‘Redesigning our View of Schooling to fit a 21st Century Model’

[Paul White]

‘Redesigning our View of Schooling to fit a 21st Century Model’
Professor Stephen Heppell in Room F101 Pui Ching Middle School

Stephen Heppell

By admin | March 25, 2008

Originally Professor Stephen Heppell was going to join us here in Hong Kong for the conference. Stephen is well known to many Hong Kong teachers and leaders and was dissappointed when he realised that the dates were going to clash and he would not be able to make it in person. Stephen has agreed to share some ideas with us via Web Conference instead.

You can get an idea of Stephen’s work on this site.

[Paul White]

A very interesting video conference presentation with Professor Stephen Heppell, where he expertly answered questions from the audience.

One question was how can you reconcile 21 Century learning with exam systems that are from 20th or even 19th Century? His answer was that once we have engaged students in 21Century learning, they will find the exams easy, because the exams systems around the world are designed for disengaged students.

One of the images he sent during the presentation is attached.

[Jane]

if that is the case, does this not further disengage students and reinforce the perspective that education is a waste of time: why study for irrelevant qualifications? add the "shopping mall" style of subject choice offered in many six-form colleges, high schools and universities and everything slips a little further towards "what's the point?"

it's depressingly and excitingly overwhelming at the same time!

[Dianne Mckenzie]

I agree with you - my boys are at an exciting school in Australia - but still they see school as something they have to finish before they can get on with their lives, and I am afraid that I have a similar outlook sometimes.

School is a holding pen for young people, to allow them time to grow up so when they leave they can then start learning and doing stuff they love.

A controversial statement perhaps, but maybe something that illustrates the other controversial statement "don't let school get in the way of education".

Kids used to leave school at 12 if they were lucky enough to get schooling, The objectives were to learn to read and write and do some sums. When they mastered these skills they could leave and get a job. Then it was decided they needed some more education - history, geography, literature etc so Year 9 (14years) became the norm , then more of this stuff needed to be learnt and they were forced to stay until year 10 (15-16 yrs). Now kids are encouraged and literally forced to stay in school until they are 18 'for more education '. Who made up these rules and why? We can't learn everything in school, and I don't think kids will tolerate being in school any longer than where we are. Maybe instead of making it quantity we need to look at quality.

Do young people really need to finish 13 years of schooling to be prepared for the big wide world? Or is it because we want them to be sheltered for longer? or that we don't want to have to deal with them in the workforce? Are they really prepared when they finish school?

My statement of the day is "I hate exams" and believe they do nothing to further education. They are an extremely out dated mode of assesment and they do not take into consideration different learning styles or teaching methods or even authentic assesment, and they kill creativity and motivation.

Just 'some out' there questions.