The “Why” of 21st Century Learning

Dr. Bernard BullConcordia University Wisconsin

2. Identify two things that you believe are very important for students to learn in order to thrive

in the 21st century.

3. Draft a plan for how your class/school could better help students learn those two things.

1. Articulate a vision for what it means to be a school that is committed to 21st century teaching

and learning.

“What does it mean to be a school/class that is committed to

21st century teaching and learning?

“Integrating more technology” is not a worthwhile goal for Lutheran schools.

How can we integrate more technology into our friendship?

How can we integrate more technology into our family life?

How can we integrate more technology into our football team?

How many Lutherans does it take to change a

light bulb?

“Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me” - Luther (Diet of Worms)

“I would advise no one to send his child where the Holy Scriptures are not supreme. Every institution that does not unceasingly pursue the study of God’s word becomes corrupt…I greatly fear that the universities, unless they teach the Holy Scriptures diligently and impress them on the young students, are wide gates to hell.” – Luther (Letter to Christian Nobility)

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what

Paul said was true.” - Acts 17

Compliant, complacent consumers

ORCreative, committed,

connected, courageous, Christians

The main job of the teacher is to provide content to students. The main job of the students is

to learn that content.

How do you (individually and as a school) decide what students need to learn?

What do graduates of _____________need to know, value, and be able to do in order to thrive and survive in a 21st century world?

“What you can’t read, can’t influence you.”

http://socialmediaclub.org/blogs/social-media-journal?page=87

How do we best prepare them for such a world?

ORWhat does the school look like

when it is focused upon preparing them for learn those

things?

“Without ends selecting and shaping the program,

education is bound to be aimless.”

- Jahsmann

Without a Lutheran point of view – “much educational work will continue to be

haphazard, self-contradictory, and

inefficient.” – Jahsmann (1960)

“Without ends selecting and shaping the program,

education is bound to be aimless.”

- Jahsmann

Once more - “What does it mean to be a school/class that is committed

to 21st century learning?

The “What” of 21st Century Learning

American Association of School Librarians

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.

2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.

3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.

4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

Tony Wagner’s 7 Survival Skills

1. Critical thinking and problem solving2. Collaboration across networks and

leading by influence3. Agility and adaptability4. Initiative and entrepreneurship5. Effective oral and written

communication6. Accessing and analyzing information7. Curiosity and imagination

Daniel Pink’s Whole New Mind

1. Design (functional + engaging)

2. Story 3. (communicate through narrative)4. Symphony

(big picture thinking)5. Empathy

(Emotion and intuition)6. Play

(humor and light-heartedness)7. Meaning

(life purpose)

Gardner’s Five Minds

1. Disciplinary mind2. Synthesizing mind3. Creating mind4. Respectful mind5. Ethical mind

John Taylor Gatto’s Ten AbilitiesThe ability to…

1. define problems without a guide.2. ask hard questions which challenge prevailing assumptions.3. work in teams without guidance.4. work absolutely alone.5. persuade others that your course is the right one.6. discuss issues and techniques in public with an eye to

reaching decisions about policy.7. conceptualize and reorganize information into new patterns.8. pull what you need quickly from masses of irrelevant data.9. think inductively, deductively, and dialectically. 10. attack problems heuristically.

The Big 6 – Information Literacy1. Task Definition

1.1 Define the information problem1.2 Identify information needed

2. Information Seeking Strategies2.1 Determine all possible sources2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis5.1 Organize from multiple sources5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)6.2 Judge the

http://www.big6.com/

National Educational Technology Standards

1. Creativity and innovation2. Communication and collaboration3. Research and information fluency4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and

decision making5. Digital citizenship6. Technology operations and concepts

http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx

The “How” of 21st Century Learning

Helping students meet the types of goals that we just discussed may

require us to revisit “how” we teach.

Five Pieces of Advice

1. Get informed about the possibilities.2. Re-ignite the original vision of Lutheran education by

embracing the power and possibility of differentiation.3. Let the objective/question truly drive the learning

experiences that you design. 4. Make persistent student engagement one of the

highest priorities.5. Make constant formative feedback one of the highest

priorities (create a culture that loves to use and base decisions upon meaningful data)

Possibility 1

A school where information and media literacy is

expected and nurtured throughout the school.

Possibility 2:

Formative Feedback and Data

Peer, computer, mentor/expert, and self

Homework exercises, quizzes, student response pads, exit and admission tickets, one-minute papers, concept mapping, observation of in-

class problem solving, observation of a performance and real-time feedback,

checkpoints in projects or papers, learning journals/logs

Possibility 3:

Project-based Learninghttp://www.bie.org

PBL Template

Possibility 4:

Collaborate and Workshop your LEDs with 21st Century

Skills in Mind

The FIL Experience

Skype Across America

Possibility 5:

Authentic Learning Experiences

“real purpose” and a “real audience”

Amazing Grace Lutheran School

Possibility 6:

Making the Exception the Norm