1. Here we are, in a village school in Greece, in 1983.

2. The teacher sits at his desk, on a little stage at the front of the classroom. ‘Look
this way’, he says. ‘Listen to what I tell you. Answer my questions, hands up, only
one person speaks at a time.’

3. ‘Now, everyone read chapter 7—carefully, and silence, please …’

4. … and now, answer the questions a the end of the chapter. No talking.’

5. One student looks
up for a moment. Is
she thinking about
her work? Or is she
daydreaming?

6. Then she turns. ‘Turn around, Soula,’ says the teacher. ‘Don’t disturb the girls
behind you’

7. The classroom is a communications and knowledge architecture.
Here is the pedagogical design of this classroom in Greece in 1983,
and tens of thousands others like it before and since:
student
student student Some typical discursive flows:
• Teacher talks -> students listen.
• Teacher Q. -> students A. (‘hands up!’,
‘one at a time!’).
teacher
• Teacher says ‘read chapter 7’ ->
students read and memorize.
• Teacher sets test -> students respond
with correctly memorized answers.
student student
student

8. Here, by contrast is the communication and knowledge architecture of the
Scholar classroom.
This, we call the ‘new learning’ or ‘transformative pedagogy’:
student
Some typical discursive flows:
student student
• Teacher scaffolds peer <-> peer feedback.
• All students involved simultaneously in
constructive peer <-> peer learning
teacher
dialogue.
• An active, knowledge producing
community.
student student • Continuous formative assessment,
supplementing teacher assessments with
structured self and peer assessments.
student

9. Scholar changes to role of the teacher and the responsibilities
of learners.
Teaching and learning will never be the same again.