
In the early 2000s, I was invited to move from teaching in the classroom to teaching in the “Computer Lab” at The Elisabeth Morrow School. It was an exciting prospect, but I was also apprehensive. My training was in teaching, not digital technology. However, Director of Technology, Sarah Rolle, encouraged me to accept the challenge. I realized that either a techie would have to learn to teach, or a teacher would have to learn the tech. I was already experimenting with how to integrate new tech in my classroom, so I decided to give it a go.
Developing curriculum for emerging technologies required me to rethink everything I thought I understood about teaching and learning. I quickly realized that it was impracticable and, subsequently, impossible to master each new technology before teaching it. More importantly, I became aware that my lessons had gaps and sometimes lagged behind the pace of students' knowledge.
I became obsessed with figuring out how to keep learning relevant when no one could predict the trajectory of emerging technology—whether it would flourish, evolve, or fade away.
I shifted my focus from developing curriculum and started to engage students in conversations about the technologies they used outside of school. I immersed myself into investigating those technologies, choosing the most promising ones to introduce in clubs and afterschool programs. I allocated ample time for playing and exploring those platforms with students. My intent was to have students help me identify which technologies were worth the school's time and dime. Instead, they opened my eyes to something far more valuable—the way students learn outside of school, peer-to-peer and on their own.
That was the turning point when my pedagogy started to transform, the first change being my teaching habits.
I learned to resist answering questions too quickly. I learned to focus on lesson objectives rather than providing step-by-step instructions. I learned to stop helping students at the first sign of struggle. I learned to step back and give students space to take responsibility for their own successes, failures, and do-overs. I learned that the knowledge students create for themselves is far more durable than knowledge I transfer. I learned to trust in students' ability to learn without me. I learned to trust myself to know when and how to provide meaningful and provocative feedback.
It turns out that so-called “soft skills”—such as self-management, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration—are the "key skills" for coping, adapting, and thriving with change. The thing is, these are skills that cannot be taught. They must be developed from within, and in an authentic context. Creating space for students to take responsibility for their own learning provides that opportunity.
The new pedagogy I was developing at The Elisabeth Morrow School gained attention locally and abroad. Students and I were invited to share our work at conferences. Visitors came to the school to see student-driven learning in action. While it was exciting that our work was getting so much attention, it was challenging to describe the shift in my teaching practice, especially the further it departed from traditional methods.
When I discovered New Zealand’s National Curriculum (NZC) in 2014, I finally found the language and tools needed to explain what I had learned about keeping learning relevant.
The NZC focuses on developing the whole child rather than chasing a checklist of academic benchmarks. The Curriculum outlines Kiwi values, principles, and highlights a list of “soft skills” as essential “Key Competencies.” I was captivated by NZ's vision for its youth. I wanted to know more!
I moved to New Zealand to teach and deepen my understanding of the NZC. I was fortunate to be offered a teaching position at Newlands Intermediate, a school exemplifying the guiding values and principles of the NZ National Curriculum. I was thrilled to see they were already working on how to integrate Key Competencies in everyday learning, the very thing that was driving my own thinking. Principal Angela Lowe gave me the brief to design a digital curriculum that would fill students with awe and wonder. Best brief ever! I had found the right place to continue developing the work started at The Elisabeth Morrow School.
In 2020, Angela tasked me with teaching teachers how to support student-driven learning (SDL) within their own practice. Deputy Principal, Simon McAtamney, facilitated and supported a school-wide implementation of SDL through shared schedules, assessment tools and coordinated professional development. Deputy Principal, Lena Meinders, helped us understand the Māori concept of Ako Torowhānui (holistic learning), which recognises everyone as both teacher and learner (Tuakana Teina). Daniel Miller, having experienced firsthand the profound benefits of SDL, innovated new ways to implement, support, and assess SDL throughout his classroom curriculum. His work provided invaluable new models of how to keep learning relevant.
Newlands Intermediate's commitment to supporting Key Competencies through student-driven learning has been ambitious. It has taken patience, thoughtful reflection, and much iteration for SDL to finally become part of our school's lexicon. We have had successes and setbacks, but the hard work continues as we strive to help students become independent and confident thinkers and learners.
It was a wonderful surprise to read the New York Times opinion piece, “Giving Kids Some Autonomy Has Surprising Results.” It is the first time I've see this topic addressed in a mainstream publication. The article is eloquent, concise, and provides practical examples of how teachers and parents can make small but effective shifts in this direction.
As we stand at the threshold of the AI era, it is time for a much-overdue shift in how we prepare students for success. Our schools no longer have the luxury of business as usual. It’s time to embrace the change and prioritise the skills that truly matter if we are to keep learning relevant.
Related
AppleTree 2011: Game to Learn
NetFamilyNews 2013: Save the Universe’: Clear space for learning by Anne Collier
NZCER SET Journal 2018: Play, games and culture: How games transformed my pedagogical practice
Leadership Ed 2020: Doing things differently by Deniz Uzgun
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