Empowered Learners & Conceptual thinking

If I'm being honest, listening and reading the slides on conceptual thinking at 8.30am in the morning had me a little bit frazzled and muddled, but as with anything new, when I start allowing time to think and unpack this idea I'm sure my understanding of conceptual thinking will improve. My biggest take away was giving our students the opportunities to not be passive consumers of technology. To not always just consume, consume, consume, but to actually be active creators and innovators of digital solutions. Getting our tamariki to thinking deeply about digital solutions to modern problems, or creative alternatives allows our students to not only develop problem solving and critical thinking skills, but it also is setting them up with the foundation knowledge and digital fluency skills that they will take with them throughout their personal and future professional lives. 

As we know, the diversity of our classrooms is ever growing and ever changing. Not only is there diversity of culture and language, but we are facing a huge diversity and difference of students oral language skills, social skills, communication and readiness to learn. Some of our students are sometimes set their fates due to their home life. Some of our tamariki come into school already disadvantaged and are not available to learn, perhaps because they had share a bed with their siblings and did not get a good nights rest, or perhaps haven't had a meal in a while and they are hungry. The sad reality of poverty in New Zealand is truly reflected in our classrooms. And I am sure every teacher can think of a student that suffered at the fate of their life at home which they cannot control. I'm always asking myself what can I do? How can I help? 

One way that we can help these tamariki is teaching them and helping them to become digitally fluent. Giving them the tools and the strategies needed to work online gives all of students the skills for the workforce. Its giving the power back to them and allows students to decide their own fate, because now they have the skills that our current and future workforce requires. They not only gain the skills but also the work ethic. They learn how to finish their mahi to a timeline, and they can also learn how to not fall victim to easy distractions and how to critically reflect and consolidate their learning. Not only this, but digitally fluent children can then pass this learning onto whānau. I am often helping my grandparents with their computer and iPad, and I can guarantee students will also be educating and helping their whānau with digital problems too. 

Today we learnt about the basics of coding. Straight away my mind thinks back to my learners and one in particular who has a love of coding and anything computers or digital. He is always checking in to see what I have learned on my DFI days, and tomorrow I cannot wait to show him what I have done, and what I have learned. Using the minecraft code website I am able to get a real basic and easy introduction into the schemes of coding. While having a go and doing this task I was reflecting on the type of thinking and processing that I was doing in order for my code to work. Its problem solving mixed in with a bit of critical thinking. If we can give our tamariki these skills early on in life, it very well may just open up the door for a potential career path for them in the future. Websites like this is a great positive way to engage our kids in not only problem solving, but also reliance and perseverance. I know this because I felt giving up a couple times when my code was not working!