21st Century Learning

Are We Making a Change?

We are now in the 17th year of the 21st century.   For 17 years I've heard, read and watched many explanations about why we need to make a change to the way that we learned in the past.

I am a product of the education system from 1970-1985 then later from 2001-2005.  You might also say that I am a product of the current education system as an educator from 2006.  I have watched my own children travel along the education conveyer belt and although they have been given the opportunity to learn from some wonderful educators, I have often wondered how different is their learning from that which I was part of over 30 years ago.

Are we shifting enough in order to make a change?

We do not know what the future brings, so it's increasingly difficult to prepare our learners for tomorrow.  We do know, however, that today's learner needs to be a critical thinker and problem-solver.   They also need to be able to adapt to a changing world - to learn and relearn.

This video provides an overview of what I need to take consider when designing learning so that I am supporting the young learners of today to be prepared, to the best of my ability, for tomorrow.

Design Thinking & Preparing for the Real World

Revamping iExplore

If you have been reading my previous posts, you may have noticed a trend towards developing the curiosity and innovative thinking within our learners.   Over the past few months, I have been ideating my own exploration through the vast range of online resources that are currently available in:

• Design Thinking
• Problem Solving
• STEM & STEAM
• Maker Movement

The following TEDx video of Co Barry illustrates very clearly how educators may not be challenging and extending every learner in the classroom.  This is where design thinking comes in.  It's exciting to think about providing complex and challenging experiences for my learners with opportunities to be problem solvers, innovators, designers, collaborators - and all the other catch-phrases that we use when considering the 21st-century learner. 

Watch the video and reflect on your learners.   Are you catering for their real-world needs?

Towards the end of Term 2, I visited Nick Pattison at Kauri Flats School.  This is a newly opened school which is still in its development stages.  Nick (formerly with Rongomai School) is spearheading design thinking (and learning) at Kauri Flats with amazing authentic projects such as breeding flounder and placing locator chips on wheelie bins.  This is powerful learning - working directly with an industry in the real world.

I was blown away by the level of learning that was taking place - under Nick's guidance and obviously as a result of his connections with various industries.   The learners (at many age levels) could articulate their thinking and were excited to share how they progressed through the 'design thinking' pathway.   I could clearly see that many of the learners were designing their own learning and taking ownership of their education.

Learners valuing and leading their learning would be my utopia learning environment.  We aren't there yet, but the path is becoming clearer.