Wednesday, July 20, 2011

21st Century Skills


One of the most common catch phrases in education recently is 21st Century Skills. What does this phrase really mean? This week I explored the Partnership of 21st Century Skills website.

The first thing that caught my eye on this website was the graphic of two arches on top of each other and rings connecting the bottom of the arches. I have seen this image before, but always felt that I did not quite understand the importance of each part of the arches and rings on the bottom. After exploring the site more, I found that the arches represent student outcomes and the rings (or what they call pools) represent support systems where every part is working together and connected. This is the framework for 21st century learning. Being a visual learner, I thought this graphic would help me understand the complex components to 21st century learning. Honestly, I fount this graphic too complicated and confusing. Without further research, 21st century skills are not explained by this graphic. In my research, I found that the 3 Rs and 4 Cs represent 21st century skills. I knew the three Rs are the basics in school, like reading, writing and math. However, I never heard of the 4 Cs before. I learned from this site that the four Cs are: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. For me, these words really helped express the core of what 21st century skills are to me much more then the arches and pools.

Even though these four Cs seem fairly simple, I found the website a bit overwhelming. As an elementary school teacher who is in charge of all of core content for my students learning, the vast list of skills students need to be prepared for the workplace is daunting. The main thought that ran through my mind when searching this site was, “How in the world am I going to fit all of this in?” The other part I personally felt disheartened about was Washington State (the state I work in), is not part of the leadership states creating new standards, assessments and professional development programs to commit to 21st century learning for all students. I then thought, “How long before my state gets on board? Or will we also be left behind?”

Having said this, I must say that I am impressed that headway is being made to help make sure all students have essential 21st century skills to be competitive and successful in the workplace. I also really like the collaborative development of these ideas from many corporations. I look forward to see how these ideas are embraced by all states and how this will actually affect the classroom. Project Based Learning and more access to technology will be essential to implement in schools to embody the 4 Cs effectively. Now the big question for me is, how do we do this effectively with our current resources? I think I need to do much more research to answer this question!

6 comments:

  1. Jill,

    I too felt overwhelmed and confused, but not sure how to express it. There was a lot to look at but the tabs at the top helped a little bit. I completely understand how you feel about having to teach all the subjects and not being able to fit in anything else. I am a high school math teacher and feel that way. I feel this way because New York state has such strict standards and it is very difficult to fit them all in. This is part of way New York state, I believe, is not on the list of leadership states. The next step for New York State is the Common Core standards. Between the Core standards and now 21st Century Skills, there are too many theories of what to do and how to teach. There are constant changes in education. You asked whether we’ll be left behind. I certainly do not have an answer but with different state laws and regulations, that will be a tough question to find the answer to. All we can do is the best we can with the resources available while following our state regulations. It will be interesting to see how the 21st Century skills affect the classroom, assuming it makes it that far and how effective they are compared to prior theories and practices.

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  2. Hi Jill!

    I too thought the 21st Century Skills website, with its breakout site called Route 21, was visually interesting. I found lots of good top level ideas, but not nearly as many implementation ideas. It was fascinating to me to see collaboration between education and corporations, but then when I scratched beneath the surface of the websites, I did not find much substance. The websites that people had contributed were older, with many links outdated. I began to see this 21st Century Skills website as a resource for a larger, strategic position for my students. I should be teaching skills that translate to our work environment, integrating technology, and staying up on the latest and greatest.

    The tactical position, or the implementation, is a different story, and in my opinion, is where the challenge realaly presents itself. How can we as educators, under fire for our techniques and losing budget seemingly every day, be expected to stay on top of this battle? It is imcumbent upon us to take the initiative to learn, obtain, and use the technologies that will help us in the classroom. Obviously there is no magic bulet for an answer. Each district, probably each teacher, has to use the lest tools they have, given their individual environments, to teach the students that are in the classrooms on a daily basis. Good luck with the implementation - as you stated, doing this effectively given our state of resources will be the largest challenge.

    Todd Deschaine

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  3. Hi Jason-

    It is interesting that even though we live across the United States, we are facing similar issues. I often wonderful if federalizing education and standards would be a cheaper and more effective way to make sure all students received the skills they need to be successful in the future.

    Education is ever changing and as educators we must be willing to continue to change to meet the needs of our students. I do wish that standards and guidelines were more streamlined so that we really would know what to focus on instead of having to pick and chose what are the most important skills. This is definitely a challenge we face.

    ~Jill

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  4. Hi Todd-

    I also found that the website lacked substance and that is was more about theory. I wanted ideas, links and resources where I could explore to find ways to implement 21st century skills in my own classroom. I too felt the tool kit was very limited and not very helpful. Yes, it seems that it is up to individual states, districts, and teachers to figure out how to implement these ideas ourselves. In all of our spare time, we must continue to research and strive to bring these skills into the classroom. Since I know I do not have a lot of spare time, I do feel overwhelmed. I want to learn and be the best teacher possible for my students. However, there is just so much being thrown at us that sometimes it feels impossible. At this point, I have decided to take Dora's advice from Finding Nemo..."Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

    -Jill

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  5. Hey Jill!

    I was also a bit overwhelmed when first looking at the P21 website. After exploring, I realized that there were some really resources available. I love your thought process on the arches/rings graphic on the site. It makes sense and helped me understand better. I was also not very aware of the 4 C's, but now can understand the components of 21st-century skills a bit better. I especially could relate to your question of "How to fit all this in?". I feel overwhelmed all of the time, as I teach 1st grade and also have to teach all subject areas plus the new technology skills... to 6 years olds! :o) I also hope that my state will jump on board too and hope that we won't be behind. Overall, great points discussed about the P21 website! :o)

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  6. I agree with the fact that the framework illustration was a little confusing and that the website was very overwhelming. I had to visit the site several times in order to take it all in. With all of the current standards we are required to teach our students, I too wondered how in the world am I going to fit it all in. However, now that we know just how important these 21st Century Skills are, then over time and with practice, it should become easier to incorporate these skills into our lessons. My plan is to start with baby steps and work my way forward. If I try to do a lot at once, I become overwhelmed and usually shut down out of frustration. It is nice to know that there are resources and tools out there to support us in this journey of educational change. I really enjoyed the Route 21 page and video site page that this website had to offer. It is also neat to see so many people working together on this important topic. Hopefully soon, every state will be involved in this partnership and I hope that our schools offer the professional development and training needed to really implement these 21st Century Skills and prepare our students for the future.

    Crystal Moyer

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