21st Century Strands & Strategies
Chapter: Strands & Strategies: Deep Dive
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The Tenets include:
Invigorating Learning Environments Maximize Each Student’s Growth and
Individual Success.
Learning environments ignite the interests and passion of students to learn,
and they are communities where individual differences are honored and foundational
to the teaching and learning experience. Invigorating learning environments are
student-centered and characterized by individual and collaborative learning, active
student participation in learning, and a focus on student interests and needs. They
encourage positive social interaction and self-motivation. They differentiate instruction –
all of the time.
On-going Assessment and Data of Student Readiness, Interests and Needs
Are Essential Instructional Tools.
Student performance data and ongoing assessments are used to plan,
direct and differentiate instruction. Continuous assessment engages learners in their
own growth; provides students with specific information about their performance in a
way that helps them improve; monitors learners’ progress; and guides teacher and
learner decision making.
Learning Tasks Are Respectful, Challenging, Inviting, and Thought-Provoking
for All Students.
Students exposed to engaging work develop and deepen their
understanding of content, build their critical and creative thinking competencies, and
have more meaningful learning experiences. In differentiated classrooms, instruction is
designed to provide all students stimulating and challenging tasks and abundant
opportunities to demonstrate their learning in different ways. Students in these
classrooms become active and responsive explorers. Student learning experiences
meeting the yardstick of this tenant allow all students the opportunity to flourish and
succeed.
Access to High Quality Curriculum Deepens Learning. Curriculum,
instructional materials, differentiated instruction, and teacher and student
behaviors all combine to make content accessible for all students.
This tenant relies upon disciplined and deliberate articulation of what we want students
to know and be able to do, how we know when they have learned, what we will do
when they have not learned, and what we will do when they have exceeded the
learning expectations. There is an obvious line-of-sight from the student tasks and
objectives to the content standards and learning goals. There are explicit goals in lesson
designs that apply content knowledge to real-world problems, connect concepts, use
differing perspectives, and encourage critical and creative thinking and collaborative
problem-solving. Students are challenged -- all of the time.
