Changing the Recipe of Education For 21st Century Learning Doesn’t Have To Be Scary
More than likely if you are reading this then you are either on summer vacation or are about to begin it. This is always a great time to reflect on the year and savor everything that went well while working towards solutions if something didn’t go as planned. Celebrate your accomplishments! Heck, simply surviving this school year is an accomplishment in itself. So let’s take a walk down memory lane and be open to what the future holds.
Think about your classroom experience either as a student, teacher or both. What did it look like? What feelings come to mind when you picture your classroom scene? What sounds do you hear? Recall any successful lessons and take note as to why they were successful. Now, reflect on those lessons or days that didn’t go as planned. What happened? Is there anything that could have been prevented?
Teaching in the 21st century during a pandemic has to be one of the most challenging experiences you will face in your educational career. Look how far you have come this year and think about how different this is than your classroom in 2019. It is like night and day! Whoever thought teachers would be teaching in-person learners while simultaneously teaching online? And yet, we did it! But where do we go from here with 21st century learning?
Like it or not, one positive result of COVID can be that it is allowing for structures and frameworks to shift and the field of education should be no different. If you look at a classroom today compared to 50 years ago or 20 years ago have we embraced the 21st century or are we still reverting back to a factory style system that has been around for as long as anyone can remember? School is still teachers planning and leading lessons in about 40 minute intervals and then moving onto the next subject.
But what would happen if we start to change the recipe for school? What if we let students lead and execute lessons while we simply serve as a scaffold? Would it work? Does the thought bring a pit to your stomach? How in the world do we even begin to tackle this type of transition? So many questions come to mind when making this shift in thought.
See, the world our learners are living in is vastly different than any one of us could have ever imagined when we were in school. Learners literally have the world at their fingertips from the day they are born. Anything and everything they need can be typed into a browser and answered. Yes, it is important for students to know how to read and site sources, but beyond that should we be rethinking our framework for the classroom structure?
By now we are all familiar with STEM/STEAM and how important they are in developing 21st century learners. However, many teachers can feel intimidated by this style of learning so it is often left to the “STEM Teacher” to teach STEM. Yes, when science and math or engineering and technology aren’t your thing, then this can be a scary world to tap into especially if you’re already a tired teacher. So what if we focus on a discovery based classroom?
Let me guess. You’re thinking, “What in the world does that even look like and how would that help my students?” It really isn’t as scary you might think. For example, we all know the importance of teaching vocabulary no matter what grade level we teach. So instead of the usual worksheet approach, what if you used “Picture of the Day” by Jen Jones. Not only does Jen have the pictures all in one place for you, there are easy to follow directions that can be turned into lesson plans. She did the bulk of the work for you so now all you have to do is implement. See, that doesn’t sound so bad does it?
Another leisurely method to begin to incorporate 21st century learning skills in the classroom is to begin using Storybook STEM at least once a week. Storybook STEM is just that, using a storybook to introduce STEM skills. Brooke Brown from @teachoutsidethebox has countless examples of Storybook STEM that will be sure to keep your students engaged.
On the flip side of reading is of course the math component. Similar to Storybook STEM, try to incorporate a Math Power Hour into your weekly schedule. Math Power Hour is when students simply build and explore while you meet in small groups to dive deep into a lesson of discovery. This is your chance to make math come to life and apply it to the real world. All of those math manipulatives that have been sitting on your shelf for years because you never felt the need to use them can be dusted off so they’re ready to go. You want to create an atmosphere of discovery and exploring in a safe environment. Your students won’t want to miss school because it will be so much fun!
If this approach to learning is new to you, then by all means start small and build from there. If you’ve had experience with discovery learning and want to go a step further, then perhaps try planning a quarterly STEM project. Each quarter you choose a theme or project to go as in depth as you can throughout the nine weeks. Bring in guest speakers or set up Zoom calls with a thought leader on your topic. Ask other homerooms to come see your projects. You might begin to inspire other teachers to fall in love with this approach to learning because your students will be so captivated with the process.
As always, we here at Lesson Plan Toolbox are happy to help you on this journey. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us either on Instagram (@lessonplantoolbox) or email ([email protected]) and we will help guide you in the right direction.
Also, don’t forget to grab your FREEBIE of 7 Habits To Avoid Teacher Burnout.
If you enjoyed this blog post, you might also want to checkout this one: What Should Teachers Do During Dummer.
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