Inspired Teacher Blog
www.inspiredteacher.blogspot.com
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I've been working in education and school reform for the past decade and never before found such a perfect metaphor why I wake up every morning and still hunger to do this work. You see, to me, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic example of what people can do when we make the most of their innate desire to learn. It's the largest machine in the world - and it was created exclusively to find the answers to questions.
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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What are 21st Century Skills and why do we need them?
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Have you ever been asked by your students, "Why do we need to learn this?" Have you ever found yourself stuck looking for a reply? Most of us have faced this daunting question at one point or another in our teaching. More often than not the question comes when we ourselves can't really articulate the broader purpose of the content. (Try explaining "power standards" to a 10-year-old.)
You can usually find a practical application for each standard you teach. But have you ever stopped to question whether those standards, by themselves, are enough to prepare your students for life beyond 12th grade?
These days what kids
need to know to be participatory young adults,
and successful adults, goes well beyond "the basics" we've grown so accustomed to focusing on
in school. Think about it: we live in a global economy, the advances of our society are increasingly driven by what we are capable of doing with technology, there are fewer and fewer manufacturing jobs in the US, but there is still a large service industry.
What skills do we need to thrive in such an environment?
Education advocates and business people call them 21st Century skills. A recent report from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/21st_
century_skills_education_and_competitiveness_guide.pdf) lists the following as examples:
- Thinking critically and making judgments
- Solving complex, multidisciplinary, open-ended problems
- Creativity and entrepreneurial thinking
- Communicating and collaborating
- Making innovative use of knowledge, information, and opportunities
- Taking charge of financial, health, and civic responsibilities
- Making wise choices
As you can see, these skills don't need to be taught in addition to what you're already teaching, they can quite easily be incorporated into the way you teach your standards and content.
For example: If you're
teaching about the Pythagorean theorem and students are working in
groups, using problem solving to derive the formula on their own - you
can point out the many ways in which they're building the skills
they'll need to solve complex problems in an increasingly complicated
world - in addition to learning a core math concept.
If you're an Inspired Teacher, the concept of teaching 21st Century Skills is probably not far from what you're already doing, and framing your lessons in this context will provide you with an answer when kids want to know "why we have to learn this stuff."
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Building Discussions
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This kinesthetic learning activity can be adapted for a civics lesson, community building exercise, geometry project, or writing prompt springboard. In groups, students are challenged to create the biggest and best building using the materials they are given - the challenge lies in the fact that each group has different materials to work with. What students learn from the activity depends largely upon the questions you ask when you debrief with the class.
Click here for a full description of the activity. http://www.inspiredteaching.org/news.php?id=154
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The 2008 Presidential Election
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For the next several weeks TVs will be buzzing with presidential
election news, this is an excellent time to get your students excited
about the democratic process. They may be too young to vote
but that doesn't mean they can't begin practicing civic engagement.
Click here for a full description of the activity.
http://www.inspiredteaching.org/news.php?id=166
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Teacher Resources
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Partnership for 21st Century Skills
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
This is the website of the organization highlighted above. Their mission is to "serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US
K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education,
business, community, and government leaders."
Are 21st Century Skills Right Brain Skills?
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/
columnists/johnson/johnson006.shtml
Though our schools are generally designed to encourage left brain thinking, educator Doug Johnson explores how right brain thinking is important in our new global economy.
Do You Believe In Me?
http://www.dallasisd.org/keynote.htm
This link was sent to us by an Inspired Teacher. It features a keynote address to teachers in Houston - delivered by an incredibly inspiring young man.
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