Five Ideas for 21st Century Math Classrooms.

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article draws on the 21st Century Skills Movement and the successful teaching practices of Asian schools in order to provide five suggestions that secondary math teachers can incorporate into their classrooms in order to promote the skill set necessary for an ever-changing global economy. Problem-based instruction, student-led solutions, risk taking, fun, and collaboration time are five ideas that incorporate the successes of educators from outside the United States and may also prove to be supported by brain-based research. FIVE IDEAS FOR 21ST CENTURY MATH CLASSROOMS This past spring graduating seniors entered into or finalized preparations for professions that did not exist five years ago. Next year's seniors will be looking toward jobs that do not currently exist. Life in the 21 st century provides unique challenges to educators as we seek to prepare our students to compete in an ever-expanding global marketplace. During six years of teaching of mathematics, I have been exposed to both the challenges and the rewards of teaching. In an effort to better teach my students I find myself constantly reading, asking questions, and looking to others for ideas on how best to address the needs of my students. It seems that American students are constantly being compared to their international counterparts. Tests such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) have shown that students in our country often fall far short of the achievements of their Asian peers (Koretz, 2009). Knowing this, I looked to the teaching practices of educators in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and India. In addition I turned to the current 2 1 st Century Skills movement in the United States to determine what skills my students need to exhibit to be prepared for jobs not yet imagined. This paper offers five practices that we, as mathematics educators, can use to give our students the skills necessary to live successful and productive lives in a rapidly changing global economy. Students preparing to live and work in the 21 st century must learn and put into practice four essential skills for success. These skills, as outlined by the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills (2009), are critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration. Many would argue that these are skills currently being addressed in our math curricula. Personally, however, I do not feel I am doing an adequate job instilling them in my students. In A Whole New Mind (2006), Pink argued that many of America's white collar jobs - lawyers, accountants, computer programmers, engineers, etc. - can be cheaply filled by equally skilled workers living in Asia. To stay competitive, our students will need to be able to do things that are not currently being done, cannot be outsourced and cannot be replicated by a computer (Pink, 2006). Preparing our students for jobs not yet identified by focusing on what those jobs might entail is a daunting if not impossible task. Instead we can do our part to provide our students with skills and resources that will be valuable to them and applicable in a variety of settings when they enter the work force of the future. By focusing on just five changes that could be incorporated into our classrooms, we might do a lot to further our students' ability to compete against the best of the best. These changes can be stated simply as: 1) Incorporating problem-based instruction; 2) Fostering student-led solutions; 3) Encouraging risk taking; 4) Having fun; and 5) Providing ample collaboration time for both our students and ourselves. These changes can be supported in our culture, but they incorporate what foreign educators are already successfully doing. One day soon, research may also prove them to be brain-based. PROBLEM-BASED INSTRUCTION Many math teachers claim to already incorporate problem-based instruction. …