Adaptivity as a Transformative Disposition for Learning in the 21st Century

Abstract

The twenty-fi rst century is characterised by constant change. Knowledge becomes obsolete quickly, and new expertise is continually needed in order to succeed and remain productive. As such, proponents of twenty-fi rst century learning have called for a new epistemology which views knowledge as a process and much less as a product. Hence, it is increasingly critical to participate in cross-boundary and disciplinary discourses and performances, and be adaptive to changing contexts and situations instead of remaining too specialised in routine expertise within one discipline. In this book, the editors have encouraged the respective authors to explore various aspects of adaptivity. These include: 1. Adaptive literacy as an imperative for all stakeholders in education, be they learners, teachers, teacher-educators, or school leaders; we also delve into the concept of adaptive schools and structural relationships between formal and informal environments; 2. Frameworks for thinking-about and designing-for adaptive learning which capitalise on learnings within and across formal and informal environments; 3. Theorisations on how to view adaptivity as a process-epistemology involving community- and collective-approaches and designs; 4. Theory and practice linkages of adaptivity to the related constructs of creativity and imagination; 5. Case studies from schools and participants in Singapore, which illustrate how adaptivity in learning as a transformative disposition is already happening, and how more could be done to improve the current status quo; and 6. Contextualised recommendations for fostering adaptivity as a transformative disposition for moving ahead as an educational-system in preparing learners, teachers, school leaders, and teacher-educators in the twenty-fi rst century. Adaptivity is relevant to Singapore in many ways. As a small nation-state, it has always been imperative for the continued economic development of Singapore to adopt a globalised orientation. This transformative nature of adaptivity is particu- larly relevant to students as they seek to be effective citizens navigating such vi Series Editors’ Foreword shifting milieux. However, current pedagogical practices still seem to focus on routines and procedures, which can limit students’ capacity for being adaptive to unpredictable situations. Yet there are sure signs of change. At a macro-systemic level, the Ministry of Education, Singapore is adopting a ‘living laboratory’ approach of seeding innovations by encouraging teachers to experiment and tinker with pedagogical ideas, as well as providing funding for such experimentation. At the sub-systems level, experimental schools are being set up with a view to providing alternative pathways to students in specialisations in the Arts, Sciences, and Sports. Such manifestations are examples of how the system as a whole tries to be adaptive and ensures that different pathways are available to students with diverse abilities. The emerging experience of Singapore in terms of thinking about, designing for, and scaling adaptive learning is valuable because over sustained periods of experimenting and tinkering, pedagogical innovations have begun to show signs of how the appropriation of a disposition such as adaptivity might be designed in schools by involving community-based approaches and structures. Case studies of adaptivity in schools provide practitioners and academics with insights into how capacity- building is critical to enact adaptive learning across different contexts. This volume documents a variety of cases from across the Singapore Education System as well as in Australia, Finland, and the United Kingdom in building professional capacity and in adopting various strategies for learning this literacy. It is therefore of critical relevance to administrators as they shape policies which foster the development of this disposition. Consistent with situated and contextualised notions of learning and cognition, there is a crucial need to frame the notion of adaptivity as a transformative disposition in educational practice. Through illustrations from both formal and informal learning, this book provides learning designs and frameworks for such acculturation. This book is unique as it ties (1) social-individual dialectics and (2) adaptive learning as it relates to creativity and imagination. It deals with adaptive learning from the perspectives of students, teachers, school leaders, and participants in social media and other digitally mediated environments. To date, there is no instructional framework adequately addressing the learning of dispositions. Most, if not all, instructional frameworks focus on the teaching of skills and knowledge. Literature on communities of practice (CoP) more directly connotes the instilling of attitudes and ways of seeing meaning (as identity and values). This book goes beyond CoP literature into facilitating conversations for the fostering of dispositions, which are construed as inherently cross-community. This is not least because, with the development of social media and digitally mediated environments, learning has become a much more dialectical experience. Members are exposed to multiple perspectives from within and across communities. Adaptivity is therefore critical because individuals cross boundaries much more regularly.