I struggle to get a starting point to move people from "Here to There" in implementing effective classroom instructional strategies. I am adopting a theme "Learning in the 21st Century." It might be a clearer title than what we wrestle with in explaining the shift that needs to happen in classrooms. Then understandingg it enough to implement and recognize it when you evaluate it. This list from the blog "All Things PC" is very helpful in gaining some clarity. I will use this at our next staff meeting to help us break down and define how they would shift from "previous" to "current" at their grade level:
- Previous emphasis on what and how the teacher is teaching, and current emphasis on what students are really learning
- Previous emphasis on the student as a passive recipient, and current emphasis on the student as an active co-designer in learning
- Previous emphasis on the teacher as disseminator of prescribed content, and current emphasis on teacher as a facilitator of “big ideas” and transferrable concepts
- Previous emphasis on a one-size fits all “standardized” approach to learning, and current emphasis on differentiated and personalized learning to meet the needs of all students
- Previous emphasis on learning as an individual experience, and current emphasis on self-directed and collaborative learning
- Previous emphasis on a narrow definition of communication as usually limited to writing and sometimes speaking, and current emphasis on a full range of communication, artistic, and media approaches
- Previous emphasis on textbooks, and current emphasis on multiple resources (including primary sources) of study that make fuller use of technology and digital tools
- Previous emphasis on prescribed activities and worksheets, and current emphasis on students as critical and creative thinkers in their own learning
- Previous emphasis on summative testing, and current emphasis on formative types of assessment to better ensure learning progress and also including student self-assessment within the learning process
- Previous emphasis on right-wrong answers and singular approaches for obtaining answers, and current emphasis on problem-based learning that demonstrates greater complexity of thinking and learning
- Previous emphasis on grades, and current emphasis on growth, learning, and goal-setting
- Previous emphasis on decontextualized learning, and current emphasis on authentic learning within real world contexts
- Previous emphasis on a nationalistic brand of education, and current emphasis on an engaged global and multicultural approach to education
- Previous emphasis on a defined and set curriculum, and current emphasis on curriculum being collaboratively shaped by student interests, talents, curiosities, and passions
- Previous emphasis of the school as the exclusive place for learning, and current emphasis of the 24/7 world as an “open space” for learning (with technology as a key facilitative learning tool)
- Previous emphasis of time as the determiner for teaching, and current emphasis on flexibility of time to appropriately support the learning of the learner
- Previous emphasis of teachers working in isolation, and current emphasis on teachers in Professional Learning Communities or teams to understand and improve student learning
- Previous emphasis on students meeting adult expectations, and current emphasis on students discovering and developing their own unique identity and authentic voice.
I am excited to hear my staff come up with with deeper understanding and begin shaping their own thinking about shifting their instruction.
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