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Each Virtual
Course will begin at 10:00 a.m. CST on the dates of the selected course.
We will spend no more than 4 hours per day online. Yes, we will have breaks!
Agenda for Designing the 21st
Century Classroom
Agenda for Smaller Learning Communities
Agenda for
Service Learning
Designing the 21st Century
Classroom:
This is a three-day course. We will spend up to 4 hours per day
online, and you will be doing some of the readings when we are not online.
The course will consist of Moderator Presentations, Whole Group and Small Group
discussions and activities, four brief videos, and off-line readings. You
will have access to collaboration with your fellow participants when we are not
in the live sessions.
Goal: By the end of this two-day professional
development experience the participants will have created a unit of curriculum
designed specifically for their classroom and which incorporates the needs of
their particular students and the resources of the local community. This
curriculum will be based upon their investigation of authentic education in the
21st century.
Description: Participants will spend two days
working collaboratively as they examine critical attributes of the 21st
century and then apply their findings to the development of curriculum and
instruction. Throughout the two days participants will be actively involved in
a variety of activities, groups and presentations. They will not just hear
about, but will experience, the 21st century classroom!
Sessions in which participants will be working
collaboratively and/or are involved in activities are marked with (P) at the end
of the description of that section. Very in-depth sessions are marked with
***.
Day
One
Introduction – participants will review the goals
and agenda for the two-day workshop:
The 21st Century – participants will
examine and analyze critical attributes of the 21st century, from
demographic changes to the technological revolution, our media culture and more.
The Purpose of Schooling – a review of how and why
curriculum and instruction were designed and delivered for the 20th
century and identification of changes required in the 21st century.
Multiple Literacies for the 21st Century
– participants become familiar with the variety of literacies required for
successful participation in the society of the 21st century,
including visual literacy, aural literacy, computer literacy, ecoliteracy,
financial literacy, multiple media literacies and more. (P)
Restructuring Schooling in the 21st Century
– redefining of “learner”, “teacher” and “school”; characteristics of 21st
century schools.
The Global Classroom - here participants will
examine the characteristics of the global classroom, and will be presented with
specific strategies to take their classroom global – literally. They will
receive a list of excellent resources for connecting with classroom projects or
individual classrooms with whom to collaborate all over the world. They will
examine the potential of the use of the Internet and email, but also be aware of
many other means by which to take their classroom global if the technology is
not available.
*** The 21st Century Classroom - what to
look for in a classroom. What is a quality classroom in the 21st
century? Participants will be presented with characteristics of a quality
classroom as well as specific steps to take in creating/designing a quality
classroom for the 21st century. These include designing the physical
environment, the emotional environment, academic expectations, and an in-depth
examination of classroom management, organizational and learning strategies.
Day Two
*** Designing Curriculum for the 21st
Century Classroom – this session will include overviews of several sample
units of curriculum at the elementary level. Participants will analyze these
units, then design units for their classroom using tools provided in this
session and incorporating the information and strategies learned in previous
sessions. Participants will work collaboratively in grade-level groups to
design an actual unit for their classroom. (P)
Culmination - Participants will present and explain
their unit design to the whole group. (P)
For on-site, custom-designed
workshops, the following topics may be included. This will require more
than a two-day workshop, or eliminating some of the areas listed above.
Critical Media Literacies for the 21st
Century – this session has a special focus on Media Analysis, Media Critique
and Media Production as an integral part of curriculum, instruction and
assessment. (P)
*** “That sounds great, but I have to do test prep for
my kids, so I can’t do that.” - Standardized Testing vs.
Authentic Education. Or “Standardized Testing Mania”. In this
session participants will have an opportunity to study and discuss several
sources of recent research demonstrating that this type of curriculum actually
results in higher levels of student learning and understanding, as well as
higher scores on standardized tests. This will include a review of what
the research tells us about why certain groups of children regularly score low
on standardized tests and what we can do about it. (P)
New Forms of Curriculum – participants will
investigate several forms of curriculum including Project-Based, Problem-Based,
Interdisciplinary, Thematic, as well as alternative modes to delivery of the
curriculum such as Collaborative/Cooperative Learning; Videography and
Filmmaking; Reflective Journals; Portfolios; Self-Directed, Independent and
Interdependent Learning. Participants will also be introduced to critical
pedagogy. (P)
Diversity in the Classroom - Profile of an Equitable
Classroom: tools for evaluating your classroom by the Physical Environment,
Curriculum, Language, Teaching Methodology, Behavior Management, Evaluating
Academic Performance, and Classroom Integration.
Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles – what
they are and how to include them in every unit: this session includes lesson
plan ideas and activities are all styles. (P)
*** Authentic Assessment vs. Testing – participants
will learn the differences between the two, and then will learn several methods
for designing and implementing authentic assessments such as performance-based
assessment, portfolios and rubrics. (P)
Smaller Learning Communities
This is a two-day course. We will spend up to 4
hours per day online, and you will be doing some of the readings when we are not
online. The course will consist of Moderator Presentations, Whole Group
and Small Group discussions and activities, two brief videos, and off-line
readings. You will have access to collaboration with your fellow
participants when we are not in the live sessions.
The live, online class will begin each day at 10:00 a.m.
CST.
See workshop
description.
Service-Learning
This is a two-day course. We will spend up to 4
hours per day online, and you will be doing some of the readings when we are not
online. The course will consist of Moderator Presentations, Whole Group
and Small Group discussions and activities, two brief videos, and off-line
readings. You will have access to collaboration with your fellow
participants when we are not in the live sessions.
The live, online class will begin each day at 10:00 a.m.
CST.
See
workshop description.
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Virtual
Course Agenda