The Future of Education

“Added Value Learning Innovation” presents the concept of using innovative learning methodologies to support teachers of Mathematics and STEAM subjects in their classrooms. Added Value is an Erasmus + Project that has conducted research among four partner countries into current teaching policy and practice. The project is currently developing and piloting innovative tools among teachers in these countries, Poland, The Netherlands, Spain and Ireland. The project operates on the principle that teaching of STEAM subjects, in particular Mathematics, will be enhanced by using methodologies that emerge from the use of playful, fun and imaginative tools. The research has highlighted the differences in teaching practice between the countries and the impact of these differences. The tools being piloted have utilised Design Thinking in their development, and the initial response to the call for participating schools, particularly in Poland, has revealed a hunger amongst teachers for such an approach. This paper argues that teaching methodologies need to recognise teachers and learners as co-constructors of learning, moving onwards from pedagogy through andragogy, towards a heutagogical ethos supporting the principle of self-directed learning. The value of play in this move will be addressed, with examples from the business world, illustrating the concept that innovative, playful practices offer an important tool to foster and support long-lasting positive dispositions to learning and creativity. Such dispositions are vital in developing an intrinsic and enduring motivation to learn among students of all ages, and will encourage creative thinking, not just among students and workers but for the benefit of society as the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century advance.

Keywords: Innovation, Teaching, Play, Motivation, Learning;

References:
[1] Bruce, A., Graham, I. Added Value Research Report (2018), Added Value Erasmus+, Project 2017-1-PLO1-KA201-038851
[2] Whitebread, David (2012) The Importance of Play, University of Cambridge, Toy Industries
[3] Pellis, S. and Pellis, V. (2009). The Playful Brain: Venturing to the Limits of Neuroscience. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.