New Design for Learning
Posted by: friedafoxworth in Issues in Education, instruction, tags: 21stCenturyLearning, change, Cofino, differentiation, NETS, pbl, shiftOur district has developed a very impressive 5 year technology plan based on technology bond money. By the end of 5 years, all high schools will be involved in 1:1 computing, middles schools will be 3:1, and all classes in grades 4 and 5 will be 5:1. The 5th grade 5:1 roll-out is scheduled for next year, 2010-2011. As a Technology Integration Specialist, I find this plan exciting and highly ambitious. My question is this: “Will receiving 5 laptops per class do anything to change the way teachers teach?” That was actually a rhetorical question, because the answer is so obviously “no.” So the real question becomes, “What can I do to help my teachers make the necessary shift in pedagogy to enable them to embrace a 21st Century Learning model?” I’ve been researching, but I’m not easily finding a road map.
There are lots of motivating videos about 21st Century Learning, such as “Engage Me.” There are certainly more flashy ones, but I like this one because it features elementary-aged students.
I am now on a quest to discover the answer to my question. My first step is to think about some key ingredients in a 21st Century Learning environment. Here are 5 that I’ve adopted so far.
1) NETS: All curriculum should be framed by the National Educational Technology Standards. The 6 strands are: Creativity and Innovation; Communication and Collaboration; Research and Information Literacy; Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making; Digital Citizenship; and Technology Operations and Concepts. All content areas should be taught within the context of these standards. The NETS-S 2007 Implementation Wiki contains some great resources for the application of these standards.
2) Student-centered learning: Teachers need to gain a new vision of their role in the classroom as they shift their focus from “teaching” to becoming “facilitators of learning.” Students need to take greater responsibility for their learning and become more self-directed. This will only happen as they have greater freedom to make choices within their learning environment.
3) Differentiation: This is really just an extension of student-centered learning. We have long known that students learn at different rates in different ways. The use of technology tools is a fabulous way to provide differentiation. Tracey Hall’s research about Differentiated Instruction provides a very informative overview, including a diagram of the learning/planning cycle.
4) Problem-based learning: In this type of learning, students explore possible solutions to “real” problems and work collaboratively to determine the best solution. Through this process students learn “how to learn” by focusing on authentic issues. This approach is very student-centered and open-ended. IMSA’s PBLNetwork is a fabulous resource.
5) Online collaboration: To establish a 21st Century learning model, it’s important to base it on the foundational understanding that classrooms today are not contained within 4 walls or even within a single building. Today our classroom is the entire world, and we can learn from and with people around the globe. Cultivating collaborative partners from various corners of the world will broaden our educational resources and will help our students learn what it means to be a global citizen.
I’m still searching for a road map! Obviously Alan November has done ground-breaking work in this area, but his resources are all commercial products. By far the best “grass roots” resource that I have seen is Kim Cofino’s work at the International School Bangkok. The ISB 21st Century Literacy wiki sets forth a clear vision of the 21st Century Learner and a framework for planning instruction. An ability to translate theory into practice is crucial! I hope that as my district moves further into this ambitious technology roll-out plan, that our leaders will develop a similar framework that will provide structure and guidance in empowering our teachers to make the pedagogical shift necessary to prepare our students for the unknown world that awaits them. These are exciting times to be an educator!
Entries (RSS)
September 7th, 2009 at 10:41 am
I would also look at some of Phil Schlecty’s material. While it is not necessarily technology focused, it is learner focused and will provide a nice framework to hang all the rest on. His mantra is that students need to be engaged. I’m disappointed in the funding that is going in to 5:1 when suddenly there is a way to provide 1:1 with netbooks for practically the same cost. My tech person and I discussed the netbooks and how they are almost now “disposable.” My prediction is that in 5 years textbooks will totally go away and be replaced by netbooks, and my tech person says his job will become a total nightmare then. Once netbooks are widely available 1:1, then and only then will the edtech world really be able to focus on things like project-based learning, global classrooms, and engaged learning. But it will be nice to once again see “5-year plans” used in the context of learning and not just technology and hardware.
September 8th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I think you make some excellent observations that will help your teachers. Maybe Cathy is right that cheap netbooks will make it possible for every student to have a device and allow us to simply focus on appropriate learning. I am afraid it will have to be in the “next” 5-year plan though. I think the shift to student centered learning will come, but not so easily. We have already started the sharing process with our district Teacher Resource Center and PLC emphasis; I believe this will help us speak a common language to begin the preparation. However, the ability to make the final transition will require a flow of ideas and resources that is easy and seamless. Currently there is no vehicle capable of this type of transfer anywhere. I firmly believe this movement will require new methods of assessment to provide the differentiation that project based learning promises. So little steps may be all that is possible with this 5-year plan. But it is still a step in the right direction.
September 21st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Well said Freida, Well Said!!
September 25th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
I like what you have said about student centered learning, and how teacher’s are becoming facilitators of learning. This concept is something I wished would have been present in my high school years! The kind of learning where a teacher slaps down a problem on a projector and tells you to go is not learning. It is memory. Actually giving the student more freedom to become self-directed is much more applicable to the “real world.” Is is learning facilitation like this that will help build the future of America.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
[...] I recently read a post by another blog, Thinking About Learning. The post is located here. [...]
October 31st, 2009 at 9:42 am
Everything in the post “feels” really good. However, I’ve learned to immediately take notice of every time my feelings start welling up. Why? Because, in many cases I’ve seen emotions cast a large, dark shadow over logic and facts. The fact is over the last 20-30 years education has been struck by so many crises, it is virtually impossible to find the source. Bloated administration to teacher ratios, lower teacher wages, standards testing controversies, minority learning pressures, etc.
We have enough knowledge, facts and statistics to determine exactly how to teach. Educators also need to take an objective, non-emotional look at what they’ve been doing…in many cases, teachers have gone way to far, in my opinion, in education to turn authority over to children, who have no business calling the shots. Some of the problem is our society has adopted the “parents (now teachers) as friends” mentality. In that process, we’ve wasted much time in trying to figure out and implement less effective ways of teaching, in order to appease students’ desire for control and individualism. We’ve also allowed too much nonsense and disrespect in the classroom, disguised as “personal expression.” So, if teachers need a little extra psychology training, great. But, teachers should not/cannot undo teaching standards on behalf of a few “unique” students, and expect the process not to be affected. Especially with high student:teacher ratios.
This is exactly why private schools continually (generally speaking) outperform public schools. They set classroom standards and stricly abide by them. The parents that agree with the school’s policies will back up the teacher. Those that don’t find another school. It eliminates disharmony in the classroom and minimizes bahavioral issues.
Kids need to be taught. Yes, there are factors that drive new curriculum, such as technology, but if teachers don’t spend most of their time teaching, setting expectations of achievement and holding students accountable to meet them, then what happens when those kids enter the mostly authoritarian workplace?