The Department of Education has launched a new quarterly journal offering advice and strategies on how to prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
The Department said the journal, Future EDge, featured researchers and educators offering evidence, insights and practical strategies for teachers to use in the classroom.
“Amid the upheaval of COVID-19, creative adaptation and the availability of technology has been a spark and a lifeline to our economic and social life,” the Department said.
“Nowhere has this been truer than in education, where teachers and school leaders have responded with resilience and imagination,” it said.
“The developments of 2020 highlight the importance of preparing every young person in school today to navigate the world with critical clarity.”
The Department said that its first edition, entitled ‘Thinking Ahead’, focussed on making sure young people developed strong critical and creative thinking skills, built on a foundation of deep content knowledge, literacy and numeracy.
It said that among the first edition attractions were Irish author and educator Mary Roche who presents a practical guide for early childhood educators and teachers to support critical thinking in the youngest learners by using picture books.
“Yasodai Selvakumaran, humanities teacher at Rooty Hill High School and 2019 Global Teacher Prize finalist, reflect(s) on her own practice and sharing teaching strategies to enrich students’ content understanding through critical and creative thinking.
“Ronald Beghetto, educational psychology professor at the University of Connecticut, (writes) on how teachers can identify, model and encourage creative thinking – giving students the tools they need to solve complex problems and harness the power of new technologies like AI.”
The Department said the journal also featured a contribution from the Secretary of Education, Mark Scott, writing on achieving the Department’s vision as a responsive and evidence-driven education system.
The 82-page first edition of Future EDge can be accessed at this PS News link.
