21st Century Learning's Focus
Know the Six Elements of 21st Century Learning
The 21st Century Learning Initiative is increasingly having an impact on what gets taught and what approaches get used to teach it. Knowing the elements (or focus points) of 21st Century Learning can help you evaluate suggestions for change at your school.
Element One - Core Subjects
As policy makers and educational leaders today discuss what needs to change in our education system, it's easy to develop the misunderstanding that core content might be left behind somehow. The 21st Century Learning Initiative has as its first point of focus exactly that - core content. Never has the focus on basics (like reading skills and math) been more profound.
The movement has changed the way we teach those subjects. The emphasis of scientifically-based reading research, the move toward a spiral curriculum, and the focus on making connections between past experiences and instruction can all be blamed at least partly on the ideas embedded in 21st Century Learning. But there is no effort in the movement to replace or de-emphasize core content.
Element Two - Learning Skills
In the 25 years since Education 2000 was founded as what might be considered the forerunner of the 21st Century Learning movement, educators have come to place a greater emphasis on actually teaching students to learn. In the past, classrooms focused on content and knowledge. While that focus still remains, educators have embraced the idea that students should have learning strategies that they bring to new tasks. Students are being given information and communication skills in the classroom. They're being taught how to apply knowledge to new situations, how to think critically and solve problems, how to analyze information, how to work together, and how to make decisions.
Element Three - 21st Century Tools
Technology has become a focus in the classroom. The ability to send and receive email, to find information on the Internet, to prepare and present a multimedia presentation in class - these are just a few of the things a 21st Century student needs to be able to do before they leave school for the outside world. The focus is not entirely on gadgets and wiring. Being able to find an article on some social or political issue on the Internet is of little value if a student can't evaluate its credibility.
Element Four - 21st Century Content
While the focus on core content remains strong, the 21st Century Learning Initiative also focuses on new content areas that simply must be addressed in order for today's students to meet tomorrow successfully. There needs to be a global awareness; gone is the day when it was enough for students to be able to find China or Dubai on a map. Students need a greater degree of civic literacy than was usually imparted in the past in school. And students need a greater degree of financial, economic and business literacy than ever before.
Element Five - 21st Century Context
More than in the past, the education a child receives needs to be tied to and applicable in the world beyond school. The task is one of graduating students who are able to function in society, not just recite poetry or name the capitals of the 50 states.
Element Six - 21st Century Assessment
Finally, the 21st Century Learning Initiative has a focus on developing better quality assessment approaches for learning. Assessment is the key to determining what remains to be taught. It tells us whether an instructional approach is working. Developing a variety of high-quality assessment techniques and approaches is essential to 21st Century Learning.
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