Post date: Nov 27, 2010 6:10:11 PM
This standard requires buy-in from everyone in the district, not just technology. "For the digital age, we need new curricula, new organization, new architecture, new teaching, new student assessments, new parental connections, new administration procedures, and many other elements" (Prensky, 2006).
Twenty-first century instruction goes beyond just adding some computers and other gadgets into classrooms. It is a paradigm shift, and I am experiencing how big an undertaking that is.
As far as I know, there is no other field in which almost 100 percent of the population has spent so much time. If I were to become an attorney, I would not have 13 years of daily experience with the inner-workings of a law firm. I know that attorneys go to court, meet with clients, have to file papers at the court house, and meet with other parties' attorneys, but I don't know how much time is spent on each. I don't know if attorneys spend most, half, or almost none of their time in front of a jury. I don't know anything about how long it takes a case to go to court, other than it has to be "speedy" (Bill of Rights, 1791). I might become an attorney because of a desire to help the underprivileged or because I know that I can make some money, but I would have few preconceived notions about the daily routine.
Teaching is the opposite. Almost everyone envisions schools in the same way: rows of desks, each with a textbook underneath; teacher talking at the front of class; and tests to measure mastery of the textbook and lecture content. In the younger grades, you stay in the same room all day, with breaks for lunch and recess. In the older grades, a bell is rung every 50 minutes, and the routine starts again in another class. Teachers and administrators join the profession based on this notion, school board members get elected with this notion, and parents drop off their kids each morning with this notion; even furniture and textbook budgets are created based on this notion. It is entrenched.
Even if standardized testing were not a factor, it would be very difficult to change the nature of education. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this dilemma since I began this program. In The Tipping Point (2002), Malcolm Gladwell talks about treating change as an epidemic, but the changes he discusses have more to do with trends than paradigms. Asking someone to re-imagine their profession is bigger than asking someone to start wearing hush puppies again (2002). In The Prince, Nicolo Machiavelli covers the topic of changing a society's customs. He recommends staying in close contact, so that issues can be dealt with promptly (1513).
One of the biggest barriers to major change is time. From the first day of school to the last, teachers are constantly confronted with tasks that need immediate attention (grades, discipline, department meetings). This makes it difficult to undertake the type of planning required for a shift to 21st century instruction. When school leaders attempt to implement changes, it is hard to make them stick without teacher support (which they don't have time to foster). It seems that the best time to facilitate meaningful change would be during the summer or in the morning, when students aren't at school. Faculty at High Tech High School in San Diego arrive an hour each day before students. This time is set aside for collaborative planning.
I would like to see planning time built in to the school day, so that teachers would have the opportunity to examine the promise of 21st century instruction and start the shift themselves. Creating environments for this to happen will comprise a major part of my career.
References
Bill of RIghts. (1791). Amendment VI. United States Constitution. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
Gladwell, M. (2002). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference (Kindle ed.). New York: Little, Brown and Company.
Machiavelli, N. (1513). The prince (iBooks ed.). Translated by W.K. Marriott.
Prensky, M. (2006). Shaping tech for the classroom: 21st-century schools need 21st century technology. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/adopt-and-adapt
Team teaching: two teachers, three subjects, one project. (2008). Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/collaboration-age-technology-blood-bank-video
Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.