Reinventing Education

EP 51: Digging into the Reinventing Education Map

Hot off the tightly scripted overview of our model in episode 50, we take a looser journey through the highways and byways of Reinventing Education. We dig into the the Integral theory that underpins many of these ideas before discussing how the three kinds of school; traditional, mainstream and progressive, are battling it out for the soul of education in the 21st century.

Go check out episode 50 first and then join us back here for further glimpses into the nuts and bolts of Reinventing Education!

EP 50 : Start Here 2.0! A Map for Reinventing Education

How do we change education?  This episode is our best answer.

 

In short, we believe that educational change comes when we seek to identify and act on the core values as they manifest across 8 key aspects of school: the activities, resources, systems, environments, communities, cultures, beliefs & reactions.

 

In this special episode, we attempt to summarise our ideas from our first 49 episodes with a focus on how the three types of school that we see today, the traditional, the mainstream & the progressive address the main aims of school: citizenship, self growth & work preparation.

 

We hope you find this interesting and valuable. Let us know what you think!

 

EP 49 : Parent Communication & Community Outreach in Traditional Schools

Today we wrap up our season long look at the traditional school!

How does a traditional school communicate with parents? Are the kinds of parent teacher conferences that you find in these schools still meaningful and effective in 2020? Today we dig into the thorny topic of interaction with parents and discuss the strengths & weaknesses in the ways that Traditional schools go about it.

We also talk about how students in a traditional educational system work with those in the local and global community. As with everything, there are babies and bathwaters!

In our reverse sponsorships, we shout out the Circle Schools documentary & the book "The Conditions of Learning" by Robert Gagne.

During the main part of the show, we talk about this study on parent involvement from the University Islam Indonesia, this article from "The Resilient Educator" on great parent teacher conferences and Robert Hart's "Ladder of Participation".

Find us on Twitter or Email us at reinventingeducationpodcast@gmail.com

EP 48 : School Facilities & Staff Meetings in a Traditional School

The traditional school prides itself on having a beautiful range of facilities. From a well maintained grounds, spacious sports pitches and a dining hall that is clean as a whistle to a fully stocked library. 
The benefits of having such a physical environment may be obvious. But in 2020 is it still possible and desirable to have this old school approach?
Today we dig into the babies and bathwater of the security minded traditional school’s physical spaces.

We also look at something that is close to our hearts - the staff meeting. Over the last 15 years Rob & I have attended hundreds of these meetings in traditional, mainstream and progressive schools. So what do they look like in the traditional school and does this form still serve the school?

In today’s episode, we refer to this Quartz article on great meetings & this BBC piece on how meetings may even function as a form of therapy.

Our “reverse sponsorships” today mention Rob's upcoming presentation at the Integral European Conference and the Joseph Campbell classic “The Hero with 1000 Faces”

Find us and feedback to us on Twitter or at reinventingeducationpodcast@gmail.com

EP 47 : Kindergarten & Student Government in Traditional Schools

Each type of school has its own conception of how young children should be educated. Today we look at how Traditional schools run their Kindergartens. One of the questions we ask is, "Why do schools that value self discipline an order allow the youngest children such freedom?"

In the second part of the show we dig into how a security minded traditional school might run a student government. How does a school that values authority delegate decisions to its students?

Also, as the Corona virus pandemic continues to have a major effect on the world, we update how our own schools are adapting to the crisis.  

In this show we reference this research paper on the introduction of academic studies to Kindergarten and also this article on the differences between Montessori early years education and traditional kindergarten.

Our "Reverse Sponsorship" this week shout the online portfolio tool "Seesaw" and the book "Igniting Brilliance : Integral Education for the 21st Century"

EP 46 : Corona Virus - The Traditional, Mainstream & Progressive Educational Response : Teaching & Learning without a Classroom

The Corona virus global pandemic has forced schools around the world into the largest experiment of virtual learning that has ever been undertaken. Traditional, mainstream and progressive schools have dealt with this unfolding crisis in very different ways.

Today we look into the solutions that these three types of school systems have developed as they attempt to continue teaching and learning while staying true to their core values.

EP 45 : Playtimes in Traditional School

Break times, eh? We all love em! But what role do they play in a traditional education? And are there elements that no longer work well in 2020? Today we dig into the rules of the playground in our search for "babies & bathwater".

We also discuss the idea of classroom jobs for students and look into the belief that they play an important role in building responsible people.

In our opening ramble, we reverse sponsor, "Third Culture Kids" a great book on the topic of students who live in multiple cultures and we give a shout out to the "Meetup" app as great way to organise informal educational events.

Enjoy!

EP 44 :Discipline & Assessment in a Traditional School

Traditional school prides itself on being disciplined, but how does this type of education deal with those who hurt others and disrupt the flow of things? In the first part of this episode we dig into the idea of punitive discipline and its outcomes. We follow this with a discussion on the whys and hows of traditional school grading and assessing of student work. 

Our reverse sponsorship today celebrates the work of Stephen McIntosh and his video  ("Developmental Politics in 5 Minutes").

And during our segments on discipline and assessment, we refer to the following articles & research papers : Michael Carson - Psychology Today article - “Punishment Doesn’t Work" ; Jessica Samakow -  Huffington Post article - “What Science Says About Using Force To Punish A Child” ; Elizabeth Gershoff - American Psychological Association article -  “Is Corporal Punishment an Effective Means of Discipline?” ; Mark E. Bouton and Scott T. Schepers - Research Paper - "Renewal after the punishment of free operant behavior" ; Rebecca Putman - Texas Journal of Literacy Education article - "Using Research To Make Informed Decisions About The Spelling Curriculum"

EP 43 : Homework & Marking in Traditional Schools

In the world of traditional education we would expect to see students completing homework on a regular basis. But does homework still have meaning in 2020? Alongside this, marking of this work was traditionally done in private by teachers and then returned with comments, including the dreaded "See me!".

In today's episode, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses in the approach to homework and marking that you may find in a traditional "security" minded educational establishment.

We reference the work of Alfie Kohn (rethinking homework) & John Hattie (feedback in schools)

We also throw out a few of our own (non educational) podcast recommendations -enjoy! Adam Buxton, The Portal, Weird Studies, Athletico Mince, The Daily Evolver & That Naturopathic Podcast

EP 42 : "The Lesson" & Differentiation in a Traditional School

What do we mean when we say "a lesson"? It seems an obvious question, but to each type of school - traditional, mainstream & progressive, what you may see may be markedly different. Today, we question the pros and cons of the traditional "chalk & talk" style lesson and we also ask how such a model supports and differentiates for the wide range of students that we have in our classrooms. Join us for another deep delve into the world of traditional education as we fish for babies and bathwater.

Also in today's show we talk briefly about Salman Khan's Khan Academy

and the influential work of Ernest Boyer and his book, "The Basic School"