Essential Skills for Today's 21st Century Learner?!?

Today I began the 2nd last class of my 2nd master's degree.  There has to be a better way to say it, although I haven't figure it out yet.  Is it a second Master's, or a post graduate degree?  Does anyone care, not really, except maybe me.  My grandfather once told me that girls couldn't be doctors.  I am still out to prove him wrong.  We'll see if I ever make it.

So our first question posed today was to compare the classroom when I first began to teach to my classroom now.  What has changed, and what has stayed the same?  You tell me, but here it is what my group came up with:

When I first started teaching (1994)	Teaching today (2011)
3 ring binder	USB
Chalkboard	Whiteboard
Card catalogue	Online database
Parent/teacher conference	Student led conference
Notebook paper	Paperless classrooms
Cassette tapes	DVDs
Overhead projectors	IWBs and Document cameras
desktop	laptop
portfolios	eportfolios
syllabus	class website
Row seating	Group seating
Standardized testing	MAP testing: question led
Classroom set of books	ebooks
Rote memory	Creative and critical analysis
Teacher edition	Online fact checkers
Little parent involvement	Constant contact
memos	email
Rigid teaching plans	Open ended learning plans

            

Then we were asked what we thought 21^st Century Learners should become.  I did what I always do and went to my gurus for guidance, my old school - ISB, Bloom's and ISTE.  Here's what I found:

Effective Learners
Students use appropriate tools to efficiently gather, critically evaluate, and effectively use information to make informed decisions when solving problems.

Effective Communicators

Students use appropriate media to effectively communicate ideas, knowledge, and understanding to audiences ranging from local to global.

Effective Creators

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using appropriate technology.

Effective Collaborators
Students connect with peers and recognized experts to collaborate, develop their own understanding, contribute to the learning of others, and contribute to the global society using a variety of media and online communities.

Ethical Citizens
Students practice legal and ethical behavior with an understanding of cultural and societal issues related to technology and information.

Bloom's New Revised Taxonomy for Learning:

And these are the ISTE NETs Standards:

1.     Creativity and Innovation  

2.     Communication and Collaboration  

3.     Research and Information Fluency  

4.     Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making  

5.     Digital Citizenship  

6.     Technology Operations and Concepts  

And here is what we came up with as a group:

What is the necessary knowledge and skills needed for a successful global economy?

•                Students who read, write, and compute proficiently find and use resources, frame and solve problems with other people, continually learn new technologies and occupations, reach levels of skill and competence, and support just and civil society that helps maintain our democratic life.

After a great discussion, we listed the following essential 21 Century Knowledge and Skills as a class, and were asked which ones we consciously planned for and taught last week?

Adaptability/flexibility

Digital literacy

Innovative thinking

Initiative

Effective communication

Reasoning & decision making

Personal well being skills

Collaboration

Cross cultural

Balancing emotional/physical/social

Curiosity/creativity

Empathy           

Life/career skills

Global awareness

Interpersonal skills

Personal/social responsibility

Problem solving

Productivity

Accountability

Financial literacy

Environmental responsibility

Discerning skills

Humility

Humanities 8	Academic Support/Study Skills
Innovative thinking	Effective communication
Discerning skills	Adaptability/flexibility
Collaboration	Personal well being skills
Cross cultural	Initiative
Curiosity/creativity	Balancing emotional/physical/social
Global awareness	Life/career skills
Accountability	Interpersonal skills
Environmental responsibility	Personal/social responsibility
	Problem solving
	Productivity
	Accountability
	Humility
	Reasoning & decision making

But are any of these really new?

I normally consider my Humanities 8 class quite tech heavy; yet, this week as we study Dystopian literature and terrorism around the world, I feel as if the less tech-heavy subjects of Academic Support and Study Skills focused on 21st Century skills far more than what I had expected.  I was surprised at this revelation.  That's where I think we might be going at all of this the wrong way.  When you hear the terms "21st Century Skills" you think technology, but at the end of the day, what we are really striving for is better, ethical citizens that will help to make the world a better place.  Sure we can use technology to make those things happen, and teach those lessons, but this week truly focused on being a good human being.   If that isn't a 21st Century Skill, I'm not sure I want to see the what might come next.  The dystopian literature must be rubbing off on me.