Activity 2: 21st Century Skills
The world is
changing at a rapid pace, the economy, politics, environment, and
technology. Teachers must also keep up
with the change, and learn to adapt with ongoing changes with their teaching
methods and devices. The 21st
century education should be based on content and knowledge; however, the school
should now just teach students the facts, but rather teach students to think
for themselves. “Knowing is a process,
not a product” (Bruner, 1966). If the
school covers too many topics, this may prevent the students to engage in a
deeper understanding of the core subjects.
The 21st century skills is like content vs skills, the school
should put more importance in mastering a core subject, but also emphasizing on
other skills as well. The students need
critical thinking, and so the school should promote better understanding of
subjects, by adding interdisciplinary themes into core subjects.
The
interdisciplinary topics focused on four themes that are: global awareness, entrepreneurial
literacy, civic literacy, and health literacy.
Critical
Thinking and Problem solving is important to evaluate the thinking
process. Critical thinking is not just
about coming up with the answer, but also reasoning of how the individual came
up with the answer. When students are
really thinking hard, they think critically and creatively, to produce their
thoughts and to judge their thoughts by themselves. Problem solving is important to answer the
question at hand. The process often
requires thinking, trial and error, scientific methods, and applying it to the
question. There is a process that
involves defining the problem, coming up with solutions, implementing them, and
evaluating the outcome.
Creativity is very important is today’s
world. It can help an individual stand
out, think of the new gadget that everyone needs, be competitive globally, and
improve their personal and professional success. If people only complete tasks that require no
creative thinking, then there is not much difference nor change over the years
in society. It would just be the same
thing over and over again. Schools
should definitely allow students to use creative thinking, and be free to
innovate anything that comes to mind.
Some inventions are very useful, while others fail. But if individuals don’t try, how would they
know.
Communication
and collaboration is very important in today’s society. The ability to share ideas, to discuss the
problems and solutions, to evaluate and assess the outcome. Schools should allow students to communicate
and collaborate as much as possible.
Thankfully, new technologies and devices allow everyone to communicate
and collaborate easier than ever before.
Teachers should allow students to collaborate effectively with each
other, either in class or at home.
Schools and
teachers should have all necessary and updated technology available for
students to use. However, students and
teachers should not overuse them that would have a negative impact on their
learning skills. Using IPads for
students can help communication and collaboration with other students. This will help students be better prepared
for their future and careers. Learning
new technology and skills to use them effectively, can help students gain
knowledge and confidence for their future.
Being knowledgeable and being able to find new knowledge is very
necessary for the ever changing information and technological world in the 21st
century.
21st century
learning should teach students the knowledge how to learn. Students should develop good critical
thinking and communication skills to be successful in today’s complex
world. Technology allows for students to
access information instantly, through social media, internet, or shared digital
content. Schools can now use technology
to create an engaging and personalized environment to meet the changing
educational needs of this generation. The traditional way of teaching is just
not enough anymore that is why teachers should incorporate technology and their
lesson plan in an effective way. Technology should be used to innovate 21st-century
education, focusing on preparing students to be learners for life.
Some
teachers at my school is using Kahoot, an on-line program that allow all
students to interact and assess their activities live, either with an IPad or
laptops. This allows motivation and
interest among students, while also teaching them how to use the device and
learn the content at the same time. The
cohort class right now, is using Adobe connect, something that was impossible
20 years ago. Skype and live conference
calls works well too. Other examples
that work are on-line programs likes Pixie, Frames, Google Docs, this allow
several people to work on the project at the same time. 21st century learning should be
about the process of learning, not the content of learning. So some examples that are not 21st
century learning are those programs and teaching styles that hinder the
students’ abilities to learn and think for themselves in the future.
Website Title: Core
Subjects and the 21st Century Themes
Website: What is 21st Century Education
