Partnership for 21st Century Skills
--My reaction to the Web site
At first glance, I was trying to find the relevance of P21. It was short after that I realized how this website is correlated with our field of study. Lately, I have been reading and discussing how we as educators are suppose to prepare our students for their future in the 21st Century. Outcomes expected for the 21st Century student includes core subjects; life and career skills; learning and innovation skills such as critical thinking and communication; and information, media, and technology skills. Aligned with these outcomes is a support system that includes standards and assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and learning environments. This framework consists of the skills and knowledge students should master to succeed in the 21st Century.
--Information on the site that surprised me
I was reading through the State Leadership Initiatives and New York State is not listed. This was interesting to me. To become a P21 Leadership State, the state must show commitment from the governor and chief state school officer along with submitting an application describing the state’s plan to combine the three R’s and four C’s (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation). The plan must state all assessments, standards and professional development programs. I am surprised to see 16 schools on the list. This is more than I would have expected.
--I disagreed with....
I partially disagree with having to have written permission to use any of the framework for 21st Century Learning. I can understand why they might but with education being the main focus, I would think they would want educators to have easy access and use of their products. All requests are sent through email so depending on how quickly a response is given depends on whether I may feel differently about it.
--The implications for my students, and for me as a contemporary educator?
I believe the concepts of 21st Century Learning is extremely relevant to our students and myself as a contemporary educator. The competition in the job market today is very competitive. Our students are not only competing with each other, but with candidates from other countries as well. It is our job to educate our students and make them aware of the opportunities and challenges that await them.
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ReplyDeleteHi Jason-
ReplyDeleteI too found this website more theory orientated than really useful. It is discouraging to me that to get access to information your state or district must be part of this program. Really, does this help all students obtain 21st century skills? I wanted ideas about ways to incorporate the 4 Cs into my own personal classroom. It is frustrating for the lone classroom teacher who wants to prepare their students more, but is limited due to political reasons. How would you suggest we use this website to help develop more 21st century skills in individual classrooms when our states are not part of this effort?
-Jill Morris
~Jill
Maybe the news from up to date topics could be of use for personal reasons to see what others are doing. If our states are not part of the effort than it is just important to have the idea of 21st Century skills in the back of our minds and try to incorporate them whenever possible. I know it is not clear how to but if we can incorporate anything relevant to their lives using technology that they use everyday, I believe this would help.
ReplyDeleteJason,
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you and I come from states that are not a part of this project. I decided to do some research and found that even though Georgia is not a P21 participant, it does offer its own toolkit for teachers. You may want to look for this as I am sure your state has something set up already.
As for written permission, I can only imagince it is so that states who are not part of the project do not develop their own materials by copying the materials from the website.
I agree with you that students are in a global race at this point and I am a little scared for them. I do not know how to make this clear to them as teenagers (and most adults) live in a bubble that extends for ten miles around them.