The biggest challenge is defining what 21st century teaching and learning is. My pre-internship, internship, and post-internship inquiry class has gave me the opportunity to experience innovate classrooms in urban and rural locations, as well as reflect on my growth from my first teaching experience to my most recent. This reflection really made me inspired to engage in 21st century teaching and learning because I know that I want to engage my students and ensure that they are ready for reality after high school. The movement to 21st century practices develops students collaboration, communication, technological, emotion, and social skills to prepare them for the real world. After compiling thirteen weeks of learning into one definition, I feel that 21st century teaching and learning is when both the teacher and the students are collaborative learners in authentic learning environments developing competencies and literacies in innovative ways by hiring technology when needed. P21 is a group based out of Washington, DC that has created a Framework for 21st century learning. They use the 21st century skill of collaboration to connect all aspects of the economy to enhancing learners skills to thrive in an fast-changing society. P21 has "a unified vision for learning to ensure student success in a world where change is constant and learning never stops." Check out their website for more information! |
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Sun West School Division has incorporated research from C21 Canada, an organization advocating for 21st century education, into seven 21 st century competencies. These competencies are designed to focus educators on developing skills needed for 21st century learning and enhancing content and education programs.
1. Develop Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2. Develop Critical Thinking 3. Develop Collaboration 4. Develop Communication 5. Develop Character 6. Develop Cultural and Ethical Citizenship 7. Develop Computer and Digital Technologies For more a more detailed description of each competency, please see the file below.
Teacher's RoleWhen I first started learning about 21st century education, I thought that the teachers role shifted from teacher as knowledge keeper to teacher as facilitator. After reading Michael Fullan's (2013) article "The New Pedagogy: Students and Teachers as Learning Partners," it became evident that facilitator may not be the correct term. Hattie's research suggests that teacher as an activator has a greater increase in student achievement, than teacher as facilitator. Viewing the teachers role as an activator of learning demonstrates the important of innovative practices and instilling a love of learning into our students.
"Teacher as Facilitator (.17 effect): simulations and gaming; inquiry based; smaller class sizes; individualized instruction; problem-based learning; web-bases; inductive teaching
Teacher as Activator (.60 effect size): reciprocal teaching; feedback; teacher student self-verbalization; meta-cognition; goals challenging; frequent checks on effects of teaching" (Fullan, 2013). |
Personal Reflection on development of 21st century competencies:
Throughout my 21C inquiry class, I have had the opportunity to develop each of the seven competencies. 1. When sharing my learning, I used creative ways and new tools such as PowToon, Canva, and Google +. 2. My school community engagement project at Outlook Elementary School encouraged critical thinking as I created an inquiry proposal and sought out answers.
In3. The development of collaboration skills, tools, and understanding started from the first day of my inquiry class and it will only continue as I continue my education journey. Each learning outcome of the 21st century inquiry class, promoted collaboration as this is key to the shift in modern education.
4. My role as a 21st century teacher is to give students the skills needed to develop their communication skills, as well as my own. There are various practices that can enhance communication of assessment both in face-to-face classrooms and online learning. In addition, creating my own Personal Learning Network (PLN) has allowed me to enhance my communication skills in on online manner, Twitter. 5. Developing life-long learning skills is something that inquiry based learning enhances, both for educators and students. Taking risks allowed me to shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset with the understanding that if I fail, I have learned.
6. Understanding that we are living in a fast-changing society, requires life-long learning and a global connection. Digital citizenship is a 21st century term that focuses on responsibilities and behaviour when online. It is very important in today's society to teach students about their online presence and what digital citizenship is. This can be incorporated right into daily lessons.
7. The development of computer and digital technologies was a goal of mine during my inquiry class. I feel more comfortable using social media and technology for learning because of my school community engagement project, the several Sun West School Division staff that shared their knowledge with us, and application of these tools during my inquiry class and internship.
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