Taylor Swift, Frat Guys and the 4-C's...oh my!

Taylor Swift, college frat boys and 21st century learning—this is one combination that I never dreamt of in my wildest dreams. However, the brothers of Beta Mu chapter of Delta Sigma Phi have convinced me that this trifecta is perfectly logical thanks to their epic lip sync cover of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”.

The video itself is an absolute riot to watch and I am confident that the brothers had a blast making it, but the frat house video that went viral is overflowing with evidence that the men of the Beta Mu chapter of Delta Sigma Phi are all well versed in the art of the 4-C’s, which you can read up on here thanks to the National Education Association.

Here is the rhyme and reason to my logic...

1.) Critical Thinking

Having lived in a fraternity house for four years, I know first-hand how difficult it is to schedule an event so that the majority of the membership can fit it between their other commitments. Whoever dared to consider even attempting to rally the guys together in order to make this video a reality is awfully confident and comfortable in the art of critical thinking. 

2.) Communication
The entire premise of the lip sync video is an ode to Ms. Swift, or at least if you apply the age old saying about mimicry, "Imitation is the highest form of flattery". Simply voicing their praise for "Shake It Off" through a tribute, the Delt Sigs exhibit a rudimentary understanding of effective communication. However, their decision to post the video on YouTube elevates their grasp of communication skills into the neighborhood bordering on mastery.

3.) Collaboration

There is not a single moment in the entire video where any number of the brothers are seen bickering with each other. The absence of any notable disagreements can serve to signify that the group as a whole is moderately well versed in collaborating, or working together as a team.

4.) Creativity

Lastly, who would have ever guessed that the men of Delta Sigma Phi would possess any desire whatsoever to produce a lip sync video to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off"? Yea, that's what I thought! These guys are flat out creative!!

All in all, this epically awesome lip sync goes to show that education does not always have to take place in a formal environment such as a classroom. Rather, it's more important to engage with, or provide, the material, skills, and/or lessons, in a meaningful and memorable way. If this criteria is met, then the results may rank somewhat close, but still a ways away, from the overall awesomeness of this ode to Taylor Swift.

Collaborative Pinterest Board...?

via

I finally gave into the whole Pinterest phenomena a few weeks back after having spent a number of years as a devoted Evernote user. Without going into too much detail, or offering too much praise, Pinterest is pretty darn awesome! First off, it's 100x more social than Evernote, so it is far easier to interact with others and see what my friends on Pinterest are sharing. On the same note, I decided to create a new board, which I titled "Teacher Tidbits", as a place to gather all sorts of "stuff" related to teaching and life in and out of the classroom. However, I quickly discovered that I could invite fellow pinners to not only follow my new board, but also join me in a collaborative effort by adding their findings to the board. While I may be a bit behind the Pinterest curve, this is an awesome feature that makes it crazy easy for 'younger' educators like myself to share classroom resources that we find interesting.

Follow Andrew Roche's board Teacher Tidbits on Pinterest.

Summer Camp & the 4-C's (Part 1)

More Than Just Fun & Games at Summer Camp

Today’s world is more complex than ever and it is full of challenges that require a new skill set in order to achieve success. This skill set, which is often collectively known as the 4-C’s, consists of achieving mastery in the art of efficient communication, cohesive collaboration, precise critical thinking, and genuine creativity. These skills are an essential component that students need to possess in order to achieve success in the competitive world in which we live. However, it is challenging to present or master the 4-C’s effectively in a traditional academic setting.

The 4-C’s: The Keys to Success in the 21st Century

1. Communication—Students communicate effectively both face-to-face. They are able to organize their thoughts and findings, and share these effectively. They communicate well both orally and in writing.
2. Collaboration—Students work effectively and respectfully with diverse groups to solve problems and accomplish a common goal. They assume shared responsibility for completing tasks. Team efforts are “greater than the sum of their parts”; individuals working alone could do student teams accomplish better results than.
3. Critical Thinking—Students are able to analyze, evaluate, and understand complex systems; investigate questions for which there are no clear-cut answers; evaluate different points of view or sources of information; draw appropriate conclusions based on evidence and reasoning; and apply strategies to solve problems.
4. Creativity—Students generate and improve on original ideas and also work creatively with others. They are able to generate and refine solutions to complex problems or tasks based on synthesis, analysis, and then combine or present what they have learned in new and original ways.

One of the major goals today for educators everywhere is to prepare their students for the “real world,” so that students can not only compete, but are also capable of thriving. There are a number of innovative methods available to teachers for use in the classroom, such as Project Based Learning (PBL) and authentic assessment, both of which aim to develop a meaningful environment that promotes the development and mastery of the 4-C’s. While these techniques excel in preparing students for success outside the classroom, there is a major flaw present in many classrooms. Teachers have a limited amount of control over whether their students find the lessons interesting.

Regardless of subject or grade level, it is vital that teachers succeed in capturing and maintaining their student’s attention and interest. One of the main sources of the problem at hand is that the majority of lessons typically occur in formal academic settings—such as classrooms or lecture halls—and the lessons become less meaningful due to the student’s perception of the unappealing nature of the environment in which they learn. Since it is clearly necessary for students to gain meaningful experience in working with the 4-C’s, it is essential to present these skills in a way that both welcoming and entertaining in a sense.

Continue on to Part 2 of "Summer Camp & the 4-C's"

21st Century Skills: Socrates' Legacy

When technology pairs up with Socratic inquiry, students have an opportunity to start a purposeful conversation—with the world.

The presence of personal electronic devices was a rare occurrence in the classroom a few years ago, but now it is difficult to find a classroom where there are not personal electronic devices. Students of all ages today are familiar with these digital information cornucopias and many schools have gone so far as to adopt BYOD policies. These 21st Century devices, specifically laptops and tablets, have become common sights in the classroom and are capable of causing changes that compare to the likes of Guttenberg’s printing press. As with Guttenberg’s press, laptops and tablets provide the average person with access to immense amounts of information and allows for learning to occur on multiple levels.

While the academic and social benefits that stem from democratized access to the mass amounts of digital information in the virtual world, they are by no means free. Unlike books, which field experts typically review for accuracy and overall quality, the digital realm of information is essentially unmonitored and full of disorganized and fragmented information. Furthermore, any notion of interpersonal interaction is void and null since people can access virtual information anywhere and anytime, which only supports the growth of the sense of individualism that is consuming our culture. This magnified sense of individualism may conjure images of a desolate, dark, future where the Greek polis crumbles, causing its citizens to return to the hills. However, there is hope, so fear not.

This process requires literacy, a personal and communal discipline that appears to be in decline...fewer of us are reading books, more of us are surfing the Web

The Issue at Hand
The central issue that we face is that our society is not prepared to handle the complex and diverse world that we about to enter. In order to survive in this more fast paced world, we need to alter how we think and upgrade our brains so they are more fluid, flexible, focused, and innovative. Four major skills will play a key role in this neurological upgrade, and it is vital that educators adopt and weave the essence of these skills into the everyday curriculum so that students attain some degree of mastery in the skills that are vital to their survival in the 21st century. The four essential skills to achieving success in the 21st century are Critical Reflection, Empirical Reasoning, Collective Intelligence,Metacognition.

The 4 Big Skills

1. Critical Reflection is a process that allows people to see the world from multiple viewpoints and consider alternative outcomes while problem solving. Cookson warns that it is vital that we learn to “distinguish fact from factoid” as we enter into the age of electronic learning due to the vast amounts of data and information that we have available at our fingertips. 
2. Empirical Reasoning relies on the use of testable hypotheses using observable data. This method is more reliable than widely accepted supernatural explanations for phenomena that are unexplained. The practice of Empirical Reasoning is a form of social responsibility, thus it important that people hold each other accountable to stick with the facts and avoid falling back upon the whimsical notions rooted in supernatural beliefs. 
3. Collective Intelligence speaks to the idea that it is of great value that we not only recognize, but also accept that all humans are capable of intellectual thought. As a global culture, we need to step away from the idea that education is a personal matter and embrace the potential that lies within the global network of minds and the ability that each individual has to contribute to the overall betterment of the global community. 
4. Metacognition—or the act of thinking about thinking—is of great importance because we need to assess the general quality of our ability to think, rather than focus on whether or not students can memorize material. If we learn to critique our ability to think and process information, we will without question become more efficient thinkers who are also well versed in the art of problem solving.

21st Century Libraries
In order to fully buy into and accept the 21st century mind, we will need a way share every tidbit of information that we have so that everyone can access it via their portable devices. Cookson believes that a new electronic learning environment will replace the “linear, text-bound culture of conventional schools.” Trends in the classroom show that this is 100% true so far. Knowledge is no longer a fixed value as it was during the age of print. Rather, knowledge has become more “fluid, fast, and far more democratic” due to the rise of the electronic learning age. Instead of the dusty libraries that we are accustomed to today, we need virtual libraries that “host genuine knowledge and enable learners of all ages to interact with each other in knowledge creation”—this is evident in the absurd popular approval and use of Wikipedia.

One of the major differences between the print and electronic learning age is the extent of the user ability to interact with the information and other users. Print information was mostly about the user-information interactions and user-to-user conversation was a distant after-thought. This is a stark contrast to learning in the 21st century because the learning focus shifts almost entirely from the user-information interactions to user-to-user conversations. Again, it is important to note that the majority of information in our new virtual libraries does not undergo the same peer review scrutiny as information in print form, but at the same time anyone can review, challenge, support, or argue the information in theory.

Socrates believed that learning came from within and that the best and most lasting way to bring latent knowledge to awareness was through the process of continual questioning and unconventional inquiry. For Socrates, answers were always steps on the way to deeper questions.

So What Now?
The four essential skills and the advancements in education–related technology may seem disconnected, but the connection is actually quite simple. Peter Cookson reminds us about what Socrates had to say about education—“Socrates believed that learning came from within and that the best and most lasting way to bring latent knowledge to awareness was through the process of continual questioning and unconventional inquiry. For Socrates, answers were always steps on the way to deeper questions.” This understanding of effective learning through the process of seemingly endless questions and quirky inquiry goes hand-in-hand with the development of the virtual libraries and instant communication because individuals can ask questions to the entire world and have a plethora of response in a matter of minutes potentially. This may not seem like a big deal, but imagine a 3rd grade class in Boston conversing with a 3rd grade class in Moscow via Skype in real time…this is global learning at its finest. While Socrates may find the technology a bit frightening at first, I am sure that he would approve of what these mind-blowing devices and endless virtual libraries allow for in the realm of academia.

References

Cookson, Peter W. "What Would Socrates Say." Educational Leadership September 2009.