Shift Happens: Education in the 21st Century

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• Shift Happens Education in
  the 21st Century
• Joe Ferber
• January 16, 2008

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The Right-Brained Future Creating 21st C. Schools

• What schools in the future will prepare kids for

Presented to the NAIS National Conference by
Patrick F. Bassett, President
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www.teachertube.com
Did You Know 2.0
Did You Know 2.0
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We are currently preparing students for jobs
that dont yet exist using technologies that
havent been invented to solve problems that we
dont yet know are problems. (By Karl Fisch, a
public high school teacher in Denver, who created
a PowerPoint presentation that, as adapted by
Scott McLeod from the University of Minnesota,
became viral on the Internet in early 2007)
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PFB How Are We Reacting to The Big Shift for
Teaching?

• From oral to written/printed (Socrates - 5th C.
  BC to Gutenberg - 15th C.)
• To digital keys to the kingdom available only to
  the elite,
• Then contained to the literate, now available to
  all. (Everyman 21st. C. )

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Creating the 21st Century Curriculum
The Generative Question What curriculum will
prepare students for the 21st Century? What
skills values will be required?
National Commission Center on Education New
commission on the skills of the American
Workforce for the 21st century
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What skills values will be required?

• Creativity and innovation

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What skills values will be required?

• Facility with the use of ideas and abstractions

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What skills values will be required?

• Self-discipline and organization to manage ones
  own work and drive it through to successful
  conclusion

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What skills values will be required?

• Leadership

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What skills values will be required?

• Ability to function well as a member of a team

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Creating the 21st. C. Curriculum
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Five minds for the future

• Ethical mind (moral courage)

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Five minds for the future

• Disciplined mind (expertise in a field)

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Five minds for the future

• Synthesizing mind (scanning and weaving into
  coherence)

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Five minds for the future

• Creating mind (discovery and innovation)

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Five minds for the future

• Respectful Mind (open mindedness and
  inclusiveness)

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Five minds for the future

• Ethical mind (moral courage)

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Creating the 21st. C. Curriculum
Recommendation letters to accompany candidates
GRE scores to graduate school include the
following plus ethics and integrity

• Cross-disciplinary knowledge
• Communication skills
• Teamwork
• Analytical reasoning
• Real world problem-solving skills

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The public perception of the gap between whats
important and how effective schools are in
teaching it.
KnowledgeWorks newsletter, Oct. 2007
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Creating the 21st. C. Curriculum
Do we believe the following?
Imagination is more important than knowledge?
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the
rational mind is a faithful servant. We have
created a society that honors the servant and has
forgotten the gift. Albert Einstein
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Creating the 21st. C. Curriculum

• Do We Need More of or Less of
• Teaming in class not just out?
• Science, Technology, Economics, Math (STEM)?
• Critical Thinking Skills? What exactly are
  they? Can you measure them?
• Ethical grounding?
• Communications Skills?
• Creativity?