From Students to Learners:
New Learning Environments
for 21st Century Learners
Bob Pearlman
bobpearlman@mindspring.com
http://www.bobpearlman.org
PowerPoint Slides at
http://www.bobpearlman.org/Learning21/index.htm
http://www.bobpearlman.org/Learning21/index.htm
The three “R”s and the four “C”s
WE MUST FUSE THE THREE “R”s
WITH THE FOUR “C”s.
The four “C”s
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity and innovation
As the three “R”s serve as an umbrella for other
subjects, the four “C”s do for other skills.
What does 21st Century Learning look like?
Look For:
1. How are students working? What are they doing?
2. What tools do students have to do their work?
3. What new learning environments support their work?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-klc2KijMG8
Project- and
Problem-Based
Learning:
Keys to 21st
Century Learning
• To learn collaboration, work in teams.
• To learn critical thinking, take on complex
problems.
• To learn oral communication, present.
• To learn written communication, write.
• To learn creativity, produce something
original and useful.
• To learn technology, use technology.
• To develop citizenship, take on civic and
global issues.
• To learn about careers, do internships.
• To learn content, research and do all of
the above.
New Tech High @ Coppell, Coppell, TX
Student project teams at work in double-sized classroom at New Tech
High @ Coppell, Coppell, TX. Photo by Kate Jenkins.
Student collaborative project teams
working in the digital media library, a
project planning room, and in the corridor,
some of the many extended
learning spaces at New Tech High
@ Coppell. Photos by SHW Group, Plano,
TX, and Kate Jenkins.
Primary Student Work
Area
Presentation Space
Large Group Space
Extended Learning
Spaces
Specialty Labs
Furniture
New Tech High @
Coppell
Dual subject matter Learning
Environment
Large Multi-Group
Collaboration Zones
Large Multi-Group
Collaboration Zones
Corridor Alcoves
Project Planning Rooms
Media Library
Outdoor Benches
Science
Mix and match tables; office chairs;
lounge chairs and sofas in Extended
Learning Spaces
New Line Learning Academy, Maidstone, Kent, England
Learning Plaza prototype at New Line Learning Academy shows Learning Plaza
divided in multiple ways for large group, small group, and individual learning.
New Line Learning
Academy
Primary Student Work Learning Plaza
Area
Presentation Space
Learning Plaza
Large Group Space
Learning Plaza
Extended Learning
Learning Plaza watering
Spaces
holes and caves
Specialty Labs
Art, Technology,
Science
Furniture
Modular tables and
mobile lecture style
amphitheater seating
New Tech High @
Coppell
New Line Learning
Academy
Primary Student
Work Area
Dual subject matter
Learning Environment
Learning Plaza
Presentation Space
Large Multi-Group
Collaboration Zones
Learning Plaza
Large Group Space
Large Multi-Group
Collaboration Zones
Learning Plaza
Extended Learning
Spaces
Corridor Alcoves
Project Planning Rooms
Media Library
Outdoor Benches
Learning Plaza
watering holes and
caves
Specialty Labs
Science
Art, Technology,
Science
Furniture
Mix and match tables;
office chairs;
lounge chairs and sofas
in Extended Learning
Spaces
Modular tables and
mobile lecture style
amphitheater seating
Learning Studio
Some Cautionary Tales:
It takes a lot more than physical design and
technology to make a 21st Century School
• UK Open Learning Environments – 1970s
• Massachusetts –New High Schools, mid-1990s
• NW England– new Learning Centres
The big question:
Are the teachers ready to teach in the new
learning environments?
Putting it all together
•
•
•
•
•
•
Embed 21st Century Skills into Curriculum
Do projects (PBL)
Assess for learning through performance
Learning spaces and environment
Technology
Get the teachers ready!
Contact Information
Bob Pearlman
21st Century School and District Consultant
bobpearlman@mindspring.com
www.bobpearlman.org
520-881-9965
PowerPoint Slides at
http://www.bobpearlman.org/Learning21/index.htm