How+is+this+different+from+current+educational+practices?

**//How is 21st century education at Westminster different?//**
The most obvious difference of 21st education is that it incorporates the realities of this century, which are profoundly different from those of the last century – even the late 20th century.

This makes sense, of course, when we think about the fact that the 1900s saw a shift from what was still a largely agriculture-based economy to an industrial economy, and then the beginning of the shift to the so-called “information” economy, which is increasingly made up of professional, technological and service sectors.

There are three major reality shifts that seem to create the most significant differences in 21st century education: 1. The deep permeation of digital technology into how we all work and live. 2. The increase in globalization – or more specifically the intensifying breakdown of economic, social and intellectual borders between nations. 3. An evolution of what skills are most valuable, driven by transformation of how work takes place and how jobs are defined.

So, in this context, the raw responses to the question of “How is 21st century education different?” can be synthesized into an emerging/draft set of differences that begin to frame Westminster’s approach to 21st century education.

1. The Westminster of the 21st century will adapt more flexibly to a rapidly changing and highly interconnected world.

2. Greater emphasis will be placed on “global literacy” – knowledge of the people, culture and religions of the world.

3. Curriculum would emphasize critical thinking, application of knowledge to solving novel/unfamiliar problems, collaboration, communication, and creativity and innovation.

4. Assessment will become more authentic, with more emphasis on application of knowledge (hypothesis/experiment/(in)validation or prototype/test/ refine), and less emphasis on reproduction of facts or solving standard problems.

5. Digital technology would be integrated in a way (accessible, always on, mobile) that makes school seamless to life.

6. As faculty refine their pedagogy, they will have the collective flexibility and resources to innovate.

7. Westminster families will have a common sense of the purpose of the school, enabling the administration and faculty to be student-centered.

8. The purpose of the school will move beyond the mid-20th-century framework of college preparation (acknowledging that college preparation is requisite) to a more meaningful purpose that acknowledges how Westminster has the opportunity to prepare academically gifted students to help reach their full significance in life.

__RAW VERSION__ Why 55 minute classes? Learning categories transcend university departmental organization It celebrates the process as much as it does the product – the failure as much as the success Competition extends beyond Buckhead, Atlanta, GA, U.S., Western Hemisphere Less structured/more “dangerous” Student-centered (21c) v. teacher-centered (20c) or parent-centered Authentic assessment (21c) v. traditional assessment (20c) Systems thinking (21c) v. Knowledge acquisition (20c) Should incorporate technological revolution (such as what we assign for summer reading shouldn’t be limited to classics but expanded to comics, blogs, news articles, cell phone novels…) Not all information is given – the lack of information is part of the learning Not “training” but inquiry About discovery of info, higher levels of thinking and deeper learning Education leaders have changed in the 21c School is real life, not just prep for real life – authentic doing/learning like “real life” outside of school Recognizes transformative nature of failure, rather than fearing and punishing it
 * //How is 21c Education Different?//**