21st Century Learners

As I read through chapter 3, one big idea kept leaping out at me: authenticity. Now that we've determined the over-arching theme of our project, the next step is to plan for the ways that students will reach the final goal, using authentic tasks to get them there. The other, and even more important aspect, is to ensure that students are still learning their material throughout the project experience. I really liked the quote regarding textbooks: the textbook should become "a reference book rich with illustrations and supplying information written at the reading and conceptual level of the student". This rings true with me, as a student who has always loved to look through textbooks. I love, love, love the idea of encouraging students to look to their textbooks for answers. Not just for mundane nightly readings, but for real, authentic understanding. Textbooks provide a plethora of information, and are oftentimes full of pictures and captions. What better place to go to find useful information, if, say, the internet is broken? Speaking of the internet... In this age we find ourselves in, there is an overwhelming demand on students to establish the skills they need to function in the future: a future no doubt dominated by technology. One of the goals of these such projects, is to use use them as means of establishing these 21st century skills. Projects can be used to teach students research strategies, collaboration strategies, and even teaching them to be highly productive. All of these skills are needed by students to help them function technologically...to know how to find information, and talk about it later, doing so as efficiently as possible. These types of activities are also great opportunities for students of all educational backgrounds to find a niche that pertains to their own learning styles. With the discussion of learning dispositions in the reading, I couldn't help but think about my own work in special education. Every student learns differently. They all have different learning dispositions. By knowing these dispositions, we, the teachers, can better individualize our instruction. These are practices which are constantly reinforced when learning to work with students who have special needs. Thinking through this grid, it's easy to carry this idea over. Even when working in a general education classroom, teachers must be aware of the different needs of students be they educational, physical, or emotional.