Holden,+Kelly


 * Use the course materials to help you respond to these questions for each Module.**


 * Module 1 Notes **
 * 1) What skills you think today's students will need to be able to live and work in the 21st Century? To be: flexible, innovative, creative, decision makers, problem solvers, communicators, and collaborators. To possess: global awareness, information & media literacy skills, economic and business literacy, and civic literacy.
 * 2) How you are preparing your students to gain these skills? If you are not currently teaching: How are educators preparing students to gain these skills? In our district, we actually focus on 5 "C's": Curiosity, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Communication. This past year was my first year teaching so this is just the beginning or foundation for me. Last year, I think we did a lot of collaborating and a lot with creativity and communication. I think that kids are naturally curious so I'm not too worried about that one, other than I like to encourage them to be curious and to definitely raise questions. The biggie I feel is critical thinking, which I need & want to do more with, e.g., I want to do more project-based learning.
 * 3) What is the difference between ’Foundation Skills" and "Functional Skills"? Foundation skills are the 17 more general knowledge skills required of all workers in the high performance 21st century workplace. They are grouped into four categories: Basic Skills, Thinking Skills, People Skills, and Personal Qualities. Functional Skills are the more specific skills needed to perform specific job functions, e.g., physical strength & coordination, or organizational management skills; however, these skills/competencies are transferable to many different work settings.
 * 4) How well your curriculum and current instructional strategies are helping your students acquire these skill? If your are not currently teaching how well do you think our schools are using instructional strategies to help students acquire these skills? As far as the Foundation skills, the basic skills, people skills, and personal qualities are being acquired for sure; but definitely a lot more needs to be done with thinking skills. As for the Functional skills, I think some but a much smaller percentage as compared to Foundation are being acquired. It would seem to me a lot of the Functional skills will be acquired later, e.g., in high school, college, and through work experience; and that many of these will also come with developing and maturing.
 * 5) Think about today's students and the potential professions they might go into. Which of these skills might each student need? How can we make sure that all students are prepared with the skills necessary to enter the 21st Century Job Market? I think they will need all, if not most, of the Foundation skills and many of the Functional skills. I think we can make sure they are prepared by first, educating ourselves, and with that, I really like the idea of connecting and communicating with the community and working with different types of businesses, having guest speakers, and taking field trips (both actual & virtual) so the students can hear and see firsthand what different jobs are like & what's required for those jobs. Also, we need to emphasize the relevance of what they're learning in school and how it connects to their world; and we need to do more research-based and project-based learning. We need to make sure they have many opportunities to collaborate, create, and communicate. We need to teach and to learn //with// them, not //at// them.
 * 6) What patterns are beginning to emerge between the various resources you’ve been exploring? How do these skills compare with the list you made in question 1? The patterns/themes that are emerging between the resources so far are the needed skills of collaborating, communicating, problem-solving, innovating, creativity, flexibility, decision making, etc. These skills are actually very similar to my list. Some of the ones I did not have on my list are: cross cultural understanding, leadership, ICT, career learning, and self-reliance (although I put resourceful on mine so could be construed as the same).


 * Module 2 Notes**
 * 1) How can we make personalized learning a part of our schools and classrooms? I like the term Steve Barkley used, "personal learning". He said that "personal learning" suggests doing for themselves whereas, "personalized learning" suggests being done //to// them. We can plan curriculum using "interest-based learning" (from __The Global Achievement Gap__ by Wagner) -- building the learning around the interest of the students, which also builds in relevance. By building relationships & trust with our students, to facilitate engaging them in their learning. By doing individual learning plans (from Wagner), to be reviewed by students, parents, and teacher 4 times per year. And by asking for student input and feedback to design their learning plan.
 * 2) How do we help our students become real learners? By understanding how learners prefer to: access content and information, engage with the information, and express what they know and understand. And to be a facilitator and guide for them in these processes.
 * 3) What is/should be the role of assessment in student learning? How can we improve upon our assessment practices in order to really help all students be engaged, life-long learners? Assessment should be //as// students are learning and should be a reflection by the student so he/she can make adjustments along the way. In this way, the student also learns to identify their strengths and areas of needed growth. They also need to communicate and/or defend the nature and quality of their learning to peers, which deepens their learning.
 * 4) What is the role of e-learning, and how will/isl this change(ing) the educational paradigm? E-learning is at the heart of education; it's shifted learning from teacher-centered to student/learner-centered. It gives us the ability to take PBL and research-based learning, combined with collaboration, to new levels; levels in which learners can shape their own learning and be able compete and communicate in this global economy.
 * 5) How do your students compare with the 21st Century learners described in Mark Prensky"s article on "The 21st Century Digital Learner"? I think that for the most part my students are an exact representation of what Prensky has found in learners across the globe: They do get bored easily, they like having input & giving feedback, they like having goals, they like sharing information, they like working together, they like being listened to, and they like dealing with questions versus answers.
 * 6) HotChalk’s article on 21st Century Learners? If you are not a teacher: How do you as a student or your children compare with the 21 Century learners described in this article? This article depicts my students and my son exactly (my son is 13). They all can do multiple things simultaneously, love to collaborate, e.g., I see my son on ooVoo.com with his friends/classmates working on homework and school projects together, while simultaneously listening to music and having a texting dialog with his girlfriend. As a parent & as a teacher, I love that multiple students can work together and help each other all from their own homes. And they are focused and goal-oriented. (As an aside, I love the term "screenager", which couldn't be more accurate and succinct.)
 * 7) To what extent to you see your students (or your children, or yourself as a student) possessing the qualities shown on thegraphic on the wiki for the International School in Bangkok? If you see any gaps, what do you consider the reason for these gaps, and how might educators help students gain these skills and qualities? I see many of these qualities in my students and in my children (I have a daughter as well who is 9). Some of the qualities I'd like to see more of though are tenacity, efficiency, and being reflective. I just think that these skills can get overlooked in school and at home, and need to be emphasized more in both places. I think that we as educators can teach/show our students/children to never give up, to keep trying, and not to accept mediocrity or settle for less; we can emphasize/highlight that mistakes are okay, mistakes=learning. I think efficiency comes with showing them, practicing with them good organizational skills and learning to prioritize. Reflecting has to be required I think, and has to become an important part of the process of learning.
 * 8) To what extent are you, your children or your students Effective Learners, Effective Communicators, and Effective Global Collaborators.? I think that we all struggle with being Effective Learners, that is, knowing how to learn, and knowing how to filter the unimportant from the important; and that it's a continuous process. I think the part that we all are in the process of understanding is this component of "visual literacy", and for students it's about learning to educate themselves online, not just entertain themselves. To be Effective Collaborators, I think students still need to learn more about social and cultural awareness, and to be comfortable with being either a leader or a participant, and that everyone's opinion or input is equally important and to be valued.
 * 9) To what extent is your school (or your children's school) and classroom meeting these needs? I think that in my classroom and at my kids' schools, we are just //starting// to address these needs and that it's a process.
 * 10) How might you rethink your classroom to make it a 21st Century classroom? What are the barriers you face to making your class a 21st Century learning environment? If you are not currently teaching how should classrooms be re-thought? I want my classroom this year to have a lot more flexibility and to be thought of as "learning center", not just a room. My students will have input on how they best learn, groupings, and how our room or learning center is setup; in fact, I plan to start off the first week with all of the desks off to the side and we will begin the year by sitting in a circle on the floor, getting to know one another, brainstorming about our learning & room arrangements, and also do some team building activities. Some barriers we have are that we're not yet one-to-one, although we do have access to COWs, a lab, and a library; and the other would be that I'd like to start using their phones in our learning center but I am afraid not all of my students will have smartphones (I will be doing discreet surverys to this effect).


 * Module 3 Notes**
 * 1) List how your school and classroom environments support 21st Century learning outcomes. If you are not teaching, think about your school experience of the your children's school. Consider:
 * the extent to which faculty at your school collaborate, share best practices and integrate 21st century skills into classroom practice I think we do an okay job of most of these things; we absolutely need to do A LOT more though. After taking this class, I have a much bigger and broader understanding of what 21CS are but I'm not sure all of my colleagues do. I think the current understanding is just about infusing more technology & using cool apps with our students, but it is SO much more than that, which I plan on sharing with my colleagues. (I think everyone needs to take this class!)
 * students learn in relevant, real world 21st century contexts such as project-based and applied learning experiences SO not enough of this is done at my school... yet!
 * students experience equitable access to quality learning tools, technologies and resources Yes, I think we're doing a good job of this with what we have currently have and are continuing to improve on this all the time, e.g., through writing grants and researching.
 * to what extent architectural design of your classroom creates space for for group, team and individual learning I wish my room was a little bigger but definitely has the potential to facilitate all of these things.
 * to what extent you provide opportunities for both face to face and online interaction with community members and experts in their field for your students I have not done this yet, but fully plan to. (Again, I'm just going into my 2nd year of teaching.)
 * to what extent does your school and classroom reflect the 21st Century Learning environment I think that as a school, we're headed in the right direction, and that my classroom this year will definitely be so!


 * Module 4 Notes**
 * 1) In what ways are your assuring that the 21st century skills taught discretely in the context of core subjects Is your curriculum interdisciplinary? If you are a middle or high school teacher how can you or do you collaborate with teachers in other departments to create multidisciplinary projects? I think mainly in the areas of connecting are class novels with where we are & what we're learning in our world history units, but after having a year under my belt now, I'd like to change (or add to) at least one of our novels as it's not relevant to world history. We do definitely practice a lot of writing skills connected with our history units. We also have done some media literacy projects. I would like to do more with interdisciplinary work and will be expressing this & collaborating with my grade level teachers about this, this summer . No, we really haven't collaborated with other teachers in other departments to create multidisciplinary projects, but would love to! That's a great idea!
 * 2) How does your curriculum focus on providing opportunities for applying 21st century skills across content areas and for a competency-based approach to learning? I think that so far, we've incorporated quite a bit with creativity, communication, collaboration, and ICT e.g., doing Glogsters with a rubric on the understanding of one of our class novels, group projects teaching the class about our Renaissance figures, and creating group Google presentations about our early South American cultures. They also loved when we did activities like doing our illuminated manuscripts in the dark, by (electronic) candlelight like the monks did, or our trade route game and medieval wealth game. At the end of the year, I asked students for feedback & they said that those activities really helped them to learn about what life was like back then. I think that I do try to balance knowledge and skills; the challenge has been getting through all of the material that we're supposed to, which is one of our goals as grade level team this year, that is, to refer to what David Perkins says, reading fewer pages while increasing knowledge gains.
 * 3) What instructional strategies do you use to enable innovative learning methods that integrate the use of supportive technologies such as inquiry-based, project-based and problem-based approaches as well as promote higher order thinking skill? I use cooperative learning a lot and inquiry/research-based as well, some project-based, and have not used PBL... yet.
 * 4) How do you encourage the integration of community resources beyond school walls? I haven't yet, really, but plan to this year.
 * 5) How can you better integrate 21st Century skills into your curriculum. First, by educating myself, collaborating with my colleagues (both grade level & other depts), gathering input from my students, and making these skills the focus; and changing my curriculum to learner/interest-centered.

IF you are not currently teaching answer this from the point of view of your children's school or your experience as a college student.


 * Module 5 Notes**
 * 1) What are the best uses of technology to promote student learning in a 21st Century Classroom? To research, to problem-solve, to create, to innovate, to learn about cross-cultural understanding and global awareness, to collaborate among students & even around the world, and to develop ICT literacy.
 * 2) What strategies can teachers use to assure their students are acquiring the 21st Century skills necessary for their future? By employing problem-based, project-based, or inquiry-based strategies, which typically enlist multiple 21CS.


 * Module 6 Notes**
 * 1) What aspects of Finland's educational model work in the United States? They have the same free-wheeling, creative, and self-driven approach to teaching and learning.
 * 2) How can we best reshape education so that all students gain the skills they need to live and work in the 21st Century? I think first, with the basics, of meeting students where they are and how they like to learn & that is using technology, working in groups, doing meaningful projects, and undertanding the relevance of their learning to their world. By making students the designers of their learning and learning student-centered and interest-centered. And perhaps by learning from and with other students around the world, in other words, actively participating in other successful countries' education models (at least some aspects of, as much as practical & that make sense giving our constraints).