21st Century

Disciplining and drafting, or 21st century learning? Presentation to Cantatech and Aoraki e-clusters Darfield, 3 September 2008

Rachel Bolstad New Zealand Council for Educational Research

• PAST • PRESENT • FUTURE?

Schooling in the Industrial Age… Primary school for everyone – “the basics” Secondary school: academic orientation

Tertiary education: for the minority Working class Manager/Professional classes

The Industrial Age Economy… Economy based on exploiting natural resources Mass production Owners, Managers, Workers Workers’ - roles clearly defined. Needed to be able to follow rules, respect authority, and carry out role responsibly Managers – More highly educated. Needed to understand “big picture” and be able to make decisions

The traditional Academic Curriculum Plato’s ideas Students who are good at learning this knowledge are intelligent and deserving of further education The academic curriculum was the tool for sorting students “Bread for all and jam for the deserving” (Beeby)

Curriculum is • discipline-oriented • knowledge-centred • taught by subject specialists NB. Generally speaking, students don’t get the chance to be knowledge producers until they reach graduate level

Our mental models of knowledge, mind, and learning (from Gilbert, 2005) Knowledge Learning Minds •Knowledge is “stuff” •It can be stored – in minds, books, or other kinds of databases •It is something stable that accumulates over time •It is built up by people, but it exists objectively, independent of people

•Minds are like containers; they store knowledge •Minds also process knowledge; they take it in, organise it, represent it •Some minds have more capacity than other minds for storing or processing knowledge

•Learning is the process by which knowledge gets stored in minds •Learning is an individual activity; it takes place in individual minds •Learning is easier if the knowledge is broken down into parts and introduced as a series of steps, beginning with the easiest or most basic concepts

Metaphors for the Industrial Age secondary school system?

Industrial age?

Metaphor 1: A forked river

X © NZCER

R. Bolstad & J. Gilbert (2008) Disciplining and drafting or 21st century learning? Rethinking the New Zealand senior secondary curriculum for the f

Metaphor 2: A braided river

© NZCER

Metaphor 3: A braided river with campground for “drowning” students

© NZCER

Characteristics of the “Knowledge Age”/ 21st century world…

New ways of working

New kinds of problems

Sustainability challenges Interconnected dimensions: •Environmental •Social •Political •Economic

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” – attributed to Einstein

THEN

NOW

Young people followed clearly-defined pathways – through education, training, into the workplace.

Young people have huge array of possible futures

Choices were limited and often constrained Knowledge was stable Future was predictable

Young people “responsibilised” with planning their own pathways Knowledge is partial Future is unknown

P. 41 Rosemary Hipkins (NZCER) says that dealing with complexity and ambiguity will be an important part of the education of Gen Y. She gives the example of omega-3 being found to protect against heart disease. Great, but if everybody ate more oily fish, what would happen to wild fish stocks? “We have to find a way to educate kids to see the big-picture connectedness and to understand that there isn’t one right answer anymore….”

21st century learning – what is it? 20th century learning Industrial Age

21st century learning Knowledge Age

Learning means acquiring information, building knowledge (bit by bit), ‘filling up’ with knowledge;

Building learning capacity, learning dispositions, lifelong learning, learning how to learn, developing key competencies;

Accumulation of knowledgebased credentials

Doing things with knowledge;

One size fits all; Disciplined, passive learners;

Personalised learning; Active, engaged learners;

21st century learning – what is it? 20th century learning Industrial Age

21st century learning Knowledge Age

Independent work on teachergenerated tasks.

Teachers and students generating new knowledge together;

Ritualised solving of teachergenerated problems.

Real-world, authentic, learnergenerated learning tasks, Real world problem-solving.

General intellectual skills developed implicitly via exposure to the traditional disciplines;

Foregrounding of general intellectual skills: analysing, synthesising, creative thinking, practical thinking, ethical thinking;

21st century learning – what is it? 20th century learning Industrial Age

21st century learning Knowledge Age

Separate subjects /disciplines;

Interdisciplinary focus;

Emphasis on ‘left brain’ thinking - logical, analytic, detailfocussed; disciplined rule-following, respect for authority;

‘Left brain’ thinking necessary but not sufficient; ‘Right brain’ thinking - aesthetic, synthesising, big picture, contextual, simultaneous thinking, thinking ‘outside the square’;

knowledge in ‘bits and pieces’

The “independent scholar”

People, relationship, teamwork skills & EQ;

The 21st century world The NZ Curriculum Principles

Vision Values Key Competencies

You, your students, your school, your community

How are we to respond to a more open ‘framework’ curriculum? • Ignore it (anyway “assessment drives the curriculum”, at least in years 11-13) • Tweak our existing unit plans to fit • Focus mostly on our learning area, and use it to streamline and improve our units/lessons, and to generate clear learning outcomes • Focus mostly on the front end (at least initially), embarking on a journey into new territory that could transform our practice and students’ learning

The New Zealand Curriculum

Changing the foreground “Schools can choose to organise their curriculum around values, key competencies or learning areas and deliberately weave the other two through their programmes. Alternatively they might decide to organise their curriculum around central themes, integrating values, key competencies, knowledge and skills across a number of learning areas….” (p37)

Some examples of a 21st century learning approach to the NZC Two “micro” examples Science: understanding the structure of atoms Health education: exploring an adolescent health issue

Two “macro” examples Education for sustainability Education for enterprise

Science: the structure of an atom 20th century (based on a true story: Rachel Bolstad circa

21st century

1991-1995):

•Open textbook. •Turn to page about atomic structure. •See diagram of atom provided by textbook, or drawn on board by your teacher. •Accept that this is what an atom looks like. Redraw this model in test to show that you understand •Experience shock and disbelief the following year when told that this is not the “real” model. •Wonder when the teacher is going to finally reveal the “truth” about what atoms look like

Type the word “atom” and search using Google Images

• C20 Lens: The purpose is to teach how things are represented in science. • C21 Lens: The purpose is to teach how things are represented in science and to develop an understanding of how these representations show what is important in science. The ultimate goal is for students to see science as a particular way of looking at the world.

Understanding Language, Symbols, and Texts Making explicit that these are representations of phenomena – (not the “true” picture) Shows that there are common conventions for representing certain concepts • Who came up with these conventions? • How did they decide? • What kinds of evidence led people to model things this way? • How does human experience shape the metaphors and models we can imagine? (e.g. models of atoms - models of the solar system)

Science essence statement: New Zealand Curriculum “Science is a way of investigating, understanding, and explaining our natural, physical world and the wider universe. It involves generating and testing ideas, gathering evidence – including by making observations, carrying out investigations and modelling, and communicating and debating with others – in order to develop scientific knowledge, understanding, and explanations. Scientific progress comes from logical, systematic work and from creative insight, built on a foundation of respect for evidence. Different cultures and periods of history have contributed to the development of science.”

Health and physical education 20th century (based on a true story: Rachel 21st century Bolstad circa 1991-1995):

Run around the school field 3 times a week, Play a bit of sports Class visit by a public health nurse Learn a bit about sexual health, nutrition, the food pyramid, etc…

Students work in teams to research and produce a video documentary about an adolescent health issue This is made into a DVD resource available for the whole school to use

• C20 Lens: The purpose is to learn knowledge about health and healthy habits, so that these can be put into practice in one’s own life • C21 Lens: The purpose is to accept challenges in health-related contexts, learn about what it takes to be healthy, and undertake considered actions to contribute to their own health and wellbeing and the health and wellbeing of those around them

Health and PE essence statement: New Zealand Curriculum “Through learning and by accepting challenges in health-related and movement contexts, students reflect on the nature of well-being and how to promote it. As they develop resilience and a sense of personal and social responsibility, they are increasingly able to take responsibility for themselves and contribute to the well-being of those around them, of their communities, of their environments (including natural environments), and of the wider society.” •

Participating and contributing

•

Relating to others

•

Managing selves

• Health-promoting schools framework: Students’ contribution can benefit the whole school • Plus: film and video editing skills, research skills, interviewing skills…..etc etc etc etc…..

Education for Sustainability - Relevant to the 21st century world Global sustainability issues directly or indirectly affect everyone on the planet. Sustainability issues are “open-ended problems” – they demand continuous research, the development and application of new thinking, drawing on and recombining existing knowledge, and the willingness to take action to change current unsustainable practices

- Relevant to the needs and interests of students and the community Local/Global issues intersect Students and communities’ health, wellbeing, and livelihoods are dependent on the environment Students and communities actions, choices, beliefs, and behaviours have a direct impact on their environment, etc.

Education for Sustainability How does this relate to the New Zealand Curriculum? VISION

PRINCIPLES

VALUES

Young people:

The curriculum encourages students to look to the future by exploring such significant future-focused issues as sustainability, citizenship, enterprise, and globalisation.

- community and participation for the common good - ecological sustainability, which includes care for the environment

who will seize the opportunities offered by new knowledge and technologies to secure sustainable social, cultural, economic, and environmental future for our country

Students will be encouraged to value:

The Learning Areas: Multiple references to the environment, sustainability, and students taking actions to contribute to their environment = see essence statements and achievement objectives

Education for Enterprise (E4E) - Relevant to the 21st century world Many countries aspire to move towards the concept of a “knowledge-based society” where KNOWLEDGE is as valuable as raw physical materials. How do we meet the challenge of sustainability? Social entrepreneurship - Relevant to the needs and interests of students and the community • Community partnerships are central to enterprising learning. • E4E has the potential to support long-term social and economic development within local communities and regions: by connecting young people to what is going on in their communities, and encouraging schools and community/business partners to form relationships that are mutually beneficial

Education for Enterprise (E4E) How does this relate to the New Zealand Curriculum? VISION

PRINCIPLES

VALUES

Young people:

The curriculum encourages students to look to the future by exploring such significant future-focused issues as sustainability, citizenship, enterprise, and globalisation.

Students will be encouraged to value:

Who will be creative, energetic, and enterprising…. who will seize the opportunities offered by new knowledge and technologies to secure sustainable social, cultural, economic, and environmental future for our country

-innovation, inquiry and curiosity - integrity -(plus all the rest!)

The Learning Areas: Multiple areas refer to being creative, enterprising, entrepreneurial…and almost unlimited ways in which learning in any area can involve being enterprising…!

A sharper focus on learning to “be” Lifelong learners (vision) •

Literate and numerate

•

Critical and creative thinkers

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Active seekers, users, and creators of knowledge

•

Informed decision makers

Key competencies •Using language, symbols and texts •Thinking •Participating and contributing •Managing self •Relating to others

Communities and the curriculum NZC says school curricula will need to take into account the:

• needs, interests, and circumstances of the school’s [students and] community. • values and expectations of the community

Students and the curriculum Who decides what students’ needs and interests are? The curriculum is usually designed for students, not by students, or with students Some possible exceptions: • Curriculum integration • Negotiated curriculum • Inquiry learning (?)

In a 21st century world - “School’s focus… must change so that the interests of students and their transformative work are at the centre of educational attention” (Kress, 2008)

To sum up •The NZC gives us permission to do things differently but if these ideas are going “to take” we need to look at the beliefs and assumptions our schools are based on. These shape how the curriculum will be interpreted. •The curriculum can be “navigated” in many ways! •Subject knowledge and competencies are interwoven in C21st learning – it is not an either/or situation. •21st Century learning requires bringing together rigorous content and real world relevance. •Schools must now take up the challenge of developing curriculum with students, and bringing the community into the process as well!

Metaphor 4: A networked campground

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Acknowledgements Thanks to my colleagues at NZCER whose ideas have contributed to this presentation: • Jane Gilbert • Rosemary Hipkins • Ally Bull