The Perfect Storm: Creating a 21st Century Learning Environment

Over a decade has passed in the 21st  Century and technology continues to advance at an unpredictable rate. Conversations are occurring everyday regarding ideas, strategies and theoretical approaches for teaching and learning as we move forward in this digital age.  But the challenge is trying to keep up with and integrate all the amazing approaches for creating a student-centered learning environment.  

Back in June 2011, Ann Ottmar and I took on an exhilarating task: create a 3/4/5 Multiage Program that meshed our school district endeavors, PLC Goals, and 21 st Century Skills.  We worked together closely over the summer and thought deeply on how to communicate our research and perspective with our students, parents, colleagues, and community members.   Clearly we understood that visuals would be the way to go, but we took it one step further to create a 3D model within our classroom.  This giant display explains how we merge expected state standards, higher-level thinking, and the affective domain within our multiage community.  Our over-arching goal is to essentially empower students by providing them with a direct role in the learning process and explaining to them the key elements in education.  And so begins our metaphor of “The Perfect Storm,” a synthesis of elements for student success. 

Learning: Intrinsic VS Extrinsic

As you know, the reality in education is there are things we can control and things we cannot. In every situation I do what I can to keep with my building/district/state mandates without compromising my own perspective/philosophy and my students' needs.