Becoming an understudy.

"Changing the script"- looking at how students and teachers have changed in the 21st century.

For this week's reading we were asked to consider the future of learning in New Zealand, particularly focusing on the use of technology to bring about change.  The Ministry of Education (2012) has said that "current educational practices... are not sufficient to address and support learning needs for all students" and when I consider some of my students and their reaction to a typical learning model I can certainly agree!This statement is also backed up with data - students are falling behind in many areas, particularly literacy in my school. These students are often averse to reading and writing, and when it comes to 'thinking for themselves' they are often at a loss and will prefer to leave a page sitting blank. Oftentimes, these students are most engaged when they are copying something off the whiteboard or reciting and learning facts.

When considering SRI International's (2015) 21st century skills rubric, it is clear that at least 2 key skills are not being met - Knowledge Construction and self-regulation. In fact, all 6 21st century skills are often not taught in the current classroom environment, one where the teacher is seen as the font of all knowledge and the students mere receptacles for it.
As we all know, knowledge is widely available through the internet and it is not enough for us to be 'experts' in our field - we need to be teaching the important skills that will allow our students to thrive in the 21st century. Working in a low decile school, I think teaching these skills is even more important. Students often do not have access to technology at home and many are often wary of using a computer for anything other than youtube and games. Without learning to use technology as the powerful tool it is they will be at a massive disadvantage in tertiary education and the wider working environment.


I have made some progress into using technology in the classroom, focusing on the use of OneNote and Powerpoint to build collaboration. At this point I have only used it with students for short units of work but plan next year to have an extensive set of lessons on OneNote that use a variety of resources from the internet and (hopefully) build research skills. By doing so I hope to 'flip the script' and serve as more of a 'facilitator' than the usual knowledge distributor. This decision was made thanks to my time at the mindlab which served to inspire me to think 'outside the box' and provided me with a lot of great resources. These resources will (hopefully) help me in my journey away from being the "narrative subject" that Friere describes.


 I am wary that computers can become a massive distraction for students and hope to get support from upper management to install a monitoring tool. I'm excited for the future and hope that others in my department will soon join me in moving towards a technologically vibrant classroom. 

Reference list:

Ministry of Education.(2012). Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching: A New Zealand perspective. Retrieved from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/109306

Paulo Freire on Education that Liberates  |  Chapter 2: Life in Schools  |  New Learning  |  New Learning. Newlearningonline.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017, from http://newlearningonline.com/new-learning/chapter-2/paulo-freire-on-education-that-liberates

SRI International (2015). 21 CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. [ebook] Microsoft Partners in Learning. Available at: https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017].