FutureMakers Update, 3 May, 2024

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

FutureMakers Newsletter 3 May 2024 Kia ora koutou I’ve spent part of this week in conversations with some of the principals who are participating in our Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus programme. So encouraging to see the level of commitment and enthusiam that this is generating for them. Spurred on by this, I’m sharing a number of links and resources that may contribute to professional conversations in your context… Ngā mihi In this newsletter… Priorities for Education Systems Bildung – reaching ones potential Epitaph for a Dumb Idea Research: PLD in Aotearoa UNESCO Digital Futures Education for an Age of AI Priorities For Education Systems The Aurora Institute have just published their State Policy Priorities and Recommendations for 2024, identifying six policy shifts that must occur to transform education for all learners–especially those who have been underserved by the current system. Their list aligns strongly with what is promoted by FutureMakers, promoting a future-focused model that supports education innovation, student agency, builds knowledge, and prioritises mastery of skills and knowledge over attendance. Bildung – reaching ones potential Just prior to the COVID lockdown I embarked on a project with Stephen Dobson when he was Dean of Education at VIctoria University here in Wellington. We were putting together an online course to be delivered back to colleagues at a university in Norway where he’d worked previously. It was through that exchange that I learned of the notion of Bildung, which I was reminded of this week when reading an article titled “How the origins of the school system aimed to produce independent, critical thinkers“. With all that’s going on in our NZ education system currently I thought this might provide a refreshing (and elightening) read. Epitaph for a Dumb Idea The ‘clickbait’ headline  Epitaph for a Dumb Idea worked, enticing me to read this article. Not sure that I agree with the assumptions of the argument, nor with the tone in which it’s written (particularly given the author’s status as chair of the Ministers Advisory Group (MAG)) but the substance of his argument is something that deserves rich debate. Have we diminished the role of knowledge in the curriculum? And have we abdicated the role of teaching? Clearly such views (and claims for lack of evidence) are being used to inform the future direction of our system – so our responsibility as educators is to understand what’s driving these concerns and be prepared to take an informed stance for a more balanced and less emotive debate on these issues. Research: PLD in Aotearoa Participation in high quality professional learning and development is a key aspect of ‘being a professional’. All educators should be engaged in such activity – but what constitutes effective PLD? In Opening up the narrow: Possibilities for professional learning and development in Aotearoa, Philippa Nicoll Antipas argues that current neoliberal-informed education policies with regards to teacher PLD creates a narrowing effect to the detriment of teacher learning and thus classroom practice. It’s informed largely by her Doctoral research with Otago University. UNESCO Digital Futures The folks at UNESCO have been extremely active in the area of digital learning and transformation of education of late, with heaps of really useful publications coming out – lots of them linked from this article about their recent Digital Futures Event. One of these is their Readiness assessment methodology: a tool of the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence which looks like something worth implementing here in NZ? Education for an Age of AI Charles Fadel has been busy presenting on the themes of the recent publication, Education for the Age of AI. You might find the following of interest… Listen (34:49) as Charles chats with Tom Vander Ark of Getting Smart. Watch (57:09) as Charles talks with Julie Foss and Adam Garry of Advanced Learning Partnerships on their Gen AI Podcast. Watch (1:13:16) as Charles delivers the keynote address at Middlesex Community College Professional Day (starting at 7:25). 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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