Creating Success for 21st-Century Learners

Today's students have grown up with technology. Research shows that traditional teaching tools, such as textbooks and lectures, don't fully engage these "digital natives" for whom technology has always been at the center of their lives. As teachers strive to reinvent their classrooms to meet the needs of this new generation, the Minnesota Historical Society is using ACHF funding to conduct research and to develop programs and materials that will support teachers' classroom needs and engage digital natives in the study of history. Extensive focus groups with educators, parents and students throughout the state yielded two seminal reports that are guiding the current development of new field trip experiences at eight of the Society's historic sites and museums. These new programs will use technology to engage students in the exploration of history and will promote the development of 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and innovation. Already organizations across the country are planning to leverage this research, which may form the basis for a national model.