Week 30 – Applied Practice - Trends Influencing NZ or International
For this Blog, I am going to use the reflective model of Rolfe to explore a current trend in preparing Learners to be Creators. I am going be linking this trend to my curriculum area of teaching Hard Materials Technology at Intermediate Schooling Level.
What:
When I look at my curriculum area of Hard Materials Technology and how it has evolved in the last 20 years, it has made a huge impact on how we prepare learners to become creators.
Previously, Hard Materials Technology was known as the traditional Woodwork, Metalwork and Technical Drawing. All 3 areas were taught separately and the entire practical component was prescriptive. Students were provided with a dimensional drawing, provided materials and taught how to make this project. The curriculum is very different today. The focus in Hard Materials Technology, today, is to prepare Learners to be Creators. The emphasis is on design, research, discussion on the use of sustainable materials, identifying your primary and secondary stakeholders that influence the design concept and a reflection of your Learning Journey.
So What:
If we are to develop a generation of Creators, Inventors and Critical Thinkers, then the advancement made in transforming my curriculum is very positive. Students are challenged to develop solutions to a particular need. The use of a particular product in the design concept explores areas of sustainability, durability and fit for purpose.
Learning now becomes Authentic and hands on. Students now explore their creative talents and they start to develop links with other curriculum areas such as Computer Digital Technology, Science, Maths and Graphic Art. Hard Materials Technology is no longer viewed in silos and students can now see the link with other curriculum areas.
Bill Daggett speaks about in order to move forward and bring our education system into the 21st century we must be prepared to come out of our comfort zone and be willing to take risks and fully incorporate technology into the classroom.
Now What:
As a Teacher of Hard Materials Technology, I got to teach the traditional way, with a set curriculum and I now get to teach embracing new technologies. Education is now a student centered and student driven.
Is it daunting? Yes, it is. Change is never easy, adapting to new strategies is always hard, but it challenges me to try new things and expose my students to new opportunities.
Delors et al., (1996) cited in Bolstad (2011) argues that education, for the 21st century, needs to be organized around four fundamental types of learning:
1. Learning to know, that is acquiring the instruments of understanding
2. Learning to do, so as to be able to act creatively on one’s environment
3. Learning to live together, so as to participate and cooperate with other people in all human activities; and
4. Learning to be, an essential progression which proceeds from the previous three.
Learning now provides a clear pathway so that students can track their achievements and make adjustments so that success becomes a realistic expectation.
For me personally embracing the new trends in which my curriculum area is progressing is for rewarding. Although the use of Technology devises to support my practice is an ongoing learning curve, I feel comfortable asking my students to guide and teach me new methods. Learning now becomes inclusive and supportive.
1. New Media Consortium. (2017, August 29). NMC and CoSN Release the Horizon Report: 2017 K-12 Edition [Video]. Retrieved from Youtube
2. Daggett, B. (2014). Addressing Current and Future Challenges in Education. Retrieved from http://www.leadered.com/pdf/2014 MSC_AddressingCurrentandFutureChallenges.pdf
3. CORE Education Ten Trends 2018. Retrieved from https://core-ed.org/research-and-innovation/ten-trends/
4. Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
5. https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/.../file/TechnologyInTheNewZealandCurriculum.pdf
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