Training and Assessment Innovation

Hopefully every school will be like this one day.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Finland

Spend five minutes in Jussi Hietava’s fourth-grade math class in remote, rural Finland, and you may learn all you need to know about education reform – if you want results, try doing the opposite of what American “education reformers” think we should do in classrooms.

Instead of control, competition, stress, standardized testing, screen-based schools and loosened teacher qualifications, try warmth, collaboration, and highly professionalized, teacher-led encouragement and assessment.

At the University of Eastern Finland’s Normaalikoulu teacher training school in Joensuu, Finland, you can see Hietava’s students enjoying the cutting-edge concept of “personalized learning.”

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Finland

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Personalized+Learning

Many educators think that Personalized Learning (student driven learning) and Heutagogy are the same thing. They have many similarities but also many differences that I have illustrated in the chart below. The biggest difference is that with a Heutagogy approach the learner determines what they want to learn; it is not determined by curriculum or standards.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Heutagogy

Reflecting on one's work can be instrumental to growth and improvement, but it's an activity that's often under utilized.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=reflection

Reaffirming a humanistic approach to education Education alone cannot hope to solve all development challenges, but a humanistic and holistic approach to education can and should contribute to achieving a new development model. In such a model, economic growth must be guided by environmental stewardship and by concern for peace, inclusion and social justice.

The ethical and moral principles of a humanistic approach to development stand against violence, intolerance, discrimination and exclusion. Regarding education and learning, it means going beyond narrow utilitarianism and economism to integrate the multiple dimensions of human existence.

This approach emphasizes the inclusion of people who are often subject to discrimination – women and girls, indigenous people, persons with disabilities, migrants, the elderly and people living in countries affected by conflict. It requires an open and flexible approach to learning that is both lifelong and life-wide: an approach that provides the opportunity for all to realize their potential for a sustainable future and a life of dignity.

This humanistic approach has implications for the definition of learning content and pedagogies, as well as for the role of teachers and other educators. It is even more relevant given the rapid development of new technologies, in particular digital technologies.

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https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2015/11/27/unlearning-the-old-relearning-learning-to-learn-howto/

This is not too a difficult question to address, because innovative teaching is good whether or not technology is used. A bad teacher does not suddenly become a good teacher just because technology is included into the mix. Nor does a good teacher need to always use technology to maintain their effectiveness. But before we discuss this question any further, we should define 'innovative teaching.' What is it, and how do we know a good, innovative teacher when we see one?

For me, innovative teaching is often invisible, and the teacher is very much peripheral, to the most important factor - the student and their learning. Good teachers instinctively know when to intervene and most importantly, when to get out of the way. Teaching is not so focused on instruction today (and nor should it ever have been), but is increasingly about facilitation, and considers the student holistically. Innovative teaching focuses on creating conducive environments within which good learning can occur. Innovative teachers are excellent at supporting students, and are also adept at creating engaging content and new experiences. A good teacher observes and measures progress without causing any stress to the learner or interruption to learning.

Innovative teachers are instinctive about student challenges such as lack of understanding, loss of focus, low engagement or demotivation. They strive to find new ways to keep students on task, motivate them to do their best, and encourage them to succeed. Innovative teaching is where good teachers are inventive and creative - where they continue to discover and devise new methods and content to ensure that students always get the best learning experiences. But consider that invention and innovation are not the same. Invention requires a creative individual, whereas innovation requires a courageous community (see for example Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory, 2003). Therefore, innovative teachers also need courage to embed their new methods and content, especially if it runs counter to the culture they work within.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=innovation

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Rise+of+the+Professional+Educator

In a blog post, Bill Gates explores personalized learning.

Do you know the answer to the next simple question? "What do you know about web 2.0 technology?" What's so interesting about this video, is the simple fact that none of these so called digital natives are familiar with the term web 2.0. Although they never had a life without technology, they just don't know…