Developing The Continuum: A summary guide

Liberal Technological Humanistic Progressive Radical

Purpose of ● To teach learners to know more ● To train learners to become ● To support the growth of learners ● To facilitate the learner in solving ● To liberate the learner from
education about the world so that they are more skillful in specific tasks or in emotional, physical, intellectual, problems and pursuing curiosity oppressive frameworks, roles and
free to make more of themselves to establish changes in moral and spiritual terms to and in doing so co-create meaning expectations
by being more knowledgeable. behaviour to achieve become fully human ● The learner is ​empowered ​as a ● To bring about a ​re-distribution of
● The learner becomes ​clever​ as a competency ● The learner ​flourishes​ as a result of result of​ engaging​ in the process power​ in the education endeavour
result of the​ content​ in the ● The learner becomes ​efficient being ​upheld ​through the process and ultimately becomes with a view to fundamental ​social
process and ​accomplished​ through responsible change
performing​ in the process

Top Tips for ● Ask questions to understand why ● Ask for examples demonstrating ● Seek out the support you need to ● Learn about learning skills ● Bring questions to explore why you
learner and how ideas have developed high competency realize your potential ● Find out ​how to​ find out about are working in this approach
and are connected ● Get the information you need ● Learn to trust self, group and the what interests you ● Take responsibility for leading what
● Take time to listen to the people about criteria teacher ● Take charge of what happens in happens
who know what you want to learn ● Watch how people do the task ● Be willing to share your experience the learning process ● Resist being passive and putting up
about of the learning process ● Seek out ways of bringing about with what you don’t understand or
change or improvement find useful to you

Top Tips for ● Know your subject ● Demonstrate and explaining ● Understand child and adolescent ● Encourage meta-perspective ● Main objective is to support
educator ● Encourage critique of academic how ​to carry out key tasks development theory thinking in learning learners in developing learning
discipline ● Provide plenty of opportunity ● Demonstrate acceptance and ● Keep intervention to minimum; through praxis. In other words,
● Provide opportunities for for learners to practice target approval of the learner provide factual information from knowledge emerges through
following knowledge ‘threads’, ie. tasks ● Listening and observational skills which the learner makes meaning reflective though on action
drilling into subject specific detail ● Be patient with learners’ are critical ● Follow learner’s lead in driving the ● Maintaining a light touch presence
mistake making ● Develop emotional literacy direction of learning is critical; the group must be the
● Encourage practice awareness ● Ask questions you don’t know the driver of the process, not the
answers educator as either teacher or
● Encourage peer decision-making facilitator
processes ● See Progressive for further detail

Curriculum ● Content drawn from major ● Content orientated toward ● Curriculum provides opportunities ● Curriculum planning involves ● Curriculum planning is ideally
Implications academic disciplines including target behaviour/specific task for group work, personal identifying themes and opening carried out in conjunction with
literature, science, mathematics, completion development and exploration of questions to initiate learner learners
languages, history, art and ● Opportunities for practicing personal, social and health issue enquiry ● Curriculum content is initiated
geography new behaviour/task ● Personal reflection exercises ● Sleuthing activities, learning primarily in response to the
● Curriculum planning provides ● Opportunities to review and ● Art, drama and craft tasks used for journey and discovery activities questions raised by learners
opportunity for extended gauge competency. personal exploration and ● ‘Real world’ experiences; outdoor ● Curriculum direction is focused on
research into specific subject ● Regular feedback on skillfulness expression education, role play creating a critique of context of the
areas ● Provide ‘real-life’ scenarios learner
● Curriculum content includes incorporating use of real
theoretical ideas and material/equipment
meta-perspectives on academic
discipline, ie. history of ideas, key
figures
● The curriculum objective is to
increase capacity for reason and
intellect

Role of The Academic Technical Expert/Instructor The Guide The Facilitator The Catalyst
Educator

Role of The Scholar The Apprentice The Emergent Self The Problem Solver The Co-creator
Learner

Relationship If done well the impact of the If done well the educator motivates If done well the impact of the educator If done well the impact of the If done well the educator role becomes
implications educator can enthuse and inspire the learner to want to practice and is that the learner feels noticed and educator is that the learner feels assimilated within the group process.
providing a powerful role model. The become accomplished in the target affirmed. They have a sense that increasingly autonomous, committed In other words teaching and learning
process can draw out learner interest skill. Role modeling competency someone is looking out for them and is to change, and has a belief in their become verbs and not ascribed roles.
in specific subjects that encourages can be powerful for learners. available for support. own sense of agency. The educator is However, without careful monitoring
the learner can feel abandoned and
 confidence and embed knowledge However, if the educator lacks However, there is a potential for a welcome motivator for inquiry and a confused due to the lack of structure
and understanding. patience, the ability to contain intrusion and smothering. Care must co-collaborator in problem-solving. (similar to the Progressive method). In
However, unless the content can be learner frustration, then they are at be taken not to reduce the However, without sufficient structure addition the educator can be
effectively communicated, the risk of ‘leaving the learner behind’. autonomy/choice making of the and containment the learner experienced as withholding (necessary
process can rapidly become turgid The learner becomes disaffected at learner. Co-dependency is likely where experiences abandonment and falls information which the student does
within 20mins. leading to learner not believing in their potential to the educator is too invested in the into confusion. not have)
disengagement. become skillful. process.
Advantages Encourages learning for learning’s Encourages learning to innovate Encourages learning to realize Encourages learning to bring about Encourages learning to bring about
sake and modernise self-actualisation reform freedom; liberation pedagogy

Limitations Elitism: the learner’s experience, Reductionist; the learner is Indulgence; the learner regards Confusion; this approach can be a Problematising the social context can
qualities, curiosity are discounted recognized solely on the basis of personal growth and needs as the sole default for an educator inexperienced overlook possible organic (internal)
performance. focus of the process in managing process, leading to student challenge/needs. This can be
unhelpful lack of direction for the especially the case when working with
learner children and young people who may
have diverse developmental needs

Underlying The theory of social development A theory of social development that A theory of social development based A theory of social development A theory of social development is
model/philos which underpins the concept of a emphasizes usefulness – on full realization of individual orientated to social change and based on social transformation
ophy civilized society. People become free utilitarianism. Society requires that potential. The collective experience is democracy. The intention is that
from ignorance through education, people can ‘run the world’; make it best achieved where individuals feel sustainable equality and justice is
mitigating the potential for work. safe and attached to self and the world created when individuals can think for
fundamentalism themselves, work collaboratively to
solve issues inherent in social
discourse

Theorists/refe M. Oakeshott; F Furedi; Vocational education; technical C. Rogers; A. Maslow; Dewey; G.Dennison; Kolb J.Mezirow; P. Freire;
rences college; FE model N. Noddings De-schoolers inc. I. Illich; J. Holt

Student This is about learning ​knowledge This is about learning ​how to do This is about you ​growing as a person This is about discovering how to ​solve This is about ​creating new ideas, ways
Edition Examples: when you find out stuff things Examples: when you explore who you real life challenges and problems of working and how to be part of a
about things you didn’t know before; Examples: when you learn how to are as a person, what it feels like to be Examples: when you are becoming group
how things work, why and how ideas do a particular skill like play a sport, you in different situations, how to get really good at solving problems that Examples: where you and the group
are connected or become really good at playing an the best out of relationships and come up in your learning; doing set out to change something, or create
instrument or perform well in become you at your very best whilst project work that explores a theme something new; activities where you
examinations knowing how to deal when things are that you are curious about and your fellow students are in charge
not going so well of the agenda – school council?

Liberal Technological Humanistic Progressive Radical

Notes:
1. The most important thing to bear in mind is that any point on the continuum has validity. It is the wider contextual contract demands that are critical in determining the relative usefulness of each type of learning. In other words, the contract between the
learners and educator is predominantly influenced by what the school permits.
2. Responding to inspection requirements can be plotted across all points on the continuum. Each type of learning can be demonstrated at an outstanding level, but it must be remembered that inspection by definition is underpinned by a technological frame of
reference.
3. Building a compendium of locally-grown practice, illustrating what is already taking place at the school/training establishment, is an important first step in making the continuum more relevant.