
The Thinking is the Challenge
Without any research, can you place these events in chronological order?
- Australia adopts decimal currency
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- First moon landing
- Cyclone Tracy
- Harold Holt drowns
- Referendum gives citizenship status to Aboriginal Australians
Chances are that you may not be able to do this off the top of your head. If you attempt this little quiz, your first instinct may be to look the answers up or even ask someone for help. For my generation, this was a typical classroom activity….Here’s the question, now let’s go to the library and see if you can get it right?
The research and then the staging/presentation of the information was the task. Sound familiar? But now, let’s try a different question.
Which of these events is the most historically significant?
- Australia adopts decimal currency
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- First moon landing
- Cyclone Tracy
- Harold Holt drowns
- Referendum gives citizenship status to Aboriginal Australians
This is how Connected Schools want students today to learn. Access the information and then interpret/analyse/evaluate/appraise/justify/propose/ideate. The research bit is easy. The thinking is the challenge.
Challenging students’ thinking is what our Connected Schools Curriculum leaders are thinking and talking about.
Jason Fay
Director of Learning
St Paul Lutheran School