Currently, education serves to prepare people to take on the tasks of
a job or discipline to “do” something. As we move farther into the future,
education will need to support children to develop the skillset and mind-set to
do anything in their future rather than a particular “something.”[i]
It was with this concept of developing further skills and a wider open
mindset that I knew I needed learn more and develop my own pedagogical understandings
… therefore I joined the social learning experience of DisruptED ….
I joined
DisruptED as I enjoy reading, pondering and mulling over all things education
and mustering up ideas about how I can then use this new information to best
serve my students and community. I also
want to understand and get a better grasp on the pedagogy so I can engage with
and support others, especially the kaiako who teach my own children. While making time can (at times) feels like
the ever threatening thunderstorm – I am finding reading and researching in the
early morning with a coffee the best time for me as afterschool/evenings are
dedicated to family time.
So – thoughts
as an educator and a learner so far as I start to apply them to my own inquiry
and learning process.
Thought
one: These readings (and the reflections
of others) has made me consider is there a disjoint and inequity currently in
education? Distance, monies and energies
appear to be scattered over schools and places.
I believe all teachers deeply hold akonga interests at heart, otherwise they wouldn't be there, but I am
wondering if all teachers have access to time and energies needed to build the
future-focused skills we need as educations and times are rapidly changing. HOW can we change this? Do we need actively work to change this, or
is it a case of starting off on the train and picking up people along
the way?
Thought
two: For me, in my kura and classroom, I would suggest from the readings that having
future focused learning involves “emphasizing things like entrepreneurship,
design skills, and also collaboration”[ii]
I believe that critical, creative,
problem solving and collaborative skills will be the ones most required of our
learners – and these are already in focus as we daily flesh out of the Key Competencies,
which the MOE which in our curriculum document come prefaced stating learning “starts with a vision of
young people developing the competencies they need for study, work, and
lifelong learning, so they may go on to realise their potential.”[iii].
This is also backed up by the MOE strategic planning[iv]
which when condensed down to the one page layout of the overall goals – highlights tailoring
of “responsive educational services which meet the needs of and raise the
aspirations of all children.” They also
highlight that for this to happen there must be a “quality, responsive, future-focused
teaching workforce”
Thought
three: So – jumping back into the
inquiry circle – my hunch is that currently in my immediate practice changes
need to be further developed to enable the building of skills to ensure this
future focused learning. To that end a
fellow teacher and I are in the process of working together to build this
future focused learning – and have applied to the Teacher Led Innovation Fund
for further time and funding to develop these competencies and agency through empowering
students with the skills needed to (ultimately) develop and personalize their learning
modules. We believe that “The choices we open to students must be authentic
choices through which students can see that their opinions and--most
importantly--their actions can have a real impact on themselves and the world
around them.”[v]
So ... there are my thoughts - off to put Mum hat back on and ensure there are enough muffins for school lunches and a plate for the staff room :-)
[i] https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/05/22/8-things-every-school-must-do-to-prepare-for-the-4th-industrial-revolution/#3463985b670c,
Marr, Bernard. May 22, 2019
[ii][ii]
https://workingnation.com/getting-smart-in-the-innovation-age-of-ai/,
Ramona Schindeliem, Aprill 22, 2019
[v] Williams, Philip. "Student agency for powerful learning." Knowledge
Quest, vol. 45, no. 4, 2017, p. 8+. Academic OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.kotui.ac.nz/apps/doc/A491137367/AONE?u=per_k12&sid=AONE&xid=8ae38af2.
Accessed 6 May 2019
