I am very impressed with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website. It contains a wealth of information for educators interested in developing 21st century skills in their students. One aspect that I really liked was that it described the significance of core subjects, such as English, math, and geography, along with interdisciplinary themes such as global awareness, civic literacy, and health literacy. In addition, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills also emphasizes learning and thinking skills. This is an area I constantly try to address in my classroom. While I realize it is not specifically in the Ohio Academic Content Standards, I feel it is my responsibility as an educator to encourage the development of these skills in my students. These learning and thinking skills include critical thinking and problem solving, communication, and collaboration skills. While it is important for our students to know their content, it is also critical that they master 21st century skills to ensure their success in the workplace as adults. In the workplace today, projects are more often done by teams; therefore, we must teach our students how to collaborate with and learn from others (Laureate, 2010). Creativity and collaboration will be key as our society progresses forward.
It was interesting to read through the expected competencies listed for particular grade levels. They are listed at 4th, 8th, and 12th grade, so I focused my attention on 8th grade because it is closest to the grade I teach (7th). I agree that my students are competent and proficient in most of the skills listed. For example, a high majority of my students know how to properly use search engines to gather information on a given topic. They also are extremely proficient in presentation software, such as PowerPoint, along with being talented in publishing and multimedia creation.
I do not feel, however, that a majority of my students are proficient in the use of simulation software, nor do I feel that many of my students have experienced videoconferencing or interactive TV. While this is incorporated into 21st Century Skills for 8th graders, the reality is that many schools (including mine) do not have the necessary resources to provide students with truly proper training in these areas. In my school, we do as much as we can with the technology and time available to us. Therefore, while my students are proficient in most of the areas listed for 8th graders, there are certainly areas we are not able to provide appropriate instruction in (for example, as mentioned earlier, videoconferencing).
So, what does this mean for me as a 7th grade social studies teacher? It reinforces the fact that I must take advantage of every opportunity to prepare my students for the world they will enter in to. Twenty-first century skills are an absolute necessity, and while I may not have as much time or as many resources as I would like, in order to do what is best for my students I must provide them with opportunities to further develop these competencies. It might take collaboration with other teachers and administrators on my part, along with great creativity…but isn’t that what 21st century skills are all about? My students must understand history but also be able to collaborate with others and display their knowledge in exciting and innovate ways.
References
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2010 from http://www.p21.org/
Thornburg, D. (2010). "Skills for the 21st Century" [Video file]. Laureate Education. Unknown.
Thornburg, D. (2010). "Skills for the 21st Century" [Video file]. Laureate Education. Unknown.
I must agree with you in regard to the expected competencies listed for grade 8. Many of my freshmen need to be more proficient in simulation software; they have had no exposure to videoconferencing or interactive TV. However, I must say that I am very excited that this year we are implementing a TV Productions-Technology Elective with exposure and hands-on learning to teach many of the 21st Century Skills. As you stated, “21st Century Skills are an absolute necessity” and I am trying to implement these skills daily following the NJCCCS. It is challenging yet, an extraordinary sense of accomplishment is felt when success is achieved.
ReplyDeleteOne link that I found to be phenomenal was from the Springfield Township High School. This virtual library truly has shown that they are working at instilling success in their students. Check it out if you haven’t already. I’m excited to share this with my colleagues and hope to create a site like this in my school; it truly is an asset to students, parents, and faculty, alike. www.sdst.org/shs/library/.
I also liked the break down of the subcategories, such as collaboration, problem solving and more. I teach second grade, and even in my grade, we teach problem solving in almost everything we do, especially socially. I think that is very crucial in the outside world. If students are not able to problem solve social problems, how likely is it that they are going to last in a job where they have many coworkers? Also, we teach problem solving in math, reading and more, it is such an important skill in all areas.
ReplyDeleteCollaboration is another important skill that I work on with my students. It used to be that I did cooperative assignments very rarely, but more and more, I have my students collaborating with one another and with the resources that they are able to access on the internet. Last year, I had my students create an Imovie, something I myself was trying for the first time. It was my students collaborating with one another and helping one another that made everything successful. Without their collaboration, the project would not have been as successful.
I feel that the 21st century skills are important not only for higher grades, but also for us in the elementary grades. However, since we have to teach all of the subjects and have a pretty full curriculum already, it is hard to find time to implement technology. With the use of a sight like this and other incoming technology, I am find ways to integrate the technology as much as I am able.