St Century Skills

The term 21^st century skills refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are believed—by educators, school reformers, college professors, employers, and others—to be critically important to success in today’s world, particularly in contemporary careers and workplaces. Generally speaking, 21^st century skills can be applied in all academic subject areas, and in all educational, career, and civic settings throughout a student’s life. A number of related terms—including applied skills, cross-curricular skills, cross-disciplinary skills, interdisciplinary skills, transferable skills, transversal skills, noncognitive skills, and soft skills, among others—are also widely used in reference to the general forms of knowledge and skill commonly associated with 21^st century skills.

The following list provides a brief illustrative overview of the knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits commonly associated with 21^st century skills:

· Critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning, analysis, interpretation, synthesizing information

· Research skills and practices, interrogative questioning

· Creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination, innovation, personal expression

· Perseverance, self-direction, planning, self-discipline, adaptability, initiative

· Oral and written communication, public speaking and presenting, listening

· Leadership, teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, facility in using virtual workspaces

· Information and communication technology (ITC) literacy, media and internet literacy, data interpretation and analysis, computer programming

· Civic, ethical, and social-justice literacy

· Economic and financial literacy, entrepreneurialism

· Global awareness, multicultural literacy, humanitarianism

· Scientific literacy and reasoning, the scientific method

· Environmental and conservation literacy, ecosystems understanding

· Health and wellness literacy, including nutrition, diet, exercise, and public health and safety

Ø What skills can we define as elementary school teacher’s 21^st century skills?

How to develop young child’s reading and writing skills