As teachers, the most powerful and valued attribute to develop in students is the ability to think. Digital learning expert Professor Garry Falloon shares his insights.
Professor Garry Falloon has been a pioneer and leader in digital learning innovations for most of his teaching and learning career. Garry taught in schools in Christchurch, New Zealand, before moving into leadership roles with the Ministry of Education and the University of Waikato. Garry joins Macquarie’s Department of Educational Studies with a depth and wealth of experience in online and classroom-based digital learning. He shares his experiences and passion in his specific field of interest.
When I began teaching, computers were just starting to come into classrooms. I was fascinated by the way in which even very young students intuitively and fearlessly interacted with them. Back then, I used Seymour Papert’s Logo [computer programming language] and was amazed at the learning microworld they created. My students were completely engaged in solving the problems and challenges presented to them in the software – discussing, testing and evaluating strategies and using sophisticated higher-order thinking skills in the process.
What trends do you see impacting education today, and what do you think it means for the future of education?
New technologies and systems are going to have an even greater impact on education in the future. We are already seeing major changes to education facilitated by technology, leading to a ‘blurring in the line’ between formal and informal learning and learning environments, as learners have access to information when and where they need it. However, while information might be viewed as the building blocks of knowledge, it is not knowledge in itself.
Turning information into knowledge and eventually wisdom requires considerable cognitive effort and often the support of ‘knowledgeable others’ to guide or facilitate this process. While we may have unlimited access to information, this does not necessarily make us wiser or more knowledgeable. A major challenge for education going forward is to encourage and equip young people with the attitude and skills to critically interact with and evaluate the myriad of information they have access to – that is, using it safely and ethically to build accurate knowledge and well-informed opinions and views. Knowledgeable and skilful teachers have a crucial role to play in helping their students develop these capabilities.
What advice would you give pre-service teachers entering the workforce?
You are entering the profession at a very exciting time but also at a time of great challenge and change. Traditional systems of education, based on industrial models of schooling where the ‘front loading’ of knowledge takes precedence, are no longer sufficient to prepare young people for the rapidly changing and dynamic world they are to be future citizens of.
As teachers, the most powerful and valued attribute to develop in your students is the ability to think. Fostering enquiring minds and attitudes – willing and able to critically evaluate and use information and experience purposefully, productively and ethically to build accurate knowledge and understanding of our world – should be your ultimate aim. This is not easy in environments where teachers are under significant compliance pressures and where the quality of student learning is increasingly being defined by narrow, standardised test scores. However, my advice is to focus firmly on educating for the future – building critical thinking skills and attitudes in your students that will equip them well for a productive and meaningful future life of learning.
Garry is an accomplished researcher and author or co-contributor of a number of articles and conference papers. He has received national and international awards for project leadership and research in e-learning. His work at the University focuses on online and classroom-based digital learning, particularly mobile device-supported flexible learning environments, curriculum design, collaborative learning and key competency development.
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