There are several trends taking place in our education system in New Zealand and internationally. Some of the trends in NZ at the moment are Modern Learning Environments (MLE), focus on 21st Century Skills and incorporating Coding into our curriculum from 2018.
For me working in a MLE is a trend that is still being debated whether it is more or less effective for our students. Interesting they are not referred to as MLE by the Ministry of Education anymore but Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) as this has greater recognition internationally.
I think ILE reflects more of what the learning environments are like. I know in my school we need to call our MLE an ILE now as we co-teach, are working collaboratively, constantly evaluating what we are doing and what we need to do for our learners. Interestingly Smardon and Charteris (2016) spoke of 'open plan' classrooms in the 70's but this was dependent on the willingness and capabilities of teachers to make this work. Some may remember these classrooms, I don't. Now a lot of our school leaders are working towards ILE classes. I think teachers still need to be willing to work in these environments as it takes a lot of give and take to make these great spaces work. As stated on tki 'an innovative environment is one that is capable of evolving and adapting as educational practices evolve and change - thus remaining future focused.'
In an ILE students learn at a level appropriate to their development, collaborating, independent learning, working together and problem solving, reflecting and evaluating. These are some of out 21st Century Skills. The flexibility within these classes is that students and teachers can work in individual areas, shared or break out spaces . Students need these flexible spaces for flexible learning especially as we are becoming more technology focused. These learning spaces support the delivery of programmes that cater for a diverse range of learning needs and abilities.
An ILE is an ecosystem that includes the activity and outcomes of learning. It includes the physical, social and pedagogical context in which learning occurs. It is a holistic concept.
We need to be educating our students with the skills to ensure they are able to feel confident with technologies that are shaping their future. We need to be aware of the advanced skills students will need to succeed. These include 21st Century skills such as global languages,advanced digital skills as well as social and emotional intelligence (OECD, 2016). All of these can be nurtured within an ILE classroom.
References
Ministry of Education (2017) Enabling E-Learning retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Innovative-learning-environments
Knocking down walls and buying new furniture? What are innovative learning environments really about (2016) - Dianne Smarton and Jennifer Charteris in the NZ Principal Magazine, March 2016
retrieved from https://issuu.com/nzprincipal.co.nz/docs/nzp_t1_2016_
OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris.
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