An instructional development framework for developing 21st Century skills in the University

My colleague, Diane Crosley, an instructor in Natural Sciences at Spring Arbor University, and I gave a presentation at the Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching and Learning in Traverse City, MI last October (2015) entitled, "Bridging the skills gap: Preparing Higher Education students for the 21st century workplace."

It has been a while since our presentation, and I am currently working on a follow up presentation for the International Lilly Conference in June (Helping student to create knowledge networks for current and future success).  My presentation in June is the outcome of discussions we had in our October session.  So I thought it might be the right time to share what some of the highlights/discussion questions were for our October presentation.

This presentation came out of the discussion Diane and I had about teaching, the needs of our students, and conversations we had with our colleagues on how to teach these skills.  We both come from different disciplines (she was a high school science teacher and currently teaches at the college level most natural sciences including biology, environmental science, geology, and botany; I did training in the workplace before teaching business, communication, global studies, foreign language, and education at the college level).  However, we discovered the same gap between high school students and employer expectations.  The planning framework came out of the universals we identified in giving students the skills expected from employers, students, policy makers, educators, and society in general.

The Presentation: 

Abstract:  Many experts the workplace have identified a lack of skills by new college graduates needed for the 21^st century workplace.  These skills include self-regulated learning, communication, networking, critical thinking, analysis (data, numeric, and content) and problem solving.  This presentation will present a framework that can be used to create and analyze activities that will develop these soft skills.  The framework, based on a variety of learning theories and subjects (Social Sciences, Humanities, Business, and STEM), includes identifying student soft skills, identifying the instructor’s role (and changes needed by the instructor),  and situational learning strategies to meet the student/workplace gap.

Many experts in industry and the workplace have identified a lack of skills by new college graduates needed for the 21^st century workplace.  These skills include written and oral communication (Bersin, Agarwal, Pelster, and Schwartz, 2015; Chronicle of Higher Education, 2015; Hart Research Associates, 2015; Weiner, 2014); lifelong learning skills (Bersin et al, Chronicle of Higher Education 2015); creating knowledge networks (Hart Research Associates; Weiner), problem solving and analytical skills (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2012; Hart Research Associations, Hilborn and Friedlander, 2013); Rhetorical reasoning and critical reading (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2015); applying theory to practice (Hart Research Associates; Hilborn and Friedlander;  Weiner); community building and engagement (Bersin et al.); and mathematical reasoning (Hilborn and Friedlander).

                

These skills can be further broken down into the following skill sets: self-regulated learning, communication, networking, critical thinking, analysis (data, numeric, and content) and problem solving.  While the common core curriculum was designed to address this gap between the academic and workplace skill development, the implementation of K-12 curriculum has focused on assessment and standardized teaching rather than development of the of workplace “soft-skills”. This presentation will present a framework that can be used to create and analyze activities that will develop these soft skills.  The framework, based on analysis of activities using a variety of learning theories and subjects (Social Sciences, Humanities, Business, and STEM), includes identifying student soft skills, identifying the instructor’s role (and changes needed by the instructor),  and situational learning strategies to meet the student/workplace gap.

References: 

Bersin, J., Agarwal, D., Pelster, B., Schwartz, J. (2015). Global Human Capital Trends 2015: Leading in the new world of work.  Deloitte University Press: DUPress.com

Chronicle of Higher Education (2015). Special Report: The Employment Mismatch.  Chronicle.com, May 22.

Chronicle of Higher Education (2012). The Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer Perceptions.  Retrieved May, 2015 from https://chronicle.com/items/biz/pdf/Employers%20Survey.pdf

Hart Research Associates (2015).  Optimistic About the Future, But How Well Prepared? College Students’ Views on College Learning and Career Success.  Prepared for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, April 29, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015 from http://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2015StudentSurveyReport.pdf 

Hilborn, R. & Friedlander, M.  (2013) Biology and Physics Competencies for Pre-Health and Other Life Sciences Students.  CBE Life Science Education, 12 (2), 170-174.

Weiner, J. (2014) The STEM paradoxes: Graduates’ lack of non-technical skills, and not enough women. Washington Post (online edition), September 26.

The presentation format was as followed: 

1)      Introduction to topic

2)      What is the perceived lack of necessary skills coming into college? Participants will Brainstorm by content areas (e.g. STEM, humanities, social sciences, business, professional)

3)      What does the research say is lacking with regards to skills coming into college?

·         Basic math usage issues,

·         communication issues,

·         group dynamic issues,

·         ability to problem solve in new situations (critical thinking)

·         adaptability and teachability

4)      What are the perceived deficits of college graduates entering the workforce from the perspective of business and industry?         

5)      A discussion of the disconnect between educational expectations (K-12 to college) and workplace skill set needs (college to the workplace expectations): the workplace/education skill gap (i.e. self-regulated learning, communication, networking, critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving.)

A.      How do we change our classrooms to help facilitate student learning? What is the role of the professor?  How does that role need to change? Research says that the role of the instructor needs to change to one of mentoring  student learning rather than presenting content to the student.  How many instructors feel uncomfortable with this idea of a changing role?  Why?

B.      Strategies instructors can use in their content area to help build these missing skills (a demonstration of two different activities used in two different contexts that build “soft skills”).  Both activities will model the need for students to be faced with real world open ended problem solving.  However, both activities will be grounded in two different educational theories (experiential learning and project based learning).

C.      Interdisciplinary group activity in which participants brainstorm existing teaching strategies and how to adapt them to maximize practice of the missing skill sets.

D.      Framework to create activities that will develop the skills university students need in the workplace.  The frame work consists of planning, execution, and feedback phases (Appendix A).

Summary: This presentation presented a framework that can be used to develop student skill sets, identify activities that will will develop those skill sets, and a record for instructors to document their teaching and its impact on student employability and community engagement.

Using online conferences in student learning

This semester, my students in my international marketing class are putting together an online conference in International Business Education.

It has been a long road to 1) get students to understand what an online conference would look like, 2) get student groups to work together, 3) get students to think off campus (many have only been using the resources of the college, not even looking to local resources).

However, I think finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel, albeit a bit late. Time is a factor my students always have trouble with. Surprisingly, they also are very myopic when it comes to the tools they know. For example, none of them were even considering using their networks on facebook, even though a number of them have friends studying abroad. In addition, trying to get them to use new technology such as delicious or a wiki has been a struggle.

I use these projects, however, as a learning tool for my students. In the end, the conference might not be that successful (I'm still holding out hope though). But learning things such as the amount of time something like this might take and how to use your network to market and gain access to information is more important. In a month, after the conference, students will be presenting in groups what they learned from the process of putting together and running the conference. This is when I will know if I have been successful or not.

Anyone interested in participating in the conference, I will be posting information as soon as my students email me what they have developed! Keep posted.

Am I being too picky?

My son is doing a review poster for his college level history course. In it, he has to take major events in American history and explain what the event was and why it happened.

Now, I have no complaints about his critical thinking skills. But he wrote the following:

New Netherlands stretched from the Delaware River Vally (Delaware was owned by the sweetish but later owned by the Dutch).

Both my husband and I thought that he should rewrite this, but my daughter and he did not see that there was even a problem.

What do you think? Do you think I'm being too picky? (just to warn you, if you do think I am, I DON'T).

Assessment and preparing for the 21st century

As I am trying to get finish up my grading, issues of assessment and evaluation keep coming up.

Some of the questions/problems/issues I am dealing with include:

Should we be using rubrics? Don't they limit creativity and motivation? My students will only do what is on the rubric. I am restricted to grading them only on the rubric. So some students who just do a mediocre non-creative job may get the same grade (or higher because I used the rubric) than those that used more creativity, not really doing what I outlined as expected, but addressing the problem in a whole new way.

If this is what we are training our future workers to do, we will have the "best" workers (those with the highest grade) doing only what their managers told them to do, thus stifling the possibilities and creativity of our workers.

Should we be telling our students our expectations for every assignment, giving them detailed instructions? How many times have you received detailed instructions on the job? Shouldn't we be creating the skill to negotiate "outcomes" with our superiors? Situations change, factors we can't control require us to change outcomes, and there might be a disconnect between strategists and front line workers. Companies would benefit if workers and managers began to communicate about outcomes be and open to the changing environment.

If graduates only expect to do the work that a manager has outlined for them, an organization loses incentive, ideas, and reality checks from both those at the top and those on the front line.

Should all grading be "fair"? How is "fair" defined and aren't there instances when a standardized means of evaluation is in fact "unfair"? I have students that excel in class. They are engaged, apply concepts or take ideas to new levels. But they don't "evaluate" well. Neither papers nor tests get at their level of understanding that I see in class. They do the work, but it does not translate into their grades. Is this fair? They will be great employees on day. In addition to their academic work, they are good team players, contribute to the class, have a good work ethic, act responsibly in class, and add to an overall good environment. Others that test well are over critical, stifle others ideas, create a negative environment, and really don't do much work, but are good writers and/or good test takers. I'd rather have the ones that don't grade well than those that do grade well. So how fair am I in my assessment?

So, a word of warning to all those in the training and HR departments: make sure you are using other measures to identify the ideal employees. GPA's don't really reflect a student's potential. A word of warning to educators: we need to re-evaluate how we assess in the current climate of "standardization." We may be doing our society a dis-service.

The future of the training department

Although it's a bit late, and I have my grades to finish (or because I have my grades to finish), I did want to post something as part of the ecollab's blog carnival. ECollab is a bilingual multi-author blog on enterprise collaboration.

This month's carnival was about the future of the training department. As an educator of the future users of the training department, I thought I would give my insight into some of the challenges and expectations of future workers about training and education.

1) Instant feedback: my students don't want to wait to hear how they have done. If they write a report, they expect feedback immediately, perhaps even as they are writing it. As a result, any training they receive will need to be interactive (either electronically or face to face). It will not be enough for them to post something, for example, without any feedback with an hour or two. They do have more patience if you can give them a specific date. But even then, they will put it out of their mind until that date.

2) Choices in learning: Unlike students when I started teaching almost 20 years ago, students want a choice in what they learn, how they learn it, when they learn it, and who they learn it from. This means that training departments will need to offer both formal and informal choices in a variety of mediums (online, face to face, mentoring, tutors, simulations).

3) Just in time learning: If students don't feel it is important for them to know something (at this point, for a test or a grade), they won't bother to learn it. As a result, students are used to picking and choosing what they learn based on direction from authorities and whether or not they perceive what they learn as being useful. Translated in to work related learning, employees won't go through the training if they think it is not useful to their current work unless they have some incentive (promotion, location of training, paid training). Related to this is the idea that anything they will need to know in the future, they will be able to learn quickly, so why bother learning it until it is needed. Any training will need to be situated in a person's job.

4) Situated learning: My husband just had some standard computer training which he found irrelevant until the last class in which they were able to learn the software based on the problems the trainees were experiencing themselves. While there is societal and organizational push to standardize training, most employees won't undergo training unless it is situational. I see this a trend within organizations so that organizations will require more "targeted" training that allows for the training to be pinpointed for a specific employee. This means training departments will need to do a lot more assessment and develop a different model of training that is not standard across an organization.

5) Assessment tools: My students want tests. Why? Because they have a standard way of assessing how they have learned which they can then take with them to the workplace. More and more I am getting students who demand a detailed rubric on how they will be evaluated and assessed. In the workplace, especially as workers have greater access to informal learning, they are going to want the training department to assess their learning, rather than plan their learning. This means the focus of the training department will move from providing resources to assessing skills and knowledge, but in a way that workers accept. Coming from a background of standardized assessments, this next generation will expect the same type of testing to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. The training department will look more and more like the civil service or professional organizations (i.e. legal bar, CPA, NACATE).

Integrating elearning into the classroom: the preliminaries

The first step in integrating elearning into the classroom, either as an activity, a day of training, or a semester class is to establish why you have chosen elearning in the first place.

• What are your goals in using elearning?
• What do you expect your students to get out of the experience?
• Do you have the support of administrators (resource, moral, or technical)?
• If not, where will you get the resources or technical support, and how will you motivate students to use the elearning as a way of learning?
• How much time do you have to develop the activity, course, project? How much time do you have to implement the activity, course, project?
• What are the expectations of stakeholders in using elearning?

Once you have answered these questions, you can begin to determine if this is really something you can implement. While I am a great supporter of elearning, nothing is worse than having very little time to train instructors on the use of technology for use in one day's time (yes, I have seen that happen before, resulting in total failure of "elearning"). Likewise, many organizations opt for elearning as a time saving mechanism or cost cutting. If time is not saved (which most of us involved in elearning know is rarely a savings in time, but rather an increase) or costs are decreased, but at the expense of effective learning, then administrators and other stakeholders will be disappointed. Sometimes it is better to POSTPONE elearning until it can be done well.

Different levels of education

I read blogs that address a wide variety of education levels. My own Introduction to Distance Learning course had instructors from pre-school to community learning to universities and secondary schools. I have worked with them all at integrating elearning into their curriculum. However, there are differences between the different levels. Therefore, some of the questions each level of education needs to address includes:

• What skills do students have in learning, technology, and time management coming into the activity?
• What legal, moral, educational, and technology restrictions and regulations will students and instructors need to comply with at the level?
• How much autonomy can the student and instructor have for this elearning activity?
• What skills will students need to develop in order to accomplish elearning (i.e. level of literacy, foreign language skills, keyboarding skills, communication skills)? How (and who) will these skills be developed?
• What other stakeholders will need to be consulted in supporting the students' elearning? For pre-schoolers, for example, both the caregivers and support staff (if designated as disabled, this might have included physical and speech theorpists, social workers, and special education teachers). For employees, this might be supervisors or ITS to allow access to blocked sites or special software down loads.
  

Make it relevant to use elearning

Finally, many just integrate elearning into learning because that is what everyone else is doing. As the first set of questions indicate, it is not always relevant to use elearning.

In my experience, there are three main reasons for integrating elearning into a curriculum:

1. To reorganize time for instructors to create a better use of time (i.e. going to a conference or teaching at multiple locations at the same time) or to allow instructors to teach when they cannot physically be present with the students
2. To provide opportunities for students that might be limited by classroom space, schedules, or resources (including funding)
3. To develop technological skills and understanding of the use of technology in the 21st century society

It is always important that you choose a course, activity, or project that will be relevant for the student, the curriculum goals, and the organizational capacity to support elearning. I always recommend that my students begin with the question, "What can you NOT do now, that elearning might allow you to do?" This might be giving individualized attention, connecting students to the outside world, allow your students more time to reflect as a means of learning, provide access to information to a greater number of people, or help to develop specific skills such as communication, writing, or reading. It depends on the organization, the curriculum goals, and the level of education.

How safe are social networks?

Mike Gotta, on his Collaborative Thinking blog, discussed a good article available at Knowledge@Wharten addressing the security issues around social networks. As I read through the linked article, I thought of some issues I have not seen addressed as yet.

At the conference, Hoffman illustrated how social connections are made online and the ease with which a stranger can become part of a network. He noted that he is regularly added to mailing lists and invited to become a friend -- or "friended" in the social network parlance -- of businesses that use the sites as a marketing tool. Indeed, pages used by businesses on Facebook were recently redesigned to look more like those of individuals.

The implications for this is mind boggling. This means that marketing representatives or organizations would have access to a person's personal information and preferences. So what's wrong with that? Unless someone has set their facebook privacy on "friends only" thousands of others will have access to your information. For example, my daughter "friended" her favorite local radio station when her status was "friends of friends" could see her data. This means that any radio listener has access to her information. At a minimum, the radio station knows the topics she discusses with her friends, what her interests are, and what she is susceptible to.

On the other hand, as a marketing professor, I also see the strength of this tool as more and more people are resistant to marketing research via phone or person interviews. This is less obtrusive than traditional forms of market research.

Another point made in the article had me thinking of personal responsibility and educating users of social networks:

When a business contact from the LinkedIn world wants to become your friend on Facebook, do you accept the invitation, giving them access to the photos on your Facebook profile from last summer's rowdy beach party?

And what about the person you don't really know who wants to be your friend because you have some friends in common? According to Hoffman, that new friend may just be mining your social circle for information. As networks grow and more friends of friends (and their friends) are accepted by users, it's unclear who can be trusted.

As my kids use facebook, I review who their friends are. Sometimes friends are declined which can be a form of bullying for middle or high schoolers (I don't accept you as a friend). On the other hand, students do need to feel they can decline interaction with anyone on the internet. This is not a new problem. I remember when my son was a toddler, he would speak to anyone. I had to teach him that he could be friendly with anyone, but he needed to keep his distance and never go away with them. My daughter, on the other hand was always very skittish around men especially. I did not want her to be rude, but I wanted her to trust her instincts. The same balance needs to be achieved in using social software.

The article recommends:

Ultimately, social networking security rests with each user of the service (those friend invitations can always be declined). Hoffman recommended that social network denizens know the privacy policies -- governing, among other things, how the information you provide can be used -- of the sites they frequent.

At the same time, Hoffman said, web site operators need to make privacy policies easier to understand. "Privacy policies differ in theory and practice. In theory, consumers know about a site's privacy policy and trust the network. The reality is that no one reads the policies. I don't read them myself." Hoffman cited Facebook's privacy policy -- which promises that users have control over their data and what information is shared -- as typically murky. (The most recent version is more than 3,700 words -- more than twice as long as this article.) Hoffman advocates new formats for privacy policies that act as simplified "nutrition labels," like those on food products.

Vicky Davis also suggested last year that there be different "friend" categories and different ways to block depending on the friend category (i.e. family, best friends, business friends).

As more and more of my information creates a digital finger print, though, I keep asking myself, "How is this different than what I do face to face?" In fact, before I post anything, I always wonder, is this something I would do in a face to face situation? When my kids are posting things, I will look over their shoulder and ask, "Would you say this out loud in a class?"

In fact, I find most of the youth use texting as their private form of communication and (for the most part) understand the public nature of social networks. Just like they may not be so careful when they are with their friends in a Mall, another public setting, they may not be careful when they are on facebook.

A new way of typing?

I wrote the following comment on Karyn Romeis's blog post about new software to teach typing:

Interestingly enough, my daughter was taught touch type, but does not use the process. Since getting a facebook account and a cell phone, she uses a two finger (forefinger and thumb) process that I see many of her generation using at a much faster rate than she ever used using all of her fingers.

I wonder if touch type teaching will change because of these new technologies.

It made me think of how difficult it is to change our patterns (both individually and culturally--in any society) to reflect new ways of doing things. What often happens is that those with greater power might deem what is acceptable or not.

I have found this in my data analysis for my dissertation. Because it was taking so long to create new processes, and because some group members were in a more politically viable position (department) than others, new processes were ditched to revert to the old templates (with some adjustments) and ways of doing things. However, before the big boss stepped in and began to set procedures to expedite the work, there was a high level of learning within the group (between group members). Many expressed their hope that they were creating a new format to present training within their field.

But, alas, there was just too much difficulty in changing those work patterns.

One of the problems I think I have in using a cell phone is the unlearning of patterns and relearning of new patterns. It is much easier for me to use facebook as it does not require the "unlearning" of anything. I do believe my kids are finding new ways to type that are every bit as effective as the way I type. However, it is considered "wrong" because it is a change of patterns, by necessity in light of the technology they are using.

Creating standards and assessing learning

Results of the New York State Math test, a standardized test given to children in grades 3-8 (8-14 year olds), was announced yesterday. What was amazing was the analysis of what these test scores meant and why students in the NY City area had done so well. Theories included that the test was too predictable to the fact that New York City schools were now under control of the Mayor. Surprisingly, the fact that a new formula to calculate state aid and greater investment into urban schools was never mentioned! This despite the fact that grades increased in all urban areas.

What this demonstrates is that it is difficult to assess learning solely on the basis of a standardized test results. Even more important, there was no analysis of what standards students were meeting and the impact that would have on higher ed and workplace readiness. Instead, Merryll Tisch, chanceler of the New York State Board of Regents announced that perhaps the passing score should be raised.

What do standardized assessments really measure?

A standardized test if designed correctly, measures the retrieval of information set out by the curriculum. In some cases, it may measure performance of a standard (i.e. the lab section of the NY state science test). However, often it measures the knowledge of processes rather than a level of understanding in performing a task.

For a standardized test to be successful, it should:

1) Be aligned with the stated standards
2) Have some sort of mechanism to ensure consistent evaluation and grading
3) Ignore other learning or knowledge that has not been defined in the standards

Standardized tests do not always have to be an objective test. For example, the GRE has a critical writing component in which evaluators are trained and each written answer is evaluated by 3 different people to ensure consistency in grading.

Standardized tests therefore do not grade a student's learning, but rather if they are familiar with the intended material, content, or curriculum the standards reflect. They also do not measure if the standards will prepare a student for college or the workplace if the standards do not reflect the skills needed. (See the related article on the White House push to improve curriculum to prepare students for the 21st Century).

Finally, I would think that the goal of assessment would be to have a high maintained level of passing as it demonstrates that more and more students are achieving the stated standards. However, from Chancellor Tisch's comments it would appear that either the standards are inadequate (which is why students need remedial classes) or it is being used to rate students, excluding a certain % (which is why the passing score would be raised). Standards should be changed if they no longer are aligned with the needs of the learning outcomes, not because "too many passed the test."

Choosing a better way to assess

It seems that there is a disconnect between

1) learning standards and learning outcome needs
2) what is methods of measuring learning and instructional design
3) knowledge and application of that knowledge in multiple contexts
4) having content and understanding the content

The first step in any instructional design should be to establish learning goals and develop measures to assess learning outcomes. In developing these learning goals, it is not enough to identify what someone should "know" or be "familiar with" unless these are aligned with how learning will be used.

For example, training for new regulations in the insurance industry can use standards such as "know" or "be familiar with" because it is knowledge of the regulations that is important to regulatory agencies.

However, training for FERMA personnel in procedures for first responders for a natural disaster will need to have an understanding of the context and environments in which they will be working. In addition, there is a level of tacit knowledge which will need to be used (they need to know the practice of disaster relief, not just the process).

A good example of melding these two types of assessment can be found in the driver's test. The first stage, getting the learner's permit, requires a written test about the laws required for driving. The road test, taken after practical training, looks at a driver's ability to assess the driving conditions, react to changes in the driving environment, and showing judgment in using certain driving skills based on environmental conditions. A student who is driving too closely so that they need to slam on their breaks when someone in front makes a quick stop is assessed differently than someone that slams on their breaks when ever they are startled. Both are slamming on the breaks, but in the second case, when there is no environmental reason, there would be a perception of less driving skill and knowledge.

Elearning of the future: Mobile technology

I've been wanting to write this post for a while, but just did not have the time. As I commented on Michele Martin's blog

Each generation creates their own tools aside from their parents. 20 somethings have been using facebook and now others are catching up. Teens (of which I have two) are using mobile technology. My daughter was just lamenting that "Trackphone doesn't have any apps" (yes, she used apps which I am sure most 20 somethings don't use). "Can I get an itouch? They have cool apps." Did I mention that she is 13?

The media's new frenzy seems to be twitter. But many are overlooking the impact that mobile technology is having on our communication and access to information. One reason twitter is taking over is because the short messages are perfect for mobile phone access.

Ken Allen recently had a post about the impact of mobile technology on writing. Texting, in its various forms, is creeping into my student's papers. Will this mean that in the future writing conventions will include "i" and "u"? Perhaps. But the current state of truncated language in text messages do have a unique feature that will limit the extent of "texting language." Take a look at Ken's post. My initial observation is the "accented" language use. For example, my kids would never use "hiv." In fact, they would probably "translate" his title of "hiv u evr wundird wot it wiz lyk b4" as haf u evr 1Nderd wat it waz lIk B4." This leads to be believe texting will be more "regional" with some standard conventions internationally.

What does this mean for Elearning?

It would seem to me that the younger generation will use mobile technology as a means for not only communication but also learning and information sharing/gathering. However, it is likely this won't be in text form. Complex ideas will be difficult to convey in short textual spurts.

However, as my daughter pointed out, the new technology has powerful multi-media apps that will allow students to listen to lectures, watch video clips, and even post comments in a multi-media format (i.e. using a camera feature on the phone). It would appear that the current text based preference for communication among the younger generation will swing back to oral and visual communication for learning.

It is important that we begin to consider the ways we can integrate these new technologies into elearning, before it is too late. Michael Hanley has recognized this trend and posted a series of useful posts on using mobile technology for training. It is a good start. But we need to begin to recognize the importance of "place" of learning and how the portability of elearning technology will change access to education.

Teaching in the 21st Century: The discussion continues

I am swamped with getting my grades in for the end of the semester and working on my dissertation (while I have some time). However, I could not let Ken Allen's comment on my previous post go unanswered. As I composed a response, I realized it had turned into a post!

Technology for teaching vs. teaching technology

I agree with you that this is a "learning" issue, not just an elearning issue. I am sure you have had the same experience with the debate of how much science a science teacher needs to know to teach science.

I think teachers are underappreciated as the assumption is that if you know a content area, you can "teach". In New York State, secondary school teachers need to have two master's degrees, one in their content area and the other in education.

What gets dicey is what should the education degree include and in New York state the degree includes courses on writing (across the curriculum), but not necessarily technology. In other words, should high school teachers be teaching technology per se or should they be integrating the use of technology within their classes so students get the practice of using technology in multiple contexts (as happens currently with writing?) In addition, many of the new graduates are armed with new pedagogies which might integrate technology into the curriculum, but the system of assessment and the pedagogical structures within the school make it impossible for these teachers to implement these new strategies into their teaching.

An alternative school, which my daughter may be attending in the Fall, integrates these new pedagogies. The fact that they had 15 times more applications for each teaching position than most schools demonstrates how teachers would LIKE to use a more updated pedagogy in their teaching, but are not allowed to due to the curriculum and organizational culture within many schools.

Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century

So back to your original question as to how to prepare teachers for the 21st century, I would propose the following:

1. Teachers should learn technology and how it can be used (conceptual and pedagogical) as part of their education degree. This should include the same format that writing across the curriculum course include such as technology for science, technology for communication, technology for the humanities, etc...
2. Teachers should understand the implications of the use of technology on learning
3. Teachers should learn how to work with technology specialists in designing activities that will help to reinforce the theoretical principles learned in "technology class" (i.e. allowing for practice in multiple contexts so students understand the affordances of technology within a certain context)
4. There should be a push to implement "technology classes" as part of the curriculum, just as there are "writing classes." These classes focus on the conceptual and skill building needed for the 21st century. Then other classes reinforce these concepts and skills in throughout the curriculum.
5. There should be an effort to have "technology curriculum specialists" the same way there are "writing curriculum specialists" that teachers can use as a resource. In addition, teachers should be required to integrate technology use into their class (as is currently being done with writing) with a certain % of activities using APPROPRIATE technology for that discipline. For example, the use of a graphing calculator or SPSS software for a math course would be appropriate. Concept mapping or blogging would not be appropriate as it does not teach computing which is needed in the field of Math. On the other hand, the use of excel would not be appropriate for a Language Arts course, but a Ning would as a means of improving communication skills is central to most English Language Arts curriculums.
   

A new way to conceptualize teaching for the 21st Century?

Ken Allen and I have had an interesting conversation going on his blog. He has a great post about what we need to do in the 21st century to teach technology skills, which was pretty much what we should have been doing in the last century. Namely, students need to understand the "concept" of technologies, they need training (what I would call mentoring as he uses the cognitive apprenticeship model as a basis for the post), and practice. He contends (and I agree) that most instruction today focuses on the training, leaving out the concepts and the practice.

My last comment was:

My point was that by just teaching the "skills" of a technology we aren't teaching the students to learn the "affordances" of a technology.

In my experience, students come to new things initially with creativity. Facebook and myspace became what they were because users could use it in any way that met their needs. This is happening with twitter. When we "teach" a technology, however, we tend to destroy thMis creativity because we say "use this technology this way." Often my kids will say to me, "You can't do that with X technology. We were taught you have to do it THIS way."

We need to have a new approach where students are taught the concepts of how any technology can be applied (i.e. for computing, for communication, for editing, for visualization, etc...) then allow them to practice those concepts using a wide variety of technologies. To do this, the instructor needs to change his or her mind set from "teaching the technology" or teaching "technology skills" to a deeper level of analysis.

In fact, I think this is true of all teaching. We focus on the "training" so that students will pass the assessments, but gloss over the concepts so students don't understand why they are doing what they are doing, and don't give them enough practice in multiple contexts to allow them to gain a deep understanding and familiarity with what they have learned. In the last case, especially, students need to formulate the boundaries of new concepts.

Working from Home: the office of the future?

I have noticed a difference between blogs from those who work out of a home office (see especially Karyn Romeis, Janet Clarey, and Michele Martin's blogs). While I teach at a university, most of my time is spent at home. I have very little interaction with those outside of class except electronically.

I bring this up because in his post yesterday, Clark Quinn discussed the predictions for elearning for next year. As he discussed the different types of technology and how it would be used, I kept thinking that the cost cutting and current economy will mean more people will be working from home, either as freelancers, or as companies cut overhead.

I have not seen this being discussed on the work literacy sites. I wonder what the impact this will have on social networking and/or blogs. This time of year, especially, in the northern hemisphere, there is a real feeling of isolation. In a brick and mortar workplace, there are opportunities to interact with colleagues during the "midwinter blues". But what happens when there are no colleagues within "water cooler" distance?

I feel that blogging allows workers to reach out, bounce ideas off of colleagues (that might be at a distance), create a professional relationship, get feedback and support, and feel as if they are part of a profession and organization. As a result, I wonder if the nature of blogs will differ. I know last year Michele Martin asked if women blogged differently than men. I wonder if those who work from home blog differently than those who are physically part of an organization? If there is a difference, will this mean that blogging will become more important (especially in this economic environment)?

A new way of listening?

Michele Martin's post last week on 21st Century presentation literacies was timely as I prepare for my Speech Composition and Presentation class which begins next week. I have taught this course for the last past 4 years (during Fall semester). What I have had trouble with is teaching students how to listen, and to create speeches for today's audiences (who also tend to have trouble listening).

All week long I have tried to define how listening skills have changed and thus how presentation skills must change to address this. Below is a preliminary list of my thoughts:

Listening in Soundbites: Due to the media explosion and an explosion of sound stimuli (think ipods, cell phones, powerpoint sounds, video/DVD in the classroom at one time) it is hard to keep a listener's attention. Fighting for attention through this multiple stimuli, it is important to keep messages direct and short. I feel that journalism probably has some good ideas on how to capture the attention quickly and get an idea across in short 30-60 minute soundbites without loosing the complexity of an issue. No doubt, visuals and other sounds (music, mood sounds) aid in this (see below about Visuals).

Monitoring as Listening: When I was being trained as a foreign language teacher, my professors pointed out how native speakers are able to cut in and out of conversations (internally) and still be able to understand what others had said, filling in words that are logical for the context. (Non-native speakers don't have this ability until they are very proficient in the language as they are unable to fill in the language patterns). Some cultures (languages) that are polychronic expect listeners to monitor multiple conversations, cutting in and out of multiple conversations simultaneously. English has traditionally been monochronic, meaning that we expect listeners to listen and participate in one conversation at a time (although this is not true in some of the subcultures such as Latinos, Italian-Americans, and African Americans).

I have noticed in the last few years, however, that we are moving to a more polychronic culture, especially for the younger generation. If this happens within the next generation, our students will need to learn how to monitor other conversations effectively, listening to key words and paying attention to multiple inputs, sifting through them, and giving cues to those speaking. As a teacher in Costa Rica, I became very adept at doing this and still have this ability (which my students and children are always surprised at--yes, I did hear that!). However, it takes practice. I would like to learn more about how to develop these skills as, coming from a large family, I feel I had some of these skills before going to Costa Rica. Therefore, I learned them instinctively. Teaching will be more difficult.

Visual Reinforcement: The beginning of the summer I went to the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL. I found it interesting that a man who was known for his oration skills had a multi-media production to get across the impact of his words. I seriously doubt Lincoln had visuals when he debated Douglas. However, this points out how our culture has changed over the last 150 years. I have actually had different information on a visual than what I said in a sample speech to my students, and they retained the visual information over the oral information.

However, integrating visuals into an oral presentation is different than creating a visual. It requires creating a visual that will reinforce the message, but not be the message. I look at the visual as containing the data, but the presentation explains what the data means.

Story-telling and Getting the Listener's Attention: A colleague of mine, who has received numerous "best professor" awards gave me the key to her success: good story telling skills. She explained that she begins each class with a story which gets her students' attention. I was thinking of how my mind often wanders during mass (hey, it's the only quiet time I have during the week these days), until our priest will say something that catches my attention. Usually, he tells some engrossing story, but the style always changes. I would like to find more information on what gets people's attention. I have to admit that this is an area in which I am weak. I can use my "mommy" voice when necessary, but that does not guarantee that their attention will be sustained.

It is obvious, just from these few observations, that there is a shift in how people listen and how presentation skills will need to accommodate these shifts. I am sure there are many other issues that I hope to investigate over the semester.

Formulating the new work literacy framework

Tony and Michelle's comment on my blog about "simplifying" a framework to make it accessible reminded me of the comments members of a group of researchers I belong to are always saying about my models/frameworks: They are very complex.

On the left is an example of one of the more complex ones which took research on community building and created a model of online community building. Needless to say, this is a framework in which many felt overwhelmed by the model!

However, I guess one of my problems is in determining how this framework for identifying work literacy will be used and for which audience. I found Tony's model as one of "information search", or even information literacy (which those in the field of library science have really been doing a good job on formulating), but not work literacy. I think it is important also that we distinguish between "knowledge work literacy" and "work literacy" which requires new knowledges in the 21st century.

Knowledge Work Literacy vs. Work Literacy

Knowledge work literacy (as I see it) is the understanding of the underpinning knowledge, organization, environment, and skills needed to accomplish work that is knowledge based (as opposed to material based). Michelle has outlined some good ways to categorize knowledge work. However, I would use different variables to format knowledge work: people to people knowledge work (customer service, social worker, mediator, consultants) technology to technology knowledge work (ITS, programmers, technicians, network developers), technology supported people interaction (retail, instructors, e-commerce, e-learning, radiologists, lab technicians), and information reformulators who, today, usually use technology to reformulate (analysts, librarians, journalists, web developers, instructional designers).

Work literacy, however, requires a broader vision of what is needed in today's work place. Our work processes have become much more sophisticated and complex in more traditional industries (i.e. manufacturing) which requires a higher level of thinking and access to information if a company is going to maintain a competitive edge. This makes categorizing "knowledge work" a bit more difficult. However, I think we can still apply the above categories used in knowledge work to the type of duties required by the worker. For example, within a manufacturing company, you have the personnel department who work primarily in people to people jobs. They are also information reformulators, however. Production supervisor duties are computer supported people interaction, but may also require technology to technology tasks.

Applying the new work literacy framework to the categories of workers

Now, applying the skill sets I identified previously to the category of knowledge work, we can identify which skill sets workers need to be proficient at or need training in to be "literate" in their job. This allows a more flexible and systematic way to analyze a position and what is needed to be literate for the position (rather than one size fits all). A personal assistant to the CEO in a Manufacturing plant will do both person to person duties, information reformulation, and, in many cases, computer supported person interaction. In the first case, he or she will need to have good social skill sets and good socio-cognitive (or collaboration) skill sets. In the second case, he or she will need to have good cognitive (or thinking) skill sets and socio-cognitive (or collaboration) especially at such a high profile job in order to network and put information into context for both senior management and outside stakeholders. In the final case, he or she will probably be evaluated on his or her ability to communicate and prioritize information using technology skills (such as typing X words per minutes), so performance skills will need to be used.

Process for Developing the Framework

Obviously, this is a complex idea which can't be accomplished overnight (and will probably take several years). As the comments and additions to Tony's original post suggest, there is a lot of information out there, but little work done in trying to make sense of the pieces and bring it into an accessible framework for trainers, educators, and management to use. On the one hand, it is important to make any framework we establish accessible to trainers, human resource personnel, elearning specialists, managers, educators, etc...On the other hand, it is important that there be a framework that can be used for ALL knowledge work and flexible enough to capture the complexity of today's work environment.

I would suggest that we begin by:

1. Defining who the frame work is for. Are we looking at workers in the knowledge industry or are we looking at the new knowledge needed for workers regardless of the industry. This might take on a different look depending on which one we are developing the framework for.
2. Once we have identified who the framework is for, we can begin to identify what type of duties workers do and develop categories to distinguish the various types of jobs and job tasks.
3. We then will need to identified the duties and categories of jobs, we need to have an exhaustive list for each of the skills needed to accomplish these duties and categories.
4. I would then suggest that we categorize those skills into skill sets which can be used to develop an inventory which users of the framework could then use to identify needs.
5. Once gaps are discovered in the skill sets, we can begin to identify solutions, insuring workers are prepared for their jobs.

One note of caution: the job duties and skills needed to accomplish them will change. That is why it is so important that we identify categories that will be general enough to capture the essence of the work, but not so specific that it will be outdated in a couple of years. We need only look at the Boston Consulting Firm's 4 categories of market placement (the cash cow is still useful today as when I learned about it 20 years ago) or Roger's stages of adaptation (still used 40 years later).

Accessible, not necessarily simple

Tony and Michelle are right in wanting to develop a framework that is accessible to anyone. My graphic above is an example of something that is too complex for most to follow. At this point, though, I think we need to first make sure we have all the pieces before we begin to oversimplify the framework. As someone who tends to write too directly, it is easier to edit and consolidate, than it is to add on and create.

A new framework: Part II

As I have been thinking through the framework I mapped out in yesterday's post, I began to think of how this might be used (see the questions I asked at the end of the post). It has been my contention that workers at different times in their career may have different needs in terms of work literacy.

Using the diagram I created, I thought how these categories might be used to assess training and technology needs and how different groups might use different tool sets.

New Workers as New Hires

Coming out of school, I think most new hires are used to using cognitive and performance skills. Organizations often hire based on performance skills, and evaluates new hires during probation areas using performance skills objectives. Universities use cognitive skills, so these are the skills most new graduates use to navigate the knowledge business environment. As a result they need to develop socio-cognitive and social skill sets.

Veteran Workers as New Hires

Knowledge workers that come into a new organization, bring the social network and knowledge needed to do their job, but need to understand the new social situation they are in. As a result, they are more apt to use their social or socio-cognitive skills to accomplish their work. While performance skills may still be used to hire them, they are less apt to worry about new performance skills that will not affect their immediate job. As a result, they will resist training that is "teaching" them something for which they will not be evaluated or they will only learn the minimum level of performance to maintain their job.

This group may also need to work on their cognitive skills as they may not see the need to learn new things, instead relying on their social or social cognitive skills. They may also not be confident in their cognitive skills as they have increasingly been required to rely on their social skills to accomplish their work. However, coming into a new social climate, they will most likely want to focus on the social skills as they try to learn the "new organizational culture" of which they are now a part. It will be important for them to learn the new communication structure, the management structure within the organization, and the organizational norms while maintaining ties within the various communities of which they are a part. They may be more open to learning or using new tools that will help them to maintain these social ties. Is it any wonder why consultants are more apt to use social networking tools?

Veteran Workers within the Organization

Veteran workers within an organization will have a deep understanding of the social network and will base much of their work on the social and social cognitive skill sets. Unlike those that have moved to a new organization, though, their social skill set may, in fact, not be stretched as they become entrenched in their organization's social structure. As a result, they would be less likely to see a need in becoming a part of a new community, relying on old ties and structures. This group, therefore, may need some periodic "retooling" of their social skill sets so as not to be outdated in comparison to the changing environment. Likewise, they may also need a Performance skill set retool, as external pressures require new performance skills (i.e. video conferencing instead of just telephones, mobile technology use).

These workers also will see a need for cognitive skill set retool only for specific instances. However, they may be resistant to new ways of learning unless they are required to do so. For the most part, these veteran workers will rely on (and have a high level of ability in) socio-cognitive skill sets for their learning. They will take their cue on what to learn through interaction in teams and participation in professional organizations.

Next Topic

I think this same framework can also be used to address the different types of knowledge work, with some skill sets more important than others dependent upon the type of work and tasks workers must do. I will try to blog about that later.

New Skills for Knowledge Workers

On the work literacy blog, Tony Karrer posted a framework, that I was not really satisfied with. I thought it was too simplistic, too "cookbook" like with a follow the checklist type mentality. Tony agreed, but pointed out that he really hadn't come across anything better. So I tried to come up with a "better" framework.

I'm not sure I acheived better as much as different or something that is closer to what I see are the new skills needed for knowledge workers. Some of this is based on work that I have been doing in distance learning over the last 4 years. One paper in particular which I gave at AERA in 2006 (you can find a copy on my website) is the basis for the cognitive, social, and social-cognitive skills. This came out of work I did with Dr. Hae-Doek Song in which we looked at cognition and social aspects of a distance learning course. As we developed the codes we would use for cognition and social, I felt there was a third dimension: socio-cognition.

4 Categories of Skills

Looking at the mind map I developed, you will see I have 4 categories of skills: cognitive, social, socio-cognitive, and performance. I have a note in each of the category with gives a brief description of what I think are these skills. In the case of the last skill, I think there is a type of skill, which fits more into the traditional idea of "learning" and still has a place in today's workplace.

For lack of any other term, I called it the performance skill as it is the skill that is developed and is the basis for most "performance" evaluations. These skills can easily be tested and often are learned through repetition on the job. Each individual will develop their own heuristic to accomplish these skills, but they will be evaluated on the performance rather than the "heuristic".

Framework is more Complex

While this framework, I think is more complex than the one presented by Tony, I also think it allows for less defined skills, and more types of skills. I have put in specific skills that I think will fall into each category, however, these skills (and the categories) might change given the job, organization, or even technology over time.

This is also my first attempt. I think there can be more definition to the model in terms of the interaction between the skills (for example, what happens if the organization stresses performance skills, customers social skills, from a worker that is more comfortable with cognitive skills--such as happens with help-desk personnel?). Can this framework be used to identify types of organizations, knowledge work, personalities, or tasks? Can we then over lap these skills with technology attributes or affordances to develop an even more complex model that helps to match skills with technology or skills with affordances or outcomes?

Feedback

I used a collaborative mindmapping tool (wisemapping) to develop this mindmap. If anyone would like contribute to it, let me know and I will give you access to it. I tried to include skills we have been discussing on the workliteracy blog. There are others I have been reading lately, which I might add or might allow to give me another dimension to the map.

Reading in the Digital Age

My sister forwarded an op-ed from the New York Times about reading skills for this generation.
The piece commented on things I have written about and commented on over the last year, namely there being a need to support our students in writing (and reading) non-linearly.

What I found interesting was what was lacking in this article. Two issues I thought about that were never brought up were:

1. Does current standardized testing test the skills needed in the digital age? They do speak about the decline in standardized test scores which some put down to "computer time" (funny how they don't point to the effect that NCLB legislation and its focus on regurgitating information rather than "learning" might have on those scores). They also mention how the US in NOT part of a pilot program to test digital literacy skills (where is AERA or any of the other professional organizations that are trying integrate technology into the classroom).
2. Literacy is more than the "reading skills". It is how to decode symbols and interaction with text. Most literacy experts see that literacy is embedded within a culture and determinates of literacy include an understanding of the context of a text. As a result, is it possible that there is a shift in our culture that those in power would like to prevent (which really is impossible) in order to maintain the current status quo? The article speaks about looking for other viewpoints (that may be contrary to the "authoritative" publishers, opening up new venues). Of course, this also may necessitate teaching students DIFFERENT skills that include analyzing their assumptions, author intent and bias, and checking/rechecking facts. So what happens when they do this to "authorized" versions and find them lacking?
   

Getting older workers to learn off of each other

I recently spent some time with my sister, a former science teacher who now does teacher training. I was helping her to load and try out new technology that she can integrate onto her computer. We are only 3 years apart, yet when working with her, she felt we were from different generations. "You at least have an understanding of the computer system and how it works. I just can't conceptualize it," she told me.

Part of the difference, when discussing it with her, was that I took computer courses in college (BASIC, and later for my MBA in International Business, a number of computer based programs for logistics and decision making on both mainframes and pc's). She felt that because she did not have a formal education in those areas, it is harder for her to figure out how to use the computers.

However, in speaking with her, we came to the conclusion that many older workers feel they need someone with "expertise" to talk them through a technology. Younger workers and students feel very comfortable asking others how to do things when it interests them (as opposed to only learning it when it is mandated). Rarely do older workers talk about what they can do or offer to show someone else how to do something unless they feel "qualified". I am not sure why, perhaps having lived abroad for some many years and relying on others to give me insight, but I have never felt shy about working with someone on how to figure things out. I am irritated with my children when they will "do" something for me (like put in names to my address book) rather than show me how to do it (as they will with each other).

I wonder, therefore, if we should be developing training differently between generations.

Skills for the 21st Century

The vacation away from thinking has allowed me to think more about the skills for the 21st century. I came across a list of skills written for Tech Valley high, a local school designed to create a new learning environment in the Capital District in New York State.

These skills include:

Taking initiative in their learning and becoming “lifelong learners.”

Working successfully on a team.

Taking responsibility for their work and their learning.

Confronting and solving unforeseen problems.

Managing and planning for short- and long-term goals.

Presenting and defending what they have produced

What I find interesting is how different this is from the skills listed on the most current post on the work literacy blog.

I feel that there needs to be more integration between schools and work place in identifying key skills. I think Tech Valley High (which brought together experts from the regions schools, universities, business, policy makers, and community) is a good starting point for this discussion. I hope more people from various professions and levels of education can be recruited to discuss this issue on the work literacy blog.