In the book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman says that “today’s workers need to approach the workplace much like athletes preparing for the Olympics, with one difference. They have to prepare like someone who is training for the Olympics but doesn’t know what sport they are going to enter.”  When we look at the HSE21 Best Practices Model below, HSE has all the parts necessary to develop students who are prepared for an unknown future.

A lot of people immediately think of HSE21 as being all about a device.  This is a misconception that we need to move past.  When the HSE21 team created the best practices model, their ideas were based in transforming learning and teaching to better meet the needs of our world.  Past models of education were focused on rote learning and memorization because our economy needed workers who were able to complete repetitive tasks successfully.  In today’s job market, employers are looking for workers who can problem solve, think creatively, and work collaboratively.  By using the best practice model above, we can help our students be more prepared for whatever role they may take in the future.  It’s about getting our students to think about the big changes that they can help bring to our future.  Check out this video on Moonshot Thinking to see some examples of problems that people are thinking about now:

If you haven’t already done so, print out a copy of the Best Practice model and keep it by your plan book.  As you create activities, don’t worry about hitting all the Best Practices, but rather be thinking about what you can add to the activity you are planning so that you are including some of the HSE Best Practices.

What new things have you tried recently based on the Best Practice model?  What activities are you planning to do that are new and exciting?  Leave a comment below, share it with a colleague, or tweet it out to the world!