From Students to Learners: New Learning Environments
for 21st Century Skills
PowerPoint Slides and Resources at http://www.bobpearlman.org/21learningsummit.htm
Bob Pearlman [email protected]
http://www.bobpearlman.org
21st Century Learning SummitRosemont, IL
October 13, 2010
So what does 21st Century Learning Look Like?
And how do you get there?
New
Learning
Environments
How kids
work
in school
Pedagogy
and
practice
21st
Century
Skills
Four Imperatives for 21st Century Learning
• Compete Globally• Kids are different and learn
differently• Kids are bored, not engaged• The Creativity Crisis
Compete Globally – Who?
• It’s not just about us -- the U.S.A. or Canada
• It’s about our students• It’s about my daughter or son!
Kids are bored, not engaged
• Creativity – Producing something original and useful• Kim found creativity scores had been steadily rising, just like IQ scores, until
1990. Since then, creativity scores have consistently inched downward.• "What’s common about successful programs is they alternate maximum
divergent thinking with bouts of intense convergent thinking, through several stages," the authors write, and cite schools like the new National Inventors Hall of Fame Middle School in Akron, Ohio: "With as much as three fourths of each day spent in project-based learning, principal Buckner and her team actually work through required curricula, carefully figuring out how kids can learn it through the steps of Treffinger’s Creative Problem-Solving method and other creativity pedagogies. “The creative problem-solving program has the highest success in increasing children’s creativity,” observed William & Mary’s Kim."
Partnership for 21st Century Skillshttp://www.21stcenturyskills.org
Assessment of 21st Century Skills
21st Century Skills DefinedLearning & Innovation
• Creativity and innovation• Critical thinking and problem-
solving• Communication and collaboration
Life & Career• Flexibility and adaptability• Initiative and self-direction• Social and cross-cultural skills• Productivity and accountability• Leadership and responsibility
Information & Technology• Information literacy• Media literacy• ICT literacy
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org
The four Cs• Critical thinking and problem solving• Communication• Collaboration• Creativity and innovationAs the three Rs serve as an umbrella for other
subjects, the four Cs do for other skills.
The three “R”s and the four “C”sWe must fuse the three Rs with
the four Cs.
New Technology High School
Learning Outcomes
Napa 8 Learning Outcomes• Technology literacy• Collaboration• Critical thinking• Oral communication• Written communication• Career preparation• Citizenship and ethics• Curricular literacy
(Content standards)
Sacramento 10 Learning Outcomes
1. Content proficient2. Able to write proficiently3. Orally proficient4. Able to think critically5. Technologically proficient6. Able to collaborate7. Prepared for a career8. Solid citizens with ethical behavior9. Able to analyze and deal with data10. Possessing a solid work ethic
What learning curricula, activities, and experiences foster 21st Century Learning? And what does schooling look like?
World GeoLit Integrated class at Manor New Technology High School, Manor, TX
(Photo by Les Simpson)
Manor New Technology High School, Manor, TX
Watch video and list key elements of this teaching and learning practice.
1. __________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________
Manor New Tech 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-klc2KijMG8
At the core is a student-centered, project- and problem-based
teaching strategy that is tied to both content standards and
schoolwide learning outcomes.
Project- and Problem-Based LearningKeys to 21st Century Learning
• To learn collaboration, work in teams.
• To learn critical thinking, take on complex problems.
• To learn oral communication, present.
• To learn written communication, write.
• To learn technology, use technology.
• To develop citizenship, take on civic and global issues.
• To learn about careers, do internships.
• To learn content, research, and do all of the above.
NTHS teachers start each unit by throwing students into a realistic or real-world project that both engages interest and generates a list of things the students need to know. Projects are designed to tackle complex problems, requiring critical thinking. New Tech’s strategy is simple:
Each unit begins when students are presented with a complex, standards-based problem.
Students form a team, develop a work contract, and build a work plan.
Students get to work!
Students are provided an online briefcase specific to the project with information, resources, links,
and assessment criteria that help guide them.
Students need to know.
Student questions and “need to knows” drive classroom lectures and activities. Sometimes for the
whole class, sometimes for just one student.
Students experiment and apply learning.
Students test their ideas and experiment to find solutions and breakthroughs while
receiving ongoing feedback from instructors.
Students get back to work!
Students work and collaborate in a business-like environment, where they know their
deliverables and have the technology tools to do their jobs.
Students prepare to present.
Students work on building presentations to represent their work and defend
their solutions.
Students present their solutions!
Students present ideas through debates, skits, panels, presentations where their work is evaluated by peers,
teachers, parents, and community.
The New Language of School Design
“Classrooms are out! No more classrooms! Don’t build them!”
—Roger Schank, Institute for Learning Sciences
Manor New Tech 2
Figure 2: Learning studio for integrated interdisciplinary class at Columbus Signature Academy, Columbus, IN
Columbus Signature Academy, Columbus, IN
CSA
Columbus SignatureAcademy
Primary student work area Learning studioPresentation space Presentation roomLarge group space Multi-purpose roomExtended learning spaces Breakout area
Project conference roomSpecialty labs Graphic media lab
Science labFurniture Rolling tables and chairs
Flip-up tables
Figure 4. Student project teams at work in double-sized classroom at New Tech High @ Coppell, Coppell, TX. Photo by Kate Jenkins
New Tech High @ Coppell, Coppell, TX
Extended Learning Spaces
Student collaborative project teams working in the digital media library, in the corridor, and a project planning room, some of the many extended learning spaces at New Tech High, Coppell, Coppell, TX. Photos by SHW Group, Plano, TX, and Kate Jenkins
New Tech High,@ Coppell
Primary student work area Dual subject matter learning environment
Presentation space Large multi-group collaboration zones
Large group space Large multi-group collaboration zones
Extended learning spaces Corridor alcoves Project planning roomsMedia libraryOutdoor benches
Specialty labs Science labFurniture Mix and match tables, office
chairs, lounge chairs, and sofas in extended learning spaces
The Met, Providence, RI
Figure 7: Students in advisory room at the Met, Providence, RI
At the Met, the curriculum is Learning Through Interests or Internships (LTIs). To the Met, LTI sites are part of its facilities. And the school site is designed to support students working on their LTIs.
Figure 8: Floor plan of Met East, Providence, RI, showing advisory rooms, project labs, and commons area
The Met
Primary student work area Advisory–project roomPresentation space CommonsLarge group space CommonsExtended learning spaces Conference rooms
Meeting rooms Commons
Specialty labs FabricationFurniture Soft, cushioned seats, contour
chairs, flexible tables
Figure 9: Cluster area studio surrounded by four flexible classrooms at High Tech High, San Diego, CA
High Tech High, San Diego, CA
HTH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yie4q8LscBs
High Tech High
Primary student work area Clustered classroomCommon studio
Presentation space CommonsLarge group space CommonsExtended learning spaces Small and large conference rooms
Common studiosCommons
Specialty labs Biotech, engineeringArt, musicMultimedia, digital arts
Furniture Benches in extended learning spaces
Figure 10: Learning Plaza prototype at New Line Learning Academy, Maidstone, Kent, England, shows Learning Plaza divided in multiple ways for large groups, small groups, and individual learning
New Line Learning Academy, Maidstone, Kent, England
NLL
Figure 11: Ground Floor, Learning Plaza prototype at New Line Learning Academy, Maidstone, Kent, England
Figure 12: Mezzanine, Learning Plaza prototype at New Line Learning Academy, Maidstone, Kent, England
New Line Learning Academy
Primary student work area Learning PlazaPresentation space Learning PlazaLarge group space Learning PlazaExtended learning spaces Learning Plaza watering
holes and cavesSpecialty labs Art
TechnologyScience
Furniture Modular tables and mobile lecture-style amphitheater seating
ColumbusSignatureAcademy
New Tech High @ Coppell
The Met High Tech High New Line Learning Academy
Primary student work area
Learning studio Dual subject matter learning environment
Advisory/project room
Clustered classroomCommon studio
Learning Plaza
Presentation space
Presentation room Large multi-group collaboration zones
Commons Commons Learning Plaza
Large group space
Multi-purpose room Large multi-group collaboration zones
Commons Commons Learning Plaza
Extended learning spaces
Breakout areaProject conference room
Corridor alcoves Project planning roomsMedia libraryOutdoor benches
Conference rooms, Meeting roomsCommons
Small and large conference rooms Common studios Commons
Learning Plaza watering holes and caves
Specialty labs Graphic media lab, Science
Science Fabrication Biotech, Engineering, Art, Music, Multimedia, Digital Arts
Art TechnologyScience
Furniture Rolling tables and chairs; flip-up tables
Mix and match tables; office chairs;lounge chairs and sofas in extended learning spaces
Soft, cushioned seats, contour chairs, flexible tables
Benches in Extended learning spaces
Modular tables and mobile lecture-style amphitheater seating
Some Cautionary TalesIt’s about a lot more than design and technology.
• UK open learning environments (1970s)• Massachusetts: new high schools (mid-1990s)• NW England: new learning centres
Are teachers ready to teach in the new learning environments?
Putting It All Together• PBL curriculum and pedagogy• Assessment for learning• Technology • Learning spaces and environment• Professional development
Four Imperatives for 21st Century Learning
• Compete Globally• Kids are different and learn
differently• Kids are bored, not engaged• The Creativity Crisis
Contact Information
Bob Pearlman21st Century School and District Consultant
(520) 881-9965
PowerPoint Slides and Resources at http://www.bobpearlman.org/21learningsummit.htm