Adjusting to the 21st Century

I. Introduction

The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era or the Common Era, in
accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001, and will end on
December 31, 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium. It is distinct from the
century known as the 2000s, which began on January 1, 2000 and will end December 31,
2099 (Wikipedia)

In an era dominated by constant information and the desire to be social, should the tone
of thinking for students be different?
After all, this is the world of Google. In this world full of information abundance, our
minds are constantly challenged to react to data, and often in a way that doesnt just observe, but
interprets. Subsequently, we unknowingly spin everything to avoid cognitive dissonance.
As a result, the tone of thinking can end up uncertain or whimsical, timid or arrogant,
sycophant or idolizingand so, devoid of connections and interdependence. The internet and
social media are designed to connect, and with brilliant efficiency they do indeed connect
words and phrases, images and video, color and light, but not always to the net effect they might.
The nature of social media rests on identity as much as anything elseforcing subjectivity
on everything through likes, retweets, shares, and pins. Instead, we might consider constant
reflection guided by important questions as a new way to learn in the presence of information
abundance.

II. Body

Information Abundance
There is more information available to any student with a smartphone than an entire
empire would have had access to three thousand years ago.
In one form or another, that idea has been repeated quite a bit since the Shift Happens
videos were making their rounds on YouTube a few years ago, but its easy to miss how
incredible this is. Truth may not change, but information does. And in the age of social media, it
divides and duplicates in a frenzied kind of digital mitosis.
New contextsdigital environments that function as humanity-in-your-pocketdemand
new approaches and new habits. Specifically, new habits of mind.
Persisting.
Managing impulsivity.
Responding with awe.
Questioning.
Innovating.
Thinking interdependently.

And in an era of distinct academic standards and increasingly brazen technology, they are
increasingly relevant.

Habits of Mind
Art Costa developed the 16 Habits of Mind as a response.
Bena Kallick, who worked with Costa on their development, explained, It was the focus
on dispositionsalthough students were often able to think analytically, for example, were they
willing to do so? What is the attitude or disposition a person has for lending their mental activity
to the question at hand. Those sorts of questions drove the development of HOM.
This hints at the concept not so much of student motivation, but student impetus.
Why learn?
It is curious why we continue to take this question for granted, or to respond to it with
adultismswell-intentioned (and often accurate) notions of citizenship and knowledge is
power that can fail to resonate with learners in an era of like.

Habits of Mind is knowing how to behave intelligently when you DON'T know the
answer. It means having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with
problems, the answers to which are not immediately known: dichotomies, dilemmas, enigmas
and uncertainties.
 Focus is on performance under challenging conditions that demand strategic reasoning,
insightfulness, perseverance, creativity, and craftsmanship. The critical attribute of intelligent
human beings is not only having information, but also knowing how to act on it. Employing
Habits of Mind requires drawing forth certain patterns of intellectual behavior that produce
powerful results. They are a composite of many skills, attitudes and proclivities.

The 16 Habits of Mind identified by Costa and Kallick include:

Persisting
Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
Managing impulsivity
Gathering data through all senses
Listening with understanding and empathy
Creating, imagining, innovating
Thinking flexibly
Responding with wonderment and awe
Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
Taking responsible risks
Striving for accuracy
Finding humor
Questioning and posing problems
Thinking interdependently
Applying past knowledge to new situations
Remaining open to continuous learning

20th Century Models In a 21st Century Environment

If the 20th century model was to measure the accuracy and ownership of information, the
21st centurys model is form and interdependence. The close thinking needed to grasp this is not
beyond the reach of a typical middle school student, but it may be beyond their thinking habits.
Facing the barrage of information, task, and procedure they tend to on a daily basis in the
classroom, and on their Playstation 3s and iPads, habits form as a matter of protection and
survival, especially as they seek out currencies and value in learning. Instinct kicks in, and they
quickly establish whats most important in a given context.
Adherence, compliance, and impersonal, external evaluation. This worked when there
were no other options, but learning options today dont just abound, they dwarf formal learning
institutions in every way but clout with the power-holdersparents, teachers, deans, and
curriculum designers.
How the Habits of Mind develop is not as simple as merely naming them. It is one thing
to remind little child to persist in the face of adversity. It is another to create consistent reasons
and opportunities for him to do so, and nurturing it all with modeling, resources, and visible
relevance.
If the child is to be rewarded, rather than label him right or wrong, good or bad, novice or
distinguished, we can instead nurture the development of thinking habits.
Habits, by nature, are reflexive, accessible, and adaptablenot unlike knowledge. This is a cant-
miss point. Internalized and reflexive cognitive patterns that are called upon intrinsically, and
transfer seamlessly.
Above all else, the 21st century learner needs for self-knowledge and authentic local
placement, two very broad ideas that come from patient thinking. Persistence. Managing
Impulsivity. Responding with awe.

III. Conclusions

The shift towards the fluid, formless nature of informationthinking of information as a

kind of perpetually oozing honey that holds variable value rather than static silhouettes and
typesets that is right or wrongis a not a small one.
But in the face of media abundance, its increasingly urgent that we consider such a shift.
Old learning forms focused on the thinker rather than the thoughts, the source rather than
the information, and correctly citing that source over understanding what made that information
worth extracting. It was also critical for thinking in centuries past to participate in a larger
conversation.
For Immanuel Kant to know what to add to Philosophy, he had to know what had
already been said. Same with Albert Einstein and Science, Flannery OConnor and Literature,
Google and data, Mark Zuckerberg and Social Media.
The greater the abundance of accessible media, the greater the need to embed thought in
important, enduring, and collaborative conversations that flash across the internet, then out into
non-digital realms of universities, businesses, books, and coffee shop conversations.
The idea of constant reflection guided by important questions likely sounds too hippie for
the data-driven generation that wants to see a bar graph for everything. Data is imperative, as is
accuracy, but when we seek reductionist notions of proficiency over the habits of a persons
mind, weve kind of missed the point, yes?
The tone of thinking in the 21st century should not be hushed nor gushing, defiant nor
assimilating, but simply interdependent, conjured to function on a relevant scale within a much
larger human and intellectual ecology, one that exposes itself daily across twitter, facebook, and a
billion smartphone screens.

IV. References

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/how-21st-century-thinking-is-different/

http://www.artcostacentre.com/html/habits.htm