Assistant Principal - Learning

 

Connected Learning

What an opportunity this uncertainty has presented our learning community! 

We now have the space and time to think about how we learn, differently. It is time. Time to eliminate the chalk and talk for good; content regurgitation that results in simply a vague memory of “oh yeah, I studied that at school….can’t remember anything about it, but yeah, I studied it”; and the discontent between purpose and reality. It is instead, well and truly the time to promote innovative pedagogy that leads to self-driven learning, deepening the opportunities for our students’ innate desire to learn, their passion for the world around them, and their ability to understand and voice how they learn. Metacognition, folks, is the real deal of 21st Century learning and we are reaching over the precipice of something great - Real, lasting learning. Learning that will underpin and strengthen our students’ successful navigation of their world beyond school.

And while our teachers strive to identify and prioritise what is essential and meaningful in the teaching and learning experiences; designing rich tasks that will best support our students achieve their learning outcomes, we need to acknowledge that we are all learning in this transition to connected learning. Parents be patient, look after yourself and the harmony in the home. If conflict arises around the learning, take a step back, breathe, and remember that learning doesn’t just happen in front of the computer, practising those maths equations, or even writing that essay. In the everyday things we do, there are myriad opportunities for learning, and it is in the talking about the process that the learning is the most enriching. 

O’Connor has put together a student guide for connected learning. Please take a little time to go through this guide with your child(ren), set some parameters around what working/studying from home, in Term 2, is going to look like for your family. Contextualise this opportunity for your family and in your home, and remember that your child’s teachers are planning, designing, preparing, and implementing learning opportunities that will most effectively support your child’s learning through this uncertain and unprecedented time.

Eli Simpson

Assistant Principal (Learning)