CEO Message: Looking into the Future for Teachers

Tomorrow’s teachers are today’s middle schoolers – 7th grade students today will be teaching the next generation in 2020. They are digital natives, and they will present a learning environment that is interactive and technology rich.

This issue of AdvancED Source is focused on Teachers of the Future. While we can’t fully predict the demands on and expectations of teachers in the future, we can anticipate that the design and delivery of instruction may be very different, ultimately affecting the roles and responsibilities of teachers. Are we preparing the next generation of teachers for what tomorrow will bring; what the students of tomorrow will need to understand and achieve in order to be successful? Traditional teaching programs have been slow to change and yet, they must change in order to prepare teachers to educate a responsible and successful citizenry for tomorrow.

Today there is much interest and discussion regarding teacher effectiveness – how to measure, ensure, and support effective teaching in every classroom. What we must acknowledge is that effective teaching cannot be measured by a single test score. Determining the attributes and fair measurements of a teacher’s effectiveness must be focused on what we want in the future rather than what we have experienced in the past. The conversation must start with the exploration and vision of what we want and need teaching to be in the future. With a vision in hand we can then adequately and fairly create the proper systems to support and ensure effective teaching in every classroom.

AdvancED Source opens with an article from Gary Marx, president of the Center for Public Outreach. His piece, "Getting Students Ready for a Fast-Changing World," outlines trends that he believes will impact the future of student learning. Dr. Stuart Kahl, CEO of Measured Progress, examines how the changes in education will put greater demands on teachers’ ability to assess their students effectively in the future in his article, "What Teachers as Assessors Must Know and be Able to Do."

In "Using New Skills to Prepare Students," Stacey Donaldson shares her beliefs on the skills and expertise teachers will need to prepare the next generation of students for the demands of the future.

Explore an international perspective on the future of teaching with "Teaching in 2020." AdvancED Source surveyed educators from around the world on their perspectives about what will change for teachers in the next 10 to 15 years. Individual interviews further revealed what today’s educators believe will be the impact in areas such as online courses, teacher accountability, learning environments and more.

Robert Greenlead, Ph.D. and Sharyn Orvis share their findings on ensuring teachers and learning environments keep up with students in the 21st Centutry in, "Engaging Students for Sustained Learning." Eigh-grade science and social studies teacher, Jeff Battle, explains how to make learning more fun for students and teachers alike in, "Whole Brain Teaching: Learning the Way the Brain is Designed."

Dr. Tim Ham, superintendent of Madison School District in Phoenix, AZ, explores the technology needs of future generations and how teacher preparation must be modified to meet these needs in his article, "Training for Transformation: Teachers, Technology, and the Third Millennium."

I want to thank all the authors in this issue of AdvancED Source for looking into their proverbial crystal ball and exploring the future of teaching.