Template -- Teachers @ Work

The arrival of the second [modern] education paradigm will bring about a vast range of changes to the teaching and learning which takes place in our schools and also in our day-to-day lives. The major teaching and learning transitions which accompany the transition into the second [modern] education paradigm are summarized in the diagram below. Each of these transitions on their own would place a considerable professional development strain on any school, however each of the individual transitions contributes to an overarching culture of education which will make the delivery of the entire culture somewhat less demanding than the sum of the parts that make it up. This is in part due to the not inconsiderable overlap of approach between each of the elements. If we take the case of the transition to an inquiry learning approach almost immediately within the unit of work you have probably transitioned:

· the teaching approach to more balanced combination of being the sage and being the guide

Therefore the integrated cultural approach is a far better professional development approach than trying to atomise the transition to the second paradigm into a set of discrete skills.

The following summaries take each of the transitions and explain them in more detail. It should be noted that many teachers have already begun transitioning their teaching approach but what is different here is that we are proposing an overarching cultural shift which gives each of the individual transitions purpose within an integrated framework. Progress has been made down this path particularly by primary/elementary schools in many countries/states. In most cases each of the transitions is a continuum and each teacher will be at a different point on the continuum depending on the personality, professional development focii, education culture within the school and leadership from the principal/district organisation/Ministry/Department of Education.

Language Focus: In the first education paradigm the focus for most students and schools was written language (reading and writing). The teaching of oral and visual language was minimal and was considered a minor aspect of the school curriculum while writing and reading dominated almost every activity of the day. In the second education paradigm the importance of a good degree of capability in oral language is taken far more seriously. Oral language is possibly one of the most important skills which a person must develop in order to be successful in almost all aspects of their 21^st century world. Without oral capability our children are never going to form, develop or enjoy lasting relationships in any area of their world whether it is in the context of personal relationships, work relationships or social/sporting relationships. The emphasis of the second education paradigm is on having a balance of appropriate oral, written and visual language capability.

Learning Context: Within schools the context for any given unit of work has been primarily historical. Units of work have always been taught on Romans, space, the undersea world, plants, World War II poetry, algebra, social structures . . . . . These contexts were almost never questioned and much time and effort has been put into developing resources to meet the needs of these standard units of work.

A student, having completed a unit of work on Romans and who has passed with a satisfactory or better grade would generally have no idea what it would be like to be and 11, 13, 15 -year-old person in Roman times. They would have no idea as to whether they would sleep in a bed, share a bedroom with other people, whether the bedding would be mats, quilts or blankets, whether breakfast would include cornflakes and come to that: would it be served in a bowl? And is a chariot about to come past nine o'clock to whisk them off to school; and then what subjects would they do at school, what games would they play during morning tea, would they need to take their lunch and where would they take your girlfriend on a date?

This is the world that the child lives in now and in order to build a conceptual framework around Roman life that child needs to know what it would be like to be their age in this different culture. As it is we're taking that child back 2000 years, to a different country which they have never seen before, to a different culture which they have never before experienced and this is the same child who struggles with the concept of "after lunch". The contexts that are chosen need to build from a personal basis and grow from there in order to provide the best possible chance that the overall conceptual framework can be gradually built in the students mind.

Learning Community: In the first education paradigm the learning community was almost solely based on the individual. It was important for the individual to succeed, there was little sharing of work, assessments were based on the individual's capacity to replicate prior knowledge, whereas in the world today the social place, the workplace and play place predominantly function around groups of people. The second education paradigm encourages a balance between independence and interdependence. This balance will be different for each child but all children need to have the capability to work, socialise and carry out the range of tasks within the group situation in order to be successful in a 21st-century community.

Social Philosophy: The social philosophy within the first education paradigm was about performing to a set pattern of behaviours and norms. People who stepped outside the norm were frowned upon and strong social barriers were put in place to limit this "aberrant behaviour". In the second education paradigm the emphasis is about being innovative, about using the power of the imagination to be different, to ask questions and challenge contemporary understandings and beliefs. While this can become quite frustrating for some teachers in the classroom, today society depends on "thinking outside the square" and people making unique and innovative combinations of ideas, systems and products.

Access to Learning: Historically within the first education paradigm access to learning has been through an institution based on a five hours a week day five days a week program (5/5), whereas learning today is increasingly acknowledged as being a 24/7 experience. Learning can take place in a wide range of environments and situations and no longer do communities identify the institution called school as the only place where learning takes place.

The Learning Focus: The focus of learning in the past has been on developing knowledge Just In Case (JIC) that knowledge may be required again sometime in the future. It is acknowledged today that it is important that students have a base knowledge across a wide range of areas but no longer is knowing the endpoint for the learning process within schools. In order to become a lifelong learner it is essential to shift the endpoint of learning for knowing to learning for understanding. If a student understands a concept then they can think laterally, apply the concept to different situations and they can be innovative, coming up and unique ideas and applications. These capabilities are simply not possible if the student just "knows" about the topic. This is one of the principles that underpins effective thinking.

Teaching Approach: In the first education paradigm the teaching approach was primarily "the sage on the stage". Being the sage on the stage is not such a bad thing and this delivery method can be a very efficient methodology for getting across information and instruction. However we also know from our developing understanding of learning theory, that working alongside the students and having students engage in peer to peer discussions and activities is a very effective methodology for bedding down understanding of knowledge and concepts and allows the child to experiment with new ideas and concepts. Once again it is a matter of balance for each teacher to negotiate, taking into account the teachers’ particular personality traits alongside the needs of the learners that they are engaging with.

Learning Tools: The primary learning tools in the first education paradigm were paper-based books. With the advent of the development of the printing press (which ushered in the first [modern] education paradigm), far more people were able to gain access to written materials and this opened up a whole new world for those that had the capability to read the material and subsequently write about their experiences. In the second [modern] education paradigm information is increasingly multimedia in format and the learning tools which students engage with will become increasingly electronic and multimedia orientated. Paper will always have its place as it is a very effective technology and we are by no means heralding its complete demise.

Learning Access: Access to formal learning environments was almost always based around an institution in the first education paradigm. In the second education paradigm Anyone can gain access to learning at almost Anytime and from Anywhere (A³) either formerly or in formerly. This A³ approach to learning is shaking the very foundation of what school has always been in the minds of many people. There is much discussion as to the need for schools in the new paradigm and what their role will be and while their role is changing significantly the purpose for school remains the same. The purpose of school is to:

“provide each member of society the capability to contribute to the collective goals, (philosophical, idiosyncratic, practical and social), of that society, where these goals are based around the accepted values of the community and that those goals and values are based on the historical and cultural wisdom of that community”

We do not see this changing greatly but how schools fulfil this purpose will be very different.

We are social beings and enjoy each other's company and whether it is our workplace, our play place or our social place, we enjoy to congregate together, exchange ideas and interact socially and school is a perfect place to learn the rules of social engagement and how to successfully work with one another.

Record of Learning: Workbooks have been the common “record of learning” tool for students throughout the first education paradigm. In the second education paradigm there is increasing shift to recording information electronically and in particular we see a very bright future for the concepts that underpin electronic portfolios which are available in a web based environment. Some Learning Management Systems such as the Knowledge NET are already experimenting by having students use reflective blogs, project management tools, goal setting tools and journalling software in order to record their learning journey, express their opinions and discuss their ideas.

Classroom Focus: The classroom focus has historically seen the provision of common work for all and the setting of common tasks for all students in any given class. The brightest, the average and the underachiever were all provided with predominantly the same level of work and while it was acknowledged that this was unfair and inappropriate it was virtually impossible to develop individualised courses of work for every student in the previous paradigm. The development of Digital Learning Objects and electronic assessment tools are welding together the possibility, for the first time, that teachers could deliver individualised instruction, when necessary, without spending most of their life clutching a photocopier! It is increasingly becoming possible to deliver interactive learning experiences that are more appropriate to the needs of each group of learners by making use of Digital Learning Objects and sequencing them in web based learning management environments.

Learning Media: The invention of the book brought together two different types of media, text and images, in a format that was portable, flexible and relatively speaking, affordable. The second education paradigm acknowledges the existence of a whole range of new media including animation, voice, video, interactive environments, and it also acknowledges the fact that students have different "profiles" when interacting with each of these different media formats. Some children respond to text extremely well whereas others can learn far more efficiently and effectively when interacting and working with video or animated sequences. Students need to be aware of which media they best interact with and in which circumstances each media is the most appropriate for their learning needs. Knowing this provides them where far greater capability to be successful in their lifelong learning journey.

Planning Focus: When creating units of work for students first paradigm teachers based their delivery of the work around the content which they were going to present. Planning units of work has historically meant sequencing content delivery. In the second education paradigm the endpoint focus has now moved to understanding concepts and in order to build an overacting conceptual framework of understanding the teacher needs to scaffold a sequence of concepts which are underpinned by particular knowledge-bases This is a very different way of planning and it will take some considerable professional development for teachers to develop skills in this new conceptual scaffolding process.

Teaching/Assessment Practice: Drill and memorisation have been the core of most of the formal assessment process within the first education paradigm. It is not that we are no longer going to make use of drill and practice but once again we are shifting the endpoint of instruction from drill and practice through to an inquiry learning model. Inquiry learning encourages the building of understanding through almost all the second paradigm transitions discussed above.

As an exercise it would be worthwhile to examine each of the continuums below and as a self management task highlight where you think you may be on each of the continuums. This will also highlight particular areas of professional development that you require on a personal level. It would the worthwhile exercise to then repeat the task and highlight where you think your school rates in each of the transitions.

[to create copies of this chart highlight the chart and paste into a word processor and scale to a size that is clear and readable.]

transition	Place on continuum
Language Focus balanced use of visual, oral and written formats
Learning Context concepts introduced using personal contexts
Learning Community balanced use of individual progression and group work
Social Philosophy thinking skills and innovative practices encouraged
Access to Learning learning materials available to most students 24/7
Learning Focus targeted endpoint for most students is understanding rather than knowledge
Teaching Approach a balanced approach between sage and guide
Learning Tools students have access to electronic and traditional media
Learning Access access to most learning materials anywhere, anytime
Record of Learning assessments available via e-portfolios
Classroom Focus work balanced between individual and group tasks
Learning Media teaching and learning balanced between JIT and JIC requirements
Planning Focus increasing transition to planning based around cognitive scaffolding
Teaching Practice inquiry learning methodology used by students

Once you have done both tasks it would be interesting for you to look at differences and similarities in how you rated yourself personally and how you placed the overall culture of the school.