K12 Schools Must Fill Need For Digital Media Skills
There is a new urgency to teach digital media literacy as a study finds students are taking online information for granted
What constitutes a 21stcentury education? The answers vary (Walser, 2008), but 10 states have already adopted the framework used by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (www.21stcenturyskills.org), and more states are preparing to do so. The Partnership’s Framework for 21st Century Learning specifies student outcomes in four areas:
District Implementation Integrating 21st-century skills into standards and curricula requires that districts nurture philosophical and behavioral shifts. I design online professional development courses and assist states and districts with technology integration. I'm often asked to provide input on 21st-century skills because I'm "the tech guy," but I would prefer that people come to me about 21st-century skills because I'm the instructional design guy or simply a teacher. Why? Because the term "21st-century skills" is more about appropriate and effective instruction than it is about technology. It's about learning how to learn, how to work with other people, how to use knowledge to create new knowledge, and how to continue to learn so that you can use new technologies as they become available. As districts plan professional development for educators, they need to keep this in mind so that they avoid isolating technology as a separate or static "thing" to be learned-or revered. When I visit classrooms, I find it's not the technology that's the holdup when it comes to integrating 21st-century skills into the curriculum. It's the idea that teachers might have to teach differently. That they might turn off the photocopier. That they might not use the textbook. That they might have to let their students have some flexibility. It's more of a philosophical problem than a resource problem, or even a student achievement problem. Peggy Ertmer at Purdue University, my collaborator along with Katherine Cennamo in writing Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach, observes that when people try to identify barriers to progress in teaching and learning, they don't usually look deep enough. They might think of first-order barriers to change, such as lack of resources or pressure to teach to the test, but ignore root causes, such as personal attitudes and philosophies. District support for integrating 21st-century skills into the curricula should acknowledge the need for philosophical as well as behavioral shifts. With leadership and planning, both can be addressed. -John Ross
1. Mastery of core subjects (English, reading or language arts, world languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography, history, government and civics) connected by interdisciplinary themes such as global awareness and financial literacy
2. Learning and innovation skills such as critical thinking and collaboration
3. Information, media and technology skills
4. Life and career skills such as self-direction, adaptability, responsibility, social skills, and leadership
Cooperation and Collaboration
Participating states have infused a spectrum of skills into their standards and curriculum. And the partnership has established a national network of organizations that provide professional development to help implement 21st-century learning initiatives. But in schools struggling to achieve adequate yearly progress, educators may wonder: Are 21st-century skills and student achievement linked?
Teaching students to pose and answer questions that require them to challenge assumptions and describe causal relationships can increase learning and memory, says a guide published by the U.S. Department of Education (Pashler et al., 2007).
A research team led by Robert Slavin conducted a systematic review of the research on the achievement outcomes of four approaches to improve middle and high school student reading. The team identified 33 randomized or matchedcontrol-group studies that met the criteria. Instructional-process programs that involved cooperative learning and those that combined large- and small-group instruction with computer activities yielded positive effects. The conclusion: “Programs designed to change daily teaching practices have substantially greater research support than those focused on curriculum or technology alone” (Slavin, Cheung, Groff, & Lake, 2008).
Interdisciplinary Education
A pedagogical approach that includes developing language and literacy skills and connecting lessons to students’ lives improves student achievement, especially for English Language Learners, say researchers at the University of California-Berkeley (Doherty & Hilberg, 2007). For schools looking to reap the potential benefits, researchers caution that teachers need support, which the partnership says includes standards, assessment, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and learning environments.
Carla Thomas McClure is a staff writer at Edvantia, a nonprofit education research and development organization. John Ross is a senior research and development specialist at Edvantia. To find citation of all the references used in this article, go to www.districtadministration.com.
References
Doherty, R. W., & Hilberg, R. S. (2007). Standards for effective pedagogy, classroom organization, English proficiency, and student achievement. The Journal of Educational Research, 101(1), 24-34.
Pashler, H., Bain, P. M., Bottge, B. A., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., & Metcalf, J. (2007). Organizing instruction and study to improve student learning (NCER 2007-2004). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Research. http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/20072004.pdf.
Slavin, R., Cheung, A., Groff, C., & Lake, C. (2008). Effective reading programs for middle and high schools: A best-evidence synthesis. Reading Research Quarterly, 43(3), 290-322.
