I have recently been introduced to an organization that is attempting to revolutionize schools across the country. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) was formed by the individuals and organizations to advocate for change in policy. The basis for these changes come down to “fusing the three Rs and four Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation).” While many schools are attempting to follow this model, many others are not. The P21 is attempting to get policy passed at the state and federal level that require all schools to adopt this model. While I have not necessarily heard of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, I have heard of initiatives that the state of Ohio has supported in Gateway to Technology and Project Lead the Way. Both of these programs focus on the foundation of P21.
I believe that if you ask most teachers, they are attempting to cover the three Rs and the four Cs. Educators want their students to not only be able to read, write, and compute, but also to apply those skills to problem solve, communicate, and collaborate. While these are the wishes of teachers, I do not think it's necessarily the primary goal of most schools. I've been involved in two school systems, and both were more concerned with students passing state tests and graduation rates than with the quality of student they were graduating. After reading Characteristics of a Globally Competitive Workforce by Bates and Phelan, it was clear that focusing solely on the content of the three Rs sets students up for failure as they consider these only one part of three foundational skills (2002). According to the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), the three Rs along with thinking skills and personal qualities are the foundational skills for today's workers (Bates & Phelan, 2002). If schools are focusing solely on reading, writing, arithmetic, and science, students are not even getting the full foundation for employability skills.
If schools are not setting for the foundation mentioned in the SCANS study, it is evident that something like P21 is a necessity for our country. With pressure coming from the federal and state government on school districts, teachers are getting more pressure to get students prepared. And what suffers? It's the critical thinking skills, the application projects, the collaboration, and the technology skills. A common phrase that is unfortunately uttered a lot, “We need to get them familiar with the testing scenario.” This actually contradicts what the research has said about 21st century skills. Students aren't collaborating, they aren't thinking critically, and they aren't engaged in technology. The latter has now become so essential that SCANS made it one of its five competencies every worker should have upon graduating high school (Bates & Phelan, 2002). If our students are to be technologically literate, we cannot have students spending “27 hours a week online at home and an average of 15 minutes a week at schools” (Miners & Pascopella, 2007). Obviously, we are failing these students.
What does this mean for us educators? We need to find a way to work within our school's expectations to revolutionize what we're doing in our classrooms. We do need to get students familiar with testing; however, we also need to prepare our students for the workplace. We need to teach the content, but then go on to challenge our students with problems and scenarios that require students to sharpen their critical thinking skills. We need to have students working together, communicating, and problem solving. While doing this, students need to be engaged in technology familiarizing themselves with different tools that may benefit them in future jobs. The P21 website contains a whole library of videos that educators can use as ideas of what they can include in their classroom to help develop these 21st century skills.
References:
Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 4(2), 121.
Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34. Used by permission.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteHow? That is my question. How do we prepare them for state assessments and give them those 4Cs skills that will prepare them for future employment? What do you do in your classroom to blend these concepts?
I agree, I think P21 has some very solid information and I like their information. Why do you think more states have not bought into it?
I sometimes wish I had my students more than one year, so I would have the time and ability to teach them everything that is required and everything that they will need. There is so much material and so many skills to cover. I guess it will take some creativity with the walls of our classrooms. Even though my state has not adopted P21, I think I will be using the website as a resource to help me create better quality students.
Renee,
ReplyDeleteI know that the basic idea behind this new assessment will be more focused on the skills learned rather than the content gained, and the assessment test will be focused more on informational text and research skills. Furthermore, I know the state of Ohio is planning on having students taking the test on the computer rather than on paper. Whether or not this will be true when the 2014-2015 school year approaches I can't say for certain; however, our curriculum director is under the impression that this will be the way the assessments will go. I do not at this time have anymore specific details concerning how to assess 21st century skills.
To prepare students for the work place when they graduate, we need to revolutionize our methods of teaching. I do not know if it is prudent anymore to stand in front of our students, spout off information, and expect them to regurgitate that information back to us. I think the concept of integrating technology does not wholly lie in demonstrating technology through the Smart Board, but getting our students to truly understand technology and the true nature of its ever changing presence. That is why when employers are looking for workers they are looking for people who are inventive and innovative.
I have always attempting to implement communication by running my classroom through the Socratic method. A lot of my classroom instruction revolves around reading, short answer writing, and then discussion. I have discovered that if you allow for discussion to occur the conversation can lead you into some interesting places where great dialogue takes place. It is often difficult to keep every student on track; however, the overall results show that more learning and critical thinking is taking place. With just questions and answers we often do not allow students to critically think and explore new ideas. Creating an environment that is innovative and forces students to become innovative I do not know if that is possible if a teacher has taught the same lessons and units for his/her entire career. As our environment evolves so must our teaching methods. Even our subject matters evolve. That is one of the reasons I designed a course entitled Sports Literature. This type of course allowed me to implement many of these skills into the classroom.
I do not know why all of the states do not take part in this initiative. I guess it is like all other initiatives that have taken place. It seems like the classroom is always changing and many people are fearful of change and reluctant of change.