Gallery of Lost Students

•Take a paper plate and draw the face

of a lost student you know.
•Give your student a fictitious name.
•Add your student to the Gallery of
Lost Students.
Understanding 21st Century Learners

Jan S. Zuehlke, Ph.D.

ZuehlkeJL@aol.com
Are children’s brains different today?
 Kids are different today.

Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National Middle School
Association, 1994.
 Not because of their
clothes or their secret
codes or their music.
Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National Middle School
Association, 1994.
 They are different because
of some basic
physiological phenomena.

Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National Middle School
Association, 1994.
 Kids react while the older
generation reflects.

Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National Middle School
Association, 1994.
They are random while we
are sequential.
They are holistic while we
are linear.
Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National
Middle School Association, 1994.
Their predominant sense is
motion and touch whereas
ours is hearing and seeing.

Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National
Middle School Association, 1994.
 As learners, they
experience while we
intellectualize.
Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National Middle School
Association, 1994.
 The concern is that schools
will not or cannot adjust to
these differences in time.
Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National Middle School
Association, 1994.
 The concern is that we are
using the excuse that kids
don’t want to learn when,
in fact, they do.
Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National Middle School
Association, 1994.
 They just must learn
differently.

Hawkins, M. L. & Graham, M. D. Curriculum architecture: Creating a place of our own. National
Middle School Association, 1994.
How has the world changed
in the last 150 years?
“It’s hard to imagine any way in which it
hasn’t changed. Children know more about
what’s going on in the world today than their
teachers, often because of the media
environment they grow up in. They’re
immersed in a media environment of all kinds
of stuff that was unheard of 150 years ago,
and yet if you look at school today versus 100
years ago, they are more similar than
dissimilar.”
Peter Senge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Six Critical Elements for
21st Century Learners
1. Emphasize core subjects
2. Emphasize learning skills
3. Use 21st century tools to develop learning skills
4. Teach and learn in a 21st century context
5. Teach and learn 21st century content
6. Use 21st century assessments that measure 21st
century skills

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Learning for the 21st Century. www.21stcenturyskills.org
 Three Key Learning Skills

Information and Communication Skills

Thinking and Problem-Solving Sills

Interpersonal and Self- Directional Skills

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Learning for the 21st Century. www.21stcenturyskills.org
 21st Century Content
Global Awareness

Financial, Economic, and Business Literacy

Civic Literacy

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Learning for the 21st Century. www.21stcenturyskills.org
What implication does this have on
teaching social studies in the 21st
century?
 Why is it Important to
Teach Social Studies?

Social studies educators teach students

the content knowledge, intellectual
skills, and civic values necessary for
fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a
participatory democracy.

National Council of Social Studies

Strategies for Success in
Social Studies
Culture is about a person’s
whole way of life.
•Culture is learned behavior, not something
you are born with.
•You learn how to act, feel, and think, as
well as how to behave.
•You also learn culture through language.
•Culture is powerful because it shapes you
and who you are.
•Cultures can be the same or they can be
different.
 Culture Bag Assignment

Thinking about who you are and your

culture, create a bag to bring to class to
share with your fellow classmates. You can
use a clear baggie or create your own
special bag. Put pictures or artifacts in the
bag that represent you and your culture.
What country dressed you today?

• Find someone you don’t know

and introduce yourself.
• Look at the label in one article of
clothing you wore today.
• What country made this garment?
• Talk to your new friend about the
country.
 “Coathanger Concepts”

Objective: To help students build “folders” or

concepts to have a place to “hang” the facts as
they progress through the grades.
Pick a Concept from the TEKS

• Freedom • Transportation
• Democracy • Systems
• Citizenship • Immigration
• Agriculture • Inventions
Materials Needed:

Wire Coathangers
Construction Paper
Markers
Scissors
Glue
Yarn
Old Magazines
 Directions:
1. Select a concept from the TEKS and
brainstorm it’s meaning.
2. Define the concept (in “kid” language).
3. Find some examples/non-examples of
the concept.
4. State the historical significance of the
concept
5. State the general significance or overall
importance of the concept
Put the information about your concept
on construction paper cut outs and
attach to a coathanger to make a
mobile. Display from the ceiling in the
classroom.
 Concept

Definition Historical General

Examples/
Significance Significance
Non-examples
 Freedom

Freedom means
I have the right to Examples of Historical General
do what I want to,
within limits. Freedom Significance
Constitution
Significance
*Right to pray,
Bill of Rights I live in a country
speak, and write
where I have alot of
Declaration of *Right to vote
freedom thanks to the
Independence *Right to be free to
Patriotic Songs documents my
do what we want to,
forefathers wrote.
Patriotic Symbols within limits
 Interactive Student Notebook
Preview (Hook)
*allows students to reflect upon or
experience something that connects
directly to the content or thought
process that will be addressed in the
right side notes
*is engaging, interesting, and thought-
provoking
*is open-ended
*is quick (3 to 4 minutes), does not have to
be completely finished.
Processing (Sinker)
*cannot be completed successfully unless
the information from the right side
notes is used
*requires thinking beyond the recall level
*is engaging, challenging, and interesting
*can be completed after class
Adapted from History Alive!
Notes (Line)
*students create or contribute to the
content of the notes
*notes are organized in ways that make
them engaging and easy to
understand
*model for students how to think
graphically or use outlines
*the note-taking itself involves processing
information
Avoid:
*having students copy notes off the
overhead, board, or out of the textbook
*giving students a page to paste in as right
side notes when there is no students
involvement with the page
 HOOK-LINE-SINKER
• The “Hook” is an activity that taps
students’ prior knowledge.
• The “Line” consists of class notes or other
information given to the students by the
teacher.
• The “Sinker” is any activity or
performance assessment that allows
students to process what they have
learned.
 Resources for Teaching in the
21st Century

• History Alive
• Mini-Society
• Project CRISS
• Thinking Maps
 How Do You Learn?
Check the statements that apply to you.
Adapted from The 4MAT System, About Learning
 Are you a Type One Learner?
They learn by feeling their experiences.

They take time to reflect and ponder their experience.

They learn primarily in dialogue, by listening and sharing

ideas.

They excel in viewing ideas from many perspectives.

They have highly developed imaginations.

They thrive on lots of reflecting time, especially when

pondering new ideas.

They tackle problems by reflecting alone and

then brainstorming with others.

Their favorite question is “Why?”

Adapted from The 4MAT System, About Learning
 Are you a Type Two Learner?
They learn by thinking through experiences, judging the
accuracy of what they encounter, examining details and
specifics.

They take the time to reflect and ponder on what they

experience.

They excel in traditional learning environments and are

thorough and industrious.

They look for structure.

They thrive on stimulating lectures and readings.

They are systematic.

They tackle problems with logic and analysis.

Their favorite question is “What?”

Adapted from The 4MAT System, About Learning
 Are you a Type Three Learner?
They learn by thinking through their experiences, judging the
usefulness of what they encounter.

They take the time to figure out what can be done with what
they learn.

They excel at down-to-earth problem solving, often tinkering to make

things work.

They seek to get to the heart of things.

They work for deadlines and “keep to the plan.”

They like to be considered competent.

They tackle problems quickly, often without

consulting others.

Their favorite question is “How does this work?”

Adapted from The 4MAT System, About Learning
 Are you a Type Four Learner?
They learn from their perceptions and the results of their
experiences. They are open to all manner of sensory
input.

They consider the possibilities of what they learn.

They learn primarily through self-discovery.

They excel at synthesizing.

They are flexible and flourish in challenging situations.

They thrive on chaotic situations.

They tackle problems with their intuition.

Their favorite question is “What If?”

Adapted from The 4MAT System, About Learning

So What?
What If? Why?

How? What?
 Hook
S
So What?
I What If? Why?
N
K
How? What?
E
R Line
Adapted from The 4MAT System, About Learning
Window Paning for Retention

“A” “Z”

WII-FM
 People tend to remember
best…
• What they hear first
• What they hear last
• In chunks
• By linking
• Unusual things that stand out
• If they review content 6 times
• If they write it down
Window Paning for Retention
 A child is a person who is
going to carry on what you
have started.
 He is going to sit where
you are sitting, and when
you are gone, attend to
those things which you
think are important.
 You may adopt all the
policies you please, but
how they are carried out
depends on him.
He will assume control of
your cities, states, and
nations.
He is going to take over
your churches, schools,
universities, and
corporations…
…the fate of humanity is in
his hands.
 You have an awesome
responsibility to make sure
that students have access to
social studies instruction every
day…because
Our greatest contribution to
mankind is to make sure there
is a teacher in every
classroom every day who
cares that every student
learns and grows and feels
like a real human being.