Abstracts – Session One
10:00 – 11:00 – 6EN – 356
Chair: Anna Vasilyeva
Siu Kit Yeung: A gamification model for future-oriented education
It is a general consensus that the 21st century society has been changing exponentially with increasing VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). Forces of globalisation, digitalisation and automation continue to reshape society, the nature of work will hence change, creating demand for new skills development. Such demand has direct implications for education regarding the theoretical underpinnings (e.g. role of school and teachers) and practical approaches (e.g. selection of pedagogies).
This presentation identifies three of the key criteria of future-oriented education (namely (1) internalisation of learning, (2) affective and ethical aspect of learning for wicked problem solving, and (3) offering meaning and motivation for self-learning), and more importantly, attempts to explore practical insights for achieving these criteria through the lens of gamification.
A three-tier hierarchical gamification model is developed with the gamification elements, including level 1 game components, level 2 game design, level 3 game thinking. While most gamification research and practices stay on level 1 application (e.g. the implementation of badges, leaderboard or points to promote self-learning on online learning platform), it is argued that the full potential of gamification has not been harnessed. Higher level applications (such as creating immersion experience through narrative, role-playing or simulation during class time) are initially conceptualized and suggested. Further exploration and validation of the relationships between various gamification designs and learning effectiveness will be required to meet the changing needs of the future education.
Edward Pinel: The implications of future-focused change for New Zealand primary school teachers
Future-focused changes have emerged from 21st century literature that highlights the importance of change, however little consideration has been given to the logistics of instilling new practices across schools. As the leaders of students’ learning it is inevitable that teachers’ understanding, beliefs, and attitudes sit at the heart of determining the implementation of new practices, but little is known about the relationship between primary school teachers and future-focused change. Therefore, this study set out to discover the ways that future-focused changes are being understood by and influencing primary school teachers. A case-study approach, using observations, interviews, and an online survey was utilised to help develop a clearer picture of teachers’ perspectives and practices across a number of innovative Auckland schools. Through spending time with staff within these schools it was possible to develop a clearer picture of New Zealand’s current primary school context and hear teachers’ attitudes towards current changes, their understanding of new practice, and the implications changes hold for their role and wellbeing. This brings a helpful new perspective to the ongoing debates that surround the future of New Zealand’s primary school system.
Andrew Madjar: Understanding educational change through Greek Tragedy
In this presentation, I will explore how Greek Tragedy can provide an important perspective on educational change.
Teachers are faced with complex and challenging problems. Consequently, we can be easily tempted by the promise of educational research to give us the answers. By pursuing rigorous scientific inquiry, we strive to develop the techniques, methods and practices that can bring about substantial change. We endeavour to replace ambiguity with clarity and impotence with agency.
However, I will contend that such an understanding of educational change can lead to a naive idealism that loses touch with the reality of living with children. Therefore, I want to explore how we might think about educational change in a way that takes seriously our experiences of ambiguity, uncertainty and impotence. To do so, I will provide a reading of the tragedy, Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles. This play confronts us with how our pursuits of knowledge are powerless when faced with the contingency of the world. Consequently, tragedy challenges any hubris that may creep into how we reflect on our lives with children. As a result, we are left with a modest vision of educational change defined by partial agency and dependence.
But tragedy is not defeatist. Rather, I will argue how reading tragedy can deepen our ethical awareness and our sense of hope in the lives of children.