21St+C+Challenges

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Another curricular challenge is that we don't yet know how to teach self-direction, collaboration, creativity, and innovation the way we know how to teach long division. The plan of 21st century skills proponents seems to be to give students more experiences that will presumably develop these skills—for example, having them work in groups. But experience is not the same thing as practice. Experience means only that you use a skill; practice means that you try to improve by noticing what you are doing wrong and formulating strategies to do better. Practice also requires feedback, usually from someone more skilled than you are. ======

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Because of these challenges, devising a 21st century skills curriculum requires more than paying lip service to content knowledge. Outlining the skills in detail and merely urging that content be taught, too, is a recipe for failure. We must plan to teach skills in the context of particular content knowledge and to treat both as equally important. ======

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In addition, education leaders must be realistic about which skills are teachable. If we deem that such skills as collaboration and self-direction are essential, we should launch a concerted effort to study how they can be taught effectively rather than blithely assume that mandating their teaching will result in students learning them. ======

Full Article: //21st Century Skills: The Challenges Ahead //by Andrew J. Rotherham and Daniel Willingham. Educational Leadership (2009). 67 (1) p. 16-21

Protocol for Discussion

 * 1) ===Read and reflect upon the information above.===
 * 2) ===Post a question or challenge in the DISCUSSION tab above.===
 * 3) ===Read the questions of other participants.===
 * 4) ===Find those who have questions or challenges similar to yours. Or, you may choose to discuss a different issue.===
 * 5) ===Group yourselves in groups of 3 to 4 to discuss your chosen questions or challenges.===
 * 6) ===Choose one person from your small discussion group to be the RECORDER. The recorder will post the salient points from your discussion in the REPLY BOX.===
 * 7) ===Each discussion will be debriefed. Choose a SPOKESPERSON who will tell everyone about your discussion.===
 * 8) ===As a large group, we will make some decisions about "WHAT'S NEXT?"===