PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Learning and the Brain Conference

November 2011

THE GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENT GAPBY TONY WAGNER

INNOVATION EDUCATION FELLOWTECHNOLOGY &

ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER AT HARVARD

“Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the 21st Century”

THE NEW EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES NEW SKILLS for Work, Continuous Learning, and

Citizenship in a “Knowledge Society” for ALL STUDENTS Convergence of skills needed for careers, college,

citizenship Students lack skills relegated to marginal

employment and citizenship The “NET GENERATION” is differently motivated to learn

Boredom is the leading cause of low achievement and student drop out

The NEW PROBLEM: How to create an “Innovation Nation?” We cannot save or spend our way out of this crisis. The only people whose jobs cannot be automated or

off-shored in a “hyper connected” world are the innovators

HOW DO WE STACK UP TO THE COMPETITION?

Results of the 2009 PISA Test:

PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) is an international study which began in the year 2000. It aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in participating countries/economies. Since the year 2000 over 70 countries and economies have participated in PISA.

THE SEVEN SURVIVAL SKILLS FOR CAREERS, COLLEGE, AND CITIZENSHIP

1. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading

by Influence3. Agility and Adaptability4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism5. Effective Oral and Written Communication6. Accessibility and Analyzing Information7. Curiosity and Innovation

IDEAS TO NOTE ABOUT THE SEVEN SURVIVAL SKILLS

Failure needs to be viewed as a prize. There is no innovation without trial and error. We penalize our students when they fail.

With no trust and respect, there is no learning. We must ask the right questions. It is not about

the answers. With the Internet, knowledge is FREE. Textbooks

are dinosaurs. We need more innovation We need to teach students to write with voice. Our High School graduation rate is only 70% as a

nation. Students are not college and career ready when they graduate.

WHAT IS THE “GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENT GAP”?

The Global Achievement Gap is the gap between what even our best schools are

teaching and testing

Versus

The skills ALL students will need for careers, college, and citizenship in the 21st century

What gets tested gets taught: Having the wrong metric is worse than

having none at all

HOW DO WE STACK UP TO THE COMPETITION?

2009 Program for Student Assessment (PISA) Test: Reading – 15th out of 65 countries Science – 23rd out of 65 countries Math – 32nd out of 65 countries

College Completion 1995 – US College completion rate was number 1

in the world 2005 – US College completion rate was 12th in

the world. One out of 2 students who starts college never

completes a degree

WHAT MOTIVATES THE “NET” GENERATION?

Accustomed to instant gratification and “always on” connection

Use the web for 1)extending friendships, 2)interest-driven, self-directed learning, and 3)as a tool for self-expression

Constantly connected, creating, and multitasking in a multimedia world – everywhere except in school

Less fear and respect for authority – accustomed to learning from peers; want coaching, but only from adults who don’t “talk down” to them

Want to make a difference and do interesting / worthwhile work

THE CULTURE OF LEARNINGVS

THE CULTURE OF INNOVATION

Individual Achievement vs. Collaboration

Specialization vs. Multi-disciplinary Learning

Risk Avoidance vs. Trial and Error Consuming vs. Creating Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

Play, Passion, and Purpose

IMPLICATIONS FOR “REINVENTION”

From an Information-based Learning System Focus on “timeless learning” (academic

content that has persisted over time)

To a Transformational-based Learning System Focused on using content to master the

competencies of “Just-in-Time Learning”(What do you do with what you know?)

REDEFINING RIGOR: “HABITS OF MIND”LEARNING TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Weighing Evidence How do we know what is true and false? What is the

evidence, and is it credible? Awareness of Varying Viewpoints

What viewpoints are we hearing? Who is the author, and what are his or her intentions? How might it look with a different history?

Seeing Connections / Cause and Effect Is there a pattern? How are things connected? Where

have we seen this before? Speculating on Possibilities / Conjecture

What if? Supposing that? Can we imagine alternatives?

Assessing Value – Both Socially and Personally What difference does it make? Who cares? So what?

“EVIDENCE-DRIVEN” CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: SOME QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS TO CONSIDER

What skills are you teaching, and how are you assessing them?

What is the school doing to systematically improve instruction, and how do you know it’s working? Are you a better teacher than 2 years ago – if so, in what ways, and how do you know?

How well are your students prepared for college, careers, and citizenship, and how do you know?

Is you school “adding value”? How do you know?

REDEFINING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE:ACCOUNTABILITY

1. Hold Ourselves Accountable to What Matters Most

Track cohort graduation rate and how well students do once they are in college

Use The College and Work Readiness Assessment to assess analytic reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing

Videotape focus groups with recent grads and survey students

REDEFINING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE:ACADEMICS

2. Doing the New Work: teaching & assessing the skills that matter most

Develop strategies for teaching and assessing the 3C’s: Critical & Creative Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration – in every class and at all grade levels

Pilot interdisciplinary courses around essential questions and capstone projects. Consider starting a charter-like “lab” school.

Require all students to have digital portfolios, work internships, and service learning projects.

REDEFINING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE:COLLABORATION AND TRANSPARENCY

3. Doing the New Work in NEW WAYS“Isolation is the enemy of improvement and innovation” (No pacing charts)

Every student has an adult advocate Every teacher on teams for collaborative

inquiry – looking at student and teacher work Videotaping teaching and supervision (lesson

study vs. evaluation) Peer-reviewed digital portfolios for teachers

and administrators

DR. HELEN J. NEVILLEUNIVERSITY OF OREGON

“Training Brains: Improving Behavior, Cognition, and Neural Mechanisms of Attention in Lower SES Children”

EXPERIENCE SHAPES HUMAN BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION

Brain systems are modified throughout life. The most plastic neural systems are

vulnerable among individuals from lower SES backgrounds.

Early environmental enrichment in the form of interventions can protect and enhance the plastic and thus potentially vulnerable neurocognitive systems in children with, or at risk for, developmental deficits.

VULNERABILITY

Adults with lower language proficiency are syntax vulnerable

Adults from lower SES backgrounds are syntax vulnerable

Attention in children from lower SES backgrounds are attention vulnerable.

PARENT TRAINING IS NEEDED

Identify known risk factors for children Stress Language Behavioral control / emotional regulation

Identified evidence-based strategies / approaches for targeting each risk factor

Examined literature for existing programs using these strategies / approaches

PARENT TRAINING: KEY COMPONENTS

Provide high levels of positive reinforcement and specific praise

Use consistent discipline with clear expectations and natural consequences

Use language differently to encourage high-quality interactions

Provide frequent opportunities for children to Choose, Think, and Solve Problems

EFFECTS OF PARENT TRAINING

Parents changed their behaviors Parents reported reduced stress Children’s language, cognition, and attention

improved

ChangingBrains.org

CURRICULUM 21BY HEIDI HAYES JACOBS

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

“Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World”

OUR ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

How can we prepare our learners for their future?

Who owns the learning?

What do we cut?

What do we keep?

What do we create?

WHAT YEAR ARE YOU PREPARING YOUR LEARNER FOR?

We have 21st Century children. We are currently using curriculum form about

1985. (20th Century curriculum) Our schedule was developed in 1896 (180 days,

agrarian, 6 hour day, 8 subjects)- (19th Century schedule)

Curriculum must be constantly updated.

Tools must be supportive

Children and youth process information differently than we do.

5 TRENDS THAT CHANGE TEACHING AND LEARNING Social Production

Learning to Do Knowledge Creation

Social Networks Learning to Be Defining our identities How we connect with each other determines how learning

occurs (relationship, not technologies) Semantic Web

Learning to Know Organizing, interpretation, connections, and distribution of

information Media Grids

Learning to be and do Gaming embeds to Gardner’s five minds of the future Content not confined to linear structures

Non-Linear Learning Disciplines are interconnected

RESISTANCE TO GROWTH

The myth of the good old days Bringing back papyrus The secret in lesson planning is LAMINATION The separation of Tech and Curriculum Globalization is “enrichment” vs. a necessity

Are we preparing our students for 2025?

BEYOND REFORM TO NEW FORMS

Educational Leadership – September 2009 Teaching for the 21st Century

One of the most important new forms is PERSONALIZING the GLOBAL

Use 21st century tools to navigate teaching and learning.

Abundant web resources are there for teachers and administrators: NO EXCUSES

THE GLOBAL COMPETENCY MATRIX

This matrix was created as part of the Council of Chief State School Officers’ EdSteps Project, in partnership with the Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning. Similar matrices describing citeria for Global Competence within academic disciplines are in development.

www.ccsso.org

www.EdSteps.org

LITERACY Digital Literacy Media Literacy Global Literacy Cultural Literacy

CURRICULUM Content Skills Assessment

CURRICULUM DESIGN REQUIRES US TO MAKE CHOICES ABOUT WHAT IS ESSENTIAL NOW TO HELP OUR LEARNERS FOR THEIR FUTURE

Learners create and share knowledge differently from previous generations.

NEW SCHOOL VERSIONS The schedule

Long term schedules Rethink Grade 12 compulsion Early graduation when ready Additional year if needed Summer Semester

Daily instructional Time Seminars vs. Classes Study groups Rotational blocks in conjunction with set blocks (expanded block for

projects, homework blocks, etc) Extended Day Patterns

Staggered day – different length each day Off campus time

Daily Planning Time Regular cross-grade level work Regular vertical team planning

Length of year: 195 – 205 days

Rethink interior spaces

GROUPING STUDENTS

Replace “ability” groups which focus on a child-label

Focus on skills groups Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous

Long term grouping / looping clusters Vertical Teams or Looped Teams Dignity to school to work Early Graduation or Extra Year

ELEMENTARY AGE CHILDREN

Developmental grouping around age spans vs. strict grade level grouping

Long term grouping / looping clusters Working with pre-school educators Formal work with children and parent groups

to support literacy

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Team models Small group academic advisories

Vertical teams Affective grouping

Character Education Seminars Independent long term project outside of

school

HIGH SCHOOL

Recognize the different needs of adolescent learners from grades 9 – 12.

Group around fundamental literacy skill needs / independent study skill needs

Curriculum options based on motivation, aspiration, and post-secondary next steps

Early graduation / extra year Science research labs Off campus requirements Dignity to school to work

Vocational education Life skills Work Skills

21ST CENTURY SKILLS: LEARNING FOR LIFE IN OUR TIMES

BY CHARLES K. FADELGLOBAL EDUCATION LEAD,

CISCO SYSTEMSHARVARD GRADUATE

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

“21st Century Skills: The Imperative for Teaching Creativity and Innovation in Schools”

CURRICULUM

Make curriculum relevant Curriculum relates to late 1800’s still What will the world look like 20 years from

now VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex,

Ambiguity)

THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING

Globalization – Productivity – Education Rethink Relevance, Application, Knowledge,

and Skills Character

A BRAVE NEW WORLD

The speed of technology is geometric. The average improvement factor is now 10,512 per year!

Computer storage by 2025 will be able to video record your entire life on a smart phone. We can already store this much with cloud computing.

SO WHAT DO WE TEACH FOR….

In an era of ubiquitous “Watsons” that give us answers?

Fluidity with Technology Asking the right questions Synthesizing and Integrating Creating Interpersonal skills Adaptability Resilience

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY REVISED

TEACHING AND LEARNING CHALLENGES

WHAT is taught: Relevance (applicability, significance) to real-world

(for motivation and employability) Skills, not just Knowledge (critical thinking,

creativity, etc)

Schooling vs. Real-World“…school learning is abstract, theoretical, and organized by disciplines while work is concrete, specific to the task, and organized by problems and projects…”

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “Learning for Jobs”

2009

21ST CENTURY FRAMEWORK

21ST CENTURY SKILLS FRAMEWORK

Core Subjects Native Language /

Reading World Languages

incl. English Arts Geography History Mathematics Science Government / Civics

21st Century Themes Global Awareness Financial, Econonic,

Business and Entrepreneurial literacy

Civic Literacy Health Literacy Environmental

Literacy

21ST CENTURY SKILLS FRAMEWORKLearning and Innovation Skills Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Creativity and Innovation Communication and CollaborationInformation, Media, and Technology Skills Information Literacy Media Literacy ICT (Information, Communications, and Technology)

LiteracyLife and Career Skills Flexibility and Adaptability Initiative and Self-Direction Social and Cross-Cultural Skills Productivity and Accountability Leadership and Responsibility

YOUR CREATIVE BRAIN: SEVEN STEPS TO MAXIMIZE IMAGINATION, PRODUCTIVITY, AND INNOVATION IN YOUR LIFE

BY SHELLEY CARSON

“Creative Brains: Maximizing Imagination and Innovation in Students”

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Preparation (gathering knowledge – Problem Finding)

Creative Solution (hardest part) Evaluation of the solution(s) Elaboration Implementation – Get it in the workd in some

way

We need to learn broadly from multiple fields and explore new ways things can be done.

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS

Trial and Error – Deliberate creativity Deliberate pathway to test novel ideas (Edison’s

light bulb experiments) Failure is part of the process and is VERY

important The more ideas you generate, the more likely

you will be to succeed. Incubation and Insight (Aha!)

Comes with a conviction that you are right Still must be tested

BRAINSETS ASSOCIATED WITH CREATIVITY

Connect Reason Envision Absorb Transform Evaluate Stream

REASON AND EVALUATE BRAINSETS

Focused attentionSequential reasoningConscious-directed thoughtJudgment

Skills – planning and goal settingStep by step problem slvingAnalysisCritical ThinkingConvergent Thinking

ABSORB BRAINSET

Suspend JudgmentResponse to noveltyCognition disinhibition (allows for fantasy,

imagination, and play)

Skills – mindfulnessIntellectual curiosityOpen to experienceState of receptiveness (moment of insight)

ENVISION BRAINSET

Mental imagery“What if?” thinkingCognitive disinhibition

Skills – ImaginationFantasyPlayVisualizationMental imagery

CONNECT BRAINSET

Activation of associational networks (associational elements in new combinations)

Goal-directed motivationMental activation

Skills – Divergent ThinkingCreative Brainstorming

SHINE: USING BRAIN SCIENCE TO GET THEBESR FROM YOUR PEOPLE

BY EDWARD HALLOWELL

“Shine: Using Brain Science to get Imagination and the best from Your Students”

5 STEPS – CYCLE OF EXCELLENCE

Bring out the best in your students. Change your most frustrating students to

your most rewarding Exploit the power of the interaction between

what is within a student and what lies outside.

5 STEPS TO PEAK PERFORMANCE

1. Select Put the student in the right environment Give them responsibilities that “light up” their brain.

2. Connect Positively connected class environment The engine for growth and health Student feels understood and safe to be authentic Inspired and inspire others Strengthen interpersonal bonds among students Create trust, not shame

3. Play Play catalyzes peak performance This is not recess Engage their imaginations – balance structure and novelty Ask questions

5 STEPS TO PEAK PERFORMANCE

4. Grapple and Grow Naturally follows from play Play leads a student “into” an assignment and helps

them work harder This helps the student make progress and gain a sense

of well-being and accomplishment Intervene with students who are not making progress

and keep them motivated Student achieves his / her best.

5. Shine (Recognition) What happens to students who work hard and advance Teachers help students shine by using the right rewards

to increase a student’s desire to excel by providing them with praise, rewards, and awards.

Tell a kid to think big and make sure he / she finds success. Then recognize that success!

FIVE MINDS FOR THE FUTUREBY HOWARD GARTNER

“Five Minds for the Future”

THE FUTURE OF LEARNING

4 Mega Trends Globalization – increasing connections

between world nations Biological Revolution – cloning, genetic

engineering Digital Revolution – multi-user games, social

networking, internet resources, twitter Lifelong Learning – education is not K-12 or K-

16. Professionals need to continue learning

5 MINDS

Disciplined Mind (Depth)Synthesizing Mind (Breadth)

Creative Mind (Stretch)Respectful MindEthical Mind

THE DISCIPLINED MIND (DEPTH – GO DEEP)

3 senses of discipline Working steadily and improving Becoming an expert in a field, craft, art, or

end up unemployed and working for someone who is an expert (the task of work)

Learning major ways of thinking: historical, artistic, scientific, mathematical (the task of school)

THE SYNTHESIZING MIND (BREADTH – GO BROAD)

Scads of information, especially on the web Largely undigested and unevaluated The synthesizing imperative (good, bad, and

“so-so” synthesis) Psychology has dropped the ball Darwin is “the great synthesizer.” You need

to have criteria to put material together in ways that make sense

Work towards synthesis (goal, starting point, gather relevant information, method or strategy, rough draft, feedback, synthesis just in time, repeat until routine) Be more reflective

THE CREATIVE MIND (STRETCH – GO BEYOND)

Synthesizing what is known (the box itself) Go beyond the known (think outside the box

– imperative in the computer age – “app”) Ask good questions – new questions Rubust, iconoclastic temperment Ultimate judge of “the field” An expert is not necessarily creative. One

must be willing to try and fail … and then try again.

How do we cultivate creativity when we can’t have “error-free” learning?

THE RESPECTFUL MIND

Diversity is a fact of life – at home and beyond

We need to understand others – perspectives, motivation, emotion, and interpersonal intelligence – “empathy schools”

Inappropriateness of “corporate top-down model” for schools

How do you maintain and improve the atmosphere of respect in a school?

THE ETHICAL MIND

Higher level of abstraction than the respectful mind

Conceptualize oneself as a good worker / professional

Conceptualize oneself as a good citizen (school, city, state, world)

Act apropriately in both roles It’s not how you think – it’s how you act

THE 3 E’S OF GOOD WORK

Excellent, Expert, High Quality, Disciplined Ethical, Socially Responsible Engaging, Meaningful, Intrinsically motivated

Is it enough to INTEND to use the proper means in the future?

Why should I be more ETHICAL than my peers seem to be?

We must move beyond “fear and greed” to “trust and inspiration.”

5 MINDS IN A DIGITAL ERA

Disciplined – depth and lose out to breadth – on-line or off-line

Synthesis – how to organize the deluge of information – what aids will help synthesize

Creativity – Web 2.0 and 3.0 – young people are risk adverse and careerist

Respectful / Ethical – to the inner circle, but not necessarily to the wider community. How do you become a “cyber citizen” and master the ethics of roles.

WHY DON’T STUDENTS LIKE SCHOOL?”

BY DANIEL WILLINGHAM

“Critical Thinking and 21st Century Skills”

Can we teach students to be good thinkers?

Can we reach critical thinking within subject domains?

What are the implications for schooling?

Critical thinking is rarely a stand-alone skill, and is more often intertwined with knowledge

WHY IS THINKING CRITICALLY SO HARD?

Thinking tends to focus on a problem’s “surface structure”Surface structure is obvious. Anyone sees the problem. It’s the minute details

Deep structure is not as evident. It’s “hard to see.” One must get past the surface structure. The deep structure must be explicit, made evident, practiced.

Teach deductive reasoning – conditional reasoning (if… then….)

Knowledge helps you recognize a particular type of problem.

Teaching of critical thinking cannot be independent of content.

Scientific reasoning – teach scientific concepts, practice how to think scientifically

READING STRATEGIES

Apply background knowledge Relate the sentences (organize the

information) Are you “getting it?” (monitor

comprehension

Students need to understand that reading is communication in order to comprehend.

Strategy instruction will not matter once students understand that reading is communication.

Strategies for teaching critical thinking are rooted in beliefs that knowledge and skills are intertwined.

Must teach access to data, evaluation of data, and how to use data to create knowledge.

Words matter – what you really mean to say or do

HOW TO TEACH CRITICAL THINKING

Define what students should be able to do. (This defines critical thinking.)

Analyze skills – prerequisite skills and content needed to support learning these skills

Teach the skills in the context of content.

ALONE TOGETHER: WHY WE EXPECT MORE FROM TECHNOLOGY AND LESS FROM EACH OTHER

BY SHERRY TURKLE

“Alone Together: A Meditation fn the Future of Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century”

TECHNOLOGIES

Mobile connections promise a new kind of connection but leave people disappointed.

Studies have been done about young people and their use of mobile connection both locally and globally

Technology can help us lose sight of what is important in education – We need a mid-task correction

Multi-tasking – no one can multi-task. Performance degrades with each new task added

We need to teach “uni-tasking” skills

HUMAN ISSUES WITH TECHNOLOGY USAGE

Intimacy Solitude Relationships Connection Communication Vulnerability

THE “ALWAYS ON” CULTURE

Parents never away from texting / email – phone calls

Parents drive children crazy Children are in competition with technology

for their parent’s attention Children text all the time of day or night Anxiety occurs when phone is taken away. Children are vulnerable to technology Overwhelmed by the demands of technology.

THE “ALWAYS ON” CULTURE

Substitute connection for conversation Schools are places where we can help make

this connection Many would rather text than talk – even if in

the same room. Many children do not know how to hold a conversation

We are often too busy to communicate, to create, and to connect on a personal level.

We need the give and take of conversation to be understood (physical contact, eye contact, human emotions)

Children need conversation to develop, attach, and collaborate

THE “ALWAYS ON” CULTURE

The internet is a place to experiment with “self.” It is an “identity workshop.”

Use the “virtual” to increase the positive in the “real.”

We wear the web “on us.” Wearable technology – can bail out of

physical world to mix life (real and virtual). Technology makes it easy to hide,

communicate when we wish, disengage at will, and control the message.

THE “ALWAYS ON” CULTURE

Social media can be exhausting, allows them to hide, no face to face apology, control the “conversations,” avoid seeing you’ve hurt others, difficulty ending a conversation on the phone, don’t want to be interrupted

In person, something of the person slips through. There is a sense of getting to know the person – the human experience.

In order go get a quicker response, you send a simpler question. Our communication connections are “dumbed down.”

EDUCATORS PAY ATTENTION TO:

Life of performance / performance anxiety / performance exhaustion (profiles everywhere – facebook, college profile, etc.)

Separation anxiety (must be able to separate) Feeling a bit alone – bypass feelings (I share,

therefore, I am. I want to have a feeling so I need to send a text.) Not a holistic approach to developing a relationship with someone else. Doesn’t allow someone learn to be alone as a whole person.

If we don’t teach our children how to be alone, they will always be lonely. Solitude can be healing.

EDUCATORS PAY ATTENTION TO:

Where do we live and what do we live for? Deliberately Mindfully Live Life in Live Solitude – always expected to reply

We have a digital diet – mobile devices are part of our lives and schools – they can’t solve everything – not one solution – the easiest path is not the one we want.

EDUCATORS PAY ATTENTION TO:

Just because we grew up with the Internet, we assume that the Internet is all grown up. Restart conversations that we allow to get derailed.

Find conversational opportunities Talk to students about not avoiding

conversations. Find a balance between speed and

reflection / connect with autonomous solitude Slow down, reflect, recenter

EDUCATORS PAY ATTENTION TO:

21st Century Embody (Content) – immerse in the content

and the learning Scaffold (Give students what they need to

find success) What does the student need to hear? What are they ready to hear?

Make connections and make unusual connections.

Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Connections