Why democratising education is possible

David RoseTeL4ELE Dissemination Conference

Centro Cultural La Corrala, Universidad Autónoma Madrid, October 2013

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Education theories

Teacher education faculties

State education

departments

Teachers in classrooms

Knowledge production

Recontext-ualisation

Reproduction

Hierarchies in education systems (after Bernstein)

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Education theories

Teacher education faculties

State education

departments

Teachers in classrooms

Knowledge production

Recontext-ualisation

Reproduction

Hierarchies in education systems (after Bernstein)

prophets

priests

laity

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Hierarchies in classrooms

intra-individual

inter-group

acquisition transmission focus of pedagogy

focus of change

Managing hierarchies: four positions

intra-individual

inter-group

acquisition transmission focus of pedagogy

Progressivist/constructivist pedagogies

invisible pedagogy

liberal

Traditional pedagogies Behaviourist theories

visible pedagogy

conservative

Social-psychological theories, Genre pedagogy

subversive

Critical pedagogic theories

radical

focus of change

Managing hierarchies: four positions

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Hierarchies in teaching practices

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Effects of hierarchical teaching practices

Hattie’s 2009 meta-analysis of teaching practices

Minimum acceptable effect size d = 0.4

• ability grouping d = 0.16• individualized instruction d = 0.08 • tracking• low-tracked students d = 0.09 • middle-tracked students d = -

0.03 • high-tracked students d = 0.14

“no one profits”

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Hierarchies in the sequence of schooling

evaluating

preparing

before schoolengaging with reading

& talk-around-text

junior primaryindependent reading& active participation

secondaryindependent learning

of academic genres

upper primarylearning from reading& classroom activities

tertiaryindependent

academic study

Elements of a strategy for democratising schooling

• Teaching all students at the same level

• Engaging all students equally in classroom learning

• Understanding the structures of learning tasks and

assessment tasks

• Teaching all students how to learn from reading and

demonstrate what have they learnt in writing

Supporting all students at the same level

Modelled to guided to independent practice

Nucleus of learning activity

Scaffolded learning activity

Scaffolded learning cycle

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As a spiral curriculum

Pedagogic relations: Engaging all students

Continual success

Pedagogic activities: Curriculum unitsLesson activitiesLearning cycles

projectingPedagogic modalities: Spoken, written,

visual, manual

Knowledge and identity:Curriculum topics & KAL

Elements of lesson planning: curriculum genres

Pedagogic relations: Engaging all students

Continual success

Pedagogic activities: Curriculum unitsLesson activitiesLearning cycles

projectingPedagogic modalities: Spoken, written,

visual, manual

Knowledge and identity:Curriculum topics & KAL

Elements of lesson planning: curriculum genres

Selecting & analysing texts

Analysing learning tasks

Analysing curriculum

fields

Planning exchanges

context

text

sentence

word

Text-in-context

context(beyond the text)

discourse(across the text)

grammar(within the sentence)

spelling(letter patterns in

words)

interpretive

inferential

literal

‘decoding’

Text-in-context: levels of comprehension

Establishing the hierarchy: shared book reading

speaker exchange addressee/speaker

learning cycle

Teacher [reads] Long ago in a far away land lived a widow and her son Jack.

1 Teacher What’s a widow? class Focus

It looks like a lady to me. [pointing to picture] class Prepare

What’s a widow? Rhianna? Rhianna Focus

Rhianna An old woman. Rhianna Propose

Teacher Well she doesn’t look too old. Rhianna Reject

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2 Teacher Is there a daddy there? [pointing to picture] class Focus

Children No. class Identify

3 Teacher What do you think has happened to the daddy? class Focus

David Looks like… a cow. David Propose

4 Teacher David? David Focus

David It’s it’s it’s a little cow. David Propose

Teacher No no. David Reject

5 Teacher When there’s a widow, something’s happened to daddy.

class Focus

Child C He died? Miss, he died? Child C Propose

Teacher Yes that’s right. Child C Affirm

A widow means that her husband has died. class Elaborate

Cementing the hierarchy: secondary sciencespeaker exchange addressee/

speakerlearning

cycle1 Teacher Okay B [student’s name] what are the ‘cilia’.

What was it? student A Focus

Student A [no response] student A -

Teacher No? student A Reject

2 Teacher A [student’s name] do you know what cilia is? student B Focus

Student B [no response] student B -

Teacher No? student B Reject

3 Teacher Someone must know what they are… class Focus

Student C Hairs student C Propose

Student D The little hairs? student D Propose

Teacher The little hairs. student D Affirm

And basically, they beat in an upward motion from inside your body out through to your nose. ((Teacher is waving arms up)). So, they beat up and they take the pathogens away with them.

class Elaborate

Democratising the conversation: Detailed Reading1 Teacher First of all who heard and felt this earthquake

approaching? Bonita?Bonita Focus

Student People? Bonita Identify

Teacher People. Fantastic, Bonita Affirm

Let’s highlight people. class Direct

Students [highlight ‘people’]

2 Teacher I’m not moving ahead, I’m still here at people. class Prepare

Which people? Anita. Anita Focus

Student Those? Anita Identify

Teacher Fantastic, those people. Anita Affirm

So let’s highlight those as well. class Direct

Students [highlight ‘those people’]

So it’s identifying a group. It’s not all, it’s a only a small defined group, those people.Those is a Pointer, because it points to which people.

class Elaborate

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3 Teacher Then it tells us, why those people heard the sound. class Prepare

Why did those people here it? Than? Than Focus

Student They were awake. Than Identify

Teacher Right, they were awake. Than Affirm

So let’s highlight awake. class Direct

Students [highlight awake]

So if it was a sort of long low sound, probably those people who were asleep didn’t notice it at first. OK? But those who were awake did.

class Elaborate

Democratising knowledge1 Teacher OK, the next sentence gives us something else that the

water is doing. Now, I've read it to you before. class Prepare

As it moves it… Alex? As it moves it… Alex Focus

Student 'changes' Alex Identify

Teacher Changes. Alex Affirm

2 Teacher Changes what? Alex Focus

Student 'changes state' Alex Identify

Teacher State. Alex Affirm

Remember, state's the scientific word we use for whether it's a solid, a liquid or a gas, or what form it's in.

class Elaborate

So can we highlight 'changes state’, and 'in cycles' as well. class Direct

Students [highlight ‘changes state in cycles’]

So we've actually got those four words highlighted together, 'changes state in cycles'.

class Elaborate

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1 Teacher So what were those four states again? The end of the sentence names them.

class Prepare

So, Amon, from…? Amon FocusStudent 'from liquid water' Amon IdentifyTeacher Liquid. To...? Amon FocusStudent 'water' Amon IdentifyTeacher Water vapour. OK. Amon Affirm That's the key that it's a gas, our word 'vapour'. class Elaborate So, if we can highlight 'liquid water' and 'water vapour'. class DirectStudents [highlight ‘liquid water' and 'water vapour’]

2 Teacher Peter, can you see sometimes there we might get a solid. Peter Prepare What's our name for solid water? Peter FocusStudent 'ice' Peter IdentifyTeacher Yep Peter Affirm And then back to... What's the end of the sentence there? The

last one for us to highlight?Peter Focus

Student 'liquid again' Peter IdentifyTeacher Back to liquid again. Peter AffirmStudents [highlight ‘liquid again’] So there are two sides to the Water Cycle. Water might have

travelled a long way from the oceans to get to the mountains, or a long way through a long river system. But it's also changing state. It changes from liquid to gas to liquid, maybe to solid and then back again, all the way through the cycle.

class Elaborate

Democratising knowledge about language

1 Teacher Now Amon, what were you saying? Student 1 Focus

Student 'Water vapour comes from trees and other plants' Student 1 Propose

Teacher Yep Student 1 Affirm

It's not the only place, is it? So let's include the word 'also'.

class Elaborate

Student [scribes 'also comes from'] Student 2 Scribe

2 Teacher Amon, continue with your suggestion. Student 1 Focus

Student 'trees and other plants' Student 1 Propose

Teacher Good, trees and other plants. Student 1 Affirm

Student [scribes 'trees and other plants'] Student 2 Scribe

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3 Teacher We're going to keep the technical term. class Prepare

Student 'so this is called transpiration' Student 3 Propose

Teacher It's not really a 'so' link. Student 3 Reject

Student 'which is called' Student 4 Propose

Teacher Which is called. You're right Jeremy. Good one. Student 4 Affirm

Student [scribes 'which is called'] Student 2 Scribe

4 Student spells out 'transpiration' Student 3 Dictate

Student [scribes 'transpiration'] Student 2 Scribe

Teacher Name the process. class Elaborate

Well done Rodney. Student 2 Affirm

5 Teacher So in your books, can we label it again. class Direct

Teacher So what was this paragraph called? class Focus

Students Phenomenon Students Propose

Teacher Yep class Affirm

[scribes label on board]

Students [write in books]

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The community of the classroom

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The community of the classroom

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Where to find out more

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www.readingtolearn.com.au