Supporting Deeper Learning How Can We Develop Teaching that Ensures Success in the 21 st Century?

© Linda Darling-Hammond 2010 What Deeper Learning is Not

What Deeper Learning is: An understanding of the meaning and relevance of ideas to concrete problems An ability to apply core concepts and modes of inquiry to complex real-world tasks A capacity to transfer knowledge and skills to new situations, to build on and use them Abilities to communicate ideas and to collaborate in problem solving. An ongoing ability to learn to learn

Routine Cognitive Non-routine Manual Percentile Change from 1960 Source: Murnane & Levy Routine Manual Expert Thinking Complex Communications DEMAND FOR SKILLS IS CHANGING The dilemma of schools: The skills that are easiest to teach and test are also the ones that are easiest to digitize, automate, and outsource

Teamwork Problem Solving Interpersonal Skills Computational Skills Reading Skills Organizational Effectiveness Goal Setting/Motivation Listening Skills Personal Career Development Creative Thinking Leadership Oral Communications Writing Teamwork Problem Solving Interpersonal Skills Computational Skills Reading Skills Organizational Effectiveness Goal Setting/Motivation Listening Skills Personal Career Development Creative Thinking Leadership Oral Communications FORTUNE 500 MOST VALUED SKILLS

Toward What Ends? Sustaining people -- Employment -- Food and shelter -- Clean water Sustaining the earth Resolving conflict Nurturing peaceful collaboration Developing new solutions and strategies for living and learning

NINE LESSONS FROM THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING 5. Teach students to learn to learn 6. Address misunderstandings directly 7. Promote teamwork as a process and outcome 8. Exploit technology to support learning 9. Foster students’ creativity How Can Teachers Support Deeper Learning? 1. Make it relevant – Connect to the real world 2. Teach through disciplinary “modes of inquiry” 3. Simultaneously develop lower- and higher-order skills 4. Encourage transfer of learning

Teaching for Cognitive Flexibility and Creativity Visual arts and music Design & engineering (“making”) World languages Social-emotional learning -- Perspective taking -- Acting with and for others

Teaching for Student Agency The abilities to Take initiative Plan and implement Find and use resources Evaluate and synthesize Learn to learn

Dependent learnersIndependent learners rely heavily on the teacherare self-reliant cannot make decisions about their learning can make informed decisions about their learning do not know their own strengths and weaknesses are aware of their strengths and weaknesses do not connect classroom learning with the real world connect classroom learning with the real world think that the teacher is wholly responsible for their learning take responsibility for their own learning do not know the best way to learn something know about different strategies for learning (generally and personally) do not set learning goals.plan their learning and set goals. work for extrinsic motivators such as grades or rewards are intrinsically motivated by making progress in learning do not reflect on how well they are learning and why often reflect on the learning process and their own progress

Teaching for Student Agency 1. Create complex, authentic tasks worth doing 2. Plan for choice and inquiry 3. Connect tasks to authentic assessments 4. Build effective scaffolding that supports competence, confidence, and motivation 5. Support self- and peer-assessment and revision 6. Build reflection & extension into learning 7. Enable collaboration & peer learning 8. Develop social-emotional skills 9. Identify strengths, learning styles, and goals with students 10. Support student decision making, social responsibility, and leadership

How Can We Support Teaching for Deeper Learning?

Creating a System that Supports Teaching for Deeper Learning

Standards that Guide Development (NBPTS) 1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning: they know how to support learning and development; 2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students: they generate multiple pathways to knowledge; 3. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning, using multiple methods to create engagement, orchestrating learning in group settings; 4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience, using research and seeking advice; 5. Teachers are members of learning communities, collaborating with other professionals, parents, & community.

Teacher Education that Instantiates and Supports Deeper Learning Candidates experience deeper learning pedagogies: -- hands-on projects and performance assessments -- revision to standards -- communication, groupwork Focus is on how people learn for mastery and transfer Development is at the core Content is linked directly to opportunities for practice Candidates learn to take the students’ perspective

Clinical Training: The Need for Teaching Schools & Residencies As in medicine, teachers need to see and enact good practice while studying research and theory Model schools support learning from expert veterans while candidates are taking tightly linked coursework, modeling state-of-the art education for students and teachers as well as opportunities for developing curriculum, new practices, and research.

Intentional Induction New teacher supports: orientation, mentoring, and seminars in key areas Reduced teaching load and collaborative planning time Demonstration Classroom Learning: observations, debriefing, co-teaching Professional learning for mentors

Inquiry-Based Professional Learning Collaborative inquiry through professional learning communities and networks -- Lesson study -- Action research -- Peer observation and coaching -- Subject matter projects for content pedagogy -- School-wide / cross-school authentic assessment Time for Collaborative Learning -- Other countries: hours per week hours per year

Professional Learning Opportunities that Impact Practice are Generally: Focused on specific curriculum content Organized around real problems of practice Connected to teachers’ work with children Linked to analysis of teaching and student learning Intensive, sustained and continuous over time Supported by coaching, modeling, observation, and feedback Connected to teachers’ collaborative work in professional learning communities Integrated into school and classroom planning around curriculum, instruction, and assessment

USING ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENT & TEACHER LEARNING

Assessment measures are structured to continuously improve teaching and learning. Assessment of, as, and for Learning

Graduation by Portfolio Supports School-wide Learning Tasks evaluating : Scientific investigation Mathematical problem solving Literary analysis Social science research and analysis World language proficiency Global awareness Artistic performance

Assessments Can Support Teacher Learning As models of good instruction As exemplars of quality work and standards As diagnostic information regarding learning – especially when feedback shows actual performances, not just scores As a focus for professional conversation about standards, curriculum, and instruction As information to guide investments in professional development

Around the World, Teachers Collaborate in Assessment Design, Scoring, and Evaluation

Rich tasks with thoughtful rubrics and teacher moderation can enhance curriculum equity when… They are embedded in curriculum and instructional supports They are readily available to teachers They are used to analyze student learning Assessments Can Support Equity

Focus Accountability on Learning As Ted Sizer noted, the goal of education is for students to “learn to use their minds well” and to be able to apply what they know in the world beyond school – i.e. Learn deeply Assessment of, for, and as learning focuses on improvement for students, teachers, & schools “Intelligent accountability” through evaluation, reflection, and sharing of expertise is designed to support the learning of everyone in the system: from students and teachers to school organizations and state agencies.

21 st Century Learning for All “What the best and wisest parent wants for his or her child, that must the community want for all of its children. Any other child is narrow and unlovely. Acted upon it destroys our democracy.” -- John Dewey