The Future Of Learning

The Future of Learning Notes...

I watched the video featuring Valerie Hannon first, and enjoyed the ‘big picture’ thinking that all of us should be considering, not just educators. Hannon suggests that our current school model does not prepare young people for a future that we can only dream about. In her video she asks a fundamental question: What is education for? Is it for Success? Prosperity? Growing GDP? She states that we need a new narrative for education: How can we learn to thrive in a transforming world? According to Klaus Schwab (founder of the World Economic Forum) there has never been a time of greater promise or greater peril. We are currently facing the fourth industrial revolution which is a combination of technologies – a fusion of our physical, digital and biological identities.

Hannon talks about three being three major pivots (or tipping points):

1. The planet

· There have been five previous extinctions; the sixth will be caused by us e.g. 60% of all animals are faced with extinction in the next forty years

· We are entering the Anthropocene age: through human activity we are changing the very nature of our planet.

· Climate change

Those who talk about the ‘chicken little’ scenario (e.g.. climate change deniers) need to look at history to see that climate change is, indeed, cyclical. For example, in the seventeenth century, you could ice-skate on the Thames. Unfortunately few would have considered this as crop failures due to low temperature meant that many starved. I am sitting here in thirty degree heat as North Canterbury fries. Do we sit here and talk about ‘business as usual?’ Or do we start to consider ways in which we can manage our future? We need to consider the well-being of our youngsters.

Greta Thunberg in her address to the United Nations at the Climate Action Summit articulated the thoughts and feelings of many of our young people by stating:

"For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight. You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe. The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5 degrees [Celsius], and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control. Fifty percent may be acceptable to you. But those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist. So a 50% risk is simply not acceptable to us — we who have to live with the consequences.”

It is disappointing that many of our ‘leaders’ have ignored Greta’s message. She is simply articulating the opinion of many of our young thinkers. They are responding to what they see as a crisis in many ways. Some are choosing not to have children; others are turning their backs on consumerism; still others are concerned about food miles and are growing their own produce. We talk about ‘well-being.’ The uncertain future faced by many is certainly not contributing to a sense of well-being and purpose!

There is also the question of population growth.

This, more than anything, is threatening our planet. The growth of plastic waste in our oceans is symptomatic of the way in which we are altering the very place that we live in. We keep on pushing back time with regard to human habitation on our planet. If mankind disappears, how long would it take Gaia to fix our legacy?

2. The Apotheosis of Technology

There are three issues confronting humankind:

(a) Job destruction by robotics

(b) Artificial Intelligence

· 2030’s will see the third wave (PWC); 30% of all jobs will be impacted

· 44% of workers with low educational skills will be at risk

e.g. Nao in South Australia – teaching assistant

e.g. Sophia gave a speech to the UN on sustainability. She wrote the speech herself using information that had been loaded into her.

e.g. Yangyang is a hotel receptionist

(c) Global connectivity – “big mind” we have the capacity to create and share knowledge collectively

· We are going to have to look at work very differently

· Will there be less work and more leisure? Will more people share the same job?

· Despite the loss of jobs the rise in GDP will mean more wealth but less work

· Will this wealth be shared?

· We can let that happen by chance, or we can redistribute work opportunities equitably.

3. Evolution is in our hands

We can engineer our future as a species.

· GE is now a reality

· We can combine AI and human brain activity

· Human Enhancement technologies (HET’s) a reality e.g. new hip; new knee

Hannon then asks: How can we thrive with these changes?

We need to develop at four levels:

a. Planetary

b. Societal

c. Interpersonal

d. Intrapersonal

All four are intimately correlated. So, what are the goals of education? To get a good job? To be the best and rise above the herd? The focus on the individual is no longer valid in a world where we are now coming to the realisation that our resources are finite.

We need to:

· Learn to live sustainably

· Protect the earth’s ecosystem

· Acquire global competence

· Navigate the new gig economy e.g. presently young people of today will have 17 jobs and 5 careers – they need to learn and relearn new skills

· Build great relationships – Harvard has just released the findings of a 75 years longitudinal study where they draw this conclusion.

What space do we make in schools for building great relationships?

The ‘Mowgli’ generation is being brought up by screens. Does this grow empathy?

Do we want our students to be mindfull or mindful?

I worry that schools are locked into a system that has not changed appreciably since the 1970’s, when I went to school. Funding has not changed dramatically, yet teachers are now being asked to teach collaboratively without any recognition of the time and effort needed to make this a successful approach.

Secondary schools would also appear to be constrained by the timetable. We talk about creativity being an essential skill, yet in my school we are still locked into ‘core’ subjects and ‘elective’ subjects, with few opportunities for collaboration across the curriculum, particularly at junior level.

So, what should our schools look like? We often get side-tracked by the physical appearance of buildings. Modern learning environments (whatever you call them) are still classrooms. It is the teaching that happens within those spaces that is still important. John Hattie, in his ground-breaking study, concluded that the major sources of variance in student success are six-fold; the student 50%; home school and peer effects 5-10%; and the teacher 30%. (Interestingly, Hattie thought the influence of the Principal more indirect).

We also get side-tracked by those shiny computers. We need to be aware that they are simply a tool and that they need to be used judiciously to get maximum effect. Completing worksheets on a computer is no different to completing a worksheet using pen and paper.

Klaus Schwab states that we need to work collaboratively to solve the enormous issues facing us. Yet, as humans, we too often bring our selfish sensibilities to the table. He talks of the credibility of existing organisations (e.g. WTO, WHO) and whether they are still fit for purpose. Through Blockchain he has set up a forum to transform shipping. We can create collaborative platforms using Blockchain and open up dialogues across cities, countries and continents. Why is this not happening more quickly?

The New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Vision “Shaping a stronger education system with New Zealanders” was released September 2019. After extensive consultation with over 50,000 New Zealanders, the ministry has distilled five objectives around which to shape the future of New Zealand education, together with a series of actions over 10 years to help achieve them.

What are the five objectives?

Objective One: Learners at the centre: well-being is entwined with learning. The voices of the learner, whanau and community needs to be sought out and listened to, and there will be no bullying, racism, or harassment.

Objective Two: Barrier free access: great educational opportunities and outcomes are within reach for every learner, with barriers (including financial and physical barriers) reduced, so that all learners/ākonga have access to equitable opportunities and outcomes.

Objective Three: Quality teaching and leadership: we need diverse, highly skilled and motivated teachers/kaiako to adopt the practices that make the most positive difference for learners/ākonga. To facilitate this, quality leadership must be developed at all levels of the system to lead positive change.

Objective Four: Future of learning and work: to facilitate learning that is relevant to the lives of New Zealanders today and throughout their lives, Learners/ākonga need access to education that enables them to meet the changing opportunities and challenges of the future of work. Citizenship, pathways to employment, and lifelong learning are important parts of this. For Māori learners, this means acquiring the skills to participate in te ao Māori, New Zealand society and the global context.

Objective Five: World class inclusive public education: The education system needs to be high trust, adaptive and able to respond to the needs of all learners/ākonga and our changing world. New Zealand’s education and research must be internationally respected. The education system also needs to reflect tino rangatiranga – the ability for Māori to have self-determination over their education and to be empowered to find local solutions led by Māori.

I like the fact that by placing learners at the centre, we also need to be mindful of the cultural identity of these ākonga and where they come from. An essential part of this is in building relationships, not just with the ākonga but with the whanau and community. Do we do this well at my school? I would like to think so, but we do not involve all parents as much as we could. On Friday, we had a mihi whakatau to welcome our new students to the school. There were many parents there (they had been invited) but many more chose not to attend. Was it work commitments? Do they feel uneasy coming to our school (primary schools would appear to be much more inviting for parents). Or are they simply not interested? The same goes for our performance evenings, teacher interviews and the like. Great support from some parents, not so great for others. Do we need to address this?

I also believe that all ākonga have the right to a barrier-free education, and that any perceived barriers need to be, at the least, minimised. This includes any assumptions made by teachers. Schwab says that it is no longer acceptable to have winners and losers. It is no longer acceptable to leave people behind. Social safety nets, tax systems, and a mechanism to ensure strong global cooperation is urgently needed to allow all the planet’s citizens to participate in the global economy. Schwab is talking globally, but we also need to apply his reasoning at the local level.

Quality learning and leadership is essential. Agreed. But the reality often falls short of what we should bear witness to. For example, too often our Professional Development opportunities are frittered away on discourses that are minimal, lacking in cohesion and depth, or appear to be simply box-ticking. How do we grow leadership in schools? I believe that we are all leaders. By providing leadership opportunities for all staff, not just a few senior managers, we can develop a robust and meaningful professional development programme. After all, we are teachers and we understand what we need to do in order to grow as teachers. Our collectivism is our strength. Do current school structures allow for this kind of thing to happen?

The future of learning and work was the most disappointing of all five objectives, with the focus being on New Zealand’s cultural identity and history (and I thoroughly approve of the announcement recently that all students study history. Although I would state that they already do. At least, in our school). But the objective really should be talking about the future of learning and work. The fifth objective does not appear to address 21^st century skills at all. Where is the need for developing skills in inclusiveness, collaboration and problem-solving?

This goal is narrow and inflexible in its current iteration. Future education is not just about building relationships with the local community. It is also about acknowledging increasing globalisation and our place (as individual, community, and nation) within the new world order. Our teenagers are using social media to communicate with like-minded individuals around the world. Where is the acknowledgement of this reality in the ministry document? I would argue that this ‘vision’ is, reactive rather than pro-active.

Lastly, we were asked to read Futures of Learning 3: What kind of pedagogies for the 21^st century? By Cynthia Luna Scott (Unesco) 2015

What do students need?

· Critical thinking skills

· An ability to communicate effectively

· Problem-solve through negotiation and collaboration

Education is failing to prepare learners for the challenges ahead.

· to develop the higher-order skills they now need, individual must engage in meaningful inquiry-based learning that has genuine value and relevance for them and their communities.

· Real-world experience merged with sustained engagement and collaboration offer opportunities for learners to construct and organise knowledge, engage in detailed research, enquiry writing and analysis; and communicate effectively to audiences (Barro and Darling-Hammond, 2008)

· Today’s students are active learners rather than spectators. They view themselves as participants in creating information and new ideas (Leadbetter, 2008)

· 21^st century instruction is based on three pedagogical principles:

(a) Personalisation

(b) Participation

(c) Productivity (McLoughlin and Lee, 2008)

· What does this look like?

(a) Authentic real-world contexts

(b) Carry out projects from beginning to end

(c) Solving problems as they arise

All of which constitute powerful learning strategies. 21^st century learners also:

· Form working relationships with teachers and partners in the community

· Work collaboratively with peers (Bolstad, 2011)

People learn in a variety of ways. The challenge is to find out what works best.

BUT research suggests that some forms of pedagogy are consistently more effective than others. These include:

· Personalised learning strategies

· Collaborative learning

· Informal learning

BUT the ‘transmission’ or lecture model still remains the main approach to education.

Saavedra and Opfer (2012) suggest 9 principles for learning 21^st century skills:

1. Make learning relevant to the ‘big picture.’

2. Teach through the disciplines

3. Develop lower and higher order thinking skills to encourage understanding in different contexts

4. Encourage transfer of learning

5. Teach how to ‘learn to learn’ or metacognition

6. Address misunderstandings directly

7. Promote teamwork

8. Exploit technology to support learning

9. Foster students’ creativity

BUT HOW we teach these skills is largely overlooked

Lai 2011:

Students must:

· Develop strong metacognitive abilities

· Reflect objectively on new concepts learned

· Integrate that information into their existing knowledge and skills

Which will then support further learning.

What are the implications for my practice?

· I still teach in a single cell classroom

· My opportunities for collaboration are limited as I am a sole practitioner in my subject area. However, I am contributing in other ways. I freely share ideas and practices with others; I help others to achieve their goals. I also share my expertise regarding collaborative practice in the classroom (as a good deal of what we do in the music room involves collaboration).

· I have attempted to change practice to allow more student voice. Student voice, before during and after the course. Co-construction of junior courses to allow students to have some say in how we learn skills.

· What more can I do?

New Zealand education, despite the benefits of modern technology, remains mired in the past. The timetable in our school has not changed significantly in the last thirty years. Those timetable imperatives stifle any innovations that have been proposed by teachers. What is the purpose of education? In the twentieth century that purpose was clearcut: preparing individuals for the workplace and the home, with around 4% of the population going on to higher education as teachers, civil servants, doctors and lawyers. In the 21^st century it is not quite so clear-cut. Yet what we teach and how we teach remains essentially unchanged. That change is real; that change is happening at an accelerating rate through climate change, technological advances, societal change (migration, population growth) and a greater awareness of the self. We are asked: are schools relevant? I ask: were schools ever relevant?

Bibliography

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763452863/transcript-greta-thunbergs-speech-at-the-u-n-climate-action-summit

http://econosystemics.com/?p=9

https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=research_conference_2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVIy3rjuKGY