Primary school leaders and teachers face unparalleled challenges in developing their premises. Whether they are remodelling or rebuilding their schools, there are basic questions about transforming learning that they have to embrace, as Ann Aston reports.

What is primary education for? To what needs and purposes should it be chiefly directed over the coming decades? What core values and principles should it uphold and advance?

Taking account of the country and the world in which our children are growing up, to what individual, social, cultural, economic and other circumstances and needs should it principally attend?

A global context

Among the many documents and research projects reported on both nationally and internationally there are common threads and common key factors.

The diagram below illustrates three of these common factors that are found in much of the writing about 21st century learning.



School leaders need to examine to what extent these three components are debated, discussed and acted upon in implementing a new curriculum and how they will impact on pedagogy.

Core values

The Primary Capital Programme offers the opportunity to question the status quo and examine ideas about what 21st century learning should/could look like. It is imperative that schools identify their core values for learning, because these will underpin the development of the school in every area. We need to have a clear picture of what kind of learners we want our pupils to be by the time they leave us in year two or year six and work backwards from there.

Head teachers and their staffs need to have a clear idea of what learning attributes and personal qualities their pupils should have acquired by the time they leave, and these need to be thought through in a 21st century context.

We might  be 'working towards' these attributes and qualities - they may be a 'work in progress’ - but that should not inhibit aspirations or limit goals. There has to be an opportunity for discussion and that could and should involve pupils. Once there is consensus,  then there needs to be time to investigate what will be the best experiences most likely to enable pupils to achieve the desired outcomes. This suggests a close look at pedagogy and a re-appraisal of what we offer our children. Learning how to Learn will have a greater emphasis.



“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” ( Alvin Toffler)

A 21st century context will assume that children are partners in learning and we need to be explicit about what this means in classroom experience. How will Pupil Voice be embedded in classroom practice? If, for example, a desirable attribute is for children to be ‘independent learners’, how will their day-to-day experience of school bring this about ? How will a new curriculum address their passions and interests? We need to broaden our ideas of literacy and not be bound by  a restricted traditional view that limits literacy to text.

“Today, the greatest challenges faced by educators concern redefining literacy in terms of the new skills and competencies that will be relevant to a more international and increasingly technological society”.
(Dr Robert Blomeyer, Program Associate, NCREL)

It is important that schools really take a pro-active approach to the embedding of digital literacies across the curriculum. The core digital literacies include Visual, Media, Technological and Information, all of which overlap. Our children are growing up in a global media culture and that is a challenge for teachers.


“The convergence of media and technology in a global culture is changing the way we learn about the world and challenging the very foundations of education. No longer is it enough to be able to read the printed word; children, youth, and adults, too, need the ability to both critically interpret the powerful images of a multimedia culture and express themselves in multiple media forms.”
“Literacy for the 21st Century” Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls (Centre for Media Literacy)


The diagram below sets out a broad range of essential skills. (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, USA)



Digital literacies expand the concept of ”text “ to include still and moving image in all multimedia formats and pupils need to be fluent in the language of images.

Visual literacy

Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, use, appreciate, and create images and video using both conventional and 21st century media in ways that advance thinking, decision making, communication, and learning. (Engauge:21st Century Skills)

Visual literacy is about engaging with visual material from differing starting points but with an ultimate goal of empowering the learner to make new meanings. It is concerned with the child’s ability to read and understand visual images, both stills and moving image. The child engages with visual ‘text’ and develops skills as with traditional literacy.

“We do not believe that the written word should be seen as being in opposition to the moving image. It is not a case of one being more important than the other”. (Film Education 2003)

As we develop learning for the 21st century it is becoming clear that “understanding the moving image is as important as traditional literacy” (Lord Puttnam 2002).  In the vast majority of teaching situations these two areas complement each other.

Visual literacy should not be seen as a discrete subject, but rather as a strand that supports many subjects. It supports and enables children to move towards ‘deep learning’ experiences by engaging learners with challenging concepts and offering opportunity for high levels of critical thinking. Pupils who are visually literate are able to create visual material that is expressive, instructional and demonstrates understanding.

Information literacy:

“The ability to evaluate information across a range of media; recognize when information is needed; locate, synthesize, and use information effectively; and accomplish these functions using technology, communication networks, and electronic resources”. (Engauge:21st Century Skills).

In 2007 the AASL (American Association of School Librarians) produced a set of guidelines that lays out an impressive scheme of the components of Information literacy.




“The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own. The amount of information available to our learners necessitates that each individual acquire the skills to select, evaluate, and use information appropriately and effectively.”





The guidelines are organised into four areas :



Learners use resources and tools to:

• Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.
• Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.
• Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society
• Pursue personal and aesthetic growth
• The document provides a valuable insight into the merging of good educational thinking and  practical approaches.

Media literacy
“Media Literacy is a 21st century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms – from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.” (Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls, Centre for Media Literacy)

With the current rapid expansion of media accessibility by learners of all ages it is vital that schools provide pupils with the necessary skills and discernment to make appropriate use of it. The ‘YouTube‘ generation are immersed in media as never before. Developing media literacy offers opportunities to engage with real-world issues as part of an authentic curriculum, with pupils articulating their opinions using a wide variety of media.

“…today’s multi-media culture, which includes print but is not limited to it, provides a nearly limitless resource for real world learning - from how to identify “point of view” by exploring how camera angles influence our perception of the subject being photographed to how to determine whether information on an Internet site is bogus or legitimate.” (Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls, Centre for Media Literacy)

Technological Literacy: Knowledge about what technology is, understanding how it works, what purposes it can serve, and applying that knowledge and understanding to using technology efficiently and effectively to achieve specific goals.”

There is no doubt that technology has transformational potential, but that is dependent on teachers being open to new ideas and new ways of working. It is about allowing pupils the freedom to investigate, explore and play with technology, giving them responsibility for when and how they use it.



“There are clear opportunities to imbue pedagogy and educational practice with the spirit of web 2.0. This may involve the development of ways of teaching and learning that are more aligned with a sense of play, expression, reflection and exploration, and above all, creating rather than only consuming content. Web 2.0 tools introduce the possibility of developing learner-led curricula, perhaps even asking learners ‘what do you want to teach today?

Perhaps less radically, there is an obvious need to redesign curricula to encourage the learner creation of knowledge, and support creativity, serendipity and exploration, as well as the acquisition of information. The formal curriculum may need to support learners in the confident use of web 2.0 tools and in the critical questioning of web 2.0 technologies.”

(TLRP Education 2.0? Towards an educational Web 2.0 Neil Selwyn, Charles Crook, Richard Noss and Diana Laurillard)

New Primary Curriculum

The Rose Review proposes six areas for learning based around ‘understanding’, intended “to secure better continuity with EYFS as well as providing a secure basis from which to transfer to year 7.” It includes ICT and Personal Development as core areas of learning. There is greater emphasis on learning skills and attitudes with the explicit aim that children “should understand how they learn and learn from their mistakes.”

The question we need to address is, to what extent the New Curriculum will actually impact on pedagogy and whether it will be transformational. Does it really take on board the need for a new vision of learning? How does it compare with Robin Alexander’s ‘Cambridge Review of Primary Education’ ?




How will schools develop the roles of teachers to cope with a more flexible and evolving curriculum? Teacher roles do not remain static.

“The teacher draws from a repertoire of strategies and skills: Good teachers have always listened as well as lectured, but now this skill is more vital than ever. While traditional education systems have fostered the obedience demanded of the manufacturing workforce, 21st century education must nurture creative and collaborative skills. Knowledge is available at the click of a mouse, but learning to apply it requires a teacher who can instruct, facilitate, guide and support as needed.”1 (P. 19 ‘Equipping Every learner for the 21st Century’ - Cisco Systems white paper 2008)

What kind of support will teachers need for designing learning under the new curriculum framework?

We need to “….avoid volumes of planning that don’t necessarily make for engaging, flexible learning opportunities which take into account assessment for learning with the child at the centre.”  (Mick Waters).

We certainly have to rid our schools of the ‘fat folders syndrome’ whereby ‘fat folders’ of content are  delivered to pupils who are encouraged to produce their own ‘fat folders’ of largely factual information. We need to move from a system that requires teachers to deliver content to one that encourages teachers to design for learning, as represented in the diagram below:



To achieve this we need school leaders who will be advocates of transformation, not upholders of the status quo. Has the profession got the drive and determination?
 
References

Engauge:21st Century Skills – North Central Regional Educational Laboratory  USA
http://www.asbindia.info/asb21/engauge21st.pdf
http://www.ncrel.org/tech/

“Literacy for the 21st Century” – Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls
http://www.medialit.org/

Standards for the 21st Century Learner – American Association of School Librarians
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learning4life/

Review of Primary Curriculum – Sir Jim Rose
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/primarycurriculumreview/

Cambridge Primary Review – Robin Alexander
http://www.primaryreview.org.uk/

Equipping Every 21st Century Learner – Cisco Systems
http://www.cisco.com/web/about/citizenship/socio-economic/docs/GlobalEdWP.pdf

Education 2.0? Towards an educational web 2.0" – Neil Selwyn, Charles Crook, Richard Noss and Diana Laurillard, Teaching and Learning Research Programme
http://www.tlrp.org/

Visual Literacy White Paper – Dr Anne Bamford
http://www.adobe.com/uk/education/pdf/adobe_visual_literacy_paper.pdf

Ann Aston is a consultant school leader with the National College's capital projects leadership programme