1. Characteristics of 21st century teaching
Vikki Costa, Professor
California State University, Fullerton

2. What are Characteristics of 21st Century Teaching?

3. CONTENT
What are new theories, issues, and problems in your subject area?
What knowledge and skills in your subject area help solve 21st century problems?
BEFORE
AFTER
EXAMPLES: Partition Theory in Mathematics, Ebola Virus Disease, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)

4. Current - The content should be current – up-to-date knowledge, including tools and strategies for generating and using new knowledge.
Relevant - The content should have significant and demonstrable bearing on professional and personal uses.
Application/Skill Oriented - The content should be focused on application of the field to solving current problems.
Connected - The content should be connected to other disciplines.

5. 3 Eras of Education AGRARIAN AGE INDUSTRIAL AGE INFORMATION AGE
Horse and carriage
Preparation for local jobs, farming
Basic literacy
Few books and print materials
Knowledge is static
Automobile
Preparation for mobility, industry
Advanced literacy
Substantial books and print materials
Knowledge is static
Internet
Preparation of knowledge workers
Life-long learning
Digital texts/tools
Knowledge is kinetic

6. 21st Century Knowledge Create from raw materials
What does it mean to create? What defines “original”?
CONSTRUCT
Create from raw materials
REMIX
Rearrange the original 
MASHUP
Fuse disparate elements

7. PROBLEM SOLVING AND CREATIVITY

8. Recommendations for Improving Content
Update content materials for currency and application to addressing 21st century problems.
Create assignments that require students to use multimedia to REMIX and MASHUP knowledge.
Link learning back to a course question – reiterate relevancy to personal/professional life and society.
How does chemistry impact my personal life and society?
How do chemists change reaction rates to improve our quality of life?

9. CONTENT
What are new theories, issues, and problems in your subject area?
What knowledge and skills in your subject area help solve 21st century problems?
BEFORE
What new content will you incorporate into your teaching so that students are prepared to use the knowledge and skills for to solve 21st century problems?
AFTER

10. COMMUNICATION AFTER BEFORE
How do you and your students communicate in the classroom?
BEFORE
AFTER

11. Comprehensible - Instruction should be delivered via comprehensible input and output.
Developmental - Language level should be appropriate to the proficiency of the majority of students in the classroom.
Comprehensive - There should be a significant amount of student talk! Communication should occur via all four language domains - writing, reading, listening, and speaking. 
Global - Communication should be situated within the global context and facilitated digitally.

12. Teacher Communication
Vary the speed & tone of your voice 
Project your voice
Pause 
Repeat, transition, and summarize
VERBAL
Maintain eye contact 
Use movement and the entire room
Project excitement and energy
NONVERBAL
Purposeful use of board vs slides
Videos, images, animations, interactives
Audio clips 
Artifacts 
Handouts
MULTIMEDIA

13. Continuum of Student Communication
Teacher Modeling
Teachers model behaviors, skills, and strategies.
Teachers use questions to activate students' background knowledge.
Teachers model through think/read alouds, shared readings, lectures, etc.
After modeling, students reflect on learning through independent writing or sharing.
Guided Instruction Independent Tasks
Teachers use questions, prompts, and cues- to help students complete tasks.
Students ask questions—of the teacher and peers—to clarify understanding, provide feedback to a partner, and reflect on learning.
Students work independently on tasks but use talk to support task mastery.
Collaborative Tasks
Students work together with teacher monitoring.
Students discuss tasks or ideas and question one another, negotiate meaning, clarify their own understanding, and make their ideas comprehensible to their partners. Students practice use of academic language.
STUDENT TALK INCREASES
Read aloud – math curse
Adapted from Why Talk is Important in Classrooms

14. Recommendations for Improving Communication
Use verbal, nonverbal, and multimedia to convey your message.
Plan lessons that integrate purposeful academic talk, reading, and writing,
Increase the amount of time students are communicating with each other and with you.
Require students to discuss with each other for at least 10 minutes every hour
Require students to write more (quick-write, 1-minute paper).
Require students to critique each other’s products – grade on the critique itself

15. COMMUNICATION AFTER BEFORE
How do you and your students communicate in the classroom?
BEFORE
How will you increase the amount of student talk in your classroom?
AFTER

16. LEARNING
What 21st century skills can be taught through your subject?
BEFORE
AFTER

17. Active - Students should be active in the instructional process.
Collaborative - Learning should be conducted by two or more students working together. 
4Cs-Focused - Learning should focus on the use and development of creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills (and other 21st century skills).
Personalized - Learning should be tailored to the learner in order to meet their learning needs and aspirations. 

18. 21st Century Skills Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Creativity and Innovation
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Communication and Collaboration
Information Literacy
Media Literacy
ICT Literacy
NOTE: Not all students are digital natives, and all need to develop their "academic" digital skills.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Flexibility and Adaptability
Initiative and Self-Direction
Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
Productivity and Accountability
Leadership and Responsibility
Global Awareness
Financial, Economic, Business Literacy
Civic Literacy
Health Literacy
Environmental Literacy

19. Where are the 4 Cs in your teaching?
Where do students do these things in your course?
What could you add to help your students do more?
Where are the 4 Cs in your teaching?
Communication - means of conveying information and connecting with others
Collaboration - the act of working with someone to create or produce something
Critical Thinking - analysis and evaluation in order to form a judgment or solve a problem
Creativity - the use of the imagination or original ideas to make new things

20. Recommendations for Improving Learning
Enhance learning through collaborative problem solving
Group students in pairs, triads, and quartets for collaborative activities
Focus on 4Cs and application of content to current concerns
Use engineering design process, case studies, SWOT analysis, action plan
Have students physically rank or organize items and manipulate objects
Give students choice a text

21. LEARNING
What 21st century skills can be taught through your subject?
BEFORE
How will you help students acquire these skills?
AFTER

22. ASSESSMENT
How do you you assess student learning?
BEFORE
AFTER

23. Informative - Assessment activities should inform teacher and students of individual and collective progress.
Summative - Assessment activities should also provide information about mastery of the content via evaluation of knowledge, skills, products, and processes.
Aligned- Assessment should be aligned with content, learning, communication, and milieu. 
Varied - Multiple assessment strategies should be employed.

24. Assessment should INFORM Ensure a GREAT Product
Assignment Directions
Assignment Rubric or Scoring Guide
Assignment Example
Assignment Checklist
- detailed information about how the assignment will be evaluated
- list students can use to check off completed items and identify what remains to be done
- example of previous student work
- general information on what the assignment includes

25. Assessment is FORMATIVE and SUMMATIVE

26. Assessment should be ALIGNED

27. Recommendations for Improving Assessment
Use formative assessment to monitor student progress
Have students self-assess and peer-assess
Use checklists, scoring guides, and rubrics to help students complete products (essays, reports, presentations)

28. ASSESSMENT AFTER BEFORE How do you assess student learning?
How will you use assessment to increase student success?
AFTER

29. MILIEU
What three words best describe your classroom learning evnironment and culture?
BEFORE
AFTER

30. Innovative - Learning should include traditional, online, and blended opportunities.
Ubiquitous - Learning should extend outside of the physical environment and be accessible from anywhere at anytime.
Digital -  Teaching and learning should make extensive use of digital resources and tools to access, analyze, and synthesize knowledge.
Green - Learning should be situated within the concept of sustainability. 

31. The 21st Century Classroom is INNOVATIVE
21st Century Teaching - INNOVATIVE
Learning should be more convenient and accessible.
Learning should be personalized.
Learners should learn during their peak learning times and at their own speed.
Learners should assess their own progress and focus on the content they need.
Learners should interact more with the instructor and get immediate feedback.
Learners should be expected to acquire current data and facts fast online because Internet links provide more resources.
Learners should interact with the world.
traditional online blended flipped

32. Your classroom layout makes a big difference!

33. 21st Century Teaching - DIGITAL and GLOBAL
Businesses and classrooms should allow for global scope and interactions. Businesses acquire, use, and integrate talent from around the world - the classroom should mirror that model.

34. 21st Century Teaching - UBIQUITOUS EVERYONE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, ANYWAY
Classrooms should model global environment that prepares students for careers and lifelong learning where they connect with collaborators anytime, anywhere, asynchronously or synchronously. Communication and collaboration are key skills that must be practiced in the classroom.

35. 21st Century Teaching - GREEN
Classroom milieu should reflect and promote social and ecological responsibility.

36. Recommendations for Improving Milieu
Add online activities and make instructional materials accessible online
Model use of digital tools and use for instructional purposes
Require students to use digital tools
Use PBL to promote innovation, especially for sustainability and green issues

37. MILIEU
What three words best describe your classroom learning environment and culture?
BEFORE
How will you make your classroom milieu more innovative, ubiquitous and digital?
AFTER

38. Final Thought and Questions
Teachers make a positive impact on our students, our communities, our society, and our world.
How will we continue to . . .
Update our content,
Increase student communication,
Enhance collaborative learning,
Expand informative assessment, and
Reimagine an innovative milieu
to support student learning, enhance our teaching, and positively impact the future?

39. References
Burstein, D (2013). Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaping Our World. Beacon Press.
Duncan, D., Hoekstra, A., & Wilcox, B. (2012). Digital devices, distraction, and student Performance: does in-class cell phone use reduce learning? Astronomy Education Review, 11,
Draves, W. and Coates, J. (2007). Nineshift: Work, Life, and Education in the 21st Century. Learning Resources Network (LERN).
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Framework for 21st Century Learning. In Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from
Pew Research Center (2010). Millenials: A Portrait of Generation Next. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from
Tapscott, D. (2008). Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. McGraw-Hill.
Tindell, D. & Bohlander, R. (2011). The use and abuse of cell phones and text messaging in the classroom: A survey of college students. College Teaching.,60, pgs. 1-9.