teaching & learning lab

I am pre-service teacher. This is my online diary and a collection of teaching resources. My philosophy of education is very much based on the idea that it can assist promote social justice broadly speaking - and that within reason one should try to contribute where the contribution is needed the most, not where there is already a surplus of resources. As a result many of the posts are informed by this ideological interest.

I also believe in a child-centred approach and the importance of the creative arts in education. So some of the material are about the usefulness or uselessness of the creative arts in general and the usefulness or uselessness of the creative arts in education in particular (thesis + antithesis = synthesis/i am using classic dialectic in order to come to a a more informed position based on logic and analysis not just avid enthusiasm). My pedagogy is a constructivist and an open-source one. I believe students learn best when they construct knowledge for themselves with teachers acting as a mentor and guide - signposting important information or acting as a curator to what is relevant to the topic at hand from what is not. I would like to make explicit the teaching and learning strategies I use as I use them as I believe students learn better when information is not only conveyed well - but is also modeled and deconstructed in front of them.

Other interest includes the digital revolution in education, the importance of dialog, narrative and conversation with one's peers and one's students (hence this blog). I think its very important that teachers admit to students the gaps in their knowledge, limitations, mistakes and ideological allegiances to provide contextual understanding. I believe the most important skill a teacher can teach a student is independent thinking - everything else googleable. Another is intellectual fearlessness and intellectual curiosity (serious playfulness) - based on the idea that its ok to sometimes getting things wrong.

Finally aligned with the concept of a child-centred approach and belief in the importance of the creative arts in education is a hope of being able to develop a pedagogy that can accommodate different types of intelligences (Gardner) and a pedagogy that is informed and influenced by the creative arts.


This document is an evolving one and is not meant to be a definitive position on education. I have used the idea of cartography as a framing device in order to convey the concept of journey and voyage.

Please refer to the Compass to the Professional Teaching Standards as a guide through this website for the mapping assessment task.

My Contact Email is: Email Teaching & Learning Lab

Last Updated: 04-11-09