Week 4 Application

I was introduced to the P21.org website earlier this year by a co-worker.  We spent time in our meetings reviewing each type of 21^st century literacy, sharing what it meant and what that literacy can/would look like in our world language content area.

My initial reaction to the website was that it made a lot of sense that today’s students need different skills than I even needed when I graduated from high school ten years ago.  One key thing that jumped out at me was that world languages are listed as a critical 21^st century skill.  I attribute this to the fact that with new technology comes a greater need and ability for global communication as Thornburg discussed in his video lecture The Changing Work Environment Part One (2010).  It is clear that Thornburg’s ideas and work are supported by the skills framework as he stated in his video program Skills for the 21^st Century (2010).  For me the graphic is very helpful to see how the skills tie together to form a bigger picture of 21^st century learning.

The information that surprised me on this site is that there are not more state initiatives to encourage 21^st century learning.  There are only sixteen states listed that applied and are working on an action plan to increase 21^st century readiness of students.  This is something that I feel every state should be aware of and committed to.

On the site I really do not disagree with anything to be honest.  The skills framework and means to get there seem on target to me as far as important skills for the changing world and work environment.  In my opinion the 21^st century skills described support the education of the whole child through a variety of life, social, learning, career and technology skills.

The implication of 21^st century skills for students is that they have to be prepared for increasingly demanding, technology oriented and global jobs.  This means more rigor and variety in the topics that they need to master.  Reading, writing and arithmetic are no longer the only standards of general knowledge.  To truly be prepared they must work hard and apply different skills to all curricular areas and it is up to contemporary teachers to equip and prepare them.

One implication of the information on the P21.org site for me as a contemporary educator is that because students need different technology skills I need to change the way I teach from traditional paper and pencil methods to more technology based assignments and assessments.  Another implication is that as a contemporary teacher there is a need to teach all different types of skills in my class such as financial literacy, civic literacy, health literacy and environmental literacy which means more cross-curricular connections.  In addition there are always life and thinking skills that must be taught strategically as we go through the curriculum.  All of these literacies and skills help to form a more prepared student but it definitely points out how truly strategic we must be as educators to ensure that students are learning and using the skills they need to be successful once they leave our classrooms and our schools.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). [Webcast]. Skills for the 21^st century. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Media.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). [Webcast]. The changing work environment part one. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Media.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Partnership for 21^st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.p21.org/index.php