Green Awareness?

Only awareness is educable

Caleb Gattegno encouraged teachers to help students to learn through their awareness. He was a founder of the ATM, marketed Cuisenaire rods, created the Silent Way of teaching languages and mathematics.

"Gattegno's pedagogy is based on a science of education built up by minute observation of human behaviour. Our life is a succession of tiny awarenesses. Things are unknown to us until we become aware of them. As soon as we become aware of them there is the possibility of ignoring them, forgetting or of integrating them into our lives. The role of the teacher is to help the learner to pay attention and to integrate those awarenesses that can contribute to education. But, the moment of realisation and the process of learning is an act of awareness that belongs solely to the learner."

Guy Claxton's work might also interest you. I've been impressed by the effects of Building Learning Power on 3 of my grandchildren. They use and talk about the skills they have developed such as "Stickability", "Helping one another" and "Problem Solving" at home as well as at school. The awareness promoted by a whole school "can do" approach keeps building over the years.

Can you improve the potential for raising awareness by using tools/methods such as role play, simulation, mind mapping, concept mapping, Enquiry-based Learning (EBL), Circle Time, P4C Philosophy for Children, OSDE (Open Spaces for Dialogue and Enquiry), TOEproject (Learning to Read the World Through Other Eyes), World Cafe, lateral thinking, Gardner's 8 Intelligences .....?

Also in "Pedagogical Dimension?"   Might teaching tools and methods help?

Read Steve Pratchett's "Curriculum Model to Underpin ESD" (Sept 2008).