Evaluating 21st-Century Skills

After exploring the Partnership for 21^st Century skills document, I have found that today, teachers across the nation are expected to be preparing students to meet the demands of the 21^st Century. Schools are partnering with the business community and policy makers to ensure that all students will be productive citizen and workers that will possess essential skills needed in the 21^st century.   The 21^st century standards focuses on teaching students how to thinking creatively, work collaboratively, and use innovative technology.  Teachers must modify their instructions to incorporate more activities that will allow students to hone their communications skills both written and verbally and implement more real-life problem based solving activities to help improve student critical thinking skills. Schools are requiring teachers to align their curriculum according to the 21^st century so that students will be better preparing when they enter the workforce.

This website allowed me to broaden my knowledge about each state  requirement for the 21^st Century and it familiarize me with the programs that states have implemented to help educators  prepare students to compete with others globally. In North Carolina there are three key ongoing 21^st century initiatives that have been created to ensure that all teachers have available resources, knowledge, and skills to prepare students for this era. The first is a “Learn and Earn” programs where students can earn a high school diploma and finish with two years of college or an associate degree with no cost to the students.  The second initiative is The North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey, where teachers are asked to complete at the end of each year.  This survey provides important data so that state educators can help strengthen and improve the learning environment in schools.  I will share with my co-workers that importance of completing this survey and the impact that it can have on the teaching profession. Lastly, there is a graduation project that requires high school students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do as a result of their cumulative education.  This project helps students to develop ideas for discovering an interest about a topic that relates to the 21^st Century Skills and it also encourages business partners to participate in student job shadowing.

I think that the website could have provided more detail information of how teachers can include 21^st Century Skills into their curriculum. They could have provided sample lessons that teachers have created according to grade level and subject area. This would be beneficial to teachers because it would give examples of a lesson that incorporate a variety of 21^st century skills.  I notice that a lot of the information was repetitious.  It was good to know that if teachers want to get involve with the 21^st Century skills initiatives that they can participate in P21's collaboration which is a Leadership States that serves to ensure 21st century readiness for every student. I know that my students will benefit from me gaining more knowledge about the 21^st Century Skills standards.  I will make sure that I stay abreast of the 21^st Century changes in my state, so that I can be inform of the new pedagogy, methodology and advance technology which will help improve my teaching practices. I now realize the importance of creating rich learning experience for my students so that they will be able to transition to a higher institution of learning or into the real world.

Reference:

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (2004) www.P21.org

Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom

I am a high school business education teacher and I teach 10^th and 11^th grade students in Computer Applications II.  I would like to implement web blogs in this course to help students master new concepts that are taught in this class.  When, I introduce  new concepts, I provide students with essential questions so that they will know the specific skills and knowledge that I expect them to  master at the end of each objective.  I would use blogs as an assessment tool for students to share what they had learned about a particular objective and then address any challenges that they may have encounter.  Students would have an opportunity to use blogs to reflect  on knowledge and skills that they  have learned and it can be archive so that  parents  and other stakeholders can view information at later time. Blogs would be an excellent strategy to implement to  help students improve their content knowledge, writing, reading and critical thinking skills. Blog topics can vary from  technology advances, course content, student issues or class projects so this create an environment  where students are engaged in the learning process. Blogs can be used in all subjects regardless of the content area and that makes this tool so powerful.

 After watching the video this week of Mrs. Martin’s class using blogs, I am so elated  that I  now have insight on how incorporating blogs into my  instruction can help students become more active participant in their own learning.  Hearing comments from students stating “ that using blogs are fun,” “you learn better,” “it helps me to determine whether I am on the right track”, prove to me that this is a highly effective educational tool.  Using blogs to respond to problem based activities would allow students to communicate with the teacher and their peers.  This would create an opportunity for students to learn from others and to share information that they have  grasp about key topics.  Students enjoy displaying their work so the blogs would help to motivate students to do their very best because they know that their writings can be viewed by the public.

Resources:

Laureate Education(2010), Video “Spotlight on Technology: Blogging in the Classroom” with

Toffler, A.(1980). Blogging in the Classroom. The third wave. New York: Bantam Books.