The image above represents a summary of twelve principles regarding the future of education detailed in Manifesto 15 by John Moravec (2015). It is interesting to note that the first principle ("The future is already here...it's just not evenly distributed") addresses a theme similar to the first reflection in the Afterword of David Perkins' Make Learning Whole (2009). This reflection is titled "Learning Today for Tomorrow (p. 214), and it is part of the book that summarizes Perkins' seven principles of teaching that he feels might transform education.
It is certainly true that ideas such as Manifesto 15 and the work of Perkins have been around for a long time. Since before the 21st century began, very smart educators have been advocating for change (review the Partnership for 21st Century Skills' (P21.org) framework for more concrete examples). Using the resources referenced here, read and review the final chapters of the Perkins book and then reflect on the four items listed below
As a group we are to answer the following questions:
1.The ideas we have gathered to fit Perkins’ Seven principles into the Manifesto 15 include how “Playing the whole game” fits into a few categories of the Manifesto 15. One for instance is “the Network is the learning.” This Manifesto discusses how students can interact socially to make connections on their own and also contextually solve problems. “Playing the whole game,” discusses how students need to understand how something they learn connects with the real world. Another manifesto that “playing the whole game” fits into is “The future is already here- it’s just not very evenly distributed.” We believe this because this Manifesto talks about how we need to teach children how to move forward with the information they are taught and apply it to the future.
ReplyDeleteIn our opinion, “make the game worth playing” falls into the Manifesto 15 of “1.0 schools cannot teach 3.0 kids”. Both of these state that children are more likely to want to learn something they are going to value. It is important to understand what we are educating for, why we do it and who it serves. In this principle, Perkins argues for generative questions and giving students the freedom to learn. This ties directly in with the Manifesto understanding of losing the thrill of jumping off a cliff if someone pushes you. Students need to be engaged not just because of the content standard, but because content should align with students interests. With this, the Manifesto argues kids are people too, and should be in charge of their own learning experience, or in the very least have some sort of say.
“Work on the Hard Parts,” relates to “The thrill of jumping off a cliff by deciding to do so yourself is a high you will never have if someone else pushes you off of it.” We believe this because this manifesto relates to setting up the student with the whole picture but also allows them to, on their own, develop their own reasoning and ideas.
“Play out of town” fits into the Manifesto of “The network is learning.” This is because this manifesto is all about creating the connection between what we teach and the knowledge kids need to solve other problems. Children must be able to navigate between different problems and use techniques that have already been given to them to solve other real world problems.
“Play the Hidden Game,” fits into the “The future belongs to nerds, geeks, makers, dreamers, and knowmads.” Both of these agree that it is important to development many different tools along the way that contribute to the final outcome.
“Learn from the team” relates to a few different Manifestos. We believe “Break the rules, but understand why, clearly, first” is an important manifesto because children need to be aware of their surroundings and the differences between people in order to think for themselves. We also believe the Manifesto “Kids are people, too” relates closely to the “learn from the team.” I believe this because children need to understand that they are learning and how everyone else plays a part in this. We must and can build cultures of trust in our schools and communities. This aligns with Perkins sports metaphor of learning from the team. Emphasis should not be on individual learning, but on growing trust among classmates, among teachers, among administrators and parents.
“Learn the game of Learning” relates directly to “Don’t value what we measure, measure what we value.” Both agree that what is important is what the students want to learn. It is also important to end compulsory testing and initiate value into education.
2. The Creativity and Innovation skills fit into many of the Manifesto 15. Students must be able to work creatively with others in order to have a broader understanding to become 3.0 kids (1.0 schools cannot teach 3.0 kids.) Also Students must have the ability to create a network within learning. Students must have pathways in learning to connect to other individuals (“The network is the learning”)
ReplyDeleteCritical Thinking and Problem Solving fits into with the idea that Students need to be able to create, dream, explore, etc. in order to understand their knowledge completely (The future belongs to nerds, geeks, makers, dreamers, and knowmads).
Communication and Collaboration fits into the Manifesto 15, “We must and can build cultures of trust in our schools and communities” relates directly to this 21st century skill. In order to transform education, we must engage within all communities and collaborate.
Information Literacy fits into the manifesto, “The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed” is correlated with Information literacy. We need to use the information students are given to develop and learn from the experience of others.
Media Literacy fits into the manifesto“If “technology” is the answer, what was the question?” relates to media literacy. This relates because students need to understand how to use the new technologies and not just use them for the stuff that was being done on old technology.
ICT literacy also fits into the manifesto “If “technology” is the answer, what was the question?” also relates to ITC literacy for the same reasons.
All of the Life and Career skills relate to “the network is the learning. “ It is important to cross pathways with many different types of people and to learn how to learn from them. It is important for students to be able to make connections and solve problems with other people on their own. They also need to understand how to create new understandings and to connect with every individual.
3. We think many schools are focused on the testing and scores rather than implementing the principles in Perkins’, Manifesto 15, and P21’s framework. Teachers and schools care more about what students score rather than what useful knowledge they gain from what is being taught in the classroom. , We think that the way our educational system is set up is part of the problem. The system is set up to weed students out, not help them.
ReplyDeleteWe think teachers and school administrations get stuck in how they teach; they find a way to teach within their practice and don’t fully change it. In what we’ve observed, it seems teachers think if their methods aren’t fully broken, there’s no need to fix them. Some teachers thrive in the set rules of their schools, or on the “sage on the stage” understanding of pedagogy, and therefore would not want to change up their teaching to give their students a say in what goes on. Also like most other things, schools need money to operate. As a result of recent legislation, No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, education funding is going towards standardized testing materials and core subjects such as math, reading and more recently science. Money is not going to fund programs that promote the ideas described by Perkins, P21 or the creators of the Manifesto 15. There is also a lack of training in regards to these skills. Teacher preparation programs and professional development opportunities do not focus on (or often, even mention) these ideas.
4. In the classroom it will be important to discuss cultural differences with children and to make sure they understand how to work together and collaborate even though they are different. Students will also need to understand the importance of networking and how important it is to understand different perspectives in order to cooperate with people in the real world. It will also be important to use the techniques and resources we have been made aware of in this course to make better use of technology. We will always show students the bigger picture of the learning objective. We will help to show them how new concepts connect to prior knowledge, the real world and other subjects/topics learned in school. We will also aim to use as many real life examples and primary sources as possible to help students gain an authentic learning experience. We will be conscious to create an environment in which the students are empowered to learn for themselves, in a sense, allowing our students to determine if, and when, to jump off the cliff. We do not believe that there should ever be a time when a student asks an educator “What’s the point of learning this material?” or “When will I ever use this information outside of school?” and an educator cannot respond with an appropriate, real-world related answer.
ReplyDeleteWe will also try to embed the P21 student objectives into the core subjects and objectives required by the county. The whole game isn’t being played; students have no idea how what they are learning applies in the real world. This can be changed with targeted questions and discussions regarding why students are learning certain things. This goes with the generative questions Perkins suggests. For us, this applies directly with the P21 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving principle. Students can reason and inform their judgements together and learn how to address the difficult problems our society faces. By learning how to troubleshoot, students can not only address the problem at hand, but also apply real life skills.
In our classroom, it is important to instill in our students that they are not their grades or their mistakes. We want to encourage our students to learn from their mistakes. We want to create an environment in which our students can create, explore, collaborate, and learn to the best of their ability.