Pearson. (2013, April 26). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history.[video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g
A trend that is relevant to my practice, and which captivates my attention, is the shift from students as consumers, simply learning a prescribed knowledge set to prepare them for gaining qualifications to enter tertiary study or the traditional workforce, to being innovative creators who are encouraged to question and explore and collaborate with others. It is a trend that is infiltrating schooling systems across the globe, in both the primary and secondary context.1
This trend enables our students to be empowered as individuals, and with the shift to learning with digital technologies (LWDT) being introduced into many of our New Zealand schools, our students have the opportunities, and are in fact, encouraged, to explore, ask lots of questions, and think outside the square. In the school I teach in, our vision is "to empower our learners to prepare for positive futures through exploration, innovation and collaboration." Teachers across the globe are now encouraged to use digital tools that foster creativity and production skills. NMC Horizon Report (2015, P.14) 2
Traditional teaching methods (single cell classrooms, with one kaiako delivering a prescribed curriculum to a class of students, expecting them to sit attentively and listen to the delivery of set information so they can attempt to give the right answers) will no longer prepare today's students for their futures. Instead, we must change the way we teach and how we allow our students to learn.
Learning with Digital Technology empowers our students to be globally connected to a wealth of information sources and allows them to pursue and explore the questions and issues that interest them and which they can relate to. Learning extends beyond the classroom walls and outside regular school hours on a daily basis. The digital technology, then also provides the opportunity for students to create, whether it be via blogs, video presentations, gaming or through one of the plethora of apps now available.
How can I, as a school leader, support, educate and empower the kaiako in our kura to make a shift in the way they deliver our school curriculum? In its 2012 report, ERO stated, "considerable work needs to happen before primary and secondary teachers and leaders understand the permissive nature and intent of The New Zealand Curriculum, and implement responsive curricula in their schools"3.
I believe the school I work in, does endeavour to implement a responsive curriculum, however, I see the need to further develop a growth mindset of inquiry in both our students and our staff. It is not easy for kaiako to let go of the teaching methods they were trained to use and have successfully developed over their years as experienced teachers.
Through support, PLD and school policy, we need to help our staff to understand that we are increasingly connected across a variety of platforms, especially digital, and in a variety of settings that extend beyond the boundaries of our school. We need to support both teachers and students, all learners, to engage in the interconnected digital learning platform. As 21st-century learners our staff and our students need to actively seek knowledge and respond to the changes and opportunities that new technology provides. By encouraging this growth mindset, we are helping to create a framework for preparing our students for their futures. The impact of technologies is what will make the biggest impact on solving future problems, especially those caused by the world's expanding population, rapid urbanization, and climate change.4
In order for our students to have a chance to be part of the trend towards being creators, rather than consumers, and to be future problem-solvers, I believe we have a responsibility to change our paradigm of how we teach and allow our learners to learn. Despite there being a number of challenges, such as the cost of the digital technology and our student's ability to access the technology outside the school environment; the need to upskill staff in both pedagogy and IT skills, I believe, is achievable in the school I work in and other New Zealand Schools. It is a journey we need to be prepared to take if we are to equip our learners with the 21st-century skills they need for the future.
References:
1. Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2015) NMC Horizon Report: 2015 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf
2. New Media Consortium. (2015). NMC Horizon Report: 2015 K-12 Edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf
3. Education Review Office. (2012). Retrieved 5 May 2015, from http://www.ero.govt.nz/About-Us/News-Media-Releases2/The-three-most-pressing-issues-for-N
4. US National Intelligence Council’s (2012) “Global trends: Alternative Worlds”
KPMG Australia. (2014, May 22). Future State 2030 - Global Megatrends.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5SwtapHl8
I would like to start off by saying I do like your school vision. I agree with you that it is hard for teachers to let go and move on to something quite new but it is something that we have to realise that for the future of our learners this is the way it is going. Many of our secondary school learners are able to use the technology well for their own purposes but to prepare them for further studies where they will not be restricted by the four walls of a classroom. Teachers do need the support and this can sometimes be overlooked, but with the PLD that is on offer now we are able to get there. Often we think that we should be able to do this, we are teachers but we have to remember that using technology is probably a bigger change for us as a teacher than it is for our learners who have grown up with technology around them for most of their life.
ReplyDeleteI agree Delwyn, that access to good quality PLD is essential for today's teachers, as we must learn how adapt learning programmes, and how to use the new technologies on that are constantly evolving. Today's teacher must be prepared to be learners too!
DeleteI like the idea of learners contributing to world and not being just passive in the world's growth. I think that LwDT is a great example of teaching and giving the learners the experience and ability to contribute and create to society. I have seen it in my class where students have seen examples of videos on line that have music and are edited. My students learnt, tried and created their own examples of videos about what they where learning. The experience and end results were empowering to not only the students who created the video but to other students in the class who did think it was possible to create these kinds of videos by students their age.
ReplyDeleteIt has opened up their world and the possibilities.