Recently, there has been heightened interest in 21st century learning. What is 21st century learning? How to operationalize it? Where are the promising practices?
As we are approaching the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, we are still trying to figure out what 21st century skills, learning, and workforce should be or look like. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills Consortium has done a great job in developing the framework, fostering the national discourse on the needs for 21st century skills and learning, and expanding its reach through its consultation and assistance to state education agencies in their learning standards revisions or updates. I would like to know how our educational leaders, especially technology savy leaders have envisioned the new learning environment and what operationalized 21st century schools or learning would or should look like and where we can find some preliminary model(s) of practices around us for reference. To some extent, I believe that you can not wait for a 21st century learning model to take a shape and rather you should make it happen through experiment and innovation. Who would be in a better position to do so than this group of experienced and talented educational leaders on the Island?
I think Clifford is right on target. The present model of schools was set up to mirror the assembly line. That served us very well for many years. It actually made us an industrial poerhouse in the world. Now, however, I think we can imitate the worksplace again by creating workspaces for kids. I think the school our students need should probably resemble the Google offices where creativity abounds, people can work in teams, and communication across national boundaries is the norm. To illustrate how behind we are, I recently received an e-mail from a principal who had just become a member of this site and wanted to invite her chairpersons to join. The district's filter blocked my invitations because a link was imbedded in the message. That is no way to function.
I recently came across a research paper published by Elena Silva in Education Sector. The name of the article is: Measuring Skills for the 21st Century. I believe it is a good read.
FYI..Harvard University's Tony Wagner has written his "newest" book which covers many 21st century ed. issues..
The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It
Michael Keany
Mar 14, 2008
Teh-yuan Wan, Ph.D.
Feb 18, 2009
Brian Naughton
The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It
A very insightful read.
May 4, 2010