ISTE (technical issues)

As one understands the ISTE of learning in a broad generalized sense, it is a stated mantra of how the school wants to go about teaching its declared population.  In another sense it communicates to the intended public just what the school is about in terms of its teaching delivery.  With the outlined objectives of a school’s ISTE, teachers can begin to create a comprehensive curriculum that is more apt to follow a stated value system as dictated by the ISTE.  Furthermore, teachers are now buying into the collective mission statement but still leaving room for independent growth.

The ISTE of learning as it pertains to the teaching environment at Everest Institute states that each student is expected to actively participate in the hope and aspirations of developing themselves as better candidates for positions as entry level medical professionals.  The school’s director of education passionately believes the best way to reach this goal is the diligent participation of each individual student.  Similar to the ISTEs listed for the Massachusetts department of education there is a component of the values that take into account the very real necessity for interacting with an ever growing diverse population.  Everest’s own system is highly dependent on the successful interaction of its students with the many different communities its career services department works with.

It is vitally prudent for our students to know their implicit importance to the communities they both serve and come from.  What is also built into the ISTE of learning at Everest is that the student is the sustainable growth mechanism for the school’s curriculum.  In other words, the curriculum emphasizes that the student is needed in his or her own community because there is a desperate requirement to involve them with the lasting charge of making their environment better once they have received the training to do so.  It is a kind of “supply side economics” with a home-grown twist.  Getting individuals to care about their own troubled environment is not an easy task.  However, the requisite need to do so is bolstered by the value added benefit of teaching students that community stewardship is its own best reward.

Additionally, students are taught what to look for when trying to bring these new skills to a doctor’s office.  In essence there is a heightened sense of urgency to these scenarios.  The entry level medical professional is the first line of communication between the chasm of highly trained physicians and a newly registered family of immigrants.  Our students are taught to use this brief period of confusion to their advantage.  By implementing the ISTE of learning that makes diversity training so vital, Everest students employ a calm demeanor to ease this transition.  This is the strength of a school like Everest.

The inherent flaw of a proprietary schools ISTE is the lack of importance to the idea of being a life long learner.  Everest is a seven month certificate program designed to get students into the workforce quickly.  Even throughout the program there is no stated objective to continue on to a two year Associate or higher degree.  This is not to over simplify the implicit need to continue to better oneself but the school really does the students a disservice by not detailing a clearer progressive tract for higher education.

Chapter review

I find it as informative to read and decipher the author's bio as it is to digest the article written.  Each individual is presented as generally well versed in their respected areas of expertise.  However, one can't help but wonder as to how the massive collection of academic credentialing in a very specific area of study can lead to so much collective confusion.

As always the case in these matters anytime there is more examining of a problem than there is an actual problem, inevitable chaos must ensue.  I do not state this opinion as a mere negative observation as much as a conclusion in hopes of resolve.  The consensus of those key educators who believe in the promise of technology as a viable means of enhancing the educational experience quite often forget the need to make sure the students engaged in this technological onslaught are inputting quality data.

In short, the old adage of garbage in garbage out is very appropriate.  In each article written it seemed there was far more emphasis placed on the student's interaction of the selected technology (be it technology notes, smart-boards or social media as a means of educational interaction) than the outcome of said interaction.  Although this narrow focus is touched upon briefly by each author, it is not given the necessary attention the oversight deserves. 

Themes from the Text

           Among the content of the readings in chapters 5, 8, &9 in the 21^st Century Skills text I discovered two common themes present throughout.  The themes of both cooperative learning and problem solving dominate the focus of those particular chapters and emphasize the need to move our educative efforts in schools in those directions.  As we move further toward global interdependence, the need for the development of both of these concepts in today’s students becomes crucial. 

            Because of the need to be able to work collaboratively with diverse populations, the development of interpersonal skills must be fostered in all types of educational activities.  When discussing the concept of interpersonal skills in the 21^st century, the concepts of understanding diversity and appropriate online relationships are absolutely imperative.  The constantly changing world that today’s youth are growing up in, due mainly to rapidly increasing population diversity and technology, demand that students demonstrate the skills for being able to solve problems collaboratively through a variety of forms of interpersonal communication, including online.  As the ways in which people can communicate due to technology change, so must the skills of today’s students to keep up.  It isn’t good enough that they just grow up surrounded by technology, they need to learn how to continue to grow with it and use it to develop their own communication skills appropriately.  

            The theme of problem solving becomes a vital concept because not only does it help to foster interpersonal communication and collaboration, but as the world continues to develop into one global community, problems develop at an exponential rate.  The future employment opportunities for today’s students are limitless because of the constant growth of technology and the opportunities it brings, but with these opportunities comes a greater demand for skill sets that were not previously required by any other generation.  This also means that each generation of educators must continue to develop the competencies required to teach these skills to each developing generation after it.  This is why cooperative, collaborative, problem based learning styles are highly beneficial for both the students and the educators to engage in.  

 One or more of the unifying themes among chapters 2, 7 and 11, as well as the Afterword by Hargreaves, and how these themes affect education policy and practice.

“We are in the midst of another revolution that at least rivals the Industrial Revolution…this revolution…is significantly changing our society and thus the value of knowledge. What should schools teach in order to prepare our children for the global and digital economy?” (Zhao, 2009, p. 145)

                Educators in the 21^st Century search for answers to the longstanding question: How to prepare students for the future? A Century ago, England’s Herbert Spencer asked the same well-known question, ‘“what knowledge is of most worth’” (Zhao, 2009, p. 145). Today, the debate continues, as educational experts, business leaders and other influential groups attempt to define the most import Skills for the 21^st Century.

                Some of the many unifying themes among the discussions on the necessary skills to prepare students for the future are: What should be the new policies for the demands of the 21^st century? What framework to use and how to implement it? How can schools integrate and innovate using the technology available? (

                Although, research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, over the past twenty years, have significantly expanded our understanding of how people learn, educational practice has not always kept pace with this new knowledge. The creation of a set of beliefs about learning, based on this new research, helps schools and districts guide the development of the curriculum/assessment system and inform instructional practice and the selection of learning resources. As a means of better aligning theory and practice, schools and districts should develop or adopt a set of learning beliefs based on research and best practices. Once in place, these beliefs provide a conceptual foundation for all school reform initiatives.

                Jay McTighe and Elliott Seif (2010), suggest one possible framework to be adopted in a 21^st century world, and eventually lead to significant changes in curriculum, assessment and instructional practices needed to accommodate 21^st century outcomes. Using ten statements about learning, they open the discussion to a better and more purposeful educational practice.

               

                In conclusion, we all know that something has to be done. We are still unclear on how, what, for what direction, when, and who should be in charge of these changes. “Learning is purposeful and contextual.” Therefore, students should be helped to see the purpose in what they are asked to learn.  One thing we know for sure, “How we teach must reflect how our students learn. It must also reflect the world our students will move into. This is a world which is rapidly changing, connected, adapting and evolving” (Susan Bainbridge, 2011).

Cashman - Theme Response

Change. Education needs to change, students need to change, and schools need to change. We, as educators, have heard all of this before. The parents, politicians, and media outlets of the country have found new and interesting ways of displaying their perceivable dissatisfaction with the country's education system. This blogger hopes to temper the emotions of those who tear down education rather than build it up, and offer a new word to be thrown into the lexicon of educational criticism: adaptation.

Adaptation is a unifying theme that permeates the 21st Century Skills text. The authors, regardless of the chapter, have voiced a unified opinion that education needs to adapt, not totally change, to the challenges it currently faces. How do schools meet that challenge? Chapters 2,7,and 11 off three different plans with comparable methods.

Ms. Darling-Hammond offers a suggestions that denotes a gap between what students know and what they need to know. The core of the chapter deals with thinking skills and how students need to develop a greater strength regarding cognitive thinking: students have to work at figuring things out. In preparing this century's students educators are tasked with preparing them for an economy full of jobs that are yet to exist. How? Darling-Hammond asserts the notion that a sense of continuity need be adapted by schools systems; basically, chose a path and stick with it. The American educational system lacks continuity.

Along with a sense of direction there must come a map to follow. The so called "map" mentioned in Chapter 7 deals with a theme of guidance that America needs. The system needs a curriculum and assessment system that truly challenges a student's preparedness and knowledge. The context of a student's learning needs to be practical and applicable to the workplace thus resulting in a more prepared individual ready to enter the workforce.

The American educational system needs a rudder; like a ship on an ocean, one can't function without one. The unifying themes that permeate the text is that student preparedness needs to increase and a rate that is consummate with an ever-changing global economy.