21st Century Learning and Teaching

Change is not the obstacle, it is the answer.  Embracing our ability to champion positive change starts with a focus on the words we use.  Change is NOT difficult, it is our greatest power and hope for a better future.  Change is what our bodies and minds so every second of the day.

Our ability to move out of Jurassic Park by developing our individual and organization potential is real.  It requires focus, courage, integrity and a relentless desire to be part of the solution rather than running on overdrive, getting stuck in stasis or burying one’s head in the sand or under the rock of complacency.

By Thom Markham Once they get to the working world, most students, in almost any job, will collaborate as a member of a team. And every student needs to be prepared for that environment — partly for employment opportunity, but mainly because the deeply embedded mental model of learning and creating as an individual process is obsolete.

===> Collaboration has become the chief way in which things are done. Powerful collaboration is driven by incisive communication—and out of that process come the very best expressions of innovation, creativity, and critical inquiry. <===

"What better way to model learning and pedagogy than to actually teach?" This quote comes from an excellent article written in 2010 by Chris Wejr, a school principal in British Columbia and key mem...

Specifically in regards to technology, social media and communication.



Fullan identifies the 6Cs that are necessary in education today:

- Communication

- Citizenship

- Character

- Collaboration and Teamwork

- Creativity and Imagination

- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Today teams are more dysfunctional than ever. There is more back stabbing, bickering, gossiping than I have ever seen in my life time. We see it in business, in congress, in communities across the USA and the world. Differences have created battle lines instead of being welcomed as complementary strengths. Why is this? People are generally good, right. Yet clearly people working TOGETHER is wanting. In my research, even top business firms with great strategy, talent, training, product, tech, capital etc. are not really operating as a team – but rather as a breeding place for conflict between people. This is tragic. The human toll and loss in performance is mind boggling. Simply, we have come to a time in our human history where we need to take a deep look at this dynamic and see what is happening and apply new solutions that actually unify, in our communities and organizations.

Learn more:

- https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/education-collaboration-and-coaching-the-future/

- https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/professional-development-why-educators-and-teachers-cant-catch-up-that-quickly-and-how-to-change-it/

At Sammamish High School, we're developing and implementing a comprehensive problem-based learning program for all of our students. Working closely with my peers during this process has become one of

Listening to teachers talk about teaching in a collaborative learning space – three teachers and up to 90 students as opposed to one teacher and 30 students - and one is struck by how much ‘we’ there is in the teacher voice. There is a firm belief that as a team, they are able to shift student outcomes, raise achievement, and meet the needs of a diverse range of learners. Teachers often cite examples of the advantage of working and teaching together:

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