Partnership for 21st Century Skills.....my thoughts....

For my graduate program, this week’s assignment was to explore and review the website http://www.p21.org, which is the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills.  The mission for P21 is to provide tools and resources to help the education system in the Unites States to keep up with other industrialized countries around the world, by incorporating the four C’s (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation) with the three R’s  (which is no longer identified as Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic – identified by P21 as english, reading or language arts; mathematics; science; foreign languages; civics; government; economics; arts; history; and geography).  P21 advocates for local, state and federal policies that support this approach for every school (2011).

I loved this website because it emphasizes the importance of using the 4 c’s in the classroom, completely with every subject.  I found the statement “the Partnership views all the components as fully interconnected in the process of 21st century teaching and learning” to be profound because as an educator it is important to understand that these components should be used in the classroom each day, in all subject areas, to prepare our students for the future.  Teachers can use the resources and tools provided on the website to educate themselves on not only the importance of why these skills are needed for our students success, but also strategies we can use in the classroom with our lessons in each of the core subject areas implementing the four c’s with those core subjects.  I found the Route 21 tab @ http://www.p21.org/route21/index.php, extremely beneficial because it is “an online interactive tool that demonstrates the fusion of the three Rs and four Cs and how this can be supported through standards, professional development, assessments and curriculum and instruction.” (2010).  It is a place that I can actually look and see examples of how to incorporate the 4 c’s into my own instruction.

I enjoyed the exploration of this website and have bookmarked it, so I can refer to it often.  It’s vision is consistent with the learning resources we viewed this week in class, where Thornburg explains 21^st century skills, and how it is our responsibility as teachers to teach our students “not to survive but thrive” with these new skills because of our changing society (Laureate, 2010). The fact that “students are spending an average of 27 hours a week online at home and an average of 15 minutes a week at school” (Miners & Pascopella, 2007) was definitely an eye-opener for me as an educator.  I have to make changes in my classroom, and be determined to lead by example to make changes in my school.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program number 11: Skills for the 21^st century  [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34

 Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A framework for 21st century learning. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/

Sidebar...

I'm sitting here on my day off, trying to enjoy Martin Luther King Jr Day, and am thinking, hoping, wishing, that there is no bad weather tonight.  Since winter began, every time there was a hint of snow, my students' and I would make a BIG deal about it.  Snow dancing, turning our pajamas on inside out, and wishing for snow.  EVERY time we get missed!  Well tonight it doesn't look like we will get missed, and we will get a sheet of ice, snow, wintry MIX.....which could be much more dangerous than any snow we have had predicted.  Guess what though?  Tomorrow is our overnight field trip to Camp Schmidt!!!!  If we have a school delay or any closing - NO FIELD TRIP!!!!!   Is there a reverse snow dance?  I told my kids to do one just in case, but oh.....it's looking dreary out there:-(

Ideas for My Classroom

I need to determine the best way I can get my students to use blogs in the classroom.  It is so exciting to think of this as an option to enhance their learning.  With so many different ideas swimming around in my ahead, I quickly am reminding myself of possible drawbacks.  The biggest drawback I can think of at this time is time constraints, right now my school is on an "MSA push."  Which is basically a push for our students to be prepared for the state assessments to be given in March.  We have not met AYP in three years straight, and are in jeopardy of being taken over by the state this year if we do not make it.  My schedule is so tight already, trying to find time to bring blogging into the daily routines, will be difficult - difficult but not impossible.

I teach reading/language arts to 4th and 5th graders.  My homeroom class is the 5th graders, and I have more time with them during the day and afternoon, so I think I will begin with those students.  We began literature circles last week, and for our second book we will begin an author study on Ronald Dahl.  Students will be responsible for different activities throughout the study, and posting to the blog about their books they are reading, and responding to each other's blog is how it will begin.  I am quite sure that gaining interest in blogging will not be a problem, because any activity with the computers - my students love.

Another idea I have, that I will begin to implement is having them blog about current events.  We do not have very much (if any) time to incorporate social studies in our daily work.  Most social studies is sent home for homework and "brushed" over throughout the week.  However, current events interest the students, and I think if I post a current event article or something of the sort, to a blog, have students respond their feelings on the event, and then read more information about it......blogging could be a useful tool to incorporate social studies and current events in their learning on a regular basis.

Please post any ideas or suggestions or possible problems you foresee with these initial ideas I have in the classroom.  Thanks!

Technology in the Classroom, expectation or consideration???

With all of the demands put on today's educators, through No Child Left Behind and standardized testing, is technology really something that can be expected of them on a regular basis, or should it be a consideration to enhance lesson plans when time permits?

Personally, I believe that technology has to be an expectation of all teachers.  I am not sure how our students will succeed in the world today, or in the future, if they are not accustomed to using different forms of technology on a daily basis.  Cellphones, laptops, video games, gps systems, blogs, wikis, chats, are as common as cars and television.  Technology should be integrated into our students daily learning.  It is our responsibility as teachers to educate our students on modern technology, as much our responsibility as teaching reading, math, science, social studies, and implementing differentiated instruction in the classroom to make sure all of our students succeed.

What are your thoughts?