Day 73 (of 2024/25) from Australia – old school teaching cool again??
Chuckled a bit when I saw the newspaper on my news feed:
Be curious, not judgemental I reminded myself….
Then I realized what the “old school” component that they were exalting: explicit instruction. Nothing shocking – it’s a strategy that has regularly continued to be used… just not as the only strategy…
That’s the piece I always added to my very-Montessori inspired practice. Lots of projects… station rotations to practice skills… gamification… stories… and explicit instruction. A balanced approach still honouring that “play is the work of childhood” but when they are in a zone of proximal development, it’s my job to know the learner (note: not the entire class) to know what strategy will be most successful.
Now… when they get to a quote “Education is like medicine: there are practices that are proven and evidence-based, and practices that are wishful thinking.” And that is something that is easily turned around. Explicit instruction only – and for everyone – is not a panacea, otherwise many of us would not have sought other strategies (which have been one research supported) including AFL and PBL.
But I’ll let the lecture supporting people yell at me for a bit. That’s what us inclusions do… welcome everyone and open to working with everyone using the right strategies. Even direct instruction.
Students can still “lead their own learning journey” – in fact, current tech makes it weird not to collaboratively personalize learning goals (wait till I share a thought on assessment…) and teachers can still directly (explicitly) instruct – just being mindful on who and when it is going to have the best impact! AFL (research proven) strategies and descriptive feedback loops then ensure the student, guardian(s) and teacher ALL are monitoring the learning.
Technolandy 
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