SOFA

GWYNNE DYER  is a well known Canadian freelance journalist, columnist, and lecturer in Canada and around the world.  He regularly can be seen as a guest on the CBC National News.

STEPHEN MURGATROYD is an internationally recognized author, journalist, lecturer, and keynote speaker.  See previous posts on this website.

On May 31st in Calgary and June 1st in Edmonton, both gentlemen gave a presentation at a “Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta” event.  These were both open to the public.

During the lectures, Dr. Dyer talked about the importance of fine arts education in Alberta and he stated, “… don’t regard spending on culture as a an indulgence – it is a critical investment in the future of Alberta and will produce profound and poignant social and economic returns.” 

Dr. Murgatroyd made similar comments in support of fine arts education.  He stated, “…spending on arts education and creativity is as critical as spending on maths and science if Alberta wants to become an innovation economy where every talent is found, developed and available to help Alberta become the place the world needs to see. Cutting arts funding and arts education is a decision to limit the future of Alberta and will permanently damage our ability to compete and be successful as a Province – it makes no sense.”

For more information on the above, check out the following link:  http://www.learningourway.ca/

Note – we received permission from both Dr. Dyer and Dr. Murgatroyd to publish their comments on our website.

Dr. Stephen Murgatroyd is a recognized author, journalist, researcher and keynote speaker. He is the former Dean of the School of Business at Athabasca University, and first Executive Director of the Centre for Innovative Development – home of Canada’s largest Executive MBA, a program he developed and directed.  He has worked extensively in the public and private sector as a management consultant across North America and around the World. Further, he is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading experts on e-learning.

As a resident of Alberta (he lives in Edmonton), he is concerned about the quality of education currently being taught in our schools. In a recently published paper entitled, “Building the Schools that the World Needs from Alberta”, he states, “…Our social and economic well-being requires a different kind of school and learning from that which helped build such a successful Province. Essential skills (literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, digital navigation) remain essential, but so are other skills – social networking and team skills, problem solving, participatory democracy skills, Imagineering and creative skills, design…there are many such lists and different conceptions of what these lists mean. The point is simple: we need to rethink what it is our schools are doing and how they are doing it, building on our success in doing so.”

At a recent Calgary Association of Parents and Student Councils (CAPSC) meeting, Dr. Murgatroyd gave a fascinating presentation on educational reform, the future of education in Alberta, and shifts we might expect to see in our education system over the coming years. He believes the Alberta School Act should be based on a new set of guiding principles.  Further, the education of Albertans should involve a stronger partnership of schools, parents, students, and the wider community. During the presentation he made at the above meeting, he stated, “…in this century, given our nearly ubiquitous access to information, ‘knowing’ will rarely be enough. The real skills that must be developed involve ‘doing’ rather than simply ‘knowing’ … we need to find a new balance between real learning, assessment and accountability.”  He believes the following should happen:

• “Reduce role of Provincial curriculum to 50-60% of class time and let teachers create the balance
• Trust teachers assessment
• Sample test on standard tests
• Restore the engagement of community in their school
• Develop learning passports for each student – recognize common needs and individual differences
• Focus on academic disciplines in the context of real world problems – challenges drive content
• Invest in professional development of teachers – enable and equip them to offer 21st century teaching
• Invest in education – don’t cut it”

He also believes strongly in the importance of fine arts education to promote skill development in the areas of creativity, expression, and innovation.

Dr. Murgatroyd provided SOFA a copy of his presentation and discussion paper for posting on our site.  If you are interested in viewing the PowerPoint presentation he gave at the CAPSC meeting, CLICK HERE. To read his discussion paper on the future of education in Alberta mentioned above, CLICK HERE. To learn more about Dr. Murgatroyd, you can find him on Wikipedia by CLICKING HERE. His bio can also be viewed by CLICKING HERE.