The document discusses learning for 21st century skills in Africa and how it differs from current models in African schools. It addresses how virtuality is revolutionizing concepts like knowledge, time, space and thinking. Completely redesigning curricula to incorporate 21st century skills is constrained by factors like existing power structures, lack of knowledge about new approaches, and resource limitations. The document proposes a minimal process curriculum centered around themes and outcomes, allowing learners and teachers flexibility in how skills and knowledge are explored and assessed. A key concern is ensuring 21st century learning benefits all Africans and upholds collective African values, rather than serving only economic interests.

1. Learning for 21st century skills in AFRICA

2. How does 21st century learning differ from current practice and models in African schools?

4. A knowledge-based society Have we not always had knowledge-based societies? Can there be a human society without knowledge? Now the knowledge-based economy is being spread. By whom? For whom?

5. - what still exists for knowledge production and innovation? Indigenous knowledge systems in Africa

6. New knowledge is also needed, new ways of thinking, and new modes of communication!

7. Huge challenges in education...

8. ...and attempts to use ICTs to meet some of the challenges

9. The greatest digital divide...

11. The world is globalised.... ...how can we make it glocalised?

12. New ways of thinking, new ways of knowing Changing thinking changes ways of knowing Changing ways of knowing changes thinking.

13. Reflect.... What has changed your way of thinking? What has it changed from... ...and to?

14. Share with your neighbour.

15. Put these 21st century skills in order of importance: Digital Age Literacy (incl. global awareness, scientific and economic literacies): Effective Communication (incl. interpersonal skills, collaboration); Inventive/Innovative Thinking (incl. managing complexity, curiosity, creativity, synthesis, analysis); High Productivity (incl. prioritization, planning, managing for results)

16. Share with your neighbour.

17. Are there any skills - or domains - missing which you think are also needed for the 21st century? Make a note of those.

18. Share with your neighbour.

19. I wonder... What happened to: - identity? - critical thinking? - values?

20. Let’s not take anything for given!

22. What is the nature of the last curriculum and/or assessment reform in your country? When was it? Why was it necessary? Was it a back-to-the drawing board complete redesign? How successful would you say it was, seen from a system perspective? What were the constraints?

24. Curriculum reform is a political process where expertise has to work with different constituencies

25. Make bullet points: What problems have you encountered when trying to get approval to redesign or change curriculum or assessment, or for changes that have been made? What bodies does approval have to go through ? What constituencies do you have to negotiate with? What sort of arguments supported changes you wanted to make? What sort of arguments constrained the changes you wanted to make?

26. Share with your neighbour

28. Do we need complete redesign for the 21st century?

29. PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS - COMMUNITY (family, village, town) - VOCATIONAL TRAINING - NON-FORMAL/COMPLEMENTARY - FORMAL SCHOOLING

32. CURRICULUM USED TO BE THOUGHT TO BE GIVEN (DELIVERED) BUT IT IS APPROPRIATED BY THE LEARNER. ASSESSMENT FINDS OUT HOW MUCH HAS BEEN APPROPRIATED OF THE GIVEN, BUT NOT WHAT ELSE...e.g.

33. Language Family life Food & health Arts Traditions Locality Beliefs & values Games & sports Skills Learning from the community

34. ...can be “curricularised” like schooling. It is still given... ...and appropriated. It used to be all you needed to know.

35. Given this knowledge system, curricula are exploding in Africa. Formal education to a large extent replaced the community curriculum. Population Health Demo-cracy, Human Rights HIV/AIDS Environ-ment Commerce Tech nology P.E. Arts Social Science Natural Science Maths English French Portu-guese Mother tongue

36. Now the children appropriate the world!

39. With virtuality, the changes will be much greater, e.g.: The learner decides what s/he learns, when they learn it, how , and with whom Virtuality is changing the way children think, changing intelligences, and changing meaning Being self-directed, scope and sequence are not given Intuition plays a very large role

40. The teacher/instructor is no longer the arbiter of knowledge, only of schooling So how do we develop 21st century skills in teachers in Africa? How do we develop 21st century skills in teacher educators in Africa?

41. Now we are in a stage of formalising virtual learning, and virtualising formal learning Suppose we do something really different...

42. Suppose we re-classified knowledge Technology Communication Values Health Environment Society Curriculum urriculu

43. ...it would be progress, but still not be enough We could start with the skills, then select and shape the substance, (but leave a lot open) and decide what to assess and how but that would not be enough, because virtuality is even changing epistemology

45. It could be a minimalist process curriculum: Themes to explore and anticipated outcomes The rest is up to the learners and teachers: - learners decide how they will explore the theme, search, shape, present - the teacher models, challenges, supports, gives input where needed - learners and teacher assess - the teacher supplements where necessary

46. Then the barriers between knowledge systems can disappear: Community Non-formal formal vocational virtual

47. BUT:

48. Will 21st century learning in Africa be education for all? or Will it reproduce the existing structure of the system: an elite gain the skills needed to serve global economic interests? As for the rest....?

49. Beware!! The discourse of knowledge-based economies is one of competition not cooperation, Individualism not collectivity. How can we ensure that African values imbue learning for the 21st century?