The King Alfred School Society invites you to a one day education conference “Children’s Learning in a Time of Unprecedented Change.” The conference will be chaired by Robert Lobatto, Head of The King Alfred School. Our very own Bill Lucas is a guest speaker.
BILL LUCAS – Educating Ruby: what our children really need to learn
Bill Lucas explores the theme of his and Guy Claxton’s acclaimed critique of the current education system. Arguing that the obsession with subjects and tests misses the wider point of school, he makes the case for seven aspects of character which are both morally desirable and which also cultivate powerful learners. Professor Bill Lucas is Director of the Centre for Real-Learning at the University of Winchester. With Guy Claxton, Bill is the creator of the Expansive Education Network, an international network of teacher researchers promoting values-based schooling. Bill is the author of more than 40 books: most recently, with Guy, his book ‘Educating Ruby: what our children really need to learn’ has called for a national campaign to wrest education from the shortterm attention spans of too many politicians.
SUGATA MITRA – The Future of Learning
Sugata Mitra takes us through the origins of schooling as we know it, to the dematerialisation of institutions as we know them. Thirteen years of experiments in children’s education provide a series of startling results – children can self organise their own learning, achieve educational objectives on their own and learn to read by themselves. Finally, the most startling of them all: groups of children with access to the Internet can learn anything by themselves. Professor Sugata Mitra is Professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University.
JOHN BLANEY – Breaking Through The Concrete
John Blaney’s aim is to inspire teachers and practitioners to use the natural environment as the third educator. He explains how outdoor learning can help children to develop confidence, self respect and creativity as well as learn valuable skills for life such as cooking and co-operative problem solving. John Blaney helped introduce the concept of forest schools to the UK through his work with Bridgwater College.
NIHARA KRAUSE – Children and Stress: Why they feel it, how they show it and what you can do
Children, like adults, react to the pressures they face with varying degrees of stress. Being aware of the common factors that lead to childhood stress and anxiety and the different ways in which children show their strain can help in early identification. Knowing how to respond to these difficulties promptly and effectively can help re-direct the child back to experiencing positive mental health. Dr Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, has twenty-five years’ experience assessing and treating emotional, behavioural and psychological difficulties. With considerable experience in teenage and adult mental health both within the NHS and in independent practice, she has a passion about building emotional resilience and providing early intervention
STEVE WHEELER – Digital Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age
Children are born into a world that is rich in technology yet mobile phones are still banned in many classrooms, games are seen as a waste of lesson time, and social media are considered to be full of trivial content or worse, dangerous and something to be avoided in school. What if teachers decided that instead of keeping these technologies out of children’s reach, they’d begin instead to explore the potential of these tools to transform education? Steve Wheeler is Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at Plymouth University and is now in the Plymouth Institute of Education, at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
