21st Century Research School Concept Paper The Idea of a Research School The Idea of a Research School is to allow children to learn through the development and research of their own critical questions. In low-performing schools, a major factor of the teaching/learning challenge is that children are not interested in what is presented by the school. In allowing children to follow their interests through guided topics, as well as meeting prescribed objectives and goals of the system, schools foster and nurture effective learning. Further, by using inquiry and critical thinking methods through emerging technologies, the teachers are helping children prepare for life in the 21 st century, and for the jobs that will be available to them. Jobs we cannot yet predict or understand. Debra Baird, Dean, Athens State University College of Education Casey Wardynski, Superintendent, Huntsville City Schools Tedi Gordon, Assistant Professor, Athens State University College of Education Alton L. Wilson, Doctoral Candidate, University of Alabama Glenn Bryant, Director of Transition, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools Aaron King, Director of Operations, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools Debbie Miser, Director of Staff Development, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools Cathy Vasile, Director of Elementary Programs, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools ATHENS STATE UNIVERSITY HUNTSVILLE CITY SCHOOLS
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21st Century Research School
Concept Paper The Idea of a Research School
The Idea of a Research School is to allow children to learn through the development and
research of their own critical questions. In low-performing schools, a major factor of the
teaching/learning challenge is that children are not interested in what is presented by the school.
In allowing children to follow their interests through guided topics, as well as meeting
prescribed objectives and goals of the system, schools foster and nurture effective learning.
Further, by using inquiry and critical thinking methods through emerging technologies, the
teachers are helping children prepare for life in the 21st century, and for the jobs that will be
available to them. Jobs we cannot yet predict or understand.
Debra Baird, Dean, Athens State University College of Education
Casey Wardynski, Superintendent, Huntsville City Schools
Tedi Gordon, Assistant Professor, Athens State University College of Education
Alton L. Wilson, Doctoral Candidate, University of Alabama
Glenn Bryant, Director of Transition, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools
Aaron King, Director of Operations, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools
Debbie Miser, Director of Staff Development, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools
Cathy Vasile, Director of Elementary Programs, Central Office, Huntsville City Schools
ATHENS STATE UNIVERSITY
HUNTSVILLE CITY SCHOOLS
21st Century Research School Concept Paper 1
Baird & Gordon, 2011
“In this world of rapid change, where information is expanding exponentially and increasing in complexity, learning is a survival skill. Mastering the basics— reading, writing, and arithmetic—is as important as ever, but is no longer enough. Today’s students need to learn more than previous generations. They need to know how to find and use new information, to make informed decisions about complicated issues, and to collaborate as part of a team. Since the pace of change shows no signs of slowing in the future, students also need to learn how to learn.” ~ The George Lucas Educational Foundation
CONCEPTUAL MODEL
Students attending the Research School will acquire 21st Century skills related to life,
career, learning innovation, media, technology, and core subjects through 21st Century themes
(Irvin, Meltzer, Mickler, Phillips, & Dean, 2009). The curricular and instructional focus will be
meeting the needs of the students through the use of embedded processes which include inquiry-
based learning, essential questions, Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1999), GeniuStyle
students, and administrators, emerging technologies, and community partnerships.
21st Century Student
Inquiry
Based
Learning GeniuStyle
Multiple Intelligences
Leader in Me
Seven Habits
Two-Sided
Community Partnerships
Parent
Teacher
Student
Mentoring
Suceess Process
Emerging
Technology
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DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTUAL TERMS
1) Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry-Based Learning is the central focus of the 21st Century Research School. The
basis of inquiry learning is like the old adage of “Give a child a fish, he will eat for one
day; teach a child to fish, he will eat forever”. Instruction through Inquiry-Based learning
allows the student to be involved in his/her own learning by guided research of a topic,
developing skills needed to do the research along the way. It is a seeking of truth,
understanding, and knowledge and is the natural process that all human beings engage for
learning. Examples of this type learning are the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology
Initiative (AMSTI), Alabama Science in Motion, (ASIM), and the many science and
technology projects that are currently a part of schools, such as the Robotics Competition
and Odyssey of the Mind. Unfortunately, many of these programs have been used
exclusively for teaching the gifted and talented. In the 21st Century Research School, all
students are actively involved in engaged learning through individual and team inquiry.
Small group instruction is almost exclusively employed.
According to Wolk (2010), “Inquiry-based learning means asking hard questions as a
path to rigorous thinking”. Inquiry-based learning includes, but is not limited to, the use
of essential questions, critical questioning, project-based experiences, one-on-one
conferencing, group conferencing, the use of huddle boards and combined huddles for
comparison, group sharing, simulations, role-playing, model development, and discovery
learning.
2) GeniuStyle
GeniuStyle (Appleton, 2011) equips instructors and students with knowledge about
themselves, how they learn, and the best way to teach to those learning styles and
personalities. It is a personality profile assessment for use by the students themselves and
teachers, to make the most of the time spent in the classroom and in learning. There are eight
defined geniuStyles associated with the process.
3) Multiple Intelligences
The Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1999) are those intelligences that all human beings
have, and each human being can be expert in one or more. While they are tied to the
GeniuStyle processes, they are in fact different in the way they are used for the
teaching/learning cycle. The Intelligences are to be polished and honed each day, so that
excellent performance in those that are most important to the learner become second
nature. They are not personality-based, but are based on individual inherent abilities that
are to be nurtured and developed.
21st Century Research School Concept Paper 3
Baird & Gordon, 2011
4) Leadership Skills
One of the challenges schools and American society face is that students do not
understand how to argue their point or define what they believe to be the best route to
take in particular situations, while continuing to show respect to those with whom they
are arguing. This is especially apparent in our current presidential campaigns.
Leadership processes teach those skills, which are an important part of a 21st Century
Research School, since most of the work done there is of a collaborative nature. Team
work requires leadership from each participant.
5) Mentoring
One of the most important areas of need for parents, students, teachers, and
administrators is a mentor who can guide them through the difficult decisions and
important steps along the way. Mentors are there to discuss things that cannot be
discussed with anyone else.
6) Emerging Technologies
Technology changes every day, and new possibilities emerge with every change. It is
important for schools to invest in personnel who understand and continue to study
emerging technologies. A 21st Century Research School has at least one instructional
technology/design teacher expert at each grade level, who either has extraordinary
experience in using technology or a degree in that area. 21st Century Research Schools
require instructional designers who understand children, educational goals and objectives,
and best practice in the teaching/learning cycle. Each grade level team includes an
instructional technologist as one of the teachers, usually the lead teacher.
Teachers control the integration of technology in their classrooms and their attitudes toward technology are paramount to its success or failure. In a national survey conducted by the National Educational Association (2008), 76% of teachers used the computer for administrative tasks but only 32% used the classroom computers for instruction. An Alabama Department of Education Technology comparison survey between 2007 and 2009 found only slight changes in student classroom computer use. The comparison discovered 12% of teachers never use technology to enhance student academic achievement and 38% never assign an activity that utilizes technology. The survey also showed an average of 25.4% seldom or never uses a computer for research, inquiry, exploration, communication, and collaboration (ALSDE, 2010, p. 22). It is clear technology in the classroom can provide an efficient form of instruction when used to its full advantage (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2011).
Wilson, 2012
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Baird & Gordon, 2011
7) Community Partnerships
21st Century Research Schools are an integral part of the community. The school cannot
flourish without the support and involvement of the community. Community members
serve as mentors to students and teachers, and community-based projects involve those
community members in school improvement on a daily basis. The Research School
serves as a problem-serving point for community challenges and questions and the
school campus is a place of meeting/solving.
BASIC DESIGN
Integrated processes will be used to develop the Research School, and for teaching/learning
cycles. Each process is an integral part of the whole, and must be attended to daily by students,
teachers, parents and administrators. It is the responsibility of the teachers and administrators to
develop the process for including parents and community in particular schools. That process
must be developed according to school culture, needs of the students, and needs of the
community.
The basic processes that must be included are:
Professional Learning Communities
Consistent and constant use of emerging technologies
21st Century Ideas
GeniuStyle and Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative) and ASIM (Alabama
Science in Motion) when appropriate
The “Leader in Me” process of Stephen Covey
“Success” process of Laura Lynn Kerner
“Mentoring for Teachers” of Darlene Turner-White
Mentoring for Parents
These processes will allow children, teachers, and administrators to bring out the talents of
each child, giving space for each to find “the leader” within, and those “intelligences” which will
allow her or him to develop “successfully” to the next school level and into life work. The
integration of technology into all that is done will allow the learning of “21st Century” skills and
thought patterns, through “professional learning communities” which will form along the lines
of inquiry and critical thinking. The teachers, students, and parents will be supported through
appropriate “mentoring” processes. This mentoring will close the loop of teaching/learning in
the school and every person involved will have substantial encouragement in developing the idea
of personal and community research for answering essential and critical questions.
21st Century Research School Concept Paper 5
Baird & Gordon, 2011
Professional Learning Communities
In an effort to achieve more effective levels of teaching and learning, it is imperative for
the Research School faculty to develop a collective capacity for meeting the needs of students.
(Dufour, Dufour, Eaker & Many, 2006). The Professional Learning Community model will
guide the faculty to more profound insights regarding practice, opportunities for reflection, and a
consistent, as well as continual search for improvement.
The PLC model encompasses the following concepts:
commitment to the learning of each student;
collaborative culture;
collective inquiry to best practice and current reality;