Today I am reflecting on application-based learning within the classroom. I currently work at a school that is recognised by ERO as providing a quality education to our students. However, in spite of our schools best efforts, I feel we are not truly preparing students for success in the world they will inhabit after leaving school. I believe part of the reason for this is because the emphasis is still on the traditional methods of teaching. The future world for the students we currently teach is changing and advancing at a fast rate (OECD. 2016). It is for this reason that myself and colleagues from the year 5 & 6 teaching team, in charge of 96 students, chose this coming term to collaborate our planning and change our practice to explore the implementation of application-based learning more fully. The purpose of our collaboration is to engage ALL students in their own personal learning journey through social media in some form or another.
Statistical data reveals that social media is not a fad (Statista 2018), rather social media is an evolution of global social communication. It is now imaginable to have communication between classrooms and teachers worldwide. Students can now connect with others (experts even) outside their classroom to gain the information they need to gain insight into a chosen topic. This allows students to explore topics of interest and problem solve with the guidance of the teacher, rather than be wholly reliant on teacher-driven information. However, this use of social media requires teachers to let go of an element of control by acknowledging that they are not the students “fountain of all knowledge”. As a year 5 & 6 team, our challenge with introducing application based programs is considering how we track individual students progress in a way that satisfies our principal and leadership team, without compromising the individualised nature of the project-based learning environment. Our team will still be required to report student progress against national benchmarks in reading, writing and math to our B.O.T, principal and parents. It seems that the application of a Rigor/Relevance Framework to help organise our learning environments will help to satisfy both need for formal reporting, yet allow students to progress on their own individual pathway.
As the school innovators of this change (project-based learning), we continue to face some resistance from other teachers and leadership. They are concerned that without
the main focus on reaching standard benchmarks in core subjects, these subjects will lose integrity and the majority of student learning will be mediocre at best. They are concerned students will not learn the foundation skills and knowledge necessary to progress effectively through the remainder of their schooling.
However, I see project-based learning as an opportunity for students to be more engaged in their own learning journey and to connect what they learn in the school environment with the greater world around them. This is a topic of interest on the New Zealand e-learning site (Ministry of Education 2018), along with other contemporary trends. However, if a teacher is not spending the time to broaden their own mindset and explore these types of websites, engage in conversations, or participate in professional development around these evolving trends, then the impact of this evolution within the New Zealand education system is limited by the time and resources individual teachers have. Even with the greatest of intentions, teachers are limited by available time, money and school pressures. I feel that until policy makers or senior leadership within a school realise that these trends have the ability to revolutionise today's education system and empower today's students, then the development of these trends within the educational system will remain slow. The true empowerment of teachers to explore and develop trends will come as policy makers and school leadership gives teachers the much needed support of developing these trends in the classroom, rather than being swayed by ill-informed parents and stakeholders in which educating young minds is not their professional duty.
REFERENCES
Rigor and Relevance Framework;, retrieved 2018 from https://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/Page/29425
Ministry of Education (2018) Enabling E Learning Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/
OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_ edu-2016-en Daggett, B. (2014).
Addressing Current and Future Challenges in Education. Retrieved from http://www.leadered.com/pdf/2014MSC_AddressingCurrentandFutu reChallenges.pdf
Statista (2018). Number of social media users worldwide from 2010 to 2021 (in billions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/
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