21st Century Skills

When you think 21^st Century Skills, think about the 4 Cs. The 4 Cs are: 

Creativity and Innovation

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Communications

Collaboration

Along with the 4 Cs, students must possess certain life and career skills: 

Flexibility and Adaptability

Initiative and Self-Direction

Social and Cross Cultural Skills

Productivity and Accountability

Leadership and Responsibility

The Partnership for21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student.   P21 provides tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the 3Rs and 4Cs.

Professional Learning

Next Thursday evening, I will get into the car with my daughter and drive to southern Minnesota for her two year tumor recurrence appointment.  A wonderful orthopedic doctor found the tumor on a MRI, and quickly referred us to a colleague that specializes in bone tumors and is one of the best pediatric orthopedic oncologists in America.  These two doctors are part of a professional learning community.  They know each other's skills and expertise; and for the benefit of their patients work together and collaborate.  Needless to say, we are grateful for the amazing care taken and the successful removal of the bone tumor in my daughter's arm.  Is it worth the drive - absolutely!

How far do you have to drive to get an expert opinion for the treatment and benefit of you students?  Not as far as I will be driving next week!  You have experts just minutes away - your colleagues!  When we learn from our peers and work together we are taking advantage of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).

A Collaborative Culture With a Focus on Learning for All

A PLC is composed of collaborative teams whose members work together to achieve common goals linked to the purpose of learning for all.  It is difficult to overstate the importance of collaborative teams in the improvement of student learning.  In many schools, staff members are willing to collaborate on a variety of topics as long as the focus of the conversation stops at their classroom door.  In a PLC, collaboration represents a systematic process in which teachers work together interdependently in order to impact their classroom practice in ways that will lead to better results for their students, for their team, and for their school.  Therefore their collaboration centers around certain critical questions:

1. What knowledge, skills, and disposition must each student acquire as a result of this course, grade level, and/or unit of instruction?
2. What evidence will we gather to monitor student learning on a timely basis?
3. How will we provide students with additional time and support in a timely, directive, and systematic way when they experience difficulty in their learning?
4.  How will we enrich the learning of students who are already proficient?

To learn more about PLCs visit All Things PLC at http://www.allthingsplc.info/

A Morning with Marzano

A Morning with Bob!  

Grand Forks Public School spent the morning with Dr. Robert Marzano.  

The topic, other than personal stories and jokes shared by our guest speaker, was teacher evaluation.  But, if you listened carefully, the true message was being committed to continuous growth, caring about your craft, the challenge of making a difference, and the willingness to work at improvement (small increments over time - making an impact and becoming an expert).

We were engaged in learning and learning games.  Many of you recognized these games from professional development, curriculum committee work, and your very own classrooms!

Last year, I provided professional development on Effective Vocabulary Instruction.  A key step in this process is using academic games.  I also blogged about using games last year.

If you would like to read previous posts on using games and effective vocabulary instruction, click on the links below. 

http://jessieerickson.blogspot.com/2012/07/vocabulary-instruction-five-common.html

http://jessieerickson.blogspot.com/2012/02/building-academic-vocabulary.html

http://jessieerickson.blogspot.com/2011/11/nine-instructional-strategies.html

Have a great Friday and holiday weekend!  Feel free to visit with one of your instructional coaches about using games to increase student engagement, motivation, and understanding.

Why I Hated Meredith’s First Grade Teacher: An Open Letter to America’s Teachers by Kylene Beers

This is great blogpost that comes right to the heart of teaching - the students!  No matter how old they are, children, our students, need to know you care about them.  Our work is important work!  We can lift a child up, share knowledge, help them understand and enjoy new learning!

"But, I promise, underneath that bravado of the seventh grader or swagger of the tenth grader you will find that small first grader who wonder, "Will my teacher like me?"  And when that child - that teen - knows that you believe he or she matters, then that student will do most anything for you."

To read the full post, click on the following link:
Why I Hated Meredith’s First Grade Teacher: An Open Letter to America’s Teachers Kylene Beers

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Educational Leadership:Effective Grading Practices:Reporting Student Learning

Ken O'Connor and Rick Wormeli discuss grading in the article "Reporting Student Learning", from the November 2011 issue of Educational Leadership.  Some good points to think about.  To read more click on the following link:  Educational Leadership:Effective Grading Practices:Reporting Student Learning

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Five Habits of Highly Effective Teachers

According to the article, Five Habits of Highly Effective Teachers by Neil Bright (The School Administrator, October 2011), highly effective teachers exhibit the following habits:

• Take a wider view of student success:  Outstanding teachers know the purpose of school isn't solely students' academic performance but also to do well in life.  Linking curriculum and instruction to post-graduation demands and real-life experiences requires teachers to incorporate creative writing, research, oral presentations, and persuasive essays as well as other authentic but labor-intensive activities.
• Recognize instruction as a performance:  Superior teachers employ several strategies to improve instructional delivery. 
• Internalize personal accountability:  The most effective educators internalize lofty performance standards for themselves.  They focus on what they can always control-their own actions.
• Understand student motivation:  Excellent teachers use instructional strategies that overcome such lethargy by focusing on learning's essential motivating factors of doability and importance.
• Continue to focus on instructional improvement:  The best teachers have an insatiable appetite both for good student results and for their own learning.

Teaching Self-Efficacy with Personal Projects

21st Century Skills and Learning Projects.  Another good article from Educational Leadership.  Click on the link below to read more.

Educational Leadership:Supporting Beginning Teachers:Teaching Self-Efficacy with Personal Projects

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