Transforming Learning for the 21st Century
"Schools in the information-rich, internationalised communities of the new century will need to differ in several fundamental ways from the schools which people were familiar with in the late stages of the twentieth century."
Headley Beare Creating The Future School (2001)
Many, including parents, teachers and governments, still value conformity and predictablilty of 20th Century models of schooling. However, children are growing up in a very different world where learning is shaped and influenced by events and intractable problems that have never been confronted before. Meeting the needs of 21st Century learners is our focus at Catholic College.
21st Century learning challenges us as educators to develop new models of learning that help students to learn about their learning. Students need to be actively involved in their learning—not passive receptors. Engagement is the secret weapon. If students are engaged then we start to see how ambitious they might be, how smart they might be, how fast they might run.
In today's world, if you have got something that captures attention then you have value and relevance. At Catholic College we understand that what you are doing needs to be engaging in a world where everyone is competing for the attention of the students.
21st Century Learning at Catholic College learning has distinct characteristics.
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Students need to be able to learn in teams, collaboratively, in small groups, in larger groups in class groups and alone;
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Learning is not restricted to the classroom or the teacher. Students need to be able to learn from a range of other source inside and outside the classroom including subject matter experts and students outside the school, interstate or in other countries;
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Students need to be able to learn in groups based on interest, intellectual ability and chronological age;
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Learning needs to have both depth and breadth. Students need to be able to learn in subject specific disciplines as well as make genuine connections across subject disciplines;
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Learning needs to be agile so that it can be continually configured and reconfigured in response to the needs of the time as students work on real and rich tasks whether they be teacher directed, teacher or peer supported or self-directed.
Recent international studies, (Stephen Heppell, 2008), tells us quite clearly what students value about learning. It is amazing how closely the top responses align with what hs been identified as important for 21st Century learning.
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55% learning in groups
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39% doing practical things
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35% learning with friends
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31% using computers
At Catholic College we beleive that learning should be future focused, listening to and acting on student voice and reflective practice. Students are reaching out for learning as their way of transforming their world and their lives.
Tony Patton
Deputy Principal—Learning and Teaching
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