LIBE 477 B: MODULE 10: Vision Blog Post 1: Future Vision Project Scope: Changing My Practice to Reflect a 21st-Century Classroom: My Double Vision

My vision is to change my practice to reflect a 21st-Century learning environment while at the same time learning how to communicate our learning to parents and the community.  With the restrictions of Covid-19 and during the current pandemic, parents have not been permitted to come into our school.  

Having to turn parents away at the door and tell them they can't come in has been one of the most devastating duties I have ever had to perform.  Not being able to "physically" communicate to parents how students are doing has been a detriment to parent/teacher relationships and the ability to effectively communicate between home and school.  :( 

As our class transforms into a 21st-century learning environment, we would like to share our learning.  While learning about digital resources I came across a digital portfolio resource called "freshgrade"  https://freshgrade.com/  which will be a perfect communication tool between parents, teachers, students and the rest of the school community.  

While we share our learning I am hoping that other educators will get curious and jump on board.  One major part of my vision is to learn how to integrate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts (and humanities) and Math) into my teaching.  

Although as a teacher I believe we integrate many of the STEAM concepts naturally, now that we have a name or a label we need to share more specifically how we are teaching these concepts.  Integrating lessons that are specific to STEM/STEAM are meant to be more collaborative and inquiry based.  

Transforming my classroom into a 21st-Century learning environment is my goal.  "Teachers need to prepare students for this world with problem solving, collaboration, and analysis-as well with skills with word processing, hyper-text, LCDs, Web cams, digital streaming podcasts, smartboards, and social networking software-central to individual and community success" (21st-Century Literacies, 2012, p. 23).

WAIT! WHAT????  What is an LCD?  Hyper-text????????  Sounds vaguely familiar.....the other skills listed I think I can say I know something about...What I don't know, I am confident my students can easily learn and adopt, given the opportunity.  I may know nothing about podcasts but I bet they do!  

The resources I will be using to communicate my learning journey are Lorna Collier's The Shift to 21st-Century Literacies, 2007,  The Spiral Playbook by Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert, 2017,  Palmer's 15 Characteristics of a 21st-Century Teacher 2015, and Decoding Learning:  The Proof, Promise and Potential of Digital Education.  

For the hands on development of incorporating STEAM into my classroom I will be using a print resource produced by Pearson Canada (2013) called Destination Imagination Classroom Edition: Supporting 21st Century Learning and web resources like Jason Learning, https://jason.org/ and the Destination Imagination website, https://destinationimagination.ca/  

 I have started integrating lessons from the Destination Imagination: Supporting 21st Century Learning (2013) resource into my classroom.  

We began with the lesson "Instant Challenge:  Aquarium, where students create a performance in which they show what happens inside and outside of an aquarium.  Students formed groups of 4 and worked collaboratively to create an aquarium scene and decide how they would communicate their learning.  

Most students were engaged, excited and on task.  Some students had difficulty collaborating, generating and sharing their ideas and understanding the task.  The ratio of students that were comfortable with this type of activity was about 60:40 which was manageable because I could spend time with the group that required support while the other students worked independently (and happily) on their projects.

The final vision of transforming our classroom into a 21st-Century learning environment will include documentation of observations and successes and challenges of integrating STEM into my teaching practice. 

My goal is to become a 21st-Century educator by adopting and integrating STEM into my classroom using Kaser and Halbert's spiral of inquiry to organize my teaching and learning.  I will share my experiences by creating a Powerpoint presentation and a series of class blogs.  

I aspire to lead by example with humbleness and non-judgement.  I want my colleagues to know that I am new to this pedagogy and just want to share my excitement.  

I am coming from a place of fear and apprehension but know my duty as a teacher is to be current and adequately informed of the new tools of technology and inspire students to do the same.   

My target audience will be colleagues like myself who have not yet adopted a 21st-Century teaching approach.  

As a class we will communicate our learning to parents and our school community by using a computer portfolio program called "freshgrade" https://freshgrade.com/ 

  

The audience I am targeting by using the "freshgrade" program includes parents, colleagues and students.  Parents will be better informed about what we are learning, students will be more apt to learn 21st-century skills by documenting and sharing their learning via technology.  

I will share my learning of utilizing the freshgrade program while at the same time documenting my experience re: inquiry based learning project integrating STEM and 21st century pedagogy into the classroom.  I will also provide an annotated bibliography with appropriate resources that are user friendly for teachers to access.   I will also blog my learning journey.  

My hope is that my colleagues and our school community will be enthused and inspired to learn more about being 21st-century educators and integrating STEM/STEAM into their classrooms.  If appropriate, teachers may also adopt the freshgrade program to communicate between home and school. 

My goal is to inspire us all to be "active learners" and increase our knowledge of 21st-century skills.  

References

Collier, Lorna. (2007) The shift to 21st-century literacies.  The Council Chronicle, p.4. Retrieved from http://lornacollier.com/The+Shift+to+21st+Century+Literacies.pdf

Destination imagination classroom edition:  Supporting 21st-century learning. (2013).  Toronto, ON:  Pearson Canada Inc. 

Freshgrade [Web page]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://freshgrade.com/ 

In the field:  On and offline with Jason, grades 4-10 [Web page]. (n.d.).  Retrieved from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-the-field-on-offline-with-jason-grades-4-10-registration-134447896277?internal_ref=login

Kaser, L., & Halbert, J. (2017). The spiral playbook:  Leading with an inquiring mindset in school systems and schools. C21 Canada.  

Luckin, R., Bligh, B., Manches, A., Ainsworth, S. Crook, C., & Noss, R. (2012).  Decoding learning:  The proof, promise and potential of digital education.  Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269111789_Decoding_Learning_The_Proof_Promise_and_Potential_of_Digital_Education

21st-century literacies:  A policy research brief produced by the national council of teachers of English (2012).  Retrieved from https://ncte.org/statement/21st-century-literacies-a-policy-research-brief/