Things You Really Need to Know

A friend of mine shared this wonderful site that lists the ten things you should know/learn in school. It really makes one think about meaningful education. Does the current curriculum address all these areas?? How well are we preparing our students for their futures??

Things You Really Need to Learn

Thanks Donna!

Curriculum as Process

Process, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is a series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result or product. The Middle Years Career Education Curriculum is just this - a process - it presents a number of opportunities for students to explore themselves (their capabilities, their interests and their skills) while broadening their knowledge and attitudes. It is NOT designed to steer students into a particular role or occupation, but rather, to provide an opportunity to discover and explore their personal interests and make them aware of the vast array of choices available. It is also about participating and connecting with the community on their journey to becoming positively contributing citizens. It is a focus on the transferable skills needed during the transition from school to work.

This preparation for the 'outside world' is a process - a never ending process! "Career development is a lifelong process which continues from school to work and, for an increasing number of people, beyond retirement." Multiple life career changes are common as the idea of career stability and sustenance of long-term employment is quickly fading away. It is for this precise reason that we must focus on process - building the skills required to be successful in any given situation. We no longer ask students what they want to be when they finish high school, but rather, what their next step in learning will be. Building a career IS A PROCESS and we are fooling ourselves if we believe it ends in a definite product.

The curriculum's key concepts or goals include (1) building lifelong learners; (2) building a sense of self and community; (3) building engaged citizens; (4) cross-curricular competences; (5) developing thinking; (6) developing identity and interdependence; (7) developing literacies; and (8) developing social responsibility. These competencies reflect the Common Essential Learnings and are found throughout the curricula in any and all areas of study. They are also inquiry based - as each learner constructs their own career pathway appropriate to their individual understandings.

"We don't want you to stop dreaming. We want you to know that your dreams may change as you test them out. Your reality might even be better than your dreams - especially if you are willing to try new adventures with unknown outcomes." - Krumboltz & Levin

Inquiry fully engages students, which leads to deeper understandings. It is not a step-by-step process, but rather a cyclical process "with various phases of the process being revistied and rethought as a result of students' discoveries, insights, and construction of new knowledge." This process echos that of action research - the process we follow as educators to gain deeper and more meaningful understandings of our own actions and thoughts.
Although wonderful in the freedoms the curriculum allows teachers to have, it is difficult for first timers to use as it does not yet include any support materials (they are to be available on line - but when?). A first year teacher may find the freedom overwhelming, as the 'old' curriculum provided more guidance and supplementary, user-friendly materials that could be easily adapted and incorporated. Likewise, in the posting by OECD which states "as a result to limited or insufficient training arrangements, many career guidance practitioners receive no thorough grounding in basic theories of career guidance." This lack of theory and experience make it cumbersome to develop lessons for the 'first timer'.

Only time will tell how this 'new' curriculum will be perceived, implemented and measured as well as the ultimate goal - producing a critical, competent thinker!

The 'Unknown'

The provincial curriculum is a predetermined statement of intended outcomes, products or competencies that act as a guide in our teaching. It can be closely monitored and assessed. But what about the 'other' curriculum? What about the hidden, null or implicit curriculum? Who sets it? Who monitors and assesses it?

Teachers have much more power than one would expect in delivering the curriculum. Our impact on students and the shaping of their mind is immense. Co-existing with the explicit curriculum, and often oblivious to us, is the implicit curriculum or the values, morals, biases and personal beliefs we emit everyday in our interations with students and colleagues. These messages are emitted concurrent to teaching, without even realizing it and are readily absorbed by students. We are the curriculum - but are we an effective, efficient one? It is important to decipher our own interpersonal relationships with students and the 'hidden' messages we send. Is what we are sending helping or hindering the student?

The curriculum cannot always be taken at face value. Although it outlines what, when, how, to whom and why it exists, it does not include crucial elements of learning such as the day-to-day dynamics between students and teachers and the fundamental messages we exhibit either intentionally or unintentionally. If student thinking and reasoning is covertly steered by what they absorb in the classroom, how do these messages impact student learning and character development? Am I reinforcing good work ethics, cooperation, teamwork, perseverance, problem solving, respect, etc. through modelling? Do I promote self-confidence, organziation, life-long learning, responsibility and self-motivation?

Our 'hidden' ideas and values play an immeasurable role in education and we must be vigilant in the messages we send. We shape the future - be it negatively or positively. We set the classroom climate and have 'power' over how much and to what extent students learn. What we do in the classroom, beyond the formal curriculum, makes a bold statment. We must be sure that the impact we make on students is one that we want to last a lifetime.

Teach - Don't Preach!

Keep It Positive!

Where Has Creativity Gone?

Sir Ken Robinson focuses on creativity as being a crucial part of education. He goes on to explain how we squander the tremendous talents that students possess and how the structure of education must rise to highlight and nurture these capacities in order to meet today's needs and tomorrow's challenges.

The future is so uncertain and we can never be sure as to the direction education is taking, yet it is our job as teachers to predict this future and prepare our students for it. It is a future that we may never see . . . but they will! Will they be ready?

Making Real Connections

Since beginning this blog, my views and opinions of curriculum have somewhat altered, or perhaps, become more fine tuned. I believe it is of significant importance to make sure learning is relevant, authentic and connected to everything the students may encounter - be it at work, with the family or in the community. Not all curriculum, unfortunately, is developed to meet these needs in every student - which is understandable. But it is vital that we, as teachers, be given the freedom to alter and adapt the content, delivery and assessment procedures to meet the diverse needs of our students. Making learning applicable and relevant to all students is my primary concern. How practical is what I am teaching? Is it authentic? Is it something that can be used immediately in everyday life?

It has been proven that discovering relationships between concepts or subject areas enriches students' learning and helps them better relate to the world outside of school. Are we adequately and effectively promoting this? Are we making the connections apparent? Interdisciplinary projects that cross content areas promote such thinking strategies as critical thinking, personal perspectives / judgements, and analytical observations. This knowledge, hopefully, transfers to real world applications. Students are exposed to higher order thinking and develop the necessary skills to survive in an ever-changing world. How integrated are my teachings?

Curriculum must also make allowances and inclusions for our multicultural society. Possessing an awareness of the cultural differences that exist in our society is vital. As well, parental and community involvement is crucial. The benefits of this connections are innumerable and greatly enhance student achievement. I continue to strive to include parents/guardians in the class and make regular contact with the home but due to time constraints (haven't we heard that one before?), I often tend to focus on student behaviour as opposed to achievement. How can I encourage more 'home' and community participation? What is the communities role?

So now what? How have my readings changed my personal perspective on curriculum? I think we are too concerned with meeting the provincial needs and attempting to meet these needs within a specified amount of time. I think it is more important to let students dictate the direction we are taking - with some guidance of course! Taking the time to allow students input into their learning is fundamental. Making learning relevant and purposeful is primary. I guess this is where we as teachers come in - altering the curriculum as we see fit for our demograhics - making ourselves unique curriculum writers!

Why We Need To Teach Technology in School

The Whole Child

If Technology Is Where It's At . . .

"It Simply Isn't the 20th Century Any More Is It?:

So Why Would We Teach As Though It Was?"

K12 Online Conference 2008 invites participants from around the world to explore all that technology has to offer. Educators world wide share ideas to improve learning during this FREE online conference. Our very own Dr. Couros and D. DesRoches from the Battlefords will be presenting. Be sure to check it out for some innovative and informative ideas! The key note topic (as mentioned above) caught my eye and I wanted to share the experience with you.

In this video, Stephen Heppell discusses factory shools, where students "inwardly digest somebody else's information" as well as the profound impact of distance education in building communities. He concludes with the statement "this is the death of education but it is wonderfully the dawn of learning" - how penetratingly shrewd!

Bloom's Taxonomy

BlOOM's tAXonOMy addresses the cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitudinal) and psychomotor (skill) domains of thinking behaviors. Until recently (2001), the hierarchical concept has been used world wide as the tool for classifying learning objectives (outcomes) and evaluating assessments (indicators). A new version, by Anderson and Krathwohl, attempts to make it a "more authentic tool for curriculum planning, instructional delivery and assessment" by altering the terminology, structure and emphasis to align with the needs of the 21st century.

Remembering: Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing,
inferring, comparing, and explaining.
Applying: Carrying out or using a procedure through executing, or implementing.
Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose
through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.
Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing.
Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through
generating, planning, or producing.
(Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)

How parallel does this new taxonomy run with our current educational goals, objectives, activities and assessments?

Check out the "New Taxonomy"

Shift Happens!

Are we experiencing a fundamental shift in attitudes, beliefs and approaches when it comes to deciphering the curriculum . . . or are we just approaching it from different perspectives based on different experiences, different needs, and different understandings?

Knowledge Most Worth Knowing

My personal belief is that we place too much emphasis on the 'written curriculum' and neglect the more pertinent, relevant and sometimes time-sensitive issues. In my measly twelve years of teaching, I've witnessed many changes in society and education. Are they good? Are they effective? I'm not so certain! Are we keeping up with what the students really need - a safe, healthy, empathetic, nurturing environment? Are we acknowledging societal changes in technology, incorporating them into our practices and regularly/voluntarily updating our own skills? Are we acting as surogate parents with the responsiblity falling on our shoulders to ensure students possess not only the basic skills, but also the soft skills (once passed on through family values and customs) to adequately function in life? Are we 'raising' our students to be independent, self-motivated, critical thinkers that can survive in a dog-eat-dog world plagued with countless problems in need of solutions?

I believe fuNDamENtaL skills (the skills needed to provide a base for further development) such as communication, information management, numeracy and problem solving; pERSonal mANagEmeNT skills (the attitudes and behaviours that drive one's potential for growth) such as the demonstration of positive attitudes, responsibility, adaptability, continuous learning and safety; and TeamWORk skills (the skills and attributes needed to contribute productively) such as working with others and participation should form the basis of the education system. This, to me, is the knowledge most worth knowing. The development of these skills is of vital importance in our students' lives. These are basic, transferable skills that are applicable in a number of circumstances. Teaching these skills, however, raises many questions . . . after all, teaching responsibility doesn't come from a textbook.

Through modelling and mentoring these skills, we expose students to experiences they may otherwise never encounter. We emphasize the importance of the competency and encourage reciprocity in their personal practices. We make connections to how they are applicable and necessary to the 'outside' world. We ensure our subject content lessons encompass a variety of these soft skills and we provide constructive feedback and careful guidance to ameliorate these vital skills. Assessment may not be in the form of an A+ or 92%, but in posiitive daily interactions they have with peers, teachers, and the community. Building a sense of belonging, self-esteem and confidence in students is immeasurable and cannot be neglected.

In my position, Career Development Consultant, it is crucial to provide students with education, information, awareness and choices while instilling confidence and an air of self-worth. My goal isn't to ensure they know the exact path they wish to follow and set them happily on their way, but to recognize the plethora of skills, abilities and interests they possess and explore the numerous options available in this fast-paced, ever-changing twenty-first century world. It is the journey that is important - not the destination!!

I feel it is my responsibility to ensure ALL students are exposed to a wealth of career-building opportunities, while simultaneously providing support and resources to teachers in order to facilitate this process and support the division's goals. Who carries out the task is irrelevant (although all educators should play an active role), but addressing when (through all grade levels), how (through various teaching strategies), what (teaching both hard and soft skills), where (in all subject areas) and why (for character development and a successful future), is pivotal to success.