This graphic helped me see how all the elements of 21st century learning fit together. It was pleasing to note that 21 century learning is not all about the technology and that the core subjects of Literacy and Numeracy are still central.
I appreciated the link to Route 21 which gives you the opportunity to share your own resources and expertise, as well as a more detailed breakdown of the components of the 21 Century Learning Framework.
“Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills” by The North American Council for Online Learning and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (November 2006).
“Eighty-four percent of employers say K-12 schools are not doing a good job of preparing students for the workplace; 55 percent say schools are deficient in preparing students with basic employability skills (such as attendance, timeliness and work ethic); 51 percent cite math andscience deficiencies; and 38 percent cite reading and comprehension deficiencies."
I disagree with the 55% of employers who imply that schools are deficient in preparing students with basic employability skills. Whilst I am not arguing that attendance, punctuality and positive work ethics may be lacking, I would argue that it is not entirely the school’s failing. Lack of work ethic and absenteeism is prevalent amongst the adults in my workplace and the teachers for whom this is true range from 20 to 60 years. I can scarcely believe that they had similar schooling and, even if they did, then so did those of us who are extremely committed to their profession.
The implications for effective 21 century learning is that conventional teaching methods alone will no longer suffice. As such, everything from philosophy, through pedagogy and curriculum to class room environments and teaching-learning practices need to be reviewed and, in some case, dramatically improved.
As contemporary educators, we must learn to emulate this philosophy and commit to the implementation of the new framework. School timetables, calendars and meeting times need to provide opportunities for collaboration and a less top-down hierarchy with regards to policy and decision making can assist in this.
The implications for the students are the increased expectations on engagement and participation. There is no room for students who sit passively by waiting to be “fed” information. Sorting, organizing and staying up-to-date with credible and reliable sources of information will present a new set of challenges for these 21st Century Learners. Timely preparation and the dynamics of working with others may not come naturally. Personally, I think something we often forget is how essential quality literacy skills will be. In a world full of shared information, crucial dispositions will include the ability to skim read quickly and effectively; understand and manipulate words at deeper levels; communicate critical thinking and complex understandings effectively to native and non-native English speakers. Above all else the next generation will need to be adaptable and creative.
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I love your point about the school calendar and meeting times. I think we could use a total overhaul in the educational system, especially when it comes to the top-down hierarchy of which you speak. It does not make any sense that the teachers who are in the classrooms every day have little to no input in the decision making process. We seldom get asked why kind of professional development we need, or at least this is true in my district. My brother-in-law works for one of the top companies in the United States. Their whole management system is based on empowering the "little people" to make decisions. Hopefully someday we can be at a point in education that this same thinking becomes a part of what we do. Because by the time the 21st century skills trickles down through the State Dept. of Education, to the Superintendent, to the Building Administration, to us as teachers, the next great idea in education will already be coming along. If we want to keep pace with the world, we have to act now.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your criticism of the P21 web site. I found it to be a lot of fluff and not a lot of usable information. Yes, it is true that we need to prepare our students for a world different from the one we grew up in. This is something teachers have had to do for much of the past 40 years, but today change occurs at exponential rates.
ReplyDeleteYou discussed how students need to be consumers of information and, accordingly, must have the literacy skills they need to meet that challenge. I want to add that not only will they need to be proficient readers, but they will need to develop filters that have never before been required.
There is such a barrage of information that all consumers need to distinguish the good information from the bad. Just as you noted it was difficult to separate advertising from scholarly writing, we need to teach students how to make this determination. Advertisers must be craftier today than they were yesteryear simply because they too are competing globally.
A well written ad presented as an article in a magazine/e-zine convinces many readers the content is factual. Advertisements that look like ads are seen as less likely to be reliable in formation because the writer is just trying to make a buck. If the ad is disguised as consumable information, it is more likely to be trusted.
Anyone can add information, or misinformation to a web site. Historically students have not had to be concerned about the validity of the information they accessed. Because students used hard-copy text books, the information was presumed to be reliably true. This may not always have been the case, but at least text books undergo scrutiny and fact checking that web sites are not subjected to.
Students need to learn how to scrutinize and filter out the misinformation from the legitimate information. This is most certainly a 21st century skill.