Dot-to-dot puzzles. My kid loves them. Always has. Now in sixth grade, his favorites still start off 1-2-3, but now they’re cranked up to 11. Extreme puzzles like this one: This giraffe puzzle (sorry to spoil the surprise… it’s a giraffe) has over 1300 dots to connect, but the concept is still the same […]
retrieved from blog.kathyschrock.net The above photo was shared to me by my peer Kaity Fain. As I was looking for ways to introduce SAMR and TPACK, I thought this metaphor of SAMR was cute and relatable. This past week our cohort explored what skills, resources and processes we could utilize as we begin to co planRead More
While changes in schools happen slowly, professional development for teachers is being transformed through technology. Gone are the prescribed agendas with approved district topics or mandates, replaced with teacher choice and voice. Teachers have been complaining about how professional development doesn’t benefit them in the classroom consequently, doesn’t even support them in their current work.… Continue Reading Professional Development that creates collaborative digital environments while addressing content curriculum
This quarter, through the Digital Education Leadership program at Seattle Pacific University, my classmates and I are building skills towards becoming peer coaches in our respective schools. As I describe in an earlier post, peer coaches work with a collaborating teacher to help them to recognize their amazing abilities through questions and periods of reflection, allowing the collaborative teacher to solve their own challenges with the help of a safe, supportive cheerleader on the side. One essential aspect of the peer coaching role is exploring the lesson improvement process, where the collaborating teacher and the peer coach examine a current lesson plan and find ways to enhance what is already being taught. As I move forward with the idea of lesson improvement, I am left wondering how to balance the role of coach without crossing into the position of “expert.” In Peer Coaching: Unlocking the Power of Collaboration, author, Les Foltos, warns readers that “teachers want a coach to be a peer, not an expert” (Foltos, 2013, pg. 19). Teachers don’t want someone to telling them what to do, they want a friend and a colleague to talk though a lesson and share ideas that could enhance … Read More
ISTE Standards for Coaches This is my third post for the quarter. In this module we continue to explore the first and second standards, visionary leadership and teaching, learning, and assessment. We also reflect on the sixth standard, content knowledge and personal growth. I appreciate the interplay between these three standards because they encourage a focus on how the coach… Read more →
This week I explore the first and sixth ISTE Coaching Standards through the Digital Education Leadership program at Seattle Pacific University. Through my studies, the terms “21st century skills” and “21st century learners” continue to pop up. These phrases have been used in abundance over the last decade, but what do they really mean? And how do I, as a school librarian, help incorporate them into the classroom? In an effort to succinctly articulate my musings, my question this week is as follows:
What are 21st century skills and how can they be incorporated into the classroom in a meaningful way that enhances the curriculum?
Before I can explore the implementation of 21st century skills, I needed to pause and illustrate what a 21st century learner might look like:
The National Council of Teachers of English define a 21st century learner as someone who is able to:
