Reflecting on Inquiry Learning in the 21st Century

As a teacher, I am expected to prepare my students for success in society beyond the walls of my classroom. That being said, an evaluation of the skills necessary to compete in the outside world and an assessment of what is being learned within schools is an important step in understanding that proper education is taking place. In self-assessing my position as a 21^st century teacher and learner using Jukes’ (2007) 21^st Century Fluencies Quotient Insta-Audit, I recognized the current disconnect between the expected content that students are to learn such as the elements of the short story and poetry devices and the 21^st century skills such as working collaboratively as a member of a team and locating and managing resources that Jukes (2007) deems as important. However, the new literacy skills and state standards do not need to overwhelm educators; instead, new literacy skill acquisition can be used in conjunction to teach content. For example, new literacy skills can become the mode of learning for content.

            In addition to teaching new literacy skills in conjunction with English content, I am going to present the Internet, “which has far exceeded every previous information technology in breadth, depth, and immediacy” (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007, p. 2), as a significant means to gather and acquire information. In a sense, the Internet is a resource that students and teachers need to explore and conquer. For students to conquer the Internet, they will need to resist settling on the first few Internet search results or selecting only one resource to answer a question (November, 2008); instead, they will learn to form questions, locate and evaluate resources, synthesize and transform information, and communicate new synthesized information (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007), (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a). In my future classes such as American literature, students will ask questions and seek and share answers, not from me but from the technological resources that surround them.

           Professionally, I want to develop my literacy skills by modeling the proper use of information (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b). How can I expect my students to respect information if I do not properly cite the materials that I use in my classroom? I often pull information from online resources to enhance my curriculum, but I inconsistently cite my source. This semester, when I use Internet resources, or any resource for that matter, I will model the proper citation process.

            In addition to respecting information more consistently, I will become more fluent and efficient in information acquisition. First, I will begin using Altavista.com as my primary search engine and utilize search extensions. These extensions help field information from more reputable sources such as education or government websites (November, 2009). Next, I will store relevant information using a Diigo.com account, which allows me to easily access information that I found relevant. Finally, after storing the information, I will review it and synthesize the information. Once I have created a synthesis, I can either keep my understanding personal or share it using a blog or a wiki.

            As an educator in the 21^st century, I have the responsibility to push my students to succeed in the 21^st century. No longer are we to be literate in a book culture; instead, we are to be literate in the digital age – able to access and use information digitally (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a). To do this, our students need to view us “as lifelong learners rather than all-knowing dispensers of information” (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007, p. 277); together we will work to access these dispensers of information. 

References

Eagleton, M. B. & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York:   The Guilford Press.

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluencies quotient insta-audit. The InfoSavvy Group.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a) Program 2: New literacies. [Motion Picture]. Supporting information literacy and online inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b) Program 10: Information literacy: ethical usage. [Motion Picture]. Supporting information literacy and online inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Author.

November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousands Oaks: Corwin Press.