Future-Focused Learning: 10 Essential Shifts of Everyday Practice

When educators embrace student-centered learning, classrooms transform, authentic learning comes alive, and outcomes improve. A culmination of Lee Watanabe-Crockett's ten-plus years of work with schools around the world, "Future-Focused Learning" details ten core shifts of practice--along with simple microshifts--you can use with your students immediately, regardless of your core curriculum or instructional pedagogy. These proven shifts offer a clear pathway for taking the great work you are already doing and making it exceptional. Use this book to improve student-centered learning in the classroom and support authentic learning outcomes for the 21st century: (1) Study over 50 specific examples of classroom microshifts that make the larger shifts in practice simple to achieve as a collective group; (2) Connect the six essential fluencies--solution fluency, information fluency, creative fluency, media fluency, collaboration fluency, and global digital citizenship--to the shifts of practice that develop students' key 21st century skills and higher-order thinking; (3) Explore topics in student-centered learning competencies such as project-based learning, essential questions, STEM education, and digital skills; (4) Learn why fostering connections to learning--from improved emotional connections to personalized learning--improve student-centered learning outcomes and higher-order thinking; (5) Improve formative assessment practices to be more mindful, ask the essential questions, and further student engagement by involving them in the assessment process; and (6) Access an exclusive online bonus chapter that examines the value of solution fluency across a range of applications.