I believe knowledge is the information we all possess which includes facts, ideas, beliefs, experiences, principles, values, how we feel, motivation and our general awareness of what surrounds us.

Davenport and Prusak (1998) define knowledge as

A fluid mix of framed experience, contextual information, values and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information.

I believe that knowledge:

• provides a framework that we are continually building upon incorporating new experiences and information as we grow and mature.
• is constructed by individuals from their experiences.
• is in a continuous process of being built as new ideas are connected with prior knowledge.
• acquisition occurs from observation of things happening around us, direct involvement or practice of a skill, interaction with people, experiences, experimentation, investigation, reflective practices and sometimes just maturation.
• is maximised when these new experiences build on to an existing framework of experiences.

This is the theory of constructivism and my teaching practice reflects this theory. I provide opportunities for students to build on previous knowledge through applying and overlaying new concepts to their prior knowledge framework. My classroom provides experiences for students to connect information to both past and present knowledge through investigation and experimentation as well as collaboration with fellow students, teachers and outside experts. By challenging my student's own interests and talent in a supportive, productive and positive working environment and allowing time for reflection of those ideas, I maximise my student's knowledge acquisition and retention.

As learners in the 21st Century, we must recognise that knowledge is being accumulated at an ever increasing rate. The bank of knowledge is exploding and we:-

• must become increasingly selective in the knowledge we access as it is impossible to know everything.
• need to identify with the knowledge that we require and know how to access that knowledge when and if it is needed
• need to be able to distinguish between what is useful knowledge and what is irrelevant at that point in time.

"Learning occurs when experience causes a relatively permanent change in an individual's knowledge or behaviour. The change may be deliberate or unintentional, for better or for worse. To qualify as learning, this change must be brought about by experience - by the interaction of a person with his or her environment." Woolfolk (1998).

When we have a definate reason or a passionate interest in what we are learning, learning occurs easily. By embedding learning in these types of experiences, learning can be maximised.

I believe we all learn differently.

There exists a multitude of intelligences quite independent of each other; that each intelligence has its own strengths and constraints; that the mind is far from unencumbered at birth; and that it is unexpectedly difficult to teach things that go against early "naive" theories that challenge the natural lines of force within an intelligence and its matching domains. Howard Gardner (1983)

We all identify with our strengths of learning. We may be a visual, audio or kineasethic learner. We learn best when knowledge is presented in a way that appeals to our learning preferences. As a teacher when we can meet a student's learning needs, then optimum learning can occur. By catering to the wide variety of learning styles of my students and providing them with multiple ways to access learning materials, I can optimise their learning.

I believe 21st Century learning is about giving students opportunities to direct their own learning. By offering students choice, they take control of their own learning by clarifying their learning goals. Learning experiences that are integrated and connected to the world within a problem based curriculum give meaning to learning. By providing open ended experiences with choices, my students have opportunities to develop learning pathways along their own interest areas.

I understand that when students are engaged in what they enjoy doing, in a supportive classroom environment, they learn best and learning is retained more. When we take ownership of our own learning, it reflects in our enjoyment and we are more likely to go beyond gaining factual knowledge. Learning that provides opportunities to use higher order thinking skills to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding, involves us questioning our values and beliefs in a real world sense. When we become changed by what we learn in a meaningful way, then our learning is said to be transformative.

Today's world is about making connections. We have the ability to connect with individuals nationally and globally like never before. By collaboration with others, using higher order thinking skills, our learning is broadened, more meaningful and we are more likely to connect with other learning in other interest areas. In this way more knowledge is reviewed and we retain more. This is the learning theory of connectivism.