Jennifer Wolgamott

EDAD 550
Why do we have to change the way
schools educate students?
Partnership for 21st Century Skills: Teaching 21st C
Today’s Kindergarteners will retire in the
year 2070.

Students today face issues such as:

– Global warming – Famine
– Poverty – Health issues
– Global population explosion

Students must have

21st century skills.
 What defines 21st Century?
Sorting Activity – 20th Century Classroom vs. 21st
Century Classroom

Schools – From ‘buildings’ to 'nerve centers’

Teacher – The teacher is the facilitator rather than

the provider of information.

Curriculum – Pencil/paper becomes a secondary

tool. Instead of being textbook-driven
and teacher-centered, it is project-based
and student-centered.
 Student vs. Learner
 Students become the learners. Today we must
see learners in a new context:

We must maintain student interest.

We must instill curiosity.

We must be flexible.

We must excite learners.

“We need to prepare students for THEIR future not OUR past.”
- Ian Jukes
Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants
• Today’s students have been immersed in
technology and multitasking their entire lives.

• Young people age 8-18 use electronic media

more than 6 hours a day on average.
– Henry J. Kaiser Foundation
 Effective 21st Century Leaders
– What outcomes do we want to accomplish in the
classroom?

– What available tools and resources can and will

support teachers in helping their students meet
these outcomes?

– What preparation do we need to ensure teachers

and students appropriately utilize tools and
resources?

– How will we measure the effectiveness of these

tools to gauge how well they support and improve
teaching and learning?
Strategies for Effective 21st
Century Leadership
Invest in your own learning

Ensure technology experts interact with

classroom experts

Provide ongoing staff development

Model strategies with staff

Celebrate successes
 Visionary Leaders
See the 21st century classroom as student-
centered and technology-rich.

Understand the role of technology.

Seek out solutions.

Do not measure success by faster networks and

more computers.

“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be

achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”
- Ralph Lauren
Learning to Change-Changing to Learn

Are you ready to lead education

into the 21st century?

“It is today we must create the world of the

future.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
 References

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Administrator. Blackboard Home. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from
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• R., H. J. (1998). Skills for Successful 21st Century School Leaders. Manchester:
Scarecroweducation. (Original work published 2005)

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Leadership Development | Leadership News and Issues @ LeadershipNow.com.
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