The Shifting Thinking Conference

The conference is over, but the thinking has only just begun! You can relive a little of conference experience on our conference blog and conference page, or by viewing some of our conference photos.

Act I

Act I was played out pre-conference – on this website. Our team posted blogs, thinking tools, and theory pages which touched on key ideas, issues, and questions for learning and education in the 21st century. We invited readers to become  players in Act I by reading and commenting on these blogs and pages, and joining the shiftingthinking community.

Act II

This was the first day of the conference - Tuesday 3rd November. The theme was 20th century education: certainty, hope and the never-ending goals of education. We used a relatively traditional conference format, with speakers and discussion, interspersed with guided thinking tools . At the end ofAct II we presented participants with a list of five “quizzical quandaries” and asked them to choose which one(s) they were most interested in exploring in groups during Act III…

Act III

This was the second day of the conference - Wednesday 4th November. After a surprise play was performed at  our homebase at Circa Theatre, we took conference participants on a journey from 20th century to 21st century ways, through activities in three venues around the Wellington waterfront: Circa Theatre, Te Papa, and Mac’s Brewery Bar. Participants collaborated in learning groups, beginning with the quizzical quandary they had selected at the end of Act II, and decided how they would use their day to explore their ideas in relation to this quandary. They could gain new ideas and inspiration by opting into  a variety of breakout sessions with a variety of guest speakers and facilitators.

Act IV

Act IV: carries on beyond 4 November. We hope to have built new connections and new communities of interest to keep developing these ideas on www.shiftingthinking.org. Whether you attended the conference or not – you can be part of Act IV!