VIEWS & OPINION


Will edtech have the power to level the playing field for all


learners? Comment by GORDON REID, Principal Teacher in North Lanarkshire and Co-owner at G&C Education


In March 2020, educators across the country were forced to put aside their tried and tested tools and classroom strategies to combat the immense disruption to what they knew as normal school life. New methods of teaching and learning were introduced overnight. Children were taught from home. Teachers ran classes from their kitchens and the use of technology was no longer optional, but a necessity. Over the course of three national lockdowns, we have seen varying


evidence to suggest that this rapid transition of technology playing a big part in day-to-day teaching and learning, isn’t a revolution to be feared but embraced. Concerns over increased screen-time and diminished interest in physical books and outdoor play aren’t the national crisis they were once perceived to be but are perhaps demonstrating the evolution of how children today enjoy learning, socialising and preparing for new skills they’ll need to rely on in years to come.


The power and potential of EdTech wasn’t a completely new


phenomenon in 2020, with a report from the Westminster think-tank, Reform in 2018, championing its potential to ‘improve outcomes of every pupil… particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.’ This potential to improve outcomes for these pupils has only become more apparent since COVID-19 hit, to – in the words of Brookings researchers – particularly reward ‘disadvantaged or underserved communities as a unifying force that encourages collaboration.’ The evidence and potential was undoubtedly there, but as schools


closed for the first time, the socioeconomic disparities of children and their families across the UK become quickly evident, with many children unable to access appropriate devices to complete their learning on, and initiatives quickly rolled out to try and level the playing field of access to the technology they were in need of. The return to school in a post-lockdown world has highlighted a


new need for a different type of EdTech. One that not only boosts pupil progress at a time they need additional support, but recognises the unique learning journeys pupils are on and that their path to progress may look quite different to that of their classmate. Sumdog’s free maths subscription for KS1-3 uses a sophisticated, adaptive learning tool to quickly diagnose the level each child is working at then adjusts questions to help them progress at their own pace, alongside their friends, without the anxiety of how everyone else is performing. It is this type of creative technology that we need now in our


classrooms. Ease of use and an intuitive experience for both pupils and staff are key so that pupils can get on with learning and enjoying time spent on each subject so it’s embedded for the future, while we can get on with what we do best, teaching - not acting as tech support!


New thinking is needed for new challenges


Comment by FELICIA JACKSON, Chair of the Learn2Think Foundation


Whether it’s stories of fuel shortages caused by a lack of HGV drivers, or the loss of species from people encroaching on wild land, or increases in extreme weather driven by climate change, we are surrounded by news of seemingly foreseeable problems that have complex and interconnected causes. One question we need to ask ourselves is whether or not the way in which children are taught today will help them understand and tackle these complexities. The mostly linear approach we take in education doesn’t work for


most 21st century problems. Children are not unaware of these problems but they can feel anxious and powerless in the face of so many apparently insurmountable challenges. The fact that pupils have returned to school with a pandemic ongoing only adds to that strain. How can we empower them to look at the world in a different way, and see how they can engage and effect change? Under the climate banner there are obviously school strikes, like Fridays


for the Future – not something every school is going to want to encourage. Children however need to learn how to change the way they think, in order to learn to adapt to the 21st century. Teaching children systems thinking incorporates so many skills that we


want to encourage from social and emotional skills to critical thinking. It takes practice, like all skills, but it can be taught from the earliest age, as children playing with blocks are working through ideas about what might work or not, how different elements will work together to build their


October 2021


castles, and how to communicate as a team to build well. The majority of problems that the world faces today are systemic,


whether that’s climate change, racism, poverty or homelessness. These issues are hard to understand and unpick, because they are symptoms of entire systems malfunctioning, and it’s difficult to address one element without affecting others, both positively and negatively. One of the most famous cautionary tales of the systems thinking


movement is that of the ‘Borneo Cat Drop’ – where the WHO sprayed malarial mosquitos with DDT to prevent illness. There were a series of unforeseen consequences, from DDT getting into the insect population, which eventually concentrated in the cat population, which died in huge numbers, leaving grain stores open to a rat plague, leading to the spread of disease. In Borneo, the story goes that balance was restored when the WHO


parachuted cats into the region. The point of the story is that all systems work in a type of equilibrium, and once disturbed, it can be difficult to predict what will happen next. The sort of problem solving we need in a truly interconnected and


globalised world is not linear. It’s not as simple as cause and effect but more about interconnection and balance. And current educational approaches can’t support this sufficiently. There is an obvious role for critical thinking because systems thinking requires you challenge your worldview, which in turn changes the range of solutions that you might deem acceptable. More time and effort must be spent on questioning: on teaching the skills to question why things happen and how they can be changed. Such an approach builds a framework where solutions can be tried, where all voices can be heard and feedback integrated into solutions to improve them on the fly. There is no right or wrong when trying to find solutions for complex,


intractable problems. This is a conversation that children are already having on their own – they know that climate change is a danger, that poverty, homelessness and inequality are unfair and unreasonable. If we want to help them grow, we must provide them with the tools and frameworks to address such problems.


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