Ian Jukes, internationally acclaimed expert on educating the "digital generation," was the featured speaker at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School's Professional Day on Sept. 3.
His keynote address, titled "Critical Thinking and Effective Question/Discussion Strategies," was presented to RFH staff as well as teachers from Viola L. Sickles and Knollwood schools in Fair Haven.
In his presentation, Jukes challenged his audience to think "outside of the box" to stimulate students' interest and involvement in learning.
"Ian Jukes is a dynamic and inspirational speaker, and I thought that he provided a terrific kick-off to the school year," said Kathleen Bayer, a second-grade teacher at Viola L. Sickles School.
Jukes stressed the need for creating a curriculum that encourages the greatest possible need for analytical and critical thinking.
His presentation included statistics demonstrating that students who are taught in an engaging and creative manner have been shown to retain a greater amount of information over time than those who learn "by rote."
"Ian Jukes provided an exciting perspective on the world of education," said Michel Salazar-Linden, RFH Supervisor of World Language, Visual and Performing Arts, Business, and ESL (English as a Second Language). "Our teachers were inspired by his presentation and are very enthusiastic about beginning the school year and preparing our students for lifelong learning."
Jukes also encouraged his audience to devote more classroom time to solving real-life problems, such as the current lack of housing that is a lingering after-effect of the tsunami that ravaged the country of Japan in 2011.
"Even fifteen minutes a day will have a huge impact," Jukes noted. "After all, today's students are tomorrow's problem-solvers."
Breakout Sessions were held at various points throughout the day for smaller groups of teachers. These allowed Jukes to clarify key points in the presentation as well as provide a hands-on introduction to the 21st Century Fluency Project website.
The website allows teachers to put theory into practice by offering proven tools for making forward-thinking changes in the classroom.
Jukes is a founding partner of the 21st Century Fluency Project, an international consulting group whose mission is to ensure that all students are properly prepared to succeed in a technology-driven culture.
In his work with the consulting group, Jukes partners with clients in over 40 countries and delivers presentations to between 300,000 and 400,000 audience members per year.
A sought-after keynote speaker, Jukes is the author of fourteen books including best-sellers Understanding the Digital Generation and Literacy Is Not Enough: 21st Century Fluencies for the Digital Generation.
His Committed Sardine blog, named for the tiny fish who swim against the expected flow of the crowd, has 78,000 followers in 75 countries.
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