Over the past two weeks I have been learning more about 21st century learning. As I unfolded the differing opinions of 21st century learning as well as what a classroom would look like, I was able to think about how these ideas and discussions can relate to me specifically as a teacher and how I can provide this type of learning to my students. Rachel Samuel's stated, "the 21st century is not the future; it is now. We must adapt our classrooms to the times we live in, to prepare our students for the world they will encounter when they graduate and enter the workforce." As I created a lesson plan that supports 21st century learning, I built my lesson plan around the 4 C's- communication, collaboration, creative thinking and creativity. Through the use of whole class modeling, sharing ideas and information in small groups, creating a Google slides presentation and providing students the opportunity to expand on their own findings, I am able to see these 4 C's active in my lesson. Another focal point was incorporating technology. Samuel's stated, "whether it's allowing students to do independent research on their tablets, or getting them to create a website or multimedia presentation, bringing technology into the classroom in a way that will enhance student learning and engagement." When I was looking through a variety of options and deciding on what technology would be useful for my lesson I decided to focused specifically on Google slides. Each student in the district has a Google login from the day they start school in kindergarten that they use over the course of their K-12 career. I feel that if I provide my second graders the opportunity to start logging into their Google drive and working with these resources they will be better prepared for the future grades and assignments. As I started to piece my lesson plan together there were a few challenges that I had to overcome during my planning process. Coming up with a lesson plan and a goal tends to be one of the less challenging aspects due to the fact that our school provides us with curriculum and state standards that serve as a guideline of materials to teach. However, creating a technology driven and engaging opportunity you have to take these ideas and topics and create your own lesson that provides a 21st century learning opportunity. Through this planning process I realized how authentic and meaningful my lesson plan was with the mentality of providing my students with the 4 C's and incorporating 21st century skills. When you think about 21st century learning and incorporating this into your classroom it may seem overwhelming. It does for me! Writing this singular lesson plan took time and would only fill one hour of the school day. Think about creating these lessons for each hour of everyday. This type of learning may start to come more easily as we continue to immerse ourselves as well as curriculum will eventually also support these findings which may help teachers in terms of planning. I also thought about how I have to take the time to plan out when my class has the Chromebook cart for our grade level so that each student has access to technology during the time of my lesson. In some school districts this may not be possible to have each student provided with technology, therefore, you would have to plan accordingly to provide students with this learning opportunity. Samuel's sums my ideas up perfectly as she stated, "ultimately, the true reflection of a 21st-century classroom is not bell and whistles and fancy equipment - it is a classroom that is a dynamic space which caters to the needs of every student and equips them with the tools and skills necessary for the 21st-century workplace." Check out my 21st Century Lesson Plan! Resources:
Arora, A. (2019, April 13) Education 2.0: Blueprint for the 21st-century classroom [Image]. https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/culture/education-2-0-blueprint-21st-century-classroom Samuel, R. What Does a 21st Century Classroom Look Like? Read To Lead. https://rtlgames.org/what-does-a-21st-century-classroom-look-like/ Lucas, T. (2015, February 23) Camp Teaches 21st Century College, Career and Life Skills [Image}. https://www.cheleyfoundation.org/impact/camp-teaches-21st-century-college-career-and-life-skills/
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