Blog #7- Chapter Six in Bellanca and Brandt

Last week I read Chapter Six- Designing New Learning Environments to Support 21^st Century Skills in Bellanca and Brandt.  There were many points that the authors tried to bring to the forefront in Chapter Six, but there were three in particular that I thought they emphasized.  One is that we as educators/teachers must make a move away from teacher-directed whole group instruction.  Students should be the focal point at all times in a learning environment centered on collaboration amongst students.  We need to create learner-centered workplaces that encourage a collaborative culture of students at work.  The authors point out that research now indicates that students learn best when they are engaged in learning activities and they can now do most of the work.  “Telling/lecturing,” needs to take a backseat to the “new pedagogy of kids teaching themselves with the teacher’s guidance.”  The second main point the authors illustrated in my opinion was the changes we need to make to the learning environment/school design.  Most classrooms are rows and rows of students focused on a lecturing teacher in the front of the classroom.  The design of the classrooms and schools needs to change to incorporate the technology we now have.  Computers, Smart boards, LCD Projectors, and digital cameras/phones are just some of the technology that is now used in the schools and we need to make sure the environment is conducive to learning and this technology.  An example would be to have open spaces (no walls/barriers) where students are grouped in teams which can enable collaboration and allow for all students to easily see computer projections in the front of the room/area.  Finally I thought the authors tried to make a point that we must give the students lots of hands-on projects or initiate more Project-Based Learning (PBL).  PBL engages and challenges our students and leads to 21^st century knowledge skills.  Complex problems, critical thinking skills, presentations, collaboration/teams, posting online, and effective assessments for learning are all skills that are needed for our students.  These skills enable our students to be competitive on a global level and prepare them for the world they will be facing upon completion of school.

I found this chapter in the book to be very interesting, because it relates directly to many of the videos and ideas we have recently shared in class.  Ideas that we as teachers need to adapt to the “new learning environments,” and make changes in order to prepare our students for the future.  Just this marking period in my classes, I have made an effort to give more collaborative teamwork assignments where I assign groups and allow students to take roles within the groups.  Leaders develop in each group and students really dip into their creative sides for the various projects.  I have set up projects where the students use their computers and cell phones to gather information and complete assignments.  Students are given more flexibility to be creative and think on their own to come up with incredible projects.  I think Bellanca and Brandt highlighted some of these thoughts in Chapter Six.  “Building Schools of the Future,” is the name of the eighty billon dollar movement in the UK to prepare students for the changes that have occurred in our world today.  Rethinking how students learn best and preparing them with these 21^st century skills is the movement that is taking place and we can either jump on board or continue to fall behind.  I completely agreed with the author’s thoughts on a focused work environment, collaborative work, and hands-on projects for our students.  Bellanca and Brandt stated that the signature characteristic of 21^st century schools is, “students at work.”  This central idea in Chapter Six that the students need to be at work through critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork is right on point in my opinion.  Students learn more from being engaged and challenged than they do from listening to a teacher lecture for an entire period.  Many times as a student, I found myself daydreaming or my mind wandering when a teacher just lectured in front of the classroom for a long period of time.  When I was involved in the lesson and required to think in groups or on my own, I learned more (not only about the subject matter, but about myself).

Obviously implementation of these ideas is not an easy task.  On pages 129-144, the authors gave examples of five schools in the US and UK that exemplify the best of the new learning environments.  These schools have built technology-equipped students at work both individually and in collaborative teams. These schools are great models for technology-based schools for the future and should be used as the blueprint for schools trying to make their schools more conducive to 21^st century learning.  Hard work, effort, and dedication are required by school districts, staff, and students.  In order to completely change a school’s design and classroom environment to make sure it is conducive to technological learning, money is going to be needed to bring in the technology.  Money is going to be needed to make the necessary changes to the school layout and classroom design.  Implementation does not happen overnight, but yet is a long, slow process, but if it starts now, goals can be met in the future little by little.  Involving the community (parents) is the key to implementation.  You must educate the community as to why these changes are imperative.  You will need all hands on deck in order to accomplish school goals.  Voting ‘yes’ to the budgets each year will be important, and so the teachers/staff need to promote the good things that are occurring in our schools.  Parents need to be kept apprised to the changes that are occurring and the ones that need to occur in order to help our students achieve 21^st century skills.