I was rather impressed with the Framework for the 21st-Century learning; this framework outlines the six essential skills our students will need to be successful in the future. These skills are as follows:
•Core subjects (English, mathematics, science, etc.)
•21st-century content (finance, health, global awareness, etc.)
•Learning and thinking skills (communication, collaboration, etc.)
•Information and communication technology
•Life skills (ethics, leadership, self direction, etc)
•21st-century assessment
P21 actually gave me a deeper understanding of the 21st-Century skills, and also ideas on how these skills can be implemented in the classroom.
As of this writing there are currently fifteen P21 partner states, which can be found at Route 21 (www.p21.org/route21) . I was not impressed with this information, why are more states not involved in this movement? The benefits associated with being members of P21 are tremendous, such as professional development, resources, assistance needed to implement the 21st-century skills, and well rounded students not only equip in the 3Rs but also the 4Cs.
References
Partnership for 21st Century Skills http://www.p21.org/home
Welcome to Route 21 http://route21.p21.org/
I, too, was surprised at how few states were involved in P21. Had you heard of it before this class? I had not. It seems to be well-organized and full of great ideas.
ReplyDeleteDo you see yourself already implementing the 3Rs and 4Cs in your classroom? If not, how will you start incorporating them. I feel as though I need to improve on the 4Cs. I do them, but too sporadically and I do not always emphasize the importance of them. I hope to use the P21 website to gain some more ideas on how to better incorporate those skills into my classroom. I truly want to prepare my students for the future.
Renee, until last year P21 was also new to me. Yes this is a pretty well thought out program, which will definitely lead to preparation for the future. When we look at the 3Rs and the 4Cs, we know that we are using the 3Rs in the classroom since these are our area of expertise. The 4Cs, I need to do a better job at incorporating them onto my classroom, a few of the skills are easy to turn but majority of them require some form of modeling.
DeleteI'm a big fan of the framework that P21 has developed. I am also surprised by how few states have initiatives with P21. With many states passing legislation to improve their schools, many of them will certainly turn to P21 for assistance. However, the legislation in my state (Indiana) is not very promising. Most new laws deal with union-busting and teacher accountability instead of pursuing legislation that will directly improve our schools. I just hope they don't put us so far behind that we have to struggle for decades to catch back up.
ReplyDeleteWith all the resources that P21 has to offer, it was a disgrace, that we all are not involved fully in this "movement." We are having the same problem here in Florida, that will eventually end up hurting the students in the long run.
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