressed strong feelings against grading, stating "it's the most intellectually dull thing we do". At our school we initially chose to eliminate grades altogether and opt for narrative evaluations .... but then there's the board of studies grading requirements which is directly linked to government funding.
The Premier of N.S.W, Morris Iemma, has recently become involved in a debate that calls for a report card overhaul. Critics claim that school reports have become voluminous - folders full of colourful examples of work, lists of performance criteria and more besides - to the point where the document no longer informs.Arguements from this group include the criticism that assessments are wordy, diffuse and, for most parents, incomprehensible. It is becoming apparent that a lot of teachers have a different view, however, based on a professional judgement about what, in the absence of all other factors, parents included, is best for the students. Reports are complicated and many-faceted because reducing an assessment to a single grade, ranged from A to E, as Mr Iemma wants, is a dangerous oversimplification. Graded as a failure, a child may become despondent or overwhelmed.
What we have decided to do at our school is apply both approaches. When we return books to students we provide comments that relate to individual student performance. When we issue reports at the end of each semester we provide both comments and grades. We have received favourable feedback from both students and parents and will continue to monitor this procedure, in conjunction with regular parent/teacher information evenings.
Recent newspaper articles. Read more..

Grading students and schools-Opinion: Sydney Morning Herald 6th June 2006. Retrieved 19.8.2006
Report card reshuffle-By Bruce McDougall Sunday Telegraph. 1st August 2006. Retrieved 19.8.2006

WHY TEACH?

Change the world - teach

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela

If I didn't think I could make a difference I wouldn't be doing the job I'm doing today.

Under new legislation outlined in a review paper titled 'Greater accountability for non-Government schools', non-Government schools are now required to comply with new regulations aimed at improving accountability and standards. The changes are a response to the Government-commissioned Warren Grimshaw report 2002 - to improve the transparency and accountability of private schools.
Teaching staff at non-Government's schools must now be appropriately qualified. That means teachers must:

* Have recognised teacher qualifications;
* Or be directly supervised by qualified staff;
* Or working towards achieving recognised qualifications

At our school we are currently working toward this compliance by having all unqualified teachers complete their N.S.W Bachelor of Teaching or Diploma of Education, (for those with an existing tertiary qualification). In some cases the teachers involved have been teaching for 30 years with no formal teaching qualifications. Between us we have a few hundred years of teaching experience!
As a full time high school teacher I thought at first that going back to university to learn how to teach would be an inconvenient waste of time. I imagined this to be a necessary evil and agreed to apply myself half-heartedly to comply with regulations.
I am now in my second semester of my university year and can actually say that it is really quite interesting and that I am finding the process stimulating for my teaching practice. It does require more time than I anticipated but I am learning to make everything more integrated, for example, when I teach a lesson I now use my review process as both a reflective exercise that I can count toward a university assessment task as well as for my own teaching requirements/practice.
It has also left me wondering what becomes of teachers who trained 10 or 15 years ago? How do they keep abreast of recent developments especially in relation to I.T.? One of my colleagues who has been teaching for some years and obtained her qualification in 2003 has been really interested to see what I doing, and has been asking me lots of questions. Perhaps her interest is stimulated by her only recently attending university. I often wonder what becomes of the other teachers who have long since graduated? Fortunately at our school we have ongoing professional development and we have prioritised and encouraged teachers to attend programmes run by Association of Independent Schools and further afield. I have been to quite a few of these seminars and have also come away feeling very positive and invigorated.
I am also enjoying creating this blog and have been inspired to create two others. The first of these is aimed at developing an online community to share and propose ideas, including the development of an itinerary in relation to a planned class trip for 2007. The other blog will serve as a repository for ideas and information around the subject of rhythms and cycles in relation to health and education. This is another area of study in which I am interested in and am on my way to obtaining a qualification in.

DO WE REALLY VALUE EXPERT TEACHERS/TEACHING

In ancient Egypt, China, and India, teaching was often the responsibility of priests or prophets, who enjoyed prestige and privileges. The ancient Greeks saw value in educating children, and wealthy Greeks often hired teachers for their households. During the first five centuries AD in the Roman Empire, citizens often had teacher-slaves.

By the Middles Ages in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church had taken over the responsibility of teaching, which it allocated to monasteries and specially designed learning centers. Many of these learning centers later evolved into major universities. During the 17th and 18th centuries, interest in children's education intensified. Throughout Europe, knowledge about teaching methods increased, and many new schools were founded. Training other teachers in new educational theories and teaching techniques significantly advanced education.

Rapid and profound social change has deeply affected our present-day teaching institutions. The change from a system designed to educate an elite to one of mass education not only increased the numbers of teachers and pupils, it also brought perplexing problems related to quality. Today this is compounded by environmental stress including the consequences of overeating and lack of exercise or movement in the western world. In the psychological realm, unmistakable damage arising from trauma in childhood and adolescence, especially due to sensory bombardment is prevelant. How to achieve high standards of education in these circumstances is a personal and social challenge that needs much creative thought and determination from teachers. We need to develop concepts and educational approaches which do justice to the most varied developmental needs and conditions. We need to really value teaching as a formative experience of great significance. Teachers, who in days gone by were regarded in high esteem, need to reclaim their status as one of the most significant factors in students lives. A colleague of mine who practices in a therapudic setting (counseling), said there are only two major thematic sources from which her clients draw their issues; their parents or their teachers.
In the Balinese culture the teacher is still a source of great admiration. In respect and honour of the teacher students are required to be seated in class ready to work before the teacher arrives.

In a recent interview, federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said that talented teachers who inspire students should be paid more. "I do not believe that this country sufficiently recognises or rewards its good teachers. "It certainly doesn't treasure its great teachers and we should. " Ms Bishop said good teachers were easy to pick.
"People say to me, how can you possibly judge who is a good teacher or a bad teacher," she said.
"You go into any school and you say, who are the good teachers and the bad teachers, and they'll tell you. Students can tell you, parents can tell you, other teachers can tell you, and yet the state government can't work it out."

Hattie says expert teachers do differ from experienced teachers – particularly on the way they represent their classrooms, the degree of challenges that they present to students, and most critically, in the depth of processing that their students attain. Students who are taught by expert teachers exhibit an understanding of the concepts targeted in instruction that is more integrated, more coherent, and at a higher level of abstraction than the understanding achieved by other students.
Hattie’s studies concluded that in general we have a reticence to identify such excellence in the fear that the others could be deemed not-excellent. Hattie also argues that we work on the absurd assumption that all teachers are equal, which is patently not true to any child, any parent, any principal, and known by all teachers.
Such an assumption of equality brings all teachers down to the latest press scandal about a teacher, and our profession needs and deserves better than this. Every other profession recognizes and esteems excellence (Queens Counsels, Colleges of Surgeons, Supreme Court Judges) but in teaching we reward primarily by experience irrespective of excellence, we promote the best out of the classroom, and we have few goalposts to aim for in professional development, instead allowing others to define what latest fad, what new gimmick, what new policy will underline the content of professional development.
Like expertise in teaching, we need a deeper representation of excellence in teachers, a greater challenge and commitment to recognizing excellence, and a coherent, integrated, high level of deep understanding about teacher expertise.

ATTENDING TO AFFECTIVE ATTRIBUTES

Attending to Affective Attributes

' Expert teachers have high respect for students.' Hattie
"Education is always self-education, and as teachers and educators we are merely the environment in which the child is educating himself. We have to provide the most favorable environment so that the child will be able to educate himself according to his inner destiny". Rudolf Steiner
I start with this quote from Rudolf Steiner to emphasize that learning is a continuous unfolding and that as human beings we are not born with the same specialization as say, a dog or a bird or even a plant. Allow me to explain, you see a dog does not become more 'doglike' as it grows older nor does a bird learn to be more 'birdlike'. Yet as a human being we are on a continuous path of development and at each stage we are learning to become more human.
I believe that the art of teaching summons up the essential need for the teacher to become both student and teacher, to be receptive to the learning environment that is being created, and be both willing and open to learning from their students. I have learnt invaluable lessons from my students, through both observation and engagement. What works and why....What doesn't work and how those experiences shape the learning environment. I beleive that a teacher cannot expect respect unless they are willing to give respect to their students. Too often teachers confuse their authority with domination, applying strong control and tending to create more physical and psychological distance between themselves and their students.
We all know that the role of the teacher can have both a positive and negative effect on student outcomes. Expert teachers
'Expert teachers are passionate about teaching and learning.' Hattie
The opening lines from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence, evoke images of a world of limitless possibilities, unimagined beauty and a true depth of soul. Just imagine everyday to behold your students as this wellspring of potential......

'To see the world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in a hour.'

MONITORING LEARNING AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK

Monitoring Learning and Provide Feedback
'Expert teachers are more adept at monitoring student problems and assessing their level of understanding and progress, and they provide much more relevant, useful feedback.' Hattie
Expert teachers can anticipate and prevent disturbances from occurring whereas non-experts tend to correct already existing disturbances. Expert teachers, in their responsive zeal, can detect when students have reached their interest threshold, which could be argued is surprisingly low due to a constant bombardment of stimulus. In Rudolf Steiner schools teachers are required to bring about a harmonious unfolding of thinking feeling and willing, making sure that students are stimulated and inspired as well as 'doing'.Teaching in post-modern times calls upon the teacher to summon up their entire faculty as they navigate and filter relevant from irrelevant information, monitor, understand and interpret events throughout their lesson. As a consequence they seek to provide more and better feedback in light of this monitoring. As we now know the single most powerful moderator that enhances achievement is feedback. All students love to hear and understand more about themselves through their work. I believe the human condition is one in which we strive to understand; to know ourselves.



'Expert teachers are more adept at developing and testing hypotheses about learning difficulties or instructional strategies.' Hattie
Expert teachers develop and test hypotheses about learning based on the feedback they receive, evaluating possible strategies while seeking and adding further feedback information to ascertain the effectiveness of their teaching. Expert teachers were more meticulous in their efforts to adequately check and test out their hypotheses or strategies.

WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF EXCELLENT TEACHERS?

John Hattie is a highly regarded and well known educator who is currently Professor of Education at the University of Auckland. In a recent (2003) publication commissioned by The Australian Council for Education Research, Hattie set out to discover what sets expert teachers apart from novice and experienced teachers. He postulates that it is indeed possible to ascertain the attributes of excellence and create a working model for formulating appropriate professional development for teachers.
Hattie’s research discovered that the greatest variance in a student’s ability to achieve their potential, regardless of their initial ability, was in fact the teacher! Probably no great surprise to most of us educators. Whilst Hattie states that most teachers do have a positive effect on their students, he almost laments at the wasted opportunity of teachers to impart an exceptional effect on those in their charge. As a teacher I wish for nothing greater than perpetual exceptional teaching standards. Wow! We could probably change the world, slash social welfare benefits by half; promote health and wellbeing for a lifetime.
Are exceptional teaching standards possible? According to Hattie’s research of over half a million studies, the great news is Yes!!
Our first aim should be to identify those attributes that have a marked and meaningful affect on students. Therefore, the focus is to have a powerful effect on achievement, and this is where excellent teachers come to the fore – as such excellence in teaching is the single most powerful influence on achievement.
'Expert teachers have deeper representations about teaching and learning.' Hattie.
Do you remember a teacher whose knowledge was so integrated and they had such a strong command over their subject matter that you still remember them vividly to this very day? I had one such teacher who taught me mathematics from grades 7-10. She was so passionate and inspiring that she insisted we all achieve A’s in our School Certificate and made it her task to recognize all learning styles, detect all possible errors, and have catch plans in place for those students who may need such guidance. Our class did all go on to achieve at the highest level and a large percentage were able to flow on to enrol in HSC 4 unit Math. Unfortunately, coming from a rural area it was at this transition that I had to change schools in order to achieve my HSC, and it was at this moment a great travesty occurred. Our class stuck together as a group and went from the highest order-learning environment with the best teacher to what must have been the absolute antithesis, including the worst teacher I have ever encountered to this day. He had a habit of writing on an overhead projector with his back to the class. Occasionally he would pause to reflect? and ask if there were any questions so far. The trouble was that if you were encountering a problem, and then had the audacity to verbalize it, he would first of all shout out that the facts were very clearly exampled on the overhead projector and then proceed to belittle and humiliate you in front of the entire class. Needless to say the drop out rate from that class was well over 90%. I actually changed schools to avoid having him as my teacher, preferring the cold comfort of boarding school to bellowing school.
'Expert teachers adopt a problem-solving stance to their work.' Hattie.
I remember the care and respect my math teacher took to acknowledge and attend to each individual students performance. Each student actually felt like the fulcrum of a mini universe, or to borrow a mathematical allusion from the great poet John Donne, the individual becomes the fixed foot of the compass, the teacher in both care and attention to detail, visits each student as the roving arm, arcing her class in a protective mantle. This obviously involves a certain flexibility on the part the teacher; ideally they will take advantage of new information and revised approaches to problem solving. Again, here we have the opposite methodology to ‘overhead’, the inflexibly, rigid destroyer of mathematical futures mentioned above.
'Expert teachers can anticipate, plan, and improvise as required by the situation.' Hattie
Anticipation and improvisation reassure students that their teachers are in command. These teachers use information feedback from exams and problems to really listen in and develop new strategies for progress. Often exam results are seen as a reflection on the student alone and not the teaching practices. An expert teacher will in fact seek and use such feedback to develop their teaching practices. This approach draws correlation with research currently being done within the scientific community on Salutogenisis; the study of wellness. Scientists now believe that if you can study what maintains and promotes health, they may be able to work back through certain reflective processes to observe the developmental processes involved in the pathology of illness.
'Expert teachers are better decision-makers and can identify what decisions are important and which are less important decisions.' Hattie
Expert teachers are confident decision makers. Their faculties are such that they have strongly embedded lesson plans which are applied in direct relation to their students’ questions and responses. They are skilful in keeping the lesson on track and accomplishing their objectives, while also allowing students’ questions and comments as springboards for discussions. Moreover, they achieved a balance between content-centered and student-centered instruction. I want to be in her lesson!



Guiding Learning through Classroom Interactions
'Expert teachers are proficient at creating an optimal classroom climate for learning. ' Hattie
Expert teachers are proficient in creating optimal classroom climates for learning, particularly to increase the probability of feedback occurring (which often involves allowing for, and certainly tolerating, student errors). You can see the contrast in the two learning environments I described above. The first approach encouraged the practice of students asking and answering questions, facilitating peer relationship and fostering, as well as valuing, a positive and safe learning environment. The ‘overhead’ environment was as destructive as it was terrifying, every day became a battlefield where error and inquiry was the enemy, and self-esteem and the joy of learning were eradicated.
'Expert teachers have a multidimensionally complex perception of classroom situations.
Related to the superior pattern recognition, experts are more able to deal with the multidimensionality of classrooms.' Hattie.
Expert teachers are more effective scanners of classroom behaviour, make greater references to the language of instruction and learning of students, whereas experienced teachers concentrate more on what the teacher is doing and saying to the class and novices concentrate more on student behavior. I have a wonderful example of a kindergarten teacher who was able to weave and adapt her stories to include and redirect all student classroom behaviours in a dexterous and impressive manner. For example, ‘Chitter -Chatter’, (students talking at listening time), became a little character, who learns through his deficits to overcome or redirect his attributes back to more socially harmonious and thus, classroom friendly, behaviour. In this way the child is not specifically singled out and the teacher, using the pedagogical premise that children under seven learn best through imitation, is able to gain significant direction and positive cultivation through the learning environment being created.
'Expert teachers are more context-dependent and have high situation cognition.' Hattie.
Here we develop an understanding of expert teachers being more motivated to seek from within a learning environment their primary direction, as opposed to seeking to impress their particular methodology from without, having no regard for changing context. I was recently directed to an inspiring website developed by the Board of Studies regarding direction for teaching within Aboriginal educational contexts. This website showcases examples of school-developed context-based teaching and learning projects collaboratively developed by teachers, Aboriginal education workers and local community members.
Rudolf Steiner developed an educational curriculum whereby each subject was timetabled at an age specific year in the student’s life. In class 10 students study the mathematics of surveying. In the past we have set students tasks in relation to the school site. Since working through the material provided on the BOS website I came up with the idea of approaching the local traditional custodial owners to see if there are any particular sites of local significance that could be surveyed. Together we could develop an interactive program including contextual classroom teaching units that connect learning outcomes and content with the needs and interests of students. I think this could be very exciting.

BLOOMS TAXONOMY

BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behaviour important in learning. Bloom found that over 95 % of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level...the recall of information.

Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order, which is classified as evaluation. Verb examples that represent intellectual activity on each level are listed here.

REMEMBERING

Recognise, list, describe, identify retrieve, name ….

Can the student RECALL information?

UNDERSTANDING

Interpret, exemplify, summarise, infer, paraphrase …..

Can the student EXPLAIN ideas or concepts?

APPLYING

Implement, carry out, use …

Can the student USE the new knowledge in another familiar situation?

ANALYSING

Compare, attribute, organise, deconstruct …

Can the student DIFFERENTIATE between constituent parts?

EVALUATING

Check, critique, judge hypothesise ...

Can the student JUSTIFY a decision or course of action?

CREATING

Design, construct, plan, produce ...

Can the student GENERATE new products, ideas or ways of viewing things ?

The Revised Taxonomy

APPLYING BLOOM'S TAXONOMY


BLOOM'S TAXONOMY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

During the 1990's a new group of cognitive psychologist, lead by Lorin Anderson (a former student of Bloom's), updated the taxonomy reflecting relevance to 21st century work. The graphic is a representation of the NEW verbage associated with the long familiar Bloom's Taxonomy. Note the change from Nouns to Verbs to describe the different levels of the taxonomy, indicating that these processes involve activity, especially active thought.

Note that the top two levels are essentially exchanged from the Old to the New version.
I think the reason for this revised format has to do with the way the pyramid is ordered in relation to complexity of processes. Creative thinking is held up as a 21stC ideal, whereas critical thinking=to evaluating is now consider a prerequisite for creative thinking. It is now considered that one can be critical ie. evaluate, without being creative, whereas most creative processes rely on a degree of critical reflection.

OLD Version



NEW Version




REVISED BLOOM'S TAXONOMY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The revised taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) incorporates both the kind of knowledge to be learned (knowledge dimension) and the process used to learn (cognitive process), allowing for the instructional designer to efficiently align objectives to assessment techniques. Both dimensions are illustrated in the following table that can be used to help write clear, focused objectives.

The more teachers learn about the way students learn, the more instructional techniques will improve by incorporating new findings into currently existing methods.

Categories in the cognitive domain of Bloom's Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001):-
The following diagram illustrates the cognitive process dimension of the revised version of Bloom's taxonomy in the cognitive domain (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). It depicts the belief that remembering is a prerequisite for understanding and that understanding is a prerequisite for application. Perhaps the reason the three higher processes are depicted on the same level in this model is that they are considered more interactive and able to take place in a 21stC multitasking domain.