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Mardy McGaw

Educational Leadership:Teaching for the 21st Century:21st Century Skills: The Challenge... - 1 views

www.ascd.org/...lls@_The_Challenges_Ahead.aspx

shared by Mardy McGaw on 07 Sep 09 - Cached
  • But in fact, the skills students need in the 21st century are not new.
  • What's actually new is the extent to which changes in our economy and the world mean that collective and individual success depends on having such skills.
  • This distinction between "skills that are novel" and "skills that must be taught more intentionally and effectively" ought to lead policymakers to different education reforms than those they are now considering. If these skills were indeed new, then perhaps we would need a radical overhaul of how we think about content and curriculum. But if the issue is, instead, that schools must be more deliberate about teaching critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving to all students, then the remedies are more obvious, although still intensely challenging.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • To complicate the challenge, some of the rhetoric we have heard surrounding this movement suggests that with so much new knowledge being created, content no longer matters; that ways of knowing information are now much more important than information itself. Such notions contradict what we know about teaching and learning and raise concerns that the 21st century skills movement will end up being a weak intervention for the very students—low-income students and students of color—who most need powerful schools as a matter of social equity.
  • What will it take to ensure that the idea of "21st century skills"—or more precisely, the effort to ensure that all students, rather than just a privileged few, have access to a rich education that intentionally helps them learn these skills—is successful in improving schools? That effort requires three primary components. First, educators and policymakers must ensure that the instructional program is complete and that content is not shortchanged for an ephemeral pursuit of skills. Second, states, school districts, and schools need to revamp how they think about human capital in education—in particular how teachers are trained. Finally, we need new assessments that can accurately measure richer learning and more complex tasks.
  • Why would misunderstanding the relationship of skills and knowledge lead to trouble? If you believe that skills and knowledge are separate, you are likely to draw two incorrect conclusions. First, because content is readily available in many locations but thinking skills reside in the learner's brain, it would seem clear that if we must choose between them, skills are essential, whereas content is merely desirable. Second, if skills are independent of content, we could reasonably conclude that we can develop these skills through the use of any content. For example, if students can learn how to think critically about science in the context of any scientific material, a teacher should select content that will engage students (for instance, the chemistry of candy), even if that content is not central to the field. But all content is not equally important to mathematics, or to science, or to literature. To think critically, students need the knowledge that is central to the domain.
  • Because of these challenges, devising a 21st century skills curriculum requires more than paying lip service to content knowledge.
  • Advocates of 21st century skills favor student-centered methods—for example, problem-based learning and project-based learning—that allow students to collaborate, work on authentic problems, and engage with the community. These approaches are widely acclaimed and can be found in any pedagogical methods textbook; teachers know about them and believe they're effective. And yet, teachers don't use them. Recent data show that most instructional time is composed of seatwork and whole-class instruction led by the teacher (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, 2005). Even when class sizes are reduced, teachers do not change their teaching strategies or use these student-centered methods (Shapson, Wright, Eason, & Fitzgerald, 1980). Again, these are not new issues. John Goodlad (1984) reported the same finding in his landmark study published more than 20 years ago.
  • Why don't teachers use the methods that they believe are most effective? Even advocates of student-centered methods acknowledge that these methods pose classroom management problems for teachers. When students collaborate, one expects a certain amount of hubbub in the room, which could devolve into chaos in less-than-expert hands. These methods also demand that teachers be knowledgeable about a broad range of topics and are prepared to make in-the-moment decisions as the lesson plan progresses. Anyone who has watched a highly effective teacher lead a class by simultaneously engaging with content, classroom management, and the ongoing monitoring of student progress knows how intense and demanding this work is. It's a constant juggling act that involves keeping many balls in the air.
  • Most teachers don't need to be persuaded that project-based learning is a good idea—they already believe that. What teachers need is much more robust training and support than they receive today, including specific lesson plans that deal with the high cognitive demands and potential classroom management problems of using student-centered methods.
  • Without better curriculum, better teaching, and better tests, the emphasis on "21st century skills" will be a superficial one that will sacrifice long-term gains for the appearance of short-term progress.
  • The debate is not about content versus skills. There is no responsible constituency arguing against ensuring that students learn how to think in school. Rather, the issue is how to meet the challenges of delivering content and skills in a rich way that genuinely improves outcomes for students.
    • Mardy McGaw
      Mardy McGaw on 20 Oct 09
       
      "ensuring that students learn how to think" You would think that this is the essence of education but this is not always asked of students. Memorize, Report and Present but how often do students think and comment on their learning?
  • practice means that you try to improve by noticing what you are doing wrong and formulating strategies to do better. Practice also requires feedback, usually from someone more skilled than you are.
    • Mardy McGaw
      Mardy McGaw on 20 Oct 09
       
      Students need to be taught how to work as part of a group. The need to see mistakes and be given a chance to improve on them. Someone who already knows how to work as a team player is the best coach/teacher.
  • anonymous on 07 Sep 09
     
    A very interesting article. Lots of good discussion points.
Michelle Krill

Foundation for Critical Thinking: Books, Conferences and Academic Resources for Educato... - 0 views

www.criticalthinking.org

shared by Michelle Krill on 13 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Michelle Krill on 13 Sep 09
     
    The Foundation and Center for Critical Thinking aim to improve education in colleges, universities and primary through secondary schools. We present publications, conferences, workshops and professional development programs, emphasizing instructional strategies, Socratic questioning, critical reading and writing, higher order thinking, assessment, research, quality enhancement, and competency standards.
Darcy Goshorn

Critical Thinking Tool Kit for Faculty - 4 views

libraries.wichita.edu/...criticalthinking

business criticalthinking hots course critical thinking thinking faculty

shared by Darcy Goshorn on 28 May 13 - No Cached
  • Darcy Goshorn on 28 May 13
     
    "This guide provides information and resources available to faculty to help improve the critical thinking and information literacy skills of students. This page was created specifically for the Barton School of Business, but many of the links are applicable to all disciplines."
Michelle Krill

FactCheckED.org - 0 views

factchecked.org

politics reference medialiteracy annenberg socialstudies debate

shared by Michelle Krill on 18 Feb 09 - Cached
  • Michelle Krill on 18 Feb 09
     
    Looking for support to assist students with becoming critical consumers of information? Stop by this site for lesson plans, guides for teaching critical thinking, and how to recognize deceptive arguments.
Darcy Goshorn

Bloom's Taxonomy: Progression in the Finance Lab - 1 views

www.rhsmith.umd.edu/...BloomsTaxonomy.pdf

discussion elearning teaching pedagogy e-learning course questions critical thinking bloomstaxonomy business finance

shared by Darcy Goshorn on 28 May 13 - No Cached
  • Darcy Goshorn on 28 May 13
     
    This presentation discusses a series of  financial lab exercises that demonstrate to students that finance theory has real value in  the business world, thus linking "abstract" course content to the real world. The  exercises align with Bloom's Taxonomy, starting with acquisition of knowledge goals and  moving toward the development of higher level critical thinking goals. 
Darcy Goshorn

Where Essential Questions Come From - 2 views

www.teachthought.com/...-essential-questions-come-from

essential questions critical thinking questions inquiry

shared by Darcy Goshorn on 03 Jun 13 - No Cached
  • Darcy Goshorn on 03 Jun 13
     
    The author describes the usefulness of essential questions, and how the use relates to students' critical thinking skills, or lack thereof.
anonymous

Critical thinking - 5 views

www.microsoft.com/...critical_thinking.aspx

resources

shared by anonymous on 28 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 28 Dec 11
     
    "Applying critical thinking skills through web research can help students: Improve search skills. Evaluate the information they find. Incorporate them in their work."
Jason Heiser

CriticalThinking.org - Critical Thinking Model 1 - 0 views

www.criticalthinking.org/...CTModel1.cfm

learning

shared by Jason Heiser on 13 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Jason Heiser on 13 Sep 09
     
    Online Model for learning the Elements and Standards of Critical Thinking
  • Michelle Krill on 13 Sep 09
Kathe Santillo

The Foundation for Critical Thinking - 0 views

www.criticalthinking.org/index.cfm

CFFButler Higher_Order_Thinking

shared by Kathe Santillo on 01 May 09 - Cached
  • Kathe Santillo on 01 May 09
     
    The Foundation and Center for Critical Thinking aim to improve instruction in primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities
Kathe Santillo

TeAchnology: Critical Thinking Worksheets - 0 views

www.teach-nology.com/...critical_thinking

CFFButler Higher_Order_Thinking

shared by Kathe Santillo on 01 May 09 - Cached
  • Kathe Santillo on 01 May 09
     
    A collection if student worksheets to stimulate critical thinking in students.
Vicki Barr

Thinkport - 9 views

www.thinkport.org/default.tp

middle school

shared by Vicki Barr on 08 Jun 10 - Cached
  • Vicki Barr on 08 Jun 10
     
    Maryland Public Television and Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education developed some interactive media that are very engaging and promote critical thinking. You really need to check out this site and find resources that you can use in your classroom. Lure of the Labyrinth is a digital game for middle-school pre-algebra students. It includes a wealth of intriguing math-based puzzles wrapped into an exciting narrative game in which students work to find their lost pet - and save the world from monsters! Linked to both national and state mathematics standards, the game gives students a chance to actually think like mathematicians. I worked on some of the puzzles, and I'm sure this would extend to high school age students as well! Also, students don't have to play the full game. You can choose a puzzle that correlates to what you're teaching and just do that puzzle. Math by Design (MbD) gives students a highly creative experience in seeing geometry and measurement come alive. Under Educator Resources, check out some of the Math In Action videos! I loved the one on cake decorating. Bayville was developed for middle school students studying life sciences, ecology, and the environment. Under school or district, just choose Other States.
Kathe Santillo

Georgia Critical Thinking Skills Program - 0 views

www.glc.k12.ga.us/...homepg.htm

CFFButler Higher_Order_Thinking

shared by Kathe Santillo on 01 May 09 - Cached
  • Kathe Santillo on 01 May 09
     
    Resources, materials, and processes for creating an environment that will develop critical, creative, and independent thinkers in a culturally diverse, technologically advanced society.
anonymous

Educational Leadership:Teaching for the 21st Century:What Would Socrates Say? - 0 views

www.ascd.org/..._Would_Socrates_Say%C2%A2.aspx

21st-century

shared by anonymous on 07 Sep 09 - Cached
  • The noted philosopher once said, "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance." My fear is that instead of knowing nothing except the fact of our own ignorance, we will know everything except the fact of our own ignorance. Google has given us the world at our fingertips, but speed and ubiquity are not the same as actually knowing something.
  • Socrates believed that we learn best by asking essential questions and testing tentative answers against reason and fact in a continual and virtuous circle of honest debate. We need to approach the contemporary knowledge explosion and the technologies propelling this new enlightenment in just that manner. Otherwise, the great knowledge and communication tsunami of the 21st century may drown us in a sea of trivia instead of lifting us up on a rising tide of possibility and promise.
  • A child born today could live into the 22nd century. It's difficult to imagine all that could transpire between now and then. One thing does seem apparent: Technical fixes to our outdated educational system are likely to be inadequate. We need to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Every day we are exposed to huge amounts of information, disinformation, and just plain nonsense. The ability to distinguish fact from factoid, reality from fiction, and truth from lies is not a "nice to have" but a "must have" in a world flooded with so much propaganda and spin.
  • For example, for many years, the dominant U.S. culture described the settling of the American West as a natural extension of manifest destiny, in which people of European descent were "destined" to occupy the lands of the indigenous people. This idea was, and for some still is, one of our most enduring and dangerous collective fabrications because it glosses over human rights and skirts the issue of responsibility. Without critical reflection, we will continually fall victim to such notions.
  • A second element of the 21st century mind that we must cultivate is the willingness to abandon supernatural explanations for naturally occurring events.
  • The third element of the 21st century mind must be the recognition and acceptance of our shared evolutionary collective intelligence.
  • To solve the 21st century's challenges, we will need an education system that doesn't focus on memorization, but rather on promoting those metacognitive skills that enable us to monitor our own learning and make changes in our approach if we perceive that our learning is not going well.
  • Metacognition is a fancy word for a higher-order learning process that most of us use every day to solve thousands of problems and challenges.
  • We are at the threshold of a worldwide revolution in learning. Just as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the wall of conventional schooling is collapsing before our eyes. A new electronic learning environment is replacing the linear, text-bound culture of conventional schools. This will be the proving ground of the 21st century mind.
  • We will cease to think of technology as something that has its own identity, but rather as an extension of our minds, in much the same way that books extend our minds without a lot of fanfare. According to Huff and Saxberg, immersive technologies—such as multitouch displays; telepresence (an immersive meeting experience that offers high video and audio clarity); 3-D environments; collaborative filtering (which can produce recommendations by comparing the similarity between your preferences and those of other people); natural language processing; intelligent software; and simulations—will transform teaching and learning by 2025.
  • So imagine that a group of teachers and middle school students decides to tackle the question, What is justice? Young adolescents' discovery of injustice in the world is a crucial moment in their development. If adults offer only self-serving answers to this question, students can become cynical or despairing. But if adults treat the problem of injustice truthfully and openly, hope can emerge and grow strong over time. As part of their discussion, let's say that the teachers and students have cocreated a middle school earth science curriculum titled Water for the World. This curriculum would be a blend of classroom, community, and online activities. Several nongovernmental organizations—such as Waterkeeper, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Water for People—might support the curriculum, which would meet national and state standards and include lessons, activities, games, quizzes, student-created portfolios, and learning benchmarks.
  • The goal of the curriculum would be to enable students from around the world to work together to address the water crisis in a concrete way. Students might help bore a freshwater well, propose a low-cost way of preventing groundwater pollution, or develop a local water treatment technique. Students and teachers would collaborate by talking with one another through Skype and posting research findings using collaborative filtering. Students would create simulations and games and use multitouch displays to demonstrate step-by-step how their projects would proceed. A student-created Web site would include a blog; a virtual reference room; a teachers' corner; a virtual living room where learners communicate with one another in all languages through natural language processing; and 3-D images of wells being bored in Africa, Mexico, and Texas. In a classroom like this, something educationally revolutionary would happen: Students and adults would connect in a global, purposeful conversation that would make the world a better place. We would pry the Socratic dialogue from the hands of the past and lift it into the future to serve the hopes and dreams of all students everywhere.
  • There has never been a time in human history when the opportunity to create universally accessible knowledge has been more of a reality. And there has never been a time when education has meant more in terms of human survival and happiness.
  • To start, we must overhaul and redesign the current school system. We face this great transition with both hands tied behind our collective backs if we continue to pour money, time, and effort into an outdated system of education. Mass education belongs in the era of massive armies, massive industrial complexes, and massive attempts at social control. We have lost much talent since the 19th century by enforcing stifling education routines in the name of efficiency. Current high school dropout rates clearly indicate that our standardized testing regime and outdated curriculums are wasting the potential of our youth.
  • If we stop thinking of schools as buildings and start thinking of learning as occurring in many different places, we will free ourselves from the conventional education model that still dominates our thinking.
  • anonymous on 07 Sep 09
     
    Some very interesting points in this article. Why not add your coments?
  • anonymous on 07 Sep 09
     
    A VERY interesting article. If you've got Diigo installed, why not add your comments
anonymous

Reverb | ECHO - 3 views

reverb.echo.nasa.gov/reverb

earth science nasa

shared by anonymous on 02 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • anonymous on 02 Jan 12
     
    We are proud to announce the Operational release of "Reverb", the next generation metadata and service discovery tool. Reverb has been developed utilizing modern web development technologies and presents you with a fresh new look and interface for discovering Earth Science data. We invite you to give it a try and let us know what you think. Reverb will be continually updated on a monthly basis taking into account your user feedback and other enhancements which are currently planned. Your feedback will be critical in us ensuring that you are able to find and access the data you need in the best way possible.
Darcy Goshorn

Stop Disasters - Disaster Simulation - 3 views

www.stopdisastersgame.org/...home.html

science geography game disasters simulation interactive environment

shared by Darcy Goshorn on 22 Jun 10 - Cached
  • Darcy Goshorn on 22 Jun 10
     
    Stop Disasters is a collection of disaster simulation games created by the ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction). As students play the games, they learn about natural disasters and actions that people can take to help protect themselves and others. The student's job is to plan and construct a safer environment for their population. Students must assess the disaster risk and try to limit damage when natural disasters strike. Some advice that students are given within the game will be good and some of it will be bad, it is up to them to discern which is which. Students can choose from 5 different scenarios, Tsunami, Earthquake, Hurricane, Wild Fire, and Flood. Each scenario has 3 levels: easy, medium, and hard. When students enter the simulation, they are greeted by a local who briefs them on the situation. Students are given a budget and time limit to complete the necessary precautions. After 20 min., the natural disaster occurs and tests their solutions. Students develop the land and learn about their choices each step of the way. During the game students can keep track of their budget, the population they are working to keep safe, a map and risk management map, and their remaining time. The game is very engaging, it reminds me of the SIM City games that I played as a kid. This game will put those critical thinking muscles to the test!
Michelle Krill

Buck Institute for Education | Project Based Learning - 5 views

www.bie.org

pbl bie projectbasedlearning

shared by Michelle Krill on 30 Jun 10 - Cached
  • Michelle Krill on 30 Jun 10
     
    "n Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While allowing for some degree of student "voice and choice," rigorous projects are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic content, practice 21st Century Skills (such as collaboration, communication & critical thinking), and..."
Michelle Krill

Watch it, Make it, Analyze it: Building Media Literacy Skills in Young People | The Med... - 0 views

themediaspot.org/celebration

medialiteracy digliteracy presentation

shared by Michelle Krill on 10 Mar 09 - Cached
  • Michelle Krill on 10 Mar 09
     
    Schools are working with a flexible definition of literacy, influenced by established core concepts of media literacy, to: * promote the development of critical thinking skills necessary to independently 'read' & 'write', and make meaning of messages in a variety of forms * promote the basic operational skills, and understanding of the languages necessary to independently 'read' and 'write' effective messages in various forms of media (print, video, audio, etc.) * instill confidence in the ability to adapt those skills and concepts to emerging forms of communication * connect and transfer the fundamentals of literacy to other forms of real world communication and problem solving Challenges & Questions: * How do you fit this into already full school schedules? * If these type of productions do take time from other discipline and skills, is it worth it? * When and how do we train teachers to be confident enough in their own media literacy to fluidly guide students? * Where is the balance that satisfies outcomes schools are traditionally responsible for with the real world needs of our students?
Kristin Hokanson

Media Literacy: News/Journalism - 0 views

www.frankwbaker.com/news_journalism.htm

news_journalism bias medialiteracy frank_baker

shared by Kristin Hokanson on 12 Dec 08 - Cached
  • Kristin Hokanson on 12 Dec 08
     
    INTRODUCTION Using the news in the K-12 classroom is an excellent way to engage young people. Reading, writing and creating projects related to the news is part of most state's teaching standards. Students should be exposed to news via print (newspapers and magazines), and non-print (radio, Television, the Internet.) Both mainstream and non-mainstream sources should be included. To incorporate media literacy into your existing teaching, I recommend you download the core concepts of media literacy and the critical thinking questions handouts as a way of getting started.
Sue Sheffer

Project Look Sharp - Media Literacy at Ithaca College - 0 views

www.ithaca.edu/looksharp

socialstudies medialiteracy literacy criticalthinking highered

shared by Sue Sheffer on 06 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Sue Sheffer on 06 Jan 09
     
    Project Look Sharp provides materials, training and support for the effective integration of media literacy with critical thinking into classroom curricula at all education levels.
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