21st Century skills

As many schools struggle to define and emphasize 21st  Century skills, the concept is a natural for any dual language education program. The concept, core and spirit of such a program innately reinforce the elementary skills of a 21st Century education. All of these are characteristics we strive to instill in our students in order to prepare them for the world of tomorrow. Students who complete dual language programs are proven to be outstanding and prized college applicants and are highly valued on the job market.

At FASRI, we aspire to excel as a "thinking school": a school of the future, a school that never stops improving and enhancing its program. In 2011/12, many of these improvements and changes will be implemented at FASRI.

The new face of 21st Century education

While the outcomes of the 21st Century are full of uncertainty, the skills students will need to succeed in these times are clearly defined by numerous experts in the fields of education, business and technology. You can see how FASRI applies these skills below.

As we continue to offer a rigorous, dual language program in line with our mission, we are expanding our program to encompass the development of these important skills. FASRI aspires to base its education plans on research by those with the highest levels of expertise in education: Tony Wagner (co-director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard University), Pat Bassett (President of NAIS), and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (alliance and guidelines adopted by 13 states, including Massachusetts, and supported by research, businesses, and advanced technology).

Our focus is on further aligning our program with the teaching of the desired skill set, through curriculum development and selected pedagogical approaches, looking for best learning practices, student motivation, and pedagogical development.

What are we trying to accomplish?

There are two main reasons we want to teach 21st Century skills to our students:

1. To equip our students with the education and skills they need to live successful lives and contribute to their own futures

2. To distinguish ourselves in the community as a sustainable and competitive school model in an ever-changing world

Where do we stand?

Research shows that dual language education builds better brains and helps develop the major skills needed for the 21st Century. While other schools are struggling to integrate these newly-desired skills, FASRI's program naturally instills in students the tools they need to thrive in the 21st Century. This is a long-term process that starts in Petite Section and reaches its peak in the Middle School.

By the end of 8th Grade, our graduates demonstrate above-average competence in all 21st Century skills and across the general curriculum.

Through our dual language program, we apply these skills across the disciplines:

  • Communication: in two languages, including writing, public speaking, networking, and using technology.
  • Character: emphasizing the everyday reality of cultural awareness, diversity & compassion, integrity, and adaptability and flexibility.
  • Critical thinking: a significant element of the French curriculum, reinforced by literature and philosophy, and inherent to the history curriculum, along with problem solving, and deductive reasoning developed by dual language education.
  • Collaboration: Our dual-language approach models and defines collaboration at all levels, emphasizing teamwork and leadership roles.
  • Creativity: Learning languages is a creative act; throughout the curriculum, opportunities for leadership roles and entrepreneurship are encouraged and sought out.
  • Global connectedness: While new global school models are emerging (Avenue Schools), FASRI already belongs to an existing international network that is globally connected and organized. This community provides schools throughout the world with the priceless opportunity of a common core curriculum.

How will we improve?

While the unique strengths of the school can be easily defined, further incorporating 21st Century skills requires teachers who are trained in and fully aware of the changes altering the traditional picture of education.

The FASRI faculty is engaged in the latest research on 21st Century pedagogy and brain development. They continuously brainstorm ideas for self-improvement that will enhance instruction and implementation of 21st Century skills.

Connection and collaboration with other schools, organizations and research centers are a major focus as well. Teachers observe other classrooms in local public and independent schools, initiate exchanges and collaborative projects using technology, and research models in place at other institutions that could enhance FASRI's program.

In order to support the faculty with the best and newest research and practices, FASRI is expanding its professional development program and placing special attention on 21st Century skills and practices, integration of technology, differentiated pedagogy, project-based learning, hands-on practices and integration of the arts.

General implications: bringing theory to life

Change is taking place through the following steps:

  • Vision and goals
  • Planning
  • Implementation
  • Assessment and effectiveness
  • Presentation & communication

Vision and goals

We seek a move toward the future with a 21st Century-style education that will suit the needs of today's students; integrate technology into the classrooms while maintaining the same focus on rigor and excellence; and generate a sense of empowerment, self-motivation and accomplishment in our youngsters.

Planning

This year has been dedicated to the important groundwork of planning for change. The faculty and education leadership have participated in several professional development opportunities focused on the science and mechanisms of the brain and learning as well as 21st Century teaching techniques and the Reggio Emilia approach to education: a constructivist take on pedagogy whose philosophy our faculty is excited to employ. As inspiration came in these various forms, planning for ways to revolutionize our program happened simultaneously.

Implementation

Big changes take time and adjustment to implement, but we are confident that our strong faculty will support each other, the students and their families through this transition. We still have a bit more planning to accomplish before we can offer an in-depth description of what will take place next fall. At this time, however, we are happy to share with you some of the exciting changes that will take place in September 2011 and throughout the next two years during this time of transition.

  • Harmonization: we plan to further harmonize our program through interdisciplinary and project-based learning that will weave together subjects and skills and bridge French and English instruction.
  • Student progress: students will be assessed on their overall development, skills and competencies rather than on individual proficiency in French or English. Parents will meet with a panel of educators to talk about their child's education, rather than with one single teacher.
  • Assessment: our goal is to move toward new assessment models, such as formative assessment and portfolios. This method has been proven to stimulate children's memory and learning and instill pride in them for all they have accomplished. In doing so, we will move away from standardized testing and expectations that we believe limit and inhibit student performance.
  • Hands-on learning: we plan to take inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach: a hands-on, student-centered form of instruction that is already in practice in our Pre-K classroom. We hope to expand some aspects of this approach to the entire school. It is important to remember that we are, by nature, a language school and will always be a French-American dual-language program at heart. We do not seek to become a Reggio Emilia school but will implement some of its philosophy to emphasize the arts, science, and project-based learning: a focus that will allow our students to thrive in high school, college and beyond.
  • Technology: we will continue to emphasize technology as a tool for alternative approaches to teaching, learning, and mastery of the skills needed to succeed in the Information Age.

Assessment & effectiveness

An important part of any transition is supervision of the changes to ensure quality. The faculty and staff will carefully monitor all outcomes to measure the effectiveness of the new program. We are specifically looking to improve student development, reinforcement of basic knowledge, research techniques, and the 21st Century skills as defined by the school: communication, collaboration, character, creativity and critical thinking (full description can be found here).

Presentation & communication

We have undertaken a complete review of our curriculum in order to incorporate 21st Century skills and clarify what is being taught at each grade level and for every subject. Our goal is to present a clear and easy-to-read curriculum for our families.

What will our students gain?

As described in "Demonstrations of Learning for 21st Century Schools," an article by Pat Bassett (NAIS, Fall 2009), the following notes what students should ideally be able to do after completing a 21st Century education. These are ambitions for 21st Century learners, and common achievements at FASRI:

  • Conduct a fluent conversation in a foreign language about a piece of writing in that language.
  • Write a cogent and persuasive opinion piece on a matter of public importance.
  • Declaim with passion and from memory a passage that is meaningful-of one's own or from the culture's literature or history.
  • Produce or perform a work of art.
  • Construct and program a robot capable of performing a difficult physical task.
  • Exercise leadership.
  • Using statistics assess whether or not a statement by a public figure is demonstrably true.
  • Assess media coverage of a global event from various cultural/national perspectives.
  • Describe a breakthrough for a team on which you served and to which you contributed in overcoming a human created obstacle so that the team could succeed in its task.
  • Demonstrate a commitment to creating a more sustainable future with means that are practical and feasible.