Sunday 20 March 2016

What is the purpose of education? Is it reflected in our classroom?

What is the purpose of education?  A lot of people would probably answer this question by saying "learning how to read/write/do maths" or "learn what you need to know to do a job".  I don't believe that this is what education is.  Dr Tony Wagner states that there are seven skills that students need for their futures (see clip below), and that it is our job as educators to teach these skills to our students.  He states in the clip that content knowledge is important, and that we shouldn't stop teaching knowledge.  However, it is imperative the students understand and use the seven skills appropriately.

The Seven Skills:
  1. Critical thinking and problem solving
  2. Collaboration and leadership
  3. Agility and adaptability
  4. Initiative and entrepreneuralism
  5. Effective oral and written communication
  6. Accessing and analysing information
  7. Curiosity and imagination


While watching this clip I began questioning and reflecting upon my own teaching practice.  Am I falling into the trap of teaching to the test?  Am I focusing too much on making sure my students are accelerating their learning to achieve the National Standards?  Am I putting enough emphasis on the key competencies?  Are the students in my class really engaging with the tasks or are they just going through the motions?  

I believe that purpose of education is to develop skills and knowledge to use in the wider community/world.  I don't believe that your education ever ends - you are always learning.  Is this reflected in our classroom? In some aspects, yes it is.  I am always using the expression "You learn something everyday", I am not afraid to say "I don't know", and I have had students teach me how to do something using digital technology in front of the class.  I have shared with my class what I have learned through my post-grad studies.  I really do believe in showing my students that I am learning too.  But would someone know this if they just walked into our room?  What can I change/modify to make the purpose of education more visible in the classroom?

Definitely something to ponder.




Saturday 19 March 2016

Am I a leader? Am I a thought leader?

Task: To create a 1 minute video stating what we believe knowledge is, using the group's physical representation of knowledge.

Creating a video from scratch using an unfamiliar programme was difficult as we had to work out the tricks and pitfalls.  Deciding upon which programme took time, as did uploading the photos needed.  If a programme had been decided upon quickly, we may have finished the task more quickly.  Next time, it will be important to quickly decide on the programme, preferably a programme that someone had used before.

After completing the task, we reflected on how we led and how we followed during the task.


How did I lead during this task?
I contributed and offered ideas about which video editing programmes were available, I asked the other group members what programmes they had and if they had used them before.  I also considered all ideas offered by other group members. When it came to editing the photos into a video it became apparent that the other members of my group had little knowledge of using editing programmes, so I offered the two options that I had and used the option that worked the quickest.


How did I follow during this task?

During the task I listened to all of others’ ideas and opinions. When having difficulty editing the video, I listened to the other members, and tried using their solutions to the problems.

When reflecting on the task, I feel that I led more than followed as I appeared to have the most experience needed for this task. However, I made sure that I didn't 'railroad' any of the other group members into using a particular programme, although if a decision needed to be made I made the call if no one else appeared to know what to do. I feel that every group member had an equal voice and was heard.