Aulwurm,+Elisabeth


 * 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? Students need to be able to read, write, speak, and listen well. They need to be able to solve problems independently and work cooperatively. They need to be able to adapt to new situations. They need to be able to use current and future technology.

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?


 * 1) What is the difference between ’Foundation Skills" and "Functional Skills"?
 * 2) 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?
 * 3) 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? \
 * 4) 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?


 * Module 2 Notes**

1. How can we make personalized learning a part of our schools and classrooms? It seems to me that moving towards personalized learning would require a paradigm shift for many teachers, and possibly students as well. I am a fairly recent graduate, but already the discussion around education has drastically changed. While I was getting my credential, the focus was on differentiation. How are you going to present a lesson to a group of students so that it is accessible to as many students in that group as possible? Now educational theory is focusing on "personalized learning."

As an elementary teacher, I think there is a limit to the amount of personalized learning that can be done with younger students. For example, in my class, the students have to research and present a project on a famous American. The project can be a PowerPoint, an oral report (accompanied by visuals), or a written report. I try to incorporate a few activities where students can choose what they learn about and how the present what they learned, but I find it difficult to relinquish complete control over to the students.

I think the best way to make personalized learning a part of our schools and classrooms is first and foremost to get teachers on board. A lot of things are thrown at teachers and they get jaded pretty quickly. But, if the teachers believe it will work, they will do their best to make it happen. Secondly, there needs to be a way to make it somewhat easy to introduce and integrate in the classroom, such as a web-based program. If it's a good program, but the teachers are required to do too much set-up with not enough prep time, it's not going to happen.

2. How do we help our students become real learners? To help our students become real learners, we need to build a classroom and school culture in which learning is the goal of school, not the test. We also need to show our students how they can use the skills they are learning in class to learn more about something they are interested in or to get better at something they like to do at home. We need to make learning fun and find a way to connect what we are teaching with our students' lives. What our students are learning should matter to them.

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? We currently use assessment to see what a student is missing (where the holes are) and then to plug those holes. Moving towards personalized learning means changing how we assess learning. This can mean using more project-based learning, in which the project is what is assessed, or allowing students to create their own assessments. While the teacher remains responsible for leading the student, this type of assessment gives more responsibility and a sense of ownership to the student.When students take charge of their learning in this way, they will better understand the importance of learning and, I believe, will find opportunities and reasons to continue their learning throughout their lives.

4. What is the role of e-learning, and how will/is this change(ing) the educational paradigm? I believe e-learning is what will allow personalized learning to become a reality for most students. In the past, teachers who would want to build a classroom around personalized learning would have to go out and find resources (books, magazines, videos, etc.) for their students to use. Now, much of this information is readily available on the Internet.

E-learning also allows students to go further with what they are learning than what they or their teacher could have imagined. (A good analogy would be Alice falling down the rabbit hole.) For example, I have a friend who reads Wikipedia articles for his own personal enjoyment. He finds himself clicking on a link within an article, then another link, and another, and eventually reading about something barely related to what he initially started reading about. The same thing can, and does, happen to students who are learning something new. My students often come up to me after our computer lab period asking me, "Did you know..." and proceeding to tell me something that is completely new information. This allows students to develop a deep knowledge of a topic, rather than just surface knowledge, which then allows them to analyze, question, and teach about that topic in a much more thorough way.

5. How do your students compare with the 21st Century learners described in Mark Prensky"s article on "The 21st Century Digital Learner"? Mark Prensky's 21st Century learners seemed to be secondary school students, while my students are third graders. While I certainly receive and act on input from my students, I think there is a difference between input from a third grader and input from a secondary student.

My students also primarily come from low-income families and do not have computers or Internet access at home, but this does not mean that they are unaware of technology. In fact, I am often surprised at how tech-literate my students are considering they don't have computers! Many of my students use computers at the library or a family member's house, or use the Internet on cell phones. It is easier to teach them to use technology than it is to teach adults because, for the most part, they are not afraid to make mistakes and they have had experience with the terminology and interface since they were very youn g. When designing lessons that integrate technology, I need to take this into consideration and challenge my students' abilities. I also have to trust my students and allow them to try new things independently while using various forms of technology.

6. To what extent to you see your students (or your children, or yourself as a student) possessing the qualities shown on the graphic 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 believe I've done a fairly good job at helping my students become effective learners and collaborators, as well as develop the attributes listed around the circle. I think I need to work most on helping my students become effective communicators and creators. I need to provide them with more structured activities in which they can create (whether through art, writing, technology, or whatever they can think of) and then give them time to share what they've created. I also need to give my students more opportunities to share what they've learned with students at their grade level and at different grade levels and with other members of our community (teachers, parents, families, etc.).

In public education overall, I think there are gaps in all three areas (learning, collaborating, and communicating and creating). I think that an excessive number of standards and a stronger emphasis on test results has moved our public schools away from this model. Just six years ago when I started teaching, teachers were given time to plan units and student projects. Now, not only are we not given extra time for such collaborative planning, but we are supposed to use our weekly planning time (less than an hour) to go over assessments again and again. I hope that the move towards integrating the Common Core Standards will make our classrooms and schools places of learning, not just places of testing.

I think it is hard for teachers to make changes in this area. I am lucky that my principal trusts me to teach the students what they will need for future grades in any way I see necessary (within reason of course). But I know other teachers who are not so lucky. Not only that, but teachers who work at underperforming schools are put under even greater scrutiny. Some are checked in on daily to make sure they are on the correct page. This puts teachers, and students, under a great amount of stress. I have become more involved in our union in an attempt to make changes, but I don't have an answer to this dilemma.

7. To what extent are you, your children or your students Effective Learners, Effective Communicators, and Effective Global Collaborators.?
 * I think I do a good job to help my students become Effective Learners. For example, whenever we use the Internet for research, we discuss how to figure out if a piece of information is relevant and reliable. When we create Thinking Maps to show our thinking, we use a frame of reference to explain where we found our information. I need to work on incorporating self-reflection into my classroom on a more frequent basis.
 * I feel I do a good job with my higher performing students when it comes to developing their skills as Effective Communicators/Creators. I think I need to develop structures, including rubrics and routines for working together, to help all students communicate and create to the best of their abilities.
 * I think I am best at developing students skills as Effective Collaborators. I try to create a safe environment, where everyone and everyone's ideas and questions are treated with respect. I do not allow anyone (teachers, students, administrators, visitors, etc.) to mistreat others. When instances do arise, or students are having trouble working together, I address the situation as soon as possible, usually with the entire class so that we can come up with a solution together.
 * To what extent is your school (or your children's school) and classroom meeting these needs? I believe the majority of the teachers and administrators at my school believe it is part of our job as educators to help our students develop into Effective Learners, Communicators/Creators, and Global Collaborators.
 * 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? As I mentioned previously, I need to give my students more opportunities to discuss and share what they have learned and to reflect on their work. I am going to try to arrange more days to open up our classroom to share with parents and family (like Open House) and to have my students keep portfolios of their work.


 * 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
 * minimal to fair amount of faculty collaboration; more is done in pairs than as a grade level (at least in the primary grades); some groups work across grade levels (small learning communities).
 * faculty does not usually proactively share best practices and principal does not encourage sharing.
 * fair to average integration of 21st century skills into classroom practice; personally it is hard to visualize some of the characteristics of a 21st century classroom occurring 100% (or even 75%) of the time in a primary grade classroom.
 * students learn in relevant, real world 21st century contexts such as project-based and applied learning experiences
 * most teaching is done from the curriculum, with little deviation or modification.
 * most projects relate to something that interests the students (ecology, family, immigration).
 * some grade levels/small learning communities do end of the year projects.
 * students experience equitable access to quality learning tools, technologies and resources
 * equitable access to quality learning tools, technologies, and resources when compared to other students at school; NOT equitable access when compared to students at schools in middle- or upper-class neighborhoods, private schools, or well-funded charters.
 * BIG QUESTION: How do we increase our students' access to these resources? Is it possible?
 * to what extent architectural design of your classroom creates space for for group, team and individual learning
 * HA! My classroom is a box without storage or running water. BUT, I have structured my room so that students sit in groups, there is space for us to sit on the floor together as a class, there is a space for me (or volunteers) to pull students or small groups to work on specific skills, and there is a dedicated area for our computers.
 * I would like more space, more storage, more windows, and running water, but that's not possible in a portable nor is it feasible until they rebuild our fifty year old school.
 * 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
 * None. I don't think I ever even considered this a possibility until now.
 * The only things my class has done in this area has been to write questions to various research centers, such as the California Academy of Sciences, when we can't find a good answer to a question or we find opposing answers. (For example, why do worms leave the ground when it rains?)
 * to what extent does your school and classroom reflect the 21st Century Learning environment
 * I believe, for the most part, many of my colleagues and I believe that we should have a school and classroom that reflect the 21st Century Learning environment, but in practice, we don't.
 * Out of the qualities listed for a 21st Century Learning environment, I would say our school does well at:
 * engaging students with active learning activities.
 * having learners work collaboratively (within classrooms)
 * students and teachers have a mutually respectful relationship
 * students are motivated
 * there are high expectations for all of our students
 * curriculum and instruction reflect student diversity

I try to integrate cooperative learning, projects, and computer/technology use into all of the subjects I teach. It is easier for me to incorporate some 21st Century Skills
 * 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?
 * 1) How does your curriculum focus on providing opportunities for applying 21st century skills across content areas and for a competency-based approach to learning?
 * 2) 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?
 * 3) How do you encourage the integration of community resources beyond school walls?
 * 4) How can you better integrate 21st Century skills into your curriculum.

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?
 * 2) What strategies can teachers use to assure their students are acquiring the 21st Century skills necessary for their future?


 * Module 6 Notes**
 * 1) What aspects of Finland's educational model work in the United States?
 * 2) How can we best reshape education so that all students gain the skills they need to live and work in the 21st Century?