My Webquest: Preparing Students for the Future

Through my webquest, students will be better prepared to shape the world of tomorrow. Looking at the values for students in 2025, as outlined by the “Schools and Culture in the Future” course, my webquest encourages students to be responsible, logical, resourceful, and ethical.  Focusing on the U.S legal system, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the Supreme Court and their rights as students. Throughout the process of the webquest, students will extensively employ their collaborative and analytical skills in order to evaluate Supreme Court cases, as well as issues in their daily lives. Acting as law firms and creating their own law suit, students will exercise their “ethical” and “creating” minds, outlined by Gardner in 5 Minds for the Future. Through the usage of wikis, Google docs, and interactive websites, students will gain invaluable experience using technological mediums to practice critical-thinking and interpersonal skills. The development of the skills and content exemplified in this webquest are crucial to preparing productive and successful citizens in 2025 and beyond.  

My webquest enables students to thoroughly evaluate the idea of social justice, specifically the rights and responsibilities of students in the school system. Students will analyze how their rights have changed throughout modern U.S history. After assessing the status quo of students’ rights related to technology, students will attempt to resolve social injustices through the creation of a lawsuit (including both written and oral arguments).  When creating persuasive legal arguments, students must be resourceful, logical, and ethical (all of which are values expressed in our class vision statement).

Lastly, my webquest relates directly to NCSS principles 8 and 9. In analyzing student technological rights in school and creating a lawsuit to advance these rights, this webquest aligns directly with principle 8. 

“NCSS 8: The webquest requires students to think analytically about the consequences of change and how we can manage science and technology to increase benefits to all. Students will gain the knowledge to analyze issues such as the protection of privacy in the age of the Internet”

Through analyzing Supreme Court decisions and current affairs, and creating their own Supreme Court lawsuit, students gain a better understanding of the complex legal system, as well as state and federal government policies.

NCSS 9: The webquest task requires students to think systematically about personal, national, and global decisions, and to analyze policies and actions, and their consequences. Students also develop skills in addressing and evaluating critical issues such as peace, conflict, poverty, disease, human rights, trade, or global ecology.

Reconceptualization of Schools for 2025

In creating effective public schools for year 2025, we must have our communities, businesses, and leaders realize that education is paramount. As George Lucas eloquently stated, "education is the single most important job that the human race has". The focus of public secondary schooling as we have defined in our vision statement is to "foster independent thinkers who are ambitious and innovative". The best way to insure that this aim is reached successfully is through recruiting, preparing, and retaining the best teachers. Research has shown the United States is lagging behind many developed nations in Europe and Asia, such as Japan, Finland, and South Korea (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/26/world/main530872.shtml). This gap continues to widen as the United States systems delves into mediocrity. Attracting, developing, and rewarding great teachers is common practice for these high-achieving nations. In Korea teachers with 15 years of experience make 221 percent of the country's GDP per capita, while teachers in the U.S are in the middle of the scale around 96 percent of the country's GDP per capita http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/teacher-pay-around-the-world/ .

We must make education a funding priority rather than putting it on the backburner. Providing higher compensation will attract high quality students into the teaching profession. With better teachers in the classroom, students will be challenged to think innovatively and their talents and abilities will flourish.

The structure of educational system will be integrated throughout students’ lives and will continue on throughout their lifespan. Education will no longer be viewed as a separate sphere from other activities of life but will be synthesized into one sphere of constant learning and development. As Gardner has argued in 5 Minds for the Future, "the burden of education must be shared by parents, neighbors, the traditional and digital media, the church, and other communal institutions"(165). The schools will utilize the opportunities created by technology for students to access information, engage content, and construct their own perspectives. The implementation of blended (online/classroom) classes will allow for students to have more choice in their educational path, and will also enable high achievers to advance expeditiously or pursue more rigorous course loads. 

With regard to the types of student our schools will be servicing, we will have a massive student population that is extremely diverse. In Oakes piece, Teaching to Change the World, she explains that "with increases of about 5 percent expected  every year projections are that schools will be teaching 50 million children by 2014" (5). With growth rates continuing, this means that by 2025, the student body will move upwards to roughly 75 million. These students are an invaluable asset towards the human capital for our nation. We must treat their educational process with utmost care and diligence, so that we have innovative and productive workforce for the future.

The curriculum of 2025 will focus intensively on developing the synthesizing and disciplined minds as defined by Gardner (3). With students exposed to a plethora of information instantaneously due to technological advancements, students will need to have the skills to understand and make use of these wonderful resources. Curriculum in the future must focus on depth rather than the breadth commonly focused on in today's standardized obsessed environment. As George Lucas' Foundation "10 Big Ideas for Better Classrooms Striving to Improve Public Education" highlights that integrated studies, such as cross-curricular projects give learning meaning for students and promote success. It is also crucial that assessments are not simple multiple choice examinations. As Howard Gardner explains in the aforementioned video, "Once you leave the world of testing you have to think for yourself". The schools must prepare these students with higher order thinking tasks, which prepare them for the challenges they will face when entering the working world. Standardized test will still be prevalent as a means of accountability, but courses will no longer be test-centered but rather project-centered. Essential content knowledge will be learned through higher-order thinking tasks, group projects, and independent research. 

Lastly, the pedagogical framework will move towards greater accountability, increased training, and higher qualifications for teachers. A master's degree in education will be mandatory, as higher pay will mandate higher qualified and well-trained employees. Accountability measures will drastically increase as teachers will be exposed to observations by peers, administrators, and third-party pedagogically professionals (i.e. a teacher accreditation board). These evaluations will provide constructive feedback for the teachers, prevent teachers from growing complacent, and would help rid unproductive educators from the school system. With increased funds teachers would be required to enroll in three courses biennially (one course in technology, one course in content, and one course in pedagogy). More training would provide teachers with the skills and methods to stay ahead of the curve and lead our students to success.

As a teacher for the future, I hope that we can make these positive changes happen for our school system. Not only will these changes help to close the achievement gap, but they will ensure student success and foster productive citizens for the future.

Synthesis #2 The Role of Schooling in 2025

a)      What will be the role/ responsibility of schooling in 2025?

In 2025, the role and responsibility of schooling will be to prepare students to be productive and innovative citizens who are able to function effectively in an increasingly globalized environment. As Howard Gardner highlights the insight of Winston Churchill who predicted, “The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind” (p. 11), our nation must invest in developing the minds of the future. As we have learned in this course, other powerful nations such as China, have already taken significant steps in fostering creative and innovative thinkers in the future.  Although this may mean incurring debt in the present time, the return on this investment in education will be exponential. By fostering innovation, China has sent itself up for global economic dominance. Without investing in education, which fosters these future minds, our nation will fail to thrive as a global leader.

Fostering these creative and innovative minds will be one of the chief goals of schooling in 2025. Given the rise of technology, students will have access to more information at their fingertips than any time in history. Developing this synthesizing mind, as defined by Gardner, requires that a student “understands and evaluates information objectively, and puts it together that ways that make sense to the synthesizer and to others” (p.3). If students are unable to manipulate this vast wave of information in an effective manner, we will be wasting this wonderful golden opportunity presented to us by technological advancements. Fostering creative and innovative thinking, does not mean simply requiring students to “think out of the box”. Schools must provide students with the learning experiences and the technological tools which allow for students to approach problems with new perspectives. The rise of technology, has resulted in computers and robots challenging the human brain in terms of functionality and effectiveness. In this battle of “Man v. Machine”, Gardner postulates that focusing on the creative mind allows for humans, “to remain at least one step ahead of even the most sophisticated computers and robots” (p.3).

The second aim of schooling in 2025 will be to prepare students to function responsibly and effectively on a global scale. Through advancements in technology and communication, we are constantly interconnected with people from around the globe. Functioning in isolation is no longer an option. Schools will need to engage in productive discourse with others from around the world, in order to adequately prepare students for their futures and to encourage deeper understanding of theories and concepts. Within this global aim, it is important that schools encourage the development of the ethical and respectful minds.

Gardner defines the ethical mind as one that “ponders the nature of one’s work and the needs and desires of the society in which one lives” (p.3). Student need to understand that they live in a complex, interconnected environment with many problems. Schools must be able to prepare students to evaluate and prioritize the plethora of issues affecting society.  The respectful mind is one that “notes and welcomes differences  between human individuals and between human groups, tries to understand these ‘others’, and seeks to work effectively with them” (p. 3). Advancements in transportation and communications have created an environment where students are constantly engaged with others from around the globe. In order for this interaction to be productive, students must understand the varying perspectives they encounter.

b) What rigorous/authentic learning experiences can teachers employ to engage students in learning (especially those that might otherwise be left out)?

In order to fulfill the responsibilities outline in the prior question, teachers will need to implore a constructivist approach. This approach fosters student creativity, innovation, and synthesis by allowing students multiple options to access knowledge and solve problems. Teachers must utilize and expose students to a variety of technologies to keep students engaged and prepared for a successful future. As Gardner argues, “the ability to survey huge bodies of information –print and electronic – and to organize that information in useful ways looms more important than ever” (p.11).  Teachers must teach students these important skills on how to responsibly discern information. Providing students with explicit instruction and strategies of how to properly synthesize information will be critical to student success (Gardner, 69).

Fostering respectful and ethical minds will require teachers to employ various service-learning and experiential learning projects. Through these activities, students will better understand the problems of the world around them. Students will also be exposed to new perspectives and will utilize inter-disciplinary analysis to create practical solutions.

Lastly, teachers cannot be forced into the once  common practice, of the “cookie-cutter” solution, where each student uses the same means to find a solution. Using the constructivist framework, teachers need to encourage students to develop their creative mind by coming up with innovative ways for solving problems. Students will utilize the plethora of information and technology available to them to find creative solutions. In developing their creative minds, teachers need to employ experiences for students, “where they stand a reasonable chance of success; they should practice giving and receiving criticism that is constructive; they should learn which criticisms are worth attending to and which are better ignored” (p. 87-88). With information and problems constantly evolving, teachers will need for students to utilize criticism effectively to perfect their solutions.

Synthesis # 1: The Role of Content Knowledge in 2025

The role of content knowledge for students in 2025 will be to make direct connections with the information using global perspective. The current educational trends centered on data and test results will still be prevalent.  Although I believe some standardized testing will still be utilized to evaluate student mastery of content knowledge, I postulate that a much stronger emphasis will be placed on utilizing the content knowledge to foster students’ higher level thinking skills. Student mastery of content knowledge will serve as foundation for students to develop a deeper understanding of their role as global citizens.  Students utilize this baseline content knowledge to make connections between historical events and problems that they face in the modern day.  With the rise of technology and information-sharing, the world has become a much smaller place where people around the globe can be connected constantly and instantaneously.  With the students of 2025 having significant interaction to a variety of perspectives in their ever-evolving world it is critically important that they have solid understanding of the content knowledge to participate responsibly in this discourse.

Due to increased accessibility to technology, students will utilize a variety of new mediums to acquire information, master content knowledge, and develop analytical skills. The current trends to be eco-friendly and fiscally responsible will extend to the classroom, as students will operate in paperless schools. The use of a hard copy textbook will become virtually non-existent, as students will accomplish the majority of their assignments digitally, via an iPad or other web-based device.  With every student having access to the web, teachers will utilize a variety of online resources such as blogs, websites, and social networks to disseminate information to their students.  With the goal of our educational system to develop productive citizens who think innovatively, students will access exponentially more information than any students in history.

It will be critically important that students master a variety of technology skills in order to be productive students in 2025. Students’ ability to navigate the web and to be able to operate using social networks will be paramount in order for them to be effective in this “paperless” environment. Students will need to develop strong analytical skills so that they can evaluate the validity and relevance of the plethora of information at their finger tips.  Lastly it will be necessary that students be self-motivated and work collaboratively. Trends are moving towards distance learning and telecommuting, and students will need to be able to work diligently and efficiently without being under the watchful eye of the instructor, as they would be in a brick and mortar school.

As an educator, it will be crucial that I stay well-versed in new technologies as well as content knowledge to prevent from being swept away by this wave of innovation.  An addition to mastering content and pedagogy, I will need master technology and have frequent exposure and training in new technology mediums be effective. Within this framework I will need to be able to develop web-based content and navigate social networks with ease.

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

Is this the Greatest History Video of All Time?

Excited for a Great Semester!