SPECIAL SECTION: In the Classroom
Teaching 21st-Century Skills via Group-Facilitated Class Discussions
Continued from page 18
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Prepare visual aids, a summary of
the key issues, and questions to
ask in class;
Facilitate the class discussion with
your group; and
Write a reflection on your
presentation and the discussion.
After the class presentation/
discussion, group members complete
individual reflections on the group
process and presentation. Once
they have completed this, you can
provide them with feedback on their
fulfillment of the assignment and
facilitation skills. The bulk of the rubric
(in its current form—this is definitely
adaptable) focuses on the ability of the
group facilitators to fill their facilitation
role collaboratively. Based on the 21stcentury skills the assignment seeks
to develop, the rubric could use some
tweaking.
Students of course have a keen
sense of what issues will stimulate
discussion and debate among their
classmates. Topics can vary from
radical activism to animal testing
to (wait for it) the legalization of
marijuana, but instructors can modify
the range of possibilities allowable
according to the objectives and topics
of the course.
Have fun with this assignment!
In the 21st century, as teachers
(particularly of adult ESL learners)
find themselves joining their students
in a community of learners less and
less demarcated by teacher-student
hierarchies, they can enjoy not only
fostering skills students need in the
Web 2.0 world, but they also learn
from their students.
What do you think? What skills
do your students need in the 21st
century, and how do we help students
to cultivate them? Do these skills differ
from 20th-century skills?
References
Jordan, S. (2013). Group-facilitate
a class discussion. Zunal.com.
http://zunal.com/webquest
.php?w=206742.
Mardirosian, M. (2013). Teaching
21st-century skills through simple
technology. CATESOL News,
45(1), 15-16.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
(2008). 21st century skills map:
English (Designed in cooperation
with National Council of Teachers
of English). Retrieved from
http://www.p21.org/storage/
documents/21st_century_skills_
english_map.pdf
Using Motivation
Continued from page 19
this transformation. We can continue to teach through
motivation. When the Common Core becomes a little
… too much, remind yourself that you are a teacher. As
teachers we have the gift to motivate our students. That
in itself should be motivation for you to approach this new
task with the perspective that it is not a task, but a journey.
Ultimately, we want our students to join us on this journey
and as cliché as it seems, we want them to “enjoy the ride.”
Mary Mardirosian is an assistant adjunct professor with
USC’s MA TESOL program, an ELD department chair and
an ELD/English teacher at Clark Magnet High School, and
a Common Core learning leader in Glendale Unified.
20 • CATESOL NEWS • FALL 2013
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
(Theisen, T. [Project Manager]).
(2011). 21st century skills map:
World languages (Designed in
cooperation with the Nation’s
World Language Educators.)
Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/
storage/documents/Skills%20Map/
p21_worldlanguagesmap.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives,
digital immigrants. On the
Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved
from http://www.marcprensky
.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20
Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20
Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Salas-Isnardi, F. (2011). Adult
education in the 21st century:
Skills for successful transitions.
Pearson-Longman. Retrieved from
http://futurepearsonlongmanusa
.com/materials/Author%20
Articles/F_SalasIsnardi_Mono.pdf
Sheri Jordan has been teaching ESL
for nearly 20 years, now at Santa
Monica College and UCLA (and
intermittently at CSU, Long Beach).
She developed this lesson plan/
assignment for certification students
required to also take ESL courses in
their UCLA Extension programs. She
recently earned her PhD in Literacy,
Culture, and Language Education
(Indiana University, May 2013).
YOUR Lesson Plan
or Classroom Tips
Could Appear Here:
Do You Have a Lesson to Share?
Please send your great ideas to
[email protected]
This special section is sponsored
by the CATESOL Education Foundation