21st Century Skills
Partnership with 21st Century Skills is a phenomenal website that elaborates on the
connection teachers can make with the 21st Century Skills we are teaching and
how to use them within the classroom. I love how this website lists the ways
that we can make the skills easier for teachers to implement in the classroom.
It has plans and support systems that the teachers can use to help them. It
defines the 21st Century skills and tells educators how we can implement them
inside the classroom.
The
world is constantly changing and it is imperative that we are changing with the
fast world. The website shows a diagram of how they foresee the 21st Century
skills and how it should be mapped out in our brains to make it easier for
educators to imagine.
This website stated, "It is
important for us to maximize the impact of technology." I agree with this
statement, yet we need to make it relevant to our students. The website gave a
brief overview of the idea of the virtual education world and how it can be
implemented. It is hard to believe
that this type of learning is already being introduced and used.
Partnership
with 21st Century Skills also touched on
the idea that students and teachers should be able to work in an environment
with changing priorities. I
disagree with this idea of learning. Students of really young ages need to be
able to focus and manage one priority at a time. Although this is realistic for
students and teachers of older ages, children need a slower change. Students
are quite permeable, yet it is imperative they are not feeling stressed with
the change.
Partnership
with 21st Century Skills suggests a great
deal of implications for the students and teachers in the classroom. It
suggests teachers should be implementing technology in the classroom as the
society changes around us. There is a great need for students to be learning
with tools that will help them in the "real world" as they grow
older. The teachers are asked to create lessons that include the dispositions
of the 21st Century skills and we are able to do this with collaboration and
with the help of this website. The main idea I got from this website is that
students should be collaborating with the use of technology and using it as
frequently as possible.
Resources
The partnership for 21st century
skills. (2011).
http://www.p21.org/
Change is a big part of what is happening in today’s society. Even in your introduction you mentioned that the world is changing at an accelerated pace. It is imperative that students of all ages get used to the idea of change. Furthermore, they should be exposed to strategies that enable them to manage change and cope effectively with change. Bates & Phelan (2002) wrote that today’s workers must be flexible and easily able to adapt to the “changing dynamics of the work environment.” Similarly, Bailey (as cited in Bates & Phelan, 2002) found that employees must be flexible enough to change as the business evolves. Additionally, research conducted by O’neil et al. (as cited in Bates & Phelan, 2002) found that they were a number of job-readiness elements common to employability skills frameworks including but not limited to higher order thinking skills. They stated that one of the most important of these skills was change adaptation. So, clearly then modern day employers, businesses and industries require workers who are capable of adapting to change. It follows, therefore, that students of all ages be given the opportunity to and subsequently be able to work in an environment with changing priorities. Additionally, many demands are placed on today’s workers. Therefore, the ability to multitask and focus on more than one task at a time would only enhance the employability of today’s students. All that is required is that the nature of the tasks is adjusted to suit the ages of the students.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Haynes
References
Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 4(2), 121.
Hi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI teach very young students and therefore, am very able to identify with your statement regarding young learners. Educators are aware of the need for technology and its function for students as future employees in a global economy. One very valid point in supporting your thinking is this statement, "Students are spending 27 hours a week online at home, compared to an average of 15 minutes per week at school" (Miners & Pascopella, 2007). It is not likely that the very young students in our classrooms are interacting with the Internet to the same extent, or having the same experiences as older students. Yes, educators need to incorporate technology, but I agree that it is not always as viable an option with young students. They are still developing the basic skills needed, before they can effectively manage these sophisticated technologies. I include technology in small doses, and wherever applicable. If I taught older students, I would be using technology more frequently, and in a very different way. Teachers still need to teach the three Rs "What the changes in the economy make increasingly important is that students learn to use their reading, math, and communication skills to develop and express a deep understanding of the subject matter they are studying" (Levy & Murnane, 2006). Kindergarten students do not have enough reading and math skills to apply the critical thinking necessary to employ the sophisticated and more challenging demands of technology-based learning. They will eventually get there, and we can incorporate technologies in teaching that are developmentally appropriate, but I agree, these will look very different for young students.
Lisa LeBlanc
Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2006). Why the changing American economy calls for twenty-first century learning: Answers to educators' questions. New Directions for Youth Development, 2006(110), 53–62.
Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34. Used by permission.
I also agree with the statement it is important for us to maximize the impact of technology. Technology can fully enhance a lesson and make lessons more meaningful. Besides teaching our subject area, we have to teach students how to successfully use technology in the real world. Every job now a day involves some form of technology.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Collaboration is a crucial part of 21st century skills. Collaboration among teachers is a necessity in setting up our classrooms for the 21st century. I know I am constantly working with teachers in my building to come up with new ideas to involve technology in our lessons. Without this collaboration, I would not have near as much technology based lessons. We are constantly working together to find new ideas and share successes and improvement ideas. I feel that it is important to teach students this process and even take time to collaborate with students to involve them in lesson planning. Collaboration is a life skill that students will use for the rest of their lives.