Teaching for the 21st Century

Assignment 1 16/3/2012

A new era has dawned in world order. The current world order is ‘global’ rather than ‘international’; we are increasingly becoming a world without borders (Suter 2005, p.71). The opening up of countries both politically and economically has driven the process of globalization and a key facilitator of it all has been the revolution in information technology. With the big picture in mind it should be the goal of our education system, as the national organisation: The Partnership for 21st Century Skills promotes, “to ensure that students who graduate from our schools have the skills needed to be effective workers, citizens, and leaders in the new global economy.” (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, p.14) As teachers, we need to facilitate high quality learning and to do this, we need to move beyond the walls of our classroom through the use of current and emerging technologies, to develop the necessary skills our students will need as they graduate from their school environment. The reality of the way in which we live and work in our rapidly changing, technology rich world demands far more than the skills traditionally taught in our education system. While it can be argued that the many and varied skills students need in the 21st century are not necessarily new, it can be argued that, as Rotherham & Willingham pointed out, “ the extent to which changes in our economy and the world mean that collective and individual success depends on having such skills”. (Rotterham & Willingham, p.16) The primary goal of the national organisation, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, is to assist educators to integrate such skills into traditional core subject areas to strengthen the system as a whole. (Partnership, p.2) Through developing digital literacy, The Partnership identifies the two main categories of skills as being: Learning & Innovation and Career & Life. (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, p14) Within the Learning & Innovation category there are three main skill sets. The first is critical thinking & problem solving. These skills, while having always been important, are now essential for the digital age. As information flows at such great speed and volume, one has to be able to analyse and evaluate to determine if what one is accessing is “valid, appropriate, and accurate, then be able to synthesise” how the information can be used. (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, p.19) Such skills will be vital for students as they enter the often fast-changing workplace. With the constant changes in the use of computers, mobile devices and digital media, The Partnership have identified skills of creativity and innovation as other 21st century skills necessary to learn in order to be productive in the future. Teachers need to facilitate creative thinking processes where students are encouraged to generate original works for personal expression and to develop higher order skills. As Shelly Gunter and Gunter argue, “this digital generation tends to move from job to job, is always thinking of creative ways to develop their own products, and is predicted to be the most entrepreneurial in history” (p.17) “Since the beginning of time, mankind has always attempted to communicate and collaborate with each other; however, the use of technology has never been as persuasive in society as it is today” (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, p18) Educators need to develop the skills of communication and collaboration, which is the next skill set identified by The Partnership, to prepare them for the highly connected world in which they live. Again, while these skills have always been important to establish, one could argue that personal and workplace success in the 21st century depends on it. The partnership identifies flexibility, adaptability, initiative, self direction, social & cross-cultural interaction, productivity & accountability and leadership & responsibility as the skills in need of fostering and developing to achieve success in career and life in the 21st century. (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, p.15) In an ever changing digital world, thinking flexibly, being adaptable and open to new ideas would seem to be essential skills required to being able to at the very least cope with and at best, flourish, in the ever changing digital world. Being open to continuous learning beyond the school years one could argue fits hand in glove with these skills. Likewise, globalisation has made the ability to work with others regardless of differences in ethnicity and culture, an important 21st century skill. The skills involved in leadership and taking responsibility, are important to develop for not only the benefit of future employers, but also for the benefit for all aspects of personal lives too. Educators’ ability to foster and develop the skills of thinking, working and living successfully in the 21st century will be an ongoing challenge. Creating challenging, creative and collaborative learning experiences through the authentic use of current and emerging technology will go along way to developing the essential 21st century skills needed for students today.

References:

Suter, K. (2005). 5o things you want to know about world issues…but were too afraid to ask. New South Wales, Australia: Transworld Publishers.

Shelly, G, B., Gunter, G, A., & Gunter, R, E., (2012) Teachers Discovering Computers. Integrating technology in a connected world. Boston, USA: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.

Rotherham, A.J.,& Willingham,D. (2009) 21st Century. Educational Leadership. Retrieved from http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?q=21st+century%2Brotherham+%2B+willingham&hl=en&btnG=Search&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=on

Partnerships for 21st Century Skills (P21, 2011). Framework for 21st century learning. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/overview

References: Suter, K. (2005). 5o things you want to know about world issues…but were too afraid to ask. New South Wales, Australia: Transworld Publishers. Shelly, G, B., Gunter, G, A., & Gunter, R, E., (2012) Teachers Discovering Computers. Integrating technology in a connected world. Boston, USA: Course Technology, Cengage Learning. Rotherham, A.J.,& Willingham,D. (2009) 21st Century. Educational Leadership. Retrieved from http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?q=21st+century%2Brotherham+%2B+willingham&hl=en&btnG=Search&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=on Partnerships for 21st Century Skills (P21, 2011). Framework for 21st century learning. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/overview