Building Capability

So much “red tape” and compliance and administration that it is hard to focus on the pure learning journey,

We hardly have time to update slides and the amount of time spend outside classrooms is all spend with assessments, to cover content and expectations to pass students.
If we had more time to incorporate questions, discussions, excursions…what a lovely working environment it would be as we would get to know each other better and it would ensure the ‘relationships’ are developing in order to work on our mutual respect for one another.

With the pressures on delivery times being cut yet content delivery remaining unchanged, the challenge to move from capability building is challenging. I would love to actually rethink my teaching and incorporate the ideas discussed in this session but I know this will be difficult in the environment in which I teach. It actually makes me a little sad to think of what we could achieve if we were permitted the time & resources to do so.

I was taught in a flipped classroom at university and had positive experiences of this method. I hope that I can teach this way more in the future. To some extent, online teaching and learning from home has shifted what our concept of the classroom is. However it requires students who have the ability to use and access technology independently to do so.

This session resonated with me, as a qualified coach. Clearly, the future teacher will need coaching skills:
– The art of asking questions
– How our brains respond to questions
– Focusing on the purpose (learning) more than the contents
– Explore the meta-cognitions.

Ability to deliver the learning outcome in such a way that it fosters a mindset for students to engage, question and enjoy learning.

The three keys to building capability and the implications involved in making this shift I believe would be: Re-think your role: my role is determined by the institution I work by the most part written in a policy and procedure manual, I can try to make the learning as interesting as possible within scope however those in positions of power in the educational institutions will resist for numerous reasons including funding, time, apathy, misguided ideas on education Re-think the classroom: taking the students outside, going on excursions, and rearranging the configuration of the furniture is within my scope of gaining… Read more »

The shift is long overdue, but I think those in positions of power over education will resist due to funding and time, as well as apathy or misguided ideas on education. People who are in control of education do not typically understand it as it is, they need to be taught why it needs to change, and what it should change into. Even then, I think it will be a very long time coming.

Its important to work towards passing assessments-but not the main objective. The goal is to eplore some of the other aspects of interest to students to broaden their skill sets so they can choose the best choices and expand on ‘assessible’ course work

We will be helping our students to become ‘future fit’ – including, but not limited to, metacognition skills, reading & research skills…..a love of learning & viewing themselves as LIFE LEARNERS!!

Re-think your role – as a teacher we need to ensure our students develop skills for the future – analytical skills, to think critically and evaluate and interpret. Teachers ask WHAT & HOW not just WHY.
Re-think the classroom – flipped classrooms, small group work, providing access to the internet.
Re-think the goal of learning – foster collaborative learning

I think this change over can be a challenge for students to adapt to, and the teacher loosing “control” can be a scary thought.

The idea of building capability rather than teaching content is not only intriguing but also needed. However, I do wonder what the possible unintended consequences may be on the students, teachers and society. Only time will tell.

Rethink your role to become more of an assistant in allowing the student to be more alert to his learning environment with the teacher to encourage his progress. allow the classroom to be more of a workshop with students and teacher intermingling with each other instead teacher up the front in total control .allow the students to progress at their own pace.

The notion of building capabilities is exciting and the way forward, however, in upper secondary the system still relies heavily on content knowledge and some application of skills in order for students to pass exams and gain university entry.

I love this idea of capability driven learning, I think this is the only way to truly prepare children for a world that doesn’t exist yet. Ideally this shift would lead to increased student ownership over the learning space and learning process, increased meta-cognition with hopefully some transferrable self-help/ socio-emotional skills, increased learner responsibility and accountability, and a more collaborative and inclusive learning environment.

Fantastic approaches to building capability and certainly worth striving for, but it all needs to be supported and resourced from higher up the chain.

The concept of flipping a classroom has been spoken about and at times I have tried to implement it but what the first major block that I have is students stating they did not have the time to do the pre classroom work. This forces you back to your old methods of teaching. So moving the students expectations in the first place seems to be were we need to start.

As a trade teacher (although this freedom is being limited due to time constraints, compliance, curriculum) we have used the flipped classroom style with success for some time, hopefully course structure will evolve to allow more of this flexibility

While this is obviously the way of the future, how long will it take? Teachers need the support, facilities and resources in order to make this happen. It will also take time for students to adapt to the change, however I believe most students will be able to adapt quiet quickly.

I have noticed students get annoyed when I ask them questions when they ask me. When I explain why I ask them questions rather than giving them the answer they don’t see the importance.
In the end they will find the answers, but I emphasise more on how they get there and why they have to go through so much effort (as it is a huge effort according to the students). I believe this helps them in critical thinking and thinking things through.

At first thought I was not sure how this would work for my Microbiology and Immunology classes. Then I realised that flip the classroom work perfectly the practical components of the units Microbiology and Immunology. Firstly the knowledge content needs to be delivered. The student then need to develop the practical skills to use the theoretical knowledge to interpret their results. Students often work in groups, each student carrying out part of the practical exercise and sharing the results with the other members of the group. So they learn to communicate and cooperate. The group can then present the test… Read more »

With the prevelance of Internet Learning I believe that we do need to do more in terms of our F2F classroom learmng and alot of this does come down to classroom design and use of technology. Students are always going to bring it into the classroom so embracing it and getting them to them reflect and debate on what a question is actaully asking as a group goes really far to increase understanding.

For me, I have found with the right support ,flip learning is a excellent option for many styles of learner. However ,there has to be an acknowledgement that in order to facilitate a flipped classroom well , a detailed flipped learning classroom orientation with clear instruction of expectations needs to conducted with comprehensive provision / suggestions of resources, which can reduce as the learners confidence and abilities grow . Within VET, flip learning frees up valuable classroom time for practical skills. Implications of making this shift toward building capability ?- There is a huge amount of preparation prior for the… Read more »

I have used the flipped classroom with Higher Educational students to great advantage (it also ensured that I was fully prepared for classes so I could assist students with their understanding and application of their learning) -in the VET sector however the students aren’t open to the idea as they don’t want to do what they consider ‘homework’ – I always ask students to preread the upcoming chapter of the text in preparation of the class, but they will always have an excuse of being too busy etc. It is a great concept. Using technology in class for quick quizzes… Read more »

we need to reconsider the way we teach. Flipped classrooms and classroom design. Don’t turn off technology engage with it

I believe that, as teachers, we need to constantly review our teaching pedagogy and styles to improve student outcomes. While there will always be some who are resistant to change, most teachers are willing and able to adapt if they can see the benefits of that change to their students. This has been clearly demonstrated by the quick response to the ongoing Covid crisis resulting in a definite rethink of the teacher’s ‘role’ and of what constitutes the ‘classroom’. While some of the implications of a shift in paradigms include reassessing your own beliefs, values and attitudes, teachers are often… Read more »

In my role as a teacher, I would be able to re-think the classroom, for example, the layout
to suit the students, However, thinking the goal of learning if the students met the learning outcomes
would be more difficult to change.

I believe talking about the three aspects of building capability is easier said than done. Apart from these aspects, we should take the actual educational system into consideration: My role depends on the facilities provided for me. Rethinking the classroom depends on funding issues and whether it is practical in the current situation or not. Based on my experience of teaching in TAFE, the goal of learning is making students ready to complete the relevant syllabus to be assessed.

I believe using a WHAT or HOW approach to asking a question instead of WHY allows for great communication either in a one on one or group discussion. I find the students dont go far to look for answers so guiding them towards other avenues for information or opened discussions in a flipped approach allows for expanding the opportunity to learn more. It is important as educators to continue shifting our approach to to way we deliver the information, flexibility is the key.

one is the re-thinking of your role – if students are to do the reading outside of the classroom it may not get done

Re-thinking of teachers role and the way we teach in classroom of students from different age groups/ amongst different nationality will pose interesting topics.

Rethinking the way we teach.
Having students do more research out of the classroom can work, but could be harder for students that don’t have access to computers or wifi at home. Although the majority do, I still encounter students that don’t. Students that are also carers at home and wouldn’t have the time to do a lot of preliminary tasks prior to lessons in the classroom.

The implications of making the shift when considering your role is to critically reflect on yourself as an educator be honest and then modify your capability to teach.
such an exercise will then provide me as an educator to align and encourage me not only to re-think the learning environment but also to modify & re-evaluate my goals of teaching & learning as an educator.

Re-thinking of the teacher’s role and the role of the classroom are the cause, the result would be the re-thinking of the goal of learning. They are correlated.

Changing student expectations is the most difficult. Teachers can be full of enthusiasm, creating great content, setting expectations for flipped learning but then be unable to follow through because students are not prepared. I see so many learners with reading difficulties and differing access to technology at home, time and family issues, and many other pressures from outside the learning environment.

I think it important to not just work towards passing assessments. The goal of learning is to explore ALL options, as an educator i have a responsibility to educate the students on everything so they can choose the best choices for each of them selves. but to expand on the course content and rethink my role as a teacher rather a motivator and inspiration to want to learn. perhaps the classroom environment needs to be rethought so we work more in groups or equally so the teacher does not use structured delivery but allows the students to take more control… Read more »

I feel some what vindicated by doing this already ie combining units and bringing contents that is essential for learners to know to be able use the skills in their workplace or any other workplace. I like to teach concepts and not key strokes. I do believe in myself and will put my professional judgement on line when I change my approaches. to delivering. I am quite happy to skips bits I have covered elsewhere and the students are getting a little bit tired of WHS and ergonomics in every unit of study. Units guides suggest combining units and making… Read more »

Building Capability is a good direction. In my classes too, I give students the time to discuss before they continue with the lesson;however, as a teacher I have time constraints to cover the curriculum before assessment. This approach would suit tertiary students as they are expected to research certain topics/ ideas and come up with their own as independent learners. We still need benchmarks for younger students. So they can still be given a mixed approach ( which most of us are already practicing)

Thanks to covid the flipping of the classroom mode has supported my time in the training room, I use this in technology MS teams and even Facebook. The students have access to day plans, the task list, a weekly quiz and videos etc found from resources such as you tube and from product companies. I believe I have had to rethink my role as an educator and figure out how to best help my students grow! I have a mixed cohort of learners – apprentices – some know the information and are practicing the skills in their workplace and others… Read more »

After listening to this session, I ‘feel’, ‘believe’ I have been outside the box of conventional teaching for quite a while. I promote mobile phone usage, I try flip learning, and I am aware I am not the fountain of knowledge, but my key role is to get them (students) to see through the problem or information I build online content including video production It’s not to say I haven’t mastered the art of teaching, I am well aware of my limitations and still along way to go even after 20 years, but I want to be a better educator,… Read more »

The concept of getting students to think and find answers for themselves is great, it makes them think and therefor retain what was spoken about.

Implications focus on existing rigid curriculum requirements and compliance, as well as limited resources necessary to build effective capability. I think many teachers have more than demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt quickly to change (including lightning fast technology based educational practice). However the support for systemic change at all levels and move from the old model to more innovate change will always have a massive price tag that few would be willing to adopt.

The implications of making this shift will take time for us as teachers to develop the right techniques, and for students to embrace it (I have been trying to work with the flipped classroom model for a long time really and am still only getting minimal success. This is due to students who still want their hand held (the younger ones) and students with work/life/study balance issues (the older ones), so we often still have to cover this content before we can get into our discussions and debates. It will also take changes within our systems in terms of quality… Read more »

We need to re-think our role as teachers, we should be active and not passive with our teaching and ask students lots of questions to help them become critical thinkers which is crucial in today’s world! Encouraging metacognition to assist students to be critically aware of their own thinking and learning by helping them to reflect on their learning, by evaluating feedback, to improve their skills and knowledge accordingly. Problem solving skills can be promoted this way! Essential skills for everyone!!

I use the flip classroom to draw out experiences and knowledge from learners. Real life gives us so many answers and promoting students to think for themselves achieves such higher levels of success. It does take time to build this format in a classroom and it may not be easy.

So taken with the concept of the best teachers are those that show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see. I’m open to rethinking my role but not sure if the students can manage. Tried the flipping the classroom bit tricky when only some students follow up with the practice.

There is an additional challenge when combining this shift with the previous discussions on how our younger students interact etc. Students who don’t know how to be independent will struggle with flipped classroom and completing any required work, and then the teacher plans for discussion next lesson will be compromised and less effective.

Changing anything takes time and skill. Mature aged students who are welded to the teacher figure rather than a facilitator find the flipped classroom a bit confronting. Also it is something that has to be a collective action otherwise students move from one style of teaching/facilitating depending upon who is at the front of the class.

The role of the Teacher should be one of facilitator and not one of purely giving answers – Ask questions that will meet with response from students. Change the setup of the classroom. Make it friendly which creates discussion. Re-think the goal of learning by not fearing loss of control in the classroom. Whilst this is a challenge for teachers who have grown up and studied in different ways it is very interesting for our current generation of students who enjoy contributing to discussion.