Blog #4 - 21st Century Skills

Like any new trend that travels through the landscape of education, 21^st century skills are a reality but should definitely not become the new goal of education. No student learns the same; they all have different learning styles. Just because one is a digital native does not mean that they would be capable of listening to a lecture in real life, on video in real time, and checking their email at the same time. It is great to use these new tools and let our students work in groups to solve problems. This needs to be done in conjuncture with other styles of teaching that compliment each of the different learners in the classroom. In Jay Mathews article in the Washington Post, The Latest Doomed Pedagogical Fad: 21^st-Century Skills he recalls his experiences in college where he worked in a group to solve a real world problem for his science class. When his group finished, they turned their project in; he received an excellent grade and learned no science. 21^st Century skills, the ability to collaborate, design, problem solve, create, etc. need to be taught seamlessly with traditional math, science, reading, history, reading, and language skills.

21^st century skills should be used to enhance student learning beyond the norm. Once the basics have been covered and mastered. Then it is time to take it to the next level. As in Bloom’s Taxonomy; analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and even create are levels of thinking that we should aspire our student to achieve. They are also at the end of the spectrum. Knowledge and Understanding still remain at the bottom from which the other levels build on. Teachers need to be wise. Think critically about new pedagogical ideas and how they need to be applied to education. 21^st century skills shouldn’t be ignored but they also shouldn’t be the crux of the classroom while other skills or methodologies are left in the closet until they become in again.