Preparing Students for the 21 st Century by Rebecca Landa March 2, 2008 EDTC 6340

Teaching-focused Time-based Fragmented Textbooks Routine Traditional Teaching Learning-focused Competency-based Inter-disciplinary Real-world problems & tools Constantly challenging 21 st Century (Rigorous & Relevant Learning)

Why Change? Three of 10 high school freshmen this year will NOT graduate in 4 years. The number is 4 out of 10 for African-Americans and Hispanic students. Nationwide only 32% of high school students are college-ready (Hispanics 16%) Seven of the 10 fastest growing jobs require higher education.

Why Change? By 2020, the nation is expected to have a shortage of 14 million workers who must have college-level skills.

"Our high schools were designed 50 years ago, to meet the needs of another age. Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting–even ruining–the lives of millions of Americans every year." — Bill Gates, Speech to the 2005 National Governor's Association

Curriculum Vast Requires Deep Understanding of Knowledge & Skills Integration of Technology Effective Strategies Differentiation Special Needs Populations English Language Learners Learning Gaps Gifted Learners Limited Technology Skills Testing Assessing vs. Testing Accurate Measurement Tools Grading Classroom Challenges

Understanding Our Students

Time Spent 5-10,000 hours Video Games250,000 s and IMs10,000 hours on cell phones20,000 hours TV (incl. MTV)500,000 commercials Less than 5,000 hours reading Source: M. Prensky

Characteristics Students must want to learn Can’t be pushed to learn Students want to ask why Can’t just tell them what is right or best They want to invent it Can’t just give students content Source: M. Prensky

Students Today

Students Say… We don’t listen to them We don’t engage them We don’t respect them But, we do one thing very well, BORE them Source: M. Prensky

“The best way to create interest in a subject is to render it worth knowing, which means to make the knowledge gained usable in one’s thinking beyond the situation in which learning has occurred.” — Jerome Bruner, 1960 Source: Understanding by Design

Instructional Planning What will students learn? Which strategies will provide evidence of student learning? Which strategies will help students acquire and integrate learning? Which strategies will help students practice, review, & apply learning? Source: Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works

Nine Categories of Instructional Strategies That Effect Student Achievement Instructional StrategyAverage Affect Size Identifying Similarities & Differences1.61 Summarizing & Note-Taking1.00 Reinforcing Effort.80 Homework & Practice.77 Nonlinguistic Representation.75 Cooperative Learning.73 Setting Objectives & Providing Feedback.61 Generating & Testing Hypotheses.61 Cues, Questions, & Advanced Graphic Organizers.59 Source: Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works

Technology Integration Technology-based methods should be based in both learning theory and teaching practice Uses of technology should match specific teaching and learning needs Source: Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching

Benefits of Technology in the 21 st Century Classroom Increases student learning, understanding, and achievement Enhances motivation Supports critical thinking and problem-solving It’s student-centered Effective for at-risk and special needs students Offers frequent and immediate feedback Source: Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works

Bibliography Roblyer, M. D. (Ed.). (2006). Integrating educational technology into teaching (4th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc. Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. (Ed.). (2005) Understanding by design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Hubbell, E.R., Pitler, H., Malenoski, K. (Ed.). (2007) Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Prensky, M. (2007, January 29). Listening to change. Keynote speech presented at Texas Association of School Administrators. Daggett, W. (2007, July 5). Our changing world. Keynote speech presented at Models Schools Conference. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2008, from

Sources Pictures – Becky Landa