21st Century Lesson Plan

21st Century Learning

In a 21st century classroom, teachers need to be flexible, encourage creativity and critical thinking, promote student-driven learning, and help students develop problem solving skills. I spent time last week learning about these components of a 21st Century classroom. This week, I was able to put these ideas into practice by creating my own 21st Century lesson plan. This plan, which is part of a larger unit, focuses on one of the most important topics I teach; human rights. It is important for students to learn about human rights, acceptance, and tolerance for all cultures. When students adhere to these basic values, it empowers them to tackle injustices in the world. Human rights are universal, and sadly there are places around the world with unlimited governments and long track records of violations. Learning about human rights abuses in a 21st Century classroom can inspire students to develop action plans, share knowledge, and proposals for positive change.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

With the TPACK framework in mind, my first step when creating a 21st Century lesson was to identify the content and the learning goals. The content, human rights and its violations, is a topic I have been teaching for years but needed a 21st Century makeover. The learning goals for this lesson focus on students experiencing and problem solving real-world issues through summarizing, investigating, and the 4 Cs: creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication. The 4 Cs are essential elements for every 21st Century classroom. 

     After content and learning goals were determined, it was time to think about pedagogy. What are the best methods I should use to promote 21st Century learning? The lesson needed to be relevant, student-driven, and focused on tackling a real-world problem. These types of lessons engage and encourage active learning. I decided to create a HyperDoc to guide the objectives. A HyperDoc is a digital document where all pieces of a learning cycle have been pulled together into one central hub and follows the engage- explore- explain- apply- share- reflect cycle of learning (Clark, 2019).

    My pedagogical thinking also concentrated on digital literacy; This type of literacy is a vital aspect of a 21st Century classroom. The HyperDoc incorporated the five core competencies for fundamental literacy practices: access (reading comprehension and chromebook skills), analyze (critical thinking to analyze information), create (composing content creatively), reflect (metacognitive abilities), and acting to solve problems  (Blumberg, 2014). 

    The final component of the TPACK framework is technology. Which tools should I use to help students achieve learning goals? In a 21st Century classroom, I must apply technology tools creatively and purposefully. For the HyperDoc, I used the following tools: 

• G Suite (Drawings for applying knowledge and Slides for collaboration)

• Podcasts (listening to human rights violation stories for auditory learners)

• Padlet (applying knowledge and analyzing)

• Thinglink (designing and creating a multimedia presentation)

     Proper use of digital tools can increase the effectiveness of my lesson plan. This is why I selected tools I believed will best assist my students in achieving learning goals.

     Designing this lesson plan did come with its fair share of challenges.  I wanted to create a learning experience for my students that allowed them to deeply connect with content, and develop proficiency with different technology tools to create, collaborate, and problem solve (SCCRESA, 2014). Each educational technology tool has its own affordances and constraints (Koehler & Mishra, 2016). Finding the right tools requires an understanding of pedagogical practices. I struggled at the beginning of my lesson design to find appropriate tools that will not only foster these skills and competencies but also empower my students to be self-driven learners. 

     To fully engage in a student-driven and engaging lesson, such as Hyperoc, students need to have strong socio-emotional skills, including self-direction and self-regulation. Students with weaker social-emotional skills are less likely to benefit from 21st Century learning. Many of these students have not had structured learning experiences that support self-direction outside of school (Maas et al., 2018). When designing lesson plans today, it is important for teachers to incorporate 21st Century principles and to be cognizant of students who might need additional support to reap the benefits of 21st Century learning. (Maas et al., 2018).

  Here is my 21st Century lesson plan on human rights: 

21st Century Learning Lesson Plan

References

Clark, H. (2019). Chromebook Infused Classroom Online. Infused Classroom. https://infusedclassroom.teachable.com/

Blumberg, F. (2014). Media Literacy for the 21st Century: Interview with Renee Hobbs, EdD.  American Psychological Association. https://www.apadivisions.org/division-  46/spotlights/renee-hobbs

Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2016). What Is technological pedagogical content knowledge? CITE Journal. https://citejournal.org/volume-9/issue-1-09/general/what-is-technological-pedagogicalcontent-knowledge/

Maas, T., Jochim, A., & Gross, B. (2018). Mind the Gap: Will all students benefit from 21st century learning? CRPE. https://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/crpe-mind-gap-will-all-students-benefit-21st-century-learning.pdf

SCCRESA. (2014, October 1). Innovate. Create. Voice. St. Clair RESA 2014 21st century learning symposium [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICwa3B1-778