Saturday 5 April 2014

Personal Pedagogy in Times of Change

Being discussed across all education frontiers is the notion that we are experiencing a rapid change in the nature of teaching and learning due to the rapidly evolving way 'knowledge' is acquired and that it is necessary to create an educational environment to foster 'knowledge producers' rather than just 'knowledge consumers'. The demands of 21st Century learners are evolving to focus on developing lifelong learners who are capable of adapting to change and knowing 'how to learn' to best take advantage of the technology that is so readily available.

Having started my teaching career in Special Education, working with intellectually disabled students, my goal as a teacher was to assist my students to develop 'life skills' so that they could become as independent as possible and contribute to caring for themselves but also to 'contribute to society'. Even though my teaching journey has found me working in various education sectors, my underlying belief is that I want to empower students to become independent learners and be capable of being productive members of society to their best of their ability. My pedagogical beliefs have evolved throughout my teaching career but at the core of my pedagogy is 'the learner'.

The Dimensions of teaching and learning (DETE, 2013) framework was used to assist me in framing my personal pedagogy, as this approach reflects my personal philosophy that students should be at the centre of our thinking when considering the 'best teaching strategies to support learning' (DoTL, 2013).


As my understanding of the use of ICTs for learning deepens, I find that I need to reflect more on the use of digital pedagogy. There is a need for all teachers to develop teaching practices that will empower students to thrive in the educational environment that is changing rapidly by utilising the power and benefits of technology to change the way students learn, rather than just using technology to do the same things faster.

Sandy Shannon, in her post about personal pedagogy, also referred to a couple of pedagogical frameworks, IMPACT and Symphony of Teaching and Learning, that could assist with making decisions about the use of ICT to support student learning. The IMPACT model goes a long way towards framing digital pedagogy.

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has started a project to address this issue within the changing education landscape. Learning Frontiers is bringing together various education sectors and other interested organisations with the aim of the 'development of new practices that increase engagement in learning' (AITSL, 2014). 

Anticipating the future: professional practices to support a new education paradigm, poses some important questions that need to be considered when discussing how to teach in the 21st Century.

What is the new pedagogy?
11. What is the relationship between teacher subject knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and a focus on higher order skills?

12. What does it mean to pedagogy and school practice to shift student capacity from consumption to production roles?Is there a definable good pedagogy? Can we crystallise what we mean by good practice? Would that practice apply in all learning areas, settings, contexts and classrooms?
14. What is the appropriate balance between form (or process) and substance (content broadly conceived) in relation to both teacher and student learning?
15. How can we assist a greater focus on depth rather than breadth in learning?
16. How effective are specific pedagogical approaches such as project-based learning and learning by design?
17. How much is deeper engagement with a group of students a part of the change we require?

References
Department of Education, Training and Employment. (2013). Dimensions of teaching and learning. Retrieved March 23, 2014 from https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/f093f249-05ce-0bde-465a-dbc537683e7a/1/index.html

Australian Institute and School Leadership. (2014). Learning frontiers. Retrieved August 30, 2013 from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/learning-frontiers.html

Australian Institute and School Leadership. (2014). Anticipating the future: professional practices to support a new education paradigm. Retrieved August 30, 2013 from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/learning-frontiers.html

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