I went along to Peebles Hydro Hotel this morning to listen to Professor Bob Lingard who was speaking to the latest SQH cohort.

In a wide ranging review of educational research he focussed in on the concept of Productive Pedagogies which has been a feature of educational development focussing upon the “how”  of teaching in Queensland, Australia.

I’d heard about his before from my colleague Alison Wishart – who had visited Australia on a study tour earlier this year. However, it was good to hear it from the “horses mouth’ so to speak.  Productive Pedagogies have four elements:

Intellectual quality

Connectedness

Supportive classroom environment

Recognition of difference

The point which chimed with me was that “very effective” teachers manage to combine the four elements – with a particular ability to challenge learners. Sometimes modern classrooms can focus too much upon creating a supportive environment -without challenging or extending the learner. 

I had a chat with Bob after his session and hope that we might be able to collaborate on some of the areas of work of mutual interest.