Conceptual Framework

John Dewey said, “Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” Almost one hundred years ago John Dewey had educational reform right. In today’s world of technology and need for social networking John Dewey’s ideas can be implemented to the fullest. Students of today’s digital age are most truly engaged when they are placed into a social context. We as educators also want to instill in our students a desire to become lifelong learners. We are in exponential times where the information available to us is growing much faster than we could ever hope to keep up. With our current educational system of having students memorize everything we are setting them up for failure. Instead, in our upcoming world of twenty-four seven access, we need to teach our students how to access and sort through the information that they need. We also need to teach them how to work collaboratively in an online environment.

I have started doing this by having my students blog in the classroom. Students are required to reflect upon what they have been learning and how it relates to them in their blogs. Students are also required to work collaboratively by creating a classroom wiki. These tools are only the beginning in helping my students become ready for the twenty first century. If my school is representative of our educational system, I am becoming an educational reformer. I have already influenced several of my colleagues at my school and I hope to influence more.

I also have changed my views on assessment. In previous years I have graded students based upon tests, quizzes, homework, labs, and classroom skills. Currently my students are assessed on their blog entries, their wiki contributions, their projects, and their portfolio. Students have received a rubric for all of the different types of assessment they will encounter before they try to accomplish the task. Before, I do not think my students knew what a rubric was.
In order to truly prepare our students for the twenty first century, we need to teach them in a constructive, collaborative environment.