A Presentation by:

Nancy Bentley (Wood End) Bill Endslow (RMHS)Colleen Dolan (RMHS) Liz Geraghty (CMS)

Meg Powers (PMS)

Massachusetts Board of Education Presentation

Reading Public Schools 21st Century Skills

Proposal

Building Blocks

• Leading and Managing

• Learning and Teaching

• Partnering

• Assessment

Leading & Managing

•Resources and Infrastructure•Knowledge and skills•Policymaking•Accountability

If it’s not happening, it’s because you are not

doing it.

Thomas Friedman

Resources / Infrastructure

• Resource allocation ensures students, parents, teachers and administrators seamless access to 21st century technology in school, home, community

• Technical support process addresses issues in a timely fashion

• District and town services and operations are connected and technology is integrated seamlessly

Knowledge and Skills

• Innovative management, data driven decision making, on-going professional development

• Proficiency in use of 21st century tools to create curriculum, develop assessment methods, and align standards

• Effective use of 21st century learning tools in management and act as role models in the usage.

Administrators demonstrate:

"Teachers must become comfortable as co-learners with their students and with colleagues around the world. Today it is less about staying ahead and more about moving ahead as members of dynamic learning communities. The digital-age teaching professional must demonstrate a vision of technology infusion and develop the technology skills of others.  These are the hallmarks of the new education leader.”

Don Knezek, ISTE CEO, 2008

Policymaking• Focuses on the integration of 21st

century skills into content mastery• Funding supports and encourages

seamless integration of 21st century skills

• Curriculum is aligned with assessment and inclusive of 21st century skills

• Professional development focuses on the most effective research-based teaching strategies, learning strategies and 21st century skills

• Ensure collaboration opportunities for staff

Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them,because they change things, they push the human race forwardand while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Apple Computer 1984

Accountability

• District evaluates student achievement of 21st century skills in every aspect of teaching and learning

• District evaluates the systemic incorporation of 21st century skills

• Professional development is evaluated based on inclusion of 21st century skills

• Effective support processes for teachers and staff are in place

Are we teaching students to be ready for a bright future, or preparing them to be productive citizens of the past?

Niki

Alan November Webblog 3/30/08

Learning and Teaching

• 21st Century Content• 21st Century Context• Learning Skills• Learning Tools

21 Century Context

Content should be contemporary and relevant

• Establish and utilize global partnerships to create real world connections via the internet

• Expect the use of 21st Century Skills• Give students real world data, tools and

situations to enhance problem solving

21st Century Content

• Enhance current curriculum with technology at all levels.

• Add more World Languages that reflect the Flat World

• Begin teaching World Languages in elementary

• Promote right brain thinking through teaching the arts

• Teach technology in connection to the arts• Create cross-disciplinary Courses at all levels

Relevant examples, applications, and real world situations should be incorporated.

Learning Skills

• Encourage critical thinking skills• Expand communication skills both

online and in person• Broaden technology skills to increase

global awareness, initiate leadership, and practice problem solving

• Teach students to be discriminating readers and users of online content

Students need to be able to manage information, integrate subjects and skills, think critically and creatively and solve problems

Instruction

• Expand opportunities for Virtual Learning in all subjects and all levels

• Offer opportunities to create innovative uses for computers

• Expand communication skills both on-line and in person

• Teach students to be discriminating readers and users of on-line content

Technology should be seamlessly integrated into the learning environment.

Learning Tools

• Make sure infrastructure is in place to support technology system wide

• Every teacher receives a laptop• Every student receives a laptop beginning in

grade 3• SmartBoard in every classroom• Students have their own digital portfolios that

they can access from home or school• Bring online experts into classrooms• Expand opportunities for Virtual Learning in all

subjects and all levels• Offer opportunities to create innovative uses for

computers

The most important question we should be asking is how can we convince our teachers to expect students to learn rather than to acquire knowledge.

Then we can get them to use the tools we have supplied them to help students learn how to learn, to acquire knowledge and to apply their learning.

Ray Dewar

Alan November Webblog 7/19/07

PartneringPartnering is the creation of relationships that extend beyond the classroom. These

are the relationships that have flattened the world and that our children will need to successfully participate in the world as

adults.

Who are our partners?Parents and Community

Schools Across the District

Higher Education and Teacher Preparation

Content Providers

Businesses

Flat World Partners

“Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, ‘Tom, finish your dinner– people in China and India are starving.’

My advice to you is: Girls, finish your homework – people in China and India are starving for your jobs.”

Thomas Friedman

Parents and Community

• Local businesses to provide 21st century skills training for parents.

• Community programs and businesses to provide after-school opportunities to develop 21st century skills.

• Local businesses to provide assistance of hardware for families in need of technology

• School based technology nights to provide hands-on learning for families.

• Workshops and extended learning programs to continue family education.

Parents, schools and the community collaborate so that each child will master 21st century skills. The district will collaborate with:

In addition, schools across the district can provide:

Higher Education and Teacher Preparation

Provide district planning time to promote K-12 integration of content and education strategies with 21st century skills.

Provide time and compensation to support action research focused on teaching and learning with the integration of 21st century skills.

Develop relationships with area higher education institutions to support teacher preparation for proficiency in 21st century skills and the hiring of teachers with these skills.

The district will partner K–12 classroom teachers experienced in 21st century skills as mentors for first year teachers.

The district will continue district-wide teacher preparation and sharing through the addition of another District Sharing Conference.

Content Providers

• The district will collaborate with content providers to create content and resources that use and promote 21st century skills.

• District education leaders will collaborate with content providers to develop aligned resources, assessments and curriculum integrated with the appropriate 21st century tools and educational systems.

Flat World Partners

• Partner with schools across America or worldwide for authentic and meaningful project-based learning

• Establish and utilize global business partnerships to create real world business and industry connections via the Internet.

• Initiate global educational partnerships to allow for collaboration between teachers at all levels

• Bring on-line experts into the classroom via Skype

ASSESSMENT• All assessment is learner-centered,

formative, context-specific, ongoing and rooted in teaching strategies.

• All teachers use classroom assessments that demonstrate evidence of student performance in core subjects and 21st century skills

• All teachers share with parents and students the information needed to monitor student progress in achieving learning goals.

ASSESSMENT CON’T

• Students, teachers and parents always collaborate to monitor student progress in achieving learning goals and use assessment to evaluate long-term student progress

• Assessments use technology and record student performance as a means of tracking information over time.

References• http://www.teckitech.com/random/gr

eat-inspirational-video-from-india/• Friedman, T. L. (2007). The Word

is Flat. New York: Picador. • Drawings courtesy of Wood End

4th Graders• http://nlcommunities.com/

communities/alannovember/default.aspx

Credits• Claudia Giles – Parker Middle

School• Nate Fisher - RMHS • Ms. Bentley’s 4th Grade Class –

Wood End School

Thank you for supporting us in

flattening our student’s world!!