Ian Mackenzie

Ian Mackenzie has taught in England, Canada and New Zealand over the last twenty years. His initial work as a Physical Education specialist helped him understand how much children can be actively engaged in effective learning and how important authentic problem solving is if children are to grow.

As Director of Learning at a very large primary school in Auckland, Ian helped develop and implement a system of inquiry which goes beyond the usual formats. Based on a constructivist approach, it takes the interests of children and allows them to drive and build their own knowledge and (crucially) requires a distinct action to come from the learning.

Ian has worked closely with groups of teachers, implementing this work into the classroom. He trains groups on the importance of developing critical thinking skills for the 21st century and is an enthusiastic teacher of Philosophy for Children (P4C).

Ian is among a growing group of voices who advocate a whole scale change for the aims of our education system. He talks of learning communities where skills, talents and interests of children are encouraged and developed. Where the most important skills are those which help students become better thinkers. Where the aim of an education is no longer to become a University professor (which over 99.9% of all students fail to do) or even to gain a Universiy education (which over 90% of all students fail to do), but to have a system where children really are seen as individuals... and their interests and talents can be fostered and developed, not the interests of the teachers in front of them.

Ian uses humour and narrative to run his sessions (history teaches us that storytelling is a wonderful medium for learning). Also a published author of dark, philosophical short stories... he promises there won't be any of those in his sessions.

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