This week we’re proud to announce our guest article, written by none other than Mr Greg Whitby.

Someone once wisely observed that the secret of education is to be found in respecting the student.

In all our necessary discussions of accountabilities and organisational arrangements, it is important to stop every now and again and focus on the core of our work which is the student and the ways in which his or her learning outcomes can be improved.

As the focus sharpens, we become more acutely aware of the context, characteristics, values, learning styles, interests and personal experiences of those we are called to teach.  When this happens, we are in a position to raise the bar and genuinely improve the quality of service we offer.

Introducing Generation Z

The students who are presently in our schools have been called Generation Z to distinguish them from their older brothers and sisters in Generation Y, their parents in Generation X and their Baby Boomer grandparents.

This school-age generation has much in common with the present generation of young adults in that both have been growing to maturity in the digital age.  Both have embraced the opportunities provided by an explosion of technology which has given them a significant context for learning and growing.

New social technologies, such as iPod and cellular phones, Myspace and Facebook, are now taken for granted by these generations which are adept at strengthening friendships and expanding relationships in ways that are both real and virtual.  Instant messaging is just one strategy which draws them into virtual communities in real time, no matter where they are.  These are not just items of technology; they constitute an environment for living and learning.

Generation Z is highly interactive: their social life, served by technologies they have made their own, is busy and expansive.  They have greater access to the adult world than was available to their parents’ generation, so much so that some observers gloomily predict the ‘death of childhood’ as young people of this generation are hurried through life’s most formation stages.

Certainly, the life of many in this school-age generation is accelerated and strictly scheduled to encompass a wide variety of out-of-school and away-from-home activities: sports, shared hobbies and being ‘cared for’ in different child-care and after-school agencies.

Unusual status

Because of the technological competence they have acquired as a normal part of growing up in today’s world, the members of Generation Z are often given an unusual status in their own homes, advising parents on the operation of the latest items of technology and even influencing family purchases of such items.

Yet they are still children and adolescents with ever-present needs to be loved, to be guided and to belong, the express themselves, to play, to learn values, to make sense of experiences and to grow in wonder – all essential requirements of human beings on the road to maturity.

What kind of education?

Our school-age Generation Z students live and learn in a context of massive information-overload.  Rather than more information, they desperately need an education in how to manage and make sense of it, in how to filter it with discernment, in how to integrate it in meaningful and cohesive ways.

This avalanche of information and the technologies which disseminate it are part of the much broader context within which schools operate. The world is not as it was when teachers themselves were students.

What kind of education will best serve these students?  How do we match the world of the school with the wider world in which the students live?  These must surely be amongst the most important questions facing educators today.

An environment serving educational goals

The real issues around technology are not essentially about hardware and software.  We are challenged to create a particular kind of environment in most purposeful ways. The new technologies are not ends in themselves.  They serve the educational goals of developing the whole person, of serving the common good, of preparing students for future employment, of developing a social conscience and a global consciousness, of producing discerning thinkers, astute decision-makers, appreciators of our cultural heritage and, above all, lifelong learners.

Such goals must be pursued wisely, in ways that are relevant to the learner and that enable the best kind of learning to occur.

In considering the ways of pursuing our educational goals which involve improving the learning outcomes of every student, I will confine myself, in this instance, to three areas.

Relationships

More important in the educational process that organisational arrangements, syllabuses or strategies are the relationships which link students with their teachers and with other students.

Effective schooling is, essentially, a relational process.  Teachers and students learn from each other in the context of a rich and robust relationships.  Students need teachers who have the ability to explain and instruct with clarity and precision.  But, more importantly, they need teachers who are effective models and mentors, co-constructors of knowledge, fellow learners and companions on the journey to becoming lifelong learners.

The learning environment

School facilities and the various learning spaces that are created, both indoor and outdoor, enable the emergence of new models of learning appropriate to Generation Z.

Bold examples of new school architecture stimulate flexible approaches and creative adaptations.  Arrangements for various uses of information and communication technologies facilitate networking both within and beyond the school as well as provide a powerful medium for personalised learning.

Even in the most traditional buildings, innovative principals and teachers seize opportunities to modify and adapt learning spaces so that fresh and innovative approaches to learning and teaching can be implemented.

This may be something as simple as arranging classroom furniture in ways which maximise interaction when that is appropriate, whilst providing for more intense personal study when that is necessary.

An openness to new opportunities and a general flexibility can extend beyond the use of physical resources.  The structure of the timetable, the composition of the program, and the ways of organising learning opportunities can all be approached with a mindset open to appropriate innovation in the light of the needs, interests, capabilities and experiences of students.

Pedagogies

Pedagogies which are informed by the nature and experiences of the new generation of learners will weave learning into the ways we all live, and prepare students for lifelong learning.  These pedagogies will enhance the autonomy of individual learners while, at the same time, induct them into a community of learners.

Because learning will be relevant and personalised, expectations will be high and the bar will be progressively raised.  A culture of learning will see the processes of learning and teaching reflected upon and continually improved, and the outcomes of learning carefully monitored and achievement celebrated.

This generation’s claims

I began this reflection with the question, Who are our students?

The answer is as challenging as it is simple.  They are Generation Z, the second generation of the digital age.  Their life experiences, ways of dealing with their environment, approaches to building friendships and community, methods of learning and ways in which they have come to approach schooling, all create an exciting set of challenges for their teachers.

In fact, the whole community is challenged by the claims of this generation of students for education that is engaging, meaningful, truly developmental and, above all, relevant.

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You can learn more about Greg Whitby by visiting his blog; Bluyonder. I originally found Greg on YouTube.

We’d like to express a big thankyou to Greg for sharing this article with the Beyond Chalk community.

Written by Brad Halcrow.
Brisbane Beyond Chalk Facilitator