Adventures in Middle School Music
21 Century Skills
21st century learning requires teachers to be cognizant of the changing technology as well as the ever changing skills that will required in order to participate in it. Gone are the days where lectures and worksheets dominate the teaching classroom. Project based learning that require communication, collaboration, and problem solving (just to name a few) are the teaching concepts of the future. That means that teachers will have to adjust their teaching and assessing in order to give the student the necessary skills for tomorrow.
Source:
7 Skills Students Need For the Future - Tony Wagner.
Critical thinking/Problem Solving – From global warming to economic and political upheavals, tomorrow’s’ citizens will face problems on a global scale that will need to be tackled.
Collaboration across networks/leading by influence – As we are connected by social media and tools that allow us to collaborate on the global scale, today’s learners need to effectively navigate working in groups to solve problems.
Agility and Adaptability – As technology continues to advance and change at a rapid pace, today’s students need to be able to learn and adapt to new tools and devices.
Initiative/entrepreneurship – The internet has allowed anyone and everyone to innovate and monetize almost every aspect of our world and culture.
Effective Oral Communication – With the upcoming demographic shift, (minority will be the majority in 2020) it is important for the leaders of tomorrow to effectively communicate with a wide range of cultures and demographics.
Access and Analyzing Info – We are in an age of information overload. Future citizens will need to have a analytical and discerning eye for sussing out relevant and accurate information.
Curiosity and Imagination - Technology opens up a new world of tools and ideas, yet individual need to have the imagination and open mindedness to continue to push the envelope and innovation.