This dance is an overview of a teacher/researcher’s PhD action research study conducted in an Australian public high school. Redesigning learning experiences encouraged students to find and use their, often, hidden skills and knowledge. The study explores the move from passive to active learning through students' engagement with online and mobile tools. It looks at a range of innovative practices that encourage students to take more responsibility for learning. It also looks at the pedagogical implications that come with the use of this change as they challenge traditional models of ‘instructional order’. The study found that having such a flexible curriculum environment encouraged students to share their ‘hidden treasures’ and, hence, informal classroom learning became more visible and the students themselves became valued resources for both peers and teacher. Students appreciated the opportunities to publish and to gain feedback from more than their teacher alone. Students, in some cases, could be seen to be engaged in their own cycle of learning where they valued the opinion of their peers which, in turn, helped them to improve their work.
See gcasey.wikispaces.com/ for more information.