What are the skills required for the future of work? If you list skills in IT, learning, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication, you are aligned with the respondents to a 2018 Deloitte survey researching the anticipated skills necessary for work in the 21st Century.

It’s fair to say that these skills have always been important, but the rise in accessibility of content on the internet and automation in the workplace has placed a dire need on ‘human’ or ‘soft skills’ that simply cannot be replaced by robots, computers, and AI. Discussion on this topic has waged for the past decade or more, however, the advancements forced on us over the past two years has accelerated the need for these skills at breakneck speed – the world is moving fast.

The future of learning, work, truth, relationships, democracy, health, and the planet are in our hands, and preparing our students to ensure they thrive in making our world a better place through the application of their collective areas of strength, is our responsibility as teachers and parents.

A team of Middle School teachers, led by Mr Wyatt, started a conversation in 2018 on these matters and very quickly recognised the opportunity to utilise our diversity to enhance the skills that our students will require not only when they leave school, but right now.

After extensive research, discussion, and a curriculum restructure, we are now in the position to launch a range of new subject offerings to help our Middle School students start to flex the skills deemed necessary to make the most of their daily life and into their future of work in the 21st Century.

I would like to thank Mr Wyatt for all his efforts in getting us to this point, and for the constant work our staff put into how we can implicitly and explicitly build these essential skills into our curriculum here at CGS.

Mr Troy Stanley, Head of Middle School

Creative Design Solutions

In Creative Design Solutions (CDS), students start by exploring creativity and collaboration – what they look like, why they are important, and how to build effective collaborative partnerships and develop their creativity.

We look at the design process and use this as the basis for the projects they engage in throughout the course. These range from using ordinary objects in creative ways, using software to create posters and short films to promote a message, and finally bringing all these skills together in a final project focused on solving a problem or promoting aspects within the School and wider communities.

Students will question:

What does collaboration look like?

How can the design process refine ideas?

What is creativity and how can it be developed?

STEM

STEM builds important social and critical thinking skills, particularly around collaboration and problem-solving.

Students are given a challenge based on simple machines, they design and construct a device to meet the challenge. This involves sharing ideas, putting ideas on paper, and then constructing a prototype. Modifications to this initial design are based on testing and sharing ways in which the design might be improved. Students then present their solutions, explaining to their audience the various challenges faced and how they were overcome. This term, students were tasked with building a fully functioning crane that can lift a 300g weight (can be human-powered) at least 300mm vertically and hold it locked (without human intervention) for 30 seconds.

Digital Citizenship

There is no doubt that the digital landscape and evolving

technology will dictate much of our students’ future. Digital Citizenship provides students with the skills they need to navigate an increasingly technological world and how to do so safely. In this subject, students will focus on creating effective folder structures, digital identity and wellbeing, operating safely online and being aware of their digital footprint, as well as becoming familiar with various software used to create charts, present, and manipulate data, and even how to make short films and dynamic presentations.

Drama

Drama is an opportunity for boys to express their ideas through voice and movement. They work on specific skills and bring these to various scenarios, culminating in a broader performance at the end of the term.

There are so many valuable skills learnt through Drama, including speaking and moving confidently in front of an audience, adjusting the voice to achieve different effects and moods, working with others in a choreographed setting, responding to each other, and reading and reacting to different cues.

Mr Scott Wyatt, Deputy Head of Middle School