I recently read Seven skills students desperately need. Today’s students could fail at life, says Harvard’s Tony Wagner, because their schools are too busy teaching to the test, by Meris Stansbury at eSchoolNews. This was an inspiring article, that I will ponder over the summer. I plan on using the 7 skills as a basis to think about as I develop engaging lessons.

I know that in today’s classroom, preparing for the state’s tests takes much effort and instruction time. We find ourselves trying to hit every possible topic that could be on the test, cramming new concepts and reviewing previous ones. It is hard to find time to really elaborate on a concept. Technology offers so many outlets to bring concepts to life. Community members are great sources of information that could support the topics discussed in class, relating learning to real life. But there is no time. We have a test to prepare our students for.

This article brought me back to reality. I will try to use the ideas form this article to try to avoid being sucked in to the demands of the state test. I will prepare my students to the best of my ability, but my primary focus will be to create critical thinkers who want to extend their learning, by presenting concepts in a way that offers opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and of course fun.

Here are some quotes that I found interesting from the article:

Wagner said he hears two things repeated constantly by today’s employers: “We need people who can ask good questions, and we need people who can engage others in thoughtful conversations.”

Wagner said the problem is that you can have all the equipment and technology you want, but “if you don’t teach kids how to think, how to think beyond multiple choice, you’ve got a problem.”

Wagner said teaching to the test not only limits students’ ability to think for themselves, but also discourages students from studying subjects they love.

Wagner presented a list of seven “survival skills” that students need to succeed in today’s information-age world, taken from his book The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need–And What We Can do About It.

1. Problem-solving and critical thinking;
2. Collaboration across networks and leading by influence;
3. Agility and adaptability;
4. Initiative and entrepreneurship;
5. Effective written and oral communication;
6. Accessing and analyzing information; and
7. Curiosity and imagination.

- Meris Stansbury, eSchool News

Technology offers many opportunities in teaching the seven skills. Here are a few that I will consider according to the numbered skill:

1. Open ended questions, essential questions, big ideas…
2. Wikis, SharePoint, cooperative learning, discussions, community member speakers…
3. Debates, presentations, open source software…
4. Teams, project based learning…
5. Reporting, newspapers, tweets, blogging, web sites…
6. Using search engines, learning search modifiers, library research…
7. Make school fun…

Useful links:

• http://www.schoolchange.org/
• http://www.setda.org/