Blog Post #3--21st Century Skills

Creativity occurs in my class through brainstorming, ideas, discussion, decision-making, trial and error, working individually and in groups, and coming to consensus.  Critical thinking and problem solving occur in my class when student choose an appropriate action for a situation or appropriate response based on deductive and inductive reasoning. Communication, discussion, and collaboration occur when there are multiple points of view that lead to alternative ways to think and act. Students articulate thoughts and ideas in writing, nonverbal communication, and verbally to persuade others and share their values, beliefs, ideas, attitudes, and knowledge.

I support and teach information literacy by having students use texts and information to accurately and creatively solve or state an issue, problem, and solution. We evaluate our sources and how to determine if information is credible and trustworthy. I teach media literacy by dissecting messages, looking at the intent, purpose, and point of view of the provider. We discuss the ethics surrounding access and use of media. We use technology in my class for students to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information through computers, smart phones, and social networks.

I teach students to work independently and provide opportunities for them to be self-directed learners by having them connect assignments and readings to their life, family, and career goals. Students learn to adapt to changes in instruction at times of transition. They must set goals for themselves and balance short and long-term assignments. Learning to manage their time and take personal responsibility is essential in my class and in students’ lives. Learning is a lifelong process.

Students are given opportunities to work in diverse teams and teach each other in jigsaw and group activities, they take on roles within groups where they have the opportunity to interact with each other, work effectively in diverse teams, manage projects, and produce results they share with the class and together. Students learn to listen, speak, record, write, time manage, share, collect, analyze, and synthesize as a community that takes all interests into mind through problem-solving and communication.

Overall, I teach students strategies to read and comprehend a variety of texts and a variety of information sources, in the subject taught. I vary instructional strategies according to purpose and lesson content.  To meet student academic learning needs, I explain content clearly and reinforce content in multiple ways, such as the use of written and oral presentation, manipulatives, physical models, visual and performing arts, diagrams, non-verbal communication, and computer technology.  

Reference: Partnership for 21st Century Skills, www.p21.org .