The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (“Moving Education Forward”, 2004) initiative focuses on providing the tools and support for educators to help students develop skills to become competitive in today’s workforce. Its website is a comprehensive network of businesses, schools, and community leaders working together to fosters critical skills in students like expert decision making and complex communication (Laureate, 2008) through the use of technology. Unlike previous centuries where literacy was determined by being able to garner content through deciphering print on a page, today’s literacies ". . . lies in online reading, comprehension and learning skills, or 21st century skills, required by the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs), including content found on wikis, blogs, video sites, audio sites, and in e-mail. They require the ability to not just “read” but also to navigate to the World Wide Web, locate information, evaluate it critically, synthesize it and communicate it-all skills that are vital to success in this century’s economy and workforce" (Miners & Pascopella, 2007). Our education system is at a crossroads. We need to choose to move forward so our students can be productive high wage earners in the global economy or sit back and let others lead the way.
Teaching students to be critical thinkers is nothing new to education. 53 years ago, ". . . Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning. Bloom found that over 95 % of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level...the recall of information"(“Bloom’s Taxonomy”, 2002). However, the integration of technology into the global market has made sweeping changes in how we now live, work, and play (Laureate, 2008). New developments and an educational system still encompassing previous century standards for learning has prompted a new national movement. The Partnership of 21st Century Skills website (“Moving Education Forward”, 2004) is a well-organized complex system of information. I found Route 21 as well as the upcoming events and current developments posted to be relevant and applicable to the classroom. This is a useful site for helping myself and other educators learn to teach in a Web 2.0 world and rediscover the joys of teaching.
Teaching students to critically evaluate what they read for validity can be challenging. Students will often encounter situations in which they need to shift through information for relevance and “[d]ealing with these problems requires a citizenry able to understand complex issues and able to participate in dialogue about the merits of alternative public actions” (Levy & Murnane, 2006). Dr. Christopher Dede refers to judging the merit of a source as the “Golden Goose vs. Wild Goose “(Laureate, 2008) The Wild Goose aspect of the Partnership of 21st Century Skills (“Moving Education Forward”, 2004) was to see that the Strategic Council Members (“Moving Education Forward”, 2004) and board members largely consists of employees from technology based companies. These companies stand to make a huge profit when schools adopt digital means, so a bipartisan leadership would better serve the needs of today’s youth. I also have to call into question that the site doesn’t have any published data to justify the thirteen states receiving approximately $100 million a year from the U.S. Department of Education (“Rockefeller Calls for Comprehensive Education Reform to Provide Students with Job Skills”, 2009). With a little under 8 million coming to each of the thirteen states, should there not be accountability for the public funds being used? I fear if these issues are not addressed than the movement for today’s students toward the 21st century will remain firmly in the past like it has for so many years.
There are many facets to consider when adopting the principals of a 21st century teaching style. Although many resources of the Route 21 (“Welcome to Route 21”, 2007) portion of the site have helpful information, it surprised me that more emphasis was not placed on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) which according to Dr. Thornburg is the type of graduates the United States sorely needs to complete in a global economy. His recommendation is that we seek more ways to engage students in project based learning to cultivate an interest in these content areas. (Laureate, 2008) Another facet to take into account is the liability teachers assume when students are involved with online activities. Throughout my search, I did not find any mention of safe guards for students or teachers while surfing the Partnership of 21st Century Skills site (“Moving Education Forward”, 2004). It concerns me that areas so prevalent in our current society are being overlooked by a consortium considered by some to be experts in the field of education and technology,
Technology is an integral part of the daily lives of everyone whether directly or indirectly. Integrating it into the classroom will mean changing what I teach and how the students learn it. The days of rote memorization are over. Instead, as state by Dr. Dede , my students will need to focus on acting within the global community to identify a problems and find alterative solutions. The role educator for me as well will change for presenter to facilitator. Adaptations in strategies, content, professional development, and assessments will need to be made to ensure students are prepared to meet demands in the workforce outside of school (Laureate, 2008). Utilizing technology in the classroom must come second nature to all of us if we are to continue as a nation to be the best of the best.
The premise of the Partnership of 21st Century Skills (“Moving Education Forward”, 2004) has promise and if changes are made could revolutionize how students are educated in the United States. So many other trends in education have come and gone, I hope that integrating technology will continue to be a priority for this country’s leadership.
Resources
Bloom’s Taxonomy. (2002). Office Port. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from
http://www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm
Laureate Education, Inc., (Producer). 2008. Technology interfaces [Motion Picture].
Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society.
Baltimore: Author
Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2006). Why the changing American economy calls for twenty-
first century learning: Answers toeducators' questions. New Directions for Youth
Development, 2006(110), 53-62. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier
database.
Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10),
26–34.
Moving Education Forward (2004). Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved
November 23, 2009 from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
Rockefeller Call for Comprehensive Education Reform to Provide Students with Job
Skills. (2009, May, 13). Press Room: Press Releases. Retrieved November 23,
2009, from http://rockefeller.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=312976
Welcome to Route 21 (2007). Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved November
23, 2009, from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/
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4 comments:
Wow! Your post is very insightful, and I can certainly tell that you, as well as myself, feel very strongly about where we stand with these 21st century skills. I am also concerned with students and their use of the internet, whether it be a blog, wiki, or podcast. Our job as an educator is to teach our students while keeping them safe. So, with that said we need to make sure the forms of technology that we use are safe and provide protection for them. In Will Richardson's book, "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms", he makes it very clear that the safety of the students is up to the teacher to model. I think it is all about student awareness. We need to make them aware of how real technology use, meaning things on the internet are, and how to manage that. I think it would be wise not to have them use their full names, as well as not to incorporate pictures and other information that would be tied to the student. I am obviously very concerned about this myself, and want to make sure that I am doing what is best for my students. The hard part is that technology is so useful and my students need to know how to use it.
On the other hand, I think blogs are great for allowing students the opportunity to respond to content in the classroom. Regardless of how often I allow them to use technology at school, it is apart of their everyday lives at home. Why not bring that into the classroom and use it as a teaching tool. The truth is that they could probably teach me a thing or two about technology and I teach fourth graders!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on this site. I think that your ideas and thoughts were encouraging and let other educators know that we are still in this together.
Here is my resource information for my post listed above.
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
It is very enlightening that you are looking at this from such a large scale perspective. It would be easy for someone to look at these huge steps and see the ways in which they could not be applicable in a prekindergarten setting, but instead you are looking for ways to lay the groundwork for your children before entering their next level of schooling. I commend you for that. "The world in which students live has changed dramatically-- and schools must change as well, as they have in past, to meet the needs..." (Partnership for 21st Century Skills n.d. pg.)
I agree that we are at a crossroads in our nation. If we do not act now, the 21st century adaptations could be a faint memory as we watch other countries take the lead and their students more globally prepared to make a difference.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/downloads/P21_Report.pdf
Julie,
I very much enjoyed reading your blog entry; there were notable similarities between your reactions to the site and my own. One of your comments really struck home for me; we do have to work on being less of a presenter and more of a facilitator in our classrooms. This is a personal challenge for me. Too often I find myself holding my students back in an effort to retain complete control in my classroom; I am working diligently to change this. Partnership for 21st Century Skills notes that we need to work to ensure our students are “self-directed learners.” (Partnership for 21st Century Skills Website)
Have you come up with any technology centered ideas in which you will have your students take the initiative? Teaching first graders while trying to accomplish this has proven to be a challenge for me. However, I have been amazed at the level of technological knowhow my students already exhibit. Teaching them to use them in an academic setting for educational purposes is what is proving to be difficult. I am curious to know what you are experiencing teaching at the pre-kindergarten level.
Allison
Reference:
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/downloads/P21_Report.pdf
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