Teach Secondary 13.8

A s an educator, thinking back on how you first started on your journey into teaching, you might recall spending time in a lecture theatre, being drilled on various educational theories and pedagogies. There may have been periods when you were carefully considering the type of teaching style you were going to adapt, and the type of scenarios best suited to each (The Authority Style, The Delegator Style, The Facilitator Style, The Demonstrator Style, The Hybrid Style and so forth). Perhaps you were among those tasked with thinking about learning styles. Depending on where you were and when, youmight have initially looked at three, only to see them expand over the next few years – visual (spatial), aural (auditory), verbal (linguistic), physical (kinaesthetic), logical (mathematical), social (interpersonal), solitary (intrapersonal)... Inmost instances, it’s those seemingly strong theories that we’ll tend to reflect upon the most, if only because their tangible nature allows us to assess their effectiveness. Yet as we navigate a modern teaching landscape where Social Emotional andMental Health (SEMH) are increasingly the dominant factors in students’ ability (or otherwise) to access the curriculum and/or progress their learning, might there be an opportunity for us to TEACHING in the round Nikki Cunningham-Smith sets out the tangible improvements to behaviour, workload and mental health you can secure – for teachers and pupils – via holistic teaching techniques foster the principles of holistic teaching, in relation to the school curriculum? Holistic teaching adopts the philosophy of educating the whole person, beyond the academics. Emphasis is placed on creating positive learning environments, in order to remove external factors that may be presenting barriers to learning. It’s far from a new concept, having been understanding of the topic at hand, but also build on their ‘hard’ collaborative skills (communication and teamwork) and ‘soft’ skills (social awareness). This will present opportunities for you to develop your classroom space as a community. Bestow upon your pupils responsibility for ensuring that everyone in class can exercise their right to learn. All being well, this should result in a better sense of shared responsibility and mutual support. Use real-world examples Incorporate real-world examples and actual events into your planning where you can. This can make your pupils’ learning more meaningful to them, and help them apply the academic context of what they’re learning about to their everyday lives, personal interests and local communities. It may also present students with deeper learning opportunities at home, bringing about a further cementing and embedding of knowledge outside the classroom. Provide regular feedback and positive reinforcement Giving pupils timely and specific feedback will help you look beyond just their academic outcomes and stay “Youmight be surprisedby the extent towhichyou’realready promotingholistic learning” developed and refined over the years to varying degrees, in practices made famous by the likes of Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner. So how can we practitioners create a holistic learning environment?Well, youmight be surprised by the extent to which you’re already promoting holistic learning through your practice as a matter of habit, without even realising it. Let me outline here some key elements of holistic teaching to help you identify those strategies youmight wish to develop further, and others that you could incorporate within your daily practice for your students’ benefit. Integrate social emotional learning By explicitly teaching skills such as empathy, self- regulation and conflict resolution, and incorporating these into your lessons, you can start to build a safe learning environment that promotes a freedom to learn, free of distractions. Utilising key skills such as active listening and regular check-ins throughout the lesson will, over time, help youmore accurately gauge pupils’ readiness for learning, and their level of understanding and engagement with the topic. Personalise learning Providing multiple pathways for students to access content – through different levels of difficulty, varied materials or flexible grouping – will empower learners to work at their own pace. This can be further supported by providing pupils with personalised goals and targets that they can achieve and manage individually throughout the lesson. Promote collaborative learning Group work and peer learning lets pupils put into practice any skills they’ve been taught around strengthening their emotional intelligence. Encouraging pupils to work in diverse groups on solving problems, learn from each other and share ideas will not only improve their 56 teachwire.net/secondary