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BEYOND THE BLACKBOARD CONFERENCE
David Miliband MP
Conference address, 3-4 November 2004, Robinson College, Cambridge
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THE FUTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
David Miliband MP
Minister of State for School Standards
It is a pleasure to be here today. Your focus on the future of teaching is appropriately timed. We have more teachers than for a generation; they are better supported by 100,000 more support staff than seven years ago; and Ofsted say that standards of teaching have never been higher.
But we also know that while test and exam results suggest a rising tide of educational achievement, including in our toughest areas where achievement is rising faster than the national average, there remains significant untapped potential in our younger generations. Charles Clarke has said he believes in recognising achievement by quality not quota, and on that basis we cannot rest:
- 25% of 11 year olds do not read, write and do Maths well
- 45% of 16 year olds fail to get five GCSEs at grade A-C
- 25% of 16-18 year olds are neither in full time education nor in training.
So we have challenges ahead, and their resolution depends on good teaching. That is why this conference is important.
The American educationalist Lawrence Downey has captured the nature of the challenge very well. He says: "A school teaches in three ways; by what it teaches, by how it teaches, and by the kind of place it is."
Today I want to talk about "How we teach". Admittedly dangerous territory for a politician, but one that is vital. My contention is that your title - 'the future directions of teaching' - buries rather than unearths the key issue. We cannot talk about the future of teaching unless we think about the nature of learning. They are two sides of the same coin. And thinking about the nature of learning requires us to do more than shape teaching around the needs of the learner; that is important as we debate new ideas on multiple intelligence; but thinking deeply about the nature of learning requires us to mobilise the energy, ideas and motivation of the learner to exploit the power of teaching.
In all the debates about school improvement, in all the discussions of productivity in the education system, this key factor of productivity is too often sidelined. The engagement of the pupil - the heart of active learning - is not an alternative to good teaching. It doesn't mean the displacement of the teacher. It does make teaching a different process to one based solely on the transmission of knowledge from the mind of the teacher to that of the learner.
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My argument is simple:
- Personalised learning is the big idea in education today, and has at its core the idea of the active learner.
- The goal is for all pupils to have a real sense of shared ownership of their school experience; for that, teachers and learners need to work together in new ways.
- And to deliver such an entitlement on a universal basis we need to extend principles of flexibility and empowerment in our education system.
Personalised Learning
Personalised learning is for me the way in which a school tailors education to ensure that every pupil achieves the highest standards possible. It is educational provision shaped around the needs, interests and aptitudes of every pupil. It is not new for our best schools; but it is a new frontier for many.
There are five key elements to personalised learning. Each one has at its core the contribution of the active learner.
First, assessment for learning uses data and dialogue to diagnose every student's needs, interests and aptitudes. Pupils have shared ownership of this process because they participate actively in the dialogue. They have a voice and their voice is heard.
Ofsted tells us that just four out of ten secondary schools use assessment for learning well. Staff at Seven Kings School in Redbridge vouch for the power of assessment for learning. They use assessment for learning to provide structured feedback to pupils, to set individual learning targets, and to help plan lessons according to individual needs. This is personalisation in schools and the improved results are one of the rewards. In 1997, only around half the students achieved five GCSEs A*-C. In 2004, this number had risen to almost 85%.
The dialogue helps to highlight the strengths that would profit from further stretch, to identify the weaknesses that would benefit from further support and to determine the most appropriate learning pathways.
St Bonaventure's is an 11-18 boys' comprehensive with a mixed sixth form. It uses assessment for learning strategies to tackle underachievement head on. By carefully monitoring pupil progress each term and regularly reporting to parents, potential under-achievement can be picked up at an early stage. Ofsted has commended its achievements with Afro-Caribbean pupils and the school is now sharing its good practice throughout the education community.
Embed these practices in all schools and we will achieve a step-change in achievement. That is why the Pupil Achievement Tracker is
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