Why choose one when you can have both!
Almost all discussions about our National Curriculum seem to push the idea that we need pupils to be pumped full of knowledge. The basic argument is ‘the more you know, the better you will do in life’. Whilst not in any way suggesting that you are better off not knowing things, it seems to me that we live in an age where a huge amount of information is at our disposal, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unfortunately, not all of it is reliable, leading to mistakes, misunderstandings and a host of other problems.
Surely our children would be better served if we were to teach them how to interact with and verify information – a discernment curriculum. The good thing is that they will still be acquiring knowledge (although maybe not quite so much so quickly), but the better thing is that they will be learning skills that will help prevent them from being hoodwinked by chancers and fraudsters. In my opinion, this is a more desirable outcome than just pumping them full of information for future regurgitation when challenged by Ofsted or School Improvement Partners – a ‘pub quiz curriculum’ where, by answering enough questions correctly, pupils win their schools the chance to be kept out of ‘Special Measures’ (or whatever OFSTED are calling it nowadays…)
This is not some ‘pie in the sky’ unattainable dream, but something that can be put in place in a primary school classroom relatively easily (with the permission of subject leaders, SLT, etc). Take this random example, based on part of a Year 4 Geography topic at the school where I teach. It took a matter of minutes to generate this using AI. It can be tweaked by adding particular maps to use or facts to include – and what it supplies can be further edited. The teacher is still in charge!
P.S. I know the issues around the reliability and accuracy of AI generated materials. However, at primary school level, it isn’t too hard to check that what you have been given is accurate – KS1/2 work is really not that detailed…
Prompt I used for the AI app:
Using a current map of the locality (I named it in the prompt), create two information sheets from different pretend websites for a Year 4 child about what the locality is like now, but put 4 factual errors in one of the sheets for the children to find when they compare it with the map. This is for use over 2 one hour long lessons.
Seconds later it produced two ready-to-use information sheets written as if they were from different child-friendly websites. One was accurate, and the other included 4 deliberate factual errors for children to spot using a map of the locality. There was an answer sheet for the teacher’s information.
It also produced a brief suggestion for structuring the lessons. If asked, it could provide additional material and guidance for working with pupils with specific needs. These are all suggestions that a teacher would be able to use, amend or ignore as they saw fit.
By the end of the sessions, children would have acquired knowledge of their locality whilst simultaneously developing their understanding of the need to cast a critical eye over information they encounter – discernment and knowledge at the same time!
So, as the Curriculum and Assessment Review enters its next phase, and schools’ schemes of work are revamped, let’s take the opportunity to include a discernment element. In these times of disinformation and ‘fake news’, it could be the most powerful lesson we teach.
Mike
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