The Skills for a Changing World
requires a broad range of skills that our society needs and (Care et. al., 2017). This skill set is popularly termed as 21st century skills. We say very openly ‘21st century skills’ without allowing us the space to sink in the words. What does it mean for us? To answer this, I would ask an even more fundamental question: What is the objective of life? It could be defined as developing the intelligence to live in harmony with self and others (Krishnamurti, n.d.). To learn to relate by not having a fixated point of view. Such an aim for life naturally impacts my beliefs about teaching. If the aim of life is to learn to relate to oneself, by knowing about oneself; and others through relationships, then the framework of the classroom changes completely. It is no longer centered around meritocracy, but on understanding oneself and the world around me.
The role of the educator
then becomes to be a person who can create experiences for students where they learn to understand and relate to themselves and the others. The teacher then becomes like a gardener (Robinson, 2010). Like a gardener, the teacher sets the tone for learning to happen and focuses on creating an eco system that allows everyone to grow to their individual best. However this is a theoretical, philosophical centre. Keeping this as a fulcrum, as an educator I also need to teach a subject called math! Hence I also need a framework to teach, a goal to look forward to and meaning to the educational work that I do.
21st century skill set
gives a vision for learning to ensure student success and development of an attitude of a lifelong learner in a changing world (P21, 2016). This is how it impacts my teaching practice, by giving me a goal or a vision to look towards that keeps me out of the mundane day to day life of teaching subject content. It gives meaning and direction to my work with the children. Instead of thinking that I am teaching math, my focus is themes of career and life skills such as (a) critical thinking, (b) communication, (c) collaboration or (d) digital literacy (P21, 2016). Every subject teaching class then becomes a means to an end instead of means itself. And as my fulcrum is self-awareness, every experience also becomes means to become aware myself of my own thinking patterns and their strengths and limitations.
Some examples from my classes are:
(a) A project for grade 11 students to collect data around a topic from strangers becomes a space for them to learn to be sure of themselves and to communicate.
(b) A task for grade 8 students to collect information from websites becomes a space for them to work collaboratively, process information and to communicate with precision.
(c) A problem for grade 7 to solve with peers becomes a space to think critically about the subject and learns to listen o others. Teaching in such a manner gives meaning and perspective to my work and I feel much fulfilled at the end of the day. I feel as if I created a person instead of a math machine. It is humanized.
Out of all the skills I have explored, my all time favorite remains Interpersonal or Collaboration.
I feel that this is the most critical for students to learn to be successful. In this global economy, where we mingle with individuals from all walks of life, one of the chief skills to develop is to work collaboratively across differences of culture in order to be able to solve complex problems (Ledward, & Hirata, 2011). It starts from the childhood and its seeds are in learning both self-awareness and self regulation (Schunk, 2012). For this, I often create situations of group work or cooperative exercise where collaborative or cooperative skills are needed, used, and emphasized (Wilson, pp.4, n.d.).
For example,
(a) after teaching a concept I would ask the students to gather in teams and engage in a discussion about the concept,
(b) I would organize group tasks with random groups and encourage them to work with the group irrespective of likes or dislikes,
(c) each weak student in the class has a buddy to seek help from, (d) group projects across the schools would be organized using technology and (e) students would work in projects in groups to explore a topic in depth.
Over the years I have found focusing on this skill to be very rewarding.
I have seen students who would not talk to each other grow into good friends, I have seen the level of math improving in the class as everyone helped others, I was able to manage a highly diverse class for I sought help from the students and gradually I found that the stress of teaching was replaced with joy as more and more students developed self-efficacy as they were encouraged to reach out for help to anyone in the class or beyond, using technology. Teaching turned into mentoring.
References
- Care, E., Kim, H., Anderson, K., & Gustafsson-Wright, E. (2017, March 24). Skills for a changing world: National perspectives and the global movement. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/global-20170324-skills-for-a-changing-world.pdf.
- Krishnamurti, J. (n.d.). Jiddu Krishnamurti texts. Retrieved from http://jiddu-krishnamurti.net/en/krishnamurti-on-education/1974-00-00-jiddu-krishnamurti-krishnamurti-on-education-talks-to-students-chapter-3
- Ledward, C., & Hirata, D. (2011). An overview of 21st century skills. https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/1018995/mod_book/chapter/256269/21stCenturySkills.pdf?time=1580594765055
- P21. (2016, January). Framework for 21st century learning. http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework.
- Robinson, K. (2010, August 19). Teachers Are Like Gardeners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT_121H3kLY.
- Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Wilson, O. L. (n.d). The second principle. Retrieved from http://thesecondprinciple.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Three-domains-of-learning-10-2016.pdf
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