CHARACTERISTICS OF

21ST CENTURY TEACHING

Vikki Costa, Professor
California State University, Fullerton

Relevant Reform Elements in Japan Education

High School Education Reform
Allow students to equip themselves with skills to proactively
pursue their studies in line with their own individual dreams and
goals with the sort of learning and guidelines for self conduct that
will allow them to become shapers of society and the state.
Revise high school curriculum guidelines not from the perspective
of what can we teach? but rather from what kinds of skills do
people need to learn?
University Education Reform
Equip students with the needed skills to go out into the

unpredictable society of the future and find solutions for problems

that have no immediate answers.

Excerpted from Plan for Implementing High School and University Articulation Reforms, Central Council of Education, MEXT, 2014

WHAT ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF

21ST CENTURY TEACHING?

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?

AFTER

BEFORE
EXAMPLES: Partition Theory in Mathematics, Ebola Virus Disease,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)

 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.

3 Eras of Education
AGRARIAN AGE

INDUSTRIAL AGE

1. Horse and carriage

1. Automobile
2. Preparation for
mobility, industry
3. Advanced literacy
4. Substantial books
and print materials
5. Knowledge is static

2. Preparation for
local jobs, farming
3. Basic literacy
4. Few books and
print materials
5. Knowledge is static

INFORMATION AGE

1. Internet
2. Preparation of
knowledge workers
3. Life-long learning
4. Digital texts/tools
5. Knowledge is
kinetic

21st Century
Knowledge
WHAT DOES
IT MEAN TO CREATE?
WHAT DEFINES ORIGINAL?

CONSTRUCT

Create
from raw
materials

REMIX
Rearrange
the
original

MASHUP
Fuse
disparate
elements

PROBLEM SOLVING
AND CREATIVITY

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?

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
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?

COMMUNICATION
How do you
and your
students
communicate
in the
classroom?

BEFORE

AFTER

 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.

Teacher Communication
VERBAL

Vary the speed & tone of your voice

Project your voice
Pause
Repeat, transition, and summarize

NONVERBAL
Maintain eye contact
Use movement and the entire room
Project excitement and energy

MULTIMEDIA

Purposeful use of board vs slides

Videos, images, animations, interactives
Audio clips
Artifacts
Handouts

Continuum of Student Communication

Teachers use questions, prompts, and cues- to help students complete

tasks.
Students ask questionsof the teacher and peersto clarify
Guided understanding, provide feedback to a partner, and reflect on learning.
Instruction
Instruction Students work independently on tasks but use talk to support task
Independent
ndependent mastery.

Tasks

Students work together with teacher monitoring.

Students discuss tasks or ideas and question one another, negotiate meaning,
Collaborative
Collaborative clarify their own understanding, and make their ideas comprehensible to their
partners. Students practice use of academic language.
Tasks
Tasks
Adapted from Why Talk is Important in Classrooms

STUDENT TALK INCREASES

Teachers model behaviors, skills, and strategies.

Teachers use questions to activate students' background knowledge.
Teachers model through think/read alouds, shared readings, lectures,
Teacher etc.
Modeling After modeling, students reflect on learning through independent writing
or sharing.

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 others products grade on the
critique itself

COMMUNICATION
How do you and
your students
communicate in the
classroom?

BEFORE

AFTER
How will you
increase the
amount of student
talk in your
classroom?

LEARNING
What 21st
century skills
can be taught
through your
subject?

BEFORE

AFTER

 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.

21st Century Skills

Creativity and Innovation
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Communication and Collaboration

NOTE: Not all

students are
digital
natives, and
all need to
develop their
"academic"
digital skills.

Flexibility and Adaptability

Initiative and Self-Direction
Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
Productivity and Accountability
Leadership and Responsibility

Information Literacy
Media Literacy
ICT Literacy

Partnership f
or 21st Centu
ry Skills

Global Awareness
Financial, Economic, Business Literacy
Civic Literacy
Health Literacy
Environmental Literacy

Where
students
these
things
in your course?
Where
aredothe
4 Csdoin
your
teaching?

What could you add to help your students do more?

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

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

LEARNING
What 21st
century skills
can be taught
through your
subject?

BEFORE

AFTER
How will you
help students
acquire these
skills?

ASSESSMENT
How do
you you
assess
student
learning?

BEFORE

AFTER

 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.

Assessment should INFORM

Ensure a GREAT Product

Assignment Rubric
or Scoring Guide
Assignment

Directions

Assignment
Example

- detailed information about

how the assignment will be
evaluated

- example of previous
student work

- general information on what

the assignment includes

Assignment

Checklist

- list students
can use to
check off
completed
items and
identify what
remains to be
done

Assessment is FORMATIVE and SUMMATIVE

Assessment should be ALIGNED

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)

ASSESSMENT
How do you
assess student
learning?

BEFORE

AFTER
How will you
use assessment
to increase
student
success?

MILIEU
What three
words best
describe your
classroom
learning
evnironment
and culture?

BEFORE

AFTER

 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.

The 21st Century Classroom is INNOVATIVE

21st Century Teaching - INNOVATIVE

Learning should be more convenient and
accessible.
Learning should be personalized.

TRADITIONA
L ONLINE
BLENDED
FLIPPED

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.

Your
classroom
layout
makes a
big
difference!

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.

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.

21st Century Teaching - GREEN

Classroom milieu
should reflect and
promote social and
ecological
responsibility.

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

MILIEU
What three words
best describe your
classroom learning
environment and
culture?

BEFORE

AFTER
How will you make
your classroom
milieu more
innovative,
ubiquitous and
digital?

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?

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, 010108-1..

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 http://www.p21.org/overview.

Pew Research Center (2010). Millenials: A Portrait of Generation Next. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from

http://www.pewresearch.org/millennials.
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.