Most of us are familiar with the children's story of Rip VanWinkle and his 100 year sleep. Well, apparently someone somewhere said that if RVW was real, and if he awoke today, schools would be one of the few places that he would recognize. "Surely not," I scoffed, "Not the very places that are tasked with being microcosms of society and preparing children for their places in those societies!" So, I went to the trusty internet and I searched images of 20th century classrooms. Here is what I found:
Yikes, do you see what I see? I think I saw these classrooms recently. No wonder RVW fell asleep!
We've all heard the soundbites around the skills that 21st Century instruction should hone: Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, media literacy, leveraging technologies as tools.....etc. But what does a true 21st century classroom look like, sound like, feel like? So I went back to the trusty internet and asked for images of the innovative 21st classroom model. Oddly enough, I could find lots of posters outlining the skills and diagrams of prototypes, but almost nothing real. Here's what Google brought up after my query. Are these 21st century classrooms?
Nope...this is really just more of the same of what we saw above: "Sage on the Stage", passive learners in orderly rows...etc.
Nope...cool furniture, but still the same kind of learning...
Nope...kids are using laptops, but are they collaborating, communicating, problem solving or creating? Hard to say...
These photos came closer to my vision of the 21st Century classroom housing 21st century teaching and learning. When you look at them, can you imagine students are engaged in the types of activities that would hone those 21st century skills?
Hmmmm, could be...I see multiple technologies and collaboration. Where's that Sage?
Yep! Does this mean that anyplace can be a classroom?
Yep! No passive learners here! No one is even sitting!
Yep! I know....dream on!
Hmmm, that teacher looks pretty comfortable off to the side while the kids work!
Here's my favorite:
Kids in collaborative groups...students up using innovative wall space to solve problems or demonstrate "stuff," lots of active learning. After looking closely at this picture, close your eyes and imagine what this classroom might sound like.
What's your vision for the 21st century classroom? 21st century teaching? 21st century students? If Rip Van Winkle woke up today, would he recognize your classroom?
