For this final reflection on Tony Wagner’s The Global Achievement Gap I am supposed to come up with my own 7 essential survival skills for the 21st Century or a combination of Tony’s and mine. I choose to do the latter. I really like tony Wagner’s 7 survival skills. I added to some of them to better follow what is important to me.
1. Critical thinking and quick problem solving
2. Collaboration across networks and leading by influence and example.
-Collaboration across networks can mean a lot of things. It can be that my students can Skype with students who are far away. It can mean that they collaborate with other classes within my grade level or in other grade levels within our school. Or it can mean………
If we are preparing our students to compete with others on a global scale they have to be agile and adaptable. Today’s competitors adapt to social situations which they are not familiar with. They adapt economically. An example of this is the trend to live “off the grid”. People are developing ways in which to live with a very minimal out of pocket expense. Being frugal is applauded and decreasing your carbon footprint is a way in which people have opened doors to economic freedom and economical adaptability. Cultural adaptability is an essential skill that global competitors must possess if they are to be exposed to a variety of cultures. Verbal agility and adaptability- the ability to speak the language that you need to speak at the right moment, and being able to recognize that moment as soon as possible. Time- Using your time effectively and being able to adapt to others and their sense of urgency when you need to.
5. Effective oral and written communication in at least two languages- A second language is essential to being a global competitor. Some of the candidates that our students are competing with speak at least two languages.
6. Accessing and analyzing information - I don’t have anything further to add to Wagner’s definition.
7. Curiosity and Imagination- I don’t have anything further to add to Wagner’s definition.
8. Empathy, politeness, sensitivity towards others- Our society is very ethnocentric. Most of our citizens only speak one language and when we travel we expect others to speak English. We tend to be so happy with our own society that we are unwilling to be sensitive towards other societies. We think that we are isolated and protected from the rest of the world’s problems. Each generation tends to be less polite. This lack of politeness can be seen in how we treat others, even those closest to us.
What can I commit to in my own classroom for this school year?
I am fully committed to Empathy, politeness, sensitivity towards others. I always try to take every learning opportunity and talking it out with my class. We come up with alternatives for undesirable behavior. I believe that my students can leave second grade practicing these skills.
Effective oral and written communication in at least two languages.This year I implemented a new writing strategy that is yielding excellent results. I am so excited to keep this going. I will use the same strategies and teach my student how to use them with speaking.
Leading by influence and example- I have already started doing this. I plan to do this a lot more. I would like to bring in examples of real people who do this and learn from speaking with them.
1. Critical thinking and quick problem solving
- Although I liked Wagner’s original skill, critical thinking and problem solving, I felt the need to add the word quick. Quick is dependent on the complexity of the task at hand. If we are asking students to solve a simple math problem they should do that within a few seconds. If we are asking them to solve a social problem it will definitely take a lot more time. But due to the complexity of the problem students will be able to make quick work of it.
- What it will look like in my classroom?
- quick problem solving - I believe in giving students proper wait time but each time they are provided with wait time they should be encouraged to be a little quicker with their response.
- How will I measure success?
- Success will be different for each student. Everyone will show progress at their own rate.
2. Collaboration across networks and leading by influence and example.
-Collaboration across networks can mean a lot of things. It can be that my students can Skype with students who are far away. It can mean that they collaborate with other classes within my grade level or in other grade levels within our school. Or it can mean………
- What does it look like in my classroom? I would like to do pen pals within the grade level but not in the same class. We talked about doing this but weren’t able to actually do it. It would be nice to do a digital version of this.
- How will I measure success? If students are talking and collaborating with others then I feel that the idea is a success. I would like it to be everyone in my class doing it.
- What will it look like in my classroom?
- Our school follows Steven Covey’s Leader in Me program, 7 habits of highly effective people. I take opportunities to point out to my students that they can show others how things are done by doing them right themselves. For example, when my class lines us I remind them that the whole school can see them walking across campus and that those who see them get to either see an example of a great class or of a class who needs to improve. I ask them if they want to be looked at as an example to follow. They always say yes and they even puff up their chest so that their self pride can influence others to do the same when they line up.
- How will I measure success?
- I watch my students and how they carry themselves.
- I listen to compliments that they receive from other teachers and remind them that they deserved that complement because of how they were behaving. Compliments should increase in frequency as the year goes on.
- I reward them for compliments. Success is seeing their marble jar grow and grow and in turn their smiles grow and grow.
If we are preparing our students to compete with others on a global scale they have to be agile and adaptable. Today’s competitors adapt to social situations which they are not familiar with. They adapt economically. An example of this is the trend to live “off the grid”. People are developing ways in which to live with a very minimal out of pocket expense. Being frugal is applauded and decreasing your carbon footprint is a way in which people have opened doors to economic freedom and economical adaptability. Cultural adaptability is an essential skill that global competitors must possess if they are to be exposed to a variety of cultures. Verbal agility and adaptability- the ability to speak the language that you need to speak at the right moment, and being able to recognize that moment as soon as possible. Time- Using your time effectively and being able to adapt to others and their sense of urgency when you need to.
- What does this looks like in my classroom?
- School is a cultural and social experience. I would help them get along better with others. Instead of intervening in every little problem I believe that they should talk it out together. This helps them develop their social skills.
- I use a money reward system in my classroom. When I sell things I try to put some thought into what I am selling them and for how much. I make sure that they can all buy something but the cheaper items are less desirable.
- Verbal- Students need to have plenty of opportunity to speak in front of their peers. If students are given these opportunities they will gain more confidence.
- Agile and adaptable with your time- I would like my students to be flexible with their time. I do not like to follow a rigid schedule and always stick to it. I like to offer a little more time if it looks like my students need it. But I would also like them to be more agile with their time. I would like them to use their time effectively.
- How will I assess their progress.
- Social and cultural- Less social problems means that my strategy is working. As the year progresses I would like to only be involved when the students involved are not able to solve the problem on their own.
- Money- I would like to see that my students are saving their money and waiting for a time that I sell them something that is worth buying. That they are not just buying things because they are for sale.
- I have a few very shy students this year. I would measure their shyness at the beginning of the school year and compare it to the end of the school year. Progress would mean that they have improved. Not by a set value because everyone would progress at their own pace.
- Time- By March my students would be able to complete tasks in a shorter amount of time. They would spend less time talking and wasting time and would therefore be done quicker. Again, each task has a different time requirement. I too must be agile and adaptable during my students’ learning process.
5. Effective oral and written communication in at least two languages- A second language is essential to being a global competitor. Some of the candidates that our students are competing with speak at least two languages.
- What will it look like in my classroom?
- My students will be able to write effectively no matter what type of writing they are asked to write.
- My students will be able to speak about a subject matter.
- How will I measure their success?
- Writing - All of my students will leave second grade with a minimum of a 3 (proficient) on their report card. Also, I would like to hear their voice loud and clear when reading their writing. In Spanish
- Speaking - I would like all of my students to leave second grade speaking about a subject. They should be able to get in front of the class and be enthusiastic, make eye contact, and use the right volume when speaking. In Spanish
6. Accessing and analyzing information - I don’t have anything further to add to Wagner’s definition.
7. Curiosity and Imagination- I don’t have anything further to add to Wagner’s definition.
8. Empathy, politeness, sensitivity towards others- Our society is very ethnocentric. Most of our citizens only speak one language and when we travel we expect others to speak English. We tend to be so happy with our own society that we are unwilling to be sensitive towards other societies. We think that we are isolated and protected from the rest of the world’s problems. Each generation tends to be less polite. This lack of politeness can be seen in how we treat others, even those closest to us.
- What will this look like in my classroom?
- My students will have empathy for others and be polite to each other, other students, and all adults.
- How will I measure their success?
- I will pay attention to their behavior and compare it to their behavior at the beginning of the school year.
- I will ask the noon duties about their behavior. Hopefully they do not have problems during play time. If they do I would expect those problems to decrease as the year goes on.
What can I commit to in my own classroom for this school year?
I am fully committed to Empathy, politeness, sensitivity towards others. I always try to take every learning opportunity and talking it out with my class. We come up with alternatives for undesirable behavior. I believe that my students can leave second grade practicing these skills.
Effective oral and written communication in at least two languages.This year I implemented a new writing strategy that is yielding excellent results. I am so excited to keep this going. I will use the same strategies and teach my student how to use them with speaking.
Leading by influence and example- I have already started doing this. I plan to do this a lot more. I would like to bring in examples of real people who do this and learn from speaking with them.