important to note that the researcher did not observe the teacher address the students’
behaviors during the observation.
How are teachers effectively integrating higher order thinking, real world relevance, and
technology literacy in core classrooms in order to teach in a 21 st century context?
Although the evidence from the administrator’s responses reflected that the school
is working toward 21 st century learning as reflected in 3 R’s, evidence gathered from
teachers failed to show deliberate and cohesive instruction within a 21 st century context.
The successful integration of the 3 R’s within the teachers’ instruction was inconsistent.
The Partnership for 21 st Century Skills (2007) outlined that, digital tools need to be
woven into daily instruction for students to research, organize, evaluate and communicate
information. It is clear that although the school is moving toward the acquisition of more
technology and providing the teacher training to integrate more technology in classrooms,
teachers are still left with their own definition of meaningful technology use that would
also support a rigorous authentic learning environment. This was also been evident in
teachers’ inconsistent use of high-level questions within their instruction. The instruction
still mirrored elements of a traditional didactic 20 th century classroom with teacher
lecture and passive student learning. The lesson plans, without a mandated format,
depends on the individual teacher’s personal preference to include important instructional
elements such as critical thinking skills or relevance to the outside world for the students.
In some lesson plans, merely an objective and page numbers from the textbook were
mentioned. The 3 R’s are the building blocks and foundation for a 21 st century
educational program. The optimal curriculum for the 21 st century include challenging
students’ thinking and connecting the content to the real-world while focusing on