The website created by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/) seems like a great resource for teachers looking to improve the implementation of technology in their classrooms. I enjoyed reading about the Partnership's mission and the information provided is very valuable to a newbie such as myself. I find myself overwhelmed at the vast array of new material we, as educators, need to address in our classrooms. This resource helped put my mind at ease and gave me some tools I can utilized to begin assisting my students in practicing these 21st century skills.
It is common knowledge nowadays that the workplace is a very different environment today than it was yesterday. Employers expect their prospective employees to come to the job knowing much more than the core subject content knowledge we teach our students today. "To cope with the demands of the 21st century, people need to know more that core subjects. They need to know how to use their knowledge and skills--by thinking critically, applying knowledge to new situations, analyzing information, comprehending new ideas, communicating, collaborating, solving problems [and] making decisions" (Partnership for 21st century skills, p. 11). It is this difference between yesterday and today that needs to inspire educators to change the methods and content they teach to their students. Our students' successes in the "real world" depends on our ability, as educators, to adapt to the ever-changing nature of society and the skills required to succeed.
I was surprised at how many of these 21st century skills I already incorporate into my classroom. For example, collaboration plays a large role in my class--it is through this collaboration that students learn important communication skills, respect for new ideas and perspectives, empathy, productivity, self-motivation, drive and self-direction, as well as accountability, adaptability, and social responsibility (Partnership, p. 11).
The BIG all-encompassing question remains: How do educators begin to address the new 21st century curriculum while still addressing the core "standardized-tested" content required by the state? I believe this question needs to be seriously considered by administrators and all involved in curriculum development. Many of these skills are brand new ideas for students, and that needs to be taken into account--the time factor plays a role in everything we teach. Do we have time to address these new needs on top of everything else the state already requires us to complete in a short 180 days?
The value of these skills is limitless, and the necessity is present; trust me, I am going to do everything in my power to prepare my students to the best of my ability, but I am stressed about the time factor. More professional development definitely needs to be offered to ease the stress presented by this new curriculum/expectation. It is for the best of all of our students to begin implementation of 21st century skills into our everyday lessons--we just need to be given the proper tools to do so...
RESOURCE:
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.blogger.com/www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
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In my Curriculum and Instruction class, we talked a lot about impelementing different strategies into the classroom. It was suggested that each year, try to implement at least two new strategies. Over the course of four or five years, the teacher would then have several strategies with which use in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking the same will be true for me as far as implementing technology into the classroom. If I can find at least one or two ways to bring technological resources to my first graders, they will have somewhat of a working knowledge of the internet, and can hopefully build upon that foundation as they progress through their school years.
I really want to work with my new first graders next year in explaining the basics of the internet and making sure they understand and have the navigational skills. I am hoping to introduce wikis to them and integrating information learned from our centers into the wikis. Saying and doing are definitely two different things. I hope it goes well.