Teacher changing the game
LUKE Rawle’s passion for boys’ education and modern learning is unmatched around the globe, and his newest accolade is proof of that.
The Toowoomba Grammar School head of teaching and learning has received international acclaim for his research project ‘Boys and their Voices’ which analysed the impacts of peer-to-peer tutoring between senior and junior students.
Thanks to his work, Mr Rawle has also been invited to join world leaders in boys’ education as a member of the International Boys School Coalition, where he will mentor teachers undertaking similar projects.
Mr Rawle completed his own project with his grade 11 and grade 8 students, where the senior students tutored the juniors in historical analysis.
“We found that by moving from that passive role into that active role of a teacher found that their own self-concept of their ability improved substantially and allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of where they were presently at in terms of their own knowledge and understanding and application of the skills,” he said.
Mr Rawle is now mentoring teachers from Johannesburg, New York and London as they embark on their own projects.
He hopes the findings of his project will set a precedent for schools around the world when it comes to developing the autonomy and self-concept of young male students.
“What, ultimately, my project looked at was that ability to get our boys to interact with younger students and become very reflective of their own learning and be able to make decisions and be able to try and communicate their own knowledge and reflect upon where they’re currently travelling,” he said.
“I think that’s really empowering for them but I think it’s empowering for us because we’ve seen that it works.”