The Web site Partnership for 21st Century Skills is well worth the visit. It is a forward thinking initiative that addresses our students’ needs for future success. A great deal of collaboration has taken place between businesses, education leaders, policymakers, and colleges to create a “list” of essential skills for the 21st century. Their belief is that this change can only happen if different sectors work together to support 21st Century skills. It is not just adding technology to preexisting programs or starting an isolated program. The intention, according to the state of Wisconsin, is for government to align sectors from pre-k- 16 and even include employee training programs. The change will happen from the ground up. Children will be supported in these skills before, during and after schooling.
The Web site offers several resources. Take a trip on Route 21 and you will find more information about 21st century skills such as: life/career skills, learning/innovation, information/media and technology, and core sujects. Links to recently published articles and responses to common core initiative for English and math are easily accessible. You can also access different states that have joined and view their implementation plan. If you are interested in an elaborate, comprehensive plan, visit the link to Wisconsin. In particular, I was impressed with their ideas about global literacy and their youth apprenticeship program.
As I was curious about the contents of the Common Core Initiative for English, I spent time investigating. Although I believe it is on the right track, refinement and simplification is needed. For example, when it stated that students should collaborate while using technology, they missed the mark. Instead, collaborating in a variety of contexts is essential, whether or not technology is incorporated. Bates and Phelan (2002) recognize that the work force needs workers that can work together to problem solve beyond basic skills and include expert thinking and complex communication. In this case, students need to use their expert thinking to decide when technology can increase effectiveness, and if so, select the best interface to do so (Dede, 2008).
Overall, I agree with the intention and mission statement of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. However, if there was one area I would like to see revised, it would be adding Health as a core subject. Although it does say that health would be woven into the core subjects, I have doubts about that taking a priority. I strongly believe that if we do not have our health (physical, mental, spiritual) we don’t have much. With an increase on devices that make our lives more comfortable and convenient, I have concerns about mental and physical wellness. While technology can connect us, it cannot replace interpersonal communication skills. As Levy and Murnane (2006) stated, a salesman has to be able to interpret and modify their sales pitch based on facial cues and must listen to customers’ tone of voice (58). Students need to understand motivation and emotion to effectively collaborate with others.
One of the expectations stated in the initiative is for students to have the skills to “listen carefully to decipher meaning, knowledge, values and attitudes, and intentions.” For many students, collaboration and communication will not naturally happen if it hasn’t already. Many students will need explicit instruction. Students would benefit from understanding how to effectively interact with others and have a better understanding of themselves and their values, beliefs, and behaviors. If students are expected to reflect, respond, and contribute to a diverse set of other peoples’ ideas and core beliefs, it is imperative that students are given time to increase their communication and self-awareness skills. People’s view on the world is contingent on the way they view themselves. A course such as Health, Communication, or Psychology could easily address these needs.
The implications for educators and students abound. As an educator, I am behind. I need to incorporate twenty-first century skills into my curriculum. First, there will be a shift from individual outcomes to collaborative outcomes. Students will work on “wicked” problems that require complex communication and expert thinking, as Dede (2008) stated. Second, there will be a shift in the assessment models. Practical application such as project based learning, service learning, and creation/invention will replace paper/ pencil assessment. Third, technology will be an expectation. The target skills extend beyond how to use technology, but when. All in all, I hope that more states will get on board and partner with this vital movement. Students need these skills and we, as a society, need to deliver them weather we “feel” ready or qualified.
Resources:
Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 4(2), 121.
Database: Management and Organization Studies: A SAGE Full-text collection database
Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2006). Why the changing American economy calls for twenty-first century learning: Answers to educators' questions. New Directions for Youth Development, 2006(110), 53–62.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Program 11 (Dede). Technology Interfaces. [Motion Picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work and Society. Baltimore: Author.
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Cool! I'm glad that you are aware that you have to do more to make sure you are not behind anymore and that you need to make some changes in order to teach 21st century skills to your students!That's great to hear and I'm glad you are now ready to make those changes!
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Response: Wegener to Odland
ReplyDeleteYour point Rachel, of applying collaborative work skills in the traditional curriculum as well as when using technology is well made. Not only do the characteristics of a globally competitive workforce require basic skills and thinking skills, personal qualities consisting of sociability and self management are also required (Bates & Phelan, 2002). Successful collaboration can be a measure of these types of personal qualities. I believe that the reason collaboration is so heavily emphasized when using technology and the read/write web as tools to teach 21st Century Skills, is that many adults and/or educators feel that technology when used by students is often socially isolating (hours students may spend online browsing sites and viewing information) and does not demand sophisticated or mature social skills (message text characters limited in communications such as Twitter or cell phone texting). In addition, teachers may often find that assessing student performance on a collaborative web based technology product is unfamiliar and that it is on a platform where it can be more difficult to determine levels of student performance.
When teaching collaboration with technology, teaching strategies that are differentiated and research based should still be applied. Students should be deliberately and thoughtfully introduced to the technology and all of its operating rules and rhetoric just as teachers introduce other learning tools and materials to them. Students will benefit from teacher guided instruction and practice on all of the individual components of collaborative work; planning and time management strategies, delegation of tasks and duties, responding to differing perspectives or opinions, and reaching a consensus. When the components of the learning experience when teaching with technology are as well developed and structured as with a traditional classroom learning experience, the assessment of the student’s performance should be objective and clear to the teachers as well.
Students will need many, many learning experiences on collaboration using technology to bring their skill and comfort level up to one that is similar to that of traditional classroom collaboration instruction. Proficiency with collaboration in the classroom is not interchangeable with proficiency with collaboration using technology, therefore both are valuable skills for students to acquire.
References:
Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002, May). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in Developing Human Resources , pp. 121-132.
I completely agree with you concerning the need for students to learn to collaborate in a variety of contexts as opposed to collaborating solely through the use of technology. Students will always need to be able to communicate without the use of technology; however, the fact is that the need is being put into use less and less. As advances continue technologically, we as educators have to stay ahead of the curve. So far, we have not been able to do that. I think the Partnership for 21st Century Skills has seen this trend and tried to take steps to correct the issue. One concern that you made that stuck out to me was that of losing the interpersonal communication as technology continues to become more of a part of our lives. I don't foresee this happening. I do think that when, where, and how often their is interpersonal communication may change; however, it will never become obsolete. In fact, I think that with the increased use of technology we will actually have more communication. I still talk face-to-face with my colleagues, but now I text them in the evenings as well. Before, if I had a quick question or comment I might wait until the net day at school because I didn't feel like calling. Now a text message is quick and easy. It has increased communication. Through Facebook I have connected with friends that otherwise I would never have communicated with once we had all moved on in life. Technology is decreasing the size of the world. It is now easy to communicate with anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Has it decreased some interpersonal communication? Maybe. Will it take its place? I doubt it. Do we now communicate more with a larger variety of people? Absolutely. Something else to think about...you mentioned the need for salesmen to be able to read facial cues and tones of voice to modify sales pitches. Many businesses conduct such conferences over video feeds where they are only face-to-face through the use of technology. Again, the need for the skills you mentioned still exist; they are just used through a different medium.
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