Geoff Allemand
Member
G’day from Down Under – Shepparton, Victoria Australia.
I am a trained primary school teacher, come entrepreneur and passionate exponent of the Big Picture learning model.
http://www.bigpicture.org.au, http://www.bigpicture.org
For the past 3 years I have been working with disengaged and disadvantaged youth in a variety of contexts. Each year bureaucracy and red tape and a limited view of innovation has driven me to the ultimate decision of resigning from my job to put my subversive skills to the test outside the factory modelled institutions.
I am setting up my own learning centre called iLearn – in the REAL world, to offer a personalised approach (project based) for young people 15-18 years around their interests/passion and link them with mentors in the real world. There will be a face to face full time program and an online option for students in other towns. I have sourced online learning coaches in literacy and numeracy and will be looking for other mentors expert in their fields to match with the passion of my students.
I have been really encouraged with John Abbott’s book, Overschooled but Undereducated and the work of Born to Learn.
Here is my blog to read about my journey - http://geoffallemand.wordpress.com
Regards,
Geoff
Geoff, your innovative teaching concepts seem really exciting at a time when increasingly, local educational control is being removed to central government. as a student myself i find the scheme that you are proposing, based in the REAL world, to be an exciting one, is this based on an apprenticeship form of learning?
Caitlin
Geoff Allemand
Member
Hi Caitlin.
Not a formal apprenticeship as such but my students do internships (2 days a week in the real world) being linked to a mentor in their area of interest. You could say though that they are apprenticed to this mentor. The key is that the student learns with and from an expert who passes on their passion, knowledge and skills to foster the young person’s learning.