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How can student voice be amplified by Year 10 Elective Geography students, so they are future-ready?
An action research project to investigate student and parent understanding of transdisciplinary skills to help the Geography, Business, Economics (GBE) Department develop future ready global citizens.
Liam Hume Geography Teacher and Celestino Project Lead Debra Owens Geography, Business and Economics Teacher
Following the MMG Student Wellbeing Survey 2020 (an annual survey undertaken by Year 5 to 12 students), student voice was identified as a growth area across the College, primarily in Years 8 to 10. Student voice can come through feedback, involvement in decision making or by allowing students to exercise some autonomy over what they learn and how they learn (Gonski, 2018).
Through future imagining workshops, we aimed to investigate how the Geography, Business and Economics (GBE) Department can give students a voice in directing their learning and building their own capacity to gain the knowledge and transdisciplinary skills they need to contribute to a better world. These transdisciplinary skills include collaboration, creativity, citizenship, communication, critical thinking and character. This action research chose to focus on the following transdisciplinary skills, as identified by Fullan, Quinn and McEachen (2018, p.17): 1. Critical thinking – Geography students at Pymble are encouraged to critically evaluate information and arguments, identify patterns and connections, construct meaningful knowledge, and apply and assess this knowledge in the real world.
2. Collaboration – Geography students at Pymble work interdependently and synergistically in teams with strong interpersonal and team-related skills, including effective management of team dynamics and challenges, making substantive decisions together, and contributing to learning from and having an impact on others.
3. Creativity – Geography students at
Pymble are encouraged to have an
‘entrepreneurial eye’ for economic and social opportunities, expressing oneself in unique ways, asking the right inquiry questions to generate novel ideas, and leadership to pursue those ideas and turn them in to action.
4. Communication – Geography students at Pymble communicate effectively with a purpose and voice in a variety of models and tools (including digital) and tailored to impact a range of audiences and learning outcomes.
WHAT WAS OUR RESEARCH ALL ABOUT?
Our research aimed to investigate strategies for promoting student voice in GBE through student workshops and in the practical application of these findings to the Year 10 Elective Geography Urban Living Lab program. The Urban Living Lab program involves students collaborating with industry experts from Celestino and CSIRO to solve complex, real-world challenges facing the development of the Sydney Science Park in Luddenham, Western Sydney. Student voice acknowledges that students have unique perspectives on learning, teaching and schooling, and should have the opportunity to actively shape their own education (Victorian Government, 2020). Students from Year 10 Elective Geography were given the opportunity to imagine their future selves and the future (transdisciplinary) skills they will need to be active citizens in shaping their future (Davies et al., 2011). By engaging students in authentic opportunities to be active participants in their own learning, GBE ultimately aims to use this research to enhance student voice throughout the College, to improve student wellbeing and allow students to build their own capacity for a transdisciplinary future.
WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH?
Participation in the research was offered to all Year 10 Elective Geography students in 2021. Students were invited to attend three lunchtime workshops throughout Term 2. The number of student applicants was initially capped at 20. Dr Susanne Pratt is a research consultant and lecturer in the Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). She has a research interest in transdisciplinary pedagogy, including student-staff partnerships and transdisciplinary teamwork. Susanne Pratt and Jake Plaskett (Director of Student Learning 7-10) were consulted to guide the research project and facilitate the workshops. Finally, parents of the Year 10 Geography students were invited to complete an online survey about transdisciplinary skills and the future-readiness of their children.
METHODOLOGY
In November 2020, a successful application for the College’s Kate Mason Professional Learning Grant was made. Research and planning of the action research project were completed throughout Term 1, 2021. In March 2021, an action research invitation and consent forms were sent to students and parents. The action research was completed throughout Term 2, 2020.
There were three student workshops, which were each forty minutes in length. Workshops took place at the start, middle and end of the Urban Living Lab program. Workshops one and two were attended by 20 students. The third workshop was attended by 45 students.
Empathise
Understanding people
DESIGN THINKING
Ideate
Generating ideas
WHY IS OUR RESEARCH IMPORTANT?
Young people will need different skill sets to thrive in technology-rich, globalised, competitive job markets (Torii et al., 2017). It has been acknowledged and accepted that these transferable skills better equip students for the future of work and to take their place as active, global citizens (Beddie et al., 2014). A survey conducted by the Australian National Skills Commission (2021) asked employers about the importance of these sorts of skills. Some 75 per cent of employers considered employability skills to be as important, if not more important, than technical skills. As teachers, we have a commitment to our students to not only teach syllabus content, but also prepare our students for their future. This action research will critically reflect on the research findings to make transformative change for the students at Pymble.
Define
Figuring out the problem
Test
Refining the product
Prototype
Creation and experimentation
Future Readiness Workshop 1 The focus of Workshop 1 was to provide students the opportunity to begin to develop ideas about how the GBE Department can develop future-ready students. This was done through a learning sprint of the Design Thinking protocol. The Design Thinking protocol underpins the Urban Living Lab program and is a process for creative problem solving. Each of the four transdisciplinary skills are fundamental for being able to navigate through the five stages of the Design Thinking protocol (see Figure 1). In this workshop, students identified challenges that the GBE department would face to develop future-ready students. They collaborated to develop a prototype for what the GBE department could do to overcome this challenge.
Future Readiness Workshop 2 The purpose of Workshop 2 was to initiate student reflection on what proficiency in the four transdisciplinary skills would look like in the classroom. Students used the Chalk Talk protocol to consider what a proficient learner would ‘look like’, according to Fullan, Quinn and McEachen (2018, p.17). The Chalk Talk protocol included students brainstorming silently the characteristics that they would expect a student to have who is proficient in each of the four transdisciplinary skills. Students then compared their ideas to the characteristics identified by Fullen, Quinn and McEachen (2018, p.17) and identified characteristics they did not consider. Students were also asked to reflect on opportunities they have been provided to develop these skills in the Urban Living Lab program and in a wider school context. Future Readiness Workshop 3 Workshop 3 used the River of Life protocol to provide students the opportunity to reflect on their learning journey during the Urban Living Lab project. The River of Life protocol involved students mapping their journey through the Urban Living Lab program, which invited students to consider situations that helped or hindered their ability to develop the transdisciplinary skills identified in this research. Students were also asked to reflect on how the Urban Living Lab project assisted with the development of future skills and to offer ideas for how these future skills could be implemented throughout the Geography program.
Parent Survey A survey was sent to 12 parents who responded to the research invitation. The survey involved 18 questions, which aimed to provide an insight into their awareness of the relevance of transdisciplinary skills for their child’s future. Parents were asked to rank the four future skills based on their importance and relevance to Geography, apply their understanding to scenarios and to offer suggestions of how both the GBE department and Pymble could assist the development of future skills.
WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?
Results from Future Readiness Student Workshops The Future Readiness Student Workshops revealed that students have an inconsistent understanding of what it means to be proficient in the four transdisciplinary skills. Through comparisons of student Chalk Talk protocol brainstorms with the Deep Learning progressions from Fullan, Quinn and McEachen (2018, p.17), it was identified that student understanding of the transdisciplinary skills can be ranked in the following order (1 being lowest level of understanding). (See chart over page).
As educators, this indicates that more time needs to be allocated to explaining and modelling the skills involved in critical and creative thinking, as our students found these less familiar. It also suggests that students are not being made aware of individual intricacies of these two skills and misconceptions are present. For example, students identified ‘coming up with’ as a criterion for critical thinking, which would be more relevant for creativity. Student understanding of creativity also missed the ability to develop novel ideas. Hence, teachers need to provide more guidance on how and where they can develop these elements of each skill and provide more opportunities to reflect on their progression in becoming proficient in these skills.
Rank showing student understanding of the skill Transdisciplinary Skill
Sentence starters used by students in Chalk Talk exercise
Gaps in understanding identified through comparison with Deep Learning progressions
1 Critical thinking
2 Creativity
3 Collaboration
4 Communication
Table 1: Application of Transdisciplinary Skills ‘Identifying’, ‘Thinking about’, ‘Dealing with’, ‘Coming up with’, ‘Why’
‘Different perspectives’, ‘Developing ideas’, ‘Brainstorming’, ‘Thinking about’
‘Working in pairs’, ‘Group work and discussions’, ‘Helping with’
‘Giving a speech or presentation’, ‘Deciding’, ‘Discussing’, ‘Using different modes’ Using logic and intuition, analysing, synthesising and evaluating data, anticipating and analysing connections, interdisciplinary and student reflection.
Making change, having courage, demonstrating leadership skills, using a range of digital platforms.
Being able to articulate reasons for mode of communication, empowering others to be challenged, enriching the understanding of others.
Results from the parent survey Figure 2 shows how parents value the importance of each transdisciplinary skill for their child’s study of Geography. Sixty four percent of parents identified critical thinking as the most important skill for their child’s study of Geography. When compared with results from Workshop 2, critical thinking was the transdisciplinary skill of which students had the least understanding. In Geography, students are regularly exposed to language around being creative, to collaborate in groups and to communicate in different modes but are not often explicitly asked to think critically. Being able to think critically is a challenging skill and needs to be modelled carefully to enable students to build capacity over time. As Geography teachers, we recognise the unique opportunity our subject offers for developing global citizens. Adults working in professional workspaces will also understand and value the daily importance of being able to think quickly on your feet, assess problems and find the best solutions. Students learn about a plethora of global challenges and will be the generation tasked with developing solutions to overcome these challenges. Developing students who can successfully think critically in Geography will be key to best prepare students for both their study of Geography and future progression through tertiary education and into the workplace.
IMPORTANCE OF THESE SKILLS FOR YOUR DAUGHTER’S STUDY OF GEOGRAPHY
18% Collaboration
9% Communication
64% Critical thinking 9% Creativity
Eighteen percent of parents identified collaboration as the most important skill for their child’s study of Geography. The results from Workshop 2 found that students demonstrated good understanding of this skill. Group work is common in Geography at Pymble and assessment tasks often involve students collaborating in groups. Evidence of successful collaboration is used on marking rubrics. Through this regular practice, students have been provided opportunities to understand how and why it is important to work successfully in a team. Through this, parents are also aware of the regular opportunities for collaboration through their child’s assessment results and subsequent reporting.
Figure 3 shows parent suggestions about how Pymble can assist parents in supporting the development of transdisciplinary skills in their child. Providing regular feedback through reporting, marking rubrics and learning discussions was selected by 83 per cent of parents. By incorporating critical thinking into learning rubrics and reporting, parents will gain greater awareness of their child’s current capabilities and will be able to support their child to improve their understanding and proficiency in this skill.
CONCLUSION
When comparing the student results to the parent survey, it is interesting to note that parents identified critical thinking as the most important transdisciplinary skill for the study of Geography, yet this was the skill which students demonstrated the least understanding from Workshop 2. This highlights the importance of being able to build capacity in both student awareness and understanding of these transdisciplinary skills. This needs to be both a College-wide approach, as well as one within the Geography, Business and Economics Department. As educators, we are, therefore, required to model proficiency in these skills and provide students with clear explanations, expectations and feedback on their progression in these skills. By making students more aware of both the importance of these skills for their future selves, as well as making the skills explicit in programs, assessments, rubrics and marking, students will be empowered to guide their own development of these skills through their self-reflection of strengths and weaknesses.
Being able to differentiate between critical thinking and creativity was a student misconception that was highlighted in Workshop 2. Critical thinking involves some degree of creativity to be able to analyse and evaluate data and apply knowledge to real world scenarios. So, as educators, it is important for us to make these differences clear. An example of this in Geography is the Urban Living Lab program. Students are required to think critically about a complex, real-world challenge facing the development of the Sydney Science Park. Through the Design Thinking protocol, students empathise with stakeholders and evaluate their wants and needs. When this has been done, students are able to define the problem which they aim to address. Students then collaborate in groups to research and demonstrate creativity to research and develop a novel idea that could be implemented in the Sydney Science Park. Students are given a choice of how to communicate their idea. Being able to develop further partnership avenues both within GBE and across the College will provide students more authentic learning experiences in which they can develop the transdisciplinary skills needed for their future.
17%
Provide real examples of how these skills are important for your daughter’s future
0%
Other, provide details
0%
Provide information evenings on this topic
83%
Provide feedback on your daughter’s progress in these skills through reports, marking rubrics, learning discussions etc
Figure 3: How could we (as a school) help parents in supporting the development of transdisciplinary skills for their daughter?
References
Beddie, F., Creaser, M., Hargreaves, J., & Ong, A. (2014). Readiness to meet demand for skills: a study of five growth industries. NCVER, Adelaide.
Davies, A., Fidler, D., & Gorbis, M. (2011). Future Work Skills 2020. Institute for the Future, University of Phoenix Research Institute. 1 (1), 1-14.
Fullan, M., Quinn, J., & McEachen, J. (2018). Deep Learning: Engage the world, Change the world. Thousand Oaks, California. Gonski, D. (2015). Through Growth to Achievement: Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools. Australian Government. 1 (1), 1-158. National Skills Commission. (2021). State of Australia’s Skills 2021: Now and into the future, Australian Government.
Torii, K., & O’Connell, M. (2017). Mitchell Report: Preparing young people for the future of work. Mitchell Institute. Victoria University Victorian State Government. (2020). Student voice. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/ school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/ humanities/civics/Pages/studentvoice.aspx. Last accessed 17th November 2020.
