2. The 21st century dawned as the beginning of Digital
Age – a time of unprecedented growth in technology and its
subsequent information explosion. Never before have the
tools for information access and management made such an
impact on the way we live, work, shop and play. New
technologies and tools multiply daily and the new
technologies of today are outdated almost as soon as they
reach the market. Numerous studies and reports have
emerged over the past decade that seek to identify the life,
career, and learning skills that define the skills needed for
success in the 21st century world. While there are some
differences in how the skills are categorized or interpreted,
there are also many commonalities.
4. 1. Creativity and Innovation
Using knowledge and understanding to create new ways of
thinking in order to find solutions to new problems and to create
new products and services.
Think creatively:
• Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as
brainstorming)
• Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical
concepts)
• Elaborate , refine, analyze, and evaluate ideas in order to improve
and maximize creative efforts
• Demostrate imagination and curiosity
5. Work Creatively with Others:
• Develop, implement, and communicate new ideas to others
effectively
• Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives;
incorporate group input and feedback into the work
• Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and
understand the real world limits to adopting new ideas
• View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that
creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small
successes and frequent mistakes
6. Implement Innovations:
Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and use
contribution to the field in which the innovation will
occur
7. 2. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Applying higher order thinking to new problems and issues,
using appropriate reasoning as they effectively analyze the
problem and make decisions about the most effective ways to
solve the problem.
Reason Effectively:
• Use a various types of reasoning as appropriate to the situation
Use Systems Thinking:
• Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to
produce overall outcomes in complex systems
8. Make Judgments and Decision:
• Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims
and beliefs
• Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view
• Synthesize and make connections bet6ween information and
arguments
• Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best
analysis
• Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes
9. Solve Problems:
• Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both
conventional and innovative ways
• Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various
points of view and lead to better solutions
10. 3. Communication
Communicating effectively in a wide variety
of forms and contexts for a wide range of
purposes and using multiple media and
technologies.
11. Communicate Clearly:
• Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written,
and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and
contexts
• Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge,
values, attitudes, and intentions
• Use communication for a range of purpose (e.g., to inform,
instruct, motivate, and persuade) and in diverse environments
(including multi-lingual)
Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to
judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their
impact
12. 4. Collaboration
Working with others respectfully and effectively to create, use
and share knowledge, solutions and innovations.
Collaboration with Others:
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with
diverse teams
• Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making
necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal
Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value
the individual contributions made by each team member
13. 5. Information Management
Accessing analyzing, synthesizing, creating and sharing
information from multiple sources.
14. 6. Effective Use of Technology
Creating the capacity to identify and use technology
efficiently, effectively and ethically as a tool to access,
organize, evaluate and share information
15. 7. Career and Life Skills
Developing skills for becoming self-directed, independent
learners and workers who can adapt to change, manage
projects, take responsibility for their work, lead others and
produce results.
16. 8. Cultural Awareness
Developing cultural competence in working with others by
recognizing and respecting cultural differences and work with
others from a wide range of cultural and social backgrounds.
18. Information Literacy
Access and Evaluate Information:
• Access information efficiently (time) and effectively (sources)
• Evaluate information critically and competently
Use andManage Information:
• Use information accurately and creatively for the issue or
problem at hand
• Manage the flow of information from a wide variety of
sources
• Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues
surrounding the access and use of information
19. MEDIA LITERACY
Analyze Media:
• Understand both how and why media messages are constructed
and for what purposes
• Examine how individuals interpret messages differently, how values
and points of view are included or excluded, and how media can
influence beliefs and behaviors
• Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues
surrounding the access and use of media
Create Media Products:
• Understand and utilize the most appropriate media creation tools,
characteristics, and conventions
• Understand and effectively utilize the most appropriate expressions
and interpretations in diverse, multi-cultural environments
20. ICT (INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND
TECHNOLOGY)LITERACY
Apply Technology Effectively:
• Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and
communicate information
• Use digital technologies (e.g., computers, PDAs, media
players, GPS, etc.), communication/networking tools, and
social networks appropriately to access, manage, integrate,
evaluate, and create information to successfully function in a
knowledge economy
• Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues
surrounding the access and use o f information technologies
22. These skills are about the thinking processes and
behaviors students will use as they learn subject
area content and work with others to deepen
their understanding of the content. All of the
frameworks emphasize the need to ground 21st
century skills in core content, and especially in an
interdisciplinary fashion. Organizing instruction
around important concepts and “big ideas” helps
students create conceptual; structures for
storing, retrieving and using information in new
and unanticipated ways.
23. 21st century skills are integrated into
content, some key design principles
include:
24. Connecting the content knowledge to real -
world applications and problem situations
that enable students to see how what they are
learning connects with their lives and the
world around them. The work that is asked of
students must be authentic work that is
relevant and that mirrors real life.
25. Emphasizing deep understanding of the
learning by focusing on projects and problems
that require students to use the content
knowledge in new ways and to extend their
understanding through collaboration with
others.
26. Helping students understand and monitor the
thinking processes they are using by including
metacognitive activities that ask students to
reflect on their use of thinking structures and
the effectiveness of the thinking strategies
they employed. “The highest ranked skills for
students entering the workforce were not
facts and basic skills; they were applied skills
that enable workers to use the knowledge and
basic skills they have acquired.”
27. Using technology to help students access,
analyze, organize and share what they are
learning and allow students to independently
locate appropraite tools fo the task.
28. Providing opportunities to help students to
become “creators as well as consumers of
published information” (Apple 2008) by
providing opportunities for creating and
verifying their own entries in collaborative
sites evaluating contributions of others.
29. Engaging students in solving complex
problems that require higher order thinking
and application of content and that result in
new perspectives and solutions to problems.
30. Providing opportunities for students to work
collaborative as they gather information, solve
problems, share ideas, and generate new
ideas.
31. Developing life and career skills by creating
opportunities for students to become self-
directed learners who take responsibility for
their own learning and who learn how
effectively with others.
32. Helping students make connections between
subjects, concepts and ideas and with others,
including those outside of the classroom.
34. The 21st century skills are not really different. We
have always wanted students to be creative thinkers
and problem solvers who have the skills necessary to
function effectively in society and in the workplace.
However, the way in which these skills are incorporated
in the classroom and how technology is integrated will
greatly change instruction. Indeed, with technology,
today’s classroom transcends physical walls and
reaches around the globe. In addition, we need to plan
instruction with an understanding of the “digital
natives”(Prensky, 2001) who have grown up in the
Digital Age and who expect learning to be interactive,
engaging and up-to-date.
36. A variety of learning opportunities and activities
The use of appropriate technology tools to accomplish
learning goals
Project- and problem- based learning
Cross-curricular connections
A focus on inquiry and the student-led investigations
Collaborative learning environments, both within and
beyond the classroom
High levels of visualization and the use of visual to
increase understanding
Frequent, formative assessments including the use of
self-assessment.
