I think that I incorporate Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in most lessons. I use technology, but I don’t think of that as a 21st Century Skill. I would like to incorporate more collaborative activities.
I don’t think I encourage Creativity enough. I’d like to do more with open-ended lessons so students can be more creative when we work together. I think that some of the ideas I found for alternatives to book reports will help. Giving students options of projects (drawing a new cover for the book, or interviewing the main character) and allowing them to choose the project they would like to complete will help encourage more creative responses from students.
I agree that you would get more creative responses from students that way BUT the teachers also need to back off a bit on their rubrics too. Sometimes worrying about how the teacher will grade the project hinders creativity too.
Whenever I see a teacher using hands-on projects, I'm automatically thinking "Creativity! Freedom! Personal perspective!" But I don't think the effect of how stringent a rubric may be has actually ever crossed my mind. That's a GREAT point you brought up about teachers possibly needing to rework that aspect.
I can relate to that point as well. Too stringent a requirement on the rubric removes the creative aspect. In narrative writing how many great novels have you read that would earn all the points on some of these high school rubrics for structure.
I think that communication and collaboration are one that is important for our students. With all the new technology and toys out there I feel students lack in this area, but it is needed in the "real world" I have students share ideas with each other but also make sure they really listen to what is being said. When computers and phones are not available it can be and eye opener for them. Schools could add more critical thinking and problem solving skills, as there can never be too much of this. I feel school offer a lot in many of these areas, it is what students choose to do with it.
I agree with students not knowing how to communicate! I can't even being to tell the number of assignment and emails I return because I don't accept "text talk" from my students! A no technology day at school would be good every once in awhile.
I agree that students verbal communication and writing skills are going downhill, but I also think that their online communication skills may not be the greatest either (In regard to content). People can be very bold about what they say behind a device, and I don't think they grasp the impact that that can have on a situation.
Even when I was growing up a LONG time ago, teachers would talk to us about the difference and importance of formal vs informal English and which places each was appropriate. We talk so much about how technology and the amount of time kids spend on it as affecting their writing skills, but I think correct writing has been a problem forever, long before technology was common place.
I like Rita Pearson's talk on casual and formal register. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=rita+pearson+casual+vs+formal+register+video&view=detail&mid=8B29A849D1C049AD9FE78B29A849D1C049AD9FE7&FORM=VIRE
I think the 21st century goals that are most important are clear communication, think interdependently, collaborate with others, and productivity and accountability. I picked these because I felt they are the bases for the others and ones that my students struggle with the most. To help my students practice these skills I try to incorporate as many into my lessons as possible. For example to practice communication skills my students interview with different types of people, and send memos to me asking for basic things or responding to a bell work question. My students tend to be strong willed and argue more than they should with each other over projects and one girl is super bossy to her peers. They get there assignments done but unless my team is coaching them to help recognize other people’s contributions and opinions it does not end well. This also goes hand in hand with collaborating with others. The easiest one to teach high schooler is productivity and accountability. To help with this we practice self-advocacy and multi-tasking during study skills with role-playing. We also discuss what could have been better and more efficient. I usually do this around superbowl time, since if you were to work for Nike making an advertisement and you missed the deadline to have it air during the superbowl, well let’s just say it amazes me how many student DON’T think they would be fired for this! I think schools leave out constructive criticism. Students do not respond well to it and most importantly do not know how to gracefully accept it without it feeling like an attack on them.
Yes, constructive criticism is very important to give and receive! Junior high kids like to act like anytime they are being corrected it's discrimination!! Very frustrating!
I think Creativity and Innovation are the most important 21st century skills. Our schools have been so test result driven that we have stopped letting kids be creative in exchange for meeting standards on state/national tests. Our focus has been on our students passing tests and to accommplish this we have taught them the skill of short-term memory for testing purposes. Our students have really suffered in our effort to have passing test scores. That combined with the amount of video games kids play instead of using their imagination to create play have led to kids who have little imagination! One thing I like about Common Core is the research and project aspect of it, going back to having students make projects to demonstrate their knowledge of the content versus taking a test. The way I understand it is that employers are looking for employees who are creative and innovative thinkers. Our schools have got to allign themselves with this in order for our students to be employable in their futures!
When I attended an Odyssey of the Mind competition, there was a volunteer there. While we were waiting on the kids to finish, we were talking. He said he worked in the oil and gas industry. One of their main focuses was coming up with new ideas of things to do with the polymers at the bottom of the barrel of oil. He said when they interview people for their department, they hand them a box filled with random junk and tell them they have a specific time period to create something with the contents of the box. He said most just sit and look at it or say they did not go to college to do this type of stuff. All of them are eliminated from the interview process. He said if they attempted it, even if what they created was ridiculous, it showed they were willing to think outside the box and try new things and that is what they need in an employee. When I consider my students, many of them would be in the category of people who created nothing. They would be overwhelmed by not having specific directions or expectations and would give up.
Thanks for sharing Heather....love this information ! Creativity...Problem Solving....
My grandson raises chickens and has a chick that is missing some cartlage in it's leg. Not sure anything can be done; but he wants to brace it and tape it w/ vet tape. I told his Dad to help him out.....won't hurt the chick and it will let my grandson try out an idea.
I agree, Carol that video games don't give kids an opportunity to experience/experiment with life.
As you went through the list of 21st century skills from P21, which ones do you think are the most important? I think communication and collaboration is very important. Under that main heading is communicate clearly, collaborate with others, and think interdependently. Thinking interdependently I think is so important, especially for my students.
Are there any that you feel we leave out in schools and why? I think being a risk taker is left out in schools. We teach our students what we want and need them to know. We test them on these facts and we have them do projects with very strict syllabus following our expectations. Risk taking is very much eliminated from our curriculum. In life and at our future jobs risk taking and risk management is a huge part of it and many people go into this with little or no experience.
How do you incorporate these skills into your lessons? I really enjoyed this chapter and am planning on incorporating many of these 21st century skills into my lessons next year. I do focus on growth in my classroom and not just what the test scores are. The part of assessment of these skills really helped me.
I think communication and collaboration is a HUGE skill. It's a life skill that all children and many adults need to work on. Communicating effectively and working with others is very important. I also think flexibility and adaptability is important. As teachers we have to be flexible and adapt quickly to a situation. It makes sense that we would ask our students to do the same.
I feel like I sometimes leave out reflection and awareness. I tend to move on. This is a skill I am working on and trying to teach my students more and more.
I think I use Initiative and self direction the most in my classroom. My students come in and know that they are equally responsible in learning something everyday. They can come in ready to learn and get something out of every day or they can come in with a bad attitude and choose not to learn. I'm thankful that most days they are willing and ready to learn!
I think communication and collaboration is a HUGE skill. It's a life skill that all children and many adults need to work on. Communicating effectively and working with others is very important. I also think flexibility and adaptability is important. As teachers we have to be flexible and adapt quickly to a situation. It makes sense that we would ask our students to do the same.
I feel like I sometimes leave out reflection and awareness. I tend to move on. This is a skill I am working on and trying to teach my students more and more.
I think I use Initiative and self direction the most in my classroom. My students come in and know that they are equally responsible in learning something everyday. They can come in ready to learn and get something out of every day or they can come in with a bad attitude and choose not to learn. I'm thankful that most days they are willing and ready to learn!
I think ALL of the skills listed are equally important. I feel like a person needs to possess at least some level of each of the given skills in order to be a well-functioning, productive member of society. I mean, clearly, people are still able to get through life without some of them, but I don’t feel like those people are ones that employers feel are irreplaceable, or that others look up to and want to model themselves after.
Although there are probably several skills that aren’t really being consistently encouraged, the first one that comes into my mind that schools are leaving out is creativity. It seems like Art/Music programs are always the first thing to be cut when finances are an issue, and incorporating creative opportunities into classroom lessons can often take a lot of prep time, resources, etc. that might not feel manageable to instructors. I know that academics are important, but there are a lot of other skills kiddos need to learn besides being able to read and solve a math equation if they’re going to be successful in the ‘real world.’
I think it is very important that kids learn to be persistent, despite setbacks, and make judgements and decisions. A lot of my students tend to give up easily when things get hard. They will have lots of difficult moments in their lives, they need to learn to persist through difficulty. Kids tend to accept any source as truth and do not evaluate it’s validity. With the world at their fingertips through internet and cell phones, they have to be more discriminatory in their acceptance of information.
The ones that I think we tend to do less with include creativity and self direction. Many of the classes that naturally develop creativity, including the arts and shop classes, have been eliminated. With time factors and emphasis on assessment outcomes, there is less emphasis on creativity in classrooms and more emphasis on test taking skills. Further, with the limited amount of class time available we are trying to make the most of every minute. We really do not give the kids the time they need to be self directed.
I think that communication, collaboration, and problem solving are very important and pertain to the real world we live in more than anything. I also think these are areas that kids struggle in more and more. In Kindergarten we try and teach a lot of these skills in the classroom and on the playground. We try and give them the foundation of how to use their words to request things, tell us when there is a problem, or when they don’t understand. We work to teach them how to get along with others and how to problem solve when they can’t get their milk carton open. These are all important areas that will carry them far in life.
I think these skills are all important. Kids need to learn to be good communicators, to get along with others, and to work with them, to think outside of the box, finish what they start, develop grit, use the tools they have available, and learn from their mistakes. I'd have a hard time picking one of these to leave out to leave out. I think traditional grading "one and done" and the "finish the textbook" idea lead teachers to leave out time for reflection and awareness. In the NCLB era, creativity took a back seat to the three R standards and with budget cuts music and art are at risk. Many of the kids referred for counseling are lacking in one or more of these skills, and facing the consequences of that.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are very important skills for kids/students to learn. I think these two areas go segue well with hands on learning. Many of the students I see (outside my classroom) lack experience in these areas. I try to incorporate these skills into the lives of my students on a daily basis as they come up. One recent activity has been teaching a student how to get the zipper tab on their jeans up when it is stuck down. This was a real life experience when the jeans were on the young man. We showed him how to use the tip of a pen to help with the issue. He was practicing on an old pair of jeans the other day and the tip of the pen broke (yikes). Another student in the room suggested using a safety pin to solve this problem ! Much of our problem solving hinges on the cognitive level of our students.
One area that I think is missing is free time or play at the younger levels. In my opinion, hands on activities, outdoors lead to naturally occurring Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Creativity.
It is hard to say which one I think is most important because I love ALL of them and think they are all important!!! Problem solving skills is a huge one I have been working on this year. My students often wait for someone to tell them what steps to take in finding the right answer before trying a few ways on their own. I think this skill will help them forever and needs to be practiced consistently. Communication and Collaboration also!
I think that I incorporate Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in most lessons. I use technology, but I don’t think of that as a 21st Century Skill. I would like to incorporate more collaborative activities.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I encourage Creativity enough. I’d like to do more with open-ended lessons so students can be more creative when we work together. I think that some of the ideas I found for alternatives to book reports will help. Giving students options of projects (drawing a new cover for the book, or interviewing the main character) and allowing them to choose the project they would like to complete will help encourage more creative responses from students.
I agree that you would get more creative responses from students that way BUT the teachers also need to back off a bit on their rubrics too. Sometimes worrying about how the teacher will grade the project hinders creativity too.
DeleteStacy-
DeleteWhenever I see a teacher using hands-on projects, I'm automatically thinking "Creativity! Freedom! Personal perspective!" But I don't think the effect of how stringent a rubric may be has actually ever crossed my mind. That's a GREAT point you brought up about teachers possibly needing to rework that aspect.
I can relate to that point as well. Too stringent a requirement on the rubric removes the creative aspect. In narrative writing how many great novels have you read that would earn all the points on some of these high school rubrics for structure.
DeleteI think that communication and collaboration are one that is important for our students. With all the new technology and toys out there I feel students lack in this area, but it is needed in the "real world" I have students share ideas with each other but also make sure they really listen to what is being said. When computers and phones are not available it can be and eye opener for them.
ReplyDeleteSchools could add more critical thinking and problem solving skills, as there can never be too much of this. I feel school offer a lot in many of these areas, it is what students choose to do with it.
I agree with students not knowing how to communicate! I can't even being to tell the number of assignment and emails I return because I don't accept "text talk" from my students! A no technology day at school would be good every once in awhile.
DeleteI agree that students verbal communication and writing skills are going downhill, but I also think that their online communication skills may not be the greatest either (In regard to content). People can be very bold about what they say behind a device, and I don't think they grasp the impact that that can have on a situation.
DeleteEven when I was growing up a LONG time ago, teachers would talk to us about the difference and importance of formal vs informal English and which places each was appropriate. We talk so much about how technology and the amount of time kids spend on it as affecting their writing skills, but I think correct writing has been a problem forever, long before technology was common place.
DeleteI like Rita Pearson's talk on casual and formal register. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=rita+pearson+casual+vs+formal+register+video&view=detail&mid=8B29A849D1C049AD9FE78B29A849D1C049AD9FE7&FORM=VIRE
DeleteI think the 21st century goals that are most important are clear communication, think interdependently, collaborate with others, and productivity and accountability. I picked these because I felt they are the bases for the others and ones that my students struggle with the most. To help my students practice these skills I try to incorporate as many into my lessons as possible. For example to practice communication skills my students interview with different types of people, and send memos to me asking for basic things or responding to a bell work question. My students tend to be strong willed and argue more than they should with each other over projects and one girl is super bossy to her peers. They get there assignments done but unless my team is coaching them to help recognize other people’s contributions and opinions it does not end well. This also goes hand in hand with collaborating with others. The easiest one to teach high schooler is productivity and accountability. To help with this we practice self-advocacy and multi-tasking during study skills with role-playing. We also discuss what could have been better and more efficient. I usually do this around superbowl time, since if you were to work for Nike making an advertisement and you missed the deadline to have it air during the superbowl, well let’s just say it amazes me how many student DON’T think they would be fired for this!
ReplyDeleteI think schools leave out constructive criticism. Students do not respond well to it and most importantly do not know how to gracefully accept it without it feeling like an attack on them.
Yes, constructive criticism is very important to give and receive! Junior high kids like to act like anytime they are being corrected it's discrimination!! Very frustrating!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think Creativity and Innovation are the most important 21st century skills. Our schools have been so test result driven that we have stopped letting kids be creative in exchange for meeting standards on state/national tests. Our focus has been on our students passing tests and to accommplish this we have taught them the skill of short-term memory for testing purposes. Our students have really suffered in our effort to have passing test scores. That combined with the amount of video games kids play instead of using their imagination to create play have led to kids who have little imagination!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I like about Common Core is the research and project aspect of it, going back to having students make projects to demonstrate their knowledge of the content versus taking a test. The way I understand it is that employers are looking for employees who are creative and innovative thinkers. Our schools have got to allign themselves with this in order for our students to be employable in their futures!
When I attended an Odyssey of the Mind competition, there was a volunteer there. While we were waiting on the kids to finish, we were talking. He said he worked in the oil and gas industry. One of their main focuses was coming up with new ideas of things to do with the polymers at the bottom of the barrel of oil. He said when they interview people for their department, they hand them a box filled with random junk and tell them they have a specific time period to create something with the contents of the box. He said most just sit and look at it or say they did not go to college to do this type of stuff. All of them are eliminated from the interview process. He said if they attempted it, even if what they created was ridiculous, it showed they were willing to think outside the box and try new things and that is what they need in an employee. When I consider my students, many of them would be in the category of people who created nothing. They would be overwhelmed by not having specific directions or expectations and would give up.
DeleteThanks for sharing Heather....love this information ! Creativity...Problem Solving....
DeleteMy grandson raises chickens and has a chick that is missing some cartlage in it's leg. Not sure anything can be done; but he wants to brace it and tape it w/ vet tape. I told his Dad to help him out.....won't hurt the chick and it will let my grandson try out an idea.
I agree, Carol that video games don't give kids an opportunity to experience/experiment with life.
As you went through the list of 21st century skills from P21, which ones do you think are the most important?
ReplyDeleteI think communication and collaboration is very important. Under that main heading is communicate clearly, collaborate with others, and think interdependently. Thinking interdependently I think is so important, especially for my students.
Are there any that you feel we leave out in schools and why?
I think being a risk taker is left out in schools. We teach our students what we want and need them to know. We test them on these facts and we have them do projects with very strict syllabus following our expectations. Risk taking is very much eliminated from our curriculum. In life and at our future jobs risk taking and risk management is a huge part of it and many people go into this with little or no experience.
How do you incorporate these skills into your lessons?
I really enjoyed this chapter and am planning on incorporating many of these 21st century skills into my lessons next year. I do focus on growth in my classroom and not just what the test scores are. The part of assessment of these skills really helped me.
I think communication and collaboration is a HUGE skill. It's a life skill that all children and many adults need to work on. Communicating effectively and working with others is very important. I also think flexibility and adaptability is important. As teachers we have to be flexible and adapt quickly to a situation. It makes sense that we would ask our students to do the same.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I sometimes leave out reflection and awareness. I tend to move on. This is a skill I am working on and trying to teach my students more and more.
I think I use Initiative and self direction the most in my classroom. My students come in and know that they are equally responsible in learning something everyday. They can come in ready to learn and get something out of every day or they can come in with a bad attitude and choose not to learn. I'm thankful that most days they are willing and ready to learn!
I think communication and collaboration is a HUGE skill. It's a life skill that all children and many adults need to work on. Communicating effectively and working with others is very important. I also think flexibility and adaptability is important. As teachers we have to be flexible and adapt quickly to a situation. It makes sense that we would ask our students to do the same.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I sometimes leave out reflection and awareness. I tend to move on. This is a skill I am working on and trying to teach my students more and more.
I think I use Initiative and self direction the most in my classroom. My students come in and know that they are equally responsible in learning something everyday. They can come in ready to learn and get something out of every day or they can come in with a bad attitude and choose not to learn. I'm thankful that most days they are willing and ready to learn!
I think ALL of the skills listed are equally important. I feel like a person needs to possess at least some level of each of the given skills in order to be a well-functioning, productive member of society. I mean, clearly, people are still able to get through life without some of them, but I don’t feel like those people are ones that employers feel are irreplaceable, or that others look up to and want to model themselves after.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there are probably several skills that aren’t really being consistently encouraged, the first one that comes into my mind that schools are leaving out is creativity. It seems like Art/Music programs are always the first thing to be cut when finances are an issue, and incorporating creative opportunities into classroom lessons can often take a lot of prep time, resources, etc. that might not feel manageable to instructors. I know that academics are important, but there are a lot of other skills kiddos need to learn besides being able to read and solve a math equation if they’re going to be successful in the ‘real world.’
I think it is very important that kids learn to be persistent, despite setbacks, and make judgements and decisions. A lot of my students tend to give up easily when things get hard. They will have lots of difficult moments in their lives, they need to learn to persist through difficulty. Kids tend to accept any source as truth and do not evaluate it’s validity. With the world at their fingertips through internet and cell phones, they have to be more discriminatory in their acceptance of information.
ReplyDeleteThe ones that I think we tend to do less with include creativity and self direction. Many of the classes that naturally develop creativity, including the arts and shop classes, have been eliminated. With time factors and emphasis on assessment outcomes, there is less emphasis on creativity in classrooms and more emphasis on test taking skills. Further, with the limited amount of class time available we are trying to make the most of every minute. We really do not give the kids the time they need to be self directed.
I think that communication, collaboration, and problem solving are very important and pertain to the real world we live in more than anything. I also think these are areas that kids struggle in more and more. In Kindergarten we try and teach a lot of these skills in the classroom and on the playground. We try and give them the foundation of how to use their words to request things, tell us when there is a problem, or when they don’t understand. We work to teach them how to get along with others and how to problem solve when they can’t get their milk carton open. These are all important areas that will carry them far in life.
ReplyDeleteI think these skills are all important. Kids need to learn to be good communicators, to get along with others, and to work with them, to think outside of the box, finish what they start, develop grit, use the tools they have available, and learn from their mistakes. I'd have a hard time picking one of these to leave out to leave out. I think traditional grading "one and done" and the "finish the textbook" idea lead teachers to leave out time for reflection and awareness. In the NCLB era, creativity took a back seat to the three R standards and with budget cuts music and art are at risk. Many of the kids referred for counseling are lacking in one or more of these skills, and facing the consequences of that.
ReplyDeleteCritical Thinking and Problem Solving are very important skills for kids/students to learn. I think these two areas go segue well with hands on learning. Many of the students I see (outside my classroom) lack experience in these areas. I try to incorporate these skills into the lives of my students on a daily basis as they come up. One recent activity has been teaching a student how to get the zipper tab on their jeans up when it is stuck down. This was a real life experience when the jeans were on the young man. We showed him how to use the tip of a pen to help with the issue. He was practicing on an old pair of jeans the other day and the tip of the pen broke (yikes). Another student in the room suggested using a safety pin to solve this problem ! Much of our problem solving hinges on the cognitive level of our students.
ReplyDeleteOne area that I think is missing is free time or play at the younger levels. In my opinion, hands on activities, outdoors lead to naturally occurring Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Creativity.
It is hard to say which one I think is most important because I love ALL of them and think they are all important!!!
ReplyDeleteProblem solving skills is a huge one I have been working on this year. My students often wait for someone to tell them what steps to take in finding the right answer before trying a few ways on their own. I think this skill will help them forever and needs to be practiced consistently.
Communication and Collaboration also!