How to make Education more relevant (and fun)

Fred VerboonDirector

Our students are changing

• The “21st century learner”:– Prefers internet for research– Learns from images, sound, colours– Communicates via social media– Searches Twitter for the lastest news

* Purcell, K. , Rainie, L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A., Chen, C., Zickuhr, K., (2012), PEW Research Center (2012): How Teens Do Research in the Digital World

Our economy is changing• Unified Europe:

– New markets, different cultures, new languages

• Internet changes economies:– Consumers can and will compare online– Online markets change distribution channels (retail) – Changes communications: postal services, telephony

• Internet changes value perceptions:– If information is always available, you need to differentiate.– Creativity, branding, image becomes valuable– Production is not a differentiating factor and out sourced to low

income countries

The role of teachers is changing• Children have all the information they want, anytime, anywhere

• Teachers no longer are the experts or primary source for information

• Teachers do know…….– where to find relevant information– that information is sometimes biased– how to combine and reflect on information– how to learn and set personalized learning goals

• Teachers will become learning coaches, aimed at realizing personal potental of each student

The 21st century learner

Today, we..

•educate by lecturing, while the majority of lectures is available online,

•still build schools with class rooms, so we can continue lecturing,

•ask children to be quiet and listen….

The school heads perspective:How can we make people

feel that they belong at school, work towards clear goals and feel

appreciated

Education changes:

Pisa 2018: focus on 21st century skills.

Government change education policies

Can school heads change their schools?

School autonomy Detailed national curriculum More autonomyCyprus BelgiumFrance CroatiaGermany DenmarkItaly EstoniaIreland FinlandSpain Iceland Scotland Lituania

NetherlandsNorwaySloveniaSweden

Autonomy + innovative Detailed national curriculum More autonomyCyprus BelgiumFrance CroatiaGermany DenmarkItaly EstoniaIreland FinlandSpain Iceland Scotland Lituania

NetherlandsNorwaySloveniaSweden

Relation with RETAIN

In 18/13 countries: school heads are influential or even the decisive factor*

Their goal: People will stay if the feel they belong, are appreciated and work towards clear goals.

Means of the school head: - Quality management - Resistance to change- Pedagogies

*(2014, ESHA market reseach)

Quality management

Q4I project (2015)

Quality management

- Identity: sense of belonging- Goals: sense of achievement- Personal Growth Plans:

can a teacher stop learning?

Resistance to change

• Organisational aspects:– Learning organisation: support experimentation,

appecriate lear ings through success and failure.– Every teacher should have a development plan

• Personal aspects: – Teachers are risk averse, innovation means taking

risks. – How do people deal with insecurities?

Carneiro, Verboon (2013)

Resistance to change

Key deliverables:– Tool: measure Emotional Intelligence &

Organisational Intelligence– Course:

OI: how to create an open creative environmentEI: how to be more perceptive to innovations

http://www.iguana-project.eu/

Pedagogies for 21st century schools

• Focus on learn to learn

• Learning is fun and challenging

• 21st Century skills (Information Literacy, Problem-solving, Creativity and experimentation)

• Attitudes and values– Curiosity– Differences and change are celebrated (Individual learning goals)– Not necessarily to find a ‘correct’ answer (Focus on rewarding students, no

public grading) – Every student feels important– Active classroom learning

• Teachers as Model Lifelong Learners

• Education is organized both horizontally and vertically

Are 21st century schools successful?

• Research: 20 high performing colleges and universities– engage students individually: Staff know their

students: who they are, where they came from, what motivates and inspires the students and where they hope to go.

– faculty focus on active classroom learning (Flipping Classrooms project, Entrepreneurial learning)

Iowa State University research

The flipped classroom

Entrepreneurial learning process

• Students go through an actual entrepreneurial learning process in which they influence and own their individual learning path*.

• Students actively participate in and even lead their learning efforts.

• Entrepreneurial learning is the opposite of traditional classroom learning.

* Kyrö, 2005

EE relevance

• Entrepreneurial education leads to an increase in perceived relevancy, engagement and motivation

• For both students and teachers

(Surlemont, 2007)