When I look at the way education evaluates students, it surprises me that our nation has been the leader of the free world for as long as it has. It's understandable that this system worked for the needs of our country at its inception, but the fact that we have remained the leader without changing the education system is perplexing.
Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith, authors of the book Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era, point out something in which our class might be interested.
Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith, authors of the book Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era, point out something in which our class might be interested.
...[T]here is the question of what won't be tested. Even at its best, the new Common Core tests will not assess any of the so-called soft skills that matter most and, in fact, are the hardest to teach and learn.
Actually we might disagree. Those so-called soft skills (those skills that include behaviors for the purpose of employability) have not been, in our experience, difficult to teach and learn at all. They have required consistency, and they must be taught and expected, but they have not been difficult. However, I will concede that if those skills are only expected, but not explicitly taught, failure will result. In fact, it is obvious to visitors in our building. You can even see it in the recent news report that featured some of my students. You see it in the way they carry themselves and in the way they speak. The result is confidence, courage, and risk-taking.
That aside, the authors give contrasts in the ways current, traditional instruction in certain subjects stack up with the needs of the 21st Century. In Math, we agree that certain basics must be mastered to provide a foundation for the rest, but for the most part the Math Practices we talk about so much in our classroom are reflected in the suggestions provided in the book. In fact, Math Practices make up a great deal of the list:
21st Century Model
Math Skills Needed to Succeed
Math Skills Needed to Succeed
Deeply understanding the problem
Structuring the problem and representing it symbolically
Creative problem-solving
Pattern recognition to understand which math "tools" are relevant
Adept use of available computational resources
Critical evaluation of first-pass results
Estimation, statistics, and decision-making
Taking chances, risking failure, and iterating to refuse and perfect synthesizing results
Presenting/communicating complex quantitative information
Collaboration
Asking questions about complex quantitative information
In short, we want our students to solve real problems, not simply work through meaningless computations. Creativity hasn't traditionally been applied to solving Math problems, but it absolutely should be. Thoughtful adults can see many applications for creative problem solving in their lives. What's more is that we not only solve problems, but we must identify problems, whittle them down, and decompose and reconstruct them before we ever begin to solve them. This is an interesting angle to how I would like to do the same with the ways in which I approach Math in the fourth grade.
Moving to Communication skills, I think the authors simply ride current trends to teach writing and speaking. They don't say enough about speaking skills, but I believe this may be because they do not consider that speaking might include many of those soft skills that we try to emphasize in our class.
They also fail to consider that speaking may be more important than writing in the 21st Century (and beyond). Imagine James T. Kirk ever writing more than a signature on an electronic clipboard, or Jean Luc Picard ever writing anything at all. Instead, all writing on the Starship Enterprise (in all of its inceptions and alternative timelines) was - or will be - done by the computer, unseen by human eyes, whether officers on the bridge or by audiences in the theater.
Moving to Communication skills, I think the authors simply ride current trends to teach writing and speaking. They don't say enough about speaking skills, but I believe this may be because they do not consider that speaking might include many of those soft skills that we try to emphasize in our class.
They also fail to consider that speaking may be more important than writing in the 21st Century (and beyond). Imagine James T. Kirk ever writing more than a signature on an electronic clipboard, or Jean Luc Picard ever writing anything at all. Instead, all writing on the Starship Enterprise (in all of its inceptions and alternative timelines) was - or will be - done by the computer, unseen by human eyes, whether officers on the bridge or by audiences in the theater.
21st Century Model
Language Arts Skills Needed to Succeed
Language Arts Skills Needed to Succeed
Use sound vocabulary
Read a wide variety of written materials (novels, poems, plays, essays, news) critically
Communicate clearly across multiple media forms, with a range of styles
Form and justify independent bold perspectives
Ask thoughtful questions
Engage in constructive debate
These are good suggestions, but perhaps we should take the suggestions in Most Likely to Succeed a step further to include more nuanced speaking in a variety of settings. Do our students reply in full sentences when asked questions? Do our students ask questions in return? Are students able to stay focused on a topic? Are they able to stand in queue to respond without interrupting? Do they stand erect, with confident posture? Do they present themselves with energy? Do they effectively use facial expressions and hand gestures as an extension of their message? Do they consider the tonal inflections in their voices to assist them in the conveyance of their message? Certainly, there is a need to communicate on paper and screen, but verbal skills, more than written language, are the manner by which people get and hold onto jobs.
Indeed, verbal skills are needed in every single area of the curricula. Often, even gifted and talented pupils struggle with the ability to explain processes and ideas. Communication breakdowns, or should we say misspeaking, are the causes of most of the problems we witness in news reports. Misunderstanding verbal communication (and text messages) can lead to anger and, too often, violence and hatred.
It's not only a fault of the politicians, but for illustrative purposes, we'll use them as our example.Politicians fail to communicate their understanding of the Constitution. They fail to effectively explain the relationship of history to the decision-making process. In the search for the perfect sound byte, they miss the mark in effectively communication regional needs, and in doing so they do a serious disservice to their constituents.
Look at the suggested focus on the suggested skills list from Wagner and Dintersmith,, and one may start to see a pattern:
Indeed, verbal skills are needed in every single area of the curricula. Often, even gifted and talented pupils struggle with the ability to explain processes and ideas. Communication breakdowns, or should we say misspeaking, are the causes of most of the problems we witness in news reports. Misunderstanding verbal communication (and text messages) can lead to anger and, too often, violence and hatred.
It's not only a fault of the politicians, but for illustrative purposes, we'll use them as our example.Politicians fail to communicate their understanding of the Constitution. They fail to effectively explain the relationship of history to the decision-making process. In the search for the perfect sound byte, they miss the mark in effectively communication regional needs, and in doing so they do a serious disservice to their constituents.
Look at the suggested focus on the suggested skills list from Wagner and Dintersmith,, and one may start to see a pattern:
21st Century Model
History Skills Needed to Succeed
History Skills Needed to Succeed
Critically analyze historical events and sources
Form independent views on dynamics and implications
Write clear and thought-provoking theses
Ask questions and engage in constructive debate
Relate historical developments to current issues shaping the world we live in
In fact, the authors add this, in support of their suggestions:
The imperative for today's history class goes far beyond recalling facts. Today we're bombarded with news from a wide range of sources. Some of the information is credible; much isn't. Our kids will be required to analyze chaotic reports and opinions, and synthesize and form their own views. In dealing with immense societal challenges, they'll need to draw on history to inform their opinion and fulfill citizenship responsibilities.
See the repetition in each of the quoted lists? From Math to Communication to History and other subjects, we see the need in education switching from recalling facts to being able to sort through piles of problems and opinions, from a variety of credible and incredible sources in order to find the best approaches.
Education suddenly becomes real and relevant. No longer should our classes be black words on white paper; instead, the learning fills the classroom. It's on the walls. It hovers in the air. It comes to us over loudspeakers, computer screens, and in storytelling. Students don't just memorize; now they live what they learn. Naturally, the same is true for Science:
Education suddenly becomes real and relevant. No longer should our classes be black words on white paper; instead, the learning fills the classroom. It's on the walls. It hovers in the air. It comes to us over loudspeakers, computer screens, and in storytelling. Students don't just memorize; now they live what they learn. Naturally, the same is true for Science:
21st Century Model
Science Skills Needed to Succeed
Science Skills Needed to Succeed
Understand how the world works
Be able to form and test scientific hypotheses
Be able to ask insightful questions and design experiments
Build things based on scientific principles
Apply principles across disciplines
Develop scientific creativity
And there they are again! Creativity. Wondering. Asking questions. Deconstructing situations and solving problems. It is a refreshing pattern for the thoughtful educator. Understanding that the same strategies apply to every facet of curricula is an epiphany. It takes those long lists of Common Core standards (or whatever we want to call our essential teachings) and narrows their focus. If one can apply the principles of 21st Century needs to every subject - make things real and meaningful, empower students to address every situation with relevant skills, and teach them to use real tools - students will be ready to face the world.
That brings us to Foreign Language. It doesn't take a scholar to understand that immersion in a culture is the quickest way to learn a language. In fact, that's how we all learned to talk in the first place. But to parse every aspect of a language the way Language classes traditionally have is a great way to get students to forget the Language we are trying to teach them.
21st Century Model
Foreign Language Skills Needed to Succeed
Foreign Language Skills Needed to Succeed
True proficiency in speaking
Understanding cultures and the ability to navigate them
Ability to collaborate across cultures
Technology-leveraged polylinguality
Once again, and maybe the easiest to see, here is where reality is the way to go in teaching. Tying any language to its cultural uses, marrying language with its native speakers, their ways of life, and their belief systems, will make the learning of said language more meaningful for the learner. Not only that, but with the technological advances being made every day for translation software - even voice translators like the ones used by Mr. Spock - there soon may be no need to teach Foreign Language at all except to place it into context with culture.
Parents, teachers, and every other stakeholder are sick and tired of learning things for a test and then forgetting it only to find that we have to relearn the same material for yet another exam next year. We're tired of teaching to the test. We're tired of reviewing material from the previous year(s). How much the better if we refine our instruction to consistently ask students what they notice and what they wonder. How much the better when we teach students to dissect situations and use real tools to reconstruct new, better situations, tweaking those solutions along the way. How much the better when we teaching students to be happy, but never satisfied, with what they are, but instead always searching for ways to improve the world and recognizing successful improvements when they happen.
Parents, teachers, and every other stakeholder are sick and tired of learning things for a test and then forgetting it only to find that we have to relearn the same material for yet another exam next year. We're tired of teaching to the test. We're tired of reviewing material from the previous year(s). How much the better if we refine our instruction to consistently ask students what they notice and what they wonder. How much the better when we teach students to dissect situations and use real tools to reconstruct new, better situations, tweaking those solutions along the way. How much the better when we teaching students to be happy, but never satisfied, with what they are, but instead always searching for ways to improve the world and recognizing successful improvements when they happen.
