21st Century Education leads to Innovation + Entrepreneurship which leads to wealth in Malaysia.
"Teachers are the one and only people who can save nations."
Students loved being photographed.
Recommendations and Options
Putrajaya and Cyberjaya are evidence of innovation, entrepreneurship and determination demonstrating that Malaysia can set out to accomplish its dreams. One of those dreams is to take education into the 21st century in order to increase the wealth of the nation and the well-being of all Malaysians.
These children are the future of Malaysia!
Putrajaya and Cyberjaya are evidence of innovation, entrepreneurship and determination demonstrating that Malaysia can set out to accomplish its dreams. One of those dreams is to take education into the 21st century in order to increase the wealth of the nation and the well-being of all Malaysians.
These children are the future of Malaysia!
Recommendations
· Malaysian National Conference on 21st Century Education (organized by 21st Century Schools) – This conference will provide an environment for letting teachers know that they are respected as professionals, it will also provide an exciting and motivational introduction to education for the 21st century, it will provide teachers with the critical opportunity to meet and learn from each other (sharing and generating new ideas and a sense of community), and finally, it will provide all Malaysian educators with a great deal of new knowledge including specific tools and classroom strategies for creating classrooms that are student-centered. See our article, What is 21st Century Education?, which has been published in journals and textbooks.
· Professional Staff Development – research has shown us that the countries with the highest performing students also spend a significant amount of time on professional development. This PD is provided in a variety of formats: conferences, on-site, attending outside workshops, professional learning communities and study groups, peer coaching, etc.[i]
· School Class Schedules – the current schedule in schools is a major impediment to the desired changes. Thirty minute classes in primary school and forty minute classes in secondary school are obsolete in the 21st century. Although some classes have double periods we would like to work with the schools to create schedules that best support optimal learning, and optimal opportunities for high quality learning experiences.
Possibilities to consider are block schedules, career academies, smaller learning communities, schools within schools, and interdisciplinary grade level teams. Other options include internships, online learning, and early college high schools (a blend of high school and college in which students earn college credit up to a two-year associates’ degree.)
· Access to technology and online resources. Malaysian students were born into and will have to succeed (not merely survive) in a globalized society dependent upon technologies, the Internet, and rapid, constant change in the world. All schools should be connected to the Internet, and all schools should be wireless so that students can access the Internet as well as their files from anywhere on the school property. Additionally, this will reduce the cost of purchasing textbooks and workbooks, making information up-to-date literally by the minute.
Equipment such as tablet computers should be provided to all teachers and students. In addition to the benefits listed above, students will have access to Web 2.0 tools which are motivational but also support creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking and collaboration. The cost of a high quality tablet is actually less than the cost of multiple textbooks and other print resources which are usually out-of-date at the time of printing.
· Pilot Project Options– click this link for suggested options, or possibilities, for proceeding with the Pilot Project. Any of these are modifiable.
· Align teacher education with PreK-12 education.
· Release Teachers from Non-teaching Duties - Both financial and educational benefits will occur when teachers are released from non-teaching duties so they can focus on their real job – teaching and learning. Just two possibilities include hiring one or more people per school to take over the non-teaching duties. Another recommendation is streamlining the data collection and reporting systems, eliminating those tasks that are either redundant or not needed.
· Planning Periods for Teachers – teachers should be provided with a minimum of one hour per day uninterrupted planning time.
· School Visits – there are a number of excellent schools in the USA. A visit to these schools could be arranged.
· Modernize the washrooms at all schools.
· Funding - leadership should launch a major campaign to develop public/private partnerships, raise funds and in-kind support to introduce 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction, provide staff development to Malaysian schools efficiently and effectively. For example, the State of California has done this for an environmental studies project. The overall project need is estimated at $22 million over four years to cover outreach, printing and distribution, teacher training, evaluation and building long-term sustainability.
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[i] Darling-Hammond, Linda. What we can learn from Finland’s successful school reform, Teachers College Press, 2010.
· Malaysian National Conference on 21st Century Education (organized by 21st Century Schools) – This conference will provide an environment for letting teachers know that they are respected as professionals, it will also provide an exciting and motivational introduction to education for the 21st century, it will provide teachers with the critical opportunity to meet and learn from each other (sharing and generating new ideas and a sense of community), and finally, it will provide all Malaysian educators with a great deal of new knowledge including specific tools and classroom strategies for creating classrooms that are student-centered. See our article, What is 21st Century Education?, which has been published in journals and textbooks.
· Professional Staff Development – research has shown us that the countries with the highest performing students also spend a significant amount of time on professional development. This PD is provided in a variety of formats: conferences, on-site, attending outside workshops, professional learning communities and study groups, peer coaching, etc.[i]
· School Class Schedules – the current schedule in schools is a major impediment to the desired changes. Thirty minute classes in primary school and forty minute classes in secondary school are obsolete in the 21st century. Although some classes have double periods we would like to work with the schools to create schedules that best support optimal learning, and optimal opportunities for high quality learning experiences.
Possibilities to consider are block schedules, career academies, smaller learning communities, schools within schools, and interdisciplinary grade level teams. Other options include internships, online learning, and early college high schools (a blend of high school and college in which students earn college credit up to a two-year associates’ degree.)
· Access to technology and online resources. Malaysian students were born into and will have to succeed (not merely survive) in a globalized society dependent upon technologies, the Internet, and rapid, constant change in the world. All schools should be connected to the Internet, and all schools should be wireless so that students can access the Internet as well as their files from anywhere on the school property. Additionally, this will reduce the cost of purchasing textbooks and workbooks, making information up-to-date literally by the minute.
Equipment such as tablet computers should be provided to all teachers and students. In addition to the benefits listed above, students will have access to Web 2.0 tools which are motivational but also support creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking and collaboration. The cost of a high quality tablet is actually less than the cost of multiple textbooks and other print resources which are usually out-of-date at the time of printing.
· Pilot Project Options– click this link for suggested options, or possibilities, for proceeding with the Pilot Project. Any of these are modifiable.
· Align teacher education with PreK-12 education.
· Release Teachers from Non-teaching Duties - Both financial and educational benefits will occur when teachers are released from non-teaching duties so they can focus on their real job – teaching and learning. Just two possibilities include hiring one or more people per school to take over the non-teaching duties. Another recommendation is streamlining the data collection and reporting systems, eliminating those tasks that are either redundant or not needed.
· Planning Periods for Teachers – teachers should be provided with a minimum of one hour per day uninterrupted planning time.
· School Visits – there are a number of excellent schools in the USA. A visit to these schools could be arranged.
· Modernize the washrooms at all schools.
· Funding - leadership should launch a major campaign to develop public/private partnerships, raise funds and in-kind support to introduce 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction, provide staff development to Malaysian schools efficiently and effectively. For example, the State of California has done this for an environmental studies project. The overall project need is estimated at $22 million over four years to cover outreach, printing and distribution, teacher training, evaluation and building long-term sustainability.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[i] Darling-Hammond, Linda. What we can learn from Finland’s successful school reform, Teachers College Press, 2010.