We have been studying 21st Century Learning and how it can work in our classrooms. One of the parts of this type of learning that I like most is how it provides our students with skills to move onto college and careers. I really believe that my job consists of not only teaching my students math but also giving them collaboration and communication skills that they will use the rest of their life. In my classroom I want to put my students in pressure situations and then give them the skills to cope. I want them to fail at something, but then show them how to work and get help to rise to the challenge. A student has to know how to function in the real world and we have to do all of these things to teach them how to succeed.
The other aspect of 21 Century Learning that I would like to implement into my classroom more is the information, media, and technology skills. Students have access to so many different types of technology, but they oftentimes don't have the skills to use them to their advantage. I would like to give my students more strategies that involve using technology to their advantage if they are unsure about a mathematical concept. I would also like to teach my students the responsibility of having a cell phone, iPad, video game, etc, and the ability to put them down when they need to complete a task.
The biggest challenge to the implementation of 21st Century Learning is the challenge that is present in every teachers classroom. We never seem to have enough time to accomplish everything that we want. Taking time to do activities that will build communication skills will help in the long term student grade and putting more technology in a classroom will save me time, but the initial setup takes work. I do think 21st Century Learning is possible in the classroom, but we need to think of ways to implement it creatively.
