APP 4: Partnership for 21st Century Skills

For anyone reading this who is not in my ITC Master's class, the ideas I'll be discussing in this post come from a technology integration advocacy group called The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

As we all know, school today is not the same as it was even 10 years ago. We are preparing our kids for a future that is vastly different from anything we could have pictured when we were their age! Good ol' readin', writin', and 'rithmetic just won't cut it anymore; our world is much more sophisticated and technologically advanced - much more so than most teachers preparing our kids for it!

As I started browsing the web site, I was pretty excited. I love finding new "stuff" and ideas I can incorporate into my instruction. Unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived. To be honest, I didn't learn anything new or find any resources that I cared to use. I am the ultimate "tech geek" - I get REALLY excited when I find a web site, gadget, or gizmo to use - sadly, I found nothing.

I wasn't surprised by anything I read. What they say is true and the "new" standards they stress are, indeed, critically important for our students. I guess having it in writing makes it a little easier for me to plead my case to my boss, but other than that, no shockers were found.

Of course our students need to be innovators and team players. Of course they need to know how and where to find new information and to be able to analyze its sources. Of course our kids need to work proficiently, even expertly, with the technology available in order to be competitive. And of course, our kids need to "think bigger" these days. Maybe it's just me, but isn't this all common knowledge?

My kids may be in trouble if these are the standards by which they will be judged. After spending 2 weeks discussing, practicing, writing, practicing, peer tutoring, practicing, dissecting, practicing and working with 1-step equations involving whole numbers, I challenged my class to solve this equation: 1/2 + x = 2/3. Do you know one of my students actually said to me, "How can we do something you never taught us before?" My head nearly exploded.

One of the 21st Century Standards reads as follows:

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• Exercising sound reasoning in understanding
• Making complex choices and decisions
• Understanding the interconnections among systems
• Identifying and asking significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions
• Framing, analyzing and synthesizing information in order to solve problems and answer questions

I thought for SURE they would have no problem solving that equation, since they can now solve equations with whole numbers in their sleep. If I had to assess their mastery of the above 21st Century Standard based on that conversation, well, let's just say I'm a little worried.

January 20, 2009

History was made today. I know, everyone's been saying, "History was made November 4th!" I say, "Nu-uh. It was today." America finally, officially, has an African-American President. (I know, "he's bi-racial." That's why I said African-American, not black. Let us not forget his father was an African immigrant!) [Sidenote: I'm watching the Inaugural Ball as I type this, and Michelle looks incredible, btw!]

Watching the Inauguration coverage today, one couldn't help but notice the rainbow of faces surrounding President Obama. We're finally done looking at a sea of white, male faces in the seats of power. Our government FINALLY represents our country - and I, for one, am over the moon about it.

As I sat with my 6th-period class today, watching President Obama being sworn in to office, I know my kids were excited. I know they knew something significant was happening. I also know they have no clue exactly how significant it all truly is.

Of course I was swept up in the whole thing. I tried explaining to my kids that one day, they'll be telling their kids where they were when President Obama took office. "Pay attention and take it in." "You're watching history in the making." "It's one of those events you'll never forget." I'm not sure they bought it.

The whole of what happened today hit me during 8th-period. Today was the start of the 3rd quarter. We discussed fresh starts and clean slates. We talked about setting goals and working hard to reach them. We talked about learning from our mistakes and not repeating them. As I was giving my usual, "Each one of you can do and be anything you can dream up!" pep talk, it hit me. For the first time ever, those words are actually true.

Application 2: Blogs in the Classroom

I actually used a class blog this quarter as an extra-credit assignment. Each week, I posted a new topic for discussion. Basically, I wanted to see the reaction of my students. Well, they loved it. I actually had one student post a comment today, asking if there would be any more topics for the quarter! ('Course, she posted it during school hours, so I'm a little curious about that!)

Another thought I have about using a blog in my classroom (7th-grade math) is for problem solving. A major focus of my instruction throughout the year is mathematical communication. I feel having to explain a solution from behind a computer screen might really help with that skill - which is incredibly difficult for middle school students to develop!

Since they would not be face-to-face with anyone, pencil and paper at the ready, they are forced to put their thoughts into clear and detailed words. Because it is in a blog format, they can receive feedback, questions, and critiques from their classmates.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? What do you think?

VERY Interesting!

Check this out! The wheels are turning so quickly in my head, I just might fall over soon! These are some seriously great ideas!

Education Week - Students Turn Their Cellphones On for Classroom Lessons

Random "Epiphany" of the Day

Thank goodness my Master's class is making me use this blog! I was asked a loooooong time ago, by my principal, to keep a journal of my "goings-on" in class - something I always meant to get to! I guess it's just now sinking in how useful this could actually be! (Sometimes I can be a little slow on the uptake!)

So, I have switched the focus of my students' warm-up exercises from multiplication facts (I think they FINALLY got 'em!) to integer addition. The worksheets we're using do NOT have 100 problems on them like the multiplication ones did, which has actually turned into a blessing!

See, we record each warm-up score in a Warm-Up Data Collection Chart so the kids can see their progress. (We also have instant data to use for graphing practice, as well.) Well, when you have 100 problems on a page, recording the score is very easy - you automatically have a percentage built right in! Since there are 54 problems on these sheets, I was forced to teach them how to convert fractions to percents - which wasn't in my plan just yet!

How fabulous this actually turned out to be!!! Not only are their integer addition skills getting stronger, they've learned a new, required skill AT THE SAME TIME! I won't have to take time out to do a whole separate unit on this topic later! Woo-Hoo!

While we were converting our fractions today, something else hit me that simply made me smile and pat myself on the back. I have been focusing on all the different ways they might see multiplication and division written (i.e., * or a dot for multiplication and the "house" or a fraction bar for division). THANK GOODNESS for that! I can't tell you how easy it was to turn those fractions into decimals and then to percents!!! Here was our conversation:

Me: "So, we now have this fraction at the top of our papers, with the number correct as the numerator and the total number of problems as the denominator. It sure looks like a fraction, but what else could it be?"

Student 1: "Uuummm..."

Student 2: "Division!" (I swear it only took 2 students to get there!!!)

Me: "Awesome! Now, how 'bout reading this division problem for me?"

Student 2: "34 divided by 54"

Me: "Perfect. How will I put that in my calculator?"

Student 3: "Like you said it! 34 - divided by - 54! Duh."

All: "Hahahahahahaha!"

Since I've been using the fraction bar to represent division for so long, this was really easy for them to see! In the past, I didn't start the year mixing up the symbols, which led to issues later in the year! Guess what I'll be doing from now on? :)