Learning for Tomorrow

Over the course of my teaching career I
have observed and experienced many changes in our education system (Australia)
and most have not been for the good. One thing that is a stand-out for me is
the way young people are not using their imagination, creative and critical
thinking skills as much as they used to. I have been teaching Kindergarten to
Year 8 so have had a good chance to observe a lot of developmental levels. I
believe that the two things that we need to do with our kids is to get them
solving problems and to participate in experiential (hands-on) learning
activities. The wonderful world of technology that exists today is custom made
to allow this to happen. I have seen kids do some amazing things with
multimedia over the last few years and wish this could happen everywhere. At my
last school, a Middle School, we developed a Problem Based Learning Program
that all students participated in (Years 6 - 8). We also embedded the Habits of
Mind into the daily school routines. By the end of Year 8 these students were
very good at using a wide range of tools both online and off hands-on to assist
their learning. Unfortunately they moved onto a very traditional form of
learning in Year 9. I'd love to hear from anyone out there who is interested in
this topic.