Future Oriented Learning and Teaching

A Change in My Practice Towards Future-Oriented Teaching and Learning

This year I entered the Mind Lab course to up-skill and learn more about pedagogy so as to be more prepared as an educator in the 21st Century. There is so much I can learn. I was warned that it was hard work and time consuming, with my youngest child at thirteen, time is more available and I am not averse to hard work, in fact, I love to learn and I am energised when I find out something new. I expected just that...I started with a hiss and a roar, my first assignment was on time and I have negotiated due dates since. It has been a jarring few months. I have told myself, “maybe I am one of those learners who gets left behind”.

I have met other educators and have created a new online community, connecting with others has been useful to ask questions in relation to the tasks set and there have been opportunities for discussion to lead me to greater understanding of pedagogy.

Tasks set about knowledge I already have.

A few years ago, I was lucky to be involved in a digital technology contract through a school I taught at. My 13 year old son has been one of my greatest teachers. His obsession with Minecraft began a decade ago, he made a Minecraft server at 8 years old and at nine he offered to fix the school’s server, he just needed the password! He “challenges the system” or “he is a modern child” who doesn’t do anything that he doesn’t find purpose in for himself. He has taught me the importance of supporting learning through the use of devices in the learning space. So why was I learning more of the same at Mindlab?

I have enjoyed touching on the following topics  and allowing the ideas to percolate.

• Personalising learning
• New views of equity, diversity and inclusivity
• A curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity
• "Changing the script": Rethinking learners' and teachers' roles
• A culture of continuous learning for teachers and educational leaders
• New kinds of partnerships and relationships: Schools no longer siloed from the community
• The role of current and emerging technologies
• Role of collaborative practices

These concepts will continue to filter through.

I am more determined to allow learners within my care to imagine, create, design and choose their learning experiences. It is my responsibility to create the ideal conditions to provide a community of learning within the school so that the learning is socially constructed. It is my responsibility to continue to learn from, with and about the learners.

Tasks set, with specific criteria in which to "pass" "fail" or try again.
The challenge has been the assignments! Where do these belong in the 21st Century? As a learner within this style of teaching, I have learned. The task based nature of the programme has certainly triggered an even greater belief in designing learning in response to learner agency rather than reacting to a planned curriculum. Personalised learning is not tasks set with a due date. Differentiated learning is not a curriculum that is imposed on a learner. It is a brave educator who leaves “accountability” out of the learning equation and instead to trust in the process, leaving learning open to the learner’s interpretation as the starting point. It is a brave learner who challenges those who are assessing them.

Maybe as we discover what sustainable teaching practice looks like, we might create a community of learners who will demand that they design the learning journey with educators and will crave more knowing. Maybe then adults will take responsibility for their learning without the need for assignments, tasks and ratings.

References

The Future of Learning. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 20 December 2017, from https://youtu.be/xoSJ3_dZcm8

Osborne, M. (2013). Modern Learning Environments. Core-ed.org. Retrieved 21 December 2017, from http://www.core-ed.org/legacy/sites/core-ed.org/files/Modern-Learning-Environments-v.1.pdf?url=/sites/core-ed.org/files/Modern-Learning-Environments

Hattie, John. Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge, 2008.

Richardson, W. (2017). 10 Principles for Schools of Modern Learning - Modern Learners. Modern Learners. Retrieved 21 December 2017, from https://modernlearners.com/10-principles-schools-modern-learning/