DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity with Technology Tools (EDUC 420), commonly referred to as 4 C’s with Tech Tools, was one of the first courses I took in the Fall 2014 quarter with Professor Keith Yocam. Initially, the most notable aspect of this course was the constructivist philosophy of teaching and learning that guided instruction and class activities. This was very different than a majority of the lecture-based courses I took as an undergraduate at George Washington University, with the exception of some of my theatre courses, even different than many of the graduate-level mathematics education classes I took at Teachers College. We engaged in many discussions, in-class and online, with questions posed by the professor and by fellow students.

 

The best way to describe EDUC 420 is that we did not just learn about 21st Century Skills and Technology Tools, we actively used 21st Century Skills and emerging technology tools as learning methods. We made concept maps with a software called Inspiration, recorded podcasts, collaborated on Google Drive, designed lessons for the 4 C’s, discussed videos on Vialogues, played with a coding program called Scratch, and worked as teams on activities like building a standing structure, constructing squares from smaller shapes in four-student teams (but without talking to one another), and drawing a person on the whiteboard (relay-style), where each student could only draw a single line at a time.

 

Another aspect of the course was Backward Design[1] – a curriculum planning method that begins with identifying the results desired (what students should understand or be able to do, what standards should be met, etc.), determine what counts as evidence of achieving the desired results (how will students be assessed? What performance tasks best demonstrate knowledge and skill?), and then plan the learning activities. It is called Backward Design as lesson planning often happens in the opposite order. An important part of Backward Design is essential questions – thinking about the big pictures of various disciplines, sparking discussion, debate, inquiry, and promoting deep thinking – questions about core ideas that are fundamental in the given field.

 

What I learned in EDUC 420 is likely to help tremendously in my future curriculum development work. For one, I plan to use the Backward Design process as much as possible, as I believe it is a good method to ensure learning objectives will be met and that students and teachers will get the most out of learning activities. I also plan to incorporate more technology into my lesson plans, especially the kinds of learning tools we used in class (such as concept mapping and collaborative documents, apps for tablet computers, and coding programs). It was the 21st Century Skills aspect of the course resonated the most with me, though. These are skills that are vital for students growing up in today’s interconnected society; in this class, I came to the realization that there is much more than subject-based curriculum that students have to learn in schools. They have to learn to be lifelong learners; unlike in prior generations, learning will continue throughout their adult lives in a rapidly changing and evermore sophisticated, technological world. The abilities to collaborate and communicate are essential in workplaces. They also have to learn to think critically to address issues encountered and problems they face – many of which we cannot predict yet, as a great percentage of the jobs that will be around a decade or two from now do not currently exist. Creativity is equally important; creative innovations will continue to shape and define society.

 

For the final project for the course, we designed short unit plans consisting of four lessons, each addressing one of the 4 C’s. I created four lessons that focus on proportional reasoning; the lessons could fit in with the third module of Quantway, so I labeled them as supplemental Quantway lessons. I carefully studied the learning outcomes for the module and determined new contexts and problem situations that related to communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. The Lumina Foundation's M.A. Degree Qualification of analytic inquiry (“disaggregates, adapts, reformulates and employs principal ideas, techniques or methods at the forefront of his or her field of study in the context of an essay or project”) was best exemplified in this final project. I adapted Quantway curriculum to incorporate 4 C’s, technology tools, and used Backward Design to guide my lesson planning.  


.     [1] Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design, (2nd ed.) Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 
 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.