21st+Century+Teaching+Practice+and+Theory

**Why Do a PLC entitle Teaching in the 21st Century?** The 21st Century, inter-connected, and global world we live in has brought on changes that require new ways of thinking, learning, and teaching. Students need 21st century knowledge and skills to be effective members of the global community, to learn, innovate, and lead. Teachers must model the 21st century skill set that students need and adapt their 20th century teaching practice to teach in the 21st century classroom.  We will use this page to organize the initiatives taking place in education around 21st century thinking.

1. The National Council for Teachers of English recently partnered with the 21st Century Skills Partnership to retool their framework for teaching English in the 21st Century. The press release can be read at the link below for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

[|NCTE Framework for 21st Century]

Here is a link to the actual document. It is designed to take each of the 21st Century skills ( [|21st century skills]) and show how to teach those skills at the 4th, 8th, and 12th grade levels. It is well worth reviewing as a model for how to incorporate some 21st century teaching into the curriculum.

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2. The NSTA, National Science Teachers Association, has published a book, Teaching Science in the 21st Century.



Here is the link to the press release on the text or framework.

[|NSTA Framework for 21st Century Science Teaching]

Here is a link to the text or framework if you want to buy it.

3. AAAS, American Association for the Advancement of Science, has been leading the way with its 2061 Project. See the link below. Also, the January 2 issue focused on Education and Technology in the 21st century. See the podcast below as well as other links to the articles in that important issue. "A video introduction to //Science//'s special issue on the promises, and challenges, that rapidly changing technology presents for the educational world, featuring special-issue contributor Merrilea Mayo of the Kauffman Foundation and //Science// Editor-in-Chief Bruce Alberts." (Science Magazine)

[|Link to AAAS Podcast on Technology in the 21st Century Classroom]

[|Video on Education and Technology from AAAS]

[|Project 2061]

[|Link to summary of January 2, 2009 Issue of Science Magazine]

4. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has completed a document for teaching science in the 21st century, similar to the document it produced for Enlgish (see above). The PDF below summarizes the way teachers could view teaching science for the 21st century student.



5. This is a study by Michigan State University's, US Teacher Education Study, on teaching Mathematics in the 21st Century. The study concludes that typically, middle school math teachers in the US are not as well prepared as their colleagues in other countries to teach mathematics in the 21st century.

[|Link to MSU's Study on Math in the 21st Century]

Here is a link to a National Science Foundation summary of the MSU study. It outlines the conclusions draw from the 53 page study.

**[|NSF summary of MSU study]** This is an interesting example of teaching mathematics in the 21st century. It is from the Department of Education website entitled, "Mathematics in the 21st Century: What Mathematical Knowledge is Needed for Teaching Mathematics?" Is goes through the example of multiplying two numbers and what type of teaching style is necessary to answer students' questions as they delve deeper into the program. The "good" teacher will be able to navigate around all these issues, especially finding visual ways to explain the problem to students. A good read. [|Math in the 21st Century--Dept of Ed]

6. Social studies in the 21st century. The National Commission on teaching Social Studie in schools created a task force that recommended how to approach teaching social studies in the 21st Century. "They recommend the following goals for social studies education: (1) development of civic responsibility and citizen participation; (2) development of a global perspective through an understanding of students' life experiences as part of the total human experience, past and present; (3) development of "critical understanding" of the history, geography, and the pluralistic nature of the civil institutions of the United States; (4) development of a multicultural perspective on the world's peoples through an understanding of their differences and commonalities throughout time and place, and (5) development of students' capacities for critical thinking about "the human condition." (see article from Eric Digest)

[|Eric Digest Article on SS Recommendations for the 21st Century]

21st Century Skills website has a curriculum map for social studies content and teaching. I could not attach to the map so it must not be available.

[|21st Century Social Studies Skills]

Check out this PDF of a document produced by the National Council of Social Studies ([|www.ncss.org]). This document, entitled,Teaching and Learning about 21st Century Skills with the Internet, outlines some of the recommendations.This article references the above map on the 21st century skills website.

[|NCSS Article on Teaching 21st Century Skills with the Internet]

=**__7. Teach 21__**= Teach 21 is an initiative focused on planning and delivering effective 21st Century instruction throughout West Virgina. http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21

This is an initiative sponsored by Yale University. It is a broader, more cultural view of what must happen in schools as we move into the 21st century. Viewing schools as communities that must embrace all aspects of child development. See the link below.
 * 8. School of the 21st Century: Linking Communities, families and schools **.

[|School of the 21st Century]

This program offers an international education of high quality to a worldwide community of schools. Several schools in the US joined this program. Following is the learner profile as listed in the IB: Check out the short video: http://www.ibo.org/communications/brand/downloads/files/computer/IB_HIGH_640x480.wmv If you would like more info, read the following PDF file: http://www.ibo.org/programmes/documents/learner_profile_en.pdf
 * 9. International Baccalaureate Program (IB)**
 * Inquirers
 * Knowledgeable
 * Thinkers
 * Communicators
 * Principled
 * Open-minded
 * Caring
 * Risk-takers
 * Balanced
 * Reflective