state of teaching and learning in the 21st century

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ICE 2010State of Teaching and Learning in the 21st CenturyLucy Gray Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education

Thank you for having me at your conference, and tonight, I hope to give you a window into current trends in 21st century teaching and learning. I have four themes that Iʼd like to address and put in context for you.

+Presentation Resources

Slides can be found at http://lucygray.org

Links to sources mentioned here can be found at:

http://delicious.com/elemenous/teachernet09

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+Experiences to Inform Your Work

Chicago Public Schools

University of Chicago

Apple Distinguished Educator

Google Certified Teacher

Other Recent Activities School Talk Schoolhouse 3.0 Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age

Chicago Public Schools8 years in primary grades

University of ChicagoComputer Science TeacherTech CoachEducation Technology Specialist

Apple Distinguished EducatorCurriculum DeveloperConference/Workshop PresenterSingapore

Google Certified TeacherGoogle Teacher AcademiesGoogle Search Curriculum

Recent activitiesSchool Talk Schoolhouse 3.0Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age

+Another Nation at Risk Moment?

Publishing IndustryGlobalization & the EconomyCollege TuitionTest ScoresRace to the TopThe list goes on...

“Were national and state leaders to openly acknowledge that blaming teachers as a group for the ills of poor schooling and then expecting those very same awful teachers to turn around and work their hearts out to remedy those ills is simply goofy. Over 3.5 million teachers do the daily work of teaching; they teach reading, wipe noses, find lost backpacks, write recommendations, and grade tests. No online courses, charter schools, vouchers, home schooling, or any other star-crossed idea that business-driven, entrepreneurial reformers design will replace them. So blaming and shaming teachers into working harder is no recipe for improved student learning. Surely, like any group of professionals, teachers have to be prodded and they have to be supported. Prodding they get a lot of; support is where these so-called leaders fall down badly.”

+Teaching for a Living: How Teachers See the Profession Today

State of Mind EdWeek

Disheartened40%

Idealists23%

Contented37%

This study was published the other day and frankly, it alarmed me. Conducted by Public Agenda and Naperville-based Learning Point Associates.

The disheartened tend to be older, have been teaching longer, and tend to be in low income schools. The contented tend to be veteran teachers with graduate degrees in middle income and affluent schools. Idealists had the strong sense of mission about teaching and believe in their efficacy in terms of test scores.


DISHEARTENED teachers are more likely to:• give their principals poor ratings for supporting them as teachers• express concerns about working conditions, student behavior, and testing

Disheartened40%

Idealists23%

Contented37%


IDEALIST teachers are more likely to:• say they became teachers to help disadvantaged students• believe their students’ test scores have increased a lot because of their teaching• say that good teachers can lead all students to learn, even those from poor families or who have uninvolved parents

Disheartened40%

Idealists23%

Contented37%


CONTENTED teachers are more likely to:• report excellent working conditions• be experienced in their profession• work in middle- or higher-income schools • believe their students’ test scores have increased a lot because of their teaching

Disheartened40%

Idealists23%

Contented37%

I hope you all are contented. But, we canʼt afford to stay contented. We have to help all children and teachers feel the same way about teaching and learning.

+Be the Change

Piano Stairs

You should want to be part of this change:Revolutionary TransformativeInvigoratingChallenging Potentially FUNItʼs easier than ever to participate in this change because shared leadership is being embraced more often and because technology lets us network outside of our school silos.

Iʼm here to report that change is happening. Itʼs not happening everywhere, itʼs not happening for every school. But there are some very exciting things going on and if you want to know more, you should think about four key areas that I believe are converging.

“the paradox of being blamed for a problem and then expected to turn around and solve the very same problem.”

“Over 3.5 million teachers do the daily work of teaching; they teach reading, wipe noses, find lost backpacks, write recommendations, and grade tests. No online courses, charter schools, vouchers, home schooling, or any other star-crossed idea that business-driven, entrepreneurial reformers design will replace them. So blaming and shaming teachers into working harder is no recipe for improved student learning. Surely, like any group of professionals, teachers have to be prodded and they have to be supported. Prodding they get a lot of; support is where these so-called leaders fall down badly.”

- Larry Cuban

+Convergence of Themes

Social Media

“Generational Diversity”

21st Century Skills

Learning Environments

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So, weʼre at an very interesting and exciting crossroads in education. I believe that the art of teaching is more important than ever in the grand scheme. And, if you are interested in participating in change, to any degree, you need to be aware of four trends or themes that I believe will impact your classrooms . As potential leaders in your buildings, I hope you will consider these ideas.

+The School at Columbia

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The School at Columbia is not your typical school, yet we can learn much from their practices. Itʼs a private K-8 school near Columbia University. Half of the students are children of faculty; half come from the neighborhood. All are chosen by lottery. Constructivism drives the curriculum, and that drives their use of technology.

This School embodies these four themes that I will address in more detail:

1. Social media is important.2. There is long range planning about 21st century skills in relation to childrenʼs development.3. They value skills such as collaboration and cooperation.4. They provide an environment that is conducive to learning.


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+The Social Media Explosion

+Defining Social Media

“Online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other.”

“Social media are works of user-created video, audio, text or multimedia that are published and shared in a social environment, such as a blog, wiki or video hosting site.”

Social media is everywhere you look these days. From Facebook to YouTube, the American public is creating content, submitting comments, and networking with others. This explosion is here to stay and to understand how are kids are using these tools, you must experience them yourselves to some degree.

+Implications for Education?

http://searchenginewatch.com/3634651

For those of you beg to differ… itʼs hard to argue with the evidence.

+Implications for Schools

We need to start being thoughtful about leveraging the power of social media for student learning.

We know kids are using social media on their own. How is it impacting classrooms? Is it impacting classrooms yet? Hereʼs one example of a thoughtful approach.

The School at Columbia University in New York City explicitly teaches their students about the appropriate practices in social networking. They have their own social network and media sharing system which I will discuss further in my next session. In this example, the students have made profiles of famous mathematicians. Each profile is researched and written by students, and then tagged with keywords pertaining to that individual. A tag cloud of these keywords appears on the front page of this social network. If you click on one of these words, youʼll see all the profiles that a linked by that term. Students start to see connections and putting the work of mathematicians into meaningful contexts.

This is just one example of social media being used in the classroom. The point is that collaborative, social online tools can be leveraged to deep learning.

+“Managing Generational Diversity”/ Looking to the Future

Generational diversity is a new concept to me and it popped out to me in an a recent article in District Administrator. The article is linked here, and basically the premise is: How do we capitalize on experience and innovation in our schools by looking at generational learning styles? . After reading this article, it occurred to me that this seems to be an overlooked area of school management.

In an somewhat unrelated manner, it also occurred to me that we need to look at schools and technology from a longitudinal basis. How are we preparing our students for the long term? I believe that we are dealing with multigenerational issues in educational technology; itʼs not a simplistic matter of digital natives vs. digital immigrants. Young teachers may know Facebook, but do they know how to integrate technology effectively and meaningfully?

+Think About Students & Teachers

Adults have different learning styles. Baby Boomers Gen Xers Gen Yers

Kids have had different levels of exposure to technology. The period of time at which our schools have been wired is fairly short.

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This is a tool that might help you put yourself into your studentsʼ shoes. What can we assume about studentsʼ knowledge and experiences? How are their experiences different from ours? How can we blend well together?

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Online activity pyramid: by generation

The vast majority of online adults from all generations uses email and search engines.

While there are always exceptions, older generations typically do not engage with the internet past e-commerce.

The majority of teens and Gen Y use SNS, but fewer maintain blogs. Online adults older than Gen X are less likely to use SNS.

Basic online entertainment (online videos, playing games)

E-commerce (online shopping, banking, and travel reservations)

Research and information gathering (product research, news, health and religious information searches)

Email and search

Active engagement with social media(visit SNS, create SNS profile, create blogs)

More advanced online entertainment (download videos, music and podcasts)

More advanced communication and passive social media use (instant messaging, visit SNS, read blogs)

State of the Internet 2009: Pew Internet Project Findings and Implications for Libraries

There is a natural progression within peopleʼs use of technology. Some people may move up this pyramid; others may not. Hopefully, they all are engaged at least in the email and search layer. Schools need to be cognizant of where their teachers are in terms of scales such as this. How are schools balancing the payload? Are we reasonable in our expectations of our peers given generational learning styles?

+Project Tomorrow Speak Up Day Recommendations

Un-tether learning and leverage mobile devices to extend learning beyond the school day and meet all learners in their own world

Create new interactive, participatory learning spaces using tools such as online classes, gaming and simulations, online tutors, and virtual reality environments

Incorporate Web 2.0 tools into daily instruction especially those that develop collaborative or social-based learning and provide unique opportunities for students to be content developers

Expand digital resources in the classroom to add context and relevancy to learning experiences through new media tools

Get beyond the classroom walls and make learning truly experiential such as using high tech science instrumentation and creating podcasts with content experts

(c) Project Tomorrow 2009

Let’s add some context:

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

K-12 Classroom Internet Connectivity

Classroom Internet Connectivity

2007

Coming Soon to Campus: The New "Free Agent" Learner Julie Evans, CEO-Project Tomorrow Campus Technology 09 Jul 27, 2009


Let’s add some context:

Thinking about your students:

How did they use technology within learningand instruction in their K-12 lives?

Based upon those experiences, what are theirexpectations for your classrooms?


What grade where they in . . . when we reached the 90% Internet access in K12 classrooms?

Class of 2009 – just graduated seniors 10th grade in high school

Class of 2011 – your current 3rd year students 8th grade in middle school

Class of 2013 – your current incoming freshman 6th grade in middle school

Are they really “digital natives?”


Let’s think about your future students:

Class of 2015 – incoming to 11th grade



How digitally native are these students?

What are their expectations for learning?


What grade where they in . . . when we reached

90% Internet access in K12 classrooms?

Class of 2015 – incoming to 11th grade 4th grade in elementary school

Class of 2017 – incoming to 9th grade 2nd grade

Class of 2019 – incoming to 7th grade Kindergarten

Are you ready for these students and their expectations for you?


Increases the need for targeted, sustained, and thoughtful professional development. How are you meeting the needs of adult learners with very different

learning styles?

Necessitates strategic human capital planning

Requires schools to think of skills sets needed by students at various points in their academic careers while gauging the future of technology. How are you preparing to students in relation to changing technology? How is your school changing to meet the new needs and desires of

students? How are you balancing student engagement and rigor?

+21st Century Skills Buzz

+The Pedagogical Shift

New models of teaching and learning are emerging Rigorous content + 21st century themes “Sage on the stage” to “guide on the side”

New literacies need to be taught strategically Examples:

developing a search mentality Student personal learning networks (PLNs)

Standards and accountability aren’t going away Assessments need improvement

A return to constructivism

Going global is easy

In response to the need to address 2 achievement gaps that are present in the US… between those the underserved and the more affluent and between US students and the world at large….

+The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

+MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Initiative

The MacArthur Foundation is funding a great deal of research on digital media use and learning. This holds great promise for informing our practice in the next few years.


Schools need to think about how they are approaching new literacies. How many schools are specifically addressing the development of a search mentality with their students?


Just was teachers are developing personal learning networks, our students are doing the same. How can we leverage this process in schools? How can we prepare our students for a networked world?

+Learning Environments Re-defined

+Learning Anywhere & Everywhere

Personalized instruction

Personal learning networks

Mobiles

School Design

+NYC’s The School of One

Summer school pilot

Middle school math

Flexible space

Personalized curriculum

Regular assessments

Variety in delivery of instruction

Lesson plan bank

Partnered with publishers

+The Third Teacher

+Impact on Schools

How does physical space affect learning?

How space be used flexibly in your classroom or school?

What will schools of the future look like?

+So What ?

Social networks: You must be open to at least letting your kids drive the technology use in your classrooms. Be willing to engage them in the ways that they learn best.

Generational diversity: Change is not going to happen without schools working as teams to look at longitudinal goals.

21st century skills: The art of teaching comes through via the weaving of 21st century themes into core content. You need to give guidance and thought to classroom activities.

Learning environments: Just as we’ve looked at the whole child, we need to start emphasizing the whole learning environment. Personalized learning for both students and teachers is important.

Social networks: We must lift bans on tools and “educate the fear” out of our communities (Cheri Toledo).

Generational diversity: Letʼs leverage the experiences in our buildings. Letʼs also think carefully about our studentsʼ tech experiences throughout K12.

21st Century Skills: Teach to studentsʼ strengths and interests; guide them in how to be good digital/global/participatory citizens.

Learning environments: We must educate the whole child by looking at the whole picture.

+Recommended Reading

A World is Flat

A Whole New Mind

Disrupting Class

The Global Achievement Gap

+Contact Information

Lucy Gray

[email protected]

Skype: elemenous

iChat/AIM: elemenous

Blog: http://lucygray.org

Delicious, Flickr, YouTube etc: elemenous

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state of teaching and learning in the 21st century

Education

disheartened teachers

veteran teachers

idealist teachers

awful teachers

shaming teachers

state of teaching

century teaching

breakthrough learning