The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website is quite an eye-opener. I did not realize how much thought had gone into this from either a business or an educational standpoint. Some of the most surprising information on the website is the careful and thoughtful science behind the talented people addressing this issue. It is supported by a wealth of documentation, news, and expert analysis. Another surprising aspect is the number of states which have demonstrated their commitment by planning and submitting those plans to the Partnership to be named Leadership States. Only eleven! And my state, Ohio, is not among them. It is alarming. I know Ohio has technology standards for K-12 but I am unclear on whose responsibility it is to implement them. Does it fall to regular classroom teachers or a technology teacher? How can we be sure they are all being addressed adequately or appropriately?
I did not know there was legislation pending at a federal level to provide matching federal funds for states that encourage and plan for 21st Century skills like creativity and critical thinking. The 21st Century Skill Incentive Fund Act is summarized here. It is ambitious and relevant! I encourage everyone to read it. According to this document, thirteen states have adopted the 21st Century Framework which details specific student outcomes and support systems to prepare students for global and technical literacy required in our increasingly connected society.
If I disagree with anything on this site it is the lack of exposure. How did I not know anything about this? I just completed my teaching license in June of 2008 and this is the first real hard evidence that I have seen addressing these very important issues. How are people being directed to this information? How do we get the word out?
The implication for my students is enormous. They will have to assume responsibility for much more than learning answers in their lives. They will have to learn to ask the questions, find information, evaluate sources, and construct new information. As a contemporary teacher, I am on the hook to give them not just the actual nuts-and-bolts skills to do this, but the desire and disposition that they CAN and SHOULD. Too often students wait to be told. We need to start right now building a generation of inquiring and active students!
Reference:
(n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Partnership for 21st Century Skills: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php
Carrye,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely regarding the lack of exposure, especially after learning from your post about the Incentive Fund Act. I spent much time browsing through the site, but never came across this information. Thank you for sharing! You are correct- it is ambitious, and I especially wonder why more states have not decided to actively support the 21st Century Skills Initiative.
Now is certainly the time not only for states to jump onboard, but for districts within those states to begin a specific focus on the framework, providing exposure to teachers so they can ultimately utilize the concepts within their classrooms. Only then will the ideals of the framework begin to impact the students, and thus is the overall goal of the website itself. It is certainly time to take action for the sake of our students and broaden our collective knowledge as educators. I have a poster in my classroom that reads, Knowledge IS Power. I believe this statement is very accurate- the knowledge we continue to gain and use better prepares us for future obstacles and endeavors. Furthermore, it creates powerful educators with much knowledge to incorporate into our classroom instruction, ultimately providing a positive outcome for our students.
Have a great day!
Allison
Hi Carrye,
ReplyDeleteI, too, teach in Ohio and I have never heard of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills nor the term 21st century skills. I honestly do not know who is responsible for teaching the technology standards, either. No one has ever mentioned these standards and I do not have a copy of them in my room!
As far as getting the word out about The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, I would like to know how to spread it quickly and efficiently throughout my school district. Hopefully if we, as educators, can begin the ripple effect we will be seeing changes soon.
Sandy
Carrye,
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting to see how much of a conversaton there is about 21st century skills in the classroom. I think the business world is really listening. I read an article a few years ago about a fully digital school in West Philladelphia that had partnered with Microsoft to provide students with laptops, digital textbooks, SmartBoards, and even worked out a way for there to be walk-up tech support for the students. Each student was granted a laptop for school use. What was amazing to me about the story was that this was not an affluent area - in fact, in the video version of the story stolen laptops were actually discussed in that the area was riddled with numerous crime problems, just as most large cities are.
The story made me look at Microsoft in a very different way (I'm a Mac girl). I was impressed that big business was targeting schools with their philanthropy.
I wanted to post the link so you could take a look at the article yourself, but it won't allow me to paste anything, so I am attempting to type it in. If it doesn't allow you to view it you can Google "ABC News School of the Future" and it should pop up. Here is the link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Business/Story?id=1049526&page=1
Rosa Frederick
Carrye,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that it is not clear as to who teaches these technology standards. I know in our school, the 6th graders take a keyboarding class for half a year, but they are really only focused on typing and formatting skills.
It would be helpful to teachers if the standards to core subjects were re-written to include technology, so these 21st century skills would be incorporated into every day lessons. As Zach Miners and Angela Pascopella quoted in their article The New Literacies, "technology literacy is endangered by well intentioned educators trying to create checklists and tests" (Dennis Harper, Generation YES).
Another thing the above article pointed out was that the United States did not participate in a 2009 PISA reading assessment - a world wide assessment for 15 year olds that is done every decade. I would love to know why. Once our students leave school they are competing with the world in the workforce, shouldn't we begin comparing their education the rest of the world as well?
Toby Abrahamsen
Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34
Like you, I was alarmed to find that my state of Georgia was not one of the states among the initiatives for Leadership in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Out of fifty states, only eleven deem it necessary to equip their students for the "multifaceted, multitasked, technology-driven, diverse, vibrant world" that awaits them as adults. Numerically, that is approximately 20% of America. How can we justify this in a world that is consumed with technology?
ReplyDelete