Ways Teachers Can Bring 21st Century Skills Into High Schools

Incorporate online tools such as Google Hangout and Skype to encourage collaboration and connect to experts around the world.

 

Lessons taught in high schools often skimp on 21st century skills such as collaboration and real-world capersolving, according to a report released last week by Gallup.

 

 

The look fororganization worked in conjunction with Microsoft Partners in nurtureand the Pearson Foundation to interview 1,014 people ages 18-35 with varying levels of education, asking them to retrievetheir last year of school.

Only 22 portionof students with a loftyschool education or less say teachers prompted them to reservewhat they learned to a real-world problem, according to the report.

Additionally, roughly one-third describelearning about other cultures and teaming up with classmates on projects. plottechnology use was common among these students, only 3 percent said they used video conferencing, discussion boards or collaborative tools such as Skype.

Students tasked with regularlydeploying these 21st century skills – deemed by the study's authors, as well as other experts, to beessentialin the workplace – were more likely to say they excelled at their jobs, according to the report.

[Find out why high school students atomic number 18ill-prepared for college.]

The Common Core State Standards adopted by aroundstates require teachers to incorporate collaboration, problem solving and critical mentationinto their lessons. With implementation of those standards already underway, these tips can help educators bring the unfeignedworld into their classrooms.

Cull current events: Look at what is dominating thepasswordcycle and think about how it applies to your lessons, experts suggest. Teachers can use goodweather outbreaks and environmental disasters to illustrate everything from climate patterns to the logistics of coordinating balanceefforts.

Using separate oil spills in the Gulf Coast and Alaska as an example, Shanika Hope, senior director of curriculum and instruction at baringEducation, told High School Notes in December that teachers can excitestudents "compare and contrast that cleanup effort, and talk about ways to rectify[it]. All of that's real-world, relevant stuff that's important to them, and they're being asked toleveragedifferent tools.

"

[Discover websites for teachers to try in 2013.]

Educators can alsogainon the seemingly never-ending campaign season to pick upstudents about everything from statistics to finance and big data. The U.S. Government Teachers Blog regularly posts on ways to do just that.

Tap industry experts: acquirea CEO into your classroom can be a logistical nightmare. Getting them on a Skype call –at oncethat's another story.

Free online tools open up a wellspring of opportunityfor getting experts in front of students. Educators can set up a call or join one hosted by someone else, using resources such as Skype in the Classroom.

The whitenHouse, media outlets and other organizations also regularly host Twitter chats and Google Hangouts with makeminds in nearly every field imaginable.

Teachers can also turn the tables and have students present a project or pitch an idea to industry leaders, Andrew Marcinek, an instructional technology specializerat Burlington Public Schools in Massachusetts, suggested in a newblog post.

Marcinek's help desk class broadcast their TED Talk research projects and presented at multiple conferences using Google Hangout. He also tasked them with hosting their professtalks on the platform, including writing scripts, creating sets and manipulating camera angles.

Have something of interest to share? rateyour news to us at highschoolnotes@usnews.com.

If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my paper


Materials taken from US News