In the past weeks I bet you have heard the following response to a question, “I dunno, wait let me Google it!”.
In our permanently connected society, information is only a few characters and a click away. Our lives have been forever changed by this persistent information flow. Fast changing technological advances have also impacted on the skills needed to progress both in life and in the world of work. I think it is safe to assume that we could expect such developments to impact on the education system and specifically on the role of a teacher. Perhaps one of the more significant, but possibly less scrutinized consequences of our Brave New World is the need for teachers to apply more wisdom and possibly need less knowledge.
What do you remember about the teacher(s) that inspired you? I bet it was not the facts that they shared with you but more likely how they encouraged, cajoled, pushed or even pulled you into personal achievements and growth. We know interactions matter, but meaningful and thought provoking interactions require wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as ‘the quality of having experience, good judgement and knowledge’ or ‘the integration of knowledge, experience and deep understanding’.
There has been a gradual but consistent increase in the proportion of teacher-student interactions within lessons over t