Time to think , lets get reading ....

Over the past few weeks I set my self a target. Every Sunday morning I sit in front of my macbook and see where I end up. The amount of information  on education is an education in its self. So armed with my list of thinkers of I go my trip round cyber land. The 1st person I had a look at is the work of Vygotsky and his  theory of Social development  and the idea that as a teacher you job is to help a student to use the knowledge they have and build on it to get to where they need to be. Using guidance and encouragement. To me a bit like a helping them on a journey with the hope that unlike tom-tom you do not take them own the wrong road and hopefully never a dead end.

Anther idea I came across was the idea of dialogic teaching. Using the power of language to help teaching and the need to keep it simple and accessible. I can see nothing wrong with that. I think I will come back to this idea latter. So now what so fair my reading list in safari was building nicely. (Time for a new set of internet book marks be thinks or more to the point a file full)

One name that kept coming in my head was Carl Rogers not sure why I am sure I have used his work some where before so time to do a bit of digging around him. His idea was I found out a corner stone of how I have been learning for the last few years with The OU, the idea of self directed learning taking responsibility for your own learning. This is a powerful and very useful idea to keep in your mind when planning any learning. I found when working with young people giving them something to do not just on their own but in groups was a very useful way of learning often they learn with out knowing it. The motivation to learn then come from them and if the right con cation are in place this motivation feeds each other and away it go's.

The most recent stop off in cyberland was what I thought was going to be a quick look at a youtube clip of some one called Ken Robinson. Who has this idea of using creative thinking. Oh great I was thinking another arty one , lets all  turn into a tree. Little did I know that that short clip was to set me off on a whole new path of reading and learning. This man talks sense. Are his views and ideas the answer to all educations ills ? who knows but it wound go a long way to help.