Benefits and Results
You have now embarked on the journey to the 21st century. The goals achieved per year, depending upon the level of support provided, are:
Year One Results - Deeper Learning Plan
1. 21st Century Curriculum Library and Resources Database starter collection of 21st century units of curriculum plus resources database. Available to be accessed by the entire school.
2. Campus/School Level Expert Teams of 21st century experts able to provide support in the development of any curriculum unit, lesson or project. Each team will focus on one area. This support will extend to all educators in your school/district.
For example: A Campus Level team is responsible for learning everything they can about Financial Literacy. They conduct research about what Financial Literacy is, how it can be taught and how it can be integrated into the curriculum in various thematic projects They create a database of resources and lesson ideas for Financial Literacy. When a team of teachers (anywhere in the district) begins to plan a unit of curriculum they can access the Financial Literacy database; they can also invite one of the Financial Literacy experts to come and meet with them for a short time, share their curriculum unit with them, and the Financial Literacy expert can then offer recommendations on how to embed experiences in the unit which will help students develop Financial Literacy.
Each expert team will do the same with the topic they are researching. This process enables a teacher to belong to one team. The teacher is free to focus deeply on the topic their group is studying, and does not have to be concerned with having to study all the other areas. The result is very high quality resources, a built-in team of experts in your district, and an excellent database created in a shorter time period.
3. Campus Level PLCs functioning effectively, demonstrating focus and learning.*
4. 21st Century Education Conference - Plans are well under way for your 21st Century Education Conference.
5. Documentation and Evaluation Database - Documented evidence and analyses of project to date in a central database including:
6. Teachers will have, know and /or be able to do/use the following:
*PLC (Professional Learning Community) Topics will be:
· Financial Literacy
· Media Literacy
· Ecoliteracy
· Social/Emotional Learning
· Global Competencies
· Physical Fitness and Health
· Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
· Web 2.0 and Apps
· The Arts
· Children’s Literature
· ???
· ???
[1] These workshops are for classroom teachers and assistant teachers. We strongly recommend that administrators attend if possible. We also encourage the attendance of some of the high school students with the teachers from their program.
2. Campus/School Level Expert Teams of 21st century experts able to provide support in the development of any curriculum unit, lesson or project. Each team will focus on one area. This support will extend to all educators in your school/district.
For example: A Campus Level team is responsible for learning everything they can about Financial Literacy. They conduct research about what Financial Literacy is, how it can be taught and how it can be integrated into the curriculum in various thematic projects They create a database of resources and lesson ideas for Financial Literacy. When a team of teachers (anywhere in the district) begins to plan a unit of curriculum they can access the Financial Literacy database; they can also invite one of the Financial Literacy experts to come and meet with them for a short time, share their curriculum unit with them, and the Financial Literacy expert can then offer recommendations on how to embed experiences in the unit which will help students develop Financial Literacy.
Each expert team will do the same with the topic they are researching. This process enables a teacher to belong to one team. The teacher is free to focus deeply on the topic their group is studying, and does not have to be concerned with having to study all the other areas. The result is very high quality resources, a built-in team of experts in your district, and an excellent database created in a shorter time period.
3. Campus Level PLCs functioning effectively, demonstrating focus and learning.*
4. 21st Century Education Conference - Plans are well under way for your 21st Century Education Conference.
5. Documentation and Evaluation Database - Documented evidence and analyses of project to date in a central database including:
- Evidence of teacher growth professionally – teacher portfolios, journals, video and photos, curriculum designs . . .
- Evidence of high level, 21st century student achievement - demonstrated through student digital products, photos and videos of student products and performances, interviews with students, parents and teachers . . . .
6. Teachers will have, know and /or be able to do/use the following:
- Teachers will be utilizing a variety of technologies to support learning.
- Toolbox of 21st century Thinking Tools
- Tools for 21st century curriculum design, authentic assessment and classroom management
- Teachers will intentionally create and continuously support a 21st century learning environment – the physical environment, the emotional environment and the academic environment.
- Teachers will maintain the highest expectations for themselves and their students.
- Teachers will be able to create and maintain with ease, a daily schedule which is flexible and adaptable to the students’ needs on a daily basis.
- Teachers will understand the differences between “Unit Outcomes”, “High Level Concepts to be Learned” and “Activities”.
- Teachers will know where and how to embed specific content standards in the overall design of the curriculum and instruction.
- Aligning Unit Outcomes, Activities and Assessments
- Be able to seamlessly integrate multiple disciplines.
- Able to embed critical attributes of 21st century education, multiple literacies for the 21st century and 21st century skills.
- Able to identify demonstrations of students having developed 21st century skills, 21st century literacies, 21st century habits of mind, students’ functioning as self-directed, interdependent and independent learners, utilization of multiple Thinking Tools, and students achieving high levels of learning all content standards.
- Teachers will be functioning effectively in collaborative teams.
- Teachers will understand how the curriculum and instruction they design integrates practices such as Differentiated Instruction, Brain-Based Learning and Response to Intervention in a holistic rather than fragmented methodology.
*PLC (Professional Learning Community) Topics will be:
· Financial Literacy
· Media Literacy
· Ecoliteracy
· Social/Emotional Learning
· Global Competencies
· Physical Fitness and Health
· Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
· Web 2.0 and Apps
· The Arts
· Children’s Literature
· ???
· ???
[1] These workshops are for classroom teachers and assistant teachers. We strongly recommend that administrators attend if possible. We also encourage the attendance of some of the high school students with the teachers from their program.
Year Two Results - Deeper Learning Plan
- All of the above from Year One are expanded to the next level of expertise.
- Expanded 21st Century Curriculum Library and Resources Database by additional new curriculum units.
- Significantly higher levels of student achievement on standardized test scores.
- Significant reduction, if not complete elimination, of behavioral problems.
- High levels of student engagement and motivation.
- 21st Century After School Programs in place.
- Evidence of Service Learning
- Evidence of some participation in high quality Global Collaborative Classroom Projects (pen pals does not meet this criterion.)
- Increased levels of quality participation and involvement by parents and community members. (Helping with clerical tasks does not qualify.)
- Teachers demonstrate high levels of job satisfaction, and are not suffering from high levels of stress or burnout.
- Teachers are effectively and meaningfully integrating technologies into the curriculum (computers are not used as electronic textbooks and worksheets – which is nothing more than using a keyboard instead of paper and pencil). It is not the technology itself, but what you do with the technology that makes it 21st century.
Years Three and ongoing. . . - Deeper Learning Plan
- 21st Century Schools - your district/school may boast the most cutting edge school in the world from the school grounds to the building, from the highly expert teachers to the spectacularly 21st century curriculum*.
- Expertly trained 21st century teachers in the art and science of 21st century education.
- In-House Expert Teams - experts in many areas: Media Literacy, Ecoliteracy, MOVE IT, Math! (the best math program in the world), Financial Literacy, The Arts, Global Competencies. . . . these teams (and others) will be the experts who can advise and support each other when developing their new curriculum projects.
- World Class Children's Literature Library
- World class, superior MOVE IT, Math! program
- 21st Century Education Research Database - world class database of documentation, a fantastic resource for education researchers around the world.
- Hopefully - a film documentary featuring your 21st Century Schools Program.
- An enormous 21st Century Curriculum Database of high quality, teacher-designed 21st century curriculum, complete with resources and assessments databases.
- Possibly - a university accredited teacher training and certification program. At least university partnerships.
- Professional Development Videos database.
- Extremely high levels of job satisfaction among teachers and staff.
- Global Collaborative Networks among your teachers and students and people around the world.
- Global recognition of your 21st Century Schools as the ultimate exemplars of 21st century education.
- High levels of student achievement, including test scores.
- High levels of student motivation.
* This only applies if you have decided to make any additions or renovations to the current facilities and grounds.