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EDU60010 Teaching in the 21st Century
Reflective Essay
Luke Eberbach
Student Number: 1077260
Introduction
I will be examining the theory, ideas and skills covered in the first five weeks of the Swinburne
Online unit Teaching in the 21st Century:
• 21st Century learning
• Personalised learning
• Equity, diversity and inclusivity
• Curriculum that uses deep knowledge
• Rethinking the roles of learners and teachers
Excitement, engagement, and intrigue motivated me during this time. The readings have confirmed,
strengthened and challenged my views formed over the last thirteen years during which I have been
engaged as a teacher in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. I will reflect upon the
three concepts covered that resonate most deeply with my own teaching philosophies; 21st Century
learning, personalised learning, and curriculum that uses deep knowledge.
Body
21st Century Learning
“In 21st Century Learning, students use educational technologies to apply knowledge to new
situations, analyze information, collaborate, solve problems, and make decisions.” (British
Columbia Ministry of Education, n.d.).
I believe that 21st Century learning is independent of technology (although technology should be
used where it supports 21st Century learning) because it is a set of ideas that bring about a change
in education from schools of the industrial age to a world where “the typical teenager has at least as
much access to knowledge about the world as parents and teachers have” (Senge, 2012, p.60).
Senge (2012) describes the industrial age school as a “school system fashioned in the image of the
assembly line, the icon of the booming industrial age” (p.35) , where the school had the monopoly
on information (Senge, 2012, p.59). 21st Century learning occurs when:
Students are generally engaged in independent or group projects, often choosing tasks to
work on and setting their own targets with teachers, who serve as Coaches. The
cultivation of independence and active learning encourages students to develop problem
solving and metacognitive skills. (Premier's Technology Council, 2010, p.13)
Robinson (2010) advocates a learning revolution away from the industrialised model of education. I
agree; adopting a 21st Century learning approach is a matter of urgency to bring about this
revolution:
And human resources are like natural resources; they're often buried deep. You have to
go looking for them, they're not just lying around on the surface. You have to create the
circumstances where they show themselves. And you might imagine education would
be the way that happens, but too often it's not. Every education system in the world is
being reformed at the moment and it's not enough. Reform is no use any more, because
that's simply improving a broken model. What we need – and the word's been used
many times during the course of the past few days – is not evolution, but a revolution in
education. This has to be transformed into something else. Robinson (2010).
Bolstad et al. (2012) describes why change is needed; a vast increase in human knowledge along
with significant social, economic and technological changes are creating unique and complex future
problems (p.3). We need a change in the education paradigm in order to successfully challenge
these problems. In my teaching I reduce the emphasis on teacher-led learning; I adopt the role of
coach or facilitator, providing the students with the opportunity to guide their own learning
independently or in a socially collaborative context. Students are able to personalise and develop
ownership of their learning. I believe that 21st Century learning is at its best when students are
engaged in personalised learning where the teacher is not a font of knowledge, but a facilitator there
to guide and encourage students to learn in a way that explores their environment and helps them
identify and embrace their talents.
Personalised Learning
Personalised learning embraces several key concepts:
• putting the learner at the centre of the system
• moulding the system around the child
• having high expectations of every child
• shaping teaching around the way young people learn
• promoting learning beyond the classroom
• focusing on developing learning skills and strategies (metacognition)
• providing clear pathways through the education system, whilst retaining a core
entitlement
• planning for a combination of independent and collaborative learning
• using the learning needs and talents of young people to guide decision making
• allowing for individual interpretations of the goals and values of schooling
(DES, 2004)
Curriculum & Leadership Journal. (2011)
The focus on personalised learning is about “customising to your circumstances and personalising
education to the people you're actually teaching … it's about creating a movement in education in
which people develop their own solutions, but with external support based on a personalised
curriculum” (Robinson, 2010). I believe that the importance of personalised learning is that it is in
direct opposition to the industrial age model where students were taught in an assembly line manner
using a teacher-centric focus, delivering the same content to all students.
We discussed personalised learning in the discussion board, identifying self imposed labels that we
have experienced, and looked at the importance of personalised learning assisting those situations.
Many students in the discussion had experienced self imposed labels during their primary school
career ranging from being very creative but being told to focus on subjects with a more vocational
outcome, being labelled as not creative, as shy, or as not smart enough. We also identified a range of
technologies such as web-based or mobile device learning tools for mathematics, literacy, and
languages that may assist learners succeed in subjects in a personalised manner where traditional
teacher-led instruction has failed. (Blackboard Learn discussion board, 2014).
One view asserted by many participants was that technology should be used in moderation
(Blackboard Learn discussion board, 2014). I disagree that the use of technology should be
moderated without good cause, and I did not read any evidence to validate the notion of moderating
the use of technology in creating a personalised learning environment. I do not suggest that
technology should be adopted for the sake of technology, however if there is a demonstrable case
for the adoption of technology for the purpose of fostering personalised learning I think it should be
adopted without hindrance.
Curriculum that uses Deep Knowledge
I believe a curriculum that uses deep knowledge is profoundly important. All of the concepts
discussed set out to promote and encourage learning, and my interpretation is that it is the
curriculum that is the vehicle that enables this learning in schools. My definition of curriculum has
been challenged by the readings in week four; previously I thought of curriculum as being only
concerned with well defined concepts and ideas that form the basis of learning outcomes required
for a particular course of study. Armitage, Evershed, and Hayes (2012) outline curriculum's public
nature, the input from teachers and students, the identity of an organisation, learning experiences
( p.197) and even describe it as a “menu presented to students for consumption” (Armitage et al.,
2012, p.197). As we move deeper into the concept of a curriculum and its intentions, Armitage et al.
(2012, p.198), paraphrasing Stenhouse (1975), encourage us to move beyond our original definition
of curriculum and to view it as an entity that helps us understand the actual outcomes experienced
by the students rather than the prescribed outcomes and to use this information to improve our
teaching. I think Tyler's model (Armitage et al., 2012, p.207) can be very effective; not as a purely
behaviourist approach to curriculum development, but as a tool to promote thought about how to
construct a curriculum that uses deep knowledge – as a set of questions to ask to help determine
whether the students are likely to experience deep learning.
Tyler's model (Armitage et al. 2012, p.204)
In my teaching I use Tyler's model to develop “rich tasks” (Brady & Kennedy, 2010, p.245) that
simulate complex real-life tasks that students will find in industry, requiring in-depth thought,
analysis and research. An application of rich tasks to construct deep knowledge in a primary school
setting has strong roots in constructivist perspectives in the undertaking of “Complex Learning
Environments and Authentic Tasks.” (Hoy, 2005, p.319), I believe that constructivist perspectives
are at the core of the development of curriculum that uses deep knowledge:
• Complex Learning Environments and Authentic Tasks
• Social Negotiation
• Multiple Perspectives and Representations of Content
• Understanding the Knowledge Construction Process
• Student Ownership of Learning
Hoy (2005, pp.319-320)
Conclusion
I have noted the importance of 21st Century learning concepts, personalised learning and the
development of a curriculum that uses deep knowledge. These concepts work together to bring
about a critical change in education and must be adopted to ensure that learners are equipped to face
the challenges of the 21st Century. I would like to conclude with a quote from the closing remarks
of Robinson (2010). I believe that it beautifully illustrates the importance of embracing a new
education paradigm. We must embrace 21st Century learning for the sake of our children's future.
I wanted to read you a quick, very short poem from W.B. Yeats, who some of you may
know. He wrote this to his love, Maud Gonne, and he was bewailing the fact that he
couldn't really give her what he thought she wanted from him. and he says, “I've got
something else, but it may not be for you.” He says this:
“Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with gold and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we
should tread softly.
Robinson (2010)
References
Armitage, A., Evershed, J. & Hayes, D. (2012). Teaching and Training in Lifelong Learning
(pp.195-230). Berkshire, England: Macgraw-Hill Education
Blackboard Learn discussion board. (2014) [Online forum] Retrieved from
https://ilearn.swin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_3_1&url=%2Fwebapps
%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_151788_1%26url%3D
Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future-
oriented learning & teaching -- a New Zealand perspective. New Zealand Ministry of Education.
Brady, L. & Kennedy K.J. (2010). Curriculum construction (4th ed., pp. 239-254). Australia:
Pearson
British Columbia Ministry of Education (n.d.). 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from
https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/21century_learning.htm
Curriculum & Leadership Journal. (2011). Personalised learning revisited: is technology the
answer? Retrieved from
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/personalised_learning_revisited_is_technology_the,33058.htm
l?issueID=12377
Department for Education and Skills (DES) (2004). Department for Education and Skills: Five year
strategy for children and learners ; putting people at the heart of public services. London:
Stationery Office.
Hoy, A. W. (2005). Educational psychology (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson/A and B.
Premier's Technology Council (2010). Premier's technology council a vision for 21st century
education. Retrieved from http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/attachments/PTC_vision
%20for_education.pdf
Senge, Peter M (2012). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and
everyone who cares about education. London: Nicholas Brealey.
Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Talk Video | TED [Video file]. (2010).
Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution
Sir Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley | Talk Video | TED [Video file]. (2013).
Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley
Stenhouse, L. (1975). An introduction to curriculum research and development. London:
Heinemann Educational Books.
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