Tipuranga Room 16's Blog: 'Empowering a Community of Learners'
I've had to two days listening to Tony Ryan. He is an Australian educationalist. I have listened to Tony four times now and I have never been disappointed. He is inspiring! He talks about learning in the 21st century, 'The Age of Learning'. We need to ensure that the single greatest competency will be for kids to become learners and thinkers. This is what we have been promoting for our children at Wanaka. At the course and on the Tony's blog he discusses the importance of creative thinking and sees this as the most vital 21st century skill. He had a quote from UK presenter Ken Robinson. “Creativity is as important as literacy.” I loved this quote. He proposes that all education systems need to nurture the creative spirit in all children. As Tony said, "The old saying on 'thinking outside the square' in the 20th century has become more like 'thinking outside the dodechedron' in the 21st century. We need to become more solution focused and provide real life opportunities to do this in all areas of life. Thinking is learning is thinking. The future belongs to a different kind of person with a very different kind of mind, creators and empathisers, pattern recognisers and meaning makers. Powerful stuff and something we as teachers and parents need to think about. The new NZ curriculum addresses this change.
The key competencies in the new NZ curriculum will help teachers prepare children for their futures and hopefully help to develop more creativity in children and teachers (especially the thinking aspect of the key competencies).
thinking
using language, symbols, and texts
managing self
relating to others
participating and contributing
People use these competencies to live, learn, work, and contribute as active members of their communities. More complex than skills, the competencies draw also on knowledge, attitudes, and values in ways that lead to action. They are not separate or stand-alone. They are the key to learning in every learning area.
We are really excited about these as they provide a sound foundation to build on these 21st century learning dispositions needed by our children.
If you would like more information about these please pop in and see me. I would love to talk about these with you. If you want to read more on these click on this site.
http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/the_new_zealand_curriculum/key_competencies
We presented these facts in assembly. We have answered nearly all of our wonderings!
1. Venus Fly traps are carnivorous plant. That means they eat meat. Like other plants, Venus' Flytraps get nutrients from gases in the air and nutrients in the soil. They live in poor soil and are healthier if they get nutrients from insects.
2. The leaves of the Venus Fly trap open wide and on them are short, stiff hairs called trigger hairs. When anything touches these hairs the two parts of the leaves snap shut trapping whatever is inside.
3. The trap will shut in less than a second. The trap doesn't close all of the way at first. If the object isn't food, e.g., a stone, or a nut, the trap will reopen in about twelve hours and 'spit' it out.
4. When the trap closes over food, the cilia keep larger insects inside. If you fold your hands together lacing your fingers like this you can see what the trap looks like.
5. In a few minutes the trap will shut tightly and forms an air-tight seal to keep the digestive fluids inside and bacteria out.
6. The trap closes around the insect and digestive juices dissolve the soft parts of the insect, but not the tough outside. The digestive process takes from five to twelve days. The trap absorbs the digestive fluid back into the leaf and then reopens.
7. The leftover parts of the insect blow away in the wind or are washed away by rain. The time it takes for the trap to reopen depends on the size of the insect, temperature, the age of the trap, and the number of times it has captured an insect.
Arrow cards are a valuable teaching tool in the classroom. I found this game that uses these. Have a go.
