body of scholarship dubbed the science of learning and the literature on competencies required for a fast- changing world. The lesson design approach requires pre-service teachers to state explicitly which science of learning principles and competencies for a fast-changing world were invoked in lessons (and how). Pre-service teachers also have to explain the rationale for their teaching decisions. A core premise of the course is that preparing preservice teachers to design lessons grounded in the science of learning and that incorporate the development of competencies that learners require for a fast-changing world, would serve them well in dealing with the complexities of teaching in a rapidlychanging world. The science of learning The science of learning, an amalgamation of research in education, neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive science, provides evidence that helps us understand how people learn and how to support learning. And ultimately – what teaching is about is guiding and supporting the learning of others. Gravett (2020; 2021; 2022) put forward her interpretation of principles derived from the science of learning literature coupled with important classroom implications, drawing on research on teaching to support meaningful (deeper) learning. Gravett (2022) explained that the purpose of the principles is to increase pre-service teachers’ understanding of how learning happens and how to support deeper learning. The principles are: • We understand/ learn new things/ ideas by relating them to what we already know. • Learning requires attention and cognitive engagement (active involvement). • Cognition and emotion are intertwined. • Learning involves our working-memory and longterm memory. • Having learnt something does not imply that transfer will happen automatically • Learners learn more effectively if they engage metacognitively. • Innate ability does matter but effort can yield gains. Preparing pre-service teachers to teach in an informed way based on an understanding of how learning happens and how to support learning, would enable them to adapt their teaching decisions to guide and support deeper learning of subject matter in any school context, no matter how the world may change. Competencies for a fast-changing world In addition to invoking principles derived from the science of learning literature, the lesson design approach requires pre-service teachers to infuse the development of competencies for a fast-changing world deliberately and demonstrably in their lessons. Preservice teachers must decide which competencies they want to develop during lessons and consider which teaching actions may develop these competencies (and vice versa). In other words, they have to embed the development of competencies in the teaching of knowledge. Integrating the development of knowledge and competencies will assist learners in developing the competencies that will prepare them for a fast-changing world. Drawing mainly on the Center for Curriculum Redesign (2018), the competencies foregrounded in the lesson design approach are the 4Cs – collaboration, communication, creative thinking, and critical thinking. We also focus on metacognition. Gravett (2019) argued that “cultivating the four Cs”, widely considered essential 21stcentury skills, is important in preparing learners to deal with the complexity and ambiguity of the future. Requiring pre-service teachers to infuse the competencies that we deem important for learners to develop in a fast-changing world in the lessons that they design, will serve them as novice teachers and their learners well in dealing with the complexities of an unknown future. Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2022 76
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