#28: GeoConnect 2022 (09 Nov)

Wen Xin Ng

Nov 9, 2022

"How might we inspire students to develop their personal voice and be future ready?"

Before thinking about developing students' personal voice, I thought it would be apt to first consider what being future-ready means.

Future-ready learners possess:

= Deep subject discipline skills & knowledge

= MOE 21st Century Competencies

= Civic Literacy, Global Awareness and Cross-Cultural Skills

= Critical and Inventive Thinking

= Communication, Collaboration and Information Skills

= Digital literacy

= Resilience and adaptability in navigating the ever-changing world

This definition of sorts served as a good reminder of how education (and the times) has evolved since I was a student -- especially in the use of tech -- and how it is important for us to keep abreast of the changing educational context and rethink what T&L should look like, in order to adequately prepare our students for the future.

A case in point would be how accessible information is now compared to perhaps 10 or 20 years ago. In the past, when information was less accessible, the 'valued' skill may be in terms of gathering information and committing it to memory. Now, with Google as our best friend, perhaps the more important skill is to discern/differentiate what is important and what is not, as well as critically analyse/ synthesise these information. So so so, this is what we need to keep in mind when teaching, and not getting students to 读死书.

Chanced upon the tweet below about how to help kids be future ready and thought it was quite interesting:

As I read this tweet, a few key (haha punny) things that stuck out to me were "embrace change", "take a risk" and "see students owning the learning" ------- our vision of "future-ready" learners cannot be achieved if we are risk-averse and choose to stick to what worked in the past X years. (i.e. templatised approaches, whiteboard and slides, memorise textbook, etc.)

This is especially since technology opens up much potential for student voice, for student autonomy and the subsequent investment into/ownership over their own learning.

It is at this point where I started to wonder "Can a tech-free lesson be a good one?" Following thoughts processed after receiving nuggets from Ms Tang.

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We first need to ask ourselves what a good lesson is. A good lesson should:

Make use of questioning to spark curiosity/activate learning/deepen learning through discussion
Provide opportunity for students to practise and apply what they have learned

And if these criteria are met, a tech-free lesson can be a good one.

But with technology, what we would ask ourselves would be whether/how the tech can:

Help you to see most, if not all of the students' ideas
Help you give feedback promptly and effectively

It goes back to what the tech does. It is not meant to replace teachers in the transmission of knowledge, but rather to enhance the learning process. A key part being making thinking visible.

Quoting Ms Tang: "One still has be a competent teacher to instruct, consolidate and synthesise learning. Times change, but the need for good design and effective pedagogy doesn't. Content, Pedagogy and Assessment are the basis."

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So the flip side also holds true -- A tech lesson can be a bad one, if the use of tech is not meaningful.

Learning experiences that excite students:

- Out-of-classroom (learning journeys)

- Debate

- Virtual learning; 3D/ hands-on project

- GIS mapping exercises

- Bite-sized AfL quizzes (e.g Kahoot)

-Opportunities to apply newfound knowledge into real life situations

Use of VR to bring the world into the classroom (more on this in separate post!)
Use of GIS to discover interconnectedness of phenomena through exploring layers
Collaboration, Creativity, Connection; letting students discover content by themselves! Esp. given Geog's dynamism

**The classroom doesn't have to be a very controlled environment!

Dr Tricia Seow | Senior Lecturer & Assistant Head, Humanities and Social Studies Education Academic Group

Promoting student voice and agency in the long run also include teaching students how to take STRATEGIC action, instead of fighting with the brass;
Also important to be INTENTIONAL and PURPOSEFUL in creating opportunities to combine geographical knowledge with other types of knowledge about society [e.g. marginalised communities]; cannot be an afterthought!