Transcript Leading in CONTEXT

Leading in CONTEXT ...
Looking at politics and progress in the
world of mathematics education
Cathy Seeley
Charles A. Dana Center
University of Texas
January 20, 2010 (2nd Cohort; Session 2)
Today’s World
•
Shrinking, connecting, flattening*
•
Panic/Participation
•
Every person can have a chance,
probably for a future we can’t see.
Profile of Successful Workers
• Top academic performance
• Creative and innovative
• Able to learn very quickly
skillscommission.org/executive.htm
How to Build a
st
21
Century Student
• “This is a story about the big public conversation the
nation is not having about education, the one that will
ultimately determine not merely whether some fraction
of our children get "left behind" but also whether an
entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in
the global economy because they can't think their
way through abstract problems, work in teams,
distinguish good information from bad or speak a
language other than English.”
TIME, Dec. 18, 2006
“The U.S. has 3 million jobs going
begging.”
• “People thrown out of shrinking sectors such
as construction, finance, and retail lack the
skills and training for openings in growing
fields including education, accounting, health
care, and government.”
Business Week, May 11, 2009
Two goals
• More workers in math- and science-based fields
(STEM)
• Every student quantitatively and scientifically literate
and able to reason, think, and solve problems to much
more sophisticated levels than in the past
Copyright Cathy Seeley 2009
Partnership for 21st Century
Skills
www.21stcenturyskills.org
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
www.21stcenturyskills.org
•Core
subjects
•21st-century
themes
-Global
Awareness; Civic Literacy; Health Literacy; Financial,
Economic, Business, Entrepreneurial Literacy
•
Learning and innovation skills
-
Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking,
Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration
•
Information, Media and Technology Skills
-
Information Literacy, Media Literacy, ICT Literacy
•
Life and Career Skills
-
Flexibility,Adaptability, Initiative, Self-Direction, Social/Cross-Cultural
Skills, Productivity, Accountability, Leadership and Responsibility
12/08
21st Century Skills?
• Jay Mathews:
•
“How are millions of students still struggling to acquire
th
19 -century skills in reading, writing and math supposed
to learn this stuff?”
Washington Post, January 5, 2009
21st Century Skills?
• “At its heart, say [E.D.] Hirsch and others, the
conflict is about what should happen in a school
day:
•
•
Do kids learn to think by reading great literature,
doing difficult math and learning history,
philosophy and science?
Or can they tackle those subjects on their own if
schools simply teach them to problem-solve,
communicate, use technology and think
creatively?”
USA Today, March 5, 2009
What would your
response be to Jay
Matthews and/or
E.D. Hirsch?
Responses to Jay Mathews...
• Maybe we need to get rid of some of our
19th-century expectations in mathematics,
especially for those students.
• Maybe we need to teach mathematics differently,
whichever century’s skills we want students to
learn.
• Maybe the 21st-century provides us with tools
(technological and teaching) to allow ALL
students to learn ALL the mathematics they need
to.
Responses to E.D. Hirsch...
•
Why are these the only two options?
•
Maybe kids can learn to think not BY reading great
literature or doing hard math, but WITH and
THROUGH and WHILE doing challenging, yet
engaging and relevant literature or math.
•
... with the guidance of a good teacher.
Cathy Seeley 2009
What’s going on and who’s doing
it?
• National Standards? (Common Core Standards)
• Current voices:
• U.S. Department of Education
• NCTM
• Achieve, Inc.
• Council of Chief State School Officers and
National Governor’s Association
• ACT
• The College Board
• Others?
What math do all students need?
•
The Big Three:
•
Understanding math (making sense of it)
•
Doing math (skills, facts, procedures)
•
Using math (thinking, reasoning, applying, solving a
range of problems)
•
The New Basic: deep transferable skills for versatilizing
•
The right math for options and a secure economic future
What are some reasons
why some students might
not achieve the level of
mathematics we want
them to?
(not discussed at session)
What tools do students
need?
• Computational tools (mental, paper, technology)
• Representational tools (paper, technology, other...)
• Collaboration tools (teamwork, communication*)
*oral/written; personal/technology; with and about
mathematics; working/presenting
• Lifelong learning tools (using information,
perseverance, learning to learn for life)
• Citizenship/Ethics tools (morality, integrity, equity,
responsibility, compassion, accepting diversity)
What tools do teachers need?
• Mathematical content knowledge and understanding
• A strong, diverse set of teaching strategies and
approaches:
•
effectively working with groups
•
focusing/connecting student learning
•
creating teacher-structured,
not teacher-centered learning
• Commitment to and belief in all students learning
high-quality mathematics
What are some reasons
why some teachers might
not achieve the level of
teaching we want them
to?
(not discussed at session)
What tools do leaders need?
• The ability to articulate and support a vision
• The courage to take risks and take a stand
• The insight to practice what we preach
• The willingness and commitment to keep on learning
• The wisdom to rely on your networks
• The habit of giving away credit
• The perseverance to keep on going
What tools do you want to
develop?
• The ability to articulate and support a vision
• The courage to take risks and take a stand
• The insight to practice what we preach
• The willingness and commitment to keep on learning
• The wisdom to rely on your networks
• The habit of giving away credit
• The perseverance to keep on going
E-mail:
[email protected]
Faster Isn’t Smarter--Messages About Math,
Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century
mathsolutions.com/fasterisntsmarter
Or Amazon.com
Websites:
http://cathyseeley.com
http://csinburkinafaso.com