21st Century Learning Skills - What To Tackle First?

The 21^st Century learning skill and associated key competency that I would most like to address in my own practise is KNOWLEDGE CREATION and THINKING.

My rationales for wanting to address KNOWLEDGE CREATION and THINKING are as follows:

1. ·        I would love to actively engage my students in learning experiences that promote the application of interdisciplinary problem solving skills and 21^st Century learning skills. After my initial examination of the ITL Learning Activities Rubrics, I feel that many of the learning activities that I plan often only score a 2 or 3 on the rubrics. I need to put greater effort into ensuring that the students’ learning experiences allow them to have an active presence in the world, and that they have an opportunity to share their ideas and creations with an authentic audience beyond the confines of our school gates.
2. ·        To develop parental confidence in the application of new pedagogies and technologies. In my experience, parents are generally sceptical of new teaching approaches. They want to know that their child is on track to achieve the national standard, and they believe that this is best achieved through traditional approaches to the core curriculum subjects. I would love to be able to show parents tangible evidence of the depth of learning and development of key competencies that comes with genuinely engaging in 21^st century learning. This is going to be one of the most challenging barriers to overcome which – in turn - makes it one of the most significant barriers our school community needs to tackle.  
3. ·        To promote a greater understanding and appreciation (amongst staff, students, parents, and the wider community) for what it means to be a 21^st century teacher and learner. The element of practice within my school setting that I would most like to challenge is around the planning and implementation of extension for gifted and talented students. Recent professional discussions have made me more aware of people’s beliefs that extension programs are something separate to one’s regular classroom program – they are delivered by outside sources such as Learn Now, One Day Centre, or the Correspondence School. This goes against everything that I believe to be true about the extension of gifted and talented students, however it has highlighted a potential opportunity for developing this 21^st century learning skill and key competency in the context of planning and implementing effective extension programs with my colleagues.
4. ·        To lead by example within my school setting by taking risks and trialing new ideas, and then openly and honestly reflecting on the positive and negative aspects of these processes. This opens up an opportunity for working collaboratively with other staff members which will enable us to become more effective and efficient knowledge creators.
5. ·        After an honest reflection on some of the learning experiences that I have planned for my students using the Innovative Teaching and Learning 21^st Century Learning Design Learning Activity Rubrics (Microsoft Partners in Learning. (n.d.). 21CLD Learning Activities Rubrics. Retrieved from http://fcl.eun.org/documents/10180/14691/5.3x+-+21cld+learning+activity+rubrics+2012.pdf/e240da11-07c2-4633-a86e-06c12f00d8ad?version=1.0), I can now identify a strong disconnect between how students might use information for knowledge construction as opposed to simply recalling, reorganising, and identifying the opinions of others.
6. ·        Although I have always asserted a strong belief in knowledge construction being at the heart of education, the rubrics have highlighted the need to put greater thought into how to plan meaningful and productive learning experiences that target knowledge construction.
7. ·        Examination of my lesson plans has enabled me to identify that the learning experiences which fail to meet the requirements for knowledge construction the most are those that have been done in a hurry, and those that have followed a traditional school timetable structure in which I have aimed to ensure curriculum coverage, i.e. reading, writing, and maths, over the course of a school day.
8. ·        I am often torn between wanting to maintain the appearance of being a good teacher in the eyes of my students and their parents (by ensuring that when parents ask their children about the core curriculum subjects, the students can clearly identify what it is that they have learnt in those areas); and wanting to be the best educator that I can be – something that can only be achieved by letting go of the traditional industrial age approach to education (Tedx Talks.  2013, May 20^th. What 60 schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21^st Century Skills: Grant Lichtman at TedxDenverTeachers. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZEZTyxSl3g&t=191s)