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=What should Initial Teacher Education look like in the 21st Century?=

We need to make students more self-regulating in their learning. Knowledge is a global wild west now - anyone can access traditional knowledge but we need to ask what knowledge counts as well as what knowlegde is required in the 21st century. If students can self-regulate their learning, it is more likely that they will take this dispostion into schools and encourage our young people to do the same.

I teach Educational Studies module to both primary and secondary students. I have just had the best PGDE tutorial I have experienced as a tutor. I cancelled the normal room (classroom!) and booked the coffee bar instead. Asked the students to prepare something about a contemporary issue. I brought coffee/tea/hot chocolate and Twix shortbread! We chilled as each group presented their issue - ranging from a quiz to building own school with marshmallows and spaghetti to standing on a continuum line to show your opinion. I couldn't have planned a better tutorial. The students were responsible (and this took pressure off me!) and accountable for their participation. The coffee bar allowed the students to relax as there were no desks on blackboard/whiteboiard. Many sat on the comfy seats, slipping off their shoes and tucking legs under them. The whole atmosphere changed because of the space provided. The students who normally were very quiet in tutorial now gave voice to their opinions. They debated, argued, laughed and were deeply engaged in the whole process. Feedback from the students was hugely positive, some even tweeted about it - now that's something. I have always known a more informal approach would produce results but what I don't know is when to introduce this! If I had used this approach in August when we first started the Ed Studies module, would students have been frightened off by the informality of it all? At a personal level, I learned from the students and I loved it. I also felt less pressured to produce results as far as student engagement was concerned. The space provided for the students certainly changed the ethos/atmosphere in the group highlighting that the ecology of the 'classroom' is a crucial determinant of effective learning. However, my question to you is... when do we start using this approach bearing in mind that students may not be ready for this at the beginning of the ITE PGDE course. Or do undergraduate courses already do this? Any suggestions / criticism / advice welcome.

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‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍I'd like new teachers to be confident, free thinkers and so ITE needs to develop reasoning, reflective and questioning students who will not just accept the status quo. Maybe they should stop regurgitating knowledge and their take on it; let the students debate and question the knowledge and policies. ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍

An interesting blog from Oliver Quinlan (Plymouth university). Embedding ICT. []