The document discusses the question of whether schools should pursue fundamental change or incremental improvement. It notes that there has been little discussion about this important question. It also provides a short description of the differences between incremental improvement, which focuses on small, continuous changes, and fundamental change, which requires completely rethinking the nature of schooling from the ground up.

1. “Fundamental change,
or incremental
improvement;
the question is not so
much which is right, but
rather why has there
been so little discussion
about the question”?

2. Where do you see your school?
1 2 3 4
Incremental Improvement Fundamental Change
Incremental improvement. Continual small changes to the way school
might function to provide measurable improvement.
Fundamental change/transformation looks very different. It is not
“tweaking” at the edges; this is not doubling the length of classes or
developing cross-curricular programs. Rather than build on the
successes of the past, fundamental change requires a complete
rethinking of the nature of school and learning from the “ground up”.

4. Emerging Models of Teaching &
Learning
Teacher Learner / Learner Teacher
Deirdre Butler
deirdre.butler@spd.dcu.ie

5. Difficult Questions
• What kind of future do we want to create?
• What kind of people do we wish to
nurture?
• What are the values we want to live by?
• How can digital technologies help this
happen?

6. Digital Natives / Digital Immigrants
Marc Prensky, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, From On the
Horizon (NCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)

7. Schools & The Knowledge
Economy
• In an economy driven by knowledge rather than
manufacturing, employers are already valuing
very different skills, such as creativity,
communication, presentation skills and team-
building. Schools are at the front line of this
change and need to think about how they can
prepare young people for the future workplace.
(Their Space: Education for a digital generation,
Demos, Hannah Green & Celia Hannon,
2007,p.15)

8. The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read or write but
those who cannot learn, unlearn and
relearn.” (Alvin Toffler)
“We must be the change we want to see
in the world.” (Gandhi)

9. The Trinity Knot

11. We need to empower learners to use and shape the
world with these “convivial tools” (Illich, 1974), rather
than be shaped by them.
Vygotskian principle - that changes in tools will bring
about changes in thinking, and that these changes in
turn are associated with changes in culture.
“untilrecently the narrowness of range of the
possible doings severely restricted the
implementation of the idea. The educational vocation
of the new technology is to remove these
restrictions” and enable “a restructuring of
knowledge itself” (Papert, 1991, p.22).

12. Invest in people as much as PCs ?
• In order to see change across
the system, there needs to be
a shift in thinking about
investment from hardware
towards relationships and
networks. In the last ten years
we have seen a staggering
change in the amount of
hardware in schools, but it
has not had a significant
impact on teaching and
learning styles.
(Demos p.16)

13. Re-imagining schools
• Shift in kinds of
investment - People &
PCs
• Shift in the kinds of
skills, experiences
and relationships that
schools value

14. Constructionism

15. The Learners
• The Learners’ needs, interests and
experiences are at the forefront of the
learning experience
• Control / ownership vested in the Learner
• The Learner must accept responsibility for
setting their own learning goals in order to
meet their interests and needs

16. Constructed Artefact
• “Object to think with”
• A means by which others can become
involved in the thinking process as it
develops
• Iterative design process
• The group dynamic is important as the
artefact grows and learners share and
reflect.

17. Materials
Challenging
Addressing personal needs and interests
Conversational
Inviting contemplation and negotiation
Connective
Supporting personal relationships and idea
that transcend traditional subject boundaries

20. Don Quixote
Narrative Context
• Don Quixote –
Impossible Dreamers

22. Mind Map - September

23. Mind Map - November

24. Mind Map - March

25. Self-Determined Learning
• Ownership and control vested in the learner [Dignity]
• Democratic decision making [Inclusion]
• Provocative, engaging, and challenging computational materials;
• Challenging learning experiences in sustained, immersive, Atelier-
style learning environments;
• Embedding learning in their own experiences (“objects to think
with”);
• A support framework that addresses each individual needs,
interests and experiences;
• A supportive community with a diverse range of backgrounds;
• Adequate time to allow self directed learning to develop and
changes to take place.

26. Second Level System – DCC & ISP
• LASW - “Object to Think with”
• Embedded in Classroom context / everyday
reality
• Set of rubrics that describe 5 key dimensions
for Innovative Teaching and Learning
– Knowledge Building
– Collaboration
– Problem Solving and Innovation
– Self- regulation
– Use of ICT for learning

27. • “One of the most valuable courses I think we did with
you was the coding of the assignments… because
you had people sitting around the table who were
from all different subject areas. That I felt was very,
very beneficial, and I know that they enjoyed it
greatly, and there was great feedback from it…with
the one-off training people have been thinking how
can I use that in my specific subject. But I felt the
coding was more universal, it was across the board
of what a 21st century learning assignment should
look like, and that got people thinking an awful lot”.
(Interview_School_Leader, 2009)

28. Digital Learning Peer Coaching
- “Object to Think with” – Classroom
practice
- Digital Fluency
- Communication / Collaboration skills
- Deepening understandings of learning
- Sustainable / Scalable Framework