Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2015

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EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE

THE WORLD IS SHIFTING FROM AN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY TO A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY. THE RISING GENERATION — BROUGHT UP ON THE INTERNET — IS VERY DIFFERENTLY MOTIVATED TO LEARN (DR TONY WAGNER).

The one-to-one laptop programme that resulted in the roll-out of technology into Australian schools did achieve its purpose. But what now? The early thinking behind our BYOD programme emphasised that we were not going to import a culture, but manage it intelligently. Some students use more than one device; others use only one and do so sparingly, their differing motivations to learn dictating the method by which they do so. The hardware and software is neither the pretension nor the intellect, rather the selection and carefully crafted use of technology is the genius. Putting a smart phone in the hand of a child does not increase her intelligence nor determine her value set. The process of streamlining and increasing the availability of technology in a learning environment must be accompanied by an educational philosophy and, combined with teacher training in digital pedagogies, embedded in all aspects of the learning environment. The aim then is to move our girls from users of technology to creators of technology and future directions. The approach used at Girls Grammar is the Design Thinking process. This process values the team and time with industry, educators and peers. It has empathy at its core and is a social process where all members of a diverse group — from students, to teaching teams to professional staff — can find their place and have their input valued. We launched the inclusion of Design Thinking in 2013 with the Creative Futures symposium, continued in 2014 by appointing Design Thinking specialist Adam Blake as our Thought Leader in Residence, and more recently presented at the Future Schools conference on this topic. As we face the new challenges and opportunities of the digital age and knowledge economy the School will continue to monitor and adopt new methods that will develop in our girls the ability to contribute confidently to their worlds with wisdom, imagination and integrity.

AUTHOR Mrs Anna Owen Deputy Principal

As educators, it is incumbent on us to inspire, to challenge, to inform and to ignite passion and curiosity in our girls. To facilitate this, we must adopt teaching and learning practices that not only engage our girls but also equip them with the skills to respond and contribute to a rapidly evolving and globalised world. Over Girls Grammar’s 140 year history, the School has offered an education that honours its grammar traditions while embracing the needs of the present time. Through new subject options, technological advances and shifting educational practices, the School works to address what ‘Dr Wagner has identified as a “global achievement gap”, which is the leap between what even our best schools are teaching and the must-have skills of the future’ (Singmaster, 2015). From the School’s early days, this has meant that ‘decisions had to be made about what ought to be retained from the past and what needed to be added for the future’ (McWilliam, 2013). The necessity to get the balance right remains in the present day and, as always, is underscored by careful consideration. Hence, decisions such as the introduction of the School’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme and the retention of Latin as a compulsory subject for Year 7 students have been driven by a belief in the benefits derived by girls. Indeed, The Educator named BYOD as one of its six new and emerging ‘important technological developments’ in education due to its success in increasing productivity and student learning outcomes (Henebery, 2014). In order to motivate and teach this generation, the school system must be reinvented to be accountable for what matters most. That means to do the work — teaching, learning, and assessing — in new ways. (Singmaster, 2015). The responsibility of educating the current, and future, generations of aspiring young women will require constant evaluation of the resources, skills and values that honour our great Grammar history and the visionary educators that have gone before us. To value tradition, to value skill, to value creativity and self-management in a broader sense requires focus. The one certainty in the uncertainty of education in the future is that an intelligent approach is required. It will not be a declaration of what we do but a demonstrated pathway that leads us into the future.

REFERENCES Henebery, B. (2015). Education revolution: report offers a glimpse into the future . Retrieved from http://www.educatoronline.com.au/news/ education-revolution-report-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-future-197028.aspx McWilliam, E. (2013). Educating Girls . Queensland, Australia: University of Queensland Press. Singmaster, H. (2015). Seven Skills Students Need for Their Future . Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/seven-skills-students-need-their-future

GRAMMAR GAZETTE