Adventures in Podcasting

Today I created a podcast to summarize the data I collected from three interviews I completed with three of my students.  Please be respectful and constructive in your comments as this is a completely new adventure for me.  Thanks for your support!

:) Katie

Students and Technology

 Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (P21)

            I explored a website today that advocates for the preparation of students for the 21^st Century.  It is a group that work together to create an education system that prepares students for their future in the workforce.   They are working to integrate the four Cs and the three Rs together.  (For those of you who don’t know, the three Rs are:  Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic; and the four Cs are: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity.)  Here is the graphic that represents each element within the Partnership.

            This graphic was the highlight of helping me understand what the Partnership hopes to accomplish.  This visual demonstrates that the student outcomes (the rainbow) are connected with the support systems already in places (the pools at the bottom).  My favorite aspect of this graphic is how it validates the idea that the skills needed to be ready for a global workforce can extend around any subject area.  The skills students need to master can be taught in any subject area and need not compete for space in the curriculum (Levy, 2006).   The P21 is working on a STEM Initiative to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math for students to be competitive in today’s world.  My school district is also investing in a STEM program to help make our secondary level students more prepared for their futures.

            I have two complaints with P21.  First, there seems to be a lot of theory but not resources for teachers to use.  The Toolkit has many ideas on how to implement the 4 Cs into the 3 Rs; however, I can see this being an issue for teachers who lack confidence in trying new concepts.  I suppose this is why there is are Professional Development programs but they are through affiliate programs.  Second, much of the work being done is with secondary students in mind.  Should we also be preparing our elementary students to gain all the necessary skills they will need to enter the workforce?  I would argue that our students would be more advanced the necessary skills if we start them developing basic critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills as we teaching the basis of reading, writing, and math.  Using the Toolkit might give elementary teachers some ideas, however, those that teach primary will have to work harder to modify them for their students.

            I do think I will refer to this website to read the blog entries and gain ideas for the implementation of the 4 Cs in my classroom.   Our district will be starting to assess our students using the Common Core State Standards this year.  One of the hot topics in the blog right now is how the 4 Cs relate and marry well with the CCSS.  This information will be critical as I try to teach my students collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking through the subject areas.  At this point, any ideas or suggestions will be helpful!

Home: www.p21.org

Blog: http://www.p21.org/tools-and-resources/p21blog

FAQ: http://www.p21.org/overview/p21-faq

Educator Resources:  http://www.p21.org/tools-and-resources/1017-educators

Article Referenced:

Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2006). Why the changing American economy calls for twenty-first        century learning: Answers to educators' questions. New Directions for Youth Development, 2006(110), 53–62.