Preparing our Students for the Future – Intentionally

There’s a danger when a phrase becomes so common that it begins to lose its meaning. With that risk in mind, this post will be about “21^st-century skills”, the educational framework that includes critical-thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication (beyond reading and writing), and to which I’ve added a 5^th ‘C’: ‘citizenship’

There’s an increasing recognition that the skills today’s students will need to live successful lives are not entirely the same as they were thirty or forty years ago. Information that once would have required a trip to the library and hours of research can now be obtained in a matter of minutes, or even seconds. It is now no harder to communicate with someone on the other side of the world as it is with your next-door neighbor. There are far fewer jobs that require only an ability to read and follow instructions. Just doing what we did in education forty years ago, only harder and faster (more ‘rigorously!’) is not going to get us where we need to go.

And yes, the so-called 21^st-century skills have always been a part of a good education; (typically in the better schools, taught by the better teachers). If that was your experience you should feel privileged, because equipping every student with higher-order thinking skills has never been an intentional goal of our education system. Which perhaps was ok when a relatively small percentage of the population went on to college and/or professional jobs (and you could make a decent living even if you didn’t). 

Which brings me to the  Eighth Grade Academic Literacy Course Proposal which our Board approved last week. Here are some of the highlights of the proposal, with some paraphrasing on my part, (and my comments). Boldface is mine.

What is the Rationale for this Course?

Academic Literacy 8 will offer inquiry-based learning through extensive reading, thinking, collaboration, and communication in an effort to prepare students for success in high school and beyond… <recognizing that>  teaching and learning in the 21st century requires a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and digital literacy. (I think it’s a big deal that this is an intentional goal.)

We believe this course will assist our students in meeting the following benchmarks and expectations:

• All students demonstrate acquisition of 21st Century Skills (including creativity & innovation; critical thinking & problem solving; communication & collaboration; and information, media and technology skills) via authentic learning experiences; (We’ll have to develop ways to measure this; standardized tests probably won’t do it.)

• All graduates are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and understanding to participate as active citizens in a global society. (I see citizenship as an essential 21^st-century skill. This has been a district goal for a long time – we just haven’t been very intentional about it.)

As Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening are an integrated part of every content area, teachers will support each student’s development with the following learning experiences: (Especially in terms of what is tested, ‘speaking and listening’ are essential, but almost completely overlooked. The recognition of the importance of these skills in every subject area – not just ‘English’ - is another big deal.)

• Read and comprehend complex literary and informational text independently and proficiently;

• Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation; (“Demonstration of understanding”, not regurgitation of facts, should be the preferred means of assessing our students’ learning.)

Effective reading has become a cognitive science that requires students to interact with texts in an effort to construct meaning. Throughout this course, students will be explicitly taught to:

• Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate information while avoiding plagiarism. (That’s not something we paid a lot of attention to forty years ago; the encyclopedia was pretty much authoritative.)

• Draw evidence from literary and informational text to support analysis, reflection, and research. (Reflection is an essential, often overlooked, component of learning.)

• Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations. (I am particularly excited by this last item because it recognizes that having good communication skills goes beyond the ability to write a 5-paragraph essay, and that the arts are a key component of communication literacy.)

Some examples of content related activities may include:  

• English: research, non-fiction text, literary works, writing;

• Social Studies: research, non-fiction text, investigation of historic documents and cultural awareness; (You cannot communicate effectively in a global society if you do not understand culture.)

• Mathematics: Critical thinking and real world application of research and statistics; (Everyone has the capacity to become mathematically ‘literate’; this is how you do it. An understanding of statistics is essential in the modern world – and an important component of citizenship.)

• Science and Technology: Inquiry-based learning through thinking, writing and communication. (It’s no longer “just the facts, ma’am”; even scientists must be able to communicate effectively. Also important: self-directed inquiry.)

As part of the district’s literacy initiative, teachers and administrators will continue to be provided with professional development in the area of academic literacy. (This might seem obvious, but as we speak, the Common Core is being implemented in 46 states, asking teachers to make significant changes in their practice, yet with minimal professional development. This is a recipe for disaster.)

Having the opportunity for teachers to plan collaboratively within the school day will provide students with more frequent integrated learning experiences. (If there was one thing we could learn from Finland, it would be the value of giving teachers time to collaborate. If teachers don’t collaborate, how can we expect students to?)

Now, all of this sounds great in theory, but the most exciting part of this proposal is that we have already seen the 7^th-grade Academic Literacy course in action – and the demonstration of higher-order thinking skills by these students, and their enthusiasm, is just astonishing.

Finally, if high school is going to evolve into a highly individualized experience, as it should, than middle school is precisely the time and place to do this.