As noted by Dr. Rodgers et al, the 21st Century learner has many educational traits that older educators may not be familiar or comfortable with. Today's learners are digitally literate, mobile, always on, experiential and social. Other traits of the 21st Century Learner include:
- hypertext minds
- crave interactivity
- read visual images easily
- have strong visual-spatial skills
- prefer inquiry/ discovery
- enjoy finding and making new connections
- look for faster response times and feedback- "Ring a bell and I'll salivate, how'd you like that?" (thank you Barenaked Ladies for giving props to Ivan Pavlov and making Classical Conditioning fun again)
- Unfortunately, this response time might also be leading to shorter attention spans, but we'll move on...
As I always have my students ask, "So what?"
Well, consider this:
- the future of our students is full of unknowns
- it is likely that many of our students will work in jobs not yet invented
- what do our students need to learn and do in order to prepare for their future?
Hmmm... driving you to think?
At this point, you might also be asking: "What does this have to do with gifted education?" Good question. Check out Learners 2.0 (Pt. 2) for more.
Rodgers, Dr. Michael. (2006). The 21st Century Learner. Retrieved from http://depd.wisc.edu/series/06_4168.pdf
For other ideas that will drive you to think, visit Jana's blog: http://drivingmetohink.blogspot.ca/
ReplyDeleteHey Aaron... thanks for the shout out!
DeleteI am really enjoying your thinking and investigations when it comes to gifted learners.
It truly reinforces for me the need to meet all students where they are so that their journey is meaningful and rewarding. Teaching becomes more and more complex every day. Best part of the profession I think as it drives us to think;)
Yup. Driving me to think! Nice cross-posting to Jana's site.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed going through this list of characteristics of learners today. I've got to tell you, I'm suspicious that the evidence behind each characteristic is up for grabs (the Rodgers, Runyan, et. al piece has almost no references to research studies). Many of the writers who outline learner characteristics are working from some observation and opinion, rather than carefully documented research. There's a lot of research begging to be done (thesis?). But that aside, the list is interesting and it is consistent with what I'm hearing from lots of educators...the anecdotal evidence is mounting. The one thing that nags at me about whether students today are digitally literate is that I think a large number of kids are skilled at operating technology to accomplish a particular range of tasks, but they aren't as literate in the sense of being able to use technology on their own to learn effectively. We have a big job ahead of us as educators to help our students become intelligent consumers and creators when they use technology.
I really like this little video from Mike Wesch. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, I recommend it -- great guy. Remind me to tell you a little story about how he manages his work/home time. Very impressive. My favourite line in this video is "And we're just getting started". Indeed we are, and it's a great time to be a teacher!
Hmmm...that would be a great thesis! I also question the research and lack of data.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the "literacy" concern. The article speaks about the consumption of visuals, but doesn't deal with their creation- which is huge. I actually found that the grade 5s I had last year were not as tech savvy as this article suggests; hence the role of the educator in the 21st century.
The wondeful thing about this generation, especially with the gifted learner, is that many programs and technology pieces can be learned quickly, and are rather intuitive.
Lots to consider in subsequent posts. Thanks.