Iowa Core Curriculum Workshop

The Iowa Core Curriculum interfaces well with iGISST concepts especially the scientific rigor and relevance of the inquiry process. This day-long workshop, led by Phyllis Anderson, provided an overview of the state-wide efforts to "ensure that all Iowa students learn specific essential skills and concepts that will prepare them for success in the 21st Century." In part this effort seeks to align Iowa curriculum with the needs of Twenty-first Century Learners. Important skills these learners have or need include being adaptable to technologies that have not been invented; using available technologies to communicate and present information; being networked, digitally literate, and tethered to the Internet; able to multi-task and interact; having strong visual-spatial skills; and desire to be challenged and learn information that matters.
Digital literacy includes creating information, being innovative, activist, and responsible as global citizens. These require the ability to access and process information. Scientific skills developed through the inquiry process meet such requirements.