21st Century: The Learning Challenge Part 2

- October 06, 2012

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessments) results are aligned with 21st-century skills (critical thinking and problem solving)

The future of learning will focus on problem-centered instruction and will dismiss the 20th-century methods and curricula that are based on basic skills.

Teachers need to dismiss instruction that outputs master memorizers, regurgitation, and fact toters (testing for the correct answers).
Teachers need to enable instruction that outputs problem solvers.
Teachers need the skills to manage “ill defined" problem-based learning programs.
Students as problem-solvers need to have critical and creative skills.
Students need to access technologies that support problem-solving.
Technologies cannot be limited to a standardized "one size fits all".

The present situation in schools is that instruction is largely 20th century based.

Most teachers prerequisite learning standards based on the emphasis on memory, regurgitation, and recall - with technology as an add on.
A minority of teachers prerequisite learning standards based on rigorous thinking and authentic problem solving with technology as the conduit.

The change from 20th-century instruction requires leaders to;

direct teachers to modify their methodology to output problem-solving learners.
employ technologies that afford critical thinking and problem solving

Education Leaders need to support the minority of teachers who are applying 21st Century learning practices and direct the majority of teachers to stop employing 20th Century didactic practices.

The 21st century requires people to access and use computers in a different manner than in the late 20th century.

Schools and computing technologies.

Whilst profound technologies become transparent through the ubiquitous application, the computer technologies in the school are still devices separate from the core of learning. The computer technologies do not play a ubiquitous role in learning. They are an add on.
Computers technologies do not have a pervasive presence in learning.
Computer technologies are generally associated with 20th-century pedagogical practices

didactic teaching,
content delivery - ingestion and regurgitation.
testing for the right answers

Schools need to invest the time to develop a learning culture based on critical thinking and problem solving that sources the complexity of computer technologies to enable ubiquitous learning.

Ubiquitous learning is a revolution.
Ubiquitous learning is the function that calls on ubiquitous technologies.
Ubiquitous technologies need to be transparent to be persuasive.

Instruction and the activity of learning needs to be transparent to be persuasive

Learning is lifelong and life-wide

Divisions between the classroom and normal life need to blur.
The division between classroom technologies and normal life technologies need to blur.

Learners take control of learning as active and participants in the discovery and creation of knowledge.

Instruction needs to be student-centered and not teacher centered.
Computer technologies need to be controlled by the student. Students are active in the choice of and the application of technology.

Students apply their identity as a resource and contribute their experiences to the learning culture of the classroom, school, local and global community.

Instruction engages learners to meet their aspirations and realize their potentials.
Computer technologies are chosen for personal needs and aspirations.
The computer technology options should be broadened in range and mix to accommodate interdisciplinary problems.
Learners need to use/apply a repertoire of digital media to develop adaptive computing skills based on conceptualization, pattern recognition, schematization, taxonomies, domains of knowledge/content, appropriateness, and identification of relevance.

Students need to be connected

Instruction needs to encourage distributed cognition, collective intelligence, and collaborative cultures.
Computer technologies need to have the capacity for collective participation and collaborative creativity.

Computer Technologies cannot be used as an add-on to instruction. For computer technologies to be ubiquitous the instruction needs to be ubiquitous. The function of problem-based learning requires that the form of computer technologies are to enhance distributed cognition, collective intelligence, and collaboration.

Ubiquitous learning can only occur when the instruction and technologies are in unison to meet the needs of a lifelong lifewide learner. In essence, the learner needs to have control of learning and technology. Teachers and service providers need to empower the learner to take control and not with-hold responsibility.

21st Century: The Learning Challenge Part 1

One-off sponsorship