As stated in the Education Support Systems field of the MILE Guide, professional
development is a crucial component in facilitating a pedagogical shift. In this study, the
MILE Guide was used as a tool to help outline the important elements of a school that
successfully implements and supports a 21 st century learning environment, such as the 3
R’s. Because New Tech High School is a model of an effective 21 st century education
environment, future research could continue to follow New Tech High School’s progress
and initiatives. Future researchers could use the MILE Guide on-line assessment
instrument to ask many districts to gauge their performance in how they are
implementing characteristics of a 21 st century educational program. This survey may
provide a generous amount of data that could lead to more specific case studies.
Professional development and teacher support were major factors in how teachers were
able to integrate 21 st century elements in their classrooms. Future researchers may also
want to survey educators in order to gauge the integration practices of research based 21 st
century instructional components as they relate to a 21 st century educational context