tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/21st-century-skills-24265/articles21st century skills – The Conversation2021-04-28T06:06:24Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1506312021-04-28T06:06:24Z2021-04-28T06:06:24ZNot every student needs senior maths, but we can make maths more engaging in the earlier school years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397460/original/file-20210428-19-mmrtuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/business-person-standing-against-blackboard-data-129864713">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late 2019, <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/maths-to-be-compulsory-for-students">New South Wales announced</a> it would make maths compulsory all through school. Victoria will have an additional, easier, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/new-year-12-maths-subject-delayed-20210202-p56yqw.html">year 12 maths subject</a> in 2023 to boost the numbers of maths students in senior levels.</p>
<p>Moves to push more students into senior maths partly stem from the idea students need to be equipped with skills for jobs of the future, largely driven by automation. The <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/national-stem-education-resources-toolkit/why-stem-important-0">federal government considers STEM</a> (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills as “crucial for Australia’s changing future”. A resource kit for STEM educators, developed by the federal government, <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/national-stem-education-resources-toolkit/why-stem-important-0">states</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s predicted that future workers will spend more than twice as much time on job tasks requiring science, maths and critical thinking than today.</p>
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<p>But the number of students taking higher level maths has <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-ve-bottomed-out-hsc-maths-enrolments-flatline-over-the-decade-20201013-p564k5.html">bottomed-out</a>.
Nationally, <a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-australians-are-taking-advanced-maths-in-year-12-we-can-learn-from-countries-doing-it-better-149148">less than 30% of students choose</a> upper level, calculus based, maths — down dramatically in the past 20 years. </p>
<p>There are many arguments for how to get more students to take senior maths. They include making the subject more engaging, ensuring enough specialist teachers and, of course, making maths compulsory.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-australians-are-taking-advanced-maths-in-year-12-we-can-learn-from-countries-doing-it-better-149148">Fewer Australians are taking advanced maths in Year 12. We can learn from countries doing it better</a>
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<p>At the moment, only <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-06/stem-subjects-australian-education-system-jobs-atlassian/9373456">Tasmania requires</a> students to take basic maths through to year 12. Students <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-to-make-maths-mandatory-for-students-in-years-11-and-12-20191023-p533ma.html#:%7E:text=The%20NSW%20government%20will%20make,it%20mandatory%20for%20the%20HSC.&text=Mathematics%20will%20be%20made%20compulsory%20for%20students%20in%20years%2011%20and%2012.">in the ACT and NSW</a> can finish studying maths in year 10 if they choose to. <a href="https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/web/mathematics">South Australia</a>, the <a href="https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/coordinating/ntcet">Northern Territory</a> and <a href="https://www.elc.net.au/new-qce-maths-subjects-explained/">Queensland</a> require students to take just <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-06/stem-subjects-australian-education-system-jobs-atlassian/9373456">one unit of maths</a> in the two final years of high school. </p>
<p>But how important is it for every student to have graduated school with high level maths?</p>
<h2>Maths and the future of work</h2>
<p>The argument every student needs advanced maths for his or her career doesn’t always hold. A <a href="https://www.livescience.com/29017-which-jobs-actually-use-math.html#:%7E:text=But%20something%20doesn't%20add,on%20the%20job%2C%20research%20suggests.&text=And%20highly%20skilled%20blue%2Dcollar,than%20their%20white%2Dcollar%20peers.">2013 study</a> of 2,300 workers in the United States found less than 25% of them use maths beyond fractions in their current jobs. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of professionals having a discussion at a boardroom table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397481/original/file-20210428-13-11mj0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Human skills, like relationship building, are important to employers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/making-great-decisions-young-beautiful-woman-370390046">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But we’re told the nature of work is rapidly changing and that employment in jobs requiring STEM skills is <a href="https://www.dese.gov.au/newsroom/articles/stem-jobs-growing-almost-twice-fast-other-jobs">growing faster</a> than in others. This may be true. Although the federal <a href="https://joboutlook.gov.au/careers/future-outlook/">government also highlights</a> growing industries aren’t all focused on STEM skills. They include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>health care and social assistance</p></li>
<li><p>education and training</p></li>
<li><p>construction</p></li>
<li><p>customer service.</p></li>
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<p>Most of these jobs will require strong numeracy and computational thinking skills, including problem-solving that can come from subjects outside maths.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/building-lucky-country/articles/path-prosperity-future-work.htm">Deloitte report</a> into the future of work also noted the importance of human skills in automated industries:</p>
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<p>[…] jobs increasingly need us to use our hearts — the interpersonal and creative roles, with uniquely human skills like creativity, customer service, care for others and collaboration.</p>
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<p>A <a href="https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/skills-future">federal government report</a> echoes this by advising those looking for work to:</p>
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<p>remember to emphasise your employability skills, rather than just the technical skills […] Communication, reliability, team work, patience, resilience and initiative are required for all jobs, and this will continue to be the case in the future […] Some 75% of employers considered employability skills to be as important, if not more important, than technical skills.</p>
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<p>Maths is embedded in most of these skills. But it’s certainly not the only subject that teaches them.</p>
<h2>What subjects can give students the skills they need?</h2>
<p>Broadly speaking, <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/careers-advice/future-skills-youll-need-your-career-2030">some of the skills</a> students will need in their future — in both their work and daily life — include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>cognitive flexibility: the ability to adapt to the changing world and information around you; to be a lifelong learner</p></li>
<li><p>traditional and digital literacies: basic literacy, numeracy and media literacy (including the use of technology)</p></li>
<li><p>creativity and imagination: the human traits that separate us from machines and bring a human perspective to our work</p></li>
<li><p>computational thinking: problem solving processes we need in our work and life</p></li>
<li><p>ethical and sustainable practice: a commitment to do no harm to each other or the planet</p></li>
<li><p>Indigenous perspectives and cultural competence: promoting reconciliation and working successfully and respectfully across cultures and customs </p></li>
<li><p>well-being: taking care of our minds, bodies and our mob.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These skills are not taught just in maths but across the disciplines, <a href="https://www.monash.edu/education/research/projects/numeracy-across-the-curriculum-research-project">including</a> science, geography, visual arts, health and physical education, languages, history and design.</p>
<h2>What kind of maths skills do students need?</h2>
<p>In his 2016 book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/23258874-the-math-myth">The Maths Math: And Other STEM Delusions</a>, bestselling US author Andrew Hacker proposes we allow students to explore their passions in the latter school years instead of pushing advanced maths onto them.</p>
<p>He also recommends we teach basic maths so well students gain computational and critical thinking skills they can use throughout their lives.</p>
<p>Computational skills are the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zp92mp3/revision/1">ability to understand</a> a complex problem, develop possible solutions and then present these solutions in a way a computer, human, or both, can understand. </p>
<p>These skills are what primary maths should aim toward, emphasising interdisciplinary connections across key learning areas. And strong basic numeracy skills build a foundation for a lifetime.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-just-solve-for-x-letting-kids-explore-real-world-scenarios-will-keep-them-in-maths-class-124876">Don’t just solve for x: letting kids explore real-world scenarios will keep them in maths class</a>
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<p>But <a href="https://reports.acara.edu.au/Home/Results#results">NAPLAN numeracy results</a> in the past decade, as well as scores in the OECD’s <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_AUS.pdf">Programme for International Student Assessment</a>, indicate many teachers are not prepared to teach primary maths effectively to an increasingly diverse student population. </p>
<p>Current <a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-australians-are-taking-advanced-maths-in-year-12-we-can-learn-from-countries-doing-it-better-149148">maths assessments</a> tend to limit the possibilities and the interdisciplinary connections by teaching math discretely. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Boy and girl working on making a small robot." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397484/original/file-20210428-15-n7u8kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">We need to teach maths as part of other subjects to make it more engaging.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/boy-girl-doing-group-project-making-1070348063">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Many schools are using projects and portfolios to develop these relevant skills, with learning outcomes based on ‘doing’ rather than regurgitating facts. This is not a move away from the goal of traditional numeracy skills. Rather, it’s the way we teach them and honour their relevance in multiple contexts outside of maths that makes the subject more engaging.</p>
<p>It’s important then for maths-related lessons to allow students to create, design, make, build, exhibit and present.</p>
<p>These ideas are at the heart of the current reviews into the <a href="https://nswcurriculumreform.nesa.nsw.edu.au/home/homePageContent/view">NSW Curriculum</a> and the <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum-review">Australian curriculum</a>. </p>
<p>Armed with these foundational “basics”, all students could connect their passions as teenagers with the STEM skills they need for the future they envision - and many may then choose advanced maths courses with confidence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150631/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Fischetti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We’re told jobs requiring science and maths skills are growing faster than others. But industry reports also highlight human skills will be more important in the age of automation.John Fischetti, Professor, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Human and Social Futures, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1106632019-04-30T10:44:18Z2019-04-30T10:44:18ZCollaborative problem solvers are made not born – here’s what you need to know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271563/original/file-20190429-194609-mdphbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Group project experience doesn't automatically translate to competence at collaboration.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/g1Kr4Ozfoac">Brooke Cagle/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Challenges are a fact of life. Whether it’s a high-tech company figuring out how to shrink its carbon footprint, or a local community trying to identify new revenue sources, people are continually dealing with problems that require input from others. In the modern world, we face problems that are broad in scope and great in scale of impact – think of trying to understand and identify potential solutions related to climate change, cybersecurity or authoritarian leaders.</p>
<p>But people usually aren’t born competent in collaborative problem-solving. In fact, a famous turn of phrase about teams is that a <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jO17AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA359&dq=%22How+can+you+turn+a+team+of+experts+into+an+expert+team%22+Zsambok&ots=AXprcvw255&sig=OPr4vSa-NGPd70Q9Rw2us3MfEjE#v=onepage&q=%22How%20can%20you%20turn%20a%20team%20of%20experts%20into%20an%20expert%20team%22%20Zsambok&f=false">team of experts does not make an expert team</a>. Just as troubling, the evidence suggests that, for the most part, people aren’t being taught this skill either. A 2012 survey by the American Management Association found that higher level managers believed recent college graduates <a href="http://playbook.amanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2012-Critical-Skills-Survey-pdf.pdf">lack collaboration abilities</a>.</p>
<p>Maybe even worse, college grads seem to overestimate their own competence. One 2015 survey found nearly two-thirds of recent graduates believed they can effectively work in a team, but <a href="https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2015employerstudentsurvey.pdf">only one-third of managers agreed</a>. The tragic irony is that the less competent you are, the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1999-15054-002">less accurate is your self-assessment</a> of your own competence. It seems that this infamous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385522-0.00005-6">Dunning-Kruger effect</a> can also occur for teamwork. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s no surprise that in a 2015 international assessment of hundreds of thousands of students, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264285521-en">less than 10% performed at the highest level of collaboration</a>. For example, the vast majority of students could not overcome teamwork obstacles or resolve conflict. They were not able to monitor group dynamics or to engage in the kind of actions needed to make sure the team interacted according to their roles. Given that all these students have had group learning opportunities in and out of school over many years, this points to a global deficit in the acquisition of collaboration skills. </p>
<p>How can this deficiency be addressed? What makes one team effective while another fails? How can educators improve training and testing of collaborative problem-solving? Drawing from disciplines that study cognition, collaboration and learning, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618808244">my colleagues</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t3O2u3MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">and I</a> have been studying teamwork processes. Based on this research, we have three key recommendations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271566/original/file-20190429-194633-1qkwi4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Specific skills lay the groundwork for successful collaboration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/3V8xo5Gbusk">Kaleidico/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>How it should work</h2>
<p>At the most general level, collaborative problem-solving requires team members to establish and maintain a shared understanding of the situation they’re facing and any relevant problem elements they’ve identified. At the start, there’s typically an uneven distribution of knowledge on a team. Members must maintain communication to help each other know who knows what, as well as help each other interpret elements of the problem and which expertise should be applied.</p>
<p>Then the team can get to work, laying out subtasks based upon member roles, or creating mechanisms to coordinate member actions. They’ll critique possible solutions to identify the most appropriate path forward. </p>
<p>Finally, at a higher level, collaborative problem-solving requires keeping the team organized – for example, by monitoring interactions and providing feedback to each other. Team members need, at least, basic interpersonal competencies that help them manage relationships within the team (like encouraging participation) and communication (like listening to learn). Even better is the more sophisticated ability to take others’ perspectives, in order to consider alternative views of problem elements.</p>
<p>Whether it is a team of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617697078">professionals in an organization</a> or a team of <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/19007">scientists solving complex scientific problems</a>, communicating clearly, managing conflict, understanding roles on a team, and knowing who knows what – all are collaboration skills related to effective teamwork. </p>
<h2>What’s going wrong in the classroom?</h2>
<p>When so many students are continually engaged in group projects, or collaborative learning, why are they not learning about teamwork? There are interrelated factors that may be creating graduates who collaborate poorly but who think they are quite good at teamwork.</p>
<p>I suggest students vastly overestimate their collaboration skills due to the dangerous combination of a lack of systematic instruction coupled with inadequate feedback. On the one hand, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0363-y">students engage in a great deal of group work</a> in high school and college. On the other hand, students rarely receive meaningful <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618808244">instruction, modeling and feedback on collaboration</a>. Decades of research on learning show that explicit instruction and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2011.11.003">feedback are crucial for mastery</a>.</p>
<p>Although classes that implement collaborative problem-solving do provide some instruction and feedback, it’s not necessarily about their teamwork. Students are learning about concepts in classes; they are acquiring knowledge about a domain. What is missing is something that forces them to explicitly reflect on their ability to work with others.</p>
<p>When students process feedback on how well they learned something, or whether they solved a problem, they mistakenly think this is also indicative of effective teamwork. I hypothesize that students come to conflate learning course content material in any group context with collaboration competency.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271641/original/file-20190430-194630-1hjqr20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Educators can do better at helping students learn collaborative problem-solving skills.</span>
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<h2>A prescription for better collaborators</h2>
<p>Now that we’ve defined the problem, what can be done? A century of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000142">research on team training</a>, combined with decades of research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543069001021">group learning in the classroom</a>, points the way forward. My colleagues and I have distilled some core elements from this literature to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618808244">suggest improvements for collaborative learning</a>. </p>
<p>First, most pressing is to get training on teamwork into the world’s classrooms. At a minimum, this needs to happen during college undergraduate education, but even better would be starting in high school or earlier. Research has demonstrated it’s possible to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496408317794">teach collaboration competencies</a> such as dealing with conflict and communicating to learn. Researchers and educators need, themselves, to collaborate to adapt these methods for the classroom.</p>
<p>Secondly, students need opportunities for practice. Although most already have experience working in groups, this needs to move beyond science and engineering classes. Students need to learn to work across disciplines so after graduation they can work across professions on solving complex societal problems.</p>
<p>Third, any systematic instruction and practice setting needs to include feedback. This is not simply feedback on whether they solved the problem or did well on learning course content. Rather, it needs to be feedback on interpersonal competencies that drive successful collaboration. Instructors should assess students on teamwork processes like relationship management, where they encourage participation from each other, as well as skills in communication where they actively listen to their teammates.</p>
<p>Even better would be feedback telling students how well they were able to take on the perspective of a teammate from another discipline. For example, was the engineering student able to take the view of a student in law and understand the legal ramifications of a new technology’s implementation? </p>
<p>My colleagues and I believe that explicit instruction on how to collaborate, opportunities for practice, and feedback about collaboration processes will better prepare today’s students to work together to solve tomorrow’s problems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen M. Fiore has received funding from federal agencies such as NASA, ONR, DARPA, and the NSF to study collaborative problem solving and teamwork. He is past president of the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research, currently a board member of the International Network for the Science of Team Science, and a member of DARPA's Information Science and Technology working group. </span></em></p>From the biggest ‘wicked’ problems on down, finding solutions to challenges depends on working together collaboratively. Students think they’re good at this, but they aren’t. Here’s what could help.Stephen M. Fiore, Professor of Cognitive Sciences, University of Central FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1135462019-03-14T05:37:44Z2019-03-14T05:37:44ZStudents striking for climate action are showing the exact skills employers look for<p>On March 15 2019 thousands of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-14/australian-school-students-why-theyll-strike-for-climate-change/10892920">students across Australia</a> will skip school and join the global <a href="https://www.schoolstrike4climate.com/">strike for climate action</a>. This is the second time students have taken to the streets to demand more government action on climate change. Last time they did so, in November 2018, the federal resources minister, Matt Canavan, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/climate-change-protest-will-lead-to-dole-queue-minister-tells-students-20181130-p50jbt.html">told them</a>:</p>
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<p>The best thing you’ll learn about going to a protest is how to join the dole queue. Because that’s what your future life will look like, up in a line asking for a handout, not actually taking charge for your life and getting a real job.</p>
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<p>Politicians are up in arms about tomorrow’s protest too. New South Wales is just over a week away from a state election where climate change is a key issue. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has slammed as “appalling” <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/appalling-berejikilan-slams-labor-s-support-of-striking-students-20190313-p513yh.html">comments made by Opposition Leader</a> Michael Daley in support of the strike.</p>
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<p>Such attitudes do worse than just dismissing the students’ voices and their message of urgency. They fly in the face of international research and the aims of Australia’s own curriculum. </p>
<p>By seeking to understand a global issue such as climate change, taking action and clearly articulating their perspective, the students are demonstrating the skills, values and attitudes the curriculum states should constitute the aim of education. These are also the attributes employers look for. </p>
<h2>Confident individuals, informed citizens</h2>
<p>The Australian curriculum is based on the Melbourne Declaration on Goals for Young Australians, signed in 2008 by all state and territory ministers. Its <a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/national_declaration_on_the_educational_goals_for_young_australians.pdf">second goal</a> is to graduate students who are “successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens”.</p>
<p>To help achieve this, the Australian curriculum includes a <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/civics-and-citizenship">civics and citizenship strand</a> in its humanities and social science subject. This encourages an inquiry-based approach, presenting students with multiple perspectives and empowering them to reach their own conclusions. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-melbourne-declaration-on-educational-goals-for-young-australians-what-it-is-and-why-it-needs-updating-107895">The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians: what it is and why it needs updating</a>
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<p>The curriculum also has three cross-curriculum priorities, which address contemporary issues such as sustainability, and seven general capabilities. The <a href="http://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/The_Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum_v4.pdf">Australian curriculum shape paper</a> describes the general capabilities as “21st-century skills”, designed to foster critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding and personal and social capability. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review_of_the_national_curriculum_final_report.pdf">2014 review</a> of the Australian curriculum concluded with overwhelming support to not only keep but further develop general capabilities that reflect 21st-century skills.</p>
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<p>Canavan’s dole-queue comments also <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1028315314547822?casa_token=cKBWFXLWKo4AAAAA:KsjWIjiq4Mw_DSlVnRN-QMoHk5DzDmPoumJqkWOwnkWGT_ep6CL3DzWaoQG6HPN-EePUUut_IkVh7Ls">contradict research</a> that identifies these general capabilities, sometimes described as “soft skills”, as the desired graduate attributes sought by employers in Australia and across the world. These skills are also acknowledged as equipping students for contemporary, transitory career patterns that require <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=IELAPA;dn=200103950">high levels of communication</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540962.2013.763416">mobility</a> and critical and ethical thinking. </p>
<h2>Addressing global sustainability goals</h2>
<p>When the students marched in 2018, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said they should be doing “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/26/scott-morrison-tells-students-striking-over-climate-change-to-be-less-activist">more learning in schools and less activism</a>”. But <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0165025414544231?casa_token=cYvhWdx8M78AAAAA:Sz1zspv-ufb2VnTBUk68wLhXHzVO1T8BS6ZRJSh_374v5Ijwcd42BEQ4To6y3MfApngbcJ9iAapYNRY">international research</a> clearly shows that, by preparing for and participating in this strike, students are learning the skills of active citizenship, which they will carry into their adult life. </p>
<p>They are learning how to be the type of citizen we need to achieve the global sustainability goals. They are learning how to work together to effect change.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-voters-may-hold-the-key-to-the-nsw-state-election-heres-why-113190">Young voters may hold the key to the NSW state election: here's why</a>
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<p>Australian students joining the movement, started by 16-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg, also reflects <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319739625">research</a> showing young people have no faith in politicians and the political system. This is why they are taking direct, grassroots approaches to political, social and environmental issues. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.schoolstrike4climate.com/about">students’ website</a>, rallying the support of their peers, explains their reasoning for walking out of their classrooms: </p>
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<p>In Australia, education is viewed as immensely important, and a key way to make a difference in the world. But simply going to school isn’t doing anything about climate change. And it doesn’t seem that our politicians are doing anything. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>By making this choice, students are demonstrating their worldview and understanding of contemporary global issues, their ability to think critically and examine problems, to manage complexity, to communicate and work effectively with others, as well as values and attitudes that focus on the common good beyond their own self-interest. And they are taking action. </p>
<p>In other words, they are displaying all the elements of global competence, as identified by <a href="https://en.unesco.org/themes/gced">UNESCO</a> and the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2018-global-competence.htm">OECD</a>. In doing so they are fulfilling the Melbourne Declaration’s goal and acting as “active and informed citizens” of both their local and global communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113546/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karena Menzie-Ballantyne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When politicians caution against student strikes for climate action, they are going against the aims of Australia’s curriculum to develop citizens with a social conscience, willing to take action.Karena Menzie-Ballantyne, Lecturer in Education, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029092018-10-10T18:41:11Z2018-10-10T18:41:11ZWhy block subjects might not be best for university student learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238612/original/file-20181001-19006-f3nd4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It isn’t clear whether or not block subjects are a form of cramming or not.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/students/enrolment/block-mode-subjects">Block subjects</a> is a model of teaching students one subject at a time over two to four weeks, rather than several subjects at a time over ten to 13 weeks in a semester. </p>
<p>For some, like <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/university-profile/teaching-learning-at-vu/innovative-approach-to-tertiary-education">Victoria University</a>, the model is a stunning success. There are already tangible <a href="https://online.vu.edu.au/blog/vu-transformative-block-model">improvements in pass rates</a> in the first year of implementation.</p>
<p>What’s less clear is what the long term implications of these approaches are for student learning. It may seem, on the surface, that focusing on shorter subjects one at a time is better than the traditional semester model. But research on effective learning shows learning over a long period and studying multiple subjects at a time is more effective.</p>
<h2>Massed vs. spaced learning</h2>
<p><a href="http://psychologicalresources.blogspot.com/2015/01/massed-vs-spaced-learning.html">Research</a> on learning shows “massed” learning is inferior to “spaced” learning. In other words, when learning is spread out over a longer time-frame, the retention of and capacity for using the knowledge is better than when it’s blocked together. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/revising-for-exams-why-cramming-the-night-before-rarely-works-67459">Revising for exams - why cramming the night before rarely works</a>
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<p>The best example of massed learning is cramming – as in “cramming” for an exam. Information might be adequately stored for a short time – enough to complete an exam – but it doesn’t stick as well as it would if it had been studied over a longer period. </p>
<p>Research consistently shows <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071009104548/http://www.bmb.psu.edu/courses/psu16/troyan/studyskills/cramming.htm">cramming</a>, <a href="http://ojphi.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/7729">bingeing</a> or otherwise learning for a short, focused period isn’t the most effective way to remember new information.</p>
<p>In addition to spacing study out, there are also benefits to mixing up study across different topics. This process of switching is called “<a href="https://academicaffairs.arizona.edu/Interleaving">interleaving</a>” and it might also point to a benefit provided by studying multiple subjects at the same time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Research shows ‘cramming’ for an exam is less effective than learning over a longer period of time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>The advantages of spaced practice and interleaving are shown in <a href="https://theconversation.com/study-habits-for-success-tips-for-students-89147">robust findings</a> in the psychology laboratory. But basic <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325415789_Learning_lab_to_lecture_hall">research</a> on learning in the brain and mind is difficult to make sense of in the real world. There are many complexities in university education that cannot be tested or controlled for in laboratory studies. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.slrc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HELF-isbn.pdf">evidence</a> about what constitutes quality learning is difficult to see in the university classroom. </p>
<p>This makes it difficult to know if studying subjects in short blocks will lead to the same problems as cramming or not. Students might pass, might report greater levels of satisfaction but might not be able to remember and use what they have learned as effectively long-term. </p>
<h2>The evidence problem</h2>
<p>It isn’t clear whether block subjects are a form of cramming or not. So it’s not certain there are any long-term negative effects of this approach. </p>
<p>The recent national discussion about effective delivery of higher education has been dominated by economists, consultants and accounting firms. Economic indicators provide a crude but easy proxy and have been <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=2438">prioritised</a> over quality learning in policy and practice. In the process, the link between indicators such as completion rates or student satisfaction and learning is being lost. </p>
<p>This means universities are making substantial changes without necessarily knowing what they mean for student learning. University students might be satisfied, complete their degrees and get a job. But there is a real risk they may not have the necessary knowledge and skills to <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/HIGHER-ED-ITION/Articles/2016-2017/The-Future-of-Work-and-Learning">thrive and adapt</a> in the 21st Century. </p>
<h2>Testing innovations</h2>
<p>The role played by the now disestablished <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-office-for-learning-and-teaching-and-why-does-it-matter-59079">Office for Learning and Teaching</a> (OLT) was critical for this kind of problem. The OLT provided a vital mechanism for testing out innovations such as the block model. </p>
<p>An OLT project could have examined under what conditions the model is most effective, for which students and how to get it to work best in different disciplines and year levels. While important, crude indicators such as <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/measures-of-college-quality/">pass rates</a> and <a href="https://www.campusreview.com.au/2017/03/opinion-is-it-time-to-retire-student-experience-surveys-in-universities/">satisfaction</a> are not enough to provide this kind of evidence base.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Innovations in student testing need to be rigorously examined to ensure they’re effective.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Sadly, the small investment in a mechanism for ensuring these kinds of questions could be answered was deemed <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/media-releases/Abolition-of-Office-for-Learning-and-Teaching-a-loss#.W5i0dS1L1N0">too expensive</a> for the federal government. It’s now difficult to systematically figure out whether approaches like the block model are good for learning in the long term and whether they’ll work elsewhere. </p>
<p>This lack of a mechanism for rigorously testing innovations also risks our global reputation for high quality higher education. <a href="https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/innovative-credentials-turning-a-drop-in-the-bucket-into-a-transformative-tidal-wave/">Micro-credentials</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-must-prepare-for-a-technology-enabled-future-89354">artificial intelligence</a> and other innovations are poised to have a substantial impact on higher education in the near future. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/six-things-labors-review-of-tertiary-education-should-consider-93496">Six things Labor’s review of tertiary education should consider</a>
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<p>There is <a href="https://theconversation.com/innovation-in-learning-and-teaching-is-too-important-to-cut-58629">currently no mechanism</a> to fund rigorous, national studies into how <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/media-releases/Record-numbers-confirm-Australia-as-international-education-powerhouse#.W5i8Ui1L1N0">Australian higher education</a> can remain competitive in this rapidly evolving environment. </p>
<p>There is every likelihood the students who complete their studies in a block model are receiving quality instruction, leading to quality learning. The results at Victoria University certainly <a href="http://paidcontent.theage.com.au/victoria-university/first-year-victoria-university/article/living-learning-victoria-universitys-new-model-first-year-students/">look promising</a>. But it’s difficult to determine this until student learning and development are made the priorities over crude economic indicators.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason M Lodge works for The University of Queensland and has an honorary appointment with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at The University of Melbourne. Statements made in this article do not represent the official position of either institution and have not been made in order to promote or endorse learning and teaching practices at either. Jason has received funding from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council and Office for Learning and Teaching. He was also employed as part of the Science of Learning Research Centre (SLRC). The SLRC was funded through a Special Research Initiative of the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Block subjects at university are receiving a lot of attention, but research says they may not be as effective for learning.Jason M Lodge, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, School of Education & Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/959322018-05-04T05:26:36Z2018-05-04T05:26:36ZHow design thinking can help teachers collaborate<p>The recent release of the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/662684_tgta_accessible_final.pdf">Gonski 2.0 report</a> has done an excellent job of <a href="https://theconversation.com/gonski-review-reveals-another-grand-plan-to-overhaul-education-but-do-we-really-need-it-93119">re-opening the conversation</a> around how our schools could better fulfil their purpose. </p>
<p>Much of the commentary has centred on the report’s recommendations for teaching and learning in schools. But the whole chapter focused on “creating, supporting and valuing a profession of expert educators” has not received enough attention.</p>
<p>The suggestion that teaching and learning can be significantly improved by better supporting our teachers is vital and should not be overlooked. In particular, there is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X1500024X">growing evidence</a> that teacher collaboration can lead to more satisfied teachers while producing better outcomes for students. </p>
<h2>What does Gonski say?</h2>
<p>The positive impact of active collaboration is summarised in the report on page 58:</p>
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<p>Teacher collaboration occurs in many forms, however not all types are equally effective. Active collaboration — such as peer observation and feedback, coaching, mentoring, team teaching and joint research projects — allows teachers to learn from each other and typically has a positive impact on students. In contrast, collaboration that concentrates on simply sharing resources, planning activities or administrative issues has little or no positive effect on student achievement.</p>
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<p>While the report flags the need for action on embedding professional collaboration in everyday teaching practice, it doesn’t provide much in the way of suggestions for how to achieve this. This <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/gonski-2-0-report-a-fail-20180430-p4zci8.html">criticism</a> has been repeated by many in education.</p>
<p>While active collaboration between teachers has long been recognised and encouraged (for example, as a part of the <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards">AITSL teacher professional standards</a>), the reality for many teachers is there is precious little time in which to collaborate. Even where there is time, there is a need for more <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X09000584">structure</a> to the way teachers collaborate so it happens in an <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10833-011-9154-1">authentic</a>, productive way.</p>
<h2>What is design thinking?</h2>
<p>The ability to empathise, think creatively, collaborate productively, experiment with solutions and communicate ideas are all key parts of design. They are skills anybody can learn.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-mindset-of-designers-can-make-us-better-leaders-94564">How the mindset of designers can make us better leaders</a>
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<p>The term <a href="https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/what-is-design-thinking">design thinking</a> has become a popular buzzword to refer to this set of skills. It’s particularly popular in education because design thinking is <a href="https://www.springer.com/us/book/9789812874436">a great way to learn 21st century skills</a>, such as creativity and critical thinking. If teachers develop these skills themselves, then they are in a better position to teach them.</p>
<p>Design thinking is not just about knowing the design process and having the tools to use it, but also about adopting a <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-287-047-6_3">design thinking mindset</a>. This involves seeing the world in a solution-focused way and having the <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/3069429">creative self-confidence</a> to try tackling problems in new ways.</p>
<h2>Design thinking in schools</h2>
<p>Our team has been working for the last year on a <a href="http://digitech.designteachers.org">project</a> that involves partnering with groups of teachers in different schools around Queensland to work on design problems. This kind of partnership between designers and non-designers to solve problems is known as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15710880701875613">co-design</a>.</p>
<p>The first problem that we have worked on is the planning of a term of work for the new <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/technologies/digital-technologies/">ACARA Digital Technologies curriculum</a>. Instead of teachers working individually, we work with school leadership to create time and space for them to work as a group. We support them in framing the problem, developing student-centered ideas, and preparing classes. Teachers learn to adopt a design thinking mindset simply by taking part in this process. </p>
<p>For example, some teachers implicitly conceive of curriculum planning as “making sure that the curriculum gets covered”. We challenge them to work as a team to reframe the problem through a <a href="http://www.designkit.org/methods/63">journey-mapping</a> exercise. We find they come up with a new frame such as “keeping students as engaged as possible for an entire term”. </p>
<p>We also use exercises such as <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/personas-why-and-how-you-should-use-them">developing personas</a> and <a href="http://www.designkit.org/methods/28">brainstorming</a> to come up with ideas that are more “out there” than they might first think possible. We then provide the technological and content knowledge to help them achieve their goals. </p>
<p>This form of facilitated collaboration with teachers around design tasks has had success. Preliminary results show that teachers feel supported (because they can draw on the help of a team), happy (because collaboration is one of the <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-13324-007">fundamental drivers</a> of professional satisfaction), and empowered (because they see the results with the students). </p>
<p>The challenge presented by the Gonski 2.0 report is these benefits need to be scalable — teachers across the country all need to have these opportunities to collaborate meaningfully. </p>
<h2>Sharing the knowledge</h2>
<p>Our research (based on <a href="https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1150122">earlier international work</a>) provides evidence we can achieve this goal by:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Instilling a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10798-017-9429-9">design thinking mindset</a> in teachers. This has been proven to be a great way to create the space for meaningful collaboration, while developing the capacity of teachers for teaching <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources/resource/21st-century-education">creativity, critical thinking and interpersonal skills</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Using <a href="http://www.digitech.designteachers.org">co-design as professional development</a> to meet these needs in a way that could reach every teacher across a state, through a combination of face-to-face and online workshops.</p></li>
<li><p>Sustaining these partnerships over time by creating <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/90985/">online spaces</a> for teachers that enable them to <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137503015">share and re-use knowledge</a> but that remain connected to real-world institutions and events. For example, we developed a <a href="http://designteachersqld.org">community of design teachers in Queensland</a> that was underpinned by professional development workshops and support of teacher associations.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>These three pillars provide a direct way of responding to the recommendation in Gonski 2.0 for better teacher collaboration.</p>
<p>Our proposal is to shift funding away from the approaches that have defined the past decade — like <a href="https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home">online databases of resources</a> that give little context, <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/90985/">“standalone” online communities</a> that are divorced from real-world organisations, or <a href="http://outlier.uchicago.edu/computerscience/OS4CS/landscapestudy/resources/Darling-Hammond-and-Richardson-2009.pdf">“driveby” professional development workshops</a>. Funding should instead be put towards the provision of co-design teams that provide the link between professional development, online resources and online communities. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-teachers-are-turning-to-twitter-94582">Why teachers are turning to Twitter</a>
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<p>Further, co-design is a meaningful way of sharing learning between schools. Each time we work with a school we are able to share with them resources and advice from our work with previous schools. </p>
<p>For example, one rural school we worked with took a term-long project that had been successful in a city, and adapted the assignment to make it fit the rural context. Most of the lessons needed only minor changes, and the result was the rural students felt the project spoke directly to their own experiences. </p>
<p>Gonski 2.0 presents an excellent opportunity for us to re-evaluate how we nurture, support and provision our teachers. The report states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For teachers to fulfil their role as expert educators, schools need to be seen as professional learning organisations. They need to develop a culture that values continuous learning where teachers, as well as students, can feel safe to admit gaps in knowledge and understanding.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We believe that this culture of collaboration, growth and experimentation is best achieved when teachers adopt a design thinking mindset. Teachers come to adopt a design thinking mindset through a combination of design experience, professional development and ongoing support. Co-design presents an excellent way to achieve all three.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Kelly works for QUT and has received grant funding from the Queensland College of Teachers and the Queensland Department of Education and Training. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Kerr works for QUT and has received grant funding from the Queensland College of Teachers and the Queensland Department of Education and Training.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les Dawes is a Professor of Engineering Education at Queensland University of Technology and has received grant funding from the Queensland College of Teachers and the Queensland Department of Education and Training. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Wright works for QUT School of Design and has received funding from Queensland Department of Education and Training and Queensland Government Arts Queensland. She is affiliated with Design Institute of Australia.
</span></em></p>The recently released Gonski report contains a recommendation to supporting teacher collaboration. Researchers in Queensland have been conducting research on how design thinking can foster this.Nick Kelly, Senior research fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyJeremy Kerr, Lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologyLes Dawes, Professor Engineering Education, Queensland University of TechnologyNatalie Wright, Lecturer in interior design, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/913932018-02-21T17:22:28Z2018-02-21T17:22:28ZPlay-based learning can set your child up for success at school and beyond<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206922/original/file-20180219-75984-87oxk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows play-based programs for young children can provide a strong basis for later success at school.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the new school year begins, many families are deciding where to enrol their child in preschool or school. Preschools and schools offer various approaches to early education, all promoting the benefits of their particular programs. </p>
<p>One approach gaining momentum in the early years of primary school curriculum is play-based learning. Research shows <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/play-in-the-early-years-marilyn-fleer/prod9781316631898.html">play-based learning</a> enhances children’s academic and developmental learning outcomes. It can also set your child up for success in the 21st century by teaching them relevant skills.</p>
<h2>What is play-based learning?</h2>
<p>Children are naturally motivated to play. A play-based program builds on this motivation, using play as a context for learning. In this context, children can explore, experiment, discover and solve problems <a href="https://www.oup.com.au/books/higher-education/education/9780190303211-play-in-early-childhood-education">in imaginative and playful ways</a>. </p>
<p>A play-based approach involves both child-initiated and teacher-supported learning. The teacher encourages children’s learning and inquiry through interactions that aim to stretch their thinking to higher levels. </p>
<p>For example, while children are playing with blocks, a teacher can pose questions that encourage problem solving, prediction and hypothesising. The teacher can also bring the child’s awareness towards mathematics, science and literacy concepts, allowing them to engage with such concepts through hands-on learning. </p>
<p>While further evidence is needed on cause and effect relationships between play and learning, research findings generally support the value of good quality <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-00074-001">play-based early years programs</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-just-let-them-play-24670">Should we just let them play?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>How does it compare to direct instruction?</h2>
<p>Play-based learning has traditionally been the educational approach implemented by teachers in Australian preschool programs. It underpins state and national government <a href="http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf">early learning frameworks</a>. </p>
<p>Research has shown the long-term benefits of high-quality play-based <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Early-Childhood-Matters-Evidence-from-the-Effective-Pre-school-and-Primary/Sylva-Melhuish-Sammons-Siraj-Blatchford-Taggart/p/book/9780415482431">kindergarten programs</a>, where children are exposed to learning and problem solving through self-initiated activities and teacher guidance. </p>
<p>In contrast to play-based learning are teacher-centred approaches focused on instructing young children in basic academic skills. Although this more structured teaching and learning style is the traditional approach to primary school programs, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1476718X15579741">research</a> is emerging that play-based learning is more effective in primary school programs. In these recent studies, children’s learning outcomes are shown to be higher in a play-based program compared to children’s learning outcomes in direct-instruction approaches.</p>
<p><a href="https://deyproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/readinginkindergarten_online-1.pdf">Research</a> has also identified young children in direct-instruction programs can experience negative effects. These include stress, decreased motivation for learning, and behaviour problems. This is particularly so for children who are not yet ready for more formal academic instruction. </p>
<h2>What can be gained through play-based programs?</h2>
<p>As with traditional approaches, play-based early years programs are focused on teaching and learning. In such programs, play can be in the form of free play (activity that is spontaneous and directed by the child), and guided play (also child-directed, but the teacher is involved in the activity as a co-player) with <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1132563">intentional teaching</a>. Both have benefits for children’s learning. To capitalise on these benefits, an optimum play-based program will provide opportunities for both free play and guided play. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206923/original/file-20180219-76003-9lzjup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206923/original/file-20180219-76003-9lzjup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206923/original/file-20180219-76003-9lzjup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206923/original/file-20180219-76003-9lzjup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206923/original/file-20180219-76003-9lzjup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206923/original/file-20180219-76003-9lzjup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206923/original/file-20180219-76003-9lzjup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In constructive play, children cooperate and problem-solve, engaging with mathematical and spatial concepts to design and create three-dimensional constructions from their imagination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0957514000200203">Involvement</a> in play stimulates a child’s drive for exploration and discovery. This motivates the child to gain mastery over their environment, promoting focus and concentration. It also enables the child to engage in the flexible and higher-level thinking processes deemed essential for the 21st century learner. These include inquiry processes of problem solving, analysing, evaluating, applying knowledge and creativity. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/demand-for-people-skills-is-growing-faster-than-demand-for-stem-skills-86754">Demand for people skills is growing faster than demand for STEM skills</a>
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<p>Play also supports positive attitudes to learning. These include imagination, curiosity, enthusiasm, and persistence. The type of learning processes and skills fostered in play cannot be replicated through rote learning, where there is an emphasis on remembering facts. </p>
<p>The inquiry-based nature of play is supported through the social interactions of teachers and children. Teachers take an active role in guiding children’s interactions in the play. Children are supported in developing social skills such as cooperation, sharing and responding to ideas, negotiating, and resolving conflicts. </p>
<p>Teachers can also use children’s motivation and interest to explore concepts and ideas. In this way, children acquire and practice important academic skills and learning in a playful context. </p>
<p>For example, research indicates the increased complexity of language and learning processes used by children in play-based programs is linked to important literacy skills. These include understanding the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14687984010011004">structure of words</a> and the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17549507.2014.941934">meanings of words</a>. </p>
<p>Another <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1476718X15579741">study</a> found children’s vocabulary and ability to tell a story was higher in a play-based classroom than a traditional classroom. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206924/original/file-20180219-75997-zxex1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206924/original/file-20180219-75997-zxex1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206924/original/file-20180219-75997-zxex1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206924/original/file-20180219-75997-zxex1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206924/original/file-20180219-75997-zxex1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206924/original/file-20180219-75997-zxex1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206924/original/file-20180219-75997-zxex1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Learning in guided play: teachers help children with educational tasks during play.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teacher-led learning and direct instruction methods have their place in educational contexts. But the evidence also points to the benefits of quality play-based programs for our youngest learners. In play-based programs, time spent in play is seen as important for learning, not as a reward for good behaviour. In such classrooms, children have greater, more active input into what and how they learn. </p>
<p>Research shows play-based programs for young children can provide a strong basis for later success at school. They support the development of socially competent learners, able to face challenges and create solutions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne-Marie Morrissey has previously received funding from the International Baccalaureate Organisation, the Foundation of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies and Fleming's Nursery, to research play-based programs and outdoor play spaces. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Rouse has prevously received funding from the Victorian Department of Education and Training, the International Baccalaureate Organisation, The Foundation of Graduates and Flemings Nursery to undertake research in early childhood. She is member of Early Childhood Australia and Community Child Care. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Robertson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research shows play-based learning programs enhance children’s learning outcomes and teaches them skills relevant to the 21st century, such as problem-solving and creativity.Natalie Robertson, Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Deakin UniversityAnne-Marie Morrissey, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Deakin UniversityElizabeth Rouse, Senior Lecturer, Early Childhood Education, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/871792017-11-14T01:31:50Z2017-11-14T01:31:50ZTeaching kids 21st century skills early will help prepare them for their future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194260/original/file-20171113-31792-ebzhrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Future learners will need an excellent start in early learning if they are to cope with mid to late 21st century challenges.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><hr>
<p><em>This is an edited extract written by Iram Siraj, from <a href="http://educationchangingworld.com.au/">Future Frontiers: Education for an AI World</a>, a New South Wales Department of Education publication.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>It may be a truism that the future will be different, but human expectations have rarely been so high about the degree of imminent change. This century’s rapid development of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-07/explainer-what-is-artificial-intelligence/8771632">artificial intelligence</a> and digital systems has convinced us that almost every aspect of our children’s and grandchildren’s lives will be different to ours. </p>
<p>As these emerging technologies evolve, and are then quickly replaced by as yet unimaginable new ones, human society will need to become increasingly nimble and adaptable with lifelong learning as its modus operandi. In this digital age, the need for children to learn and memorise facts is diminishing. It is being replaced by the need to learn how to sieve and assess information critically for any kernel of “truth”. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194131/original/file-20171110-29389-kvwfa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194131/original/file-20171110-29389-kvwfa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194131/original/file-20171110-29389-kvwfa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194131/original/file-20171110-29389-kvwfa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194131/original/file-20171110-29389-kvwfa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194131/original/file-20171110-29389-kvwfa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194131/original/file-20171110-29389-kvwfa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">We don’t know exactly what kind of workforce today’s preschoolers will enter into in 18 years, but there is increasing demand for people skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Today’s pre-schoolers will enter the workforce around 2035. Although we cannot contemplate exactly what their world will be then, we do know that children and adults will continue to need the basics of the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic). They will also need a greater ability to learn how to learn, and to possess problem solving, critical thinking skills, and to be resilient in the face of fast-moving change. </p>
<p>Most discussions about “21st century skills” emphasise the need for schools to focus more on so-called “soft” skills and character traits (such as creative thinking and curiosity) in addition to cognitive skills such as problem-solving, critical analysis, the attainment of core subject knowledge, and strong early literacy and numeracy. Interestingly, early childhood education already includes a strong focus on these so-called “soft” skills. Early years learning has a stronger focus on whole-of-child development than school education.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/demand-for-people-skills-is-growing-faster-than-demand-for-stem-skills-86754">Demand for people skills is growing faster than demand for STEM skills</a>
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</em>
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<p>There is a growing emphasis on integrated learning in early childhood education and care that creates a connection between the academic and the social. Developing children’s competencies in creativity, collaboration, self-regulation and problem solving can be undertaken through projects that harbour real-world knowledge. It can also be undertaken through problems that require young children (especially those age 3 to 5) to communicate and create knowing together. Here, the important task of the educator is to emphasise, and give attention to, the learning process rather than the learning outcomes. </p>
<p>Connected to this is the importance of educators emphasising interactions that support <a href="http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NQS_PLP_E-Newsletter_No43.pdf">sustained shared thinking</a> (SST). SST occurs when two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity, extend a narrative, etc. It is still rare to see SST in early education settings, but <a href="http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/13064/">research</a> shows children are more successful learners and better motivated to learn where it is practised. </p>
<p>Future learners will need an excellent start in early learning if they are to cope with mid to late 21st century challenges. It is vital that early education curricula emphasise the process and the outcomes of both soft and hard skills to create the most competent learners and citizens. The family’s role is also essential in nurturing and enriching young children’s development. Any early childhood education and care system that ignores this reality will not be able to optimise children’s potential.</p>
<p>Most early childhood education and care systems make less provision and funding for children under three because their care and education is very expensive. However, it is precisely these years when the family’s influence is the greatest. Future early childhood education and care systems should provide stronger support for local families with younger children. There is no reason some of this support cannot be offered through digital technologies, streamed directly into the home, which help parents learn about the power of early child rearing, and sensitive, responsive care and appropriate interactions. In such a system, early childhood education and care staff can offer more support to families living in challenging circumstances. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.grahamallenmp.co.uk/static/pdf/early-intervention-7th.pdf">Evidence</a> suggests intergenerational support, delivered through early childhood education and care centre-based provision, has more impact. Indeed, developing and nurturing intergenerational support allows staff to stimulate history learning-and-understanding skills through a creative use of simple oral histories. A clearer understanding of how others have handled and adapted to change in the recent past will help prepare children to deal with the challenges and changes they will inevitably face. </p>
<p>There is now growing <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/media/ecec/pdf-documents/FEEL-Study-Literature-Review-Final.pdf">evidence</a> that high-quality training impacts children’s social and cognitive learning outcomes. Despite this, in terms of the wider education system, the early years generally contains <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Young-People/early-years/WorkforceReview">the least qualified and worst paid</a>. When early education provision is genuinely high quality, there can be lasting population change for good. But the government investment in knowledge, capital and labour must be commensurate. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194135/original/file-20171110-29332-s6202l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194135/original/file-20171110-29332-s6202l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194135/original/file-20171110-29332-s6202l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194135/original/file-20171110-29332-s6202l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194135/original/file-20171110-29332-s6202l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194135/original/file-20171110-29332-s6202l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194135/original/file-20171110-29332-s6202l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Too much screen time too young can be a barrier to learning essential people skills.</span>
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<p>We are heading for an age that requires adaptable “knowledge workers” who can work collaboratively, independently and creatively. The solution does not lie in our youngest children spending long periods in screen time. Too much screen time at an early age deflects children from developing the essential human skills they need to function in complex social and economic work. Plus, we already know increased use of digital devices at an early age <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/48245/79838_1.pdf%3Bsequence=1">is associated with poorer outcomes</a>. </p>
<p>Good ECEC teachers, and likewise parents, resist the temptation to use screen time for child entertainment and control. Rather, they show children how technology can serve our needs as tools that we turn to within our play and work. </p>
<p>Perhaps it is time to construct a new curriculum and to create a re-envisioned early childhood education and care system that includes a workforce of high quality, which is fit for purpose, well-rewarded and well-educated. Such a re-envisioned system may truly provide the foundational learning our children and grandchildren deserve. They, and all their fellow citizens, will need to sustain them and to face the challenges thrown at them by the brave new world we have entered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87179/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iram Siraj does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In this book extract, Iram Siraj explains how to help kids get a leg up in a digital world by teaching them communication and other essential 21st century skills young.Iram Siraj, Visiting Professor of Education, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/867542017-11-13T19:00:22Z2017-11-13T19:00:22ZDemand for people skills is growing faster than demand for STEM skills<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193885/original/file-20171109-14167-17phj7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">High level interpersonal and problem solving skills are what will make you employable in a digital world.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Advances in digital technology are changing the world of work. It has been <a href="http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf">estimated</a> that more than 40% of human workers will be replaced by robots. This <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/the-risk-of-automation-for-jobs-in-oecd-countries_5jlz9h56dvq7-en">probably overstates the scale of displacement</a>, but developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning will affect all sectors of the economy. </p>
<p>However, the impacts of digital disruption will not be evenly distributed. Previous waves of technology had the greatest impacts for workers in routine jobs, but now <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-future-of-the-professions-9780198713395?cc=au&lang=en&">a growing number</a> of roles may be at risk. </p>
<p>Even so, workers whose skills complement <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/118/4/1279/1925105">but are not substituted for by technology</a> can <a href="https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/622156/mod_resource/content/1/Erik-Brynjolfsson-Andrew-McAfee-Jeff-Cummings-The-Second-Machine-Age.pdf">use the new technology to be more productive</a> and command higher wages. </p>
<p>What types of skills will ensure you are employable in the world of human and robot workers?</p>
<p>Two recent reports, “<a href="http://tafeqld.edu.au/resources/pdf/about-us/research-papers/vet-era.pdf">The VET Era</a>” and “<a href="https://jobsqueensland.qld.gov.au/projects/growing-opportunities-in-the-fraser-coast/">Growing Opportunities in the Fraser Coast</a>” challenge the rhetoric around the importance of STEM skills in the digital economy, by revealing how demand for skills has changed over time. </p>
<h2>1. Increasing demand for highly skilled workers</h2>
<p>These analyses show a major shift in the skills profile of the Australian workforce. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/C4BECE1704987586CA257089001A9181">classifies occupations</a> into skill levels based on the amount of training and experience required to perform the job. </p>
<p>In 1986, the largest group of workers was in occupations classified as skill level 4 (roughly equivalent to a certificate II or III). Since then, demand for highly skilled workers has grown rapidly. Nowadays, the largest group of workers is in the highest (skill level 1) category - occupations requiring a bachelor degree or higher qualification. </p>
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<p>Essentially, increased reliance on technology in the work environment raises demand for more highly skilled workers, because the more routine work is automated. While it is good that more of us are working in more rewarding jobs, not everyone has benefited from this shift. Nor can the current winners in the digital economy afford to be complacent. As the capability of digital technology increases, a growing range of tasks (such as data analysis and diagnosis) can be automated.</p>
<p>So what types of skills should we be developing when we invest in the higher qualifications that are now required in most jobs? </p>
<p>To answer this question, we linked <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/6103.0%7EJun%202016%7EMain%20Features%7EDetailed%20information%20on%20products%7E9">Australian employment data</a> with <a href="https://www.onetonline.org/">United States data</a> on the skills and abilities associated with different occupations. </p>
<p>By linking these datasets, we could estimate (based on the changing occupational composition of the Australian workforce) which skills and abilities were becoming more or less important. For simplicity, we have grouped these skills and abilities into four categories: traditional Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills, communications skills, technical skills and generic STEM skills. </p>
<h2>2. Communication and people skills are increasingly important</h2>
<p>The analyses reveal that, despite all the hype about STEM skills, occupations requiring communication skills are actually growing fastest.</p>
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<p>As our work becomes increasingly technologically enabled, human workers differentiate themselves from machine workers through their ability to connect, communicate, understand and build relationships. Most of us now work in the services sector. This is the sector that will continue to grow as the population becomes older and wealthier, as we up-skill and re-skill more often, and as the incidence of mental disorders, chronic diseases and obesity continues to rise. The delivery of these services requires people-focused skills such as active listening, empathy and teamwork.</p>
<h2>3. Programming skills are less important than digital literacy</h2>
<p>Given that coding is now part of the curriculum for Australian primary school children, it may be surprising to learn that growth in demand for communication skills actually outstrips growth in demand for STEM skills. More detailed analyses provides further insight into the way demand for STEM skills has been evolving. </p>
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<p>What they reveal is that the STEM skills needed in a wide range of contexts and roles are those that involve working with (rather than programming) technology - skills such as the ability to think critically, analyse systems and interact with computers. </p>
<p>More traditional STEM skills (such as physics, mathematics, and programming) have been experiencing relatively low growth. In fact, recent <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/132/4/1593/3861633">research</a> from the United States found that there has been a slight decline in the number of traditional STEM jobs since 2000. </p>
<p>Although traditional STEM skills are important, they are only needed by a relatively small number of highly skilled professionals - perhaps because programming work is itself able to be automated and sent offshore.</p>
<p>These STEM professionals also tend to achieve <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/132/4/1593/3861633">higher incomes</a> if they combine their technical expertise with strong social skills, allowing them to make the connection between technological capability and social needs. While the most skilled coders will continue to have great opportunities, most of us will just need to be able to work with technology. People skills will continue to become more, not less, important. </p>
<p>As the capability of technology continues to develop, human workers need to focus on building skills that complement technology. High-level interpersonal and problem-solving skills are not so easily automated. Given that we will need to find new jobs to replace those lost to the robots, we also will need entrepreneurial skills to create and grow the new economic opportunities enabled by these developments. </p>
<p>As technological advances occur ever more rapidly, we will need to keep discovering new ways of using technology to perform our work. With strong communication, problem-solving and digital literacy skills, we can harness the power of digital technology to solve a customer’s problem, grow productivity and improve our world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86754/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Mason's research has been funded by TAFE Queensland, Jobs Queensland, the Commonwealth Government Department of Employment and CSIRO's Data61.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Reeson's research has been funded by TAFE Queensland, Jobs Queensland, The Commonwealth Government Department of Employment and Data61.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Todd Sanderson's research has been funded by TAFE Queensland, Jobs Queensland, The Commonwealth Government Department of Employment and Data61.</span></em></p>Despite the hype about STEM skills, research shows interpersonal, problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills will make you more employable in the 21st century.Claire Mason, Data61 Senior Social Scientist, CSIROAndrew Reeson, Economist, Data61, CSIROTodd Sanderson, Research Scientist in Digital Economics, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/818912017-08-28T23:02:15Z2017-08-28T23:02:15ZHow to help kids innovate from an early age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183481/original/file-20170825-19955-1lhhhfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In school makerspaces, students problem-solve with traditional craft materials alongside
digital technologies such as 3D printing, virtual reality, programmable robots and video work. </span> </figcaption></figure><p>As community <a href="http://spaces.makerspace.com/">makerspaces</a> begin to take root in <a href="http://janettehughes.ca/lab/">Ontario’s elementary schools</a>, students are behaving better. They are also getting higher grades.</p>
<p>What are makerspaces? They’re creative spaces where students can gather to explore, tinker, discover and create, and they’re making students more enthusiastic about school. </p>
<p>In these spaces students are learning how to tinker collaboratively with a problem and keep trying until they find a solution. They are learning to be thinkers, innovators and problem-solvers rather than mere consumers of information. And these are just some of the benefits teachers are reporting. </p>
<p>Makerspaces <a href="http://teacherlibrarian.com/2014/06/18/educational-makerspaces/">support hands-on exploration and learning</a>. They are most often associated with STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math). But really, they’re interdisciplinary, promoting important educational principles such as inquiry, play, imagination, innovation, <a href="https://www.learntechlib.org/p/154441/">critical thinking</a>, problem solving and passion-based learning. </p>
<p>They arise from the wider <a href="http://time.com/104210/maker-faire-maker-movement/">maker movement</a> and they are emerging now in <a href="http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-84-number-4/herarticle/the-maker-movement-in-education">formal education settings</a> globally.</p>
<p>As the founder of MAKE magazine Dale Dougherty states in his 2011 TED Talk: “<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/dale_dougherty_we_are_makers">We are all makers.</a>”</p>
<h2>Makerspaces in Ontario schools</h2>
<p>In partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Council of Ontario Directors of Education and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, I am leading a team of researchers to put makerspaces into elementary schools in 20 Ontario school boards. My research explores how teachers work together to explore news ways of teaching and learning through makerspaces.</p>
<p>Our project began by introducing teachers to a number of innovative ideas and practices in makerspace teaching and learning. </p>
<p>Teachers attended a two-day professional learning session, where they explored digital technologies such as digital circuits, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality, e-textiles, programmable robots, coding and green screen video work. They had opportunities to collaborate, plan lessons with colleagues and do their own making. </p>
<p>We then gave funding to each of the first 11 school boards — to purchase equipment and supplies for participating schools. Researchers then followed teachers to track their use of tools and technologies and their promotion of student inquiry, creativity, design and critical thinking.</p>
<p>To date, they have created more than 100 maker-focused lesson plans for students in Grades 1 to Grade 8 in both English and French Immersion programs. Nine more school boards have joined for the second year of the project. </p>
<h2>Teaching perseverence</h2>
<p>Teachers in all participating schools stated that their students are more engaged and more motivated when they are learning in a makerspace environment. </p>
<p>They also noticed a reduction in discipline problems. And they recorded improvements in academic achievement, particularly among students with learning disabilities and those who struggle in a traditional classroom setting. </p>
<p>Giving students the freedom to pursue projects that are authentic, meaningful and based on their own “wonderings” or passions has provided opportunities for a more personalized and inclusive learning experience for all students. </p>
<p>Teachers also observed that a variety of 21st-century skills and competencies were developed as a result of the makerspaces, such as problem-solving, communication, collaboration and the development of perseverance. Collaboration was one of the most highly reported competencies developed across all schools. </p>
<p>“In the beginning they were nervous,” said one teacher. </p>
<p>“They wanted me to help them all the time. But once they got the hang of just trying it, figuring it out, knowing that I’m not going to fix the problem for them, then they would persevere.” </p>
<p>What’s particularly noteworthy is that the increase in collaboration emerged not just among the students, but the teachers and staff, as well. Inter-generational and bi-directional learning occurred between students and teachers, peers and students of different ages. </p>
<h2>A maker mindset</h2>
<p>It can be a challenge to implement a makerspace — to motivate and train staff, outfit and maintain equipment and the space, and to build a true maker culture in a school. The benefits, however, outweigh the costs and effort. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/meaningful_making.html">Having a maker mindset is key</a>. In order for schools to establish a true makerspace, there must be buy-in and a commitment from staff, students and the wider community — to establish a culture of innovation, trial-and-error, problem-solving, persevering through difficult tasks, learning from mistakes and taking risks. </p>
<p>A makerspace is so much more than a space that houses equipment. A maker culture fosters 21st-century skills such as communication, collaboration and creativity. It offers opportunities for students to share their learning at local and global community levels through Maker Faires and websites such as <a href="http://www.instructables.com">www.instructables.com</a>, <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com">www.thingiverse.com</a> and <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com">www.DIY.org</a>. </p>
<p>In Ontario, we expect significant and sustainable ongoing benefits in teacher practice when the imaginative, integrated and innovative inquiry-based projects are developed, implemented and shared throughout the province.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janette Hughes receives funding from Ontario Ministry of Education through Council of Ontario Directors of Education and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Creative makerspaces in Ontario schools weave passion with digital technologies to teach 21st century skills.Janette Hughes, Canada Research Chair in Technology and Pedagogy, Ontario Tech UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/634902016-08-11T23:53:57Z2016-08-11T23:53:57ZHow adult learners are not getting 21st-century skills<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133869/original/image-20160811-12861-6yu01k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who are adult learners and what takes them back to school?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codnewsroom/14219153361/in/photolist-nEuSUz-ejLMdb-nELKeq-ejLM6b-gwQXW9-noitPv-nEMMR8-noi8L7-nGzidX-ejLLY7-ai3c2k-ejF3ux-nEMUuD-ejLHy1-8gHgTo-nEMKZT-nEuPeZ-ejLLJ7-nELHY9-nEMyU6-nCK9z1-nEu59v-nGzd8B-8LFJDc-nCK7Tf-nELRFd-ejLMa7-nEzqbW-nEznPG-ejF3jB-ai5TjY-ai3ebP-ejLDdW-bUHn4t-ejLL5U-eKtwPF-85sXUy-hi1awR-nEuMoe-eKttFt-nCKfTd-o7mE8x-99acQu-o7nsEv-nohY2f-io8fQf-erSzZY-io8pc3-io8jsV-io8iTj">COD Newsroom</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More and more adults are going back to school to learn new skills. The <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/">National Center for Education Statistics</a> data show a <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d14/tables/dt14_303.40.asp">7 percent growth</a> in college enrollment for adults over the age of 24 between 2005 and 2015. This is projected to increase to 12 percent by 2019. </p>
<p>A large percent of these are community college students who are either enrolled in two-year associate’s degree programs or technical education certificates, or are simply taking classes to learn new skills. In spring 2016, over <a href="https://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/CurrentTermEnrollment-Spring2016.pdf">2.1 million adults over the age of 24</a> were enrolled in two-year public community colleges. These students represent approximately one-third of all adult students enrolled in colleges.</p>
<p>As researchers <a href="http://education.gsu.edu/research/research-centers/adult-literacy-research-center/alrc-home/">studying adult literacy</a>, we have been concerned with the pervasive issues affecting adults with low basic skills. A community college is a great entry point for adult students. And an associate’s degree <a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/article/occupational-employment-projections-to-2022.htm.">can be very valuable</a> – both to individuals and the economy. </p>
<p>But an issue we are concerned about is whether community colleges give students the skills they need to succeed in the 21st-century workplace.</p>
<h2>Coming back to school</h2>
<p>First, let’s look at who are the adult learners and what brings them back to school.</p>
<p>Adult learners could be heading back to school to acquire more complex skills to keep up with the changes in the job market. <a href="https://aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-employer-priorities">Most organizations</a> these days are looking for candidates with the capacity to think critically and communicate clearly. They want candidates who are able to <a href="https://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results">solve complex problems</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133870/original/image-20160811-20932-1ma5uy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133870/original/image-20160811-20932-1ma5uy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133870/original/image-20160811-20932-1ma5uy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133870/original/image-20160811-20932-1ma5uy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133870/original/image-20160811-20932-1ma5uy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133870/original/image-20160811-20932-1ma5uy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133870/original/image-20160811-20932-1ma5uy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Community colleges bring a diverse group of students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdgovpics/8947583067/in/photolist-eCEGHz-oxyYV7-nEMPt6-qfVsYd-gtH9aZ-gtHUd6-fLUhc-qLWFKc-67qDB-puwGMx-si4mQ6-eCELn2-6ZgDJ6-qr7A4P-q9JNis-9iWJNH-gmoNFM-qp1sQj-ab12oH-eCJ2uU-ajszwL-qrhBrc-6aRSpH-ajsyCm-pE2c9Z-qVAp1o-eCHSGo-pfMm4o-gst7FE-5oWft2-n1Bkip-ofjb9N-8J4Fzx-eCENUT-fvCnc1-7xHKog-amyC7Q-5L4kg1-6d1MSL-ajpKr2-eCHQaJ-ajsz6L-gtHTMB-9t1pYX-oQQAfL-pdajb4-ecVZhC-gmoy6q-n1CVih-gsue84">Maryland GovPics</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Furthermore, technology-rich environments <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1060555.pdf">also require</a> high levels of digital and problem-solving skills. </p>
<p>Research shows that however competent individuals may be as users of technology like email, texting and Facebook, <a href="http://www.oecd.org/skills/">61 percent of U.S. adults are relatively weak</a> at problem-solving in technology-rich environments. Solving relatively simple problems using digital tools to search, sort, and email information from a spreadsheet, can be challenging for these adults.</p>
<p>So, adult learners often come back to school to build their reading, math and digital literacy skills. </p>
<h2>Why community college</h2>
<p>Community colleges offer several advantages for adult learners. Students could come from a variety of backgrounds, academic histories and ages. </p>
<p>They could be first-generation college enrollees, displaced from their previous careers, returning veterans or wanting to earn certification in order to ensure job security. </p>
<p>Course schedules at community colleges are flexible. Their tuition is significantly less than four-year colleges. According to the <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing">College Board (2015)</a>, the average tuition and fees for a community college student was US$3,435, as compared to $9,410 per year for in-state students at a public four-year college. </p>
<h2>Barriers to getting digital skills</h2>
<p>However, community college students face many barriers when it comes to acquiring digital skills. </p>
<p>Digital skills include being literate in both information and technology skills. Individuals should be able to find information and evaluate it for its reliability. They should also know how to select and use technology like software, platforms, devices and applications. </p>
<p>Many community college students do not have adequate digital skills when entering their program. A <a href="http://jointcenter.org/sites/default/files/Broadband%20and%20Jobs.pdf">2013 survey</a> showed that 59 percent of adults with a high school diploma or less had low digital skills and 44 percent had medium level digital skills. </p>
<p>This means that many community college students begin at a disadvantage. They are less likely to be ready to use digital technologies. In a digital society, this could limit their success in school, their access to civic and health information, and their participation in the 21st-century workforce. </p>
<p>Another barrier is access. While 68 percent of Americans now own a smartphone, a <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/21/home-broadband-2015/">2015 Pew Research Center</a> reports that only 47 percent of those with a high school diploma as their highest educational attainment have broadband access. </p>
<p>This, in particular, is a major disadvantage for community college students. Forty-eight percent of community college students are the first in their families to attend college. <a href="https://pnpi.org/factsheets/first-generation-students/">Half of them come from households</a> where the highest educational attainment is a high school diploma or less. </p>
<p>Furthermore, <a href="http://louissoares.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/post_traditional_learners.pdf">many community college students</a> may not have a laptop or desktop computer to access technologically heavy educational resources such as video-based materials. These students may lack financial resources to buy up-to-date technology. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133865/original/image-20160811-12861-16l7asi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133865/original/image-20160811-12861-16l7asi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133865/original/image-20160811-12861-16l7asi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133865/original/image-20160811-12861-16l7asi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133865/original/image-20160811-12861-16l7asi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133865/original/image-20160811-12861-16l7asi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133865/original/image-20160811-12861-16l7asi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Digital skills are important in today’s workplace.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alper/3535985478/in/photolist-6osRhS-fBLneJ-dF8DtE-8xRJ9u-9sStdv-9RLpbs-5XuWwM-98TtTn-h1NkTd-98UKVt-7dkfS2-98U8pH-onm7o-mzhSk3-6K1m5-bpDzQQ-e4kGbC-94dpzP-pZyQea-9cUnzq-dB7r28-9vZak2-4Qxkma-fpQrqP-9f3ARz-96aoyC-4xFFxc-4hZVr-7qMjCb-bz6upn-6nxrhW-fPAfz8-9Zk1QQ-B6BZX-6PV3E5-aBQgQk-bEw6sp-a9Xvi6-dMzZSZ-6SyZaj-ei8fmr-8w9Ax6-dMA8Sr-98XRjy-dMFyC1-5VZxXe-pZuGjv-98X7Zy-98UoXF-6ygS7P">Alper Çuğun</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most important is community college curricula. <a href="http://www.centerdigitaled.com/awards/digital-community-colleges/National-Survey-Recognizes-Top-10-Tech-Savvy-Community-Colleges.html">Some colleges integrate elements of digital learning</a> through their curricula, and <a href="http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/publications/materials/Success-in-Real-Time-122214.pdf">others work with employers</a> to define and teach specific technological skills needed for certifications. However, there is not enough evidence to show that all community colleges address these areas in their curricula.</p>
<p>Consequently, a majority of community college students risk graduating without gaining any digital skills. A <a href="http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=ed6427dd-c624-4594-b0e3-08c6fdf37fbe%40sessionmgr4006&hid=4111">recent study</a> of community college students reported that 52 percent of current community college students had never taken a computer class or been specifically instructed in digital skills in a stand-alone class. </p>
<h2>21st-century education for a 21st-century economy</h2>
<p>In July 2015, President Obama proposed the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/building-american-skills-through-community-colleges">American Graduation Initiative</a> to invest in community colleges. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, a law enacted in 2010, includes $2 billion to be spent over four years to help community colleges improve and provide career training. </p>
<p>However, we believe that merely investing money in community colleges won’t help American students and workers get the critical thinking skills they need to succeed. What needs to be addressed are issues of access, digital readiness and curriculum.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.aacc21stcenturycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/EmpoweringCommunityColleges_final.pdf">American Association of Community Colleges,</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>“If community colleges are to contribute powerfully to meeting the needs of 21st-century students and the 21st-century economy, education leaders must reimagine what these institutions are – and are capable of becoming.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Digital literacy is becoming an <a href="http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ed6427dd-c624-4594-b0e3-08c6fdf37fbe%40sessionmgr4006&vid=8&hid=4111">increasingly important component</a> of a well-rounded education. It is considered by most colleges as essential. </p>
<p>That means community colleges should offer digital literacy courses as well as integrate technology into teaching and classroom or homework activities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63490/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daphne Greenberg receives funding from IES/US Dept. of Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iris Feinberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A large number of adult learners are going back to community colleges to acquire new skills. Are they acquiring the skills necessary for today’s technology-rich job environments?Iris Feinberg, Assistant Director of the Adult Literacy Research Center., Georgia State UniversityDaphne Greenberg, Distinguished University Professor of Educational Psychology, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/586962016-06-17T01:23:09Z2016-06-17T01:23:09ZWhy schools should provide one laptop per child<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126974/original/image-20160616-15104-zn8n2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Does technology help with learning?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/knightfoundation/6771620575/in/photolist-bjojST-rQUau-bjoiSH-AnsKK-22BJWe-bjoiXk-CXnth-5iz7Be-22Gb5f-bjoi8c-bjoiKt-5MA7U9-M2QaK-xWhj3-2GKH7h-CXnsN-485oq3-CXnty-e2QMHQ-22Gc5m-zqH3j-7644Ze-2ogD4v-eUq2p-dnKZpD-Ympxy-bHVxdv-2AbGoN-5Cw2TL-rQU5Q-22BLAF-icSNMP-zqHE9-22BMev-22BKkx-2GCySb-76ttpa-gC59F-3dmBqN-76xpcj-3dhdwr-4ALkWx-3dhdcr-8GmvbX-nDi6kC-6naKtj-9Z2i1Q-77xcGL-55iN2w-2x1zPG">John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Follow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent international study by the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/">Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development</a> found <a href="http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/students-computers-and-learning_9789264239555-en#page3">no positive evidence</a> of impact of educational technology on student performance. </p>
<p>It did not find any significant improvement in reading, math or science in countries that heavily invested in technology to improve student achievement. In fact, the report found that technology perhaps <a href="http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/students-computers-and-learning_9789264239555-en#page3">even widened the achievement gaps</a>. </p>
<p>Does this mean we should abandon attempts to integrate technology in schools?</p>
<p>We are researchers of technology and learning in K-12 environments, and our research suggests this would be shortsighted. </p>
<h2>Impact of one-to-one laptop programs</h2>
<p>For the last 10 years, our research team has been investigating what are called <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Never_Mind_the_Laptops.html?id=RE6k6LA8HhoC">“one-to-one” programs</a>, where all the students in a classroom, grade, school or district are provided laptop computers for use throughout the school day, and often at home, in different school districts across the United States. </p>
<p>The largest one-to-one laptop program in the world is <a href="http://laptop.org/en/index.shtml">OLPC (One Laptop per Child)</a>, which mainly targets developing countries, with the mission “to create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children.” In the United States, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) <a href="http://www.maine.gov/mlti/">launched a one-to-one laptop initiative</a> in fall 2002, which made Maine the first state to use technology to transform teaching and learning in classrooms statewide. Later, these programs were extended to other school districts as well.</p>
<p>In addition to our own extensive observations, <a href="http://rer.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/02/03/0034654316628645.abstract">we conducted a synthesis</a> of the results of 96 published global studies on these programs in K-12 schools during 2001-2015. Among them, 10 rigorously designed studies, mostly from the U.S., were included, to examine the relationship between these programs and academic achievement. We found significant benefits.</p>
<p>We found students’ test scores in science, writing, math and English language arts improved significantly.</p>
<p>And the benefits were not limited to test scores. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126975/original/image-20160616-15117-4jizin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126975/original/image-20160616-15117-4jizin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126975/original/image-20160616-15117-4jizin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126975/original/image-20160616-15117-4jizin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126975/original/image-20160616-15117-4jizin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126975/original/image-20160616-15117-4jizin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126975/original/image-20160616-15117-4jizin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Laptop use led to significant benefits for students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tim_and_selena/5051157647/in/photolist-8GmvbX-nDi6kC-6naKtj-9Z2i1Q-77xcGL-55iN2w-2x1zPG-7aa6qg-8yksB8-9TGhB4-uxAmo-7SeMmq-fvT5PN-4pdjuj-8PCwt2-4pdj9A-4S2cNf-GP4sT4-4pdk3b-4pdiNG-9mfBYn-7Gx3uV-76xmB5-4Xtgen-An4wL-5w9RHP-4jzErz-5GdYyo-4YzJf3-vL4ZQ-Dngoj-xWhgq-Ympxo-2wWc4i-4etwWW-4pdd9N-BGfRG-6hNoKN-8ikuj9-4p9grc-J6x6D-4vyc9E-2x1AuS-J6x5p-22GbqA-3EBBoN-9R2S7-wpeZz-45QUR1-CXnv9">Tim & Selena Middleton</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found students with laptops wrote more frequently across a wider variety of genres. They also received more feedback on their writing. In addition, we found they edited and revised their papers more often, drew on a wider range of resources to write, and published or shared their work with others more often. </p>
<p>Student surveys, teacher interviews and classroom observations in these studies revealed that students with access to laptops worked more autonomously and gained experience in project-based learning. This allowed them to synthesize and critically apply knowledge. </p>
<p>For example, researcher <a href="http://www.education.udel.edu/chrystallamouza/faculty-bio/chrystalla-mouza-biography/">Chrystalla Mouza</a> found that elementary school students with access to laptops <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ826086">were able to create</a> electronic storybooks and publish reports in language arts classrooms.</p>
<p>One-to-one laptop programs also enhanced students’ 21st-century skills – skills needed in an information age – such as the ability to locate and use internet resources. Students also improved their collaborative learning skills – that is, they were more capable of working collaboratively with others.</p>
<p>Research led by <a href="https://umwa.memphis.edu/fcv/viewprofile.php?uuid=dlowther">Deborah L. Lowther</a> at University of Memphis found that when students were given a problem and related answer to consider, students with laptops <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02504551#page-1">exhibited higher problem-solving skills</a> than those in the comparison group. </p>
<p>A closer look at the OECD report also reveals that students in the United States <a href="http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/students-computers-and-learning_9789264239555-en#page3">performed particularly well</a> on technology-based tasks such as online navigation, digital reading and using computers to solve math problems.</p>
<h2>Can laptop use reduce educational gap?</h2>
<p>However, our study did not find firm evidence on whether these one-to-one laptop programs helped lessen the academic gap between academically advantaged and disadvantaged students. </p>
<p>Earlier studies have found that laptop programs <a href="http://dlib.bc.edu/islandora/object/bc-ir:101385/datastream/PDF/view">could help shorten</a> the achievement gap between low-income students and their peers. We did not find such positive evidence in all programs. </p>
<p>One possible explanation is that difficulty in using technology sometimes places an extra load on already challenged students. In contrast, wealthier students are usually more tech-savvy so they can maximize the benefits of using computers to support learning. </p>
<h2>Not all laptop programs are effective</h2>
<p>One issue here is that not all programs are successful. In our study, although most programs were successful, there were some stark failures as well.</p>
<p>These tended to be in school districts that treated computers like magical devices that would solve educational problems merely through their distribution, without sufficient planning on how they could best be deployed to improve learning. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126977/original/image-20160616-15092-kaso6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126977/original/image-20160616-15092-kaso6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126977/original/image-20160616-15092-kaso6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126977/original/image-20160616-15092-kaso6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126977/original/image-20160616-15092-kaso6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126977/original/image-20160616-15092-kaso6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126977/original/image-20160616-15092-kaso6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some schools phased out their laptop program. Mere access to a computer does not improve learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=ipifccuth0o8ngej90&searchterm=students%20in%20classroom&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=128872687">Schoolchildren image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of these schools, after observing no progress with laptops, decided to phase them out. For example, <a href="http://www.liverpool.k12.ny.us/">Liverpool Central School District</a>, a public school district in a suburban community near Syracuse, New York, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=phase%20out%20laptops%20from%20fall,%202007%20&st=cse">decided to drop the laptop program</a> from fall 2007. </p>
<p>A school district in Philadelphia had to abandon its program after being <a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/02/19/school-district-sued-for-using-webcams-to-spy-on-students/">sued over its use of laptop webcams</a> to capture pictures of students at home. The district claimed it was an effort to track down missing laptops. </p>
<p>For schools and classrooms that are already poorly organized, merely having access to a computer connected to the internet will not improve learning. However, for classrooms that focus on improving students’ writing, analysis, research, problem solving and critical thinking, those same internet-connected computers could be invaluable tools.</p>
<h2>Technology to train future citizens</h2>
<p>Perhaps we could learn a lesson from the business world. When computers were first introduced into corporations, it took a number of years to increase productivity.
Today it is hard to imagine any field of commerce or knowledge production succeeding while shunning computers.</p>
<p>Well-organized programs that make individual computers available to students are already getting <a href="http://rer.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/02/03/0034654316628645.abstract">excellent test score results</a>. Such programs are critical for helping students develop necessary skills for the future. These programs deserve our support.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Warschauer has received funding for his research from the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, the Carnegie Corporation, the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access, the Spencer Foundation, the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, and Google Research..</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Binbin Zheng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers found students’ test scores in science, writing, math and English language arts improved significantly when they were provided with laptops. The benefits were not limited to test scores.Binbin Zheng, Assistant Professor, Michigan State UniversityMark Warschauer, Professor of Education and Informatics, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/536752016-01-27T10:45:28Z2016-01-27T10:45:28ZWhile rethinking admissions process, consider creativity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109184/original/image-20160125-28853-3s2am9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Creativity is a valuable skill. Why is it ignored in the admissions process?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/4370721677/in/photolist-7Ee6hi-dapr31-9cN1d9-7dJzcc-6dMwgP-5MqJK-8hY3Do-78oUPT-o7S6GV-9jkzVC-7rUBUv-7y5ZUU-87pUry-7Yn8Jo-74pSpg-733PZ-8dF82K-7T1fUz-9ieBSm-9J7P2a-6PCVm6-d4zv6Y-7trRGR-2GQYq-4BjbL-8CkFfG-5LzX8V-5JRYjz-b6w67e-4FNBNN-4tFcXu-6AeDNY-a3ZncC-frP7yv-8QVaiD-7fu9ZV-7hFt4-6uduiv-55HKN8-oeKrE7-79aqk-5Gujy-6zQS4e-5XMzUb-4qthH-83T1T-6QyPif-7MQ6yH-e6Qyt-6hJzyj">epSos .de</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Turning the Tide <a href="http://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/collegeadmissions">report</a> released last week by the Harvard Graduate School of Education has colleges and universities across the country taking a hard look at what many believe is a deeply flawed admissions process.</p>
<p>A number of colleges have already been reexamining their admissions process. In September last year, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/opinion/rethinking-college-admissions.html?_r=0">more than 80 leading colleges and universities</a> announced the formation of the <a href="http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/">Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success</a>, so as to make changes in the admissions process and diversify student bodies.</p>
<p>The new report characterizes the message being sent by colleges to high schools “as simply valuing their achievements, not their responsibility for others and their communities.” It asks college admissions officers to take the following three primary steps to improve the admissions process so that it is fairer and inculcates a concern for others:</p>
<ul>
<li>promote more meaningful contributions through community service and other engagement for the public good</li>
<li>assess how students engage and contribute to family as well as community across race, culture and class</li>
<li>redefine achievement in ways that level the playing field for economically diverse students and reduce excessive achievement pressure. </li>
</ul>
<p>However, what often gets left out of admission criteria is a student’s creativity. <a href="http://education.uconn.edu/james-kaufman/">As a creativity researcher</a>, I have studied many aspects of creativity that reinforce the idea that creativity is a valuable and necessary attribute for students in the 21st century. </p>
<h2>Why measure creativity?</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.jamesckaufman.com/creativity/blog-for-national-endowment-for-the-arts/">Creativity</a> can be seen at all levels – from young children to geniuses. <a href="http://www.springerpub.com/creativity-101.html">Creativity</a> can help us discover new things, from the next generation of smartphones to new ways of recycling our trash. </p>
<p>It enables us to make art, tell stories, design buildings, test hypotheses and try new recipes. Indeed, creative people have been <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/gpr/13/1/1/">found to be more likely</a> to succeed in business and be happier in life.</p>
<p>There is a growing volume of <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/gpr/14/3/189/">research</a> that shows putting greater emphasis on creativity assessments in the college application process could provide a more holistic impression of students’ potential. Right now, <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/3/3/59/htm">we look only at a narrow range of abilities</a>, which means that we over-reward people with certain strengths and penalize people with other strengths.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109220/original/image-20160126-19633-c2nhyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109220/original/image-20160126-19633-c2nhyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109220/original/image-20160126-19633-c2nhyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109220/original/image-20160126-19633-c2nhyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109220/original/image-20160126-19633-c2nhyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109220/original/image-20160126-19633-c2nhyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109220/original/image-20160126-19633-c2nhyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">SAT is a better predictor of success for white students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennissylvesterhurd/413772254/in/photolist-CyG5o-7waBji-fB54vZ-e86hXa-9VGECh-f87nxn-dsZiun-Fos8e-78dasR-6gduxU-6vYapK-8Mo7GS-78d8Yg-7XBE76-8SUbBK-nwVa81-98axA4-5msYPW-aUQ3zB-a4jdWJ-8ax8EC-asPQa9-aUQb2r-2ZVPkS-cFPmKo-aUPAZH-8CCoiX-aUqNFg-b8E2Rt-8b9QKb-aUPYJ6-a4gfwe-8DYWbQ-HphMz-9UQmJb-aUPvpe-8Z7YcN-anDtKf-4VmtvV-5b4Vd4-aUqcdp-iauFVu-c19AZS-a4guZM-6jMKTt-qPgfvG-fchXQX-pm7BKV-aUQdx4-4Awzjn">Dennis S. Hurd</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Studies have shown that the most widely used standardized performance tests for college admission, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2333-8504.2013.tb02316.x/abstract">the SAT</a>, is a better predictor of college success for white students than <a href="http://research.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport-2000-1-predictions-freshman-gpa-revised-recentered-sat-reasoning.pdf">African-American and Hispanic-American </a>students.</p>
<p>However, creativity assessments are more likely to be gender- and ethnically neutral, thereby avoiding the potential for bias.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jocb.120/abstract">study</a> we conducted recently on more than 600 college applicants compared applicants’ performance on a series of online tests assessing various forms of creativity to application data, which included SAT scores, class rank and college admission interview scores. </p>
<p>We found that traditional admissions measures (SAT scores and GPA) were only weakly related to the creativity measures. Further, people with high creative self-efficacy (i.e., people who think they are creative) did slightly worse on some admission tests. </p>
<p>We are continuing to capture data about students over the course of their college careers to assess whether including creativity tests with traditional admissions measures can better predict student outcomes such as retention, college success and graduation rates.</p>
<h2>Assessing creativity makes a difference</h2>
<p>We do understand that assessing students’ creativity would not be easy. But that is not to say it is impossible.</p>
<p>As part of the admissions process, students could be asked about how they would solve world problems or what their dream job would be or how they would spend lottery winnings; these responses could then be rated for their creativity by admission officers or trained raters. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2012.649237">Many studies</a> have shown that this is a reliable and valid way of measuring creativity, although it can be resource-intensive.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109224/original/image-20160126-28853-xsxtg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109224/original/image-20160126-28853-xsxtg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109224/original/image-20160126-28853-xsxtg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109224/original/image-20160126-28853-xsxtg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109224/original/image-20160126-28853-xsxtg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109224/original/image-20160126-28853-xsxtg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109224/original/image-20160126-28853-xsxtg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students participate in creative teamwork. Can creativity be measured?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/aalto-cs/9685029401/in/photolist-fKQiPx-oBSh38-kobaNY-jFsFyK-jFvtYq-oDqmz8-CxydT9-oEUaQu-vBeE7u-fL7Urw-nSJ7mW-jFuUuQ-naeTCg-6b7vMY-vyyxzR-Q8znk-tVmdZY-mUjZdy-mxKL4T-njKg4z-knnyBB-uaaTes-61WA8n-nNYNtZ-6zKYTA-9h7s6J-mgSFoy-nxBmk4-diF5Zj-uaDf67-nhRKvB-iK3EGV-7gp7oq-jZ9G1J-5HS5Vr-8h6A91-iK634w-9RbiUt-mCAnia-9qPMfD-ocKjU1-hbzFUD-iK2Z46-7vVFzP-8b6mBu-8b6muA-9RdPJM-9RdgUn-6jBtmv-tAeJPf">Creative Sustainability</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some universities may ask such questions in current admissions, but most do not actually score answers for creativity. In fact, <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/15/college_hopefuls_get_creative_to_a_fault/?page=full">being creative</a> on admissions essays can actually hurt students.</p>
<p>If there are concerns about adding too much stress on students during applications, schools could use a portfolio approach in which students could simply upload a poem, drawing, movie, invention or science experiment that they have already produced.</p>
<p>The fact is that using creativity as a criterion in admissions has been done before. At one point, Cornell University Professor of Human Development <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-sternberg-204349">Robert Sternberg</a> and colleagues <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?recid=30092">included</a> creativity and practical intelligence as an optional part of college admissions at Tufts University. What Sternberg and colleagues found was that students enjoyed the application process more and the average SAT score of all applicants increased from previous years. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2012/September-October%202012/admissions_full.html">In an equally important outcome</a>, differences on these new measures showed reduced or no ethnic differences, and minority admissions increased.</p>
<p><a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/gpr/14/3/189/">Such results</a> are typical in creativity studies. Whereas many standardized or intelligence tests show ethnic, cultural or gender differences, creativity measures tend to produce no differences – everyone has the same potential to be creative.</p>
<p>Creativity is more important than ever as college and universities try to both emphasize diversity in their student population and seek future innovators in science, technology, engineering and math, otherwise known as the STEM fields. Including creativity helps accomplish both goals.</p>
<p>If early impressions of the Turning the Tide report are any indication, we could be heading into a pivotal time for college admissions. Such changes should not be limited to the scope of this landmark report. We need to be creative.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James C Kaufman at one time received funding from the Graduate Record Examination Board. </span></em></p>A recent report, Turning the Tide, urges colleges and universities to reexamine their admissions process. What about measuring creativity?James C. Kaufman, Professor of Educational Psychology, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.