People and places
Postmodern picture books as a reflective tool for making learning visible Brett Healey and Susan Ledger get artistic How can school communities engage with difference across the curriculum? What kind of learning culture needs to be fostered? Which opportunities, which challenges and which types of problems can we, as international school stakeholders, seek out in order to address these questions? The 2016 Alliance for International Education (AIE) world conference in Bangkok, Thailand brought together educators worldwide under the theme of Engaging with Difference: finding ways forward. The theme was explored within various strands, one of which was that of curriculum, which ignited a number of contemporary issues and questions as outlined above. Curriculum strand participants were introduced to postmodern picture books as an inquiry approach to teaching difference, and the strand leader (Sue Ledger) decided to adopt the approach as a reflective tool to summarise the learning that took place over the duration of the conference. The postmodern picture book (PmPb) explores visual images,
Autumn
Spring |
| 2017
text and interpretative literacy to create and make meaning on several levels including socio-cultural concerns, codes and symbols (Anstey, 2001; Goldstone, 2002) The following themes were illustrated through the large PmPb display jointly constructed by the strand participants to represent their conference discussions. The PmPb revealed learned knowledges and intercultural understandings that spanned diverse contexts, were inclusive of stakeholders, respectful of dialogue not monologue, and responded to individual and collective differences. The following is an overview of the key themes arising from the Curriculum strand. 1. Culture of Thinking. Namrata Goel from Mumbai, India discussed the importance of creating cultures of thinking and how this serves as a building block that promotes curiosity and independence. In order to engage with difference, students need to be able to think differently, using strategies that not only address a particular content-driven problem,
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