Tuesday evening MA session on Understanding Learners and Learning, 7 November 2006.

5.00-7.00 1WN 3.8.

Continuing our conversation from last Tuesday I think that Rachel said that she might be able to bring in some photographs of her classroom to show how she uses prompts from Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives to form questions that can enhance pupil learning. Tom Robson was mentioned and if anyone has details of his learning theory do bring them along. I've asked Nina if I can post in our web-space the writings we looked at on Tuesday, and if you missed the session and it is okay for Nina I'll post them at:

http://www.jackwhitehead.com/tuesdayma/nina011106.htm - this won't be active until Nina sends on her writings and says it is OK to post them.

After we've caught up with each others' news from the week I'd like to browse through the unit descriptors so that we can make sure of our coverage (see http://www.jackwhitehead.com/tuesdayma/ull.pdf ) and then look through the ethical standards and standards of practice for the Teaching Profession of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). These guide the College's Professional Learning Framework (see http://www.jackwhitehead.com/tuesdayma/octstandards.pdf ).

Louise is working on a piece of writing that connects a recent OFSTED report on Oldfield Infants School to these ethical standards and standards of practice of the Ontario College of Teachers.

In a 2006 publication of OCT, I make the point:

"What I have in mind are videotapes of the educational relationships in the classroom in which the educator's embodied values are clarified in the course of their emergence in their educational relationships.

In this process of clarification, the embodied values can be transformed into the living and communicable standards of practice (Delong & Whitehead, 1998) that could help the Ontario College of teachers to develop the most 'educational' standards of practice and judgement the profession has yet seen." (Whitehead, 2006, p.21)

Whitehead, J. (2006) Case Commentary, in Ontario College of Teachers Casebook Guide for Teacher Education. Toronto; Ontario College of Teachers, pp. 20-21. Retrieved 2 November 2006 from http://www.oct.ca/publications/PDF/casebook_supplement_e.pdf

Joy – I think your ideas for bringing your pupils as researchers into a co-created account of learning could help us to develop these 'most educational standards of practice and judgement the profession has yet seen'.

YouTube (free registration – just look it up on google) offer a free service to make streaming videos available and I've just put up one from the emotional literacy workshop with Christine and Marie. If you go into http://www.jackwhitehead.com/jack/jwcjmhevisnarjet.htm and click on the first url the video-clip should start playing in your browser almost immediately. It's a great way to make the video-clips you've ethical permission to show, easily available and to connect them to your web-based writings (ie – the writings of yours I put on the web!).

In the unit descriptors for Understanding Learning and Learners you will find the word 'educational' . In my pedagogy I'm working from an educational perspective that is seeking to bring your embodied knowledge as educators into the professional knowledge-base of education. I think I'm doing this through encouraging the creation of your stories that explain your educational influences in your own learning and in the learning of others.

Ed sends his apologies for the coming Tuesday and hopes to present ideas on learning from Reggio Emilia on the 15^th November. Vic also sends her apologies and I'd like to video-tape a contribution from Vic on the 15^th (Over my dead body I hear from the Links!). I'm in Canada on the 22^nd November and I'll check with Marie if she will lead the session that week.

As Nina did on Tuesday, do bring any writing/ideas you want to share. After Tuesday's session, Sam showed me some innovative use of the video-capacity of mobile phones to create visual narratives. Sam, I'm hoping that you might have a visual narrative to show us on Tuesday on your experiences of the Creative Factory.

Looking forward very much to continuing our conversations on Tuesday. Steve – if you are picking up your e-mails it would be good to know how you are getting on. Anything I've missed do e-mail or remind me on Tuesday.

Love Jack.