Yesterday marked the beginning of a new era in the teaching and learning in AISS – with the emphasis of the 21st century curriculum and the endorsement by both the school leaders and the middle managers of my school. Such a curriculum looks at helping our students develop competencies skills which is also applicable on either skills-based activity (CCA, ICT, CCE) or academically based study (IP areas). The four sets of competencies skills to be developed are 1) Thinking 2) Communication 3) Socio-cultural and 4) Collaboration. The Mnemonics will be “Today Can Sure Can!” I would like to single out this sentence from the 21st century curriculum website “…. to succeed in such a world, our students must develop the “life-ready” competencies it will demand of them.” as I appreciated what is meant by being a set of competency skills to be taught in school that is much sharply closer to any of what is needed by our students after they leave school (not solely for work alone).
After nearly a year since I first took on my role as one of the middle managers in ICT, I have believed that we were on the cusp of something very important for teaching and learning by the use of the technology. However, there are times when I felt that some departments were not fast enough implementing their department ICT plans. As much as I hate to admit it, everyone make mistakes. And it is during the review with the IP departments and the presentations at the AI Learning Seminar that proved me wrong! I was acting on the basis of incomplete information and on my own eagerness. I now realized that I need to deal with the small changes that I can make in order to become effective middle manager and not try to move a mountain with one determined push. Before, it seemed as though such advice encouraging me to become preoccupied with trivia, but I now realized that this is also an important aspect of concern which I as a middle manager need to work on. I suppose this is what is meant by having a series of fairly small improvements that can add up to some significant results. The important thing is also to know how to balance concern for details with an ability to see the overall pattern of the whole school. Areas such as the learning of the 21st century curriculum having now received much more attention will offer the greatest potential that ICT has for exploiting our students’ capacity to develop their learning process.
As a step towards achieving the goal, I intend to spend some time thinking about the single biggest challenge I think faces the implementation of the 21st century curriculum in the school. There is a need to think individually and then as a collaborative group with the different department heads of the different possibilities. As middle managers, we need to be clear on these challenges, for middle managers all have to respond to our teachers who may dispute our views that we have had in mind for such implementation. In this way, the common identified challenge is discussed to learn if it can be resolved. And if the challenge cannot be overcome completely, what actions can be done by us middle manager as well as our teachers to manage or isolate the problems?
Yes, I'm glad you have been encouraged by the works of our colleagues, small as they may be, but these are the sparks that will ignite the fire eventually.
ReplyDeleteMy belief and philosophy, recently discovered, is to allow many different practices to flourish and catch those that exemplify the concepts, approaches or framework that we need the others to emulate. (see my reflection on my reading of Michael Fullan's Change Leader, on Practice before Theory).
We shall continue to hold many of these deep conversations on curriculum, holistic programs and people development as we lead and care for our pupils and teachers.
Looking forward to include you in our exploration of the 21st Century Curriculum.