Partnership for 21St Century Skills (2003)

H. Johnson – KSU Deaf Ed Teacher Prep Pro – 10/5/05

Information – Needed Characteristics of Teachers & Teaching

Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2003).

p. 12 – “…teachers can create a 21 century context for learning by…”

making content relevant to student lives
bring the world into the classroom
take students out into the world
create opt. for students to interact with others in authentic learning experiences

Garry, A., & Graham, P. (2004).

p. 1 – “…the teacher is the most important piece of equipment…”

PT3 (2004)

Traditional Learning Environments / New Learning Environments
Teacher-centered instruction / Student-centered learning
Single-sense stimulation / Multisensory stimulation
Single-path progression / Multipath progression
Single media / Multimedia
Isolated work / Collaborative work
Information delivery / Information exchange
Passive learning / Active/exploratory/inquiry-based learning
Factual, knowledge-based learning / Critical thinking and informed decision-making
Reactive response / Proactive/planned action
Isolated, artificial context / Authentic, real-world context

Hasselbring, T.S., Smith., L., Rakestraw, J., & Campbell, M. (2000).

p. 17 – the largest factor impacting upon student performance is the instructional effectiveness of teachers.

p. 17 – “In addition to knowing their subjects (content) well, good teachers also know…”

how to motivate students
how to break complex subjects and processes down so that students can learn them
how to teach their subjects (content) in a variety of ways to match the learning styles of their students
how to access student achievement and diagnosis problems in student learning and how to use student assessment data to alter instruction to meet the needs of students.

Cerf, V., & Schutz, C. (2001).

p. 2-3 – emerging role of the teacher…”facilitator of information and critical thinking.” no longer as the “…keeper and provider of all knowledge, but that of a guide.”

Donovan, M.S., Bransford, J.D., & Pellegrino, J.W. (Eds.) (1999). [Chapter 2]

p. 1 – critical feature of effective teaching…elicits from and builds on students existing understanding of the subject matter to be taught…this is true for all students of all ages

p. 3 – how “experts” (in a given subject) differ from “novices”…experts:

draw upon a “richly structured” information base
use existing concepts to guide their understanding of new information
conceptual knowledge allow them to “…extract a level of meaning from information that is now apparent to novices.”

p. 5 - …”…experts…monitor their own understanding carefully, making note of when additional information was required.” …this is exactly what students need to learn to do

p. 4 – K-12 education…students began as “novices”…teachers assist students to gain a more formal/deeper understanding of the targeted information….this in turn, helps students develop a conceptual framework of the subject matter.

p. 4 – “A key finding in the learning literature is that organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater transfer (learning).”

p. 6-8 – implications for teaching: teachers must…

identify and build on the preexisting understanding that students bring to school
create classroom contexts via which student’s thinking can be “revealed”
use formative assessment to make student’s thinking visible to “…themselves, their peers and teachers.”
teach fewer topics, and provide more depth so that many examples of the same concepts can provide a “…foundation for factual knowledge.”
have an indepth understanding of the content that they are teaching
“…develop in their students the ability to learn independently.”

p 8 – research indicates that when the above teaching principles are followed, student performance improves

p. 10 – student learning is enhanced when they understand why, when and how the targeted information is relevant + when the learning occurs within problem solving activities

p. 10-13 – designing effective classroom learning environments – four key characteristics:

learner centered
knowledge centered…what is taught…why it is taught…and what competency in the information “…looks like.”

“Many curricula fail to support learning with understanding because they present too many disconnected facts in too short a time…”

assessment centered…use of formative assessments to both inform and guide the teaching and learning…helps the students to understand and track their own learning
context centered…carried out within the context of a community of learners…both in and outside of the classroom…where the targeted knowledge and skills have relevancy and are valued and used

p. 14 – current characteristics of most teacher preparation programs:

not learner centered
not knowledge centered
not assessment centered…do not focus upon either the students becoming conscious/directing of their own learning or to determine the extent to which what is learned at the university is applied in the schools
not community centered…do not apply the knowledge, nor do they establish a larger community of learners that values the knowledge

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). [Executive Summary]

p. 3 – [summary of the differences between experts and novices…information already covered in another chapter that I have outlined]

p. 4 – key conclusions…teaching and learning:

skills and knowledge must be extended/used/applied beyond the initial context in which they were learned
individuals must know how, when and where to use what they have learned
concepts, rather than isolated facts, guide learning

p. 5 – key conclusions…children as learners: children…

are actively engaged in making sense of their world
lack knowledge and experience, but not reasoning ability
‘s knowledge contains misconceptions
need to develop learning strategies, i.e., planning, monitoring, revising and reflecting upon what they learn
both solve and create problems…and they seek solutions to their problems

p. 5 - adults can support children’s learning by:

directing their attention
structuring experiences
supporting/encouraging learning activities
regulating the complexities of information

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). [Chapter 6]

p. 2 – history of U.S. public education…early 1900s…designed around a factory model…providing “mass education”…indicates that now a new model of education is needed

p. 3-19 – characteristics of the educational model that is now needed:

learner centered environments…
attentive to the knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs that learner’s bring to the classroom…
one that discovers what the student thinks, believes, has experienced re. a particular problem/topic/concept…
one that is designed to give the student time to think, reflect and readjust their knowledge base…to address their misconceptions
one in which teachers use observations, questions/conversations and reflections on student products and processes…this is frequently described as “diagnostic teaching”
one that prompts students to explain their thinking….to make predictions about how a problem might be solved…to actively address their misconceptions
one that gives students reasons to learn, to bridge from their existing to new knowledge
knowledge centered environments…
bodies of knowledge organized around key concepts
focused on the core content subjects, e.g., mathematics and science
designed to cover fewer topics than is general, but in much more depth of understanding…vs. typical U.S. curriculums that are “…a mile wide and an inch deep.” (p. 7)
help students active problem solvers by “…expecting new information to make sense and asking questions for clarification when it doesn’t.” (p. 7)
increasingly formalize the student’s knowledge base, i.e., correct their misconceptions
demonstrating the links between information across the content areas…the connections between the areas of study
first establishes a student need for information, then meets that need
assessment centered environments…in which teachers…
provide ongoing feedback to their students…it is most effective when stu have the opt to use the feedback to revise/refine their work
are continually striving to better understand their student’s thinking/reasoning/problem solving strategies
help students carryout/use self assessments to check their learning
model and encourage students to collaborate with others….use the feedback from such collaborations to reflect upon and refine work
use concept maps and portfolios to access students emerging understanding…vs. standardized test that overemphasize memorization of isolated facts
link assessments to what is taught and what students are to master
Community centered environments…
percentage of time…typical school year…students spend in school:
14% - school
53% - home/community
33% - sleeping
family as a key environment for learning
connecting the classroom to outside resources

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). [Chapter 7]

p. 1 – teachers must know how to teach…the instructional strategies and activities…a specific content area, not an array of general array of instructional strategies that are thought…incorrectly…to apply to all content areas…misconceptions that a good teacher can teach any subject

p. 1 – “Expert teachers…” know the major concepts of the content area they teach, these concepts guide their work

p. 10 – research…indicates…what teachers know and believe about mathematics is closely linked to how they teach mathematics…thus, the less they know, the more uncertain they are, the less flexible they are, the less concept based they teach, the less they effectively engage and assess their students

p. 12 – what teachers need to know…

subject matter knowledge
instructional knowledge
general
content specific
children as learners
what they know…correct and build on
how they learn…problem solving
how to access learning…formative

p. 17 – all learning involves relating new information to old information

p. 19+ – science…teaching and learning

“…time on task is a major indicator of learning…deliberate practice is an efficient way to promote expertise.”
concept maps help novices to build understanding and link facts
the use of a “coach” who provides feedback, in addition to deliberate practice, “…can serve to optimize performance.” (p. 20)
student’s misconceptions…concerning key concepts…must be addressed before learning can occur (p. 21)
“bridging” is an effective instructional strategy…involves helping students from their current to their new understanding…new conceptual understanding…this is done by: (p. 21-23)
using problem solving
making predictions…+ recording/sharing/discussing with peers & teacher
conducting experiments…to see if predictions were correct
observing…the results of the experiments
discussion/reflection on what was learned

Note: such work serves to make the student’s thinking “visible”

“…discourse is the primary means for search for knowledge and scientific sense-making.” (p. 26)
“Students constructed scientific understanding through an interactive process of theory building, criticism, and refinement based on their own questions, hypothesis and data analysis activities.” (p. 27)
“Question posing, theorizing and argumentation formed the structure of the students’ scientific activity.” (p. 27)
“The emphasis on establishing communities of scientific practice builds on the fact that robust knowledge and understanding are socially constructed through talk, activity and interaction around meaningful problems and tools (Vygotsky, 1978). (p. 27)
within this framework, teachers serve as guides, as supports to students as they actively “…explore problems, define questions that are of interest to them.” (p. 27)