It has been said, by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and several other people, that learning and innovation skills are the skill sets that will set students who are prepared for this ever changing world and work force and those who are not.
Because teachers of today are preparing students of tomorrow for jobs that don't yet exist, knowing how to learn is a must for our kiddos. Not only that, but they have to be innovative and creative problem solvers. They must know how to look at a problem and find a solution for it - either something they create or know how to find the answer.
We will not be there to help them. Their parents will not always be there to help them. Their bosses will not have the time to help, but will expect results. If we don't teach our kids how to learn and solve problems, we will be doing them a disservice.
Additionally, our students will need to know how to work together to solve these problems. No more is is the loner sitting at the desk who has the bright idea, but the group as a whole that brainstorms and comes up with the best solution. And by the way, the group might include many different people from many different backgrounds, countries, and experiences. Our kids must know how to work with other people who, more often than not, are different than they are.
Please visit the Partnership for 21st Century's Learning and Innovation Skills for more information. I would want my kids to be set apart in the work force - do you?
1 comment:
I agree with your point that innovation is key--that success in the 21st century is linked to creative and innovative approaches to problem-solving.
The problem is that schools are set up to fit a 20th century mindset, and it's proving difficult to feed new approaches to teaching and learning into a system that prepares learners for the jobs that no longer exist. I wrote about this on my own blog recently, at http://jennamcwilliams.blogspot.com/2009/02/it-already-happened-nobody-noticed.html.
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