Has Learning Changed Now?

Last week I attended a Christian Education Network conference on Leading and Teaching with Grit. One of the sessions was on Grappling with AI, and the speaker, David Youl, asked the question 'Has Learning Changed Now'? 

Whilst David's question focused on the impact of generative AI, I think it is a relevant question in general for those of us who teach, as well as those of us who parent, as we partner together in the education of our children.

Has learning changed now?

We are now nearly one-quarter of the way through the 21st century. We have come through three years of massive change where grit and tenacity became the hallmarks of our profession - for teachers and for the young people that we teach. Learning how to navigate these changes was as fundamental as the learning that was actually taking place. 

The skills that our kids needed to develop - understanding themselves as learners, understanding how to learn, and knowing what to do when learning is challenging - which are all traits of a self-regulated learner, are now much more a part of the learning landscape than ever before.

Has learning changed now?

We now know so much more about how our kids learn. Insights from cognitive psychology and neuroscience have provided us with a huge amount of data on the learning process. We can see what actually happens in the brain when learning takes place, and this knowledge is being used to explore how different learning strategies can be utilised to facilitate deeper learning and help our kids to become more engaged and effective learners. 

The Australian Government has recently recognised that an understanding of how the brain processes, stores, and retrieves information is so crucial to learning that universities will be required to include it as part of the core content in every teaching degree in the future. We are currently developing our Jumpstart Learning program in the Secondary School, for students and for staff, which will draw upon these insights to provide a richer learning experience for our students.

Has learning changed now?

Learning is not just about taking in information but having the wisdom and discernment to know what to do with that information, how to process it, apply it and transfer it to different contexts, not only to solve problems and come up with solutions for the challenges of the modern world, but also to add beauty, vibrancy and meaning to life. 

A fundamental aspect to learning is humility - the ability to know when our views, opinions and perspectives may need to be re-visited and reviewed - and to respond with curiosity, imagination, flexibility, empathy, compassion and courage. These traits, which are part of our inherent 'humanness', or the 'image of God' within us, are now as important to learning in the 21st century, as the 'Three R’s were to learning in the 20th century.

There are some things that haven't changed. The way our teachers respond to our kids - with a starting point of unconditional positive regard - and the commitment of our teachers to developing learning opportunities and creating environments where our kids can flourish, questions are encouraged, confidence can grow, and where each child has the opportunity to reach their God-given potential, have always been hallmarks of our approach to teaching and learning at DCC.

Has learning changed now? 

If we compare the way we approach learning now to the turn of the century, or even to 10 years ago, I think it definitely has. Our approach to learning is not the only thing that has changed though, so have our 'learners’. But that is a post for another day!!