Listening to Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies describing the difficulties audiences and performers had when engaging with "modern" music during the middle of the last century caused me to reflect on the similarities with those who now engage with new methods of teaching. Maxwell-Davies explained that, with the loss of the familiar structure and tonality of music, performers and listeners found it difficult to determine the nature and meaning of the pieces they were performing or hearing.
Similarly, the nature of learning and teaching is changing - teachers are being encouraged to design a curriculum to meet the needs of the learner. Individual learning places the teacher at the centre not of a single model, but 20 to 30 models of learning, depending on the size of the class.
To devise a curriculum that responds to individual needs requires detailed knowledge of the subject matter and a clear understanding of the pedagogy required. Here we lose the familiar structure of the curriculum that takes the learner through repeated patterns, much the same as the modern composers of the 20th century lost the regularity of the four-bar phrase.
Neither learning nor music happens in isolation: the environment has a major impact on individuals engaged in either activity. Where schools can be re-engineered to accommodate the broader, more varied curriculum that accommodates the academic, social and vocational needs of individuals, there is every opportunity the learner will achieve. However, if the physical structure of the school prevents the learner or teacher from achieving the aims and objectives of the curriculum, little will be gained from a new initiative.
Notwithstanding the need for many schools to be rebuilt, there is the capacity for the majority to be refurbished in order to accommodate the new curriculum. The time is here for architects and teachers to discuss the redesign of schools.
Beyond this, staff will need to be trained to develop the appropriate skills. Teachers know that competencies can become obsolete; however, educators must produce something that is strong enough to achieve a balanced understanding of individual learners.
Teachers are aware of the impact of personal computers on the learner. The internet provides a model for individual learning. However, computers can be isolating.
The social element of schools that prepares learners for society remains constant through the changes that challenge our thoughts. Maxwell-Davies also placed an emphasis on the social importance of music. It can provide the opportunity for people to interact.
Irrespective of curriculum content or style of delivery, there is an ethical, values-led purpose to education. As we move into the next dimension of curriculum development, the importance of retaining the integrity and professional standing of education remains central to all our endeavours as learners and teachers.
· This is the last in the series of Master class. Sonia Blandford will continue to write regularly for Education Guardian. Professor Blandford is dean of education at Canterbury Christ Church University College. firstname.lastname@example.org