This week our focus in class has been 21st Century Skills. 21st Century Skills are the skills that students will need to succeed in the future. They are made up of the thinking, collaboration, and work skills that students will need to be able to use in the workplace. To learn more about 21st Century Skills I looked at the website of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills at www.p21.org.
After browsing the website, I have learned a lot about 21st Century Skills; how they were created, ways to implement them, and so much more. The website was easy to navigate and easy to follow. There was information about the partnership, the Strategic Council, what the partnership does, what 21st Century Skills are, states that are involved, exemplar schools, and news and events.
I was surprised to learn who the members of the Strategic Council were and how the partnership was started. There are members on the Strategic Council are from large companies such as Disney, PBS, and LEGO. I also found 21st Century Skills Maps for each academic area. These will be very helpful when determining how to integrate the 21st Century Skills into other areas.
It is essential for students to have exposure and experience with 21st Century Skills. These skills with give students the ability to be successful in the workforce. Technology will continue to evolve and it is important that students are able to use them appropriately. It is also extremely important for teachers to know and use 21st Century Skills because we have a duty to prepare our students for the future.
Overall, I thought this was a very useful website. It was interesting to learn more about the 21st Century Skills and ways to incorporate them into instruction. Looking at the educator resources will also be very useful in future. I highly recommend this website to other educators.
I was also surprised about who belonged in the strategic council. I'm glad to see these big companies taking an interest in 21st century skills. These companies can give their advice on the site, and educators can read it, then incorporate it into the classroom to help teach their students the skills that they are going to need.
ReplyDeleteThe 21st century skill maps were interesting, and I'm excited to start using them. I think these maps will be a big help in the classroom to help integrate the skills that are needed for the students to learn. I really loved this website, and liked the fact that it was really easy to navigate.
Tori,
DeleteI wholeheartedly agree with you that the 21st Century skills are necessary to be successful in the workforce. In PE, we incorporate some of these skills into our program as they are a part of our standards. It is so important for students to be well-rounded in possessing the 21st Century skills. Thanks for mentioning the maps. I read over that page, but will go back and spend some time checking that out.
I also agree that these 21st Century skills will prepare our students for the future. Not only is technology changing, but jobs are changing and evolving. Teachers need to be willing to step out of their comfort zones and integrate these new skills imperative for young people--and I feel administrators need to examine their faculty closely.
ReplyDeleteJust this past week our school was stressing out because of a writing assessment for 3rd graders being done by computer. Instead of using their handwriting, students are needing typing skills to express their answers. Typing is a whole new skill for these little ones.
As times keep changing so will needs for teachers. We now have a full time keyboarding teacher in our school system this year. Who knows what positions will be needed in 5-10 years.