When reading through this Website, I really enjoyed the concepts behind 21st century skills. It is great that they emphasize core subjects with this site. A lot of schools are moving toward an application based learning, especially in math, but if the students do not understand the basics behind the core subject, applying it will be nearly impossible. I also liked how they emphasized that the cores must be learned first before applying it toward the 21st century skills needed when they get out of school. The site says, "Further, the focus on core subjects must expand beyond basic competency to the understanding of core academic content at much higher levels."
The thing that most surprised me was the fact that there weren't many states that are adapting to this. It really sounds like a good plan in order to help students get ready to be out in the workforce and/or prepare them for life past high school. I did not disagree with any of the information on the site because I really believe that it is all relevant to what we as educators should be trying to do in our classrooms everyday. Students should have the opportunities to work with technology and to apply what they have learned to their everyday lives.
The implications for us as educators are to try to put as many applications and connections to the student's everyday lives into our lessons. The students need to know that we are doing this all for a purpose and that it can have something to do with their everyday lives. The implication for students is that they need to know that we are doing all of this for them and they need to stay motivated in order to learn what is needed to perform these tasks outside of the school.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
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Hi Anna,
ReplyDeleteIn my post I had asked the question if there was really such a thing as training on the 21st century skills, or if this is a new mode of learning and application to students' lives. If you find out, please let me know. I agree that learning should be applicable to our lives. Rote memorization is a thing of the past and we as educators have got to instruct our students so their learning is meaningful. I really like the 2st Century site and what it can offer to educators. This website could be a jumping off point for a professional development class.