is not an easy task, because while we are living in the 21st century, the institution of education started in the 19th or 20th century. It was built to meet the challenges of the past. It was built with the resources we had before. And once it was built, society spent the last century perfecting it. As Winston Churchill said, “we shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us”—the already-built institution has shaped our education mindset.
This mindset accompanied us into the 21st century. It continues as a persistent force that shapes our views and defines our actions in education. In essence, we are prisoners of the past. To create a modern institution of education, we have to escape from the past first. We have to look at education with a fresh perspective, a new mindset. This new mindset must be grounded in today’s realities, yesterday’s lessons, and tomorrow’s possibilities. The new education must start with the most recent discoveries about human beings: why they learn, how they learn, and where they learn. It must take into consideration the resources we have, all the learning opportunities we can harness in a globally connected society. It must also consider new outcomes—people not only able to cope with the 21st century but also able to create a better future for all.
However, we cannot flip a switch and change our mindset instantly. It takes time to change. But just spending time waiting for the arrival of a new mindset also does not work. We need to engage in real actions that are neither random nor sporadic. They need to be well-organized, carefully designed, and deliberately planned. They also need to be understood and undertaken by all members of an education community. For this to happen, we need a blueprint, just like the blueprints that architects create to guide the construction of modern buildings. This is just what Jay McTighe and Greg Curtis offer in this text: a blueprint for modernizing education.
Jay and Greg present a design process schools can follow to redesign education for 21st century learning. The process guides schools to engage in strategic moves that can ultimately lead to a new type of education needed for the 21st century. From vision to mission and from mission to action, Jay and Greg lay out a systematic process of redesigning schools with abundant evidence, proven strategies, and practical tools.
To be sure, this is not the first book I have seen that claims to provide practical guidance to education redesign. I have seen plenty of “blueprints” in education, and not all are equal; they can be good or bad. What makes me think this is a good blueprint is much more than the extensive practical strategies and actions. It is the sound research base behind the suggested strategies and actions and the ambitious goals these strategies and actions can help achieve. But most important, it is the bridge Jay and Greg build between distant, abstract, and grand ambitions and present, immediate, and small steps. They make the daunting task of designing a brand-new education achievable. It gives me, and all who desire a better education, confidence.
A blueprint can run the danger of being overly prescriptive and imposing a uniform view. As we know too well, educational institutions differ a great deal, as do people’s views of what constitutes 21st century education—outcomes, processes, institutional structures, students’ experiences, and pedagogy. For example, while I agree with Jay and Greg, I do think education should push even further in the areas of student autonomy and personalization as well as turning schools into global campuses. Still, Jay and Greg deal with these issues masterfully. While they have their version of a curriculum blueprint, assessment framework, and pedagogical approach for the 21st century, they do not impose them. I treat them as examples rather than as prescriptions. The process they suggest is about helping each school develop its own vision and mission. It is about schools working out strategies and actions of their own.
Education is in the futures business in that it is responsible for preparing students to live successfully in the future; however success is defined. But it should not be about preparing them to cope with the future or simply wait for the arrival of the future. It should be preparing them to proactively create their future. To train future-creators, we need future-oriented educational institutions, which are drastically different from institutions of the past and present. To create future-oriented educational institutions, we need to have a process, a plan, and a set of tools. This book offers such a blueprint and an excellent one at that.
Introduction
Many researchers and authors, both within the field of education and beyond, have made the case for educational change to prepare today’s students for the challenges and opportunities they will encounter tomorrow. Indeed, the press for 21st century schools has flourished for years under various names. We will not rehash the arguments, nor try to make the case. Rather, we begin with the simple premise that education needs to undertake major reform to meet the needs of our students, our countries, and our planet in the years to come. If you do not agree with this basic premise, we doubt this book is for you. However, if you agree that the world is changing and that educational institutions are obligated to acknowledge and address the future, read on.
The term 21st century learning has itself become something of a cliché; and, as with many clichés, people sometimes dismiss it as “been there, done that,” thereby losing some of its original potential as an agent of change. We use the term modern learning interchangeably with 21st century learning (and more commonly, 21st century skills) to highlight the fact that we are not simply writing about implementing a trend; rather, we are outlining ways in which education and learning can remain relevant, vital, and connected with the future.
Leading Modern Learning, Second Edition examines a central question: How might we determine and enact necessary educational changes in a systemic and lasting way? Our contribution focuses on process. We offer a thoroughly reviewed and revised blueprint of practical and proven approaches to redesign your educational environment, whether a district, school, or single department. We’ve used all these methods in a variety of contexts. While you may have heard of them and even used some, we contend that these approaches are unlikely to lead to substantial change on their own. Although each can add value, their transformative power must be realized collectively.
About This Second Edition
For this second edition, we move beyond a simple reprinting and toward a refreshing of the ideas and processes. We do this for the simple reason that we continue to learn more about these models and frameworks as we continue to work with schools. As such, we have refined our approaches and tools, developed new experiences and insights, and most of all, we have had the privilege to work with some outstanding organizations and individuals who have contributed to the clarity of this work from the practitioners’ perspective.
Many elements remain the same, but we chose these because they have proven to be logical and effective. We removed some elements to focus the work and keep from overloading this edition, and we added new elements and much new content.
We also added a new feature, Notes From the Field. These sections allow us to highlight key observations from our first-hand work with schools. This includes potential missteps, misunderstandings, and time wasters we have derived from our ongoing work with schools. We include Notes From the Field sections when appropriate to share insight we have gained in our work with teachers, schools, and districts.
About This Book
We wrote this book with district and school leaders in mind, but it is also a valuable resource for educational policymakers, such as board of education members or school trustees. More specifically, educators in the following roles will benefit from this book: district administrators (superintendents and assistant superintendents; directors of curriculum, assessment, and professional learning; subject-area supervisors); school-based administrators (principals and assistant principals), and teacher leaders (grade and department chairs and instructional coaches).
Educators are in the learning business, not just
