21st Century Teaching and Learning
Culver City Unified School District continually strives to ensure that all students are prepared to be global citizens in the 21st Century by assisting them to solve complex problems, think critically, effectively communicate and collaborate with others. “Today’s world is not the world we grew up in; and today’s world is certainly not the world our children will live in,” Ian Jukes, January 2009.
Tony Wagner in Change Leadership: Transforming Education for the 21st Century cites Seven Survival Skills as defined by business leaders that schools must address to prepare students for a global economy and workforce: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence; Agility and Adaptability; Initiative and Entrepreneurship; Effective Oral and Written Communication; Accessing and Analyzing Information; and Curiosity and Imagination.
What are some of the ways that the Culver City Unified School District is focusing on 21st Century teaching and learning?
Direction: Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century
Vision Statement
The Culver City Unified School District views education as a continuous process of academic, intellectual, social and emotional growth and achievement, which is not limited to the classroom. Teachers, students, and parents work together to form a community of learners who focus efforts on assisting students to meet or exceed California content standards, common core standards, and beyond, and who foster personal integrity and success. Culver City Unified School District provides a rigorous and relevant curriculum through engaging instruction, capitalizing on the various learning styles of students, and state-of-the-art resources to support and enrich teaching and learning. Students graduate as competitive lifelong learners in a global society.
Goals for Schools
1. All teachers meet the professional standards for teachers to enhance student learning. This is evidenced by teachers who do the following:
- Engage all students in the learning process
- Create and maintain effective environment for student learning
- Understand and organize content knowledge for student learning
- Plan instruction and design effective learning experiences for all students
- Assess student learning to determine instruction
- Develop as professional educators
- Fulfill professional responsibilities
2. Schools provide all students access to a library/media center, technology, and an instructional program that enables them to meet or exceed California content standards, common core standards and beyond.
3. Schools will annually involve its school community in the implementation of initiatives to increase personalization, accountability, academic rigor, and engaging strategies for learning.
4. Schools will structure time and opportunities to collaborate among grade levels, disciplines, and other schools.
5. Schools will create a K-12 college-going culture to provide lifelong learning and choices for all students who will compete in a global society.
6. Schools will prepare students for post-secondary opportunities through career/technical education opportunities.
7. Schools will support student learning through the 4 “C”s taken from Partnership for 21st Century Skills
a. Creativity: Trying new approaches to get things done equals innovation and invention
b. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Looking at problems in a new way, linking learning across subjects and disciplines
c. Communication: Sharing thoughts, questions, ideas, and solutions
d. Collaboration: Working together to reach a goal—putting talent, expertise, and smarts to work
District Strategies to Support Schools
1. Recruit and select the most highly qualified personnel to support teaching and learning.
2. Continue to uphold the professional standards for teachers through the evaluation process.
3. Provide professional development for staff in the areas of learning strategies that promote student engagement and lead to student achievement for all students.
4. Support school efforts to incorporate opportunities for students to extend their learning to exceed standards and beyond.
5. Support foreign language instruction to enable students to compete in a global society.
6. Support school strategies to provide regular access to library/media centers and instructional technology.
7. Support the implementation of strategies that prepare students for post-secondary opportunities.
8. Design and support the instructional technology infrastructure.
9. Promote effective communication among grade levels, academic disciplines, and schools to ensure continuity of curriculum, teaching, and learning.
10. Support the schools to implement the 4 “C”s.
Once again, I will reiterate that our high quality PUBLIC schools give every child from every family the chance to learn the skills they need to be globally competitive lifelong learners.
