“Recent
Trends in Educational Technology”
21st
century competencies in Education
INTRODUCTION:
21st Century Competencies were defined as the
knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to be competitive in the 21st century
workforce. If the current generation is to develop 21st Century Competencies,
existing educational systems must be modified.
Today, we have an opportunity to revitalize and reform our education system by
drawing on bold ideas, the wisdom and passion of educators, and the commitment
of parents, families, and communities that comprise the heart of the issue.
Students today
are not entering the same work force their parents did. Nor are they entering
the same world their parents knew. If we are to successfully educate our
children, we must recognize these changes and embrace innovation that will
continue to propel this nation on a global stage.
FOUR COMPETENCIES FOR A 21ST-CENTURY EDUCATION:
Students must develop an academic competency based on
rigorous content that addresses a global perspective; an occupational
competency that drives and informs careers aspirations; a civic competency
reflected as the capacity to participate in a local and global community and a
sense of responsibility to take part; and, above all, personal competency to
include an understanding of one’s own capabilities and value as a human being.
v
Academic Competency:
While this is by no means the easiest of the challenges
educators face, it may perhaps be the one that is discussed most often. Still,
the dialogue remains fairly unchanged. We need to provide students with rigor
and high expectations. However, along with rigor and academic challenge, we
need to set higher expectations. Criterion-based tests should be treated just
as a milestone—a marker on a greater journey. Getting students ready for
college and their careers must be our goal. With a desire for a globally
competitive career—which is driven by occupational competency—students can and
will attain academic competency on a global level.
v
Occupational Competency:
Through internships and a robust technology platform, we
can create opportunities that enable students to apply their learning in
real-world settings and connect them globally. Students identify careers that
interest them, and they apply their learning experiences to those aspirations.
Offering students experiences that closely parallel their own interests and
aspirations will help ensure their academic success. It also allows students to
connect more readily with school as individuals.
v
Civic Competency:
The ability to understand and respond to one’s civic
responsibility is not something that a student can learn simply from books and
from civics classes. Much like internship opportunities can help abstract
academic concepts become tangible, essential career skills. Students develop
their civic competency through the involvement of community members,
volunteerism, active participation in government, and advocacy for the issues
that matter most. With that, we must seek teachable moments in terms of
students’ understanding of their place within a neighborhood, a community, and
the world.
This
may be the most complex competency for students to develop and for schools to
record, as it is dependent on a host of community members to help students
reframe their view of themselves with an outward-facing perspective
v
Personal Competency:
While civic competency requires students to look outward,
personal competency requires student to look inward and examine their own value
as a human being. As educators and as community members, we must create a range
of experiences that help to foster this development of a mature sense of self.
KEY COMPETENCIES IN 21ST CENTURY LAUNCHED BY NEW ZEALAND:
Key Competencies in
21st Century is a national
curriculum launched by New
Zealand in November 2007 that features five
key competencies:
v Thinking:
Thinking is about using creative, critical, and
metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas.
These processes can be applied to purposes such as developing understanding, making
decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity
is at the heart of this competency.
v Using language, symbols and text:
Using language, symbols, and texts is about
working with and making meaning of the codes in which knowledge is expressed.
Languages and symbols are systems for representing and communicating
information, experiences, and ideas. People use languages and symbols to
produce texts of all kinds: written, oral/aural, and visual; informative and
imaginative; informal and formal; mathematical, scientific, and
technological.
v Managing self:
This competency is associated with
self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as
capable learners. It is integral to self-assessment. Students who manage
themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable and resilient. They
establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects, and set high standards.
They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to
follow, and when and how to act independently.
v Relating to others:
Relating to others is about interacting
effectively with a diverse range of people in a variety of contexts. The
competency includes the ability to listen actively, recognize different points
of view, negotiate, and share ideas. Students who relate well to others are
open to new learning and able to take different roles in different situations.
They are aware of how their words and actions affect others. They know when it
is appropriate to compete and when it is appropriate to co-operate. By working
effectively together, they can come up with new approaches, ideas, and ways of
thinking.
v Participating and contributing:
Participating and contributing is about being
actively involved in communities. This competency includes a capacity to
contribute appropriately as a group member, to make connections with others,
and to create opportunities for others in the group. Students who participate
and contribute in communities have a sense of belonging and the confidence to
participate within new contexts. They understand the importance of balancing
rights, roles, and responsibilities and of contributing to the quality and
sustainability of social, cultural, physical, and economic environments.
All are calling
for these 21st Century competencies and skills to become core
outcomes of public education.
Examples of “21st
Century competencies” include:
·
Creativity
and Innovation
·
Critical
thinking and problem solving
·
Agility,
adaptability and capacity for lifelong learning
·
Teamwork
and collaboration in virtual teams
·
Initiative,
self direction and entrepreneurialism
·
Effective
oral and written communication
·
Proficiency
in the mother tongue
·
Multiple
languages and cultural awareness
·
Effectively
accessing and analyzing information
·
Digital
competence
CONCLUSION:
This is our
moment. Our race now is to propel our students and our nation as leaders in the
global community. It’s a compelling mission—a challenge that forces us away
from the conventions of the past and reframes our purpose and destiny. Thus
Students who possess these competencies will enter the world after graduation
with boundless opportunities.
REFERENCES:
- http://www.internetatschools.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Four-Competencies-for-a-21st-Century-Education-and-How-to-Implement-Them-5bAvailable-Full-Text2c-Free5d-69721.aspx
- http://hrd.apec.org/index.php/21st_Century_Competencies
- http://blogs.itbusiness.ca/2010/01/21st-century-learning-competencies-what-are-they-and-how-must-public-education-adopt/
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