In this time of high-stakes testing, growing mental health issues among
young people and increasing pressure on teachers to focus on rote
repetition and practice papers, we have to step back and ask: "What is
the purpose of education?" If you think it is to get children through
tests, then this book is probably not for you. If, however, you think it
is to develop wisdom in children - the capacity to think, to apply
knowledge, to empathise, to weigh up evidence, to consider consequences
and to make informed choices - then this book is most definitely for
you.
Rooted in practice and grounded in research, Uncharted Territories
invites a reassessment of what curriculum coverage can look like and
provides an abundance of hooks into exploratory learning that place
learners - of whatever age - knee-deep in dilemma, so that they are
thinking deeply, analytically and imaginatively. These are not knowledge
organisers or schemes of work; rather they are inspirational forays into
imagined contexts for learning which, as fantastical as they may appear,
always have the real world as their destination. Signposted by story
starters and inductive questions - not to mention the beautiful
illustrations which are sure to fire children's imaginations - Hywel and
Debra's innovative routes to learning will help teachers stray from the
beaten track of the curriculum and instil in learners a sense of purpose
as they discover, manipulate and apply knowledge and skills across a
range of collaborative, cross-curricular problem-solving contexts.
Each chapter focuses on a different place - such as a remote castle or a
mysterious cave, where the learning will be applied and challenged - and
is packed with starting points and "what ifs ...?" to establish rich
landscapes for exploration and a wide range of opportunities for
discussion and writing. To help map out the territory ahead, Hywel and
Debra guide the teacher around the key learning landmarks linked to each
context's overarching concepts and lines of inquiry, and point out the
many different curriculum areas to which the explorations naturally lend
themselves to. The authors go further by offering transferable ideas
which can be adjusted to work with whatever age group, as well as a
variety of context-based tasks to enable the teacher to explore how
elements of, for example, literacy and/or numeracy could be incorporated
in order to save curriculum time.
While Uncharted Territories is a rallying call to arms for the
imagination, in each of its chapters Hywel and Debra also delve into the
why in order to present the teacher with a comprehensive debrief of
the learning processes and the theoretical and academic underpinning.
Furthermore, the authors provide a helpful listing of drama techniques
and relevant books and poems that can be incorporated into the learning
journeys, as well as useful advice on how to assess and evidence their
outcomes.
Designed for use with learners of all ages, from early years to
secondary.
