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developmental progression from simple to sofisticated

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developmental progression from simple to sofisticated

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participation
perspective taking
social regulation
task regulation
task analysis
knowledge building
Vygotski (ZPD:  zone of proximal development-zona di sviluppo prossimale)
participation-interaction-persistence-responsiveness-awareness-negotiation-metamemory-transactive memory-responsibility = skills in a collaborative solving task
cognitive skills = task analysis-resource management-flexibility/ambiguity-monitoring-systematicity(if/then relationship, rules, what if)

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focused on task
clear criteria
suggestions for improvement
scaffolded feedback

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observation
tests and quizzes
review of written work
student presentation
projects
interviews

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How should we teach our kids so they're prepared for the future? Old school image from www.shutterstock.com

There has been a high profile debate recently about the merits of teaching so-called "21st century skills" in the new Australian Curriculum.

The national curriculum, some argue, has too much focus on these "general capabilities", which include skills like critical and creative thinking, ethical behaviours, personal and social skills and intercultural understanding.

The critics argue that teaching these skills comes at the expense of content like English, mathematics and history. They say having to focus on generic skills and content curriculum is confusing for teachers; that it encourages a "tick the box" approach to teaching; and, perhaps most naively, that the generic skills are simply educational "fads" that suck precious teaching time.

Bundled into this debate have been arguments about the content of the history curriculum in particular, which has been labelled by the Coalition as biased towards left-wing values. This is a separate debate to which others have made very useful contributions on this site; but suffice to say becoming too bogged down in the detail of content misses the much bigger point about how we best prepare our young people for life after school.

Adapting education to the 21st century

Pitching the curriculum in terms of "traditional content" versus "generic skills" creates a false choice. They are not mutually exclusive; and providing both does not mean teachers need to change their disciplines or for schools to reorganise their timetables. There is a need, however, to broaden our focus and embed these skills in traditional discipline areas.

Traditional disciplines remain important. But we no longer need an education system that helps students simply remember facts and figures. We need them to be critical consumers of information.

Technology has changed the way we live, the way we work, what we do for a living, how we live and even how we think. Just look around any home, any office, any workplace. Technology is there driving trucks, building cars, operating washing machines, delivering the news, helping us access information about almost anything through the internet.

But some seem blissfully unaware of this change or how it should shape the education students need. The following from American economist Deidre McCloskey's book The Economic History of Britain since 1700 is worth noting.

In the eighty years or so after 1780 the population of Britain nearly tripled, the towns of Liverpool and Manchester became gigantic cities, the average income of the population more than doubled, the share of farming fell from just under half to just under one-fifth of the nation's output, and the making of textiles and iron moved into the steam-driven factories. So strange were these events that before they happened they were not anticipated, and while they were happening they were not comprehended.

We are going through change, not unlike the change that occurred during this shift from the agrarian to the industrial age. But we don't seem to be aware of the importance or the scale of this change and what it means for preparing young people for life after school.

We can't ignore the effect that technology has had on every aspect of our social, industrial, educational, personal and economic lives. Sure the disciplines are important but they are no longer the whole story. We need new skills to make sense of what we learn; evaluate and critically appraise both the information we are given and its source.

As consumers of information via technology we need to be able to find out how to do things without direct instruction; to find an answer to a question using a tablet computer or other mobile device.

We all now enjoy the opportunity of producing information and knowledge. As producers we need to know how to create information (wikis, blogs, Facebook, YouTube etc) and how to organise that information to help others understand and share (or judge) our views. These new media have already demonstrated their power at a political level with the Arab spring and huge changes in political campaigning.

In education, we are learning how to harness technology to develop the collective skills of groups. As industry moves more to team based workplaces these skills become even more important and schools and curriculum developers can't afford to let them pass us by.

It's not what you know, it's how you learn

Technology has taken us further already than we might be aware. So strange might these events be that before they happen they won't be anticipated, and while they are happening they won't be comprehended. Such is the price of a content restricted curriculum.

If we don't allow for the explicit inclusion of skills and prepare students properly to live and work in a new technologically driven world, then their lack of education will hurt them and the rest of us.

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Old school or new school? Teach future skills and traditional subjects together

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There has been a high profile debate recently about the merits of teaching so-called "21st century skills" in the new Australian Curriculum. The national curriculum, some argue, has too much focus on these "general capabilities", which include skills like critical and creative thinking, ethical behaviours, personal and social skills and intercultural understanding.

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iStock

By Thom Markham

Now that project-based learning (PBL) is becoming more popular, the doubters and haters also have surfaced. The recent anti-PBL message by David Brooks in the New York Times, which was fortunately well rebutted, exemplifies the resistance. Citing High Tech High in San Diego, Brooks' core message is that PBL is a kind of mindless education dressed up by technology and devoid of the 'wisdom' taught in traditional schools. Given that there are probably another thousand-plus schools across the country embracing PBL, this is a serious charge. And it's false.

But it should also be a warning to PBL advocates. PBL is gaining in popularity, but it's not being done particularly well in many schools. Early in the school year, I worked with a group of earnest, professionally focused, K-5 teachers who had received three days of PBL training during the summer from a highly reputable PBL organization. They could recite the basics of PBL: Design a problem around standards; put student in groups; and plan an exhibition. But they left the training believing that the underlying goal is to cover standards by cleverly posing a problem for students that teachers can already answer. They hadn't been instructed-or inspired-to practice the breakthrough kind of learning that PBL promises-the kind that leads to greater personalization, innovation, design thinking, self-directed learning, and, most critically, the kind of wisdom required in today's world rather than the 1950's.

This is no one's fault. Education continues to operate in a 'safe' zone where standards and pre-ordained outcomes predominate. As a result, many teachers practice a problem-based approach to PBL-the academic, teacher-focused method that originated in the 1960s in colleges and schools of medicine. The two approaches appear similar, but there's a huge, and critical, distinction. PBL is designed to break students out of the box of conventional thinking by having them engage the world, exceed standards, and deliver creative solutions to authentic issues. A simple way to say it is this: Problem based learning teaches to the standards; PBL teaches students to apply the standards.

Why would we not settle for highly constrained problem-based PBL? Isn't it enough to have a bit more student-oriented problem solving in classrooms than ten years ago? Maybe. But that also means settling for staying inside the lines of the current system of teaching and learning. Continuing the obsessive focus on the 'right' standards, accepting vague simulations of critical thinking, and applauding students who deliver a bulleted list of talking points via PowerPoint presentations does not lead to transformation.

To get at the depth of purpose and engagement necessary for learners today, there's work to do in PBL. The way out of the box is to encourage teachers to let go, take risks, live with uncertain outcomes-and design projects that matter. Enter the world as it is at this time-as a place of wide open spaces and immense needs. Invent and deliver projects that retain the full power of PBL and, in the process, push education forward to meet its mid-century destiny. How? Here are five big ideas:

See PBL as a mind shift, not a method. PBL offers a great structure for problem solving - it's a Monday morning solution. But the process of PBL, when done well, takes students deep. It can awaken as well as teach, help students dig into their psyche a bit, and actually mature young people in ways that problem based and front of the room instruction can't touch. PBL gives us a path forward out of the industrial past and into a world that requires a deep set of attitudes and skills necessary for navigation. But since the future is not fully unveiled, PBL teachers should be mission-driven, fueled by a sense of urgency and contribution.

Put challenge first. Obviously, standards need to be addressed. That's why starting a project plan by listing standards to be taught has become conventional advice from today's PBL top trainers. I disagree. Teachers see standards as a helpful guide and organizer, but orienting to standards alone is dispiriting; they are not the grail we seek.

Once the human mind sees a list, it's in check-off mode. Instead, start with a challenge that excites students. Daydream. Muse. Envision students' faces at the end of the project. Once the vision and intention is fixed-and a teacher feels the challenge-that's the time to return to linear mode: What standards will students learn, and how?

Get a lot better at Driving Questions. In general, PBL experts do not show teachers how to write great Driving Questions, nor is it well understood that the question or the problem is the high leverage key to deeper learning. For example, a typical question such as 'How can we prevent climate change?' encourages in-the-box thinking and a laundry list of suggestions drawn from the internet. That's more coverage. Instead, 'How can we, as 7 th graders facing severe climate issues in adulthood, use data to effectively lobby our community about the dangers of climate change?' forces students to grapple with core, authentic issues around the topic of climate change: Who do we believe? Why? How do we educate ourselves? How do we change attitudes?

Turn skills and content into one conversation. PBL advocates assure doubters that PBL teaches academic content. And it does-but in depth, not quantity. It's time to own that little sidestep. Also, 21 st century skills still feel the tailwind from the past. Generally, skills are taught as an add-on to content. The goal is to define a third way that paints a fully realized, blended picture of knowing and doing. PBL offers a learning experience that seamlessly blends core concepts, key facts, reflective thinking, careful judgment, and skillful application of knowledge-all of which coalesce into a solution to a meaningful problem. In life and learning, skills and strengths now assume a role equal to or paramount to content acquisition. Identifying and verbalizing that new definition of rigor is central to overcoming the argument about lack of 'wisdom.'

Coach for openness. A skillful PBL teacher does much more than teach, and PBL offers amazing opportunities to go for the real gold in education: Helping young people become open, curious adults. A meaningful project taps into a student's-and a teacher's-desire to engage in purposeful work. From shared purpose flows a natural, engaged, caring, relationship where feeling, emotion, and respectful conversation become a central tool for opening the mind to intellectual work and a desire for further inquiry. The brain never works in isolation from the body and the heart, and when the whole child enrolls in the process of learning, the sense of satisfaction translates into a permanent attitude. There's a shift, most likely in the neuronal pathways, but also in the less understood realms of brightness, a forward-facing personality, and the desire for wisdom. Simply put, good coaching can push the permanent learning button.
Thom Markham is a psychologist, educator, CEO of PBL Global, author of leading books on PBL and intelligence, and an internationally-respected consultant on project based learning, 21st century skills, innovation, and high performance cultures. You can find him on Twitter @thommarkham.
How to Make Sure That Project-based Learning is Applied Well in Schools

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How to Make Sure That Project-based Learning is Applied Well in Schools

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By Thom Markham Now that project-based learning (PBL) is becoming more popular, the doubters and haters also have surfaced. The recent anti-PBL message by David Brooks in the New York Times, which was fortunately well rebutted, exemplifies the resistance.

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portfolios (compiled over time and represents learner's progress, performances on real life tasks; problem: reliability), ICT-based assessments, simulations can measure the quality open-ended performances, or show how students carry out a complex process.

Classroom-based formative assessments are well suited to teaching key competences. Teachers may uncover how well students understand complex concepts through extended dialogues that build on a series of questions

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Any assessment, whether summative, formative or self-assessment, needs to be valid, reliable and fair. 

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Any assessment, whether summative, formative or self-assessment, needs to be valid, reliable and fair. 

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 Validity means that the assessment effectively measures what it is intended to measure.
 Reliability refers to the extent to which the assessment is consistent and accurate over time, or across a large number of students.
 Fairness refers to the need to consider factors that could influence the assessment – such as a noisy environment that interrupts the student concentration, or assessments that systematically favour one group over another, such as girls vs. boys.

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student self-assessment, also known as ipsative assessment,  focuses on the student’s personal development. Progress is measured against the student’s prior performances – so it is a self-referential approach. This approach is particularly appropriate for key competences that do not have a pre-defined learning objective – such as transversal skills of creativity, initiative, or the constructive management of feelings.

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student self-assessment, also known as ipsative assessment,  focuses on the student’s personal development. Progress is measured against the student’s prior performances – so it is a self-referential approach. This approach is particularly appropriate for key competences that do not have a pre-defined learning objective – such as transversal skills of creativity, initiative, or the constructive management of feelings.

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Both summative and formative assessments are focused on whether students have achieved the learning objectives outlined in curriculum and standards. These assessments are typically criterion-referenced. In other words, there are specific criteria by which to gauge learning performance.

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Effective assessments of key competences need to be valid, reliable and fair, and capture students’ reasoning processes and problem-solving skills.

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Effective assessments of key competences need to be valid, reliable and fair, and capture students’ reasoning processes and problem-solving skills.

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Learning Objectives:
1. Be familiar with the three major approaches to student assessment (summative, formative and self-assessment) and understand that all types of assessment of key competences need to be valid, reliable and fair;
2. Understand that the assessment of key competences needs to measure students’ reasoning processes, understanding of interconnections, and problem-solving skills;
3. Be familiar with a range of innovative tools and approaches, both ‘low-tech’ and ‘high-tech’, which are effective at measuring students’ reasoning processes and ability to solve complex problems;
4. Understand the importance of classroom-based formative assessments for assessing key competences;
5. Be familiar with the evidence required for assessing collaborative problem solving, and how teachers can use rubrics and developmental progressions to interpret their observations of learners’ skills and behaviour.

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

Project-based learning is a dynamic classroom approach in which students actively explore real-world problems and challenges and acquire a deeper knowledge.

Sort by:

Project-based learning encourages student engagement and self-directed learning, and helps teachers make the best use of their time.

As they emerged from the difficulties of the past few years, these students combined humanities, STEM, and the arts in a project that celebrated their identities as individuals and as a community.

New research reveals that when science, reading, and math come together in rigorous hands-on projects, student collaboration, engagement, and achievement can soar.

A new study shows that when implemented well, AP courses built around project-based learning can raise test scores for all students, including those in traditionally underserved demographics.

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George Lucas Educational Foundation Project-based learning is a dynamic classroom approach in which students actively explore real-world problems and challenges and acquire a deeper knowledge. Sort by: Project-based learning encourages student engagement and self-directed learning, and helps teachers make the best use of their time.

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Project Based Learning for all. We build the capacity of teachers and school leaders to design and facilitate quality Project Based Learning.

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The Entrepreneurial School will train over 4000 teachers in the next 3 years across 18 countries. The consortium will produce a Virtual Guide to Entrepreneurial Learning with 75-100 entrepreneurial tools and methods organized in 35 teacher-friendly

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to improve the students' performance AND to change the teaching practice
challenge students and remain positive and reinforcing

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Everything we do has to be directly observable and evidence-based
what we do that other people can see
what we say that other people can hear
what we write that other people can read
what we make that other people can use
DO SAY WRITE MAKE

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Steps of collaborative problem based tasks or projects

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Steps of collaborative problem based tasks or projects

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1. Define the problem or collaborative project.

2. Identify project elements and components in detail;

3. for each component identify the resources that are essential. These can be: a. knowledge; b. materials; c. strategies; d. experience;e. equipment;

4. Allocate to each participant non-overlapping, unique sets of resources necessary to be contributed to the project completion or problem resolution. Divide the resources amongst the participants with no shared or common resources.
5. Clearly state the goals of the task or problem solution and observed to students procedure in the task.

6. Explain to the participants that they must identify the problem, sort out a strategy to resolve the problem or complete the task

7. The students also need to develop a means of keeping records of their decisions and discussions. For face-to-face attempts at collaborative problem-solving or collaborative project work keeping records is an essential aspect of the assessment process.

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Step 1. Involve your students from the very beginning. Start with a guided exploration of some topics you have in mind as a whole class; but also be prepared to change if better ideas are emerging from the class. It is important to establish certain ground rules regarding behavior with them in advance.
Step 2. Having defined the topic, in discussion with the class break it down into different tasks. Discuss which technologies to use and how they will be integrated
Step 3. Plan well, set goals, define outcomes. Above all be concrete, students need goals to work towards and responsibility of tasks in order to achieve them
Step 4. Proceed to put pupils into small groups with responsibilities for a particular task. Encourage pupils to ask personally relevant and socially significant questions regarding the topics chosen. Work to the strengths of each pupil.
Step 5. Create a tangible artifact that addresses the issue, answers questions, and makes learning visible and accountable.
Step 6. Arrive at a conclusion...take a stand...take action.
Step 7. Document, justify, and share conclusion with larger audience. (parents, school etc)
Build in presentation of the outcomes or artifact to different audiences as a key part of the project. Presentation of ideas to others consolidates the learning for the students.

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 What is your project idea?
 What is the time frame proposed?
 Is the project idea manageable?
 Is it a project just between you and your class or will you collaborate with other teachers in your school or in other countries
 If it involves partners from other countries, what is the language proposed?
 What subjects could be integrated into this project?
 What technical tools, if any, will you use?
 How does your project fit with the school planning and calendar?

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‘Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand’.

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Project-based learning is an approach which uses methods such as inquiry-based learning and problem-based learning to develop students’ competences

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Project-based learning is an approach which uses methods such as inquiry-based learning and problem-based learning to develop students’ competences

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Inquiry-based learning starts with questioning, continues with exploration and investigation and ends with finding a solution, drawing a reasonable conclusion, making a substantive decision or applying new knowledge or skills.
"non-Googleable Driving Questions"
Problem-based learning is more practical. Students are given a real life problem to investigate, which can be described as an authentic problem and have to come up with possible solutions. It may be widely applied to all kinds of real life problems. The solutions can then be discussed and tested to see which will work best in a given situation.

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Learning objectives:

1. Understand the principles behind Project Based Learning, including inquiry-based and problem-based methods;

2. Be familiar with the preliminary checklist, basic steps and strategies recommended to design a Project Based Learning activity;

3. Understand how to set-up a collaborative problem-solving task;

4. Understand the cognitive and social skills learners need to apply and teachers need to observe during a collaborative problem-solving task;

5. Be familiar with a range of Project Based Learning examples developed by teachers and students from different countries, targeting various competences and age levels;

6. Be able to design a Project Based Learning Plan to effectively develop one or more of learners’ key competences or transversal skills.

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The video is about the Jyväskylä Teacher Training School's experience of the 'Co-Designing Learning Environments' project which aimed at adapting the school's physical learning environment to better support the teaching and learning of key competences considered important for the 21st century.

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Andreas Schleicher on 'The High Cost of Low Educational Performance'

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Go to http://www.lisboncouncil.net for more information and to download Mr. Schleicher's presentation and the OECD study on The High Cost of Low Educational Performance.

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The case for 21st-century learning - OECD

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Knowledge and skills are important to the future of our economies. But what we learn, the way we learn it, and how we are taught, are changing. This has implications for schools and higher level education, as well as for lifelong learning. OECD's Andreas Schleicher explains.

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Old school or new school? Teach future skills and traditional subjects together: https://theconversation.com/old-school-or-new-school-teach-future-skills-and-traditional-subjects-together-18179

ATC21S professional development module: Teaching and learning 21st century skills : https://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/atc21s/Resources/PD_Module%205_for%20web_V2.pdf

ATC21S professional development module: ATC21S: Examples of teaching 21st century sub-skills in existing lessons: https://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/atc21s/Resources/ATC21S%20Examples%20of%20teaching%2021C%20subskills%20in%20existing%20lessons_V2.pdf

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European Union’s Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006H0962&from=EN

UNESCO framework: http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/15_62.pdf

OECD DESECO framework: http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/definitionandselectionofcompetenciesdeseco.htm

Partnerships 21 framework: www.p21.org

ATC21S framework: http://www.atc21s.org

Microsoft 21st Century Learning Design: http://www.pil-network.com/pd/21CLD/Overview

UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachershttp://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002134/213475e.pdf

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Learning objectives, curriculum and assessment need to be aligned

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Learning objectives, curriculum and assessment need to be aligned

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The good news is that there is almost universal agreement among teachers, students, parents and head teachers that key competences are indeed important for helping people succeed in learning and life, and progress has been made in defining and integrating key competences in national curricula. However, if competence-based education is to become a reality, improvement is needed in terms of collaboration and communication among stakeholders.

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The good news is that there is almost universal agreement among teachers, students, parents and head teachers that key competences are indeed important for helping people succeed in learning and life, and progress has been made in defining and integrating key competences in national curricula. However, if competence-based education is to become a reality, improvement is needed in terms of collaboration and communication among stakeholders.

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While no country has made a complete shift to competence-based education, several countries have made significant progress. In addition to introducing legal and curricular frameworks for key competences, countries have used various strategies to foster a competence-based approach in the classroom. These include innovative partnerships, pilot projects, the monitoring and evaluation of new initiatives, dedicated funding and capacity building.

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While no country has made a complete shift to competence-based education, several countries have made significant progress. In addition to introducing legal and curricular frameworks for key competences, countries have used various strategies to foster a competence-based approach in the classroom. These include innovative partnerships, pilot projects, the monitoring and evaluation of new initiatives, dedicated funding and capacity building.

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Most European countries have also introduced key competences and related learning outcomes into their national curricula for compulsory education, during the last decade.

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Most European countries have also introduced key competences and related learning outcomes into their national curricula for compulsory education, during the last decade.

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Tracking tools and portfolios can help teachers and students to focus on these important skills, and support learners as they grow and mature.

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Tracking tools and portfolios can help teachers and students to focus on these important skills, and support learners as they grow and mature.

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The key competences also emphasise the importance of transversal skills. These are the kinds of skills that are important for personal development, and for learning-to-learn. They are also a new challenge for assessment, as they fall beyond the subject-related learning objectives with very clear learning standards

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The key competences also emphasise the importance of transversal skills. These are the kinds of skills that are important for personal development, and for learning-to-learn. They are also a new challenge for assessment, as they fall beyond the subject-related learning objectives with very clear learning standards

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A few studies have found that students learning in courses that emphasise the kind of higher-order skills featured in key competence curricula may outperform students who are learning in courses that emphasise content knowledge. The students in the first group also tend to retain information longer.

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A few studies have found that students learning in courses that emphasise the kind of higher-order skills featured in key competence curricula may outperform students who are learning in courses that emphasise content knowledge. The students in the first group also tend to retain information longer.

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Summative assessment (assessment OF learning) – that is the tests and examinations they design in order to assign course grades, or at the end of the school year.

Formative assessment (assessment FOR learning)– the kind of interactive assessment that takes place in the course of learning, where the information gathered can be used to adjust teaching and learning and better meet student needs.

student self-assessment of progress toward the transversal competences. These are competences that do not have a learning “standard” – such as creativity, initiative and constructive management of feelings - but where it may be important for each student to track his or her development.

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8 principles for teaching key competences effectively

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8 principles for teaching key competences effectively

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1. teaching should be task-based. Learners should develop key competences through active, authentic, collaborative tasks based on problem-solving. Problems should be complex and with multiple solutions, allowing students to produce the solution in a variety of forms.
2. teaching should be interdisciplinary: that is, taught through contexts that combine several subject areas.
3. learning should be both collaborative and individualised: Learners must collaborate to develop social and communicative competences, but also be able to act autonomously and self-manage.
4. teaching needs to be both learner- and teacher-led. For example, while project-based learning encourages pupils to be active and responsible for their own learning, activities need to be supported by guidance and explicit instruction from the teacher where relevant. In particular, learners need support to develop their ability to learn independently; also known as the ‘learning to learn’ competence, which we looked at earlier in this module.
5. teaching and learning where possible should be technologically innovative: Involving the pedagogical use of ICT and mobile technology can really enhance students’ digital competence, as well as an array of other competences.
6. teaching and learning of key competences should take place both inside and outside of school. A learning environment does not have to be classroom based; it can be outdoors or even virtual. Teaching should harness the potential of extra-curricular activities and after school programmes, paying closer attention to how learners apply their informal and non-formal learning to what they learn in class
7. teachers should collaborate with the wider community including the social, cultural and business sectors to create more opportunities for real world learning.
8. the teaching of key competences requires teachers to pay closer attention to the social and emotional aspects of learning, including the quality of relationships between and among teachers and learners. This is important as researchers have argued that supporting learners’ social and emotional needs stimulates well-rounded growth in learners, which forms a basis for the development of the full range of key competences.

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education systems are moving away from content-led approaches and focusing more on helping learners develop a range of competences to cope in a complex world

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Learning Objectives:

1. Understand what is meant by ‘key competences’ also often referred to as ‘21st century skills’, and why developing them at school is so important in today’s world;

2. Understand that the definition of competences as well as national and international frameworks vary but share common points;

3. Be familiar with the basic key principles for teaching and assessing key competences, and self-assess your current practice and identify areas for improvement;

4. Be familiar with how various countries across Europe have implemented a key competence approach in school education, particularly in Ireland which is the case study country used throughout the course.

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I'm Costanza and I teach English as a foreign language in a secondary school in Finale Emilia. My students are 14-19 years old.
I'm an active eTwinner and a life-long learner.