Education is undergoing a paradigm shift on a scale not seen since the
Renaissance and the invention of the printing press. We are in the midst
of seeing education transform from a book-based system to an internet-based
system with profound implications for every aspect of teaching and learning.
Management
Defining
the purpose of education is key to developing the vision, mission and
goals of the school. Once this is complete then an effective pedagogy
can be identified and the key capability outcomes of the learners can
be explicitly communicated to all stakeholders and assessment systems
can be put in place to record the learners capabilities in these areas.
Curriculum
The
curriculum is centred around the purpose of education and builds on
the curriculum elements, learning modes, dispositions, competencies
and the essences of being human.
This is framed around the teaching and learning culture which is presently
in transition mode.
Learning
Programme
A
learning programme is based around the development of the key concepts
that underpin each discipline. Integrated into this are are the competencies,
dispositions and learning modes. Integrated units share the same conceptual
baseline.
Intelligence
& Learning
Intelligence
is composed of three key elements
1.
The ability of the neurons to process requests efficiently
2. The capacity of the glia-neuron-hormone interplay to map conceptual
frameworks
3. The range and level of conceptual domains that can be mapped
Autism
is the result of a child having a reduced capacity to form conceptual
frameworks across any one, or any combination of domains. This is sometimes
confined to a particular domain and other times results in reduced capacity
across all domains.
Autism is usually accompanied by a reduction in cognitive capability.
From the diagram below it is not just possible to be autistic in the
social nuance/"mindreading" domain but also in the pattern
recognition/sequencing domain. As a result a child may be autistic in
the discipline of mathematics as this requires a conceptual framework
reliant on this domain!
Assessment
Authentic
assessment requires an interplay between summative, diagnostic and
formative assessment approaches. Learners metacognitively reflecting
on their own learning is a powerful representation of their thinking
and is an an excellent approach to acknowledging learner competencies,
dispositions and modes.
Communication
Once
an interoperability framework is in place and the Managed Learning Environment
is made available to all stakeholders then appropriate "views"
of the assessment data can be made available to each stakeholder. Each
stakeholder has a unique user ID and password allowing them to receive
a "view" of the learners capability that is appropriate to
their need.
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