I believe that the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 does an average job of fostering and developing 21st Century skills when it comes to training their employees, but is way behind when it comes to the students in the classroom. At the Central Office, there are spacious conference rooms with high-tech projectors that are used during many of our trainings. They do a great job trying to incorporate technology into our meetings and trainings. This year we began using Elluminate webinars to conduct some of our mental health training sessions so that we could all communicate with each other from our classrooms that are located all around Northampton and Monroe counties instead of driving to the Central Office. While there were some bugs that needed to be worked out, it ended up being convenient for everyone. Many of my supervisors also received brand new iPhones to improve communication with all the sites. In the particular classroom that I work in, there are 4 staff members known as a "team". It is essential that we have effective communication skills while working with students with mental health issues. While we are not perfect, I believe that our team does a pretty decent job of collaborating, interacting, and having the same goal of putting the students above everything else. We also make an effort to get to know many of the teachers at Saucon Valley High School, which is where our site is located. Many of our students are able to take part in inclusion classes and there is a lot of communication back and forth between our team and the mainstream teachers.
Unfortunately, many of the students in our classroom do not get a chance to develop a lot of the 21st Century skills that many students do. We are lucky to have a complete set of text books in our room. Many times we have to borrow from generous district teachers. Also, we only have one student computer available to our students, which makes improving digital-age literacy quite a challenge. It is needless to say that we do not have access to a Smart Board; I'm still clapping the chalk dust off my hands from June. While these 21st Century skills are important for students to learn, it is difficult for students to develop them if they are not supplied with the appropriate resources. It is my hope that these students will be able to develop at least some basic 21st Century skills, especially effective communication.
There are many things that could be done to improve the development of 21st Century skills in our classroom. Students need to be supplied the resources necessary to foster and develop these skills. Teachers also need to be willing to work together and use effective communication skills while teaming and collaborating. If students can actually see their teachers working together for the benefit of the students, they will be able to see effective communication at work and be able to model that behavior.
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Thanks for sharing your response. Please don't take this the wrong way, but have you asked the IU for equipment? I remember they offered US loans for things like CPS. I say this because I DO find it odd that they use so much tech in training but then offer you NOTHING! Now, the district you work in should also provide you with resources, that's true, but the IU should be able to get you computers etc. That's the way I remember it from when Spengler was there, but I don't know the new director. See me in class so we can chat. There may also be some other avenues we can discuss. Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry to hear you are lacking support from the IU, but glad you seem to have good teams and good relationships with the staff in the buildings you work in.
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