Module 1: Towards 21st-century STEM education
1.1 Introduce yourself
Activity: Padlet
My contribution:
I am from Greece. I am a primary school teacher. I teach greek language, math, history, religion, science, ICT and art. My students are between 6 and 12 years old. I chose a greek astrophysisist of nowadays, Manos Danezis.
1.2 The evolution of STEM over the years
Past:
- 3,000 BC, man invented the wheel.
- the first industrial revolution
- STEM invention was the steam engine.
- the second industrial revolution - bulb, telephone, aircraft, radio, etc.
- the discovery of penicillin, an antibiotic that has
- the third industrial revolution, digitalisation of machines
Present:
Future:
How will artificial intelligence rewrite the way we work, think, study?
What are your thoughts regarding the future after watching the video?
My contribution:
The future is unknown. It is very challenging due to the various possibilities it offers thanks to the evolution of technology. Mankind will find easy and cheap ways to make their lives more comfortable and easy going. But, I am afraid that all this involvement with technology will make people dehumanized and get far from the environment, the movement, the human relations and whatever makes someone human and not a machine.Plus, that I am very skeptical on who will have access or administrate the personal info of all of us.
1.3 Create a timeline of STEM inventions
Create a timeline of STEM inventions in your country and share it on the Padlet below. If you wish, you can use this template (click here to download the template), or you can use any other tool you want.
My contribution:
1.4 Changing the educational paradigm
We live in a world of accelerating change. New industries are constantly being born and old ones are becoming obsolete. A report by the World Economic Forum reveals that almost 65 percent of children today will end up in careers that don't even exist yet. The research conducted by the World Economic Forum in some of the world's leading companies, regarding what would be seen as the most important job skill in 2020, shows that the number one response is complex problem-solving. Other skills on their top ten list include
- critical thinking,
- creativity,
- collaboration, and
- emotional intelligence.
Of course, not everyone agrees with Sir Ken Robinson; one of the sceptics is British education blogger, teacher, author and expert on education research Tom Bennett. He disagrees with Sir Ken Robison from a teacher’s point of view, as Robison was never a teacher. Tom Bennett thinks that Robinson doesn’t have a full picture of the public education system and that there is no evidence to support what Robinson says. Click here if you want to learn more about why Tom Bennett disagrees with Sir Ken Robison.
ACTIVITY
Do you agree with Sir Ken Robinson?
DO YOU AGREE WITH SIR KEN ROBINSON THAT THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS ARE STILL BASED ON AN INDUSTRIAL PARADIGM, THEY ARE OUTDATED AND NOT SUITABLE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY? IF YOU AGREE, SHARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU THINK SHOULD CHANGE. IF YOU DISAGREE, SHARE YOUR VIEWS ON HOW THE CURRENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IS PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE JOB MARKET.
My contribution
I agree with Sir Ken Robinson in some points. I agree that the current educational system in many countries, like here in Greece, is prioritizing mechanical knowledge based on recalling and memorizing procedures. There are a few activities in the curriculum, promoting team work, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, but apart from being very very few, in the end, the assessment of the students is totally based on the old methods of who can memorize best and who writes down what the text book says! There is a significant urge for rearranging the current educational system, but this is not easy. The teacher in a classroom of 20 and 25 students cannot use personalized teaching methods and students cannot be taught only what they desire. Furthermore, not all subjects or topics can be taught only with hands-on activities or with challenging ways of learning. Another thing to mention is that we should not base all our teaching in ICT and technology. These are only some of the means that a teacher can use. To sum up, there is a great need to reform the educational system, but we cannot reject all these parameters that have worked well in the past.
Thoughts of other participants:
Cecilia G, Italy
I've been teaching for 11 years and I notice that the more years passes throug, the more is difficult to chatch the attention of pupils for more than 15 minutes. How should I teach them? What do I have to teach? I don't know if Sir Ken Robinson is right or wrong. I know pupils are losing their connection with the "real world" (i.e. the current education system).
Manolis/Crete/Greece
It isn't easy to create an ideal plan for Education! There are many factors to be considered! So I think it is not a balck and white prossecc! School education firstly create correct and well-behaved people with open mind and the right sense of fair and justice and secondly give them the neccessary tools to find a job! Yes the education sytem must be flexible! But we have to wait and see how it will work, assess it and re-arrange it!
Athanasios, Greece
I think there is no strongly agree or disagree. On one hand Sir Ken Robinson is right saying that our educational system has to focus on real life problems and that should develop critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and problem solving skills to our students. On the other hand before that, we should focus on activities that promote solidarity, open minded thinking helping each other with an acceptable behaviour with equity and fairness between them. These are the necessary skills to achive things described by Sir Robinson.
MIrela-Romania
I partial agree with Sir Ken Robinson. First of all if we think that medicine can solve behavior problems, we're wrong.I think people usualy exagerate the interpretation of children behavior. We should take into consideration the stages of child's personality development, as Piaget said.(No, Piaget is not obsolete). Try to understand the child's changing and emerging growth, and development, give him the chance to have a an ordinary childhood , enhance the family role and care ,let the positive values to lead the life ,give them great principles of a good living(peace, goodness, loyalty,justice, truth,compassion, mercy etc) and he will grow a good person. I agree that our schools are somehow timeless.But reforming school means reforming the pedagogical paradigm, reform de methodes, the curriculae, the assesment and that is in our hands.
1.5 Essential 21st-century skills for today’s students
| What are 21st-century skills? |
It is important to note that there is no clear consensus on what skills should be included in the category of 21st-century skills. The term itself represents a list of skills that students need to acquire for work, life and citizenship. Let’s look at some proposed skills.
For instance, Tony Wagner suggests seven survival skills:
- Critical thinking and problem-solving;
- Collaboration and leadership;
- Effective oral and written communication;
- Accessing and analysing information;
- Curiosity and imagination;
- Initiative and entrepreneurialism;
- Agility and adaptability.
Main points:
ACTIVITY:
What other skills do you consider to be crucial for 21st-century learning?
Can you list some examples of how you teach your students 21st-century skills?
My contribution:
I would add problem-solving and decision-making skills. For problem-solving, I would suggest activities where my students are given a problem, like misbehaving in school and bullying, and I would let them find ways to prevent these behaviors. My students could take interviews or create a movie. For decision-making skills, I would let the children organize a visit in a place they like and let them take care all the necessary actions to make that happen.
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