Curriculum

The best I can be……. “Although I’m your teacher, I’m also your friend. We will work together and learn together, and make our classes fun.” (Cunxin: Mao’s Last Dance, 2004, p183) Remember, that to achieve your best, first you have to dare to try! Nothing is impossible as long as you’re not afraid to achieve it. I don’t want you to be the best in your class: I want you to be the best you can be. (Cunxin 2004) Earlier this year my eight year old spent some evenings during the holidays teaching her dad Italian. She borrowed a learning pack from the library which had flashcards and diagrams. It also contained a picture book and audio tape. While I hadn’t really paid much attention to them, this one particular night she had him producing a poster about the book. I asked her why she wasn’t concentrating on teaching him the words – remember this is an eaight year old – to which she replied, “Mum don’t you know that I have to make sure he understands the story first and then we can read it in Italian.” It’s really scary when you realise that you are actually influencing children all the time…..even though you don’t mean to. I’d hate to think what else they pick up…… In 2005 we added to our already growing knowledge and application of Learning Styles: a fourth strand. In much of the literature the Tactile learner is usually catered for within the realm of the Kinesthetic learner. While this is adequate we decided that the boys may benefit from a more explicit teaching of the learning style. This type of learner likes to manipulate objects that assist him to learn, like making the game which he later plays to learn more about a topic studied in class. Flash cards, construction of models, puzzles and card games are also a good way for ‘tactiles’ to connect with the learning. We have distinguished it thus from the Kinesthetic, which has to do with body movement. The Tactile Learning Style concentrates on the hands. Many of us have experienced the statement, “Hey mum/dad guess what? We have to make a model for Science!” Some of us hear (lower the voice and add negative undertones), “We have to make a working model of a Ferris wheel!” The former student, obviously a tactile learner is keen to begin, while the latter waits till the night before and sometimes does not even complete the project due to lack of interest. The same can be said of any of the styles we use in our teaching and learning programs. The key is to keep engaging the boys in the use of their preferred learning styles, while encouraging them to expand their learning repertoire by engaging the use of other styles, so that they may benefit in the long run. We, as teachers and learners, have continued to audit our existing programs and implement work tasks and activities in ways which suit all learning styles. The introduction of the new Victorian Essential Learning Standards will further encourage our teachers to adopt such programs and ensure our boys are equipped with thinking skills and problem solving skills they can adopt once out in the community. This is not to say that we did not engage our boys previously, but our aim is to make the learning more explicit so that boys can continue to understand why some activities work better for them when they are engaged in new learning. Boys may be able to display understandings in other forms but the continued importance placed on final exams deters many from experimenting with new ways of presenting knowledge. It is our hope that the junior boys can benefit from this teaching of thinking and skill development and be able to adopt it as they move up the school and into post-compulsory years. This year the boys were given many opportunities, some new, some old, to experience Tactile based activities. Year 7 Mathematics students enjoyed a ‘hands on’ problem solving/group activity, while in Science they were given the opportunity to handle snakes and lizards. LOTE boys have experimented with making their own flash cards in order to learn their vocab and verbs, and have cooked and served up an Italian feast. The areas of Technology and Arts have always catered for these groups exceptionally well, given the nature of the subjects, and this year was no exception with Middle School boys making props and clay figures for their animation projects, drama boys making and performing plays with calico puppets, and painting and sculpture students working with different media and materials. Other learning styles have been catered for in student “Speak Off”, Debating, Sports, character dress up and performance, Theatre Sports, Rock Eisteddfod, Rock and Water and a myriad of other learnings throughout the year. As we continue to work with the ever changing curriculum, manipulating and refining it to cater to the needs of our boys, and as we continue to offer our boys a variety of pathways, including very successful VET and VCAL programs, we maintain our vision, as a Catholic School, to develop the whole person and ensure our boys are ready to take on the world beyond our walls. I extend a warm thank you to all the teaching staff for their continued commitment to the holistic education of all of our boys.

Ms Jo Prestia Curriculum Coordinator