There is a new story emerging that is replacing the old story in education. The new story is urging us to learn new twenty-first century skills and how to implement technology, new pedagogy and teacher professionalism in education today. What is the old story and why is this new story so essential? Let us find out!
Old story
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New story
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· Factory model
· Teacher as expert
· Student is passive isolated learner
· One right answer
· Scientific method
· Knowledge can be quantified
· Knowledge is linear, sequential, rational, logical and objective
· Standardized testing’s
· Hierarchy/power
· Bell curve
· Objectivity
· Linear, procedural thinking
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· Dynamic teacher role
· Constructivist classroom
· Global connections
· Inquiry-driven, technology-embedded, connected classrooms
· Differentiated and personalized learning
· Problem-based learning
· Knowledge is uncertain, indeterminate, subjective, multiple realities
· Metacognition
· Intrinsic motivation
· Collaborative
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(Drake, Kolohon, & Reid, 2014)
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0RyaAsVNGU
According to Michael Fullan (2014), there are three interconnected Big Ideas in the new story: technology, the new pedagogy and the teacher as a change agent. Each of these three Big ideas plays a huge role in shaping our ever-changing educational system.
Technology
While some teachers are skeptical and cautious about the developing phenomena of technology, mostly because of the lack of knowledge on the topic compared to the students, technology is used to engage students and enhance learning (Drake, Kolohon, & Reid, 2014). Students are expected to bring their phones, laptops, tablets, I-pads and e-readers to class every day. Looking back at my schooling, if a student was caught with any form of technology listed above during school hours, it would be taken away and could potentially result in a detention. Now imagine being encouraged to bring these devices to class and not be punished for it? This still baffles my mind. There are thousands of educational apps that are offered online for students to learn. The internet makes learning accessible, fast, easy and adaptable to every student. Technology is also used for networking in the classroom. Students have the chance to collaborate with others around the world, editing their work, watching online lessons, problem-solving and interacting with virtual schools. (Drake, Kolohon, & Reid, 2014). Through this advancement in technology, teacher shifts their role from an expert to a facilitator and students take responsibility for their own learning. How have you seen technology shape our education system? Do you believe that it is beneficial?
New Pedagogy
The new pedagogy is about deep thinking. Drivers of a new pedagogy suggest three major patterns of change in order to drive the new pedagogy (Fullan and Langworthy, 2014) .
1) Opening up learning, making it more accessible and flexible
2) Increased sharing of power between the professor and the learner
3) Increased use of technology
Teachers will need to integrate 21st-centruy skills such as communication, problem-solving, collaboration and creativity in order to activate this new pedagogy on deep thinking. Fullan and Langworthy (2014), believe that the new pedagogies require students to create new knowledge and connect it to the world by using the power of digital tools. Professional teaching capacity must be built for the new pedagogies to be effective (Fullan and Langworthy, 2014). As a prospective teacher, I have to ask myself, what can I do in order to be an effective teacher to require deep thinking from my students? This leads us into the last big idea; Teacher as a change agent.
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| Retrieved from:google images |
Teacher Professionalism
This last big idea describes the teacher as a person with agency that increases the learning of both students and him or herself (Drake, Kolohon, & Reid, 2014). Evaluation is the key component in agency. It is important for teachers to be able to assess their ability and impact on student learning. After they learn to assess, they can then come up with different strategies of teaching methods for their students. As a prospective teacher, it is my role to accommodate the diversity of the students in my classroom to the best of my ability. In order to do this, I need to remember to continue in being a life-long learner and continue to develop my communication skills, knowledge about student culture, delivery of student-centered lessons, and building positive relationships with the students. What does teacher professionalism look like for you?
Take care, EJD
References
Drake, S., Kolohon, W., & Reid, J. (2014) Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Fortune, R. (2015). Educational Games for Kids. Retrieved November 2, 2015, from http://www.education.com/games/educational/
Fullan, M., & Lagworthy, M. (2014). A Rich Seam How New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning. (M. Fullan & M. Langworthy). Pearson.
Ontario, G. (2010). Towards a New Pedagogy of Engaged Learning. Retrieved from http://teachonline.ca/about-us
Towards a new Pedagogy of engaged learning. (2014). Retrieved 3 November 2015, from http://teachonline.ca/trends- directions/towards-new-pedagogy-engaged-learning
