Thinking About Educating for the Future – Part 2

Personally, I believe the following four themes will have to be addressed in order to better educated students and allow them to be successful contributors to society:

1) Informed and knowledgeable citizens,
2) Technology-based instruction,
3) Application, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
4) Team Work and Collaboration. 

Informed and knowledgeable citizens:

All students need to be able to productive members of our society; meaning they need to be able to understand how our government operates, understand how our economy operates, understand how we our connected to the rest of the world and understand how they fit into the “big picture”.

Technology-based Instruction:

All teachers need to be able to effectively use technology to enhance learning and allow students to be actively engaged in the learning process.  The teacher needs to facilitate the learning not be the focal point.  Technology, if used appropriately, can be used to achieve this goal.

Application, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving:

Students need to be the ones who read, analyze, discuss, debate and interpret the information being presented to them.  Ultimately, they need to be the ones that find viable solutions and find a clear and meaningful way to express them.

Team Work and Collaboration:

Students need to learn how to work together, share ideas, agree to disagree and compromise. 

The things I have selected our important because they highlight the skills that are needed in the 21^st century.  As teachers, we are not preparing our students for one career, we are preparing them for multiple careers and we have to an understanding of the world and times “they” are living in.  We need to stress to students that they should be active learners, engrossed in learning new technology and actively seeking solutions from all sources. 

I personally enjoyed taking this course because it has reinforced for me that I am on the right track with emphasizing simulations, projects, collaboration and technology in my classroom.  I hope that schools learn to embrace technology more for its value and not as an excuse to eliminate teachers.  I think there needs to be a balance between teacher instruction and student learning and my fear for the future is that some schools will use technology to replace teachers and if it is not done effectively students will not benefit but will actually be worse off.  I hope Governor Christie and President Obama make the right decisions but allowing for more technology to enhance instruction not more technology just to save a buck.

Thank you Mr. Lerman for giving me the opportunity to learn more about 21^st Century Learning.

Lesson Ideas for Teaching Socialnomics!

As I was watching the video clip from the previous blog, I was brainstorming ways to incorporate it into my current lesson plans.  The Midterm Elections are November 2 and I think it would be a great idea to create an assignment for students using socialnomics.

Lesson Plan:

Do Now: Watch the 4 minute video clip and share student reactions/responses

Lecture: Define Midterm elections and describe "traditional" differences between Democrats and Republicans.

Lesson: Students would create a online video using social media to discuss an aspect of the Midterm Election process, it could be the election results, impact on House, impact of Senate, role of media, media bias, etc.

The students would have two weeks to research, create and present their project.  I realize my outline above is vague and would need to be ironed out over the next week, but I would like to role it out the first week in November to see what the students will do with it.

I am excited about the idea and I really think my students will like it as well.  On a side note, I have seen videos like this in the past on other topics and I always find them thought provoking and good place to start a discussion for a general class topic.

In this case, I think it ties in nicely with my unit on the media.  Currently, I just talk about traditional forms of media so this would allow me to branch out more and make it more relevant and meaningful to the students.

As always, thank you for sharing this wonderful links.  I plan on exploring more of them throughout the year.

Socialnomics is a reality!

I teach history of U.S. government and economics and I think the following link would be very helpful for expanding my unit on media and incorporating the role of "social media".

Website Link: http://futureschools.ning.com/video/social-media-revolution-2



Creating Professional Development Opportunities with Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy for the 21st Century

                This activity allowed us to demonstrate 21^st century approaches to education by requiring creativity, collaboration, evaluation and application.  Each person individually came up with a professional development suggestion and then we collaborated to narrow it down to three professional development ideas.  Then we had to evaluate our peers from another group and demonstrate our ability to move it up Bloom’s Taxonomy to make it a more meaningful professional development activity.  It also allowed us to reevaluate our original suggestions to our peer’s suggestion which requires us to reflect on the overall success of our individual and group effort.  I found the activity to be a good tool to promote discussion and internal self-reflection.

                I personally think the lesson would have been more effective if we had laptops to write the question so it would be easier to reword and edit.  In addition, I would have benefited with some more time to come up with creative suggestions.  Finally, it would have been a better idea to have the groups larger to promote more discussion and debate.  In turn, this would have made it more difficult to compromise and forced the group to narrow their focus; thereby making the activity more challenging.

                I enjoyed this activity but I also found it slightly frustrating when a group member wanted to get bogged down in particulars that were not pertinent or relevant.  I found myself bringing the group back to task and wondered to myself if I would be perceived as bossy; however, overall I enjoyed the activity and enjoyed getting to know peers in my class on a deeper level. 

                In this activity, I got to apply Bloom’s new taxonomy in a “practical” use.  In addition, I did not realize that I would be solely in charge of planning professional development activities as an administrator.  I now realize it is not as easy as it looks.  I also am considering one of my suggestions as a viable option for me as a future administrator.  I think it would be a create idea to create an online professional development community for the teachers.  I will be starting my internship in the Spring and this is something I may be able to implement at my current place of employment.

21st Century Skills – The Tipping Point in U.S. Education

Articles/Presentations:

1. 21^st Century Skills – Rethinking How Students Learn – Forward
2. 21^st Century Skills – Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools
3. Online Video Clip – Sugata Mitra Shows How Kids Teach Themselves (Ted Partner Series; filmed February 2007)

After reading and watching the above articles/presentations I am feeling motivated and inspired to do even more in my classroom.  The first thing that struck me was the reference to Malcolm Gladwell and his book on “The Tipping Point” and its comparison to U.S. education being on the threshold of unstoppable change.  I completely agree with the statement and I think the longer we refuse to acknowledge it as a profession the further behind we are falling.  Change is inevitable and we need to recognize this and embrace it. 

Article 1:

I agree with the author that “21^st century student outcomes are the design specs for the rest of the system”.  On a side note, as an economics and government teacher, I am glad to see that the proposed curriculum includes economics, government, civics and financial literacy; which are important skills all students will need regardless of what occupation they would like to pursue.   Most school offer these as electives when it is imperative that all students become informed citizens in government and economic if we want to have a thriving democracy and economy.

I laughed at the quote “any employee who needs to be managed is no longer employable”.   It is so true, we need to teach students and adults to be self-sufficient and capable task manager and problem solvers, otherwise, and we are wasting valuable work time to constantly train employees to do things they should be able to figure out and do on their own.

Article 2: 

            I really enjoyed reading this Chapter in the book.  The following comment particularly caught my attention, “we now officially live in a world where even twelve-year-olds can create their own global classrooms around the things which they are most passionate.”  Maybe we should be focusing on modeling learning more after childrens’ passions.  We are longer educating children to do a job, we are training them to be life-long learners where they can adapt their core set of skills to meet the needs of the global workforce which will be dynamic and not stagnant.   Job security is no longer a reality and learning one skill will not guarantee you a steady paycheck.  We need to embrace technology and use student’s interests to engage them in creative activities that involve problem-solving on a regular basis. 

            I also like that the article pointed out that learning is now a global community and does not take place just in a classroom.  As teachers we should be looking for ways to engage our students in connecting with people, place and things outside their “inner bubble”.  However, as the article suggests we need to make sure we train our teachers and students to be safe and be aware of the dangers global education presents.  I don’t think I have ever been trained on this and I think it would be an excellent professional development opportunity to offer in my school district.

            Online Presentation:

            I think this video clip paired nicely with both articles.  It gave you a real-life example to go along with the theory presented from both of them.  I believe that remote schools are at a severe disadvantage and this video clip showed it in the flesh.  I also believe that education is evolving into a self organization and that the “brick and mortar” school we know today will probably not be the school of the future.  My interest was also peaked with the following question:  “Can technology alter the acquisition of values”?  I definitely believe it can and it will open the flood gates for teaching diversity, tolerance and a general understanding of what I would call “global values”. 

 I look forward to discussing this in class tonight with my peers.

Reaction to Discussion on 21st Century Learning

Important Charateristics/Themes for Educating 21st Century Students:

Personally, I think schools need to be revamped to include 21st  century skills.  In tomorrow's world students will need to be resilient, creative and comfortable with digital technology and its advances.  A typical high school should offer classes such as: social networking, creative cognitive thinking, problem solving, the art of compromise, evaluating online content for bias, etc.  Students will no longer have to take a class where they learn how to type or a class where they learn how to write legibily. 

The concept of a school will probably change as well.  I invision a virtual school four days a week and a brick and mortar school one day a week.  Students from all social and economic backgrounds will be interacting with each other in virtual school and once a week you will meet with students in your neighborhood to exchange ideas and discuss skills face to face. This will also allow all children the opportunity to take any class they want because they won't have to rely on their school district offering it in order to be able to take it.  In addition, this will greatly improve the financial situation of schools and state budgets.

The downside to this is that if we go to far, we might lose that human element that is available in overabundance in school today.  I think we need to stike the proper balance between embracing new ideas and technology and saving ideas that work today and have a place in the future.

I think it is difficult to visualize what schools will look like because technology has allowed society to rapidly change so this task is difficult but one worth thinking about because as an administrator I will be leading the change needed in education today. 

Revenge of the Right Brain

Article: Revenge of the Right Brain  


By: Daniel H. Pink

Summary:

The author of the article makes the argument that we have moved from the Information Age using the left-side of our brains to the Conceptual Age using the right-side of our brains. Ultimately the skills that are valued today are “artistry, empathy, seeing the big picture and pursuing the transcendent.”

What I liked about the article and why I found it interesting?

The following quote really made me think: “Any job that can be reduced to a set a rules is at risk.” The author made me realize that most schools in the U.S. function to teach students to conform to a set of rules on a daily basis. We teach students to follow a set of rules and procedures and look for an “expected” result when we should be teaching students to explore and come up to their own conclusions. We should be teaching critical thinking and problem solving skills. In addition, we should value innovation in students not conformity.

What questions do I have about the article?

1. I would like examples of “high-touch” activities and/or lessons I could introduce to my students.

2. The author makes the argument that we are going to bypass the Conceptual Age but he does not clearly indicate where we will be heading next, I would like to hear his thoughts on this.

3. We currently using standardized testing for students, what does the author suggest we replace it with to align with right-brain assessment vs. left-brain assessment?

What might I want to change about what the author said and why?

Personally I agree with the author and there is not much I would change about what he has presented. However, I still think we need to value teaching to both sides of the brain. All children learn differently and we need to make sure as educators, we are attempting to meet the needs of all learners not just the breadwinners of the future.