Twenty-first century ideas about
knowledge and learning demand shifts in the traditional roles or “scripts”
followed by learners and teachers. If the purpose of schools is not to transmit knowledge, then teachers’ roles
must be reconceived. Similarly, if the learner’s main job is no longer to
absorb and store up knowledge to use in the future, then learners’ roles and
responsibilities also need to be reconceived. This calls for a greater focus on
recognising and working with learners’ strengths, and thinking about what role
teachers can play in supporting the development of every learner’s potential.
The idea of changing the scripts for
learners and teachers is often shorthanded with phrases such as
“student-centred pedagogies” or “student voice”, alluding to the need to engage
learners (and their interests, experiences and knowledge) in many decisions
about their learning. However, the idea of sharing power with learners can be
met with resistance, particularly if this is interpreted as an “anything goes”
approach in which learners are given complete
freedom to set the direction for their learning. The challenge is to move past
seeing learning in terms of being “student-centred” or “teacher-driven”, and
instead to think about how learners and teachers would work together in a “knowledge-building” learning
environment. This is not about teachers ceding all the power and responsibility
to students, or students and teachers being “equal” as learners. Rather, it is
about structuring roles and relationships in ways that draw on the strengths
and knowledge of each in order to best support learning.
R Bolstad & J Gilbert (2012, pp. 4-5) Report to Ministry of Education, "Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching — a New Zealand perspective"
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