Learning in the 21st Century

Who is the digital native?

Were really good at preparing students for . . .

A change – a systemic shift – is needed

Brain Research

How does brain research support the use of digital

media and technology in the 21st Century classroom?

The Human Brain – Facts

• An adult brain weighs 2-4 pounds

• The brain is comprised of at least 60% fat

• Every heart beat provides 25% of the blood and oxygen to the brain

• The brain has a cortex and subcortex

Adapted from How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (Dr. Willard Daggett 2007)

The Human Brain – Facts

• The brain has a left hemisphere (primarily language functions) and a right hemisphere (primarily non-language functions)

• The hippocampus encodes new information and initiates learning and memory

Adapted from How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (Dr. Willard Daggett 2007)

The Human Brain – Facts

• Human have millions of brain cells (neurons) that can be shaped and increased in number with exposure to complex and novel environments

Adapted from How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (Dr. Willard Daggett 2007)

The Human Brain – Facts

• Neurons communicate with each other chemically, in a process referred to as a synapse

• The more synaptic connections, the greater the brain reserve

• Brain reserve is thought to delay the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease

Adapted from How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (Dr. Willard Daggett 2007)

Brain Research

• The brain has plasticity – there is no finite capacity or limitation– Every brain is shaped by environmental

input across ones’ lifespan– The type of environmental input to a brain

can make a difference with respect to the health of that brain

Adapted from How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (Dr. Willard Daggett 2007)

Brain Plasticity

• The dynamic, constantly reorganizing, and malleable nature of the brain is called brain plasticity

Adapted from How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (Dr. Willard Daggett 2007)

Brain Plasticity

• Critical factors to an enriched environment for brain development– Socialization– Physical activity– Mental stimulation

According to Nussbaum (Your Brain Health Lifestyle 2007) –

• Reflection and introspection

Adapted from How Brain Research Relates to Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (Dr. Willard Daggett 2007)

3 hrs watching TV

1 hr on the computer (outside of schoolwork)

1 hr 45 min listening to music (radio, CDs, MP3 players)

45 minutes playing video games

6 ½ hrs/day

Data from Kaiser Family Foundation Study, 2005Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Impact of Media Exposure

• Thinking skills enhanced by repeated exposure to digital media:– Reading visual images as representations of 3D

space (representational competence)– Multidimensional visual-spatial skills, mental

maps, “mental paper folding”– Inductive discovery– Attentional deployment– Responding to expected and unexpected stimuli

Adapted from Do They Really Think Differently? (Marc Prensky 2001)

Digital Natives

What is the learning profile of 21st Century students?

Data from Kaiser Family Foundation Study, 2005Speak Up 2006 (www.tomorrow.org)

Students’ #1 request regarding technology use at their schools

Relax school rules about email, IM, cell phone and online use

Favorite communications device (K-12)

Cell phone (73% in grades 9-12 use a cell phone daily)

Percentage of middle schoolers who have online friends from other schools, states or countries54%

Today 2009 – text messaging

Digital Natives . . .

• Are used to receiving information really fast

• Like to parallel process and multitask

• Prefer graphics before their text

• Prefer random access (like hypertext)

Adapted from Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (Marc Prensky 2001)

Digital Natives . . .

• Function best when networked

• Thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards

• Prefer games to “serious” work

Adapted from Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (Marc Prensky 2001)

What are they missing?

• Critical thinking– Reflection– Evaluation

Adapted from Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (Marc Prensky 2001)

Data from Kaiser Family Foundation Study, 2005

Agriculture Age

Industrial Age

Information Age

Conceptual Age

communication

creativity

connectedness

Adapted from A Whole New Mind (Daniel Pink 2006)

Digital Culture

What constitutes thinking and learning skills in the 21st Century?

Data from Kaiser Family Foundation Study, 2005Alexa.com (March 10, 2008)

Top 10 Websites

Top 10 Websites in the USA and Canada

1. Google

2. Yahoo

3. MySpace

4. YouTube

5. Facebook

6. Windows Live

7. EBay

8. Wikipedia

9. MSN

10.Craigslist

Alexa.com (March 10, 2008)

Realizations

• Society is changing

• The skills and knowledge required for work and civic life in the 21st century are shifting

• Educational systems need to adapt to meet the needs of the digital natives in the 21st century

Societal Changes

• Globalization• Transformative

technologies• Shifting

demographics• Changing values

and attitudes

Work and Civic Skills• Released October 2, 2006,

by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management groups.

What skills are most important for job success when hiring a High School graduate?

Work Ethic 80%

Collaboration 75%

Good Communication 70%

Social Responsibility 63%

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 58%

21st Century Skills

Are They Really To Work? 2006

Of the High School students that you recently hired, what were their deficiencies?

Written Communication 81%

Leadership 73%

Work Ethic 70%

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 70%

Self-Direction 58%

21st Century Skills

Are They Really To Work? 2006

What applied skills and basic knowledge are most important for those you will hire with a four-year college diploma?

Oral Communication 95.4%

Collaboration 94.4%

Professional/Work Ethic 93.8%

Written Communication 93.1%

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving 93.1%

21st Century Skills

Are They Really To Work? 2006

What skills and content areas will be growing in importance in the next five years?

Critical Thinking 78%

Information Technology 77%

Health & Wellness 76%

Collaboration 74%

Innovation 74%

Personal Financial Responsibility 72%

21st Century Skills

Are They Really To Work? 2006

Implications for Public Education

• Around what enduring understandings, essential questions, and standards should our programs be built to better prepare our students for their future?

Implications for Public Education

“This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education… whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can’t think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good information from bad, or speak a language other than English.”

– “How to Build a Student for the 21st Century”, TIME Magazine, December 18, 2006

Technology Use by Students

Discuss why this chart looks like this?

20th verses 21st

• Read through the descriptors for both the 20th and 21st century.

• Have a conversation at your table about where are you are as a teacher, your school and Red Deer Catholic and is on this continuum.

20th Century vs. 21st Century20th Century Classrooms 21st Century Classrooms

• Time-based • Outcome-based

• Focus on memorization of discrete facts • Focus on what students KNOW, CAN DO and ARE LIKE after all the details are forgotten

• Lessons focus on lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy – knowledge, comprehension and application

• Learning is designed on upper levels of Bloom’s – synthesis, analysis and evaluation

• Textbook-driven • Research-driven

• Passive learning • Active learning

• Learners work in isolation – classroom within 4 walls

• Learners work collaboratively with classmates and others around the world – the Global Classroom

• Teacher-centered:  teacher is center of attention and provider of information

• Student-centered:  teacher is facilitator/coach

• Little or no student freedom • Great deal of student freedom

• Fragmented curriculum • Integrated and Interdisciplinary curriculum

• Grades averaged • Grades are based on what was learned

20th Century vs. 21st Century20th Century Classrooms 21st Century Classrooms

•Low expectations •High expectations – “If it isn’t good, it isn’t done”  We expect, and ensure, that all students succeed in learning at high levels.  Some may go higher – we get out of their way to let them do that.

•Teacher is judge.  No one else sees student work.

•Self, Peer and Other assessments.  Public audience, authentic assessments.

•Curriculum/School is irrelevant and meaningless to the students.

•Curriculum is connected to students’ interests, experiences, talents and the real world.

•Print is the primary vehicle of learning and assessment.

•Performances, projects and multiple forms of media are used for learning and assessment.

•Diversity in students is ignored. •Curriculum and instruction address student diversity.

•Literacy is the 3 R’s – reading, writing and math

•Multiple literacies of the 21st century – aligned to living and working in a globalized new millennium.

21st Century Skills

21st Century Skills

• Skim the Metiri – 21st Century Skills – purple handout.

• Discuss how it relates to our classrooms.

Vision for 21st Century Learning

• Core subjects– Language arts– Mathematics– Science– World languages– Civic and government– Economics – History– Geography

Results That Matter 21st Century Skills and High School Reform 2006

Talk Time Visioning the future

• What are could the core subjects be?

• What is 21st century content?

• What are the learning and thinking skills?

• What are the information and technology skills need?

• What are the life skills?

Vision for 21st Century Learning

• 21st Century Content– Global awareness– Financial, economic, business, and

entrepreneurial literacy– Civic literacy– Health and wellness awareness

Results That Matter 21st Century Skills and High School Reform 2006

Vision for 21st Century Learning

• Learning and Thinking Skills– Critical-thinking and problem-solving skills– Communication skills– Creativity and innovation skills– Collaboration skills– Contextual learning skills– Information and media literacy skills

Results That Matter 21st Century Skills and High School Reform 2006

Vision for 21st Century Learning

• Information and Communications Technology– The ability to use technology to learn

content and skills – so that they know how to learn, think critically, solve problems, use information, communicate, innovate, and collaborate

Results That Matter 21st Century Skills and High School Reform 2006

Vision for 21st Century Learning

• Life Skills– Leadership– Ethics– Accountability– Adaptability– Personal productivity– Personal responsibility– People skills– Self-direction– Social responsibility

Results That Matter 21st Century Skills and High School Reform 2006

21st Century Standards

• Focuses on 21st century skills, content knowledge and expertise.

• Builds understanding across and among core subjects as well as 21st century interdisciplinary themes

• Emphasizes deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge

• Engages students with the real world data, tools, and experts they will encounter in college, on the job, and in life--students learn best when actively engaged in solving meaningful problems

• Allows for multiple measures of mastery

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

Technology Standards

http://cnets.iste.org/

NETS-S

• Digital Citizenship – Students understand human, cultural, and

societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

http://cnets.iste.org/

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

- Alvin Toffler

Data from Kaiser Family Foundation Study, 2005Speak Up 2006 (www.tomorrow.org)

Over half of the teachers say that technology has had the largest impact on their teaching…that technology helps them engage students…that their lesson plans are richer and timelier…

Red Deer Catholic

Discovery Education

• Discovery Education

• http://school.discoveryeducation.com/

• Passcode:

e.g.) Ecole Camille - 12C4-727C

SMART Technology

• Binder

• Division Shared

• Toolkit • Activities

• Games

• Graphics

• Division Shared

• Math Beta

What is Web 2.0

• It refers to the a perceived second generation of web development and design, that aims to facilitate communication, secure information sharing, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. The concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services, and applications; such as social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, and blogs.