I recently received the September issue of Educational Leadership (ASCD). I had one of those “Twilight Zone “ moments when I discovered that the theme of the issue was “Teaching for the 21st Century“. Sooooo…….a brief discussion of the September issue highlights seemed an appropriate follow-up to my last blog entry.
Although the journal offered a range of articles focused on various aspects of 21st Century learning and teaching (click on picture on right for article listing), the one that caught my immediate attention was entitled “Focusing the Digital Brain” by Marilee Sprenger. Sprenger maintains that the main goal behind the technological hyper connectivity that has become a hallmark of the new digital generation of young people is driven by a need to be connected to someone or something and fueled by a desire to be “busy and in demand” (p35). This hyper connectedness too often leads to a state of what Linda Stone calls “continuous partial attention.”
I would guess that the majority of classroom teachers can relate to this state of consciousness on the part of their students. Teachers often experience waves of frustration due to this state of “partial attention.” Some of us may even refer to it as a state of “partial consciousness” on the part of students in response to our seemingly efforts to facilitate learning in a diverse classroom.
“If you are 30 or older and fall into the digital immigrant category,you are probably trying to keep up with your students from a technology point of view. Your brain must change too. But you don’t have to be tech savvy to guide your students toward a healthy balance between always being connected through technology and connecting with real people.” (pp36-37)Among the 7 strategies that Sprengler lists to help create this balance are:
(1) Provide Reflection Time: Reflection requires a different part of the brain than that stimulated (and often overworked) to garner attention. Reflection time allows students to slow down, fully engage the frontal portions of their brains and think about their thinking. Reflection also triggers a mental recap of the information being received, thus reinforcing the information into memory banks.
(2) Let Them Teach: Encouraging students to share the xpertise that they may possess in technological creations, manipulations and/or communications allows examination and discussion focused on the use of technological tools (blogging, wikis, media editing, etc.) for 21st century learning. In addition, these teaching experiences serve to validate students as active participants in the learning process.
(3) Build Emotional Literacy: Allowing student opportunities for face-to-face collaboration and interaction aids in the development of a sense of self-awareness as well as social awareness within student groups.
The information shared in September’s EL reinforced my belief that the most essential and effective instructional strategy for the 21st century is relationship-building. While the “digital brain” is motivated by connectivity, 21st centuryinformation and social-networking technologies sidestep the need for face-to-face human interaction that is hard-wired into the human brain. Only through collaborative interaction with teachers and peers can students develop the sense of self and social awareness required to mediate and control the technology explosion taking place around them. The role of the 21st century educator is to provide opportunities for the development of emotional literacy through interactive teaching and learning. Collaborative and cooperative interactions promoting shared responsibility for learning between teachers and students are essential to strengthening each individual’s emotional quotient (EQ) and providing the balance with IQ necessary for success in today’s global community.
What do you think? Leave a comment or ask a question. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
