Knowledge Networks 9: Rich Teaching & Learning

 

 

The other critical area for review is the amount of content that teachers expect to be delivered. By using rich information resources and asking "clever" questions (http://www.i-learnt.com/Thinking_Socratic_Questioning.html http://www.i-learnt.com/Paradigm_Questioning.html) the amount of "coverage" is about to be dramatically reduced and unfortunately many educators and well-intentioned community members will be very concerned that the sky is falling (standards are falling!) And while nothing could be further from the truth, when one considers that content has been the primary mechanism for measuring teaching/learning quality for the past several hundred years it is logical to assume that the community will take sometime to realise that the skill sets of the 21st century are demanding far more understanding of the application of processes and much less knowing of content. That is not to say that no content will be learnt, it simply means the point on the continuum that balances content with concept and process has shifted significantly, and in the process less time will be required to deliver absolute content.
As the community starts to realise that schools are not encompassed or bounded by walls they will begin to appreciate that lifelong learning is indeed a possibility and in fact that it is an absolute necessity if we're going to be fulfilled academically, creatively, socially and spiritually. The capacity for the majority to envisage new possibilities, engage in new interrelationships, to be innovative and to contribute to society, rather than just leaving it to the minority as is the case today, opens up huge possibilities for us as a global community.