Week 3.1 What pedagogy is needed in schools ?

In describing the probable impacts of ICT on society Dede ( 2007) provides a solid basis for the use of ICT, and the new pedagogies they make possible, to improve the way educational institutions prepare students for work and life.

Links with Learning Theories

Apart from reiterating that rapid global changes brought about by ICTs will require students to have 21^st Century skills in order to succeed individually and, in turn, contribute to national economies, Dede’s ( 2007) exploration of these topics also led me to draw links to theories of teaching and learning explored as part of EDEL 20001.

Firstly, the point that education is lagging behind other sectors of society in utilising the full potential of ICT, highlighted for me the relevance of the SAMR model in guiding educators to use technology not just to improve productivity but to transform learning by harnessing the communication and collaborative functions of technology.

 Secondly, Dede’s (2007) prediction that cognition will no longer occur within human minds but will be situated in groups or networks and within devices and tools (nor is it limited to specific locations or time) can be readily linked to the connectivist learning theories of Siemens (2005).

Links with Pedagogical approaches

Both Dede ( 2007) and Seely Brown (2008 ) assert that when creating learning sequences that promote complex thinking and communication and the acquisition of learning that is transferable to real world contexts, the content and the process of acquiring knowledge cannot be usefully separated. While learning content students concurrently learn how knowledge is constructed in that field through social interactions with peers and experts. The focus is not on the content alone but the construction of knowledge within communities of learners. ICTs, in particular Web 2.0 technologies, provide access to these authentic interactions. This learning also occurs in authentically complex situations that are as similar as possible to real world situations, termed by Dede ( 2007) as situated learning. Victoria Education Principles of Learning and Teaching (Principle.6 Learning connects strongly with communities and practice beyond the classroom) and the Connectedness dimension of the Productive Pedagogies (EQ, 1998) are close to the pedagogies outlined these two readings ( Dede, 2007; Seely & Brown, 2008). 

Seely and Brown (2008) also propose a fundamental shift in the way learning is viewed that points to the need for pedagogy that is genuinely individualised, learner centred and learner driven. They propose that the Internet, with its vast resources the access to which is not limited by geographical location, has the potential to provide students with resources that meet their interests and needs.

Dede’s ( 2007) discussion and categorisation of 21^st Century skills ( pgs  as a useful step towards developing more structured understandings of how these skills might be taught. (The discussion in this paper made me realise that in previous readings 21^st Century skills are mentioned as a group of skills that are not clearly defined or analysed individually. I found he proposal that 21^st Century skills should be analysed in terms of degree and kind, and prioritised in terms of relative neglect in the typical curriculum at present (namely the skills of problem finding, metacognitive strategies for making sense from complexity) particularly attractive.

Links with my teaching context

While it’s acknowledged that 21^st century skills are a requirement for success in the future, Dede (2007) also points out that mastery of routine cognitive tasks is a necessary foundation for their development. In a primary setting this balance must necessarily favour the attainment of these essential foundation skills… but not at the exclusion of fostering 21^st Century understandings. Finding the right balance is not easy in the complex environment that is modern education.

Education Queensland’s current priorities  are focussed on the development of these foundation skills and the Dimensions of teaching and learning (DoTL) ( DETE, 2010)  framework’s clear alignment of assessment, teaching curriculum and reporting, ensuring all students progress, is well suited to supporting these goals.  

The DoTL also articulate an expectation that all students will make progress toward more sophisticated knowledge and higher order skills but this does not ensure they will be taught at the classroom level.  The importance higher order skills are given in schools and classrooms is dependent of the types of assessment that are used to guide the teaching and learning cycle. Because current measures of school (and teacher) success are based on improvement on NAPLAN tests, the types of learning assessed by this (multiple choice) test will necessarily take priority over more sophisticated, higher order skills. In addition the DoTL framework does not provide specific information around how higher order skills and understandings will be achieved. Incorporating 21^st Century skills in the classroom is not easy (Matthews, 2009) and teachers need commitment along with guidance and support to make it work. 

In conclusion however, Dede’s (2007) findings that ALL students are able to produce sophisticated learning products when these teaching strategies are applied provide a very strong reason for making the effort.

REFERENCES

Dede, C. (2007). Transforming education for the 21st Century: New pedagogies that help all students attain sophisticated learning outcomes. Report commissioned by the NCSU Friday Institute. Retrieved December 23 from http://tdhahwiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/Dede_21stC-skills_semi-final.pdf

 

Education Queensland.(2012). United in our pursuit of excellence: Agenda for improvement 2012-2016. (2012). Retrieved December 21, 2013, from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/about/strategic/index.html

 

Education Queensland. (1998). Productive Pedagogies. Retrieved December 23 from https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/e0b539b8-f70c-c0b3-39cb-91f54801b635/1/index.html

Mathews, J. (2009). The Latest Doomed Pedagogical Fad: 21st-Century Skills. The Washington Post, January 5, 2009. Retrieved December 23 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401532.html

Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment.(2010). Dimensions of teaching and learning. Retrieved December 21, 2013, from  https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/f093f249-05ce-0bde-465a-dbc537683e7a/1/index.html

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), 1-8. Retrieved August 25, 2013, from http://itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm

Seely Brown, J. and Adler, R. P. (2008). Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0. EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 43, no. 1 (January/February 2008): 16–32. Retrieved December 23  from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/minds-fire-open-education-long-tail-and-learning-20

Victoria Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. ( 2013). Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 and their components. Retrieved December 23 from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/components12.aspx