As times change, it is the responsibility of education to change with it. We embrace new teaching practices, new technology, and especially new curriculum. One of the topics brought up in "Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment," (Drake, Reid, & Kolohan, 2014) is the concept of 21st-Century Skills and how they are to be woven into the classroom. The picture on the right shows the Stratford High School rubric expectations in regards to 21st-century learning. This shows how these concept can be adapted to meet different requirements in the school. Among the list of competencies discussed in the text were creativity, cultural and ethical citizenship, and computer and digital technologies, (Drake, Reid, & Kolohan, 2014). Specifically these three skills stand out to me because I think they really embody our evolving world of education.
Firstly, creativity can be discussed in regards to design thinking or problem solving, as mentioned in the text. One of the challenges students of the 21st Century will face is that of originality. We as university students are already coming up against this, not only for plagiarism’s sake, but simply being able to make our work stand out. When we all have access to the same information, how do we make ourselves unique? If we’re now being measured against not only our immediate peers, but being compared to students from around the world, we truly need to stress to students the importance of creativity in work. Uniformity may have been the educational trend in the past, even looking at standardized assessments, but with a world of information at our finger tips, we need to show students how to make their own unique impression on that world. Take this blog assignment for example, we are each given the same guide lines, the same access to information, however, how we design our page and how we write are going to be what make us stand out. We need to start instilling this drive to be unique to students at a younger age, because they are the ones who will be growing up in the technological world.
Also listed in needed competencies was cultural and ethical citizenship, as well as computer and digital technologies. I am going to focus on these two topics together as I find they intertwine. As I mentioned before, with our technological advances we have an entire world of information on a screen right in front of us. As technology develops, I feel that we as educators have a responsibility to use it. Not only does this tie to the idea of digital literacy and making sure students can safely and effectively maneuver through an online world, but it also gives students pictures of the world they could never have seen before. The internet has given us the ability to see through the looking glass, so to speak, at the other side of the globe. By expanding our educational resources we can actually connect to people and issues on the other side of the world! We can use this information to teach students on issues anywhere in the world, whether it be Asia, Africa, or even in our own backyard. We can use this new information to really teach children what it means to be a cultural and ethical citizen, in our community and our world.
This video was created by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership discuses the benefits of integrating technology and 21st-century learning into the classroom.
Although this video is designed for the Australian curriculum system it brings up some important points, such as how opening ourselves up to these advancements will create life-long learners in students. This blog also outlines how Ontario school boards are adapting to meet 21st Century Learning Expectations. Mentioning how one of the key aspects is to prepare students for an ever changing, technology-based world.
When I was in eighth grade, my classroom was lucky enough to be the first in our school board to receive a Smart Board. I personally believe that having this resource benefitted me as a student as we were able to use technology to enhance our learning. Not only were we able to to easily connect to the internet and keep up to date on many news stories, but we were able to be given information in a new and creative way. Whether it was having visual aids in math to being able to access interactive maps for social studies, I believe this technological advancement really impacted my school. By embracing skills of the 21st-century we have the ability to open students minds to a whole new landscape of education. We can give them the opportunity to grow and advance into a new technological world that did not exist in years prior. By teaching 21st-century skills students can have the chance to succeed in making a unique, global impact.
References
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2012, May 7). 21st Century Education (Video File). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA1Aqp0sPQo.
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
EduGAINs. (2014). About 21st Century Learning in Ontario. http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/21stCenturyLearning/about_learning_in_ontario.html
Stratford Board of Education. (2015). Stratford High School 21st Century Learning Expectations. http://stratfordhigh.stratfordk12.org/Content/21st_Century_Skills_1.asp
Hey Lauren!
ReplyDeleteYour Blog post was excellent! The topic of 21st Learning is something that has to be addressed. Finding ways to make students more involved with learning by using resources that we now have access too is HUGE and your chart and video show ways at which we can achieve this. We now have to give children more freedom to express their feelings and your reference to this assignment is spot on! Give all children the same assignment but they can complete it in any way they want! This method will definitely be used in my classroom because it provides excitement for the student and teacher!
Have a great day Lauren!
Hi Lauren! It was very interesting to hear your perspective on 21st century learning and I especially found it useful to see how this "big idea" in curriculum development is being implemented in real world contexts such as the high school rubric you shared and the Australian curriculum video. I agree with you that 21st century skills are vital for our future students... not only will it help put them on the map as global citizens to interact effectively with the rest of the world but it can empower them to use and share knowledge in many different ways, similarly to how you felt empowered having that SmartBoard. I definitely agree that having the Internet and digital world at our disposal makes it hard to stand out and this is something I've struggled with but overcame throughout my years at university since it is such a bigger scale and range of students than high school was for me. I think your idea to encourage the drive to be unique at a younger age is a very important one... and since you put forth the idea, I will send it back to you with a question.. How do you think we can implement this in primary grades? Would it take a bit more structure and guidance to help younger students to think outside the box, or will that defeat the purpose of teaching them how to stand out?
ReplyDeleteVery well written and captivating blog entry - the topic is extremely relevant and important in this day and age, and the way you chose to discuss the information has a fascinating tone to it. I agree that the way of learning in the past is too structured and does not foster an environment for optimal questioning and learning. 21st-century skills are becoming increasingly significant in the realm of schooling, and furthermore in the domain of living as a social citizen upon graduating from school. Creativity and thinking outside of the box is important to set oneself a part as an individual. And just as you mentioned, it is crucial to be unique and find ways to be distinct members of society - yet I agree that with technology and increasing globalization, this task is made much more difficult. Furthermore, another topic that you touched upon, that I believe to be immensely significant is that of technology and digital citizenship in relation to cultural and ethical competencies. With electronics becoming increasingly more common throughout all aspects of society, the inclusion of technology in the classroom and for learning purposes will prove to be beneficial for students in the future. Through my own experiences, working with children and teaching them robotics and other computer based programs, I have been able to see first-hand the potential advantages that can result from the implementation of this in the curriculum. Overall, your emphasis on incorporating technology and 21st-century skills into learning would be a valuable addition to our slowly advancing ways of teaching.
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