Case 1

Case 1

The 21st Century Skills are not only useful but necessary in modern classrooms for both student and teacher success. Another component of a successful classroom is utilization of the ISTE Standards which ensure that not only teachers have more modern standards and goals to be set upon, but also students. One of the most interesting of these is the 4th standard for students, The Innovative Designer. This standard not only correlates directly to the 21st Century Skills, but also allows more insight into how teachers can use technology and new methods to increase understanding and problem solving skills.

The fourth standard focuses primarily on using a variety of technologies to help students cultivate not only their problem solving skills, but also creativity, and manage both their ideas and methods. This most closely reminds me of 2 of the 4 C’s, Creativity and Critical Thinking. This standard helps guide teachers to fulfill these two C’s by not only giving students access to new platforms and technologies, but also encouraging them to be creative and imaginative through these processes. It also emphasizes the use of a deliberate method to manage a process as well as finding new ways to solve problems, which applies directly to Critical Thinking. 

A teacher will need certain attributes in order to successfully achieve this standard for their students in the classroom. Some of these characteristics are patience, creativity, and adaptation. In order to effectively guide a student through a new technology or process, patience is required, as in the standards it emphasizes that the student be able to develop and test new ideas or methods, meaning the teacher must be able to offer continuous good instruction through the trials and different ways. Creativity on the teachers part in order to not only operate and instruct upon these platforms, but also to influence the students creativity with new and engaging assignments and instruction. In order to instruct students on the new platforms and work to engage them through new personalized instruction if needed, a teacher must also be able to adapt. A teacher I had in high school, Ms. Nimmer, used several online platforms in order to help us journal effectively and be able to connect with other students in our classroom through our writing. It was very hard to learn how to use at first, but Ms. Nimmer realized this and guided us through more so after our initial instruction using smaller simpler assignments that built up the basic functions of the website with us. This demonstrated all three of those characteristics, she was patient with us and cared about our understanding and gave us the time we needed, she found a creative way to re-teach us how to use the site in a more personalized way to our needs, and through this she adapted her teaching style and changed her lesson plans to fit within what we needed as a class.