Mindlab Week One

What a great group of educators to begin this journey with.  We were asked to reflect on two questions?
What is knowledge?
What is the purpose of education?

It has been interesting to see the results on our Google plus community.  There are many similarities and I am left asking myself if this is a result of how we have been educated?  Do we all really believe the same things or are we, as teachers, confined within the box of pedagogy?

I am hopeful to find the answer to this question over the next year as we take this journey together.

Tony Wagner in his talk on "7 skills students will need for the future"  provokes  us to think about the capabilities that students will need in the future; for  a successful career, for continuous learning and for active and informed citizenship.  How do we re-imagine education for the future?
1. Critical thinking and Problem Solving
2. Teamwork and Networking.    Skills: Understand and respect differences and lead by influence
3.  Agility and adaptability.  Skills:  Being able to work across areas
4.  Initiative and entrepreneurism.  Be willing to set stretch goals.
5.  Effective oral and written communication.  Use analytical thinking and personal voice for       persuasive writing.
6.  Ability to access and analyse information.
7. Curiosity and Imagination

These skills dovetail beautifully with the aspirations of the NZ curriculum.  They also fit with key competencies and science capabilities.