21st-Century Learning Across a K–12 School District

• In Event: 26.080 - Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: 26.080-4 - The Current Landscape of Mobile Technology Integration in a Diverse County

Abstract

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) provided a foundation for 21st Century Learning Initiative. District administrators aimed to align their goals and vision to the P21framework. This framework provided points of reference and common language for researchers to note the similarities and differences between the district’s and P21’s definition and vision of 21st learning and teaching. Researchers also used the language and vocabulary provided by P21’s framework to code and analyze the transcribed interviews (see Figure 1). Because of this, P21 language is prevalent in the findings that follow. This study, conducted in the spring of 2013, was designed to gather teachers’ and administrators’ perspectives on their district’s vision of 21st century skills and technologies. Study findings are intended to guide in supporting teacher development and moving toward a culture of 21st century learning. The research focused on the following questions:

1. How do leaders and teachers define the district vision for 21st century learning and teaching?
2. How do teachers and school leaders feel about implementing the vision?
3. What might be the barriers to the effective implementation of the vision and how might those barriers be overcome?

Data was collected at three different levels within the district. Interviews were conducted with the superintendent, the curriculum and development director, and the principals of the four district schools. Teacher focus groups were convened at 3 of the 4 schools, to get an in-depth understanding of teachers’ attitudes. These interviews, which sought the range of perspectives across the district, were analyzed for commonalities and differences concerning the understanding, acceptance, and implementation of 21st century learning and teaching. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured protocol. A purposive sampling technique, focus groups of teachers from the two elementary schools and the middle school were convened. Individual school principals invited teachers to the focus group. Participant selection was based on a variety of criteria including teacher availability, specialist knowledge, and use of technology. Along with a detailed description of each stakeholder group’s perspective, this study elaborates on the following findings that emerged from the data:
• Administration and teachers share a consistent vision for 21st century learning and teaching.
• There is a discrepancy between the vision and its schools' capacity to implement it.
• Conflicting accounts of infrastructure reliability exist.

The focus of this district-level study provides a critical analysis of the gap between vision and capacity and the importance of understanding context and resources necessary to deliver quality instruction and technology integration.

Author

• Kai Monet Thomas, University of San Diego