admin, Author at C21 Canada

December 7, 2012 by admin

A Guide for Facilitating 21st Century Learning

Brock University professor and C21 Canada supporter Dr. Camille Rutherford contributes this guest post. Check out her blog for insights on leadership, teacher education and technology.

Students do not become 21st century learners on their own. They need learning opportunities that challenge them to utilize 21st century fluencies and integrate the five dimensions of 21st century learning. These dimensions include:

Collaboration
Knowledge-building
The use of ICT for learning
Self-regulation
Real-world problem-solving and innovation

The following is a set of guidelines developed by the Innovative Teaching and Learning Research program to help educators understand how they can create learning opportunities that will facilitate the development of 21st century skills. In addition to a brief description of each of the five dimensions of 21st century learning, the guidelines include a scale/rubric which educators can use to determine the degree to which each dimension is present during a specific learning opportunity.

Similar to Bloom’s Taxonomy, educators should seek to create learning opportunities that challenge their students to demonstrate the highest level on each scale. While educators may strive towards the highest levels of each dimension, it is important to note that these scales/rubrics should be applied to a sequence of lessons or unit plan and not individual lessons. Even though an individual lesson could focus on a single dimension, it is not possible to achieve the highest level on all of the scales/rubric within a single classroom lesson.
For the full description of the Innovative Teaching and Learning Research: Learning Activity Rubrics and Sample Student Work Rubrics please visit: http://www.itlresearch.com/home.

Collaboration

To challenge students to the highest level of collaboration, students need to have shared responsibility for their work, and participate in learning activities that requires students to make substantive decisions together. These features help students learn the important collaboration skills of negotiation, agreement on what must be done, distribution of tasks, listening to the ideas of others, and integration of ideas into a coherent whole.

1 = Students are NOT required to work together in pairs or groups.

2 = Students DO work together: BUT they DO NOT have shared responsibility.

3 = Students DO have shared responsibility; BUT they ARE NOT required to make substantive decisions together.

4 = Students DO have shared responsibility AND they DO make substantive decisions together about the content, process, or product of their work.

Knowledge Building

Knowledge building happens when students do more than reproduce what

they have learned: they go beyond knowledge reproduction to generate ideas

and understandings that are new to them. Activities that require knowledge building ask students to interpret, analyse, synthesize, or evaluateinformation or ideas.

1 = The learning activity DOES NOT REQUIRE students to build knowledge.

Students can complete the activity by reproducing information or by

using familiar procedures.

2 = The learning activity DOES REQUIRE students to build knowledge by

interpreting, analysing, synthesizing, or evaluating information or

ideas; BUT the activity’s main requirement IS NOT knowledge building.

3 = The learning activity’s main requirement IS knowledge building; BUT the learning activity DOES NOT have learning goals in more than one subject.

4 = The learning activity’s main requirement IS knowledge building; AND the knowledge building IS interdisciplinary. The activity DOES have learning goals in more than one subject.

Use of ICT for Learning

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is becoming increasingly

common in the classroom, but ICT is often used to support practice on basic skills rather than to build knowledge. This dimension examines how students use ICT—whether or not the use of ICT helps students build knowledge, and whether or not students could build the same knowledge without using ICT.

1 = Students do not have the opportunity to use ICT for this learning activity.

2 = Students use ICT to learn or practice basic skills or reproduce information; BUT they are not building knowledge.

3 = Students use ICT to support knowledge building; BUT they could build the same knowledge without using ICT.

4 = Students use ICT to support knowledge building; AND the ICT is required for building this knowledge.

Self-Regulation

In 21st century workplaces, people are expected to work with minimal supervision, which requires them to plan their own work and monitor its quality. Learning activities that give students the opportunity to acquire self-regulation skills last for a week or more and require students to monitor their progress. Teachers can foster self-regulation skills by giving students working in groups responsibility for deciding who will do what and on what schedule.

1 = The learning activity can be completed in less than a week.

2 = The learning activity lasts for one week or more; BUT students ARE NOT given the assessment criteria before they submit their work and; DO NOT have the opportunity to plan their own work.

3 = The learning activity lasts for one week or more AND students ARE given the assessment criteria before they submit their work OR DO have the opportunity to plan their own work.

4 = The learning activity lasts for one week or more AND students ARE given the assessment criteria before they

submit their work AND DO have the opportunity to plan their own work.

Real Problem Solving and Innovation

In traditional schooling, students’ academic activities are often separate from what they see and do in the world outside school. True problem solving requires students to work on solving real problems, and challenges them to complete tasks for which they do NOT already know a response or solution. For the result of this problem solving to be considered innovative it must require students to implement their ideas, designs or solutions for audiences outside the classroom.

1 = The learning activity’s main requirement IS NOT problem-solving.

Students use a previously learned answer or procedure for most of

the work.

2 = The learning activity’s main requirement IS problem-solving; BUT the problem IS NOT a real-world problem.

3 = The learning activity’s main requirement IS problem-solving AND the problem IS a real-world problem; BUT students DO NOT innovate. They are NOT required to implement their ideas in the real world.

4 = The learning activity’s main requirement IS problem-solving AND the problem IS a real-world problem AND students DO innovate. They ARE required to implement their ideas in the real world.

Here are some learning activities to review and determine where they would rank on the five dimensions:

Consider ways to revise these learning activities so that students would be challenged to demonstrate the highest level of each dimension.

November 28, 2012 by admin

A National Conversation?

Guest blogger Chris Kennedy, Superintendent of Schools and CEO with the West Vancouver School District, writes about the need for national engagement in education. He regularly writes at Culture of Yes.

In reading the Programme for International Students (PISA) results, Canada is broken up by province, while all other nations report as countries. Of course, this speaks to the responsibility of education in Canada as a provincial matter while in most countries, it has some Federal coordination. While it is a provincial matter in Canada, there are times where some national engagement is important.

We often look to Finland (guilty as charged with these posts 1 and 2) as a possible model for the way forward, and look to the United States as a model we dare not, or want to, emulate (Many in Canada worry that Texas curriculum or online learning from Florida will make its way north). Yet, we spend very little time learning from other provinces. We know far more about reform in New York than we do in Winnipeg, and about improvements in Helsinki rather than Ottawa. It is quite interesting how we look outside of BC (and I think across Canada) for learning partners, examples to follow or avoid, without fully engaging in conversations across this country.

There are some efforts and organizations trying to bridge this gap. The Canadian Education Association (CEA) has been in existence since 1891, bringing together educators from a variety of roles across the country and advancing ideas for greater student and teacher engagement. This past week CEA’s Chief Executive Officer, Ron Canuel, launched a challenge around Why Do We Need Innovation in Education? The CEA has a series of projects to link jurisdictions across the country including several awards programs and a series of national research reports.

Other nationals include C21 Canada, shaped somewhat after the P21 Organization in the United States, is a not-for-profit organization advocating for the 21st Century models of learning in education, and has recently released Shifting Minds: A Vision and Framework for 21st Century Learning in Canada. Another organization, is The Learning Partnership, a national charitable organization dedicated to championing a strong public education system in Canada through innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement. Two of their more recognizable programs include Take Your Kid to Work Day in November and Welcome to Kindergarten.

There are also a number of other national organizations including the Canadian School Board Association (who will host their national conference this coming July in Vancouver), Canadian Association of Principals, the Canadian Teachers Federation and the Canadian Association of School Administrators. Clearly, there are no shortage of education organizations working at a national level.

So, returning to my original question, and my interest in writing this — somehow, we need to have more conversations linking education work across the country. There are huge learning opportunities from other jurisdictions and while there is value in learning from Finland, Singapore, or New Zealand, there are also great possibilities in learning from our fellow provinces, many of which join BC at the top of the PISA scales. Whether it is the Inspiring Education efforts in Alberta, the work in assessment and evaluation coming out of Manitoba or the early learning lessons from Ontario, among many others, there is a lot to share.

I have also noticed another shift in the BC Education mindset in recent years –our schools are becoming less competitive with one another, and I also think the same holds true for our districts. There is no pride taken when one community in BC struggles, while others flourish; we do need to move this to a national conversation and a real sense of national ownership. This is more challenging, but is a laudable goal.

We should/will keep learning and networking with countries around the world, because that is what one needs to do as part of a global conversation, but this should be alongside rich, national conversations on the same topics.

I am part of a free event this coming Friday morning (November 30), that will try to view education through a national lens. The Action Canada Public Dialogue: Challenges and Change in Canada’s Education Systems is at the Work Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver. The event, moderated by Tom Clark, Chief Political Correspondent, and Host of the West Block on Global TV, hosts three panels: Standardized Testing in Canada: Real Accountability or an Illusion of Success?, Teaching Questions Not Answers: Adapting Canada’s Education System for the 21st Century, and Who Cares About Young Caregivers: Children’s Rights and Education. I will be part of a five-member panel on the 21st century system question. Full details are available here including registration information.

February 13, 2012 by admin

C21 Canada’s inaugural blog

The official launch of C21 Canada introduces a dynamic new force in Canadian education. Canadians for 21st Century Learning and Innovation (C21 Canada) is a nonprofit organization calling for changes in public education on behalf of students, parents and Canadians in general. We are a unique blend of education organizations and private sector companies with the shared goal of witnessing an accelerated pace of 21st Century competencies, instructional practices and digital resources and services being integrated into Canada’s learning systems. Our call for change is rooted in international research that clearly shows that today’s youth, the digital generation, need different competencies than those of the industrial era. Canadians know the world has changed, and yet Canada’s learning systems have failed to keep pace. Highly literate, creative and innovative people are now the drivers of the high skills, knowledge and innovation based economy and are needed to address increasingly complex social, economic and environmental challenges.

The need for change is urgent. Surveys undertaken by the Canadian Education Association are showing students disengaging from their learning at record levels. We must transform public education to be more relevant to students and provide them with teachers skilled in 21st Century instructional practices and learning environments designed for personalized learning and equipped with the ICT tools of their generation.

A year ago 21st Century Learning Associates and MindShare Learning joined forces and approached the organizations that are now the founding members of C21 Canada. On February 15^th 50 of Canada’s leaders in the world of 21st Century learning gathered to help C21 Canada create Shifting Minds, a 21st Century learning framework to share with Canadians. We believe that if Canadian parents realized their children were not receiving the education they will need to be successful in the future, they would be demand change. C21 Canada plans to make Canadians aware of this reality and showcase those educators, and systems that are already leading the way forward.

Visit our new website at www.C21Canada.org to learn more about our organization and help us strengthen our Shifting Minds position statement on 21st Century learning. We need your help to ensure our youth receive an education designed for their future, not our past. Join us in our quest to give our youth the learning opportunities they both deserve and need.

January 20, 2012 by admin

C21 Canada

A new coalition of Canadian companies and education organizations is to be created. The Coalition for 21st Century Learning and Innovation (C21 Canada) will be a not for profit organization with a mandate to advocate for 21st Century models of learning in public education. The coalition wishes to see 21st Century competencies, such as creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and culture, infused into curriculum, and an accelerated pace of integrating digital technology into Canadian classrooms in an effort to more fully engage students, the digital generation, in their learning.

The founding members of the organization met in Toronto on September 14th, 2011 and committed to moving forward with incorporation. The first Board of Directors meeting is slated for November.

The members consist of a unique blend of Canadian education associations and knowledge based companies. Representatives of the Canadian School Board Association and Canadian Education Association are both vocal advocates of shifting Canada’s public education systems to 21st Century models of learning. The knowledge based companies, often competitors in the education market, share the view that Canada needs to position itself with a high quality workforce equipped with 21st Century skills to be competitive in the global market. While there are pockets of innovative learning and teaching practices being witnessed in various regions of the country, the coalition wishes to see a more comprehensive, strategic, and accelerated national approach. The founding members of the coalition share the view that 21st Century models of learning are urgently required in public education to position students and Canada for success in the knowledge and digital age.

Companies and organizations represented in Toronto at the founding meeting of C21 Canada included Apple, Cisco, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Nelson Learning, Pearson Education, Scholastic Canada, Smart Technologies, the Canadian School Board Association, Canadian Education Association, Toronto School Board Association, Education Research Development Incorporated (ERDI), and York University’s Institute for Research on Learning Technologies, 21st Century Learning Associates and MindShare Learning.
Attendees at the Toronto meeting also agreed to work collaboratively in identifying and inviting other business and education organizations to join the C21 Canada initiative. Companies or education organizations interested in learning more about the C21 Canada initiative are invited to contact John Kershaw at Kershaw@21stcenturylearningassociates.com or Robert Martellacci at Robert@mindsharelearning.com.

January 20, 2012 by admin

P21 Canada: Partnership for 21st Century Learning and Innovation

In our first post we advocated that Canada needs a national vision for 21st Century learning models of public education. We are pleased to provide an update on some recent events that are signalling a positive trend in this direction.

On February 25^th 21^stCentury Learning Associates convened a group of education and business representatives in Toronto on the periphery of the ABEL Leadership Summit held at York University. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the merits of establishing a Canadian coalition similar to Partnership for 21^stCentury Skills (P21) in the United States. Our company organized the meeting in partnership with MindShare Learning in Ontario. Attendees included representatives from Microsoft, Cisco, Smart Technologies, Pearson, Nelson and McGraw Hill, as well as a number of education organizations.

In preparing for the February 25^th meeting, we benefitted greatly from advice received from Ken Kay, one of the original architects of P21. Ken not only shared important insights on the genesis of P21 but generously offered to be an external advisor to P21 Canada as it develops. Kathy Hurley, a senior executive at Pearson in the United States, and a former Chair of P21, also offered advice to us during our attendance at the BETT Show in London, England in January. Charles Fadel, Global Education Research lead with Cisco, a successful author and a member of the P21 governing board, not only shared his insights on P21 with 21^st Century Learning Associates, but also attended the February 25^th meeting.

All attendees expressed support for the P21 Canada concept and agreed to act as a Steering Committee until such time as a governance board is structured. The participants noted the need for the P21 Canada organization to have a broad membership base drawn from both the education and economic sectors. A number of exciting ideas on how to customize the P21 model to the Canadian reality were also discussed.

We agreed to develop an investment prospectus outlining various scenarios on the potential scope and scale of P21 Canada. In addition, other potential founding members will be identified and contacted prior to the meeting in May. The Steering Committee also endorsed a proposal by the Smart Technologies representative to hold its next meeting in conjunction with the Global Education Technology Summit (GETS) in Toronto, May 12th and 13th, 2011.

In a related development, 21^st Century Learning Associates has discussed the P21 Canada concept with a representative of Canada’s National Research Council. NRC’s mandate is to foster innovation in Canada and the federal agency recognizes the role of learning in building a creative and innovative workforce. NRC is seeking new models of collaboration between the business and education sectors to address Canada’s productivity and employment challenges. The interests of P21 Canada and NRC’s new Centre of Excellence in Advanced Learning and Technology (CEALT) appear aligned and the opportunity for collaboration and partnership will be further explored in the weeks ahead.

It is also important to highlight that CMEC Ministers included 21^st Century learning skills on their February 23 agenda. It is imperative that CMEC Ministers take a leadership role in promoting 21^st Century learning models in public education. A P21 Canada coalition will work with CMEC Ministers to support this goal.

If your organization is interested in the P21 Canada initiative, or if you would like to offer suggestions regarding an inaugural P21 Canada business plan, please respond to this blog, send an email to or twitter @21CLearnAssoc. We welcome your ideas and advice.