Podcast: 3D Printer and 20% Time Progress

In this episode, we talk about our new 3D printer, the checkpoint activities for 20% Time projects, our PD presentations and preliminary planning for student TED Talks. Listeners can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Search iTunes for Harmonized Learning in the podcast section and click "subscribe". You can also follow us on Twitter @melissahellwig4 and @dayankee

Keeping alive the spirit of John Dewey -enuf of Henry Ford!

The student centred ideas of John Dewey have, it seems ,all  but been lost in the country of his birth - the USA, except for the few schools who still follow a progressive view of education. 

(Follow this link to check out Dewey's beliefs about education)

Maybe it is time to return to Dewey to  if we are to escape the domination of those outside schooling who currently determine education. In New Zealand the imposition of National Standards is a case in point along with the move to obsessive testing and data to compare schools..

All more to do with Henry Ford.

Develop talents of all

Ability grouping, streaming and a narrow focus on literacy and numeracy are  all part of the problem no matter how friendly and colourful primary classrooms are.

Finding a student centred school is difficult in  New Zealand - ironic as  a few decades ago  primary education was well on the way to being a world leader.  Even the Modern Learning Environments ( MLE) -   a reincarnation of the open plan schools of the 70s are more about architectural features and wireless environments than pedagogy. 'Temples of vacuity' as Kelvin Smythe calls them. ICT is being seen as the ultimate 'silver bullet' but as one writer summed up the situation 'pedagogy before i-pads'.

The above begs the question what is a student centred philosophy - or holistic learning as some refer to it?

Purpose or pedagogy first

Schools who follow the Emilia Reggio approach will know but this approach is limited to early education centres. Schools that follow James Beane's  democratic education ideas ( mainly middle schools ) will also have a good idea. Or secondary schools that are utilizing the ideas of the the Big Picture Company.


Sadly you will find student centred learning  most often used by teachers working with students who have given up on formal traditional schooling. And of course home-schoolers.  Such people have realized the transformation power of tapping students interests.

 John Holt, a leading progressive educator of the 60/70s ,finally gave up on schools ever changing but his early books are still as relevant as ever. Sir Ken Robinson is leading the charge to transform schools today as are people like Guy Claxton whose book 'What's the Point of School' sums up the situation.  New Zealand educator  David Hood's book is even more blunt 'Our Secondary Schools Don't Work Anymore'.

There are no shortage of ideas and educators to inspire transformation but schools are slow to face up to the challenges of the 21st C . The most inspirational book is In the Early World' written in the 60s by pioneer New Zealand educator Elwyn Richardson who saw his classroom as a 'community of scientists and artists' exploring the environment  and issues that concerned them.

Elwyn Richardson

And today we have the move towards personalized learning  an antidote to the  industrial aged standardized learning that  has infected our schooling. A phrase that covers tailor made student centred learning  but so far I do not know of a school that makes this central to all they do.

So like John Holt I am on the verge of giving up on schools ever changing. Maybe modern information technology will make schools obsolete - that is unless they change.

John Dewey believed that the need to learn, to make sense of ones experience, was the inborn innate way humans learn - until they reach formal schooling. One of his key phrases was that 'children are people, they grow into tomorrow only as they live today'. Culture counts - for better or worse.

To create a learning culture teachers need to provide the widest range of experiences for students to respond to. This does not leave determining learning over to the students ( this was a failure of early progressive movements).  The teachers is still possibly the most important influence in any learning environment.  Jerome Bruner ( a  recent follower of Dewey ) has written 'teaching is the canny art of intellectual temptation'.   Another source of ideas is David Perkins

Another tenant of progressive learning is that teachers should look carefully at the individual child as he/she is, and not as they would like him, or her, to be, or as they think he/she should be at a certain age.

Value student's ideas

Teachers need to value the ideas, questions and concerns students bring with them  and not impose their planned curriculum on them. 

Valuing student voice and identity as learners are central.

Learning through experience is an active process. Students bring with them their prior ideas, questions and naive theories and teachers need to be aware of these. In this respect young learners are true scientists working at the 'edge of their competence' ( Bruner).  Students are constantly reaching out for understanding of what interests them and in the process their ideas change.If teachers ignore student ideas, or push them to far, students 'turn off' learning. Far too easily done.

We had in New Zealand some of the best research is this approach to learning  - the Learning in  Science Project based on constructivist learning. The work of Lev Vygotsky introduced the idea of co-contructivism - his phrase 'what a learner can do with help today he can do by himself tomorrow' emphasizing the role of teachers and others in the learning process.

The task is to build on the individual students way of learning in the process providing them with further option in future situations.

Problem solving

Progressive education is about learning through practical problem solving, essentially using scientific thinking or ,in today's terms, inquiry, or problem based  learning. Scientific thinking however is not as straight forward as is often thought  - it is more 'enlightened trial an error'. True learners/scientists are excited about not knowing - it is this that drives them to explore further.

Observing is a essential element in learning. Encouraging students to closely observe what is happening, in any learning area, is all too often overlooked. Students are all too often encouraged to rush through learning and not given time to notice what is really happening; they look but do not see. Slowing the pace of work to encourage a reflective mindset pays off.

In any learning situation it is the student's questions that are most significant and as students dig into what has attracted them their questions deepen.  Teachers need to learn the follow the the lines

What questions and concern do student's have

of inquiry arising out of student's questions helping students refine their idea and work out ways to solve their problems;'learning conversation'. Some call this an 'emergent' curriculum

At this point even the friendliest primary schools fall short with their current obsession on formulaic predetermined  teaching intentions -WALTS, successes criteria and the like let alone their use of ability grouping and their focus on literacy and numeracy at the expense of other equally important areas of learning..

As students become involved in their inquiry studies they will want to express  and share their ideas providing further opportunities for teacher to assist and suggest . Ideas can be expressed scientifically and also , if appropriate, creatively. - another area for teachers to introduce ideas and media for  students to choose  from. By such means students develop informative displays, demonstrations and exhibitions, and  in the process build up  portfolios of their achievements providing teachers ( and themselves) the best means to assess their progress.

In such an approach  literacy  and numeracy are integrated as required. Such areas are still as important as ever but need to be 'reframed' so as to contribute to inquiry studies - or become inquiry studies in themselves. They need to be seen ( along with modern information technology) as

An opportunity

'foundation skills'  - a means to an end.

The range of experiences covered will ( with teachers expertise) cover the strands of a modern curriculum. Every experience will provide opportunities to introduce a range of relevant curriculum areas and will also provide opportunities for students to makes use of, or develop, individual talents.

The New Zealand Curriculum provides inspiration for such progressive approaches with its emphasis on developing students as 'life long learners' able to 'seek, use and create their own knowledge' and  with the need for students to develop the attitudes and competencies  necessary to be able to thrive  in the challenges  ahead of them.

Unfortunately  this curriculum has been somewhat sidelined by the pressure to introduce National Standards, a growing emphasis on standardized assessment, and the traditional emphasis on literacy and numeracy above real inquiry.  At the secondary level assessment requirements and fragmented subject teaching provide a real challenge for teachers.

That their are still educators doing their best, against overwhelming odds, shows all is not lost.

To sum up;

Schools need to be seen as providing learning opportunities/experiences to challenge  ('attract')students

Students learn best through solving  open ended practical problems appreciating that the problems of greatest significance are those the

How many ways can you explore abridge

learners 'own'. Learning how to learn - an innate need - is the ultimate result of positive learning. It is important to do fewer things well to encourage in depth learning.

As far as knowledge is concerned  students will call on traditional subject areas as required - and also modern information technology. Literacy and numeracy need to be 'reframed' so as to contribute to in depth learning

Students as part of their exploration have a need to communicate their finding both scientifically and creatively. This provides the best way to assess progress.

The teachers role is to: create a learning culture ( a culture of inquiry); to provide 'tempting' experiences; to build on

what students bring with them; and  do everything to assist individual students gain the skills to achieve personal success.

Teachers need to create  conditions for all students to engage in productive learning and as part of this to  negotiate benign organisational structures to contribute to a positive learning culture. 

The move  from traditional or formal situations needs to be seen as an organic process - one that gains success through the success of students. How to 'tempt' students, particularly those that hove been 'turned off' learning, will become a key challenge for educators at all levels. Making changes gradually but with keeping 'the end in mind' will be good advice.

Teaching in such a learning environment will be more of an art than the science ( unless it is 'enlightened trial and error') as it is often portrayed. 

The approach schools currently use to develop exhibits for Science, Maths and Technology fairs provide some inspiration, as do the various sports and art performances that most school are involved in.

Personalisation of learning may yet be on the horizon; John Dewey's philosophy might  yet replace Henry Ford standardization. 

Let's hope so.

Like a sponge

I did an interview for Sponge UK last week, talking about my views on technology in learning, and speculating on the future (as you do). Here's an excerpt of the transcript of that interview, with a question about my new book:

You’ve got a new book out based on your popular blog. What ideas are you trying to get across?

It covers a wide range of concepts such as games-based learning and future technology along with a serious critique of the current learning and education system, and how it can be improved. The book challenges people to look at technology as just a tool rather than as something special. I think one of the biggest problems is that we get seduced by the ‘magical’ nature of technology when it’s first introduced. I know schools and organisations that buy the latest technology because it's new and they don't want to be 'left behind' and then once it arrives they think ‘Ok, now what do we do with it?’ And, of course, that is an absolute mistake.

What we should be doing is looking for the challenges and the problems, and fitting technology into that context to provide solutions. The other big message is that if the technology becomes central to the learning process, and people have to think too much about how they can make it work for them, they are not really thinking about learning which should be their prime focus. Technology should be made mundane, it should disappear, should become 'transparent' so learners can see through it and into the real purpose which is their learning.

I suggest doing away with computer suites, for instance, because in the real world we don’t go somewhere specific to compute, we compute anywhere - walking down the street, in the coffee shop, at the airport. People don’t go to a room 'where computing is done' because networked technology it is now ubiquitous. We hold our computers in our hands. I think the ultimate message is that we have a lot of practice going on with the use of technology in learning and there’s a lot of learning theory out there but often the two don’t come together. I want people to think about how the theory and the practice can combine to make learning environments more powerful, more effective and more responsive to individual needs. I call this digital praxis which is the sweet spot where theory and practice merge to optimise learning.

If you want to read more, the full version is on the Sponge website. My new book Learning with 'e's is published by Crown House in paperback and Kindle formats.

Photo by Steven Depolo on Flickr


Like a sponge by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

About time

Time flies like an arrow (...and fruit flies like a banana - yes... I know, I know...), and time flies in only one direction. Unless, of course, you are a fan of science fiction, and then you know. You know.... that there are more possibilities than the four dimensional world we currently live in. The flux capacitor invented by Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future movie trilogy was one such device that distorted the space time continuum (temporal displacement) and enabled him and his young friend Marty McFly (and on one occasion his dog Einstein) to traverse forwards and backwards in time - as long as they could accelerate their Delorean DMC-12 car to a speed of exactly 88 miles an hour. The film trilogy was a tremendous take on the time-traveler trope, exploring many concepts such as space-time paradoxes, personal relationships, societal change and of course, new and emergent technologies.

If I talk about these films, or show the image above, there is a reaction. I remind people that we have now 'arrived' in the year (2015) that Marty and Doc also arrived in 'the future', and people almost always say the same thing. Well, first they call me an anorak or a nerd. But then, once they've got themselves past the mild insult stage, they ask: OK, they say, so where's my hoverboard? Sometimes they ask about flying cars, but I can't help them there. As for the hoverboard, well the simple answer is, it's here. It has already been invented, although just like the earliest iterations of mobile phones or portable computers, it is quite clunky and unwieldy. The YouTube video below demonstrates it being tested out by Tony Hawk and Dave Carnie.... and here is an explanation of the physics of the hoverboard by Wired magazine. Take a look.



Yes, it looks heavy and cumbersome, and is nothing like the sleek representation of hoverboards in the movie, but give it time (see what I did there?). We could say the same thing for other technologies that first appeared on our screens in science fiction. Remember the first automatic doors that appeared in Star Trek, or the personal communicators - or even the replicators in the Next Generation series of Star Trek? They look very shiny and high tech in those television shows, but the earliest real versions were incredibly expensive, had clumsy designs and were probably not that easy to use either (for personal communicator read mobile phone, and for replicator think 3D printer). It took time for these technologies to be developed into something that - in the case of automatic doors and mobiles at least - are now taken for granted and have all but faded into the background. I'm sure the same will be said for 3D printers in the next few years.

As for the  Hendo Hoverboard - whether or not it fails to operate over water, or whether it will ever be quick enough to outrun the Biffs of this world, I don't know. I sure as hell have no idea what the pedagogical applications of the device might be either, so don't ask - but the hover board is here, and I fully expect one day for my students to be riding them around. And as for me? Great Scott! You wouldn't get me on one for all the Deloreans in Houston, Texas.

Photo from this website


About time by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Making the future of education

Many would agree that a lot needs to be done to bring education up to date. The methods we use to try to align school and university teaching with the demands of contemporary society will shape the extent to which we succeed. Some advocate the flipped learning approach and to a certain extent, the transfer of content delivery from the classroom to the home (or elsewhere) makes a lot of sense. Time in the classroom with the experts should be used for assimilation of that content, and the critical thinking and application of it, which is a great deal more difficult. A lot of institutions are adopting versions of this method, and are employing technology, particularly video and online content to achieve it.

But this is just the start, and more can be done to ensure that the present day education system adequately prepares young people to take up their roles in a rapidly changing world. One of the most significant movements in recent years, and one that I believe will have a profound impact on current educational provision, is the makerspace. Alternatively referred to as hackerspaces or hacklabs, makerspaces are based on the principles of peer learning and knowledge sharing. You have probably noticed at this point just how similar this approach to learning is to work based learning practices. People teach each other by passing on their knowledge, and learn within their community of practice, focusing on their specialisms.

In makerspaces, people come together to fix things, modify existing materials and design structures, and generally explore alternatives as they learn together. They are zones of self directed learning where there are few limits to the imagination. There is usually a lot of experimentation, exploration and prototyping and testing of new ideas. This can be a very powerful means of learning not only about the things you are fixing or modding, but also about the processes that underline them such as risk taking, discovery and problem solving. A specific theory of learning, Seymour Papert's constuctionist learning theory, could be applied to explain this. Papert suggests that when we involve ourselves in making things, we become a part of that process, by constructing mental models to represent it. Furthermore, the power of sharing what one has made with an audience reinforces the achievement and motivates learners to achieve even more.

It's not that difficult to see how this approach might be used in schools to promote better learning, and encourage students to engage more.  Makerspace learning can enable students to acquire and practice skills they will later need in the world of work. Some thinking has already gone into the pedagogy of makerspaces, and later posts on this blog will attempt to describe how these can be established in schools and universities. In the meantime, if you wish to explore this idea further, check out 7 things you should know about Makerspaces by Educause.

Photo by Mitch Altman on Flickr


Making the future of education by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Education Readings for the critical educator - the failure of school reform/ pedagogy before technology/ creativity

By Allan Alach

I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allan.alach@ihug.co.nz.

This week’s homework!

Why Corporate School Reform will Eventually Fail

Ministers/Secretaries of education all over - take note.

‘It’s not going to happen with top-down testing and “teacher-proof” curriculumsdeveloped by people working in companies like Microsoft and Pearson who, in an effort to reboot the Factory School model, have no clue about the children into who’s lives they are intruding, but only wish to be able to “measure” schools, teachers and children so they can manipulate what goes on there, and profit financially from their education “investments.”’

http://bit.ly/1wKPJoq

The music is in the musician

Here’s the first article from Steve Wheeler for the year - you can be sure there will be more. Here he references a talk by Sir Ken Robinson.

“One of his most memorable one liners was about teachers using technology, where he said: 'The music is in the musician, not the instrument.', and he was also caught channeling Marshall McLuhan with his remark that 'we amplify our tools and then our tools amplify us.’”

http://bit.ly/15WovFp

7 tests that expose Blended Learning as actually Blended ‘Teaching’

“‘Blended Learning’ is so often just ‘Blended Teaching’, a half-hearted attempt to retain a mixture of classroom and online. It’s Velcro learning, slamming just a few of things together to satisfy a need to hold on to some of the old and look as though you’ve embraced some of the new. A poor singer doesn’t sound any better when in a duet.”

http://bit.ly/1zrQDdR

33 Problems That All Teachers Will Understand: It’s not all apples and summer holidays.

Some light relief…. or is it frightening that there are some truths hidden amongst the jokes?

http://bzfd.it/1zrROtN

Pedagogy Before Technology – 10 Ideas to Consider

Something to reflect on …

“Buzzwords are bad. They are intimidating and make educators lose sleep over practices they already do but with a new term coined by someone corporate or selling book. Am I wrong? Principles and ideas are good but buzzwords? However, buzzwords elicit change through intimidation. Now even I am confused.”

http://bit.ly/18Gaptv

When Will We Finally Say Enough? Seriously.

“Forcing any, and all, children to endure the harmful effects of high stakes standardized testing because some state or federal mandate requires all children be tested, ironically in the name of providing equitable and quality education, is the greatest insult ever hurled upon public education and children. To force a child like Ben, whose educational needs are so far removed from that which such a test can provide simply for “compliance sake,” is just heart breaking. It reveals how deeply flawed the system of accountability is, how failed our policies are, and how compliant in the face of insanity we have become … and most of all, how enmeshed we are as a society with a turn- a- blind- eye- faith in the testing mentality. How outraged do we need to be before we put an end to corporate-driven reform?”

http://bit.ly/1voi2z6

Virtual Preschool: Yes, That's Now a Real Option

The ultimate educational obscenity?

“Now an option for parents of young children: a "virtual" preschool with digital learning materials, activity guides, learning analytics, and "homeroom teachers," all accessible online through your computer, tablet, or smartphone.”

Really. This is not satire…

http://bit.ly/1xaPyD1

Inside Training Document Reveals How Test-Supporters Want to Talk About Testing

Antony Cody spills the beans on the ways pro-test supporters manipulate public perceptions. Notice any similarities to the political spin in your own backyard?

“With this in mind, it is informative to see how supporters of test-driven reform are seeking to shore up their eroding position in the public debate. The document I received is presented in bright colors with cartoon illustrations. I will share some of the main messages here, and you can download the whole thing here: HowToTalkAboutTesting.”

http://bit.ly/1ALxRkH

This week’s contributions from Bruce Hammonds:

Thinking: Beliefs Versus Actual Creativity

“Most of us are creative and innovative when it comes to solving problems, we really are. But it would also appear that most of us go through a phase where we lose that potential or the

motivation to push the boundaries and think of alternative possibilities for what we are doing. And you have to work to get it back once you get into those lazy habits of going through the motions of thought.”

http://bit.ly/1z8PV1A

How Do We Raise Critical Thinkers?

Bruce's comment: A short article about the future skills students will need – with a link to free e-book on project based learning.

“We now live in an interconnected world, where the Internet and global communications are simultaneously uniting and isolating us as a society. How do we raise critical thinkers to best face the challenges that face our modern society? What changes in education methods should be implemented to  create a better learning environment for these budding minds?”

http://bit.ly/1KBwUgH

7 Ways to Boost Your Creativity

Bruce’s comment: Excellent advice to develop creativity.

“Creativity can seem innate, but like many things, it is actually a delicate balance of nature and nurture. In other words, creative thinking can be enhanced by external forces, and isn’t necessarily reliant on “good genes” or natural ability.

Luckily, new research points the way to a variety of mental and environmental approaches that can help us improve our creative output.”

http://bit.ly/1DUSkl1

To Get Students Invested, Involve Them in Decisions Big and Small

Bruce’s comment: Purpose before iPads. Importance of students asking their own questions.

“The hardest part about using design thinking in class is getting the question right and staying in the question. Educators regularly notice how challenging it is for students to stay in the question.  Student conversation can veer off track and the students can lose focus. It takes discipline for students to learn how to dig deep with focus on a design question.”

http://bit.ly/1AbZMsS

How Inquiry Can Enable Students to Become Modern Day de Tocquevilles

Bruce’s comment: The importance of open ended inquiry – a contrast to teacher determined studies. Plus some interesting links to inquiry projects.

‘The students are so much more connected to their work and passionate about it that they’re actually doing work that’s higher quality than they’ve ever done before.’

http://bit.ly/19a2vsp

All students able to 'seek, use and create their own knowledge

How Student Centered Is Your Classroom?

Bruce’s comment: Is your classroom student centred – some good questions to ask. I would add do you still use ability grouping/ streaming – features of a 19th C industrial age  system of sorting?

“…you need to tell them stuff and show them how to do things, but you also need to let your learners discover, experiment, and practice even if they miss the mark or target. Educational research tell us time and time again that all learners (young or old) need time to muddle through and make meaning of new content, ideas, and concepts with some coaching and guidance, but also independently.”

http://bit.ly/1z8oRAN

Primary school complacency and Secondary school confusion.

I am often asked if I am still involved in education and my answer is not really but still like reading about it and writing blogs about things that attract my interests.

A follow up question is who reads your blog and my answer is I have no idea - I write to express my own belief in  student centred ideas about learning; ideas that seem increasingly under attack by 'market forces' politicians who seem intent on measuring, testing and comparing schools.

 I write for the New Zealand situation but over half the visits to my site come from international sources. Now and then I meet a teacher socially, or in the supermarket, who thanks me for sharing creative teaching ideas. And of course a number of people write supportive comments (and  about 700 get the blog sent to them by e-mail).

But when it all boils down I write for the fun of it and to keep alive the spirit of creative education as expressed best by John Dewey at the turn of the 20th C

For all that I am not sure if many primary or secondary agree with me.

My experience, in recent years, with primary schools is that they have, due to political pressure, become more traditional  with their programmes concentrating on literacy and numeracy.  As one commentator has said 'it is as if literacy and numeracy gobbled up the entire curriculum.' Reminds me of the majority of the classrooms of the 1950s and 60s. They present happy friendly environments but  from an early age they set about dividing students into demeaning ability grouping in literacy and numeracy - hardly student centred. Worse still some primary schools have moved into setting across classrooms in maths. School always have good reasons for such decisions.

I believe that unquestioned use of ability grouping  ( plus the narrowing of the curriculum resulting from the imposition of the reactionary National Standards) is the major block towards developing a more personalized approach to learning.

Several researchers have written about the negative consequences of ability grouping.And there are the examples of Finnish and Asian school systems who only use heterogeneous grouping and get better results

As for secondary schools , after recently reading Bali Haque's book ( 'Changing our Secondary Schools')  I  feel sympathy for the schools and their  teachers  trying to cope with the potentially

 transformational demands of the NCEA .Bali was previously  a school principal and deputy chief executive at NZQA.  There is also the pressure  for secondary schools  to develop a 21stC  learning environment in structures with their genesis in a past age. David  Hood book's title, 'Our Secondary Schools Don't Work Anymore' sums up my own position. Another book worth reading, with ideas to transform secondary education, is Catching the Knowledge Wave by Jane Gilbert

I plan to write a blog to share Bali's ideas in a future blog. His book is well worth reading, as is David Hoods.

Both sectors are  also under pressure from a growing imposed  surveillance and audit culture that is the antithesis of creativity, innovative thinking and personalization of learning.

So for primary schools the need is to create a learning environment that focuses on developing the talents and gifts of all students.

This is not to ignore the obvious importance of literacy and numeracy but to 're-frame' these  basic areas as 'foundation skills'  ( along with modern information technology) to ensure all students have the learning 'competencies' to a 'seek, use and create their own knowledge' as the New Zealand Curriculum states.

For secondary schools it means moving away from compartmentalized subject centred teaching, and streaming by ability,  so as  to introduce authentic  integrated learning contexts.
 Such authentic contexts would call upon the diverse specialist skills  and cultural backgrounds of secondary teachers as well as offering personalized assistance for students with special needs in literacy and numeracy  - and in  other areas needing assistance

I guess that sums up my position.

Primary schools reflect complacency about their demeaning use of ability grouping and the associated  distortion of their programmes neglecting  in the process the personal interests of their students.

In our secondary schools  confusion reigns with the difficulty of facing up to the need to make them truly inclusive student centred 21stC learning environments.

Complacency and confusion. 

Hope lies with creative teachers doing their best to introduce innovative ideas.

If my blog helps in anyway that's great - if not no matter.