I was in the process of planning a training session within which I planned to use Stephen coveys circles of concern and influence. I was considering Coveys comments regarding the fact that as we work more in our circle of influence we grow the circle. This growth is the result of others seeing our ability to bring about change and to have an impact. We also build up trust in ourselves that we can succeed and have an impact. So the impact is two fold changing the perception of other towards us and also changing our own self perception. I found myself considering if this self fulfilling prophecy might be applicable beyond Coveys circles and into the domain of overcoming obstacles. Where we freeze or shy away from obstacles we may be seen by others as ineffectual. We ourselves will also start to believe that we are incapable of overcoming the prevalent obstacles in our lives. It is a negative self fulfilling prophecy. It may also be considered as learned behaviour as each experience of being unable to overcome an obstacle reinforces the belief that we can’t overcome obstacles. Looking at the other side of things, if we see an obstacle as an opportunity and proceed to overcome it then we show others that we can succeed. We also build our self confidence in our ability to overcome obstacles. When the next obstacle makes it appearance we will be more likely to challenge it and to view it as an opportunity. Again we have a self fulfilling prophecy and learned behaviour however here we have significantly better chances of a positive outcome. Now both the positive and the negative examples above show evidence of learned behaviour. Such behaviour is often enacted with little conscious thought. The challenge therefore is for us as individuals to remain aware of what we are doing and why and to rethinking those situations where the behaviour is negative in nature and to encourage those behaviours which are positive. 
It’s now been a few days since I started seeing the obstacle of being tired and having to get out of bed as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. Each day I get up and out of bed rather than hitting snooze, the easier it is to repeat the task the following day. Yesterday the extra time and motivation I gained from succeeding in getting up despite being tired resulted in very significant improvements in productivity. So next time you hit snooze and roll over in bed give some thoughts to this fact as I promise the impact on your day is bigger than just the loss of 10 or 15 minutes from the available time in the day. As Ryan Holiday puts it in the title to his book, “The Obstacle is the way”.
Tag: Lateral Thinking
Divergent Thinking: What is the purpose of education?
The development of 21st century skills has been stated for quite a while now ( a good thing given we are now 14 years into the 21st century, however it does make me wonder how long we are going to continue looking at skills for the now and when we actually start looking at 22nd century skills. Remember that students are with us for 12 years so that means students starting school now will be coming out in 2026 with over a quarter of the century gone!). These skills include communication, collaboration, critical thinking (or problem solving depending on where in the world you are) and creativity. So how do we encourage students to problem solve, where due to the pace of technology we cannot predict the problems they are likely to face? Also how do we encourage creativity?
De Bono suggests that lateral thinking was an important factor in addressing this issue while Ken Robinson agreed referring to the factor as divergent thinking. So how do we encourage these approaches?
One method would be to introduce students to the concepts of lateral thinking or divergent thinking and to actively encourage students to make use of these approaches. In terms of what this might look like in a classroom I saw an excellent video which was shared via twitter by @thought_weavers which seemed very much in line with my thinking. You can watch the video here. Now this approach if successful would lead to students who are open to lateral thinking or thinking outside of the box. As such this should help creativity and problem solving. It would also result in students who may question the what and the why of their learning, which may initial be uncomfortable for some teachers due to the unpredictability of questioning however if teachers are facilitating learning as opposed to delivering learning, then this could open up new pathways in terms of learning. As such any initial discomfort is well worth it.
Now a key issue in all of this is teachers; If we want students to develop 21st century skills and to be divergent thinkers then teachers need to model this, showing students what divergent thinking looks like. So to that end I would like to ask a question: What is the purpose of education? And if you are a teacher or school leader, when was the last time you sat and thought about what the purpose of your role was, or do league tables, inspection results and standardised test results take up a significant part of your thinking?
21st Century Skills Development and IT
I am due to present at a conference during 2014 and will be presenting under the theme of how educators can help develop 21st Century Skills with the aid of technology. This seems to fit with a lot of discussion occurring in schools around how teachers can develop 21st century skills in their students and how ICT can be used to enhance learning. As such it seemed like a good topic for discussion here ahead of at the conference.
So where to begin: Well I think the best place to start is to look at what the 21 century skills are. The Partnership for 21st Century skills identified 6 key areas:
- Thinking critically and making judgements
- Solving complex, multidisciplinary, open ended problems
- Creativity and entrepreneurial thinking
- Communicating and collaborating
- Making innovative use knowledge, information and opportunities
- Taking charge of financial, civic and health responsibilities
The question then becomes how can IT help in develop these skills required for the 21st century, or is that the right question? Consider the world we now live in and the 6 areas listed above; which of the areas could or maybe more accurately, would be, done without IT?
Points 2, 4 and 5, I would argue, would not normally be undertaken without IT. To solve complex, multidisciplinary problems requires collaboration, communication, research and analysis. Communication and collaboration in the current world involves the likes of skype, twitter, google drive, pinterest and a whole manner of other software and apps, to bring people together such that geography is no longer an issue, and sharing ideas, thoughts and questions is easy. As to knowledge and information, and also research I do not think we can discuss these areas, in the current world we live in without the word “Google” popping to mind. Now that covers 50% of the points, so 50% of the 21st century skills would normally involve IT so why isn’t IT more embedded in education? Why are we still looking to use IT as an “aid” to develop skills which actually necessitate the use of IT?
Now I could also argue that IT has its part to play in critical thinking and in creativity however I am not going to do so, as I think another problem lies here. In what way do we teach students to be critical and creative thinkers, to question to norms, to be innovative? I don’t think we do quite enough of this, mainly because we are busy teaching students the “right” answers, so they can pass the tests, get good marks, improve league tables and help to make the country look better in the all important standardised tests. As such students’ critical judgements are only valid as long as they are in the domain of the teaching they have received, but outside this domain who is to say they will fare as well? As to their ability to be creative thinkers, I think almost no time is set aside in schools to help develop this area. Please note I am talking creative thinking here, and not Art, Music or Drama, as I am sure I can hear some people reading this, in the far corners of the web, muttering regarding the fact students receive lessons in these subject areas to provide them an opportunity to be creative.
All in all education has a way to go in terms of helping students develop the skills required of the 21st century. Let’s just hope we get it right before the 22nd century is upon us!
References
21st Century Skills, Education and Competitiveness (2008),The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Image from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net : “Technology In The Hands Of Businessmen” by KROMKRATHOG
Kuwait Conference
Haven’t had an opportunity to write anything on here for a few weeks due to being rather busy however I am currently preparing to present at conference in Kuwait in the coming week, where I intend to discuss how ICT can be used to enhance access to learning for all students. The conference is particularly focused on SEN students and the elderly however in my opinion the labels are not important. What is important is trying to provide greater access to learning for all.
As part of the session I am going to mention 3 areas which are currently of interest to me:
- The Flipped Classroom
- MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses)
- Lateral Thinking
Now my intention is to post some updates here and also to include links to some resources including videos relating to the session.
Technology and Learning