Last week I discussed my findings of 21st century learning and continued exploring this topic. 21st century learning focuses on twelve different skills crucial for students to thrive in outside contexts e.g., our society.
"21st Century Skills Infographic" by Center for Creative Education
21st century learning focuses on a student-centered aspect. Creating meaningful, collaborative and engaging lessons can be crucial for effective 21st century learning. Students will most likely be engaged, motivated to learn, and hopefully gain a deeper understanding of the content to extend their learning to outside environment, known as transfer. According to Pellegrino & Hilton (2012), transfer is the “ability to use prior learning to support new learning or problem solving in culturally relevant contexts” Transfer shows student learning can “stick” and be used in many different situations; not only the classroom. Integrating these skills in the classroom setting can prepare students to enter into our ever-changing society. They can have the ability to use these 21st century skills to help them thrive in their future jobs.
This week, I explored different technology, with the possibility of integrating several in my classroom. They varied from Pinterest to Padlet, to the most unique of PowToon and HiHaHo. Some of these tools were familiar to me however, there were others I had not heard of. I was fascinated that there are so many different tools I could integrate in my classroom.
From there, I created a lesson plan from a previous lesson I did this school year. I wanted to revamp it because of the lack of technology. Students were researching using their Chromebooks, but I wanted to incorporate a tech tool in the learning process. Within this lesson, the 4 C’s are incorporated.
Students will collaborate using a buddy system and small groups to think and share their ideas, along with supporting one another. The buddy system gives students accountability for their own learning and to ask another student for support instead of relying on the teacher.
Students will create a mind map of their findings using the tech tool provided.
Students will communicate and question the teacher and students to foster conversations.
They will apply critical thinking skills to determine what destinations in Arizona would be interesting to visit and why.
Some challenges did arise during the planning stage. My school does not have 1:1 technology, therefore, my grade level team shares the Chromebook cart. We have had a cart rotation system however it does not always work. I would have to borrow the cart from another grade level and make sure the Chromebooks would be available for the lesson.
I was also challenged to ensure content integrated would be meaningful and engaging. I needed to make careful considerations with creating engaging experiences so students would not only learn the content but understand what they are learning and relate it to another context.
A last challenge was the quantity of content in the lesson. I have students researching, gathering, and displaying their information about three destinations in Arizona with three facts for each. After careful consideration, it might be jam-packed and need to be done in two days.
In this ever-changing society we live in, 21st century learning does not just mean the use of technology. It can involve cultivating communication skills, creating opportunities to question and be curious about topics, and forming a creative and innovative environment.
However, as educators, interweaving all 4 C’s may be difficult to do. While these are all great skills students may need for their future, how can we successfully teach them? We may stress one C more than another (e.g., focusing on communication than creativity). Should we emphasize on one C? Will a focus on one C impact student achievement? How will the integration of these skills in students' daily curriculum affect student achievement in district benchmarks and state testing?
These are all questions and thoughts I ponder as I continue to learn and gain knowledge of 21st century learning. As I continue my teaching, I hope to learn and find teaching strategies to implement these skills effectively in the classroom.
References
Center for Creative Education. (n.d.). 21st century skills [Infographic]. Center for Creative Education.
Pellegrino, J. & Hilton, M. (Eds). (2012). Education for life and work: Developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century (p. 69-100). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13398.
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