I recently returned from a very positive experience at the Wellington College Festival of Education (21-22 June), where the slogan was “Where those who inspire find their own inspiration”. I have written an extended report on the sessions I attended, as well as reflections tied to the Festival of International Education we are planning to host here on 24 May 2019. I share a few ideas below.
Overarching themes of the 2018 Festival of Education.
1. Scepticism.During the event, and especially on the first day, four of 6 speakers I heard made the same point: that teachers need to be more sceptical and “push back” against local, regional or national authorities that regularly propose radically different innovations. The general outcry was against ideas generated in government that are based on theories without significant empirical evidence. This was further emphasised by the fact that a number of the presenters had published texts along this vein, and belonged to the organisation ResearchEd, which holds its own yearly conference.
2. Empirical evidence based knowledge.Despite the fact that presenters referred to a number of studies, they made the point of highlighting that the studies were undertaken in classrooms, and with practitioners, and that the data was therefore “tried and true” for educators. It was interesting that the same studies were references over and over and, in fact, that the presenters were all part of the same research trends: Daisy Christodoulou, David Didau, Nick Rose, Paul Kirschner, Pedro De Bruyckere, and many references to Willingham and Wiliams
3. Presenters as authors.The presenters had given names to their sessions that matched the titles of current published material. It took me a few sessions (and a visit to the bookselling stalls) to realise this. I was impressed by how well these researchers spoke (and would be happy to have them come to school, in most cases), and persuaded by their first-hand evidence for their arguments, but at the same time eventually I realised that the authors all belonged to the same cohort and publishing company—they referenced each other to the point where it became almost incestuous. In light of the theme of “scepticism” that I had encountered, it also made me wonder to what extent their perspective was a bit too one-sided. Nevertheless, great speakers to invite on general issues like curriculum and pedagogy that were not UK-centric at my sessions.
4. The importance of a knowledge-rich curriculum.Most of the sessions I attended referenced Kirschner and Willingham and highlighted that learning can only take place if knowledge is stored in long-term memory and that this is best achieved with direct instruction at first, drilling and practise, and finally by presenting unfamiliar situations that challenge the student to use the knowledge more creatively. However, it was clear to me that presenters were not damning any enquiry-based learning, just the timing and the focus of it in order to reap the most benefits.
Comments related to the Festival of International Education @ Le Rosey 2019.
The Master of Wellington College, Julian Thomas said in his opening address that he hoped the festival would “challenge unhelpful polarization” and that the goal was to “embrace diversity in education”. He invited participants to “do whatever you want, but make sure you are part of this conversation” and finished by saying, “It’s not wrong to move your opinion… debate is healthy.” This resonated with me and I would propose that we take that idea further by considering the format of our sessions. Here are some ideas (in no particular order):
A. Focus on areas of tension in education. It would be great to have those with different views come together and debate/dialogue, either in pairs or perhaps as a panel after X number of sessions.
B. Have three “strands”: education research, education practice and educational experiences.This would allow us to present sessions led by researchers/writers, by reflective practitioners, and by students. Sessions on research would include big names, but I think we could also organise some round-table discussions close to lunch (like ECIS MT) where anyone conducting research (UNIL or UniGeneva grad students) can open a question to 8-10 people. Sessions from teachers would involve areas that they are thinking about (or initiatives they have launched at their school). Sessions where students share “educational experiences” and their reflections would be interesting, varied, and a great opportunity for teachers to learn what students think of some of those organised special events.
C. To highlight/celebrate that education is the quest for knowledge. If we keep our sessions short (like the 40-45 minute slots we saw at the festival) it might be useful to give some parameters to speakers. For example, it would be interesting to have all researchers answer the same questions:
- “What are the questions I’m currently exploring?”
- “How am I trying to answer those questions?”
- “What are my findings thus far?”
- “What’s next for me?”
D. Organise sessions under three “strands”: Leadership, Curriculum, Well-being. This helps us with call for proposals, helps attendees organise their day, and helps us organise the sessions. However, I admit it’s quite traditional…
The full set of notes can be downloaded here:
Notes.Festival of Education at Wellington College.2018.docx
I look forward to hosting a conference that focusses on international education!