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Many thanks to our
contributors for this edition:
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Dr Cheryl Doig: Focus on specific needs of the community it serves. The new curriculum http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/ encourages schools to engage with their communities in deciding what is important. The other important way of prioritising is to have principals who are strong leaders know their pedagogy but also know what will be needed for the future. They need to be staunch about the direction of the school and not react every time someone wants to add something extra e.g. dog awareness, into the programme.
In terms of the diversity issue, schools need to develop the skills to embrace diversity. This is a global issue in all areas of leadership, not just education.
Dr Vicki Compton: Providing authentic sites for students to develop understanding and capabilities will ensure that education inherently focuses on the needs and interests of all students. The formal education system should not be seen as the sole site for addressing all the requirements of society. Rather it must work alongside other community groups to this end.
Innovation and design are key aspects of technological literacy. As such they feature strongly in the foundational knowledge and practices associated with technology education. By directly engaging in technological contexts that require innovative and design focused thinking, we seek to embed those ways of thinking in a range of situations including personal decision making for their future health and wellbeing.
Students have always exhibited a range of abilities. What has increased is the awareness of the importance of identifying and catering for this range of abilities. Contemporary learning theories and pedagogical strategies provide teachers with effective mechanisms for both identifying and responding to individual student learning needs. This ensures all students are provided with the opportunity to realise their potential within the wider framework of an overarching literacy.
Bruce McIntyre: The apparent diversity of needs is illusory. In an age where teachers are still expected to be experts and all knowing purveyors of important knowledge, this apparent diversity must seem overwhelming. However, if you consider that in reality this list only addresses some of ways that people can express their individual selves in today's and tomorrow's world, then the answer emerges without difficulty.
Firstly, credible education is no longer delivered by so-called experts. We no longer believe in the infallibility of a canon of knowledge in God, Queen or country. We know that there are as many views on something as there are independent thinkers. So, effective education is now about finding one's own answers, via the thousands of sources available at one's fingertips and in the real world.
Secondly, if we educate (not teach) deep awareness and development of the physical, emotional, mental and intuitive aspects of self, then the students will have all the capability they need to take care of the rest for themselves. Their unique abilities will be clearly developed and expressed if allowed and encouraged.
Vincent Heeringa: Well there are three critical things to get right. The basic three Rs must be done well. You can't join the game unless you can run, kick and pass. So a strong emphasis on basic skills early, is important. Then I reckon, keep it broad for as long as possible from calculus to crayons, kids need to be exposed to as many subjects as possible. And then progress to engagement with the real world in block courses as soon as is practical. From age 10 I reckon.
Andrew Hamilton: Well, you know you will never have a system that copes with everything. The point is to create an environment where the participants learn new skills and prepares them to handle situations. So for me, don't try and cover everything, focus on the environment and prepare them to think.
As to diversity and range of abilities, that is life can't do much about that.
Your feedback is gratefully received.
