FM Update 27 April 2024

An item for my Kiwi readers as they begin their week.

FutureMakers Newsletter 27 April 2024 Kia ora koutou I trust all of my Kiwi readers have enjoyed a well-deserved break over the past couple of weeks? In this newsletter I’ve shared a few items that may be of interest, particularly at a time when there’s such a need for evidence-based decision making in our work as educators. There’s a compilation of the latest in education research, a great book on leadership, and more informative articles and resources on the topic of AI! Ngā mihi In this newsletter… The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2023 Thinking Differently about Math Out Soon – Messy Leadership AI and the Future of Education AI Literacy Resources A Framework for AI-Powered Learning Environments AI Intelligence Report How Large Language Models Work The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2023 This collection of the 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2023 from Edutopia contains some really interesting reading – everything from from what AI can (and can’t) do to the neuroscience of brain synchrony! I found the one about how AI may cut educator’s planning time really interesting, in light of some work I’ve been doing personally in schools with an AI tool that seems to do this well. I also found the one on Teen Mental Health – with links to increasing outdoor risky play – affirming (as an ex-outdoor ed teacher). Thinking Differently About Math Thinking Differently About Math is a new white paper from NECC. It’s a thought provoking piece that encourages educators to ‘think differently’ from a number of perspectives – including the content used, our approach to curriculum and instruction, how we personalise math teaching and our use of instructional time. While the research underpinning this draws from the US context, there’s plenty in here that is more widely applicable. A really good read for anyone involve in addressing math teaching in their school or region. Out Soon – Messy Leadership Here’s a great new book titled Messy Leadership – due to be fully released on 16th May, so look out for it. I’ve been working with Rosie Connor around her coaching work at BTS-Spark, and can thoroughly recommend her work. All information about the book, including rave reviews from the likes of Pasi Sahlberg and Andy Hargreaves, are on the website – plus you can download a free 33-page Toolkit includes key tools from the MESSY Leadership book. AI and the Future of Education AI and the Future of Education which appears on the KnowledgeWorks website features a conversation between education futurist Jason Swanson,  and Steve Nordmark, an education strategist. They conclude that, for generative AI, there seems to be two major chunks of opportunity, one associated with teacher productivity and creativity and the other being student tutors. They argue that we should start thinking about AI not serving as a solution but as an accelerator of systems transformation. AI Literacy Resources While NZ Schools were on break last week, Friday 19th April in the US was National AI Literacy Day – and the organisers have published an extensive list of Curriculum Resources and lesson plans designed to cover essential questions about AI, safety, and ethics for grades K-12. These resources are conveniently organised into activities lasting from just 20 minutes through to a day or week. Well worth checking out! A Framework for AI-Powered Learning Environments The National Centre for Education and The Economy (NECC) have just published A Framework for AI-Powered Learning Environments. This framework is intended to provide education leaders a strategic approach for integrating artificial intelligence into their systems based on best practices from successful implementation in other sectors. It works across two time horizons – now to the end of 2025, and 2026-2030. The table on page 8 provides a useful summary of findings and advice. AI Intelligence Report For those looking to familiarise themselves with the scope of AI use in the world today the AI Intelligence Index Report (502 page PDF) is worth flicking through. The Top Ten Takeaways on page 5 give you a high level view of what’s in the report – with chapters following that explore the key areas impacted by AI in more depth. There’s even a chapter on Education (page 325). Lots of graphs and data – but some useful gems in the midst of it all. How Large Language Models Work With so many educators I met now using ChatGPT on a regular basis the topic of conversation is often around ‘how does it actually work?’ This blog post by Tobias Zwingmann does a pretty good job of explaining the ‘magic’ behind ChatGPT in a way that can be understood by the average person. The author illustrates his explanation with some simple examples that make it easy to understand. Free Playbook Download your own copy of Agency By Design: An Educator’s Playbook from the Aurora Institute Website and use this to help guide you and your staff/school through the process of creating a learning environment where learner agency can flourish. This playbook has been designed especially to be used either personally or as a focus for your professional learning community. You can download the whole book or separate chapters, and then capture your own notes and reflections in the areas provided in the text, But wait, there’s more… At FutureMakers we use a range of forums to curate good ideas and resources. Check out the following… Derek’s Blog – regular posts available on the FutureMakers website Previous newsletters – access all of the previous editions of the FutureMakers newsletter from this one place Resilient Schools Online Community – brought to you in partnership with Transcend My slideshows from recent presentations curated on SlideShare Hybrid Learning – a collection of resources on the FutureMakers website Learner Agency – another collection of resources on the FutureMakers website If you’ve enjoyed reading this newsletter please feel free to forward it to others to read, or better yet, ask them to become a FutureMakers subscriber so they will receive their own updates delivered to their mailbox. Subscribe to The FutureMakers Newsletter I’m always interested to hear your feedback or ideas about what you’d like to see included in future newsletters – please use the link below to email me with your suggestions. Email Derek

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