21

st
Century
Teaching for
21
st
Century
Students
Brad Fountain
Discovery Education
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
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 cant 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
21
st
Century, TIME Magazine,
December 18, 2006
Who are 21
st
Century Learners?
As large in number as Baby Boomers
Consumers- $150 billion annually
Digital Media Users 6 hrs daily (Exposed to 8 hours)
Multi-taskers: online - phone - print
Hyper-Communicators -socially & civically
Gamers-interactive learning
Risk-Takers
Depersonalization
Pursuers of ongoing education
Futurists & Optimistic
IQ is up by 17 points between 1947-2001 with most gains post 1972
Are They REALLY That Different?
21
st
Century Students Brain
Neuroplasticity
50 hours to affect change
Video games
Hypertext Minds
Point to Point vs. Linear
Breadth vs. Depth
Environmental Impact
Thinking Patterns
ADD or Disengaged

Marc Prensky Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2

What Are They Missing?
Critical Thinking
Reflection
Evaluation
Linear Processing
Personal Communication
Meaningful Persistence
Formal processes





Workforce Survey:
Are They Really Ready to
Work?
Why 21
st
Century Skills?
Released October 2, 2006, by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices
for Working Families, Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills, and the Society
for Human Resource Management groups.

Why 21
st
Century Skills?
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%
Why 21
st
Century Skills?
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%
Why 21
st
Century Skills?
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%
Why 21
st
Century Skills?
What skills and content areas will be growing
in importance in the next five years?
Critical Thinking 78%
I.T. 77%
Health & Wellness 76%
Collaboration 74%
Innovation 74%
Personal Financial Responsibility 72%
So What Does
this Mean for
Teachers and
Schools?
If you are not prepared to be wrong,
youll never come up with anything
original. By the time students become
adults they have lost that capacity. And
national education systems are where
mistakes are the worst things you can
make. The result is we are educating
people out of their creative capacities.
- Sir Ken Robinson

New Definitions for Schools
Schools will go from buildings to nerve centers,
with walls that are porous and transparent,
connecting teachers, students and the community
to the wealth of knowledge that exists in the world
while creating a culture of inquiry
Teachers will go from primary role as a dispenser
of information to orchestrator of learning and
helping students turn information into knowledge,
and knowledge into wisdom.

21
st
CenturySchool.com
New Definition for Students
In the past a student was a young person who went to
school, spent a specified amount of time in certain
courses, received passing grades and graduated. Today
we must see learners in a new context:
First we must maintain student interest by helping them see
how what they are learning prepares them for life in the real
world.
Second we must instill curiosity, which is fundamental to
lifelong learning.
Third we must be flexible in how we teach.
Fourth we must excite learners to become even more
resourceful so that they will continue to learn outside the
formal school day.
21
st
CenturySchool.com
Being Literate Today Means
Finding the information
Processing different media
Decoding the information
Analyzing the information
Critically evaluating the information
Organizing it into personal digital libraries
Creating information in a variety of media
Teaching the information to find the user
Filtering the information gleaned
Inquiry Learning
Dewey defines productive inquiry as that aspect of
any activity where we are deliberately seeking what
we need in order to do what we want to do. (Dewey,
1922 and Cook and Brown, 1999) In the net age we
now have at our disposal tools and resources for
engaging in productive inquiry and learning that
we never had before.
-John Seely Brown
20
th
Century vs. 21
st
Century Learning
20
th
Century Classrooms 21
st
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 Blooms Taxonomy
knowledge, comprehension and application
Learning is designed on upper levels of Blooms
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
20
th
Century vs. 21
st
Century Learning
Low expectations High expectations If it isnt good, it isnt
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 Rs reading, writing and math Multiple literacies of the 21
st
century aligned to
living and working in a globalized new millennium.
Why change is needed
In the 20th century, the approach to education was to focus on learning-
about and to build stocks of knowledge and some cognitive skills in the
student to be deployed later in appropriate situations. This approach to
education worked well in a relatively stable, slowly changing world where
students could expect to learn one set of skills and use them throughout
their lives. Careers often lasted a lifetime. But the 21st century is quite
different. The world is continuously changing at an increasing pace. Skills
learned today are apt to be out-of-date all too soon. When technical jobs
change, we can no longer expect to send a person back to school to be
re-trained or to learn a new profession. By the time that happens, the
domain of inquiry is likely to have morphed yet again.
-John Seely Brown
Other Cultures
Korea
Little time reading newspapers or watching TV. Life
moves at the speed of the net and being connected is
the only way to remain current
Japan
Laptops are viewed as dinosauric technology. The cell
phone provides the privacy and instant connectivity
individuals crave
What will the future hold?
Future Forces Affecting Education

Putting it into
practice.
Where do I Start?


Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0

Tools of the Trade
Online Collaborations
Blogs
Wikis
Google Docs/Spreadsheets
Skype
Flickr
RSS
Digital Storytelling
Photostory 3
Movie Maker 2
Adobe Premiere Elements/iMovie
Audacity
Freeplay Music
Tools of the Trade
Google Earth
Podcasts
Bubbleshare
Slideshare
Innertoob
NewsMap
Toondoo

What does it look like?
Cross-Curricular Projects on the Web
Johnny Appleseed Project
Journey North
Classroom Blogs
Mr. Cs Class Blog
The Secret Life of Bees
Classroom Podcasts
Room 208
RadioWillowweb

What does it look like?
Google Earth
Grapes of Wrath Google Earth Littrip
Coral Reef Temperatures
Tree Coverage Percentage
Wikis
Vicki Davis
Tim Frederick
Technospud

How can I help my school?
Professional Development Needs Assessment
MILE Guide
How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20
th
Century
Engauge
Visions 2020
Building the Perfect School


Some good reads
Blogs
2 Cents Worth David Warlick
Teach42 Steve Dembo
The Strength of Weak Ties David Jakes
Moving at the Speed of Creativity Wes Fryer
Weblogg-ed Will Richardson
Dangerously Irrelevant Scott McLeod
Beths Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom Beth Knittle
Books
Tested Linda Perlstein
Dont Bother Me MomIm Learning! Marc Prensky
A Whole New Mind Daniel Pink
The World is Flat Thomas Friedman
What Video Games Have to Teach us About Literacy and Learning
James Paul Gee

What Will You Do to Make A
Difference?
Brad Fountain
brad_fountain@discovery.com