Vie ws & Op inio n Views & Opinion Early Ye Years practitioners:


REAL-LIFE researchers Comment by ALICIA BLANCO-BAYO, Early Years


lecturer and consultant


“Research,what’s that? Theory scaresme” There was a time when research was presented in such technical terms that only those familiar with this kind of excessively eloquent language could engage with the content.Many of us have felt at some point that it was not fo practitioners on the ground fl


oor’. This is what r us, ‘the


made me want to do something about it. Research entered my life when I worked with children and practitioners from diverse cultural


backgrounds in schools in different parts of the world. I found myself in situations where I lacked understanding in many areas within my field and quickly realised I needed to continue learning. I began to search for human development and learnt that our competences when greater emphasis is given to emotional


develop further perspectives on


competence as the central point. The more I read, the more I felt I could connect with people from various backgrounds. As I became more aware


of how important it was to acknowledge people’s emotions, I felt it was time to adapt my teaching strategies. I stopped accepting that teaching was about following a particular scheme of work. I had to be more personal than that. In order to support children so that they would develop the skills that could become useful later on in life, my teaching became research-informed. I chose to gather ev progress focusing on emotional competence an


d then supporting the idence of individual


development of other competences from that. I also wrote my own reflections of children’s progress and how the strategies to support emotional development were playing a crucial part in the emotional growth o f each child as an individual member of society It was not until I wrote my first paper part of aMasters programme that I realised I had been a silent researcher for a long time.What I also learnt at this point was that it was time to get out there and talk to practitioners about research, so that they would start using their valuable experiences as research opportunities.


.


Theory exists because somebody reported what happened whilst they put an approach into practice. All those people who have developed pedagogic theories throughout history, did so because they sat back to analyse what had occurred during practice. If as Early Years practitioners we aim to teach children to be confident thinkers, perhaps we can start this cycle by thinking about our own practice and the impact it has. Thi s is what real-life research i s.


If youwould like to discuss Early Yearswith Alicia, she ca contacted via herwebsitewww.aliciablancobayoconsultant.com


can be ct


Back to school:Why


teachers need to be taught digital skills and technology for the next generation Comment by ASHMERCHANT, Education Director,


Fujitsu UK and Ireland


It’s no secret that the UK is undergoing a digital skills challenge. So much so, recent research found that a skills gap could cost the UK £141billion in GDP growth. And if not addressed appropriately, we could see this prediction come true.


It is understandable that for many of the UK’s educators, technology and the digital era is moving at an unprecedented pace, which can leave the majority of people feeling as though they are behind the times. But as those responsible for the development of the next generation’s learning, it’s never


been more important for them to be up to speed with emerging and new technologies.


If the UK is to prepare the younger generation for the new and exciting digital world of tomorrow and secure its position as a leader for technology, it needs to start when they are young and at school.While it is of the utmost importance that children, teenagers and young adults are learning the right digital skills they need for the future, we cannot


2 0 www www.education-today.co.uk.co.uk


expect teachers to teach, if they themselves do not have the right knowledge and skills first.


The next generation are digital natives; they have grown up in a connected world, a world that never experienced what it is like to not be connected. This has meant that many students actually surpass thei r teachers when it comes to digital aptitude, and potentially leave teachers feeling unprepared to teach their students on such a crucial topic.


While teachers have strong ambitions when it comes to digital learning, we found that over half feel it is difficult to keep up with technological change. This comes as no surprise given the number of challenges they have to undertake, including balancing increasingly digitally literate students.


With many teachers across the education sector having the desire to deliver the use of digital technology effectively, it’s important that we as a technology industry are arming them with the skills required to educat e the next generation.


Take our work on our Certificate of Digital Excellence (CoDE) for instance. Seeing first-hand the urgent need for teachers to have the right digital skills and knowledge to inform and inspire their pupils, we created CoDE, a free, online learning experience for teachers.


If we can empower teachers through the learning of these technologies, they can, in turn, impact students and learners by promoting the right range of skills, whilst also providing excellent levels of knowledge to ensure we are fostering a generation that is prepared and equipped with the skills set they need to succeed in their ambitions in this digital landscape.


Not only does the education sector have a responsibility to ensure its teachers and students have the most up to date and relevant education , it’s important that the technology companies who are creating the jobs of the future play a role in transferring the necessary skills. At the end of the day, if we can empower teachers with the right technological and digital skills, we can provide students with the best chance possible to succeed in an exciting and ever increasingly digital world .


Marc h 2019 2019


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