The document discusses the changing nature of life, learning, and work in the 21st century due to globalization, technology and the information age. It argues that education needs to evolve from a focus on standardized tests and memorization to developing students' 21st century skills like communication, collaboration, creativity and problem solving. The Common Core State Standards and new digital assessments are steps toward better aligning education with the skills needed for future success, but challenges remain in fully transforming instructional practices.

1. © JPC Sr. 2012
EDUCATION
CONNECTION
Student Success and
Learning in the 21st
Century….
Jonathan P. Costa, Sr.
February 5th, 2013

2. The Mission
Prepare
EVERY student
for learning,
life, and work
in the
21st century.

3. © JPC Sr. 2012
Life
Learning
Work

4. © Corwin Press - 2011
The world is changed…
1. It is flat.
2. It is digital.
3. It is constantly
changing.
4. It is increasingly
unforgiving to those
who are unskilled.

5. Yes, It’s Happened Before Our Eyes
© Corwin Press - 2011

6. Think About Exponential Growth
• Since 1994 the number of web sites has
grown from 5,000 to 250,000,000 (50,000
% increase)
• Distinct content pages now number in the
trillions…
• Every day, Google handles about
6,200,000,000 page views and processes
20 petabytes of data.
• 275,000 words are typed every minute
onto blogger
• Facebook has 1,000,000,000 active users
© Corwin Press - 2011

7. In Less Than
A Generation…
• From isolation to
communication as the
norm.
• From going out of your
way to communicate to
going out of your way
not to.
© Corwin Press - 2011

8. Our Large
Institutional
Response…
…has been
predictable.
We do what
we know.

9. Common Core
State Standards
- Organized by the
Governors Association
(not the USDOE)
- 46 States have adopted
the CCSS (Language Arts
and Math)
- They are the official
state standards in
Connecticut and have
been since July 2010.
© JPC Sr. 2012

10. SMARTER BALANCE
Assessment Consortia
- Starting in 2014-2015 these
adaptive online assessments will
change the game for 36
participating states.
- 2015-2016 use of tablets will also
be required for portions of the
math assessment.
- They are INTENDED to impact
instruction. Teaching to the test
is not a bad thing... if it’s a good
test.
© JPC Sr. 2012

11. The Evolution of Educational Reform
© EC 2012
Focus
Learning Goals
Assessment
Protocols
Accountability
Teacher Prep
Curriculum
Testing Tools
Student Abilities
Instructional Focus
Inputs/Outputs
Universal Access
Locally Determined
Rank and Sort
No News is
Good News
Get A Degree
Table of Contents
Pencil & Paper
Grouped &
Labeled
Teacher Dependent
Ready for K
59.9 to leave
Universal Proficiency
State by State
Tests for ALL
Label Failing Schools
Certifications &
BEST
State Standards &
Frameworks
Pencil & Paper With
Performance Tasks
Integrated (N=40)
Standards Aligned
Need for Pre-School
Skill Demonstrations
Universal Measures
46 State Consortia
(Math, LA, Science)
Smarter Balance
(IPI) for All
Ranking Every District,
School and Teacher
Certifications, TEAM,
and SEED
Multi-State
Unified Standards
Digital With
Performance Tasks
Integrated &
Scrutinized (N=20)
Common Core Aligned
And Digitally Supported
Pre-K and Full-K Standards
Demonstrations & Tests
Areas of Before 1986 NCLB 2001 PA12-116 2012

12. © JPC Sr. 2012
Life
School/Tests
Work
Common
Core
25%

13. BEWARE of
the Unintended
Consequence
Life
equals
a test.

14. The Brave
New World
© Corwin Press - 2011
The culture
served by this
model of
teaching and
learning is
gone.

15. “Work will be dominated by fast-
moving, geographically diverse, free-
agent teams of workers connected via
socially mediating technologies.”
Fred Stutzman, Carnegie Mellon
“The replacement of memorization by
analysis will be the biggest boon to
society since the coming of mass
literacy.”
Paul Jones, UNC- Chapel Hill
“There is no doubt that brains are being
rewired.”
Danah Boyd, Microsoft Research

16. How Would
You Answer?
What would an
“open phone test”
look like?
What happens when
everyone can get
anything from
anywhere?
© Corwin Press - 2011

17. Instruction Will/Should Change…
• Less paper, more pixels.
• Less single source,
more crowd source.
• Less routine,
more personalization.
• Less volume, more rigor.

18. Instruction Will/Should Change…
• Less compliance,
more engagement.
• Less consuming,
more producing.
• Less about how much,
more about how well.

19. 21st
Century
Skills
Communicate
Effectively
Adaptable
& Creative
Higher-Order
Thinking
Personal
Responsibility
Information
Literacy
Independent
&
Collaborative
Remember
the Mission…
is about
more
than
just
CCSS
© Corwin Press - 2011

20. © JPC Sr. 2012
Life
School/Tests
Work
Common
Core & 21st
Century
Skills

21. The Engagement
& Learning Equation
Degree of Student Control
times
Order of Conceptual Difficulty
plus
Content Fluency
equals
Instructional Value
© Corwin Press - 2011

22. Lessons
Learned
Align
your
actions
with
your long
term
goals.

23. Assessment
& Data
Value what you
measure,
measure what
you value.
© Corwin Press - 2011

24. Interesting Follow-Up Resources
• (VIDEO – 11 minutes) Ken Robinson – This RSA Animated talk has been viewed online almost 9 million times – it focuses on
changing the paradigm of education to address the changing nature of life, learning and work in an information age.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
• (VIDEO – 12 minutes) This is a speech from a high school sophomore (junior now) from New Haven who participated in our
Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and produced a mobile device app that got national attention and recognition. This is
the best evidence of the application of 21st century skills.
http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxLitchfieldED-Christine-Pugl;search%3Apuglisi
• (TEXT) Very interesting article from the Chronicle of Higher Education about how the grass is greener on the other side of the
fence – the Chinese chase greater creativity, we chase better test scores
http://chronicle.com/article/US-Education-in-Chinese/130669/
• (TEXT) This article from Lawrence Summers – Harvard President – about the changes – or lack of changes – needed at the
university level driven by 21st century skills.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/the-21st-century-education.html?pagewanted=all
• (TEXT) Digital Is... it’s the end of the world as we know it. Resources related to the question about how the information age
is impacting cognition and habits of mind.
http://digitalis.nwp.org/collection/its-end-world-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine
• (TEXT) A summary of what challenges lay ahead for school reformers intent on realigning our practice with the challenges of
21st century skills and learning.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/21st-Century-Skills@-The-Challenges-
Ahead.aspx