Is this the message that us as educators want to send to the workforce? Absolutely not! The skills needed for the 21st century workforce is enormously different then the ones that were required a century ago. Unfortunately, many schools and educators are not prepared to teach students such skills.
Partnership for the 21st century has developed a frame work to incorporate the key elements of learning for the 21st century into the classroom. It covers all areas such as content, context, and assessment.
As I was reading through the framework that Partnership of the 21st century provided, I once again was ashamed of my ignorance toward the importance of technology. Also, antagonized by how my teacher preparation program neglected to mention such important subject. I graduated December, 2008. So, I should have been exposed to all the studies and teaching methods that is directed toward implementing technology into the curriculum, yet I wasn’t. Surprisingly, considering the fact that Partnership for the 21 century is pleading for help to spread the word, it seems like many other teachers are not being exposed to such matter. So, I’m here stretching the importance http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
I do want to mention that this framework suggests standardize testing for accountability. Yes, that word again, ACCOUNTABILITY. Of course it also suggests variety of other assessment that the teacher conducts, but once the accountability is in the picture, standardize testing is the one that really counts. Considering the fact that standardize testing can be bias and many times do not assess student’s true knowledge (Kohn, 2000), why make schools accountable?
Kohn, A., (2000) The Case Against Standardized Testing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
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The pressure that comes from Standardized testing sometimes makes it difficult to teach all of the skills listed in this framework. Finding a balance between 'accountability' and preparing students for the 21st century is something that is greatly needed. As more people see the importance of teaching 21st century skills, a balance should between the two should be more likely.
ReplyDeleteHow can this balance be made? As I wrote, I disagree on the current Standardized testing for accountability. However, a system to check students’ progress on the subject is needed, and I can't come up with an alternative. Is standardize testing and accountability inevitable?
ReplyDeleteI also graduated in 2008 and I never took a class stressing the importance of technology in education! I still talk with my university supervisor, so I think I am going to mention this to her. The importance of technology in education is not going away, and it is unlikely that all teachers will choose this pathway for their graduate studies. Why can’t we require all teacher programs to have courses in the importance of these 21st century learning skills? Of course, teachers will need professional development along the way, but it would be great to lay the foundation before they are even out of school.
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