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My thoughts of the word 'pedagogy'

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Firstly - I do agree that the 'pedagogy' does still have purpose and that it can have an emphasis on learning.  Ultimately, it is all about the interpretation.  Teaching is a skill that can be applied discretly and delicately.  It doesn't have to be the core and all-consuming.  You can teach by treading lightly but motivating strongly.  The skills that form good pedagogical practice may have changed.  For example, 'guiding' and 'facilitating' will now be far more of a priority than earlier interpretations of teaching.  Being an 'expert' in the field is far less relevant now for some sections of learning - in fact with 'life-long learning' we all have the potential to be learner and teacher.  This gives great potential.

I do think the time spent to explore what we mean by 'pedagogy' now is very useful.  It reliterates that the professionalism of teaching does still exist and that technology requires further professionalism rather than a dilution of it. The process may be less defined than in previous generations, but that that is due to the increased emphasis on learning and the increase size of the tools and opportunities available to design, respond, encourage and develop learning opportunities with authenticity and sustainability in mind.

Design for learning is a broad term that can encompass a single task or a whole course.  It is a term that goes beyond learning resources and covers anything that influences or has impact on a learning situation.  It has a holistic view that contains flexibility to be creative and respond to the unpredicatibility of learning where learners have more influence on their own and others learning.

Reference:

Helen Beetham and Rhona Sharpe. (2007). An introduction to rethinking pedagogy for a digital age. Available: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1280195/mod_resource/content/1/ebook_Week24_Beetham_Rethinking_pedagogy_l3.pdf. Last accessed 27th July 2015.

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