Learning 21st Century Skills Requires 21st Century Teaching

Learning 21^st Century Skills Requires 21^st Century Teaching

Lisa Gatzen

IL-Integrated or Separate

IL-Reflection and Big Think

Saacedra, Anna Rosefsky and Darleen Opfer. "Learning 21st Century Skills Requires 21st Century Teaching." October 2012. kappanmagazine.org.

Summary

Students need to learn 21^st century skills in order to be career ready. Our current form of teaching (transmission model of education) is not the most effective way to teach these 21^st century skills. Saavedra and Opfer suggest nine lessons that are relevant to teaching 21^st Century skills. They go on to say that instruction needs to be relevant to student in order for them to really understand. Students need to know the value of what they are learning. Learning needs to occur through the disciplines while also developing thinking skills with higher-order thinking. They then need to take that knowledge and apply it to other areas of their lives. While also understanding the truth about the real world and moving beyond their misconceptions about how the world really works. Collaboration, the use of technology and fostering creativity are also essential in the 21^st century classroom.

Opinion

I really found this article useful in helping me to understand how classroom instruction needs to be changed. While transmission of facts is the model that we currently use in the classroom, that is changing with the Common Core.  Saavedra and Opfer explain the types of changes that need to take place and how they will be possible using 21^st century skills.