“One can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen.  “When I was your age I always did it for half-an-hour a day.  Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Lewis Carroll,  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Introduction – Education in the 21^st Century

Revised August 2008.

What is 21^st Century Education?

It is bold.  It breaks the mold.  It is flexible, creative, challenging, and complex.  It addresses a rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new problems as well as exciting new possibilities. 

The new millennium was ushered in by a dramatic technological revolution.  We now live in an increasingly diverse, globalized, and complex, media-saturated society. According to Dr. Douglas Kellner at UCLA this technological revolution will have a greater impact on society than the transition from an oral to a print culture.¹ 

Today's kindergarteners will be retiring in the year 2067.  We have no idea of what the world will look in five years, much less 60 years, yet we are charged with preparing our students for life in that world.  Our students are facing many emerging issues such as global warming, famine, poverty, health issues, a global population explosion and other environmental and social issues.  These issues lead to a need for students to be able to communicate, function and create change personally, socially, economically and politically on local, national and global levels. 

Even kindergarten children can make a difference in the world by participating in real-life, real-world service learning projects.  You're never too young, or too old, to make your voice heard and create change that makes the world a better place.

Emerging technologies and resulting globalization also provide unlimited possibilities for exciting new discoveries and developments such as new forms of energy, medical advances, restoration of environmentally ravaged areas, communications, and exploration into space and into the depths of the oceans.  The possibilities are unlimited.

21^st Century Skills

21^st Century Schools, LLC recognizes the critical need for developing 21^st century skills.  However, we believe that authentic education addresses the “whole child”, the “whole person”, and does not limit our professional development and curriculum design to workplace readiness.

21^st century skills learned through our curriculum, which is interdisciplinary, integrated, project-based, and more, include and are learned within a project-based curriculum by:

• Collaboration – the ability to work in teams
• Critical thinking – taking on complex problems
• Oral communications – presenting
• Written communications – writing
• Technology – use technology
• Citizenship – take on civic and global issues;  service learning
• Learn about careers – through internships
• Content – conduct research and do all of the above.

One of our eventual goals is to help students become iKids and truly global citizens. 

In many countries today’s students are referred to as “digital natives”, and today’s educators as “digital immigrants”.  Teachers are working with students whose entire lives have been immersed in the 21^st century media culture.  Today’s students are digital learners – they literally take in the world via the filter of computing devices:  the cellular phones, handheld gaming devices, PDAs, and laptops they take everywhere, plus the computers, TVs, and game consoles at home.  A survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people (ages 8-18) mainline electronic media for more than six hours a day, on average.  Many are multitasking – listening to music while surfing the Web or instant-messaging friends while playing a video game. 

Even toddlers utilize multimedia devices and the Internet with tools such as handheld video games like Leapster and web sites such as www.PBSkids.org and www.Nick.com. Preschoolers (including my 2-year-old grandson) easily navigate these electronic, multimedia resources on games in which they learn colors, numbers, letters, spelling, and more complex tasks such as mixing basic colors to create new colors, problem-solving activities, and reading.

However, as Dr. Michael Wesch points out, although today’s students understand how to access and utilize these tools, many of them are used for entertainment purposes.  Read the section below on Web 2.0 and new social communities.  Dr. Wesch shows us how to use the tools to make our students truly media literate as they function in an online collaborative, research-based environment – researching, analyzing, synthesizing, critiquing, evaluating and creating new knowledge!

Dr. Michael Wesch, a member of the Advisory Board for 21^st Century Schools on this project, recently made a global impact when his presentation at the American Library of Congress on June 28, An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube, was featured on YouTube on August 2, 2008.  In this presentation Dr. Wesch opens our eyes to the phenomenon of new social communities and to the classroom use of many recently developed Web 2.0 tools such as Jott, Twitter, YouTube (there is also TeacherTube, SchoolTube, and StudentTube), Diigo, Google Earth, and many more. 

Dr. Wesch demonstrates how media production and Web 2.0 applications are important tools in education.  These tools are important for the study of new social communities as well as learning authentic, 21^st century media literacy.  He takes the tools of Web 2.0 beyond the common use of entertainment to important understandings of the world.  It is the 21^st century way to learn and apply important 21^st century skills.

See an example of Dr. Wesch's class in their World Systems Simulation, then view the video, A Portal to Media Literacy, in which Dr. Wesch describes how they applied these various technologies in this course.

Eventually we can find a way to make these tools a part of education in Turkey.

For additional examples of real-life applications of technologies please read Building Schools for the Future in Tameside – the use of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) for an example of a day in the life of a student and a day in the life of a teacher, written by Ian Smith, Manchester, England.  This document may be found in Appendix B.

For examples of how this type of curriculum can be structured and used in a European country please see the Tameside Entitlement Curriculum developed by one of our consultants, Ian Smith.  This curriculum is being implemented at this time in England. 

“School”, “Teacher”, “Learner” and “Curriculum” for the 21^st Century

How should education be structured to meet the needs of students in this 21^st century world?  How do we now define “School”, “Teacher” “Learner” and "Curriculum"? 

Schools in the 21^st century will be laced with a project-based curriculum for life aimed at engaging students in addressing real-world problems, issues important to humanity, and questions that matter. 

This is a dramatic departure from the factory-model education of the past.  It is abandonment, finally, of textbook-driven, teacher-centered, paper and pencil schooling.  It means a new way of understanding the concept of “knowledge”, a new definition of the “educated person”.  A new way of designing and delivering the curriculum is required.

We offer the following new definitions for “School”, “Teacher” and “Learner” appropriate for the 21^st century:

"Schools" will go “from ‘buildings’ to nerve centers, with walls that are porous and transparent, connecting teachers, students and the community to the wealth of knowledge that exists in the world.”

“Teacher” - From primary role as a dispenser of information to orchestrator of learning and helping students turn information into knowledge, and knowledge into wisdom. 

The 21^st century will require knowledge generation, not just information delivery, and schools will need to create a “culture of inquiry”. 

"Learner” - In the past a learner was a young person who went to school, spent a specified amount of time in certain courses, received passing grades and graduated.  Today we must see learners in a new context:

“First – we must maintain student interest by helping them see how what they are learning prepares them for life in the real world. 

“Second – we must instill curiosity, which is fundamental to lifelong learning. 

 “Third – we must be flexible in how we teach.

“Fourth – we must excite learners to become even more resourceful so that they will continue to learn outside the formal school day.”

So what will schools look like, exactly?  What will the curriculum look like?  How will this 21^st century curriculum be organized, and how will it impact the way we design and build schools, how we assess students, how we purchase resources, how we acquire and utilize the new technologies, and what does all this mean for us in an era of standardized testing and accountability?

Imagine a school in which the students – all of them – are so excited about school that they can hardly wait to get there.  Imagine having little or no “discipline problems” because the students are so engaged in their studies that those problems disappear?  Imagine having parents calling, sending notes, or coming up to the school to tell you about the dramatic changes they are witnessing in their children:  newly found enthusiasm and excitement for school, a desire to work on projects, research and write after school and on weekends.  Imagine your students making nearly exponential growth in their basic skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, researching, scientific explorations, math, multimedia skills and more! 

It is possible.  It has happened, and is happening, in schools across the country.  I have seen this first-hand with my classes, and I have seen it at other schools with whom I have worked.  And there is growing evidence of schools everywhere having the same results when they implement a 21^st century curriculum.

 What is 21^st century curriculum?

Twenty-first century curriculum has certain critical attributes.  It is interdisciplinary, project-based, and research-driven.  It is connected to the community – local, state, national and global.  Sometimes students are collaborating with people around the world in various projects.  The curriculum incorporates higher order thinking skills, multiple intelligences, technology and multimedia, the multiple literacies of the 21^st century, and authentic assessments.  Service learning is an important component. 

The classroom is expanded to include the greater community.  Students are self-directed, and work both independently and interdependently.  The curriculum and instruction are designed to challenge all students, and provides for differentiation. 

The curriculum is not textbook-driven or fragmented, but is thematic, project-based and integrated.   Skills and content are not taught as an end in themselves, but students learn them through their research and application in their projects.  Textbooks, if they have them, are just one of many resources. 

Knowledge is not memorization of facts and figures, but is constructed through research and application, and connected to previous knowledge and personal experience.  The skills and content become relevant and needed as students require this information to complete their projects.  The content and basic skills are applied within the context of the curriculum, and are not ends in themselves. 

Assessment moves from regurgitation of memorized facts and disconnected processes to demonstration of understanding through application in a variety of contexts.  Real-world audiences are an important part of the assessment process, as is self-assessment. 

Students at the Automotive High School in New York City create how-to DVDs on how to complete various automotive repairs.  A student from California created a film on sweatshops that made an international impact.

Students find their voices as they create projects using multimedia and deliver these products to real-world audiences.  Students realize that they can make a difference and change the world.  They learn what it is to be a contributing citizen, and carry these citizenship skills forward throughout their lives. 

As a result, standardized test scores are higher.  This is because students have acquired the skills and content in a meaningful, connected way and the understanding is there.  They actually KNOW the content on a much higher level of understanding, and they have developed their basic skills by constant application throughout the duration of the unit.

Every day students from countries all over the world collaborate on important projects.  The web site, ePals, is a site where teachers and students can go to join or start a collaborative project with anyone in the world.  According to ePals, Inc., “Our Global Community™ is the largest online community of K-12 learners, enabling more than 325,000 educators and 126,000 classrooms in over 200 countries and territories to safely connect, exchange ideas, and learn together.  Award winning SchoolBlog™ and SchoolMail™ products are widely used and trusted by schools around the world.”

As we have seen from our own experiences, from the media, from university research, and as it was demonstrated in the Did You Know? video, technologies, especially the Internet, have resulted in a globalized society.  The world is now “flat”.  Our world has been transformed, and will continue to change at ever-increasing rates.

In order for our students to be prepared to navigate this 21^st century world, they must become literate in 21^st century literacies, including multicultural, media, information, emotional, ecological, financial and cyber literacies.  Collaborating with students from around the world in meaningful, real-life projects is a necessary tool for developing these literacies.  Students can learn that through collaboration, not competition, they can work together to make the world a better place.  Students will use technologies, including the Internet, and global collaboration to solve critical issues.

Our planet and its citizen residents are facing a growing number of issues related to the environment.  Education is the key.  From environmental awareness to producing scientists, politicians, international relations experts, media producers, and others, our schools will assist students in finding the answers to our environmental problems.

Students will be motivated as they achieve higher levels of learning in all content areas from science and math to cultural studies and nutrition and other areas when they are involved in projects such as The Edible Schoolyard, The Globe Program, Jason Projects, the Global Johnny Appleseed Project and many more global classroom projects focused on the environment.  From renewable fuels, to designing “green” buildings (including “green” schools), gardening, nutrition, environmental law, and more, we can teach “green”.

As Turkey moves forward in the process of creating a world-class, 21^st century educational system, the building of new schools and the remodeling of present school facilities will be addressed.  21^st Century Schools, LLC, can assist you in utilizing the latest research and technologies to create environmentally friendly, energy efficient, “green” schools.  In fact, it is not uncommon for students to apply their knowledge of research, mathematics, science, technologies, and engineering to design real buildings!  This is just one example of a relevant, rigorous, 21^st century, real-life curriculum project.  And think of how good this will look in the students’ portfolios, and the knowledge that they will have created and contributed to the world.

There is much more to consider.  There is no “one size fits all”, or “one style fits all” blueprint.  Each school should be designed with the students and the goals of the school and community in mind.  However, there are some basic things you should consider.

You will want to stay away from the traditional, what I call egg carton, design which has students isolated in small classrooms.  There are many excellent examples of new schools being designed and built which support the kind of curriculum and instruction briefly described above. 

First of all, the design takes into account the kind of spaces needed by students and teachers as they conduct their investigations and implement their projects.  Spaces will be needed for large groups, small groups and for independent work.  There should be plenty of wall space and other areas for displaying student work.  This includes a place where the parents and community can gather to watch student performances as well as a place where they can meet for discussions. 

First of all, technologies are not an end in themselves; technologies are tools students use to create knowledge and to create personal and social change. 

There should be full access to technology.  If students do not have computers or access to the Internet at home, together we will find a way to provide them.  If we can, we will obtain laptops for every student and teacher.  Buildings will need to be wired in such a way that students can access their files, as well as the Internet, from anywhere in the school.  Various labs and learning centers should be set up around the campus.  Art, music, theatre, television, radio and film studios can be created with relatively small expenditures.  All classrooms should have televisions to watch broadcasts created by their school as well as by other schools in the district. 

As an example, I recently visited a small school district in western Arkansas that had a technology lab that would be the envy of many universities and corporations.  It had half a million dollars worth of equipment and software, absolutely state-of-the-art, and the school did not have to invest any money at all.  They were only required to create a space to set up the lab and provide one full-time teacher. 

Students use this lab to do everything from architectural design to filmmaking to creating virtual reality programs on various topics.  For example, a group of them had made a field trip to NASA in Houston.  They filmed what they saw, and when they returned they created a virtual reality program for the other students in the district to use to “visit NASA”!

I was eager to discuss all this with the teacher who ran this lab.  These students had some very impressive accomplishments, including successful lobbying to get laws changed.  They were making a difference in the world.  I expected the teacher to be an expert in these areas, but found that she actually did not know how to use most of the equipment and software.  The students had taught themselves using nothing more than some manuals and some online technical assistance.  It seemed that the students were naturally inclined to understanding and working with these technologies, and they were highly motivated to learn them.  And these were students in a tiny, low-income, rural district!

I believe there are definitely resources available to Turkey which will allow us to eventually create these opportunities for Turkish schools and children.  This will be a great asset in meeting the National Education Goal “to make the Turkish Nation a constructive, creative and distinguished partner of contemporary civilization.”  (From Goals of National Education in Turkey)

Here are a few examples of integrated, interdisciplinary curriculum designed by Anne Shaw.  Although it has been three years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States, impacting the entire nation, and even the world, it remains a relevant topic to study.  This is a rich theme, which can carry most, if not all, of the content standards; all basic skills can be taught within this theme; it remains current, it is relevant, and the student interest is there.  Many critical social issues can be addressed within this theme.  It also provides an excellent vehicle for some very important, as well as fun, service learning projects.  Service learning is the ultimate 21^st century curriculum.   

When I design a unit I begin with a theme.  Then I brainstorm, or concept map, the theme.  I also start outlining my ideas by creating a PowerPoint slide show on the theme.  You can see a beginning level concept map as well as my PowerPoint on Hurricane Katrina online at the links listed below.  You can also see some ideas for service learning projects connected with the unit.  This event is most definitely a teachable moment!

There are many other themes discussed in some detail on our web site.  Please see the links below.  Our most recently developed theme is a global collaborative classrooms service learning project:  the Global Johnny Appleseed Project, which encompasses all the disciplines, and connects to issues from the environment, to scientific developments, to philanthropy, medical advances, media literacy and more!  Go to that link and view the PowerPoint presentation for more ideas!

Curriculum Links:  Please view the following video/slideshows at the links below:

• The Global Johnny Appleseed Project – an interdisciplinary unit;  www.GlobalJohnnyAppleseedProject.org – contains everything from science careers to the environment to service learning, and more! 

• Hurricane Katrina – a powerful 3-part video series on how to teach the standards through this very relevant theme.

• Hurricane Katrina Unit

• Service Learning Projects for Hurricane Katrina 

Lest anyone doubt the reach of America's after-school woes -- more than 14 million K-12 students, including 40,000 kindergartners and almost 4 million middle school students, take care of themselves after school -- it appears even the economy is suffering: A new study by Catalyst and the Women's Studies Research Center, at Brandeis University, shows that the workplace productivity of U.S. parents suffers when they are worried about what their kids are doing after school. ²

We need more after school programs.  We need after school programs that meet the needs of the 21^st century student.  What are those needs?  What possibilities exist for designing such programs?  How can we create programs that are fun, motivational and educational?

No one believes that when the bell rings at the end of the school day, children stop learning.  Curiosity bubbles inside the minds of children from the moment they wake in the morning to when they go to bed at night. 

Our challenge is to encourage, connect, and foster learning throughout a child’s day.  How do we help children make sense of all the information and experiences in their lives?  How do we ensure that all children have opportunities to reach their full potential in a competitive world where thinking skills are the most important asset of a society?

No one believes that when the bell rings at the end of the school day, children stop learning.  Curiosity bubbles inside the minds of children from the moment they wake in the morning to when they go to bed at night. 

Our challenge is to encourage, connect, and foster learning throughout a child’s day.  How do we help children make sense of all the information and experiences in their lives?  How do we ensure that all children have opportunities to reach their full potential in a competitive world where thinking skills are the most important asset of a society?

How can we extend the learning throughout the day for all children?  Part of our task in collaborating with the steering committee, parents, students and community members will be to work toward designing some programs which will meet these needs.  There are many possibilities:  internships, various clubs such as photography, gardening, writing, bicycle building, computer repairs, the arts, sports, culinary arts, creating student-run businesses (entrepreneurships), and many more.

References

1. Kellner, Douglas;  New Media and New Literacies:  Reconstructing Education for the New Millennium,  www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed23a/kellner/newmedia.html

2. Grant, Jodi, Director of the After School Alliance;  Fourteen Million Kids, Unsupervised, http://www.edutopia.org/print/3176