“We are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” —Karl Fisch, Pioneer Educator
Goals of the 21st CENTURY LEARNING INITIATIVE
To identify, articulate, instruct and assess relevant 21st-century concepts and essential skills, across all subjects and grade levels.
To implement new technologies in classrooms.
To train faculty for improved student learning and achievement.
To utilize “Understanding By Design” for unit planning.
To provide students with meaningful feedback to help them grow as learners.
To conduct research in partnership with the University of California, Irvine.
To continuously review and revise curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of all learners.
TOTAL COST: $2 million
Our current students must be able to navigate and lead in a shrinking world with expanding technologies and scientific discoveries. As we ask our students to grow and adapt, St. Margaret’s must do so as well.
We cannot predict where the future will take our students, so we must prepare them in today’s classrooms to meet tomorrow’s challenges with creative solutions and flexible thinking. Their leadership potential will be increased by their ongoing education in global communication and technological competence. As they develop these necessary skills, they will have opportunity and encouragement to use them responsibly, with an awareness of the needs of the local community, the global community, each other, and our physical environment. Practical skills combined with awareness of local and global trends will allow for the balance and breadth of education that will enable them to excel.
Critical Thinking: provides a foundation for problem solving, intellectual accountability, rigor and consistency.
Creative Thinking: provides the freedom to identify, predict, solve and understand opportunities, challenges, and multiple perspectives.
Communication: provides multiple strategies and resources for sharing and understanding concepts and ideas with diverse audiences.
Responsibility: provides a moral guide for choices that impact ourselves, others and the world.
How are these initiatives applied in the classroom?
St. Margaret’s teachers are dedicated to upholding a forward thinking educational philosophy and students are already participating in ongoing instruction in 21st century learning concepts.
We have completed the first year of research of the 21st century learning practices with the University of California, Irvine. As a result of this research we have learned that our faculty has made substantial progress in moving toward 21st century instruction and assessment by increasing opportunities for collaboration among students, student self-reflection and technology integration. For example, in Lower School we successfully piloted a reading assessment tool that uses Internet tablets to pinpoint students learning of various reading skills and graph their progress in mastering these important building blocks for future educational success. We look forward to expanding this program across grade levels and in our math curriculum.
At the Middle School, we began student-led conferences, increased the use of scoring rubrics, and self-evaluation tools to help students develop their metacognitive abilities. Metacognition, an important 21st century skill, is the ability to think about your own thinking process. It involves teaching students to set goals, develop a plan of action and reflect and evaluate their progress.
At the Upper School, physiology students extended their learning beyond the classroom using videoconferencing to observe an autopsy. (Students were given information such as the medical history of the patient and toxicology results and based on the state of various organs analyzed in the autopsy, the students were asked to determine the cause of death of the patient.) We look forward to expanding these programs across all disciplines and grade levels though a combination of professional development for our faculty, new technological tools to increase student learning and continued partnerships with the local community.
St. Margaret’s students analyze information rather than accumulate it. This is part of a curriculum that, combined with appropriate resources, will allow students to adapt, engage and lead in the 21st century.
An expenditure of $2 million will support relevant classroom technology; a partnership with the University of California, Irvine, in education research; professional development for instructors through conferences and training; and visits to other 21st century institutions.
Your support of the Building on the Promise campaign will help us shape the future dimensions of learning in the 21st century!
21st Century Learning Example:
In the grade 8 United States History class, students research the Boston Massacre using a wide variety of resources, including accessing original documents and analysis online.
Students create two online newspapers with opposing perspectives (British and Colonial), including fact-based articles detailing events from their particular viewpoint. Students read the newspapers, identifying points of bias in each edition.
Student teams debate viewpoints surrounding the question “To what extent were the Colonists justified in declaring independence from the British?” Using laptops and online resources, the entire team chats with their spokesperson throughout the debate, remaining engaged in critical thinking and supplying additional thoughts and evidence for their viewpoint.
Student essays focusing on the same topic are evaluated for conceptual understanding and target skills. Follow-up questions address gaps in student analysis or expression.
In these exercises, students employ specific skills and strategies related to critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, teamwork, and responsibility, all while using new technologies.
21st Century Learning
TOTAL COST: $2 million
Our current students must be able to navigate and lead in a shrinking world with expanding technologies and scientific discoveries. As we ask our students to grow and adapt, St. Margaret’s must do so as well.
We cannot predict where the future will take our students, so we must prepare them in today’s classrooms to meet tomorrow’s challenges with creative solutions and flexible thinking. Their leadership potential will be increased by their ongoing education in global communication and technological competence. As they develop these necessary skills, they will have opportunity and encouragement to use them responsibly, with an awareness of the needs of the local community, the global community, each other, and our physical environment. Practical skills combined with awareness of local and global trends will allow for the balance and breadth of education that will enable them to excel.
Critical Thinking: provides a foundation for problem solving, intellectual accountability, rigor and consistency.
Creative Thinking: provides the freedom to identify, predict, solve and understand opportunities, challenges, and multiple perspectives.
Communication: provides multiple strategies and resources for sharing and understanding concepts and ideas with diverse audiences.
Responsibility: provides a moral guide for choices that impact ourselves, others and the world.
How are these initiatives applied in the classroom?
St. Margaret’s teachers are dedicated to upholding a forward thinking educational philosophy and students are already participating in ongoing instruction in 21st century learning concepts.
We have completed the first year of research of the 21st century learning practices with the University of California, Irvine. As a result of this research we have learned that our faculty has made substantial progress in moving toward 21st century instruction and assessment by increasing opportunities for collaboration among students, student self-reflection and technology integration. For example, in Lower School we successfully piloted a reading assessment tool that uses Internet tablets to pinpoint students learning of various reading skills and graph their progress in mastering these important building blocks for future educational success. We look forward to expanding this program across grade levels and in our math curriculum.
At the Middle School, we began student-led conferences, increased the use of scoring rubrics, and self-evaluation tools to help students develop their metacognitive abilities. Metacognition, an important 21st century skill, is the ability to think about your own thinking process. It involves teaching students to set goals, develop a plan of action and reflect and evaluate their progress.
At the Upper School, physiology students extended their learning beyond the classroom using videoconferencing to observe an autopsy. (Students were given information such as the medical history of the patient and toxicology results and based on the state of various organs analyzed in the autopsy, the students were asked to determine the cause of death of the patient.) We look forward to expanding these programs across all disciplines and grade levels though a combination of professional development for our faculty, new technological tools to increase student learning and continued partnerships with the local community.
St. Margaret’s students analyze information rather than accumulate it. This is part of a curriculum that, combined with appropriate resources, will allow students to adapt, engage and lead in the 21st century.
An expenditure of $2 million will support relevant classroom technology; a partnership with the University of California, Irvine, in education research; professional development for instructors through conferences and training; and visits to other 21st century institutions.
Your support of the Building on the Promise campaign will help us shape the future dimensions of learning in the 21st century!
21st Century Learning Example:
In the grade 8 United States History class, students research the Boston Massacre using a wide variety of resources, including accessing original documents and analysis online.
Students create two online newspapers with opposing perspectives (British and Colonial), including fact-based articles detailing events from their particular viewpoint. Students read the newspapers, identifying points of bias in each edition.
Student teams debate viewpoints surrounding the question “To what extent were the Colonists justified in declaring independence from the British?” Using laptops and online resources, the entire team chats with their spokesperson throughout the debate, remaining engaged in critical thinking and supplying additional thoughts and evidence for their viewpoint.
Student essays focusing on the same topic are evaluated for conceptual understanding and target skills. Follow-up questions address gaps in student analysis or expression.
In these exercises, students employ specific skills and strategies related to critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, teamwork, and responsibility, all while using new technologies.