A Fine Overview of What We Mean by "21st Century Skills" - http://bit.ly/qFROP3

This article (from The Intelligencer in Wheeling, WV) nicely captures the essence of the somewhat elusive term "21st Century Skills." The goals and approach that the authors describe in this piece are very much in line with the work we've been doing in the classroom at Friends and through our Teaching and Learning Committee.  Authors such as Daniel Pink, in A Whole New Mind, Tony Wagner in The Global Achievement Gap, and Tom Friedman in That Used to Be Us have echoed the need that these authors describe for a different set of outcomes than traditional education has produced.  Our Teaching and Learning at Friends School paradigm ( http://bit.ly/oQ6dsJ ) is informed by the research and thinking found in these and other considerations of the way that our educational system will need to change in order to adapt to the world in which our students will live.

http://bit.ly/qFROP3

Some Articles on the Case Against AP

Below are links to some representative articles about the increasing movement in public and independent schools away from the AP program.  At Friends we are pleased and proud to have always remained independent from the AP program, because of our belief that that we could offer students a more powerful and productive educational experience than the constraints of AP classes mandate.  

NY Times Article - "Rethinking AP"

"Advancing Beyond AP" from the Chronicle of Higher Education 

Independent School Magazine - "Changing Course for the Better" 

Predictions for the Future of Education - http://bit.ly/nDhmdD

I found this article on the Getting Smart blog.  Its predictions are thought-provoking, and utterly within the realm of possibility, even likelihood.  Fundamental shifts in the educational landscape are happening, and the rate of change will only increase with time.  These are exciting days in our field and a willingness to explore and adapt are essential for any school that aspires - as we certainly do - to providing its students with world-class preparation for the lives they will lead.  Many of the changes predicted in this article are underway, in one form or another, at Friends, as our teachers expand their repertoires and reimagine their roles in the classroom.

http://bit.ly/nDhmdD

The Dawning of the "Flipped" Classroom

The link below is to an interesting article that appeared recently in The Boston Globe about the "flipped" classroom phenomenon.  This relatively new approach to education has the students doing the passive work of listening to an explanation of (in this instance) a math problem and formula at home, where they can rewatch the explanation as often as needed to understand the concept.  The application portion, where students are solving problems that require the use of the formula takes place in the classroom where the teacher can be of active assistance and can gauge how well the concept is sinking in for each child.  Khan Academy, which is mentioned in the article, is a major source for educational resources such as this, but by no means the only one.  We've begun to use the "flipped" approach here at Friends in some innovative and fruitful ways.

http://bo.st/rmiQ3U

A Vision of Student Learning

This YouTube video offers an exciting vision of "The Networked Student" of the 21st Century and the ways in which the role of the student and the teacher are shifting.  These approaches are increasingly a part of the experience for our students at Friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA