This week in my ED 307 class, the topic was 21st century skills. When I think of the 21st century, I automatically think of technology like the IPad or IPhone and skills associated with something of that sort but it was actually the opposite of what I was expecting. It was discussed how now, in order to get a job, there are different types of skills required than just knowing "reading" or "math" or "science" or "english". As a matter of fact, it goes much deeper than that. Now you have to know how to think critically, solve problems, synthesize information, have good research skills, have a good imagination and creativity and much, much more. When you think about it, it can almost seem overwhelming. This is where we come in as teachers and educators. Children need to be taught these skills from the time they can talk so that they are prepared for life when they graduate. As a teacher, you should already have a majority of these skills (especially the creativity and imagination skills, they are especially handy in this field). I plan on using these skills in my classroom to create an environment that is fun and happy but is also very educational and allows me to assist children as they learn these skills. One of the ideas that came to mind when thinking of ways to incorporate this information into my classroom is having an art time within my class. When I was younger, I loved drawing and coloring but as I got older and on into middle school, they didn't allow us to use our creativity in those respects so I eventually lost that talent. This art time will allow my kids the time they need to be creative and it will also allow them to manifest their imagination. Another idea that came to mind was for them to have a "writing time" outside of what is required for the curriculum. Essentially, they would have a notebook that they treat as a journal and they would be allowed to add whatever they wanted to it day by day whether that be some type or art work or a story that they want to write. Sometimes I would give them a prompt to encourage their critical thinking skills. I'm thinking every other day would be good for giving them a critical thinking writing prompt. This would allow them to see how much they grow over the year in their writing skills and it would allow me to see what the children like to do most so that I can try to incorporate that into the curriculum. Overall, I think this was a good thing to think about. I hadn't thought very much about how much the skill requirements had changed since technology has become huge. Going forward, I plan to keep these skills in my mind while lesson planning and coming up with activities for different lessons. "Investing in education and providing 21st century skills for students are fundamental components to the nation's continued growth and prosperity." - Craig Barrett
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April 2021
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