Productive Pedagogy
A good approach to learning and thriving in this century
In Australia OBE has been a part of primary schooling since 1995 and introduced into lower secondary since the beginning of this decade. There is no arguing the initial workload was enormous as the change first needs to occur in professional thinking and culture, then in ongoing practice. Primary schools, and Beaumaris in particular, have made this transition with great success, through effort, collaborative teamwork and a commitment to the OBE philosophy and the Curriculum Framework. We now have a far more flexible and engaging curriculum appropriate for teaching – learning relationships in this century. Learning fundamentals and skills still form a critical foundation to learning and development. What we have at Beaumaris is a system which tailors curriculum to meet varied needs for an unknown future (individuals and groups) and highly professional teachers who plan, implement and evaluate, moving students towards required outcomes, in partnership with colleagues, parents and the student.
OBE is highly successful, and just as noted futurologist Peter Ellyard emphasises the future quality of thrivability, OBE enables and emphasises students to be flexible, problem solve and thrive in a world with shrinking borders, global interface and exponential change.
To enable success, Beaumaris has restructured the learning environment into three semi autonomous sub schools: Junior; Middle; and Senior – aligning students to the three main learning development phases in Primary Education. In addition, classroom structures have also been reconfigured with Composite Class Structures that allow teachers to focus on cohorts of students in particular learning phases, rather than year levels. Students tend to spend two years with their teachers developing closer and more positive relationships as they move towards non negotiable transitional outcomes in preparation for the next phase.
This restructuring has promoted collaborative teaching practices within sub schools where broader expertise and interests are utilised in planning, implementation and review. As a result the professional culture is very high and widely acknowledged within the education community.
The Beaumaris journey has been worthwhile. Outcomes Based Education is a good approach to learning and thriving in this century.
Downloads
- Curriculum Framework - Information for Parents
- Composite Classes Information
- Teaching in Collaboration
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