21st Century Teaching

9/23/2017

When I first started teaching I never thought anything about technology. I student taught in 2 schools that had a computer lab, document cameras, and a TV or projector. I have only been teaching six years and the changes of technology within the classroom is remarkable. Now, each one of my students has their own Chromebook, some classrooms are going paperless, and whiteboards are interactive. You would think that's enough, but now we are competing with other countries for jobs and our students are not thinking critically enough. How can we get students ready for jobs that do not even exist yet?

Teachers are in a rough position. Now not only do we need to keep these students interested in math, writing, reading etc. we now have this task of getting students ready for jobs that are not there yet. So we have to look at the 4Cs: critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. These four areas will help prepare students for any job. We need to prepare our students to be problem solvers. They need to come up with their own solutions and to be able to think critically about things. How I do I feel about this? Well, I think it's great! But with all of the standards and expectations of working with the curriculum, when do I have time to have students work on problems that 1. are an interest them and 2. they can research and come up with solutions. I have been watching videos of 21st Century teaching and learning and I want to implement these ideas but I just do not know when I have the time. I still have to give grades and teach math, spelling, reading, writing, the list goes on and on.

I am going to challenge myself to start small and implement critical thinking strategies in my classroom. I really like the idea of the students coming up with a problem that they think they need to solve, researching it, and sharing it in some way (a power point, pamphlet, etc.). I think this year I will try giving them a topic and seeing what problems they can come up with to solve. Now I will continue my research to see how to make sure my students will be using the 4Cs during this project. In The Flat World and Education by Linda Darling-Hammond she suggests that in order to have students who are ready for the workforce we should "encourage quality by structuring work around whole products or services rather than disconnected piecework." This makes sense to me because when our students are doing projects for a job they are doing whole products. I think this ties in perfectly with what I would like to accomplish this year in my classroom and help my students problem solve and use their critical thinking skills.

Diana Moore

9/24/2017 06:06:39 pm

You are absolutely right! It is amazing to think how quickly technology is changing teaching in the 21st century. It wasn't long ago that the only technology used in classrooms was an overhead projector and and old TV and VCR. We are so fortunate to live and work in a time that allows us to use technology for the betterment of the students. With the incorporation of technology, I feel like I am able to be a multitasking superstar. We can expand lessons in ways that even a few years ago we could had never dreamed of.

helen blood

9/27/2017 06:59:15 pm

I agree with you 6,000,000 percent. I am daily overwhelmed with the amount of prep required to keep abreast of demands for learning, social, and physical needs of my children. The curriculum, objectives, and tools of our trade are changing so fast. I feel like I’m on a de-railed freight train. However, I believe you have the key. Look out the window be aware of what is on the horizon, make changes slowly so you stay sane, and always remember even though it’s new to the teacher, the students are ready, adaptable , and eager.

Lisa Gottfried

10/1/2017 11:18:54 am

I'm wondering if a mindset of, instead of this tech being another thing to contend with, that you think if ways that you can get your todos done with tech. So, viewing it as a tool and a way to accomplish the huge list of things that teachers have to get done, but just in different ways. For example, I have to grade students often, but I've found that I can give feedback and have them self assess as well as give my own assessment while meeting in collaborative groups. That way, students get to give each other feedback, I give feedback and they also get to give their own input into the grading process. It accomplishes a whole mound of work that I used to have to do on my own, but instead it's a powerful discussion between students, me and the student getting assessed, done in person, and the grading is easy as pie. Where can you have the students do more, and you do less? It helps them to own their process if they have a larger say. Maybe it's worth blowing up your grading practices and looking at it from a fresh perspective. What if I started from scratch and looked the problems I'm trying to solve and then design a new way of reaching those goals using technology? It's design thinking approach, rather than, an "extra thing I have to do" approach.

21st Century Teaching

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