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What constitutes quality 21st century curriculum? (Kate - I would say…

- - - - Aly - I think very states define their standards by 21st century learning. I think there is more a push for this recently, but I still feel that a majority of the state standards are about what academic knowledge you should know.
        
        Valerie - It is interesting that some of the new science standards are based more on 21st Century Learning. Hopefully we'll see some more of this as new standards are being looked at.
      - I agree--still focused on the standards, but starting to really focus on the skills needed for success and to be ready for college and career. Charla B.
    - - Valerie - I like the point of focusing some of the efforts and time on life skills. In my small rural district, not a lot of our graduates go on to college. Teachers are so focused on the academic standards that not a lot of time gets devoted for opportunities that help develop and strengthen some of those life skills that many of them need if they are entering the work force immediately after high school.
- - - - Clay - I think of this recommendation in the same sense that Ritchhart identifies expectations - they are supposed to be for students and not of students. By providing teachers with leadership opportunities on professional development, the expectations become a change in mindset - it becomes for teachers rather than of teachers.
      - Tyler S-While I agree that teachers must be involved in the PD process, I almost wonder if just turning that over to teachers would cause more issues. I don't know how big your staff is but at my school we have 150 teachers. There are so many differing opinions on who is worthy to listen to and different little cliques that I think you have to change the culture first before you turn that over to them. I think most importantly, administrators have to show the staff they believe in the idea by the way it is presented to them.
    - - Ziqi-I like how you said we should also celebrate differences in teachers. I am very shocked when the first time I step into an American classroom. I notice that the students are changing the classroom and teachers stay in the same classroom waiting for different students. I liked that way because is show students the uniqueness of each subject and the different teacher. However, in this setting students were forced to adjust to different teaching and teaching syles every year. I think maybe it will save adjusting time by giving students the right to stay with the teacher who they had already familiar with his or her teaching style from last semester.
  - - - Good change does take time to develop. I liked how this was emphasized in the Clarkston Community Schools example (p. 276). They took time to develop the vision across the school district so that change could gradually occur and stick. Charla B.
        
        Tyler S-I particularly enjoyed the piece from Rod Rock you refer to here. I felt it was a great way to roll things out to achieve the highest level of buy-in possible.
      - Jaclyn- I noticed the theme about change in my reflections on quality curriculum. It seem that through the use of cultural forces change can become a norm in classrooms and can spend up the process of transformation. A lot of the change can be small details in discussion or space that can be implemented by the teachers without having to wait for approval from the district. #
      - Ziqi- I also hope that teacher is the one who picks the curriculum and also participates in the process of remodeling the curriculum. However, sometimes if it took leadership and the willingness of their personal time to do so, lots of teachers will refuse to change or be "put on the spot"
    - - Araceli. I agree with Kate. One of the difficult tasks is to move the teachers from their comfort zone. It's less scary to stay in what we know instead of moving forward to the unknown. There isn't an exact step that teachers can follow to make sure that the changes that they are doing are going to work 100%. Nonetheless, chapter 10 shows four areas of attention that can help to make the transition smoothly: purpose, tools, facilitation and growth (p.265)
      - Chelsey- I also agree with Kate. One thing I struggle with is getting my more experience colleagues to by into some of the new ideas I bring to the table. Being a third year teacher, I am always looking for ways to grow and improve. I feel so many teachers I have worked with are stuck in the "well it worked last year" routine. The only way our students are going to get better, is if we continued to get better as teachers ourselves. It is scary for some, but change when done right can be a great thing.
- - - - Araceli- Charla B, your comment reminds me of chapter number two when it talks about the 5 beliefs (p.42) What would happen if people realize the importance of learning and not the grade of a test? If teachers do more learning-oriented lessons and not so much work-oriented? If instead of being the main leader of the lesson, the students were actually the protagonists (dependence vs independence) Hopefully, as new generation of teachers, I hope we can reach these goals and start to leave behind the industrialized educational system, where students are like parrots, repeating what they have been told to say.
- - - - I feel like many times in large districts, not everyone really has a full grasp on the new idea being pushed. This is a problem, and teachers can see right through that. If you deeply believe in your leaders, you want to see that they deeply believe in what they are asking you to do. If that is not true it is difficult to buy-in. --Tyler S
        
        Tyler, I agree with you that all personal should be on the same page when trying to start a new idea in the classroom. If an admin wants to start a new idea, he should make sure that the teachers know exactly what they want and vice versa with teachers. If a teacher wants to start a new curriculum or a new concept in the classroom, they need to make sure the admin knows what they need to do to support the teacher
    - - Beyond the obvious benefits to the classroom, the American economy is one of thinkers. We create less and less physical products, and we deal more and more in the business of ideas. How can we help these students be "college and career ready" if we don't show them how to be a thoughtful person? That must be our goal, and if it is we need to teach them how to think. The easiest way to teach something is to make it part of the culture the person is embedded in. Therefore, the idea of a "Culture of Thinking" is one that benefits everyone in our society. --Tyler S
    - - This can be as simple as changing the language used. I have changed from "discussions" to "conversations" when I verbalize what we are doing. Just that has helped make my students more comfortable to share. --Tyler S
- - - - Brittany - The training must be accessible to teachers so that they can actually attend. Make the work meaningful.
        
        Brittany - "I've noted that they best practicioners of these ideas are the teachers who embrace the challenges and see the frameworks and tools as means to bringing about better learning." ~ Jim Reese p. 296
    - - Brittany - Students are not just doing the work. They are learning through discovery and thinking routines that help to bring out deep rooted thought and form ideas.
        
        Brittany - "Each child has to come to a personal realization that they know themselves and that they have within them the power to accomplish learning and guide their path - facilitated by the way I talked to them, the structure of my questioning, along with the openness and opportunities we created together." ~ Clare Greenup p. 301
    - - Brittany - Everyone in the school needs to be on board for creating cultures of thinking throughout the entire school.
        
        Brittany - "Our school district's mission: to cultivate thinkers, learners, and positive contributors to a global society." ~Rod Rock p. 278
        
        This should be a purpose that everyone can agree on! Charla B.
- - - - Jaclyn- Goals are meet through the 8 cultural forces. In Rod Rocks, case study started that a parent shared his child's attitude towards school has changed because of Cultures of Thinking. (Ritchhart, p279, 2014).
      - Jaclyn- Adam Scher expressed how change is seen visibly in thinking. He observed that students engage in bigger ideas all which revolve around cultural forces (Ritchhart, p286, 2014).
      - Jaclyn- Ellen Cale shared that see was seeing changes in her teaching as well as her students thinking (Ritchhart, p292, 2014).
- - - - Bo---It is a great way for educators to learn by listening to different ideas and suggestions from co-workers after they observe this teacher's class.And by sharing the lesson plans and discussing about it together with other teachers is a great idea to collaborate and build a lesson plan that will benefit students.