The national obsession with measuring progress places a premium on
cognitive development but does not consider the whole child, says Tricia Kelleher
Is the development of students as individuals getting lost in the exam conveyor belt? Photograph: Aly Song/REUTERS
Watch out for the sharks! The plank is for the bad pirates."
This snatch of conversation between two, three year-old children in our pre-prep captures brilliantly their learning experience. Adults tend to equate learning to the amount of time children sit behind desks. But the children I observed were outside, creating a world of buccaneers, princesses and sword wielding heroes. I was even given a lesson in ballroom dancing by two little girls keen to share their skills with me.
Of course, the principle underlying the lesson was independent learning. Our teachers had skilfully configured the spaces to support discovery and creativity. Each child was encouraged to explore the possibilities offered to them and "to play" – by play I mean problem solving, creativity, showing initiative. We let them loose to begin with, then we can plan in 'problems' for them to solve or give them tasks that will extend their play and support their development. Essentially developing a positive learning disposition.
Elsewhere in school, our year 2 children were coming to the end of a plan-do-review day (which is part of a three week cycle; one lesson a week, plan first, then do and then last week is review) and were reflecting on what they had learnt. They had complete freedom to design their own project. Sadly the pressure of time had prevented the completion of a model of Henry VIII, the painting of a cottage and the markings on an aeroplane. But all the children had learnt an important lesson about time management and, as one boy observed, how much they enjoyed "collaboration" (his word).
This window into the world of young children's learning was a timely reminder to me about the importance of providing space for children to develop. The national obsession with measuring progress places a premium on cognitive development which, while more easily measurable, is not about the whole child.
Interestingly, at the other end of the educational spectrum, the International Baccalaureate offers a sixth form programme which is about breadth both in terms of subject content and assessment. Students enjoy an intellectual challenge which stretches them and an assessment framework which requires more than performance in a terminal examination – group work, extended essay, presentations are an integral part of this programme. Intellectually coherent and clearly valuing so much more about the student, there is much to recommend the IB. The learning is embedded in this programme.
And then we have our national qualification. It strikes me as someone with responsibility for children aged three to 18 that our examination system almost gets in the way of learning. With national exams required to fulfil different purposes – measuring a school, value added, individual's attainment – is it any wonder that the development of an individual can get lost in the exam conveyor belt? The current debate about standards in education has become subsumed by proposed changes to the national examination framework. In my view this is the wrong way round. Surely the big debate should be focused on learning and exams configured to capture what we truly value.
Yet, I also know that we measure what we measure because we always have done it this way. The exam machine is grinding away and our children are destined to pass through it for better or worse. This is their passport to the future. As a school we are determined to add stamps to this passport – for us it is about the education of an individual and it is our responsibility to ensure this is about more than passing exams. A young person is surely more than a collection of grades; they are the future.
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2013/oct/01/exams-get-in-way-of-learning-schools-students
Is the development of students as individuals getting lost in the exam conveyor belt? Photograph: Aly Song/REUTERSWatch out for the sharks! The plank is for the bad pirates."
This snatch of conversation between two, three year-old children in our pre-prep captures brilliantly their learning experience. Adults tend to equate learning to the amount of time children sit behind desks. But the children I observed were outside, creating a world of buccaneers, princesses and sword wielding heroes. I was even given a lesson in ballroom dancing by two little girls keen to share their skills with me.
Of course, the principle underlying the lesson was independent learning. Our teachers had skilfully configured the spaces to support discovery and creativity. Each child was encouraged to explore the possibilities offered to them and "to play" – by play I mean problem solving, creativity, showing initiative. We let them loose to begin with, then we can plan in 'problems' for them to solve or give them tasks that will extend their play and support their development. Essentially developing a positive learning disposition.
Elsewhere in school, our year 2 children were coming to the end of a plan-do-review day (which is part of a three week cycle; one lesson a week, plan first, then do and then last week is review) and were reflecting on what they had learnt. They had complete freedom to design their own project. Sadly the pressure of time had prevented the completion of a model of Henry VIII, the painting of a cottage and the markings on an aeroplane. But all the children had learnt an important lesson about time management and, as one boy observed, how much they enjoyed "collaboration" (his word).
This window into the world of young children's learning was a timely reminder to me about the importance of providing space for children to develop. The national obsession with measuring progress places a premium on cognitive development which, while more easily measurable, is not about the whole child.
Interestingly, at the other end of the educational spectrum, the International Baccalaureate offers a sixth form programme which is about breadth both in terms of subject content and assessment. Students enjoy an intellectual challenge which stretches them and an assessment framework which requires more than performance in a terminal examination – group work, extended essay, presentations are an integral part of this programme. Intellectually coherent and clearly valuing so much more about the student, there is much to recommend the IB. The learning is embedded in this programme.
And then we have our national qualification. It strikes me as someone with responsibility for children aged three to 18 that our examination system almost gets in the way of learning. With national exams required to fulfil different purposes – measuring a school, value added, individual's attainment – is it any wonder that the development of an individual can get lost in the exam conveyor belt? The current debate about standards in education has become subsumed by proposed changes to the national examination framework. In my view this is the wrong way round. Surely the big debate should be focused on learning and exams configured to capture what we truly value.
Yet, I also know that we measure what we measure because we always have done it this way. The exam machine is grinding away and our children are destined to pass through it for better or worse. This is their passport to the future. As a school we are determined to add stamps to this passport – for us it is about the education of an individual and it is our responsibility to ensure this is about more than passing exams. A young person is surely more than a collection of grades; they are the future.
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2013/oct/01/exams-get-in-way-of-learning-schools-students
