21st Century Skills Explanation

In conducting a few of the state required CFF observations the past several weeks, I came across the following information and thought it may be a good way to initially define the 21st Century Skills I have been writing about in this blog.  This is also in response to the comment from my last posting.  It is important to remember 21st Century Skills do not just include the technological skills as you can see below.

I copied this information directly from the observation tool I use for the data collection team at Penn State.   Please let me know if there are any skills you are interested in exploring in your lessons or would like ideas on how to incorporate them into your lessons.  Anita and I will work with you to develop those skills and then we will post the ideas here to share with others. 

It is exciting to see these skills being utilized in our classrooms.  Today I was talking with a teacher who brought an expert into his classroom via Skype, which required a computer and overhead projector.  This speaker was involved with each class during the day and provided an experience for students without any cost to the presenter or students.  I thank you all for what you do for our students each and every day.  There are so many exciting things happening at NHS and I am proud to be a part of it!   

21^st Century Skills Explanations
The brief explanations below are designed to help CFF observers know what to look for in order to identify instruction aimed at any of the “21^stCentury Skills” in the CFF list.

• Ability to Produce High-Quality Products: Look for evidence that the experience is help students understand the concept of “quality” and to strive for high levels of it.
• Creativity: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students learn to bring something new and original into existence. This can be new personally (original only to the individual) or on a broader scale.
• Cultural Literacy or Global Awareness:Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students understand and appreciate similarities and differences between the customs, values, and beliefs of their own culture and the cultures of others (cultural literacy), or to recognize and understand relationships among international organizations, nation-states, public and private economic entities, or socio-cultural groups and individuals across the globe (global awareness).
• E-communication Skills: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students develop skill in communicatingusing any of a broad range of contemporary tools, such as, but not limited to e-mail, online chats, video or audio conferencing, web meetings, blogs, phones, or any Web 2.0 technology aimed at promoting communication.
• Higher Order Thinking: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students understand and operate at the higher levels of “Bloom’s Taxonomy,” using cognitive processes of analysis, comparison, inference/interpretation, evaluation, synthesis, and creativity.
• Planning, Prioritizing, and Managing Work: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students organize to efficiently achieve the goals of specific projects or problems.
• Scientific Literacy: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students develop the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision-making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity.
• Self Direction: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students develop the ability to set goals (perhaps related to learning), plan for the achievement of those goals, independently manage time and effort, and independently assess his or her efforts and any products that result.
• Social or Personal Responsibility: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students learn to promote the public good and protect society, the environment, and democratic ideals (social responsibility) or develop depth and currency of knowledge about legal and ethical issues, combined with an ability to apply this knowledge to achieve balance, integrity, and quality of life as citizens, family and community members, learners, and workers (personal responsibility).
• Teaming or Collaboration Skills: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students cooperatively interact with one or more individuals, or to work with others in order to solve problems, create novel products, or learn and master content.
• Use of Real World Tools: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students learn to use real-world tools (i.e. the hardware, software, networking, and peripheral devices used by Information Technology (IT) workers to accomplish 21st century work) to communicate, collaborate, solve problems, and accomplish tasks.
• Visual Literacy: Look for evidence that the learning experience is designed to help students interpret, use, appreciate, and create images and video using either conventional or 21st century media in ways that advance thinking, decision-making, communication, and learning.

“All children are gifted. Some just open their presents later than others.”

In recognition of National Education Week, I chose a quote from Education World as my title for this week.  I truly believe this statement and think teaching students using lessons involving 21st Century skills can help them find their gifts and open them sooner rather than later.

 I have been talking with teachers regarding 21st century skills and each time I mention them I remind teachers that what we need to think about is how will this help my students in their future workplace.  I was in a technical education classroom the other week and the teacher was covering the design process.  Students were reviewing these steps and could identify the need behind each phase of this process.  The skill of understanding from an engineering standpoint the design process is a skill not many students will obtain by the time they leave our high school.  These are the types of skills that 21st century skills include.

Teachers often think that there needs to be some link to “technology” behind everything they do in the classroom.  If technology is the best way to teach the skill or is the basis of a skill (i.e. media literacy), then the students will need to use “technology”.  However, sometimes technology may get in the way of their learning.  In the case of this technology education class, the students were developing sketches, done by hand, creating a model and then developing a prototype before the actual final product.  With my experience in the manufacturing field, I know this is an important process for engineers in developing new products.  What a powerful experience for these students.  It was especially rewarding as an observer seeing they truly understood each step they were doing in this project. 

So, when you think about 21st century skills, please consider if this skill (life and career skills, learning and innovative skills, information, media and technology skills) will assist your students in the workplace.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

Thoughts from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills

I have been researching 21st Century Skills for quite sometime now.  I will be using the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and other resources to help provide you information on what these skills are what they look like in today’s classroom.  Keeping these skills in mind as we develop lessons will lead to a transformation of our high school classrooms.  Below is a glimpse of the research from this partnership. 

The economy is global.
Market competition is fierce.
Businesses innovate.
Technology advances.
Workplaces adapt.
Individuals create and participate.
Jobs and lives change.

In this environment, who is taking the lead to make sure students master the knowledge and skills they
need to take command of their lives and careers, contribute meaningfully to their communities, and
embrace the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society?
WE MUST!  The concept of 21st Century Skills is championed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills,  the nation’s leading advocacy organization focused on preparing young people to succeed as individuals, citizens and workers in the 21st century.
The Partnership brings together the business community, education leaders and policymakers who believe
that our education system can—and must—equip students with rigorous academic coursework and new
kinds of knowledge and 21st century skills that will position them to meet life’s challenges.  

I will be gathering some of the information I present in my blog/thougths of the week from this source.  I have found it to be inspiring and representative of the direction I feel education must take.  We are preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s workforce, whatever that may look like.  

This Partnership says “Creating a 21st century education system will be invigorating for educators and students. It will inspire and support teaching and learning that is relevant and responsive to the nation’s needs. By moving education forward with this compelling vision, [educators are] helping to secure every student’s future.”

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/p21_brochure_-final4.pdf

Thoughts About 21st Century Skills in High School Classrooms

As I sat through CFF administrator training last week listening about 21st Century skills, I was wishing that all of our teachers would be involved in this project.  Then I realized, perhaps we can.  You will hear me talk and write about 21st Century skills.  This comes from the materials and course work through the CFF grant.  However, you will see that 21st Century skills are pertinent and able to be implemented in ALL classrooms.  The entire Classroom for the Future Grant and push for 21st Century skills is not about the equipment we received through the grant.  It is about preparing our students for the global marketplace they will encounter when they graduate. 

As a requirement of the CFF grant, teachers must go through professional development and training.  This training is where education is headed and I am hoping not to leave any teachers behind just because they are not “CFF”.  I will be sending out weekly emails about 21st Century skills.  Sometimes it will be thoughts to ponder, lesson ideas to incorporate these 21st Century skills or some information that I have gathered about how high school classrooms are changing. 

So, I will be introducing a blog on 21st Century skills that I will update each week.  I will email the link to everyone as I update the site.  Please let me know if there is something you would like me to research or address in these blogs and I will work on it.  Anita and I will be working closely in this project.  With her help, hopefully we can begin to create a true 21st Century High School.

Thanks and have a great day!