Monday, June 30th, 2008 The Missing Link in 21st Century Classrooms

Dr. Chris Moersch, from the National Business Education Alliance, who is also the Director of LoTi spoke this morning on The Missing Link in the 21st Century Classrooms: 21st Century Leadership.

website: loticonnection.com

LoTi stands for Levels of Teaching Innovation, formerly Levels of Technology Implementation.

School districts are inundated with many heavy local, state, and national mandates and restrictions on how to improve academic success. Loti believes they are different, as they "ASSESS, PLAN, IMPLEMENT, and SUSTAIN a systems approach to improved student achievement using 21st Century teaching, learning, and leadership".

LoTi has come up with the following levels of innovation in the classroom setting with 21st Century Skills and Technology:

Level 0- Non-use
Level 1- Awareness
Level 2- Exploration
Level 3- Infusion
Level 4a- Integration (mechanical)
Level 4b- Integration (routine)
Level 5- Expansion
Level 6- Refinement

LoTi uses the following form to "turn up the H.E.A.T. in the Classroom":

H--HIGHER-ORDER THINKING
-students taking notes only, no questions asked (level 1)
-student learning/questioning at knowledge level (level 2)
-student learning/questioning at comprehension level (level 3)
-student learning/questioning at application level (level 4)
-student learning/questioning at analysis level (level 5)
-student learning/questioning at synthesis/evaluation levels (level 6)

E--ENGAGED LEARNING
-students report what they have learned only (level 1)
-students report what they have learned only; collaborate with others (level 2)
-students given options to solve a problem (level 3)
-students given options to solve a problem; collaborate with others (level 4)
-students help define the task, the process, and the solution (level 5)
-students help define the task, the process, and the solution; collaborate with others (level 6)

A--AUTHENTICITY
-the learning experience is missing or too vague to determine relevance (level 1)
-the learning experience represents a group of connected activities, but provides no real world application (level 2)
-the learning experience provides limited learning real world relevance, but does not apply the learning to a real world situation (level 3)
-the learning experiences provides extensive real world relevance, but does not apply the learning to a real world situation (level 4)
-the learning experience provides real world relevance and opportunity for students to apply their learning to a real world situation (level 5)
-the learning experience is directly relevant to students and involves creating a product that has a purpose beyond the classroom that directly impacts the students (level 6)

T--TECHNOLOGY USE
-no technology use (level 1)
-technology use is unrelated to the task (level 2)
-technology use appears to be an add-on and is not needed for task completion (level 3)
-technology use is somewhat connected to task completion involving one or more applications (level 4)
-technology use is directly connected to task completion involving one or more applications (level 5)
-technology use is directly connected and needed for task completion and students determine which application(s) would be address their needs (level 6)

Level 1 classrooms are the farthest away from obtaining 21st Century leadership and learning tools, but must work their way through the other levels to obtain what students need in order to compete in the global society that we now live in.