c21-cmec

Pictured (L to R): Robert Martellacci, David Roberts, John Kershaw, Hon. Jeff Johnson and Hon. Alan McIsaac

By John Kershaw, President of C21 Canada, and the former Deputy Minister of Education for New Brunswick

The release of the OECD’s PISA results December 3rd, 2013 http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm noted that while Canada remains as one of the world’s top performing countries, our overall achievement levels continue to trend downwards. These results are a predictor of our nation’s future prosperity. In the knowledge and digital era, where highly skilled people are the new economic and social drivers, there is legitimate cause for concern.

The implications of the PISA scores were not lost on John Manly, past federal Cabinet member and current president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, who was quoted in the Globe and Mail as calling the findings “a national emergency”. While others greeted the results more positively, many Canadian leaders are calling for action.

A Roundtable of Canadian business and finance leaders, convened on the same day as the release of the PISA results, underlined the call for transformative changes to Canada’s education systems. The Roundtable was a joint venture of the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) http://www.cmec.ca/and C21 Canada www.c21canada.org . The Honourable Jeff Johnson, the Minister of Education from Alberta and current Chair of CMEC chaired the meeting. The Honourable Alan McIssac, Minister of Education and early Childhood Development joined Minister Johnson at the Roundtable, with Minister Liz Sandals, Minister of Education for Ontario, joining the gathering and sharing the podium with Minister Johnson during the event’s luncheon.

 The Roundtable participants shared a number of perspectives. Concern was expressed with the growing disengagement of high school students in their own learning. Others cited the need for an enhanced focus on the quality of teaching. The nature of the skills gap in Canada was similarly addressed. But one message was clear. All the participants are seeking national leadership and a national strategy for education to position Canada for future success.

In Canada, education is a provincial jurisdiction, and as such there is no federal department of education. Thus, it falls to CMEC to provide a national vision and framework for learning in Canada, while recognizing the jurisdictional autonomy of the individual provinces. While this constitutional reality is cited by some as a deterrent to national action, others view the de-centralization of authority as one of Canada’s greatest strengths, both in terms of allowing innovative forms of learning and teaching to emerge, and in aligning learning and skills development with regional priorities.

Notwithstanding the realities of the jurisdictional context for education in Canada, given today’s transformative economic and social realities, more than ever before there is a need for a national vision for education and skills development. And national does not necessarily mean federal. Thus it falls to CMEC to engage Canadians in the design of a 21st century inspired vision and framework for learning and skills development in Canada. Fortunately, the Chair of CMEC and his ministerial colleagues are signalling that they are up to the task. While underlining the fact that the provinces were already aware of and addressing the declining achievement levels reflected in the latest PISA results, Minister Johnson certainly did not dismiss the need for more substantive changes. In fact, it is clear that his leadership in Alberta in designing and implementing that province’s 21st century learning agenda Inspiring Education https://education.alberta.ca/department/ipr/inspiringeducation.aspx makes him well suited to leading CMEC at a defining moment in Canada.

The process of designing this national vision and framework for learning and skills development must be inclusive and collaborative by design. The Roundtable participants were clear; business, finance and other societal leaders want and need to be at the table to help design and implement the national vision and framework. And while national does not mean federal in the context of who leads the process, the process of engagement must include appropriate federal involvement and representation. The federal government does have significant responsibilities and investments that need to be aligned with those of the provinces. Lastly, given that a key success factor will be sustained effort, non political Canadian leaders will have a significant responsibility in holding successive political leaders and their governments accountable for maintaining the agreed upon course.

In today’s innovation driven economy, creative and innovative people with critical thinking skills, the ability to collaborate and adapt to changing circumstances, and thrive in a digital landscape are prerequisites to success. Many participants at the Roundtable highlighted the need for these and other 21st century competencies to be infused into the learning outcomes without losing sight of the foundational importance of and need to improve literacy, numeracy and science achievement levels. Indeed, a representative at the Roundtable from the Canadian Council of Chief Executives noted that a survey of its members showed that these “soft skills” trumped content knowledge as recruitment priorities.

C21 Canada’s Shifting Minds, A Vision and Framework for Learning in the 21st Century, calls for exactly this model of learning for Canada, and is a good place to start the discussion (www.c21caanda.org).

Long recognized as a social priority, education is increasingly being recognized as an economic imperative. Indeed, in the knowledge era, investments in education are investments in the economy. This does not necessarily mean pouring more funding into education; it does mean knowing where and how to invest, aligning education to the needs of society, and shifting your priorities and resources accordingly.

If Canada is to have sustained success in today’s innovation driven world, what we teach, and how we teach must shift to 21st century models of learning, and the nation’s investments in education aligned accordingly. The good news is that we have pockets of innovative learning and teaching excellence through-out Canada. It is time to make these practices the norm, not the exception.

If Canada is to be a global economic and social leader, we need CMEC to show national leadership in designing a vision and framework for learning and skills development in Canada. All Canadians have a stake in this exercise and a responsibility to engage. C21 Canada will continue to support CMEC as it embarks on this important and urgent task.

 

 

digital_classroomWEB2___ContentSource: Brampton Guardian

PEEL— Peel District School Board is scheduled to be awarded for its commitment to 21st century learning.

The local school board will receive C21 Canada’s Shifting Minds National Award for distinctive achievement in the field of 21st century learning and innovation. C21 Canada is a national, not for profit organization advocating for 21st century models of learning in education.

In March 2012, Peel school board trustees approved the board’s Vision for 21st Century Teaching and Learning and a $7 million investment in technology to enhance student learning. The plan includes the board’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that encourages students to bring portable electronic devices to school for learning purposes and the installation of Wi-Fi at all its schools this past September.

Read more here.

IMG_5435[1]Congratulations to the Peel District School Board! Recipients of the C21 Canada Shifting Minds National Award for distinctive achievement in the field of 21st Century Learning and Innovation System Award category.

Pictured left to right: Robert Martellacci, MSL/C21 Canada; Tony Pontes, Director, Peel DSB; Mark Keating, CIO, Peel DSB and John Kershaw, president, C21 Canada

 

OPSBA

By John Kershaw, President of C21 Canada, and the former Deputy Minister of Education for New Brunswick

Today’s C21 Canada’s spotlight is on the Ontario Public School Board Association. And in this context C21 Canada celebrates OPSBA’s contribution to the 21st century learning movement in Canada with an enthusiastic high five!

The OPSBA released their inspiring new document Vision for Learning and Teaching in a Digital Age http://www.opsba.org/files/OPSBA_AVisionForLearning.pdf. The OPSBA document is a testament to progressive thinking and a welcome contribution to the call for 21st century models of learning in public education in Canada.  The fact that a key education leader in Canada’s largest province is actively engaging on the need for 21st century competencies and technology rich learning environments in public education can only be seen as positive to Canada’s 21st century learning movement.

The OPSBA’s new document is a call for change to position Ontario’s learners in the digital age. Rather than paraphrase the OPSBA latest document we highlight a few key passages that capture the essence of the OPSBA message on what must change.

Our Vision… requires a purposeful cultural shift in our education system that focuses on engaging and inspiring our students, that fosters creative and innovative minds and embraces the enabling role of technology on expanding how, when and where learning takes place.

The new role of education is to ensure all students have the opportunity to use their interests and passions to connect to all areas of knowledge.

The challenge for schools is to be open to adapting to and adopting the technology used by students. It represents a relevant way to empower students and engage them in taking responsibility for their own learning. It leads to building relationships in the classroom as the teacher engages with the students about the skills they bring, helps students refine those skills and encourages students to make productive and relevant use of technology in their everyday lives.

The document’s specific recommendations are high level and set the stage for real action on the path to transforming Ontario’s public education system to the reality of the knowledge and digital era.

The OPSBA vision statement is not just an important contribution to the future design of Ontario’s public education system; it is a complementary call for national action to C21 Canada’s own Shifting Minds vision and framework for change (see www.c21canada.org).

The authors are to be congratulated for a visionary document; the OPSBA is to be praised for endorsing and championing the vision; and the Ontario government will hopefully embrace the call for change on an urgent basis. The good news is that Ontario boasts many excellent examples of innovation in schools and in classrooms, and in a few instances at the district level itself. The challenge is to accelerate the pace of making these innovations systemic and transforming education to be innovative by design. Public education in Canada is rooted in the agrarian and industrial age and in today’s innovation driven society and economy we need an education system where innovation is celebrated, nurtured and rewarded.

A final word from the authors of the document: The challenge to be overcome is ensuring the readiness of our students to take their place in a world of rapid technological change and increased globalization. We need to start with an articulate Vision that will engage all our educators, all our learners, all our parents and all our communities.

Our collective and fervent wish is that one day soon the Ontario Ministry of Education and CMEC Ministers collectively issue a similar statement.

By John Kershaw, President of C21 Canada and the former Deputy Minister of Education for New Brunswick.

By ADialla (Flickr: City of Iqaluit) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

On July 5th, 2013 Canada’s Ministers called for higher levels of innovation in public education.

C21 Canada welcomes this public call to action, issued in a communique from CMEC’s meeting in Iqaluit. CMEC (Council of Ministers of Education Canada) is the forum where provincial and territorial Ministers of education convene to collaborate on pan Canadian initiatives and share best practices. In Canada, education is constitutionally a provincial jurisdiction, and as such there is no federal department of education. This means that CMEC is the only Canadian entity where a “national”vision and policy framework for public education can be formed and shared with the public. Thus, when Minister’s call for more innovation in education, they are in fact calling on themselves to act.

What leadership actions could the Ministers of education pursue? C21 Canada offers the following five steps for immediate action by CMEC:

  1.  CMEC should move quickly to amend its current policy statement on public education (Learn Canada 2020) to reflect a vision statement and policy framework for 21st century models of learning for Canada’s public education systems. The revised document should include a call for all provinces and territories to adopt 21st century models of learning in public education.C21 Canada’s “Shifting Minds” is a 21st century inspired vision and framework for public education in Canada and is focused on creating innovative learning environments in Canada’s classrooms.
  2. CMEC should directly engage the public by commissioning a national Roundtable mandated to identify how to accelerate the pace of provinces and territories adopting and effectively implementing 21st century models of learning.
  3. CMEC should lead the creation of new “national” school administration and teacher training guidelines for adoption by provinces and territories,  founded on the principles of 21st century learning and innovation.
  4. CMEC should call on the federal government to ensure its proposed new Federal Aboriginal Education Act is founded on the principles of 21st century learning and innovation. (The federal government does have the constitutional responsibility for aboriginal learners).
  5. CMEC should set provincial and territorial targets for enhanced levels of investments in digital learning environments, tools and resources for Canada’s learners and teachers. CMEC should also collaborate with the federal government on the creation of a new national Canadian Learner Technology Program designed to ensure high level connectivity to “all” Canadian schools and technology-rich learning environments for all of Canada’s learners. In the digital age, technology enabled learning must become the norm, and all learners and teachers provided access to state of the art digital tools, resources and related instructional practices.

C21 Canada supports the recent CMEC Ministers call for more innovation in public education. Now it is time for CMEC to act on its own call to action, and provide the pan Canadian leadership for public education they inherited from Canada’s constitution.

 

 

Chris Whittaker is presented the Shifting Minds Award by John Kershaw

Chris Whittaker is presented the Shifting Minds Award by John Kershaw 

On June 11, 2013 C21 Canada presented Chris Whittaker of Dawson College with a Shifting Minds National Award for distinctive achievement in the field of 21st Century learning and innovation. C21 Canada’s Shifting Minds awards are presented to recognize the work of individuals and organizations in advancing 21st century models of learning in Canada consistent with C21 Canada’s vision and framework document, Shifting Minds (see wwww.c21canada.org).   In presenting the award, C21 Canada’s President John Kershaw highlighted Chris Whittaker’s accomplishments in advancing 21st century models of learning and teaching in the field of physics, through the pursuit of creative and student-centred pedagogies and the design of innovative learning environments. The award was presented at the SALTISE conference at Dawson College, in front of a number of Chris Whittaker’s colleagues and peers.

Chris has been a physics teacher at Dawson College for over 15 years. According to his colleagues, what makes Chris special are 4 distinctive qualities:

  • His ongoing efforts to improve his students’ learning.
  • His continuing commitment to improving his teaching practice.
  • His commitment to advance the field of physics education through research and innovation.
  • His mentoring activities related to his colleagues.

The focus of Chris’s teaching is the creation of appropriate learning activities and environments.  He designs activities to engage students from both a conceptual and problem solving perspective. He develops learning activities that keep the individual student in mind while leveraging the benefits of collaborative engagement of peers. He leaves room for his students to have fun and see the beauty in learning physics. His students say that by sharing his many personal experiences he makes his teaching meaningful to them while also making him more approachable.

Perhaps the most important testimonials come from Chris’s students:

  • Chris cares that you do well as an individual. That you do well and succeed for yourself. He wants you to improve. It’s… the best feeling [for a student].
  •  Chris cares whether I pass or fail … He wants us to succeed as students. He doesn’t do all these examples in different ways and use all this technology… just for fun… I mean it is fun, but he does it so we can learn better, learn more and that’s great!
  • I think Chris reinforces critical thinking. With the way he does problems and all the examples he shows. I think he wants you to actually think and figure out what is going on which is why I think we do a lot of the examples without actual numbers.
  •  Chris just goes home and [seems to] spend his time trying to improve stuff that we didn’t understand. … That makes you want to learn.

Chris has played a major leadership role in designing two Active Learning Classrooms that integrate technology with teaching and learning.  A major consequence of his work has been to support his colleagues’ in engaging the Active learning Classroom model. In the process of doing so, Chris has been instrumental in creating a vibrant and growing community of practice among teachers who teach in these student centred and technology rich learning environments.

Chris’ reputation of being an exceptional teacher and innovator has spread beyond Quebec. Last summer he was asked to present his Active Learning Classroom initiative to students at the University of British Columbia. This fall he was recruited to prepare a series of workshops for the Engineering Faculty at McGill University who are promoting the use of active learning among their faculty members.

Chris Whittaker is clearly an innovator, a leader and a collaborator, three traits that have earned him recognition by others, and ones that C21 Canada also wished to acknowledge. C21 Canada is honoured to recognize a true leader and innovator in the field of education.

 

 

David Roberts, Karen Yamada, & John Kershaw
at CONNECT 2013

By John Kershaw, President of C21 Canada, President of 21st Century Learning Associates, and the former Deputy Minister of Education for New Brunswick

When hosting a booth at the recent CONNECT conference in Niagara (May 6/7) C21 Canada was encouraged by the number of education leaders who advised us they are using our Shifting Minds strategy to guide their strategic planning efforts. The Peel County School Board and Mohawk College are two examples of those who are using C21 Canada’s vision and framework in their  own planning efforts. As this trend continues C21 Canada wishes to hear from those educators who use Shifting Minds to guide their planning efforts. Contact us via our website and share your Shifting Minds stories.

The Skills Gap issue in Canada is gaining national profile, with numerous business and education groups highlighting the need for both short and long term remedies. Cited in some instances as “the  21st Century skills race” the global scope of the skills challenge is to ensure Canadians share in the wealth creation and employment opportunities arising from the knowledge and digital era.  The Canadian Chambers of Commerce’s document entitled the Top Ten Barriers to Competitiveness is a case in point. The Canadian Council of Chief Executives is also showing leadership in this area, convening a recent forum on the role of public education in addressing the issue. C21 Canada is actively engaging these organizations in recognition of the direct relationship between the skills gap issue and the 21st century learning movement. Education and business leaders across Canada need to better communicate and coordinate their respective efforts on these two inter-related fronts.

A potential bright light on the Canadian 21st Century learning horizon is  Alberta Education assuming the Chair of CMEC in the fall. Alberta is a leader in transforming its education system to the 21st century reality.  C21 Canada is hopeful that the Honourable Jeff Johnson, Alberta’s Minister of Education, and his newly appointed Deputy Minister, Greg Bass, will lead CMEC into infusing a  21st Century learning vision and into its pan Canadian education strategy, Learn Canada 2020. In the absence of a federal education agency, CMEC must seize the “national” leadership mantle and signal its support for the 21st century learning movement as the single most priority for all Canadian learners, and Canadian society as a whole.

Full release available HERE – from Canada News Centre news.gc.ca

 

Niagara Falls, Ontario, May 6, 2013—The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), today addressed delegates at CONNECT 2013, a national conference on learning and technology. The event, co-hosted by the District School Board of Niagara and Brock University, was aimed at improving education through greater use of technology.

Minister of State Goodyear spoke about the Harper Government’s wide-ranging efforts to promote innovation and, specifically, to lay the groundwork for future scientists through programs for young Canadians.

“The next generation of Canadians can be world leaders in their fields if we continue to encourage risk taking, competitive spirit, creativity and bold new approaches to traditional challenges,” said Minister of State Goodyear. “By supporting programs that promote science and technology, our government is preparing our youth for the jobs of the future, creating a stronger economy and improving the quality of life of all Canadians for years to come.”

The Harper Government has an array of programs to stimulate youth interest inscience-based careers. These programs include the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s PromoScience program, the Youth STEM Initiative (Youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) provided through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and the National Research Council of Canada’s work with Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada, a nationalbiotechnology-focused competition.

Since 2006, the Harper Government has provided more than $9 billion in new funding for initiatives to support science, technology and the growth of innovative firms. Economic Action Plan 2013 builds on this strong foundation, helping to position Canada for sustainable, long-term economic prosperity and provide a higher quality of life for Canadians.