Week+2

Discussions were held this week concerning the Teacher Needs Assessment Survey. During this discussion, a consensus was reached by our group that the survey was a successful tool for us to assess our knowledge of 21st century teacher needs. I personally believed that I was very conscious of the skills needed for teachers in our present climate, but was interested to find some aspects of technology of which I am ignorant. Of course, putting a laptop in front of every student is not a true sign of 21st century learning, it is most necessary to teach students skills needed to thrive in their environment--skills such as communication, creativity, and self-efficacy. Any improvements that can be made to the survey may include a more detailed presentation,or distinction, between the usefulness of technology and the need to recognize that 21st century skills are the main focus of this assessment. Concerning my reading of the article "The 21st Century Learner," I mostly agreed with the point of the author that we need to learn to transform our teaching model to one more appropriate for the needs of our students. Other aspects of the article, such as his emotional outbursts of "this is why students shoot people in school," were a little exaggerated and weakened his argument. I can appreciate and relate to the anecdotes and quotes used in the article and I agree with the main message, but a different approach may be needed to reach those educators and politicians about the need to transform the structure of our nation's schools. Perhaps we can, as educators, find a communicate the successes of students who are receiving a 21st century education to better appeal to the masses. Preaching to the choir will only take the movement for change so far.