Pottery, Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum
WHAT IS GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING
(AND HOW DO WE KNOW IT WHEN WE SEE IT)?
CURRICULUM
• Expect the expected, hope for the unexpected, expect the unexpected (Curtis and Rachel, 1994)
• A subject or topic, knowledge about something. Being told what I need to know and learn to pass a test (Eleanor, 2014).
CURRICULUM• Evolving knowledge through thinking and sharing these thoughts.
• Being able to confidently challenge viewpoints and perceptions.
• Learning something new.
• Learning from each other.
• Actively participating in the development of ideas, thinking and knowledge .
• Taking risks with ideas.
• Learning with the tutor’s guidance.
• Researching and questioning.
• Passing the essay
• Lifelong learning
• Making a contribution to the curriculum.
(Medway BA (HONS) EYL students, 2014)
CURRICULUM AS POWER• Societal power
• Governmental power
• Marketplace power
• University power
• Programme power
• Tutor power
• Student power
• Power of relationships and partnerships?
The Craft of Pottery as a Metaphor
by
Tony Ross-Gower
ORGANIC CURRICULUM
GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING REQUIRES EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
The ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘where’: facts; history; equipment; specialist vocabulary; firing temperatures; ingredients; etc.
GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING REQUIRES SPECIAL SKILLS
The ‘how’: wedging; throwing; turning; glazing; firing; cooling; shaping; etc.
GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING AND APPLICATION
The ‘why’: reasons for studying the discipline; different vessel shapes – dependent on context/need; use of different clays; firing processes; etc.
GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING:WHAT ELSE?
• Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK: Schulman, 1992)?
• Performing skills (DfE, 2011; www.cirquedusoleil.com)?
• Inclusive and egalitarian teacher/learner relationships (Dewey, 1903; Freire, 1996, Booth and Ainscow, 2011)?
• Emotional engagement with the curriculum – whether philosophy or pottery (Easton, 2009; Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia, 1973)?
• Empathy, trust, respect, humour, love (Bowlby and Ainsworth in Bretherton, 1992; Campbell, 1984 – moderated love; hooks, 1999 – professional love)?
• All that other stuff…
GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING: THE UNEXPECTED AND/OR THE UNKNOWN?
curriculum
skills
knowledge
understanding
REFERENCES
Dahl, R. (1986) Four Tales of the Unexpected. London: Heinemann/Octopus.
Dewey, J. (2012) Democracy and Education. Hollywood: Simon and Brown.
Easton, F. (2009) ‘Educating the whole child, ‘head, heart and hands’: learning from the Waldorf experience’, Theory into Practice, Volume 36 (2), pp. 87-94.
Freire, P. (1970, reprinted 1996) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin.
Great Britain, Department for Education (2013) Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies. Nottingham: DfE.
hooks, b. (1999) All about love: new visions. New York: HarperCollins.
Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S. and Masia, B. B. (1973) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: the Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook II: Affective Domain . New York: David McKay Co.
Shulman, L. (1992) ‘Ways of seeing, ways of knowing, ways of teaching, ways of learning about teaching’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Volume 28, pp. 393-396.