This week I was asked to explore 21st century learning. Interesting, since I have spent more of my years in school in the 21st century than I did in the nineties. (Insert comment from my coworkers about my young age!) So, haven’t I been doing 21st century learning my whole life? As I explored the multitude of definitions, I realized just how much education has shifted since the last century, and even since I graduated kindergarten in 2000.
In reading about education from the early 1900s until now, I was a bit surprised by how much legislation was involved. Experts tout that the 4 Cs are essential to 21st century learning: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity (Nichols, 2019). But yet, No Child Left Behind (Strauss, 2018) and subsequent legislation ask for students and schools to make pre-determined annual yearly progress goals solely on multiple choice tests. Where is the creativity in that? As Carla Santorno says in an interview titled “How High the Bar,” “the fault lies not with the students, and it’s not in the schools, Common Core, or the assessments themselves. It’s the flawed benchmarks” (National Superintendents Roundtable, 2018). Learning and teaching, is dynamic. The world keeps changing, and teachers must be in shape to “keep up.” We teach our students about “technology,” but at one point in time, that “technology” was simply a pencil replacing chalk. And then it was a lightbulb replacing candles. Each generation has sustained changes; truly transformational educators are those who embrace them. How lucky am I to get to be a part of the pack. Check out the video below for a multimodal presentation created by yours truly -- what better way to give a more detailed representation of what 21st century learning is!
Resources
National Superintendents Roundtable. (2018, January 17). How high the bar? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQjaQhP_om8&feature=youtu.be Nichols, Jennifer Rita. (2019, June 8). 4 essential rules of 21st-century learning. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/learning/4-essential-rules-of-21st-century-learning/ Strauss, Valerie. (2018, April 26). ‘A Nation at Risk’ demanded education reform 35 years ago. Here’s how it’s been bungled ever since. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/04/26/the-landmark-a-nation-at-risk-called-for-education-reform-35-years-ago-heres-how-it-was-bungled/?noredirect=on
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Hi there!I'm Sarah! I have a passion for powerful teaching and lifelong learning. I am a 4th grade teacher turned instructional designer, and this is my blog documenting the journey. Click here to get in touch with me. Archives
February 2021
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