Teaching 21st century learner

Every 29 seconds, another high school student in America gives up on school, resulting in more than 1 million high school dropouts every year.

Most students report that dropping out of high school is a gradual process of disengagement that results in the lack of social or emotional connection to school. The good news is that the disengagement process can be reversed with more relevant, challenging coursework and individualized support from schools, educators, parents, and community.

70 million people born between 1982 and 2000

Internet, innovations in mobile computers and devices, and low-cost telecommunications technology.

In business, for example, 9 to 5 has been replaced by 24 by 7, as technology keeps us "always on" and our markets and workforces extend across every time zone.

conomy and is fueling a third of U.S. economic growth.

The business case for global markets is compelling, and to compete abroad successfully, American companies need a workforce equipped to translate American business models and offerings to international marketplaces

each of us needs to be able to sort fact from fiction and evaluate and interpret conflicting ideas. We also need to know how to work collaboratively and creatively in person, by telephone, and online to make decisions and take action.

Educating young people to be successful in this changing world is no small task, but the consequences of failing to do so are enormous. Current data show that high school graduates in jobs requiring the highest degree of innovative thinking earn more than 50 percent more than those in jobs requiring the least innovation. For college graduates, the difference is 135 percent.

A parallel trend shows that our current practice of outsourcing jobs to countries such as China and India is making it more difficult for unskilled American workers to earn middle-class incomes. [5]

These trends, combined with high school dropout rates, make it clear that as a nation, we must rethink what we are now doing to improve K-12 education in America. Increasingly, policy makers and education leaders are doing this.

Today, information is readily available from numerous sources. With a computer, the Internet, and a search engine, much of the information students once spent the entire school year learning can be acquired in a fraction of the time or on an as-needed basis. These technology innovations democratize information, giving students direct access to the building blocks of their future knowledge-organized, indexed, and affordable content, resources, and instruction available 24 by 7. It also shifts the locus of control to the student, enabling them to pursue learning both in school (formal learning) and outside of school (informal learning).

Educators must become more than information experts; they must also be collaborators in learning-leveraging the power of students, seeking new knowledge alongside students, and modeling positive habits of mind and new ways of thinking and learning.

21st century skills include global awareness, financial and entrepreneurial literacy, information and media literacy, civic literacy, and health literacy. Students also need to acquire skills such as innovation and creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving, information and media literacy, self-direction, adaptability, and accountability.

Students today have grown up in a world where mobile computers, cell phones with browsers, and other personal digital devices are common tools, and instant messaging, blogs, and wikis are common modes of self-expression.

Not surprisingly, students today expect to learn in an environment that mirrors their lives and their futures-one that seamlessly integrates today’s digital tools, accommodates a mobile lifestyle, and encourages collaboration and teamwork in physical and virtual spaces.

Too often, though, these are not the attributes students find at school. For example, one student described going to school as being like flying on an airplane. He has to turn off all his digital devices, strap himself in, and wait until the end of the flight to resume his digital life.

The disconnect between a student’s digital life and school matters because students learn better when they are engaged, and research about what engages them points to technology. [9]

Numerous studies have shown that effective integration of technology into teaching and learning can result in higher levels of student achievement.

The link between technology, engagement, and achievement is especially important for our K-12 schools because by government mandate, their mission has evolved from providing an opportunity for young people to learn to making sure they do. When students must learn, motivating them to learn becomes essential.