"Insights on 21st Century Education: Personalized Learning & Deep Knowledge Curriculum", Assignments of History of Science and Technology

Download "Insights on 21st Century Education: Personalized Learning & Deep Knowledge Curriculum" and more Assignments History of Science and Technology in PDF only on Docsity! EDU60010 Teaching in the 21st Century Reflective Essay Luke Eberbach Student Number: 1077260 Introduction I will be examining the theory, ideas and skills covered in the first five weeks of the Swinburne Online unit Teaching in the 21st Century: • 21st Century learning • Personalised learning • Equity, diversity and inclusivity • Curriculum that uses deep knowledge • Rethinking the roles of learners and teachers Excitement, engagement, and intrigue motivated me during this time. The readings have confirmed, strengthened and challenged my views formed over the last thirteen years during which I have been engaged as a teacher in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. I will reflect upon the three concepts covered that resonate most deeply with my own teaching philosophies; 21st Century learning, personalised learning, and curriculum that uses deep knowledge. Body 21st Century Learning “In 21st Century Learning, students use educational technologies to apply knowledge to new situations, analyze information, collaborate, solve problems, and make decisions.” (British Columbia Ministry of Education, n.d.). I believe that 21st Century learning is independent of technology (although technology should be used where it supports 21st Century learning) because it is a set of ideas that bring about a change in education from schools of the industrial age to a world where “the typical teenager has at least as much access to knowledge about the world as parents and teachers have” (Senge, 2012, p.60). Senge (2012) describes the industrial age school as a “school system fashioned in the image of the assembly line, the icon of the booming industrial age” (p.35) , where the school had the monopoly on information (Senge, 2012, p.59). 21st Century learning occurs when: Students are generally engaged in independent or group projects, often choosing tasks to work on and setting their own targets with teachers, who serve as Coaches. The cultivation of independence and active learning encourages students to develop problem solving and metacognitive skills. (Premier's Technology Council, 2010, p.13) curriculum that is the vehicle that enables this learning in schools. My definition of curriculum has been challenged by the readings in week four; previously I thought of curriculum as being only concerned with well defined concepts and ideas that form the basis of learning outcomes required for a particular course of study. Armitage, Evershed, and Hayes (2012) outline curriculum's public nature, the input from teachers and students, the identity of an organisation, learning experiences ( p.197) and even describe it as a “menu presented to students for consumption” (Armitage et al., 2012, p.197). As we move deeper into the concept of a curriculum and its intentions, Armitage et al. (2012, p.198), paraphrasing Stenhouse (1975), encourage us to move beyond our original definition of curriculum and to view it as an entity that helps us understand the actual outcomes experienced by the students rather than the prescribed outcomes and to use this information to improve our teaching. I think Tyler's model (Armitage et al., 2012, p.207) can be very effective; not as a purely behaviourist approach to curriculum development, but as a tool to promote thought about how to construct a curriculum that uses deep knowledge – as a set of questions to ask to help determine whether the students are likely to experience deep learning. Tyler's model (Armitage et al. 2012, p.204) In my teaching I use Tyler's model to develop “rich tasks” (Brady & Kennedy, 2010, p.245) that simulate complex real-life tasks that students will find in industry, requiring in-depth thought, analysis and research. An application of rich tasks to construct deep knowledge in a primary school setting has strong roots in constructivist perspectives in the undertaking of “Complex Learning Environments and Authentic Tasks.” (Hoy, 2005, p.319), I believe that constructivist perspectives are at the core of the development of curriculum that uses deep knowledge: • Complex Learning Environments and Authentic Tasks • Social Negotiation • Multiple Perspectives and Representations of Content • Understanding the Knowledge Construction Process • Student Ownership of Learning Hoy (2005, pp.319-320) Conclusion I have noted the importance of 21st Century learning concepts, personalised learning and the development of a curriculum that uses deep knowledge. These concepts work together to bring about a critical change in education and must be adopted to ensure that learners are equipped to face the challenges of the 21st Century. I would like to conclude with a quote from the closing remarks of Robinson (2010). I believe that it beautifully illustrates the importance of embracing a new education paradigm. We must embrace 21st Century learning for the sake of our children's future. I wanted to read you a quick, very short poem from W.B. Yeats, who some of you may know. He wrote this to his love, Maud Gonne, and he was bewailing the fact that he couldn't really give her what he thought she wanted from him. and he says, “I've got something else, but it may not be for you.” He says this: “Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with gold and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly. Robinson (2010) References Armitage, A., Evershed, J. & Hayes, D. (2012). Teaching and Training in Lifelong Learning (pp.195-230). Berkshire, England: Macgraw-Hill Education Blackboard Learn discussion board. (2014) [Online forum] Retrieved from https://ilearn.swin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_3_1&url=%2Fwebapps %2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_151788_1%26url%3D Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future- oriented learning & teaching -- a New Zealand perspective. New Zealand Ministry of Education. Brady, L. & Kennedy K.J. (2010). Curriculum construction (4th ed., pp. 239-254). Australia: Pearson British Columbia Ministry of Education (n.d.). 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/21century_learning.htm Curriculum & Leadership Journal. (2011). Personalised learning revisited: is technology the answer? Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/personalised_learning_revisited_is_technology_the,33058.htm l?issueID=12377 Department for Education and Skills (DES) (2004). Department for Education and Skills: Five year strategy for children and learners ; putting people at the heart of public services. London: Stationery Office. Hoy, A. W. (2005). Educational psychology (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson/A and B. Premier's Technology Council (2010). Premier's technology council a vision for 21st century education. Retrieved from http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/attachments/PTC_vision %20for_education.pdf Senge, Peter M (2012). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. London: Nicholas Brealey.