How can teachers move from traditional to innovative learning environments?

13 Apr 201726 Apr 2017 / Alastair Blyth / Leave a comment

What do we really know about how teachers can use the wonderful innovative learning environments being created for schools around the world?

Stonefields School, Auckland, New Zealand

Graduate researchers (architects, designers, educationalists) around the world are tackling issues such as this, but often in isolation. The ‘Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change’ (ILETC) project, based at the University of Melbourne, Australia, aims to bring this thinking together through its series of one-day ‘transitions’ symposia which this year will also be held outside Australia – in the UK (London) on 7th September and in the US (Grand Rapids, Michigan) on 14th September. The symposium in Melbourne will be on 2nd June. It will be interesting to learn where the research on this is at. Continue reading →

Quiet please! We’re trying to learn.

14 Apr 201414 Apr 2014 / Alastair Blyth / 8 Comments

If students cannot hear, how can they learn? Why is sound such a difficult issue in schools?

Is this an effective way of taking control of a problem that should not exist?

Imagine that you are sitting in the middle of the room and all you can hear is a garbled “mash” from the teacher. You don’t know what has been said, are you being asked a question? Or, given an important piece of information? If you are reasonably extrovert, you might ask someone else. If you are at all shy, you may well keep quiet to avoid looking stupid amongst your peers. Continue reading →