After visiting the website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ , I have mixed feelings about their views and mission. The thing that bothered me most was that they said their mission is to teach students “21st century skills” which to me are the basic skills that all students should have when they complete their education. These skills include things such as problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, global awareness and civic literacy. These are some of the skills students have needed to succeed in the business world for decades and are not exclusive to the 21st century.
Another part of the mission statement that I did not like was the description of the 21st century classroom with the moveable walls and the different seating arrangements throughout the rooms. Just by looking at the illustration of the classrooms, I felt as if I was in Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, or Pennsylvania’s Southern Lehigh Middle School, both of which were built back in the middle 20th century. Again, this idea is nothing new.
As with all of my critiques of any change in pedagogy, I try to find some good aspects of the organization in order to be fair. There were two things that I thought were worth mentioning. The first was the use of the MOUSE program to support the use of technology in schools. The idea of the program is to train students interested in pursuing technology related jobs to aid in the maintaining of the technology throughout the school. This is a good program because it not only gives students a chance to work on their “21st century skills” but it also gives the school a chance to have a stronger technology department, without having to compete with the private sector for technology specialists.
I did find it interesting how one of the papers discussed how technology can be used to track students progress through the use of formal and informal assessments that will give teachers quick and up-to-date records of a students progress and understanding. While I do not always agree with tracking, I think this is one case where it could be beneficial for the students.
In my classroom, I will continue to work on these 21st century skills that teachers have been trying to instill in students for years. In order to do so, I will use what technology my school has to give my students the best “real world” experiences they can have. My students already use the Internet a great deal, and often just for communication, but what really needs to be done is to teach them how to build technology, how to use it appropriately, and even how to fix it if it does not work anymore. I was at an Odyssey of the Mind activity this past weekend, and I was talking to one of the parent/coaches that was there and we started talking about how the students can do more with a computer than either of us can yet they do not know how to fix it if something goes wrong. They do not understand the programming, or the hardware, nor do they really know how to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. These are the kinds of skills that students need to learn, and I will do my best to teach them how to think critically and be aware of what they have around them.
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Travis -
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statements regarding the fact that sometimes technology is used by the students, yet not properly understood. Should a problem arise which requires troubleshooting, most students' default settings would be to sit and wait for someone else to fix it. Why not backtrack and teach them how to troubleshoot, how to problem solve is this capacity, not just problem solve using technology. Great point.
However, I have to say tht I am going to respectfully diagree with you in another area. Perhaps you are blessed enough to teach in a school that allows many of the 21st century skills to be honed. My experience is different. I have taught in schools (both public and private)that rely too heavily on the textbook, and on memorization of facts. The students, in my opinion, do not truly learn, they just memorize for a test, take a test, move on and either don't remember the information three weeks from now, or cannot apply the information, or both!
In the DVD entitled 21st Century Skills (Laureate, 2008), Dr. Thornburg states that the U.S. is not graduatng enough engineers to meet the number of engineering jobs currently available. He goes on to state that we don't even have the capacity to import engineers from abroad. Dr. Thornburg says that "We have to grow our own talent." In order to do this, students will need to fall in love with Science, Math, and Technology. One does not fall in love with these topics by reading a textbook and regurgitating information on a test. Collaborative, problem-solving groups, however, would lead to this love, don't you think? Allowing the students to make discoveries on their own, then presenting them to class as small groups would foster this. Do you agree? I hope that you can see my point.
Therefore, I am all for moving toward more collaboration, problem solving,etc., and for accomlishing it in new ways; through the technology available now and in the near future.
I was pleased to see that the Partnership was advocating for assessment methods to change so that they encompass more collaboration, critical thinking skills, etc. and was thrilled with the validation that I was not crazy for having thought this way for years and years!
OOOPS!
ReplyDeleteForgot the reference!!
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). 21st Century Skills. [Motion Picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, Programs 1 - 23. Baltimore: Author.
I just want to clarify that although I do not see the 21st century skills being honed in my school, I do not see these skills as being a new set of skills, from what we have been trying to teach, but rather, the same skills, just being more significantly enforced. Dr. Thornburg himself even stated that these are the same skills that we have been striving to teach for year, however, technology has amplified their significance, and their uses in the world.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that the STEM classes are lacking, and in my school, I have been quite fortunate to attend several STEM conferences and events, which have been quite successful in helping the students learn critical thinking and problem solving skills. Fortunately, the Micron Corporation has been a strong supporter of the STEM classes, and I'm sure would support the Partnership as well because they are a prime example of how the U.S. is in need of more engineers and technology specialists. I once heard that they are the leading technology company in the U.S. and yet are lagging behind Japan and China with their technology patents.
I'm sure you would agree that NCLB has left our STEM classes struggling for success because we are not focusing on them as much as we should be. In my school, more emphasis is put on reading and writing than any other core class, often pushing Science to the background. I can only hope that something is done with the new administration to help right NCLB's wrongs.
I forgot the reference too!
ReplyDeleteLaureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). 21st Century Skills. [Motion Picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, Programs 1 - 23. Baltimore: Author.
I feel the same way about the website. It has some good ideas, but the "21st century skills" just seem like everyday skills or basic skills. For instance critical thinking and problem solivng skills. Maybe my own education has been different than that of teachers who went to college 10, 20, or 30 years ago so they might not be as familiar with some of these skills like global awareness as I am. I know that new teachers are not respected sometimes because we do not have that much teaching experience. However, we are fresh out of college with the newest ideas, theories, and skills and I wish we were treated with the same respect as those teachers with more teaching experience.
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