VISION OF LEARNERS
IN THE 21ST CENTURY

http://www.tact.fse.ulaval.ca/fr/html/svision.html

Introduce:

• Learning, not teaching...any time, any place, multiple modes, and at any pace. Learner-centric curriculum design that provides multiple methods and resources to master any course or formal subject.
  
• Group learning, where students undertake the responsibility as a group to complete an assignment or course-assign certain roles and projects to one another and provide peer support.
  
• Volunteer programs for under-utilized (retired and semi-retired and others with rich backgrounds and context specific experience) to augment instruction for those needing support and direction in finding reasons to learn...especially relevant for learning disciplines traditionally devoid of context (i.e., languages, math, science, history, etc.).
  
• Additional ways to create context for languages, math, science, etc. For example, 7th grade Americans taking French correspond weekly with French seventh graders taking English.
  
• Apprenticeships in partnership with industry. Pair faculty with industry professionals to develop workplace skills, identify professional aptitudes, and choose career goals.
  
• Peer tutoring and mentoring-those who have mastered a subject provide support and guidance to those who are beginning or struggling.
  
• Extensive in-service professional development programs for teachers and administrators on the design and applications of new learning infrastructure.
  
• A national service (U.S. EduCorps) to support public education-working in schools homes, and professional settings to support a variety of learning services and programs-every student could be required to give 18 months of public service in exchange for his/her education. Give high profile to awards of achievement in educational settings.

Modify Curriculum Design to:

• Create incentives and methods for students, at an agreed upon developmental stage, say age 10, to find and use learning materials on their own.
  
• Include parent involvement (particularly in grades K-6), to generate more learning in the home and through involvement in community service.
  
• Allow students to work on projects and problems of intrinsic interest to them and in collaboration with others who share the same interests rather than learning what everyone else at the same age is expected to learn at the same time.
  
• Provide advancement based on competencies rather than credit.
  
• Incorporate ongoing assessment of competency and interests to pinpoint where students falter, trigger learning drills, add supplemental learning, and certify ongoingly the achievement of competencies.

The measurement we are accustomed to is inseparable from the present system of teaching and learning. It measures the product of an obsolete system, serving more as a punishment or reward than a precise indicator of progress. New measurement systems, instead of exclusively focusing on comparative measurements of students, should focus on the attainment of individual learning objectives and provide comparative measurements of the systems design and learning materials that produce learner certifications.

• Develop assessment for the acquisition of learning skills such as the ability to manage inquiry, correlate data and solve problems.
  
• Emphasize and invest in high quality student services (e.g. mentoring, assessment/certification, identifying and catering to cognitive styles, matching remedial solutions to weaknesses, etc.) rather than conventional instruction.

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Donald A. Norman, in his book Things That Make Us Smart