Today may be looked back as a turning point in education. Is this the disruption in education that has been predicted for some time? Can we take the predictable and repeatable process of educating students and automate the repetitive parts without significantly reducing outcomes and with lower costs? Can education be made more efficient than 1 teacher to 30 students with high capital outlays and investment in property?
Is this the day when the model for educating students changes?
If changes in the economy return us to a nuclear family structure with a maximum of one parent working with the other caring for children or unemployed could this lead to a change in the teaching model?
For instance, if a distance model becomes the norm for many students and parents take a significant role in education of children and teacher re-training occurs on a large scale, do we need schools open 5 days per week?
Imagine if things changed. A 60,000 teacher strong workforce instantly becomes the strongest 2000 delivering online and the rest part time if at all. Online everything becomes the norm.
This has never been able to be done as technology was not there..
It's an interesting thought.
Are teachers in a privileged position with salaries and doing a job that could be done by a relative few? Is there a legitimate case for laying off teachers to preserve capital for the upcoming recession/depression? Some are seeing this period as an extended holiday or a "work" at home. I'd suggest that everyone get into doing something productive such that we can say "I'm needed for my kids to make parents very happy that they have a great teacher" - otherwise these sorts of questions might be raised. There will be discontent over the have's and have not's.
Yesterday I presented to staff and posed the questions -
What is online learning and what does it look like?
What is the difference between supplementing learning online and delivering teaching online?
For some, there was no difference, for others this caused a critical change in thinking.
The flipped classroom was the first point where teaching was effectively done and supported offline in schools and is closest to an offline delivery model that we have for parents. Teachers "instruct" online, students complete work offline and self mark or submit work online, teachers are available to answer questions online as they occur. The intervention done by teachers observing work being completed is not done easily or neatly and would be an area managed by parents.
Teachers might be able to identify things to look out for to parents to increase intervention. Would this be enough to change education from a 60000 strong workforce "rolls royce" solution to a 2000 "it'll do" model where very similar results are found after 12 years of schooling (do the possible efficiency gains possible offline for students of high ability offset the need for 12 years of schooling and would it be less for those that would be diverted into other forms of education such as apprenticeships and the like).
To perform in society, do children need to attend in person school for 12 years?
Heresy.
Friday, March 27, 2020
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Closing Schools and the effect on Year 12 students.
According to the media it sounds like schools are closing next week. The big question is what will happen to Year 12 students? Creating a statistically sound ranking is going to prove problematic for TISC. It's time to think about the what next..
External WACE exams and ATAR ranking are not about content, knowledge and skills but about identifying potential through evidence that can be used to identify students that will succeed in higher education. It is far from perfect, but it is the fairest and most manageable idea devised thus far. The evidence for this is simple - pre-requisites in university courses are rare, they accept students on ATAR scores. I understand the logic that students will have to do bridging courses once there - but the counter argument is that once there they will be able to do the work based on their ATAR score.
I imagine SCSA could do a few things depending on whether schools are out for 4 weeks, a term, two terms or the rest of the year.
1. Create an exam based on Year 11 course content and run it as the external exam. A little time at the end of the year to revise content and advise kids early enough and this would work.
2. Create an external exam based on Unit 1 and examine that only relying on the end of the year to finish Unit 1.
3. Expect kids continue their work in isolation through distance education and run examinations of Unit 1 and 2 as per any other year.
4. Reboot 2020 as 2021 and create a mandatory year 13 for all years currently in school(increasing staffing for kindy/pre-primary and rooming as that year group passed through school years) requiring an extra year of workforce for the next 12 years in schooling (dealing with more 18-19 year olds in high school) and a dead year passing through TAFE/universities for the next four/five years.
Kids in my class are becoming able to use a flipped classroom effectively (where instruction is given through Connect), but it does not work for all students and some require face-to-face intervention to be successful and motivated.
I do hope we are sensible about this. To use 3. (the most likely outcome even if schools are closed for an extended period) has vast inequity particularly for low SES students that are not disciplined, do not have the resources available or are not supported enough for distance education. We should not underestimate the value of peer based instruction within ATAR classes / the power of students at a similar level working together to solve a problem (rather than passive instruction only).
For Certificate students, I am not sure how they will complete any onsite parts of their Certificates - Childcare, Building and Construction, Sport and Rec when industry are shut down as all are courses with significant practical requirements.
For General courses with practical components, particularly those with significant infrastructure requirements (D&T, Home Ec, Engineering etc), will have an impact on students WACE, students through no fault of their own may be unable to complete courses.
For ATAR, General and Certificate courses, SCSA may need to consider reducing WACE requirements for 2020 (fewer units required) and award units based on partial or projected completion of Unit 1.
External WACE exams and ATAR ranking are not about content, knowledge and skills but about identifying potential through evidence that can be used to identify students that will succeed in higher education. It is far from perfect, but it is the fairest and most manageable idea devised thus far. The evidence for this is simple - pre-requisites in university courses are rare, they accept students on ATAR scores. I understand the logic that students will have to do bridging courses once there - but the counter argument is that once there they will be able to do the work based on their ATAR score.
I imagine SCSA could do a few things depending on whether schools are out for 4 weeks, a term, two terms or the rest of the year.
1. Create an exam based on Year 11 course content and run it as the external exam. A little time at the end of the year to revise content and advise kids early enough and this would work.
2. Create an external exam based on Unit 1 and examine that only relying on the end of the year to finish Unit 1.
3. Expect kids continue their work in isolation through distance education and run examinations of Unit 1 and 2 as per any other year.
4. Reboot 2020 as 2021 and create a mandatory year 13 for all years currently in school(increasing staffing for kindy/pre-primary and rooming as that year group passed through school years) requiring an extra year of workforce for the next 12 years in schooling (dealing with more 18-19 year olds in high school) and a dead year passing through TAFE/universities for the next four/five years.
Kids in my class are becoming able to use a flipped classroom effectively (where instruction is given through Connect), but it does not work for all students and some require face-to-face intervention to be successful and motivated.
I do hope we are sensible about this. To use 3. (the most likely outcome even if schools are closed for an extended period) has vast inequity particularly for low SES students that are not disciplined, do not have the resources available or are not supported enough for distance education. We should not underestimate the value of peer based instruction within ATAR classes / the power of students at a similar level working together to solve a problem (rather than passive instruction only).
For Certificate students, I am not sure how they will complete any onsite parts of their Certificates - Childcare, Building and Construction, Sport and Rec when industry are shut down as all are courses with significant practical requirements.
For General courses with practical components, particularly those with significant infrastructure requirements (D&T, Home Ec, Engineering etc), will have an impact on students WACE, students through no fault of their own may be unable to complete courses.
For ATAR, General and Certificate courses, SCSA may need to consider reducing WACE requirements for 2020 (fewer units required) and award units based on partial or projected completion of Unit 1.
Labels:
HOLA,
reflective practice
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