This week our class has been asked to review the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website. It can be found here.
According to their website “The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. As the United States continues to compete in a global economy that demands innovation, P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the 3Rs and 4Cs (Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity and innovation).”
Overall, I was not impressed with the site. While there was a lot of information, I found it hard to focus on the main purpose of the website, as the set up and design was not clear for searching. For example, I clicked on resources for educators but was asked to purchase them, or download a PDF format. I tried to download the PDF files, but was unable to view them.
One thing I did find interesting is that 16 states have bought into the initiative and are currently, or already have, implementing the skills into their standards.
The question I ask is: If Common Core Standards are being implemented soon around the nation, and 21st century skills are very timely for the present and future, why are the two not already interconnected into the same list of standards?
-Danielle
Update: After more reflection on the website I did find the Common Core Toolkit. It shows examples of the use of state standards and the 21st century skills together. In all, it is the binding of the two resources together that makes an impact on student's learning. It is the educator's planning of the lesson, and knowledge of their students, that brings everything together. ( 3/24/12)
Update: After more reflection on the website I did find the Common Core Toolkit. It shows examples of the use of state standards and the 21st century skills together. In all, it is the binding of the two resources together that makes an impact on student's learning. It is the educator's planning of the lesson, and knowledge of their students, that brings everything together. ( 3/24/12)
Danielle
ReplyDeleteGreat points!
I'm glad I'm not the only one that felt the information on this website was somewhat challenging to navigate.
I was sad to see that my state was not one of the 16 states who are already implementing these skills into their standards.
You make a great point in saying that Common Core Standards should already include a direct focus on these 21st Century Skills. I wonder if the reason Common Core Standards doesn't have a major technology component is due to lack of resources and funding for technology in schools. I'm ready for the day in which all schools are given adequate funding to provide quality equipment and training resources for teachers.
I was sad too Mindy. A few states around Tennessee have adopted them, so hopefully more states will adopt them soon!
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ReplyDeleteSorry, I accidentally posted my last comment before it was complete. Here is the completed comment:
ReplyDeleteDanielle,
I too agree that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills site was overwhelming at first. Not looking for something specific, I found myself jumping all over the place. However, when I was able to scroll through the Common Core toolkit, I found it to be a nice overview for any teacher looking to incorporate more technology into the lessons and content they teach every day. I also liked the "What Employers Say" portion of the site that drove home the importance of teaching our students 21st century skills in order to prepare them for the future workforce.
However, as both you and Mindy mentioned, I am struggling to grasp the new Common Core standards and why we are still not incorporating technology. I feel like like there is no uniformity across our districts, states, or the country as a whole. I am a county employee whose (multi-handicapped) classroom is housed in a middle school within the county. While my school has not started implementation of the new Common Core (since Ohio standardized tests are not yet reflecting these standards), the county asked that we begin using them at the start of this school year. In my classroom, I administer Alternate Assessments, since my students are unable to access the reg. ed. curriculum at a meaningful level (therefore my students do not participate in the Ohio Achievement Tests). These Alternate Assessments are changing next year to reflect the Common Core. However, the achievement tests will not reflect the Common Core until 2014. So within my own school, there is a disparity between the content taught in my classroom and the regular education classrooms. This makes it extremely difficult to stay on pace with the other classrooms and participate in inclusion activities. On top of all of this is my desire to incorporate technology into all content - not yet a requirement, but it definitely should be. Other teachers in my building agree and are working to do the same, but yet again, there is a divide. Those teachers who are not yet on board with integrating 21st century skills make it difficult for that uniformity to exist. My point to all of this is that even amongst one school, there is a divide between Common Core vs. current standards, and integration and non-integration of tech. skills. What needs to happen for us all to be on the same page?...
In closing, I would love for technology standards to be embedded into the new Common Core. I would love for our students to be assessed on these skills. What will it take to get the whole field of education on the same page? And then there is the whole argument in regards to technology changing so rapidly that there is no way we can keep up in the curriculum and standards. It is all so overwhelming. However, I think that the core 21st century skills (communication, creativity, etc.) that will play a role in the workplace of the future will continue to stay relevant for our students. Until those at the top decide to make technology a requirement in our schools, we must strive to do our best on a small scale. We must be a model for the importance of technology, both in our schools and our communities - one blog, SMART Board lesson, or wiki - at a time.
Rachel,
DeleteIt is hard to believe what you all are going through. I cannot imagine having to teach part Common Core and part state standards. Not only does it frustrate the educators, but also the students.
I agree, the website could be much more navigable, unfortunately it is difficult to access information which could be helpful to teachers. I was particularly disappointed that the "Exemplars" section did nothing. I would have loved to have seen examples of exactly what they would like students to be doing. I can look at standards all day, but when it comes down to it, standards are still open to interpretation, but seeing an example of what they are looking for really solidifies in my mind what the students need to be able to accomplish independently.
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I had the same first response to the site. It took many clicks to find meaningful information instead of introductory information. I too found the Common Core Toolkit useful. I’m attending a workshop at my school district to adopt new textbooks for reading. As part of that process, there have been several meetings about the Common Core Standards where we focus on similarities and differences by comparing to our own state standards. When you say, “It is the educator's planning of the lesson, and knowledge of their students, that brings everything together.” The Common Core standards are written in a way that will guide the teacher to create lessons with 21st century skills embedded. Our state standards are almost like a grocery list or a check list. I loved the way the common core worded the standards and gave educators guidance in doing so. We are implementing in the next 3-3 years by phasing them in slowly at the lower grade levels. South Carolina may be at the bottom of the list for education but they have standards aligned now that will allow for a smooth transition. It all won’t happen overnight or in one school year but we are on the right track.
ReplyDeleteDeborah,
DeleteI have not worked a lot with the Common Core Standards though, I just found out on Friday that Tennessee is phasing them in. They will start with the lower grades first here as well. I am super excited! Positive steps in the right direction.