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I'm sure in fact, that during the workshops you will have seen some of those themes that
I talked about in terms of that intellectual demand, in terms of those 'stop and think'
skills in the workshops. I'm sure... as well, that idea of now putting those hierarchies
on the sides and demanding that all of the learning areas are demanding that those things
like Bloom's that were set up as a hierarchy, that have been put on the sides that we are
now demanding all of those things for all students.
You know, that's a change, that's an innovation, that's a new way of thinking. That's something
that strategic intent changes that (we're) thinking about these, this strategic purposeful
layer that we are going to layover perhaps what we are already doing with the Australian
curriculum what we are already doing in our sites.
Making that change I think can be difficult. And I've used this before to illustrate a
point but I wanted do it again today. I just wanted to do a little thought experiment.
So, I've got a pack of cards here, and there are ten red cards and ten black cards in this
pack. And what I'm going to do is, I'm going to shuffle them up together and you are going
to have to bet $1,000 - because I know you've all got it all on you. So you're all going
to have to bet $1,000 out of your pocket, $1,000 of your dollars on the turn of this
top card. And if it turns out red, you win, you get $2,000 back. If it turns out black,
you lose, and I get to keep your $1,000.
Or, you can choose a card from this pack. And this pack, I'm not going to tell you how
many red and how many black are in it. So this pack is an uncertain pack. You know...
the probabilities of picking out a red or a black, so there is some uncertainty associated
with it. But this pack, by not telling you how many reds and blacks are in it, this pack
is an ambiguous pack. So are you going to pick from the uncertain pack, or are you going
to pick from the ambiguous pack. Pick from this pack it's the same deal if I turn the
top card and it's red, you win -- black, you lose. Which pack are you going to choose?
Go on, which pack are you going to choose? Who's going to choose this one, who's going
to choose the uncertain pack? Come on (let's) see, hands up.
And who's going to choose the ambiguous pack? Oh, pretty even, pretty even spread. You know
that even spread is something that we often see amongst leaders. But amongst the population
in general what we see is that there is an overwhelming choice of the uncertain pack.
People stay away from the ambiguous pack. They don't want to choose the ambiguous pack.
It doesn't feel right. And I find it interesting from a neuroscience point of view that when
you look in people's brains when they are thinking about this uncertain pack -- parts
of the brain that deals with risk and probability and things like that become activated.
When are dealing with the ambiguous pack, the not-knowing pack, we have an emotional
response to it. The part of the brain called the (medulla) that part of the brain that
is the agent for that response that 'ooh yuck' response that pushing you away, that being
disgusted response. That's what part of the brain is activated. This pack, for lots of
people, this pack, just doesn't feel right. The emotional response is to stay away from
it. And this is the kind of standard neuro-economics experiment. And what they do in neuro-economics
or in decision economics as they call it... in decision economics what they find is, that
people will forego potential benefits just for the sake of surety. That this feeling
of... the ambiguity that's created by this pack by not knowing, the not knowing makes
us want to stay away from it, it just doesn't feel quite right. And that's an issue for
us when we're innovating, that's an issue for us as leaders when we're leading innovation
and we're leading change of this sort.
Because... for lots of people, for lots of people that we're working with, it just doesn't
feel right. For no reason other than it's different. And so for all of us, those 'stop
and think' skills even just applying our own 'stop and think' skills to that feeling of
"Oh no, I don't want to go there", "Why?", "Well, I don't know it just doesn't feel right"
being able to 'stop and think' about that, using our own executive function, I think
is important.