21st century learners

Heather Greaves – Oturu School –Snippets from my readings so far.

Implications for practice

Differences for 21st century students Key drivers of change Change in thinking in our practice.

Challenges

Need to be innovators, designers, creators, not passive consumers.

Ubiquity = the pervasiveness of digital technologies.Anywhere, anytime, any pace, any device learning

Has 3 drivers:1. Increase in personally-

owned internet-capable mobile devices.

2. Availability of wireless connectivity.

3. Cloud applications and cloud storage – opportunity to connect from multiple devices in multiple locations.

Need to teach digital competencies. Students need the knowledge, capabilities and values to participate fully and safely in a digital world.

School: BYOD strategies and policies.Teachers: Eliminate

Curriculum resources and professional development for teachers.

homework – replace with learning in any location.Encourage use of personal devices across all curriculum areas.

Apply knowledge to solve complex problems. Able to create new knowledge. Essential to have specialised knowledge and higher order thinking skills.

Agency –‘the power to act’ –informed/empowered/enabled learners

Features of Agency:1. Agency involves the

learner’s initiative or self-regulation. They must have a personal sense of agency – a belief that what they do will make a difference to their learning. Teachers and schools create intentionally create contexts and environments where the learners can be actively involved in agentic learning.

2. Agency is interdependent – learners must be aware that their decisions and actions have consequences and will consider these when exercising agency.

3. Agency includes an awareness of the responsibility of actions and decisions on the environment and on others.

Encourage learners to be agentic

Adopt appropriate pedagogical approaches by teachers and school.

Include learners in making decisions about the curriculum – making choices about what they are learning as well as how and why.

Student voice - more engaged and authentic ways to interact with their learning

Flexible personalised learning

Teachers move from deliverer of curriculum to co-constructor and experienced learner.

Model appropriate values and attitudes as a digital learner

Connectedness –‘edgeless’ education, connected minds.

A sense of being part of something that is bigger than oneself.

School: participate in local clusters and networks.Strong links with community groups and other agencies.Teachers: Active in personal learning networks for personal professional development.Use digital technologies to connect with groups and experts outside the class.

Equitable access to modern learning tools.

Library as a hub for digital learning.

More homes having access to internet.

Sharing of curriculum content

Using GAFE across the school

Ideas from www.innovationunit.orgLearning Futures Schools:School as Learning Commons - transforming school to a place where teachers, students and community share responsibility, share authority and all gain a benefit.School as base-camp – a base-camp for learning rather than a final destination and sole source of knowledge - thinking and being like a scientist, geographer, artist, entrepreneur etc.Extended Learning Relationships – peer to peer, student to teacher, parents and community – at any time, any place, with a wide range of mentors, coaches and experts.Project-based learning – students design, plan and carry out extended projects, produce a publicly exhibited output (product, presentation or publication).Innovation unit ideas to cater for 21st century learners:

Open up lessons: flexible personalised learning, Individual learning plans, flipped classrooms Think outside the classroom box: modern learning spaces, learning any place, any time. Get personal: giving different kinds of feedback, project based learning. Tap into students’ digital expertise: to support independent and inquiry-based learning and peer collaboration, integration of school into students’

lives. Get real with projects: students create numerous drafts, there are frequent opportunities to critique each other’s work, the finished product is

publicly exhibited. Expect and help students to be teachers: helping students work alongside teachers, playing a more active part in their o wn learning and that of their

peers. Help and expect teachers to be students: teachers learning, evaluating and reflecting on their practice, collaborating with other teachers and

professionals, cultivating a culture of learning for students to emulate. Measure what matters: we need to make sure students have experienced and mastered the skills they need in the future in a context that accurately

reflects what is happening out of school. The best assessment is continuous – 21st century skills are not easily measured. Work with families, not just children: strengthening relationships between schools, parents and communities enhances student engagement. Power to the student: Student voice – giving students real power over strategic decisions – shift from them being passive recipients of learning to

being partners in learning.