21st Century Lesson Plan

8/6/2023

Elizabeth Rich defines 21st century skills as “certain core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that advocates believe schools need to teach to help students thrive in today’s world” (2010). These skills are at the forefront of what 21st century learning should look like. 21st century learning uses the technology of today to prepare students for tomorrow’s world. 

As a kindergarten teacher, incorporating meaningful technology use in the classroom is something I struggle with. 21st century learning sounds great in theory, but it also brings many challenges, especially in the early grades. Most of my students do not know how to work a computer when they come into my class. Many are exposed to iPads but have no idea how to work a trackpad. I think we, as a society, need to think about the type of technology being put in front of our students, and consider what will be most effective. With that being said, I have begun to play around with including technology more readily in the classroom. Not just for my use, but the students as well. In this lesson plan, I have attempted to motif a science lesson that I usually do with my students. CEP 810 has helped me embrace 21st century learning which has pushed me to think about how I may allow students chances to engage with technology. This lesson will require them to use critical thinking, creativity, communication, and other 21st century skills (Stauffer, 2022) to learn about plant needs and prove what they have learned. 

The primary focus of this lesson plan is for students to explore what plants need to survive. Living things is an important science unit in kindergarten so we spend many weeks investigating similar ideas. I have done this lesson before, however, I have never encouraged students to use technology to assist their learning. As I explored the internet for teaching tools, I came across Science Kids. Their website is full of easily accessible content and games for kids. When I saw the How Plants Grow simulator I knew I could use it in my classroom. The technology inspired me to give my students more agency in the lesson. My improved lesson plan allows them to investigate and discover through the use of technology. Plants take a long time to grow, but with the use of this simulator, my students can see multiple life cycles of a plant in 10 minutes. The addition of this tool will allow my students to grow their science knowledge along with their technological literacy. 

Creating this lesson plan brought me back to the ideas discussed in unit 3. My blog post on Cooking with TPACK explored the ideas of Mishra and Koehler in Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Three units later, I am reminded of how they passionately argued that the incorporation of technology into the classroom will be vital for student success (2006). I considered the pedagogical and content knowledge required for a lesson on plant needs a long time ago. However, I had not yet asked myself about how technology could enhance the lesson. Thinking about Mishra and Koehler’s ideas reminded me that I did not have to reinvent the wheel to make a 21st century lesson plan. I was able to take everything I already had and add to it. Tweaking and incorporating a few new things turned a tiered lesson into a new adventure for both my students and myself. I want to be a teacher that prepares her students for the future and I am coming to realize that means giving them space to explore technology. Even though my students are only 5 and 6 years old, I am going to continue looking for ways to expand out technological knowledge in order to prepare for tomorrow’s world.