I think this is a great website for promoting the importance of science and technology. Ken Kay the president of P21 talks about he importance of incorporating together the 3 R’s but along with the 4 C’s which include Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity. Our society is lacking in educated Math and Science employees. We really need to inform children about skills that they can use in daily life. I feel we are not meeting those standards in classrooms around the U.S.
The information that I found interesting is the support from local businesses, community and government leaders. By having all this support from your community your desire to succeed has increased. “Since its inception in 2002, P21 has more than quadrupled its membership, growing from eight founding organizations to 39 members representing America’s leading business, technology and education organizations. Our work has been endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education.”
I think the framework may have to be revised but overall I think this is a great way to incorporate students to learn more about technology. I know of a program that is similar, RIT a technology school in N.Y. uses local business and government to help their students get co-op/ internships at various employers. By doing so students can get an experience how of the real world works including a paycheck. Most students who are in this program get a job after their program with this company.
I think my students would benefit from incorporating the 4 C’s into their curriculum. By having students use critical thinking, collaborating together for group projects. The use of communication is important in any aspect of life. Being creative has to be a strong focus, since I think students do not get the opportunity to be creative more in the classroom. I think I can be a better educator to incorporate certain materials involving p21 into my pedagogy.
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Michael, I was also struck by P21's impressive list of top respected companies who act on their board of Strategic Council Members. I noticed that most of the companies are tech companies, which was not surprising. However, I am curious to know if these companies adopted the P21 initiative in order to serve schools and districts in meeting these goals. That would mean offering funding to schools to increase technology resources and professional development for teachers. Or, have these companies signed on to this plan, hoping they will acquire capital gain as schools and districts purchase their products in order to meet the P21 goals? I guess I would have liked to see a bit more information on the website of what the Strategic Council members do, besides adopt and revise the P21 framework. How are they practically helping schools and students?
ReplyDeleteThe RIT school you mentioned sounds like a great model for how businesses can practically help students learn 21st century skills and become better prepared for the business world. I hope more companies will be open to offering such opportunities for students.
Yeah i agree with your statement of seeing what exactly these council members to do help the school and the students. Im assuming they are donating money to help pay for technology. I know that Tom Gollisano who is the CEO of paychex donated to a local catholic high school lap tops for each student. He wanted to incorporate that each student have access to a computer.
ReplyDeleteI agree that technology and the 21st century skills need to be supported by the community. There is a program called Junior Achievement that our community works with and they get volunteers from local businesses to teach my second graders about taxes, paychecks, and types of productions. Throughout these lessons, they use creativity, collaboration, and communication, but not technology. I think this would steer some volunteers away if they are not "tech saavy". However, I do feel it would benefit students to see some of the concepts used with technology in the real world so I try to incorportate that as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteI think the RIT model you talked about will definately benefit students become better equipped for attaining a full time job when they are ready to take that step. I know some high schools offer a half day work program where students attend school for the morning and go to work to practice certain types of skills during their afternoon.
I am glad to hear your positive twist on the website, as I was not feeling so positive about the resource when I viewed it. The "4 C's" are important to incorporate into our lessons, across all content areas, with and without technology...as in most things I think balance is key. New York seems to be progressing quickly when it comes to technology. You mentioned the RIT model and I have also heard of paperfree schools in NY as well...where all assignments must be submitted online. Are you familiar with any of these schools? I am always interested in programs like this, as I again wonder if they are balanced enough for the students to benefit in all areas.
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