I recently gave a talk at the Westminster e-Forum on behalf of Naace. Here is the text of that
presentation, which had to last no longer than four minutes. The audience was
composed of Members of Parliament, journalists, and high-ranking representatives
of skills organisations, companies and educational bodies.
The sub-text of the brief I was given was, no doubt, that schools should be
doing more to encourage young people to take up careers in the IT industry
(possibly via a university computer programming course of some description).
I have issues about that. For example, is it schools' job to do what the IT
industry itself seems to find difficult to do, ie make IT-related jobs seem
exciting and non-"nerdy" (especially to girls)? As often is the case, schools
were taken to task by some of the speakers for the fact that ICT lessons are
boring -- as proven by the fact that one of the speaker's daughter says so.
Actually, many ICT lessons are boring, but I like to feel that
my own evidence for saying that (inspections, school visits, and general reading
and discussion) is rather more robust. As I said in a comment from the floor at
the end of one of the sessions, the phenomenon is well-established enough for me
to feel moved to write a book about it (see the article about that).
More importantly, any subject can be taught in a boring way. The challenge is to identify good practice and then find ways of disseminating it.
But there is another issue. According to the Leitch Report,
"Today, over 70 per cent of our 2020 workforce have already completed their
compulsory education."
That being the case, isn't it a bit late to be focusing on schools?
Anyway, read on to find out what I actually said, which, as I say, had to take no longer
than 4 minutes. I did it too :-)
The brief
ICT in schools: Are children being taught the 'right kind' of IT?
Theme: Is teaching of IT skills in primary and secondary schools, colleges
and universities meeting business's needs in providing IT-literate employees?
What are the different levels of IT skills; from basic IT skills to advanced
computing?
What IT skills do employers want?
What kind of skills should young
people be taught, and how can industry share this with the education
sector?
You can view and download the agenda
here (PDF).
My comments about best practice were not originally scripted. I was
responding to comments made by previous speakers to the effect that ICT
(educational technology) lessons in schools were boring. And how did they arrive
at this conclusion? Well, in one case it was based on what the speaker's 12-year
old daughter had told her. I had the impression that similar comments by other
speakers were equally well-founded. Anyway, here is what I said:
Thank you. My talk is based on the principles of educational ICT as
stipulated in the National Curriculum, and as realised by the best
practitioners, rather than the worst.
I'd like to start by slightly
redefining the terminology. For the most part, schools teach ICT rather than IT,
where the 'C' stands for Communications. So I prefer to think in terms of
ICT-literacy or digital literacy rather than IT-literacy. If you boil the ICT
Programme of Study in the National Curriculum down to its bare essentials, it is
quite simple: problem-solving in the context of technology.
To expand a
little, the underlying model is a seven-stage cycle:
1. Identify a
problem.
2. Break it down into its component parts.
3. Consider possible
solutions.
4. Implement a solution.
5. Test whether it works in itself.
6.
Evaluate whether it works as a solution in this context.
7. Go back to the
start if necessary.
The skills needed in order to carry out this process successfully include:
- Analysis;
- Collaboration; and
- An ability to self-reflect honestly.
These skills are what we might call 'soft'. As far as the hard IT skills like
word processing are concerned, pupils are taught skills on a need-to-know basis,
they are taught how to work out what sort of skills they need for a particular
task, and they are taught how to teach themselves. Also, when you look at the
key concepts addressed in the National Curriculum, such as the validity of
information, these are not trivial.
Problem-solving in our schools starts with five-year olds. Level 1 in the
Programme of Study stipulates that pupils explore options and make choices to
communicate meaning, and that they should develop familiarity with simple ICT
tools. This is relevant to our discussion here today. By the time pupils have
gone through the system they should be confident and competent in
problem-solving using ICT. Towards the other end of the scale, the Key Stage 3
on-screen test for 14 year-olds has developed into a formative assessment tool
in which pupils undertake simulated real-world tasks using a range of software
tools provided.
Does the approach work? Let's consider some of the findings from the
recent Ofsted Annual report, published on the 17th October.
1. "In less successful schools, the basic skills of literacy, numeracy
and ICT needed for future success are not acquired quickly enough. In areas of
higher deprivation, pupils do least well in relation to achieving future
economic well-being."
2. "In the most successful lessons, teachers are
enthusiastic and knowledgeable, encouraging pupils to be independent learners
and to think for themselves. ICT is often used well to support this work and to
engage pupils."
3. "[There is] a clear link between engagement with ICT and
attainment in English and mathematics."
4. "The 2020 vision report on
personalised learning made it clear that, as well as the vitally important
literacy, numeracy and ICT skills, children need:
- the confidence and ability to respond creatively to new experiences,
challenges and opportunities;
- to be resilient in the face of difficulty;
- to investigate problems and find solutions;
- to work collaboratively and independently;
- to evaluate information;
- to persevere;
- and to manage their own learning."
The very skills that are taught
in the context of ICT in schools.*
So, in conclusion, I would argue that the
kinds of skills taught in schools, over an extended period of time, are
precisely those which are likely to prove most valuable to business and industry
in the long run. What schools do is teach children how to think, and therefore
how to acquire the specific skills that they will need in a particular job.
* Subscribers to the Practical ICT eJournal are able to download my analysis of the ICT-related aspects of the Ofsted report referred to, along with key issues arising from them.
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