What Does Teaching to Prepare Students for The Workplace Look Like?

Before diving into what a transformational education system could look like, I want to start off by listing key elements that transform students' lives, all starting in the classroom.

These key points are called the 4 C's:

- Collaboration

- Creativity

- Critical thinking

- Communication

Imagine a classroom where you walk in to see groups of students problem solving together, teaching each other about how to solve a problem that their teacher had presented to them.... or teachers working one-on-one with students having a discussion on what that student needs.... how about students working by themselves on a project where they have been building and designing web-based media programs?

The above examples is what you would see in a typical work place setting, students problem solving on their own, applying what they are learning in a way that is meaningful in the world and when they do not understand something they know how to ask for help.

Personalized learning is great teaching. It is being able to give the student what they need at the right moment!!

Teachers teach how they have been taught, suffice to say that if the content knowledge of a teacher is outdated, they will only teach outdated teaching practices which can drastically decrease the likelihood of our students' developing the necessary skills in all subject matter such as science, technology, mathematics, and engineering - these are the soft skills necessary to prosper and survive in the 21st century.

So where do we start in addressing these challenges? One area we can improve upon is teacher professional development. We must focus on improving the quality of teacher professional development by continually providing mentorship to help them learn, adjust and grow in their confidence to teach. An effective model to integrate within the professional development tool are the 4 C's mentioned above.