Designing for the future: Key Components for a 21 st Century School Allison Zmuda, Facilitator [email protected]
Dec 26, 2015
An innovator in your midst
National level conference this past summer
Garnered respect from leaders from Partnership for 21st century skills
Developed an interface for evaluation around the MILE guide
Who is it????
Six steps to becoming a 21st century school system
1. Increasing awareness2. Assessing your current state3. Narrowing to a manageable number
of skills4. Planning5. Implementation6. Evaluation and continuous
improvement
Goals for this session
1) create context-specific definitions for whichever skills a district has decided to begin with
2) create the [context specific] continua
3) develop a plan to conduct a gap analysis comparing present lessons, units, etc. to the continua that were developed
4) improve the quality of assessments
Instructional coreWhat are pervasive problems in each of these three areas?
TEACHER CONTENT
STUDENT
Richard Elmore, et. al. Instructional Rounds
Eliminating the buffer: Are students prepared for college?
Only about 35% of students who entered four-year colleges seeking a bachelor’s degree in 1998 had earned their degree four years later
Only 56% had graduated six years later-- David Conley, Standards for Success
Eliminating the buffer:Are students prepared to enter the workforce?
84% of employers say K-12 schools are not doing a good job of preparing students for the workplace
55% say schools are deficient in preparing students with basic employability skills
51% cite math and science deficiencies 38% cite reading and comprehension
deficiencies-- Findings reported in 2005 Survey of National
Association of Manufacturers
Copyright Zmuda 2009 8
Eliminating the BufferThe reality of contemporary times
The most notable feature of the new labor market, as just about everyone agrees, is that people don’t stay tied to companies anymore. Americans now change jobs on average every 3.5 years—a figure that has been declining steadily for every age group; and workers in their twenties switch jobs on average every 1.1 years, according to 2001 figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
--- Richard Florida
Eliminating the buffer:American students are not as competitive as they need to be (according to our own self-assessments)
“The skills of the workforce will increasingly be the defining characteristic that determines the extent to which an economy can develop and exploit new technologies and compete in the global marketplace. Knowledge workers in every industry require high-level cognitive skills for managing, interpreting, validating, transforming, communicating and acting on information.”
-- 2004 RAND ReportCopyright Zmuda 2009 10
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Eliminating the buffer21st century skills survey
80% of voters say that the kind of skills students need to learn to be prepared for the jobs of the 21st century is different from what they needed 20 years ago. 88% of voters say they believe that schools can and should incorporate 21st century skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving skills, computer and technology skills, and communication and self-direction skills into their curriculum. 66% of voters say they believe that students need more than just the basics of reading, writing and math; schools also need to incorporate a broader range of skills. 53% say they believe schools should place an equal emphasis on 21st century skills and basic skills.
Copyright Zmuda 2009 12
Eliminating the Buffer:Students need to move away from the traditional assignments.
“Just as the Web has empowered students to undermine pointless, rote ‘research assignments’ through copy-and-paste masterpieces, the new WWW shifts learning power to the students themselves. When the world of information explodes beyond what one head can hold, who decides what gets into that head? When students can demonstrate their learning in a persuasive essay, a sardonic blog, a moving short film, a robust wiki entry or a humorous podcast, why would we demand deadening conformity? The new WWW may do us all a favor and put assembly-line education out of its misery.”
-- T. March
Copyright Zmuda 2009 13
Eliminating the Buffer: More technology and resources does not result in higher achievement.
“Schools have conflated technology use with instructional quality and student engagement with improved learning and higher-order thinking. In all the excitement about new ways of teaching with technology, we educators may have neglected to pose the most fundamental question: Are students really learning?”
-- M. Burns
Copyright Zmuda 2009 14
Eliminating the Buffer: More technology and resources does not result in higher achievement.
“Laptops tend to amplify what is already taking place in schools. Whatever a school is doing well, it can probably do better with laptops. By the same token though, if a school is seriously troubled with discipline problems or unfocused instruction, laptops may amplify those difficulties by giving students a new means for off-task behavior and teachers a new tool for keeping students busy rather than teaching them. Laptops will make a good school better, but they won’t make a bad school good.”
-- M. Warschauer
Eliminating the BufferHow engaging is high school?
Two out of three respondents (67% in each year) are bored at least every day in class in high school.
Approximately half of the students (51% in 2007, 50% in 2008) are bored every day.
Approximately one out of every six students (16% in 2007, 17% in 2008) are bored in every class.
Only 2% in each year report never being bored.E. Yazzie-Mintz (2009). Engaging the Voices of
Students
What’s wrong?
More than four out of five cited a reason for their boredom as “Material wasn’t interesting” (83% in 2007, 82% in 2008).
About two out of five students (41% in each year) claimed that the lack of relevance of the material caused their boredom.
About one-third of the students (33% in 2007, 32% in 2008) were bored because “Work wasn’t challenging enough.”
Just over one-fourth (27% in each year) of respondents were bored because “Work was too difficult.”
More than one-third of respondents (35% in each year) were bored due to “No interaction with teacher.”
E. Yazzie-Mintz (2009). Engaging the Voices of Students
Is this really what we want?
Failure becomes a bad word and is to be avoided at all costs.
Giving the teacher what he or she wants is critical if you want to get good grades.
Questions are good only if they are on topic.
Developing good ideas must be done in accordance with the directions.
Instructional coreWhat are pervasive problems in each of these three areas?
TEACHER CONTENT
STUDENT
Richard Elmore, et. al. Instructional Rounds
What are the pervasive problems in these areas?
5-10 minute brainstorm5 minutes to whittle it down to less than six
Content (based on a regional conversation)
Too much content – needs to be more clear about essential learnings and 21st century skills
Subject areas are in silos – don’t have opportunities to make connections or apply learning
Pacing of content is too fast Overreliance on traditional and/or
superficial assessments
Teacher (based on a regional conversation)
Attitudes about 21st century skills as it relates to teaching to the test
Teacher contract/time Physical setup of classroom design How teachers learn Differentiation of instruction i.e. time,
materials, human resources Horizontal & Vertical discussions
between grade-levels (getting people together)
Student (based on a regional conversation)
Lack of relevance and motivation Students feel defined by their
deficits Lack of self reflection Unwilling to fail/learn from mistakes Traditional schooling—geared toward
the industrial revolution as opposed to 21st century learning
How much has actually changed?
“The core of schooling remains relatively stable in the face of massive changes in the structure around it. Schools legitimize themselves with their various conflicting publics by constantly changing external structures and processes, but shield their workers from any fundamental impact of these changes by leaving their core intact. This accounts for the resilience of practice within the context of constant institutional change.”
- Richard Elmore
Kurt Fischer (2008) of Harvard University’s Mind, Brain and Education Institute
“We are not brains disembodied in the bucket sitting in the corner. And likewise, we don't learn by having information stuck into our brains. It doesn't work that way. We have to learn more actively than that. So it is not true that you can plug the world into the brain and thereby know everything. Instead, knowledge has to built.”
What learners needConference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, The Society for Human Resource Management
Critical thinking / Problem solving Information Technology Application Teamwork / Collaboration Creativity / Innovation Diversity
What learners needGlobal Achievement Gap (Tony Wagner)
Critical thinking and Problem Solving Collaboration Agility and Adaptability Initiative and Entrepreneurship Effective Oral and Written
Communication Accessing and Analyzing information
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What do 21st century skills really mean?
Push for reform from the outside in Cannot be done in addition to status
quo Rethinking and imagining required to
come up with a viable definition
What do 21st century skills really mean?
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION Ability to synthesize to come up with
combinations that are new and useful Self-assurance, self confidence Ability to take risks Breaking or stretching generally accepted
rules Passionate interest -- the work is enjoyable Tolerance for disruption to existing patterns
of thought and life Largely driven by intrinsic motivation
1) create context-specific definitions
Look at the three sets here Look at the samples in the slides Come up with your “right answer” (HINT: THIS IS THE EASY PART! It will
be uphill from here….)
2) create the [context specific] continua
Identify a good model for each skill HINT: Don’t reinvent the wheel. HINT: You may pick and choose from
each of the three examples. HINT: Keep in mind it should get
progressively harder (both the level of the task and the level of performance).
Unpacking 21st century language
Criteria: Is it framed in terms of a learning
goal? (What the learners will accomplish NOT how the system works)
Is it framed in language that is measurable?
Is the language clear enough to give the necessary leverage to improve teaching practice and system effectiveness?
Powerful goalDeveloped in consultation with OCM BOCES
Information and media literacyAccess and evaluate information and sources critically; apply
information to complete the task in an ethical and legal mannerNOVICE PROFICI
ENTEXEMPLARY
EMERGING
3) develop a plan to conduct a gap analysis comparing present lessons, units, etc. to the continua that were developed
Use the continua as the benchmark Not good enough to “fit it” – stay
true to the language Look for areas of “weird-ness” –
don’t assume that students aren’t capable….somebody is already doing it
Immediate problems with gap analysis
It is difficult to measure the full scope of the standards.
Teachers will be instantly over-budget in terms of instructional time and assessment fatigue.
This cannot be done in addition to what teachers are already expected to do.
4) improve the quality of assessments
Transfer requires… Tasks with minimal cues and
scaffolding, Learning how to adapt, grapple
with new or unfamiliar elements, uses, or obstacles
The goal of schooling
Transfer of learning is the cornerstone upon which education should ultimately rest. In its broadest sense, transfer of learning is basic to the whole notion of schooling. If there is no transfer at all, students will need to be taught specifically every act that they will ever perform in any situation [which is impossible]. (Bigge & Shermis, 1992).
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Key questions for consideration
What are the key representative complex challenges spanning a field of study? What are the various challenges we
expect successful people to be able to handle?
What does it mean to “do” the subject? What are the representative tasks?
Think: the decathlon in each subject area
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Multidisciplinary assessment tasks
Problem/Solution- Identifies and defines a problem and generates a possible solutions (or solution paths), evaluates the viability of each solution, and offers a recommendation.
Inquiry/Investigation- Systematically develop questions and pursue an explanation/pattern based on, but not limited to, known information.
Source/Comparative Analysis- Analyze data, information, artifacts, and/or textual evidence to develop an explanation, interpretation, and/or determine impact.
Critique/Self-Analysis- Evaluate a given text, performance, or problem based on established criteria
Debate, Panel, Role Play- Present and participate in a debate, panel, or role play to provide information, gain insight and/or promote a particular point of view
Multidisciplinary assessment tasks
Performance / Product - Generate a performance/product using visual, multimedia, sound, writing, and /or speech to demonstrate understanding and/or communicate creative intent
Modeling/Simulation- Given a model or set of criteria/data/experiences, create representations to illustrate/predict outcomes or to deepen understanding
Correspondence/Interviews- Appropriately communicates and/or responds to an idea, point of view, concern, request or proposal to an audience to achieve a desired result
Persuasive statement- Develop an argument/artifact using supporting information and persuasive techniques to promote a particular point of view and/or cause action
Portfolio/Reflection- Collect work over time to demonstrate mastery in one or more modes of expression/College, Career, Citizen-Ready skills, reflect on growth, and/or set goals
Linking it to 21st century skills
Based on your drafted 21st century skills, how does this correlate to the ten performance assessments?
What is missing? (skills or assessments)
What is redundant?