Sarah Morris’ class at Berkeley Springs High School isn’t your traditional English class. From learning how to distinguish reputable Internet sources and databases to creating commercials using persuasive language skills, West Virginia’s 2007 Teacher of the Year uses technology and creativity to help her students become the critical thinkers of the next generation.  

“Today’s English class is about so much more than literary awareness,” Morris says. “Language is the driving force in our culture and the primary tool used for manipulation of facts. It determines why we vote for certain candidates, how we choose the words we use and it helps us function in society.”

Morris demonstrates the innovative skills that both the West Virginia Board of Education and I want all our state teachers to have at their fingertips as they work to prepare today’s students for the 21st century.

Today’s graduates need to be problem solvers and effective communicators who are proficient in core subjects, including English, math, science and social studies, to succeed in a global society. But they also need to master learning and thinking skills; information and communications skills; technology skills and work place productivity skills no matter their future plans. They need to be globally aware and literate in finance, economics, business and civics.

Yesterday’s three R’s—reading, writing and arithmetic—now must incorporate today’s three R’s—rigor, relevance and results.

Stepping Out

In 2005, West Virginia became the second state in the nation to join a partnership that marries business interests with classroom instruction. I am extremely proud of West Virginia’s move to join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The group has 26 members, including Adobe Systems Inc., Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell Inc., Ford Motor Co., Microsoft and Time Warner.

Under the leadership of the state Board of Education, Gov. Joe Manchin, the Legislature and numerous other partners, including the American Federation of Teachers and the West Virginia Education Association, the partnership has initiated a forward-thinking and ambitious plan to improve West Virginia’s educational system.

The 21st Century Partnership takes our state beyond the minimum thinking of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. The plan includes dramatic improvements in the rigor and relevance of our curriculum and increases the difficulty level of the state assessment system. It also improves the quality of professional development in the areas of 21st century content, skills and tools, and supports innovative technology, science and mathematics initiatives.

To reach this goal, West Virginia has launched its 21st Century Learning initiative to systemically change how children are taught from preschool to high school.

The Idea Shift

We must move beyond the concept of how many facts can be memorized to understanding complex ideas. To do that, we must have systemic change not only in what we teach but how we teach. Whether we like it or not, the jobs will go elsewhere if our children don’t have the necessary skills.

I believe our teachers are at the core of such 21st century learning. Study after study shows that teacher quality is the most important school-related factor influencing student learning. I’m committed to helping teachers expand learning beyond the four classroom walls.

West Virginia’s 20,000 plus teachers are some of the most experienced and dedicated professionals in the country and crucial in the quest to prepare the state’s nearly 280,000 students for the 21st century.

The average public school teacher in West Virginia is about 46 years old with about 18 years of classroom experience. A majority of them hold a master’s degree or higher.

Our teachers are competent, capable and caring. Still, the state Board of Education and I believe teachers need training to help them blend their strong subject mastery with the 21st century skills needed in today’s digital world and we are providing the professional development they need to ensure student success.

We know quality teaching will push students beyond mastery of basic skills to become tomorrow’s better educated worker who can manage complexity, solve problems and think critically, and I am committed to making that happen.

Like Morris, teachers across this great state are working to bring 21st century learning to their classrooms. Many have sought out quality, research-based professional development to help them gain knowledge and skills.

At University High School in Morgantown, for example, Holly Plunkett has embraced 21st century skills in her geometry and calculus classroom. Instead of a pad and pencil, her students use computer software that gives their drawings and calculations three dimensions.

“When I think back to when I first taught math 25 years ago, it was basically me talking and the kids listening and then them doing homework,” Plunkett says. “Now students are expected to be much more involved and we value group work much more than we once did.”

Plunkett’s classroom changes, and those of many other teachers, did not come overnight. Quality professional development is providing the key to help them become technology savvy and transform their outdated classrooms into 21st century learning centers.

Putting It Into Practice

Marion County teacher Jackie Constable has become a technology junkie at Monongah Middle School. Students in her reading and language arts classes write stories on Danas, word processing units that are a cross between a laptop computer and a Personal Digital Assistant. Instead of chalkboards, they use interactive whiteboards. And wireless handheld responders allow students to quickly answer questions while allowing Constable to see each child’s response. Palms, iPods and blogs also are used.

“Students today multi-task and just learn better when learning is interactive,” Constable says. “And I find that most discipline problems simply disappear when I use technology. When I say were going to use iPods today, I immediately have everyone’s attention.”

To assist in the transformation, the West Virginia Department of Education offers an online professional development program for classroom teachers called West Virginia e-learning for Educators and has multiple training programs planned for summer when teachers are out of school, including the Teacher Leadership Institute.

The state is also backing a push for more teachers to seek National Board Certification, the highest credential in the teaching profession, and has launched a comprehensive effort to train hundreds of West Virginia educators to become technology integration specialists as part of an effort to incorporate 21st century skills into the classroom and close the digital generation gap.

In addition, the department has provided the technology specialists with laptop computers and other tools to help the reluctant and eager teacher alike build on their vast subject knowledge and incorporate technology into their classrooms. 

Once trained, they will take their new skills back to their home schools where they will help other teachers integrate technology into their teaching plans to improve student achievement. This training will continue this summer, along with a plethora of other professional development opportunities.

Taking The Lead

West Virginia’s efforts include a $100,000 grant from the Intel Foundation’s Intel to Teach program. The initiative will help teachers effectively integrate technology with learning and provide principals with leadership training. Fifty West Virginia educators will be certified as Intel Master Trainers to deliver professional development to teachers, while 15 others will be certified to provide leadership forums to principals.

The state Department of Education also has established a National Technology Team to give West Virginia educators advice and counsel as we develop a new statewide assessment that can measure how students use technology, their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and other higher level thinking skills.

National Technology Team members include representatives from the Center for Applied Special Technology; Purdue University; National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student testing at University of California, Los Angeles; Education Development Center for Children and Technology and the International Society for Technology in Education, among others. Edvantia, a not-for-profit education research and development corporation based in West Virginia, helped organize the technology team.

“West Virginia has faced the brutal reality that we are actually seeing a slippage in our nation’s position in terms of leadership and innovation and work force readiness,” says Don Knezek, CEO of International Society for Technology in Education and a technology team member. “West Virginia is stepping out there and getting serious about preparing students for their future and not our past.”

The current generation of 18- to 38-year-olds will likely work an average of 10 jobs, compared to one or two jobs that their parents and grandparents held. As educators nationwide consider ways to address the need for 21st century learning, many are looking to West Virginia as a model.

Earlier this year, TechLearning.com called West Virginia a “pioneer in spearheading a state-level push for the integration of 21st century skills.” The publication also applauded West Virginia and state leaders for recognizing the need to teach children a broad range of skills to compete not only with other states but worldwide.

Last year, Education Week recognized West Virginia for having the best educational technology system in the nation with a grade of A in its Technology Counts 2006. The Information Edge—Using Data to Accelerate Achievement ranked West Virginia as the top state for computer access, data use and technology capacity in schools statewide.  
While technology is important, it is only a tool that enhances learning. Core subjects like English, math, science and social studies remain the foundation of a good education. Additionally, West Virginia’s 21st Century Learning initiative also will help students to master thinking and reasoning skills, information and communications skills, and personal and work place productivity skills.

We must move beyond the current atmosphere of high-stakes testing if we are to create the best educational system in the world. This is a major challenge and I’m proud of our schools and our teachers for meeting this challenge.

The West Virginia Department of Education and the state’s higher education institutions are working together in an effort to strengthen teacher preparation programs for the 21st century.

Improving the effectiveness of public school teachers is an urgent task as schools across the country work to incorporate 21st century skills, tools, content and assessments into the classroom so that the next generation of teachers is able to effectively reach today’s Nintendo generation.

A lack of connection between K-12 and higher education historically in the United States has been deeply rooted in U.S. education policy. The country's two separate systems of mass education—K-12 on one hand and universities and colleges on the—rarely collaborated to establish consistent standards. But a new willingness between K-12 and higher education to work together and affect significant change has been improving among the various education sectors as the public demands greater accountability from its schools.

To develop the top students in the world, we need to develop the top teachers. We already have some of the best teachers in the nation and most of them are products of West Virginia teacher preparation programs, but we need to adapt to the changing world to ensure that our colleges and universities are preparing teachers not only for the vast learning needs of today but 10 years from today.

The West Virginia Department of Education is also working with colleges and universities on developing alternative routes to become licensed teachers. In addition, the department is working with higher education to train multi-subject elementary teachers in content areas at the middle school level such as English, general science, mathematics and social studies.

Great teachers have always helped students discover the value and relevance of new skills and knowledge. We must make sure we help West Virginia teachers stay up to date so they can bring the world into their classroom and take their students out into the real world. PQ:
Yesterday’s three R’s—reading, writing and arithmetic—now must incorporate today’s three R’s—rigor, relevance and results.

We must move beyond the concept of how many facts can be memorized to understanding complex ideas. To do that, we must have systemic change not only in what we teach but how we teach.