The Role of Leaders in 21st Century Education

Notes from session at SXSWedu
Presenter: Ken Kay, CEO, EdLeaders21
http://schedule.sxswedu.com/events/event_EDUP7589

My 21st Century Education Journey

About Ken Kay:

·         Helped develop STaR Chart

·         Started Partnership for 21st Century Skills

·         Formed EdLeader 21 – a PLC for leaders – http://p21.org/

Is there an education model for a world that doesn't exist?

·         Students will have 10.4 jobs by age 42.

The 4Cs Educational Outcomes

·         Critical Thinking

·         Communication

·         Collaboration

·         Creativity

Many schools are customizing their own 4Cs

Which student would you choose? Who would you hire?
Who do you want on your leadership team?

Student A Math Science English Social Studies

Student B Critical Thinker Effective Communicator Effective Collaborator Creative and innovative

The skills of Student B are survival skills needed for today's world.
Years ago, the skills of Student A were adequate but today they are not

What did the pedagogy look like?

·         Lecture, memorize and recite

What does it look like now?

·         More hands on; google strategy model

·         How many teachers can teach to this pedagogy?

Additional Student Qualities:

·         Tech Literacy

·         Self Direction

·         Global Competency

Example: Catalina Foothills School District

·         They created collaborative teams to match state standards with 21st century outcomes

·         They integrated with them with each other

Will districts be given the support to use the state standards as a platform for innovation?

What are the building blocks of 21st century education?

Employers want people who are creative and innovative.

Will the Student B model be extinct in 20 years – Ken Kay doesn’t think so.

7 Steps to Education (is this the answer?):
 

1.   Adopt your vision

2.   Create a community consensus

3.   Align your system

4.   Build professional capacity

5.   Focus on your curriculum and assessment

6.   Support your teachers

7.   Improve and innovate

The test is not whether you do them (the 4Cs) - it is whether you are committed to improve them - dedicated to improve your performance.

3 key building blocks to 21st century learning:

1.   Leadership

2.   Assessment

3.   Culture of laser like focus
- Focus on Pedagogy
- Focus on Collaboration

Examples:

·         Upper Arlington Schools - http://www.uaschools.org

·         Virginia Beach City Public Schools - http://www.vbschools.com

How do you get to that starting point to have that conversation?

A problem - We don't get our stakeholders to agree or come to the same vision

We have to have accountability/assessment

·         Rubrics are a good way to assess

Examples:

·         http://cae.org - look for CWRA

·         High Tech High - San Diego - They developed a protocol

What can education leaders do?

1.   Focus in21st cent outcomes

2.   Create culture of collaboration

3.   Use standards as a platform for innovation

4.   Fight for policies that allow us to innovate

5.   Consider joining edleaders21