EDUC 328

BUILDING
and
ENHANCING
NEW LITERACIES
ACROSS THE
CURRICULUM
 MODULE 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
1 CATEGORIES
Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lesson, the students shall be able to:

• Apply and explain the 21st century skills in preparing, planning, and
delivering a lesson and how these skills can be integrated in the teaching-
learning process.
• Analyze research abstract on 21st century skills and its implications on the
teaching-learning process.
Hello students! Welcome to the new normal setting of learning. In this course, you
are going to learn about the 21st century skills. You will learn to apply the skills in
preparing, planning, and delivering a lesson. Cite ways on how to enhance the 21st
century skills of learners. Cite implications of 21st century skills to educators (like you!)
and your future pre service teaching career. Draw relevant life lessons and significant
values from the personal experience in attaining 21st century skills. I hope you enjoy
reading and learning. Let’s start!

ACTIVITY (GROUP MAPPING)

The members of the class will present their prior knowledge on the topic 21 st
century skill categories through sharing of ideas or brainstorming.
Procedure:
1. Group yourselves into 4 or 5 depending on the class size.
2. The teacher will provide topic on 21st century skill category to
brainstorm about.
TOPICS TO BE ASSISGNED TO THE GROUPS
• Life and Career Skills
• Information, Media and Technology Skills
• Learning and Innovation Skills
• Social and Cross-cultural Skills
• Leadership and Productivity Skills
3. The group will synthesize their consolidated ideas present in a
powerpoint presentation and present it to the class.

ANALYSIS
Answer the question that supports your answer in the above activity.
1. How will you describe 21st century skill learners? How can the attainment of these
skills contribute to realization of educational goals in our country?
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CONCEPT EXPLORATION

21st Century skills refer to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character
traits that are deemed necessary in coping with today’s world and future careers and
workplaces. Thus, it can be applied in all academic subject areas and educational settings
throughout a student’s life.

The 21st Century Skills

The 21st Century skills may include the following-(1) critical thinking, problem-
solving, reasoning, analysis, interpretation, synthesizing information; (2) research skills and
practices, interrogative questioning; (3) creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination, innovation,
personal expression; (4) perseverance, self-direction, planning, self-discipline, adaptability,
initiative; (5) oral and written communication, public speaking and presenting, listening; (6)
leadership, teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, facility in using virtual workspaces; (7)
information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, media and Internet literacy, data
interpretation and analysis, computer programming; (8) civic, ethical, and social justice
literacy; (9) economic and financial literacy, entrepreneurialism; (10) global awareness,
multicultural literacy, humanitarianism; (11) scientific literacy and reasoning, the scientific
method; (12) environmental and conservation literacy, ecosystem understanding; and (13)
health and wellness literacy, including nutrition, diet, exercise, ‘and public health and safety
(http://thoughtfullearning.com/resources/what-are-21st-century-skills).

According to the Partnership for 21st

Century Skills, this Concept‘
encompasses a wide array of a body of
knowledge and skills that have to be
categorized. Moreover, this concept
has been interconnected with applied
skills, cross-curricular skills, cross-
disciplinary skills, interdisciplinary
skills, transferable skills, transversal
skills, noncognitive skills and soft
skills.

The 21st Century skills concept is grounded on the belief that students must be educated
in a more relevant, useful, in universally applicable manner. The idea simply lies in the fact
that students need to be taught different skills and reflect on the specific demands that will be
placed upon them in a complex competitive knowledge-based, information-age and
technology-driven society. Therefore, 21St Century education addresses the whole child or the
whole person (AACTE, 2010).

Hence, the curriculum should be designed to be interdisciplinary, integrated and

project-based. Tony Wagner (2010), in his book “The Global Achievement Gap”, advocated
the seven survival skills, namely: (1) critical thinking and problem-solving; (2) collaboration
across networks and leading by influence; (3) agility and adaptability; (4) initiative and
entrepreneurialism; (5) effective oral and written communication; (6) accessing and analyzing
information; and (7) curiosity and imagination.
The term “21st Century skills” refers to certain core competencies, such as
collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that schools need to teach
the students for them to thrive in today’s world.
The Partnership for 21St Century Skills presents the following sets of skills that are
categorized accordingly with different strands of expected outcomes.

Learning and Innovation Skills

These are the primary skills orchestrated in the 21 st Century. They are attributes that
differentiate students who are prepared for a complex life and work environment from those
who are not. Therefore, there is a need to stress on creativity, critical thinking, communication
and collaboration in preparing learners for the future.

A. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. These may include effectively analyzing
and evaluating evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs; and solving different kinds of non-
familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways.
Skill Sub-skills
1. Work together Establish clear definitions and agreements on the roles of partners in the
effectively in collaborative process.
team Keep communication open within teams to carry out tasks.
Carefully identify obstacles and address problems cooperatively.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com

Skill Sub-skills
1. Reason Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as
effectively appropriate to the situation.
Use systems thinking.
Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall
outcomes in complex systems.

continue reading to this link . . .

Integrating 21st Century Skills in Teaching-Learning Process

The 21st Century support systems. The following elements are the critical systems necessary to
ensure student mastery of 21st Century skills: (1) 21st Century standards; (2) assessments; (3)
curriculum and instruction; (4) professional development; and (5) learning environments.
These must be aligned to produce a support system that produces 21st Century outcomes for
today’s students (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008).

1. 21st Century Standards

1.1 Focus on 21st Century skills, content knowledge and expertise
1.2 Build understanding across and among core subjects, as well as 21st Century
interdisciplinary themes
1.3 Emphasize deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge
1.4 Engage students with the real-world data, tools and experts they will
encounter in college, on the job, and in life; students learn best when actively
engaged in solving meaningful problems
 1.5 Allow for multiple measures of mastery

2. Assessment of 21st Century Skills

2.1 Supports a balance of assessments, including high-quality standardized
testing along with effective formative and summative classroom
assessments.
2.2 Emphasizes useful feedback on student performance-that is embedded into
everyday learning
2.3 Requires a balance of technology-enhanced, formative and summative
assessments that measure student mastery of 21st Century skills
2.4 Enables development of portfolios of student work that demonstrate mastery
of 21st Century skills to educators and prospective employers
2.5 Enables a balanced portfolio of «measures to assess the educational system’s
effectiveness in reaching high levels of student competency in 21st Century
skills (AACTE, 2010)

3. 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction

3.1 Teaches 21st Century skills discretely in the context of core subjects and
21st Century interdisciplinary themes
3.2 Focuses on providing opportunities for applying 21st Century skills across
content areas and for a competency-based approach to learning.
3.3 Enables innovative learning, methods that integrate the use of supportive
technologies, inquiry and problem-based approaches and higher-order
thinking skills
3.4 Encourages the integration of community resources beyond school walls
(AACTE, 201.0)

4. The 21st Century Professional Development

4.1 Highlights ways teachers can seize opportunities for integrating 21st
Century skills, tools and teaching strategies into their classroom practice and
help them identify what activities they can replace/de-emphasize
4.2 Balances direct instruction with project-oriented teaching methods
4.3 Illustrates how a deeper understanding of subject matter can enhance
problem-solving, critical thinking, and other 21st Century skills
4.4 Enables 21st Century professional learning communities for teachers that
model the kinds of classroom learning that best promotes 21st Century skills
for students
4.5 Cultivates teachers ability to identify students’ particular learning styles,
intelligences, strengths and weaknesses
4.6 Helps teachers develop their abilities to use various. strategies (such as
formative assessments) to reach diverse students and create environments
that support. differentiated teaching and learning
4.7 Supports the continuous evaluation of students” 21st Century skills
development
4.8 Encourages knowledge sharing among communities of practitioners using
face-to-face, virtual and blended communications.
4.9 Uses a scalable and sustainable model of professional development
(AACTE, 2010)
 5. The 21st Century Learning Environments
5.1 Create learning practices, human support and physical environments that
will support the teaching and learning of 21st Century skill outcomes
5.2 Support professional learning communities that enable educators to
collaborate, share best practices and integrate 21st Century skills into
classroom practice
5.3 Enable students to learn in relevant, real-world 21st Century contexts (e.g.,
through project-based or other applied work
5.4 Allow equitable access to quality learning tools, technologies and resources
5.5 Provide 21st century architectural and interior designs for group, team and
individual learning
5.6 Support expanded community and international involvement in learning,
both face-to-face and online (AACTE, 2010)

Implications to Educators
The advent of 21st Century skill enhancement among learners bring the following
implications to educators in:
1. successfully complementing technologies to content and pedagogy and developing
the ability to creatively use technologies to meet specific learning needs
2. aligning instruction with standards, particularly those that embody 21st Century
knowledge and skills
3. balancing direct instruction strategically with project-oriented teaching methods
4. applying child and adolescent development knowledge to educator preparation and
education policy
5. using a range of assessment strategies to evaluate student performance and
differentiate instruction (including but not limited to formative, portfolio-based,
curriculum-embedded and summative).
6. participating actively in learning communities, tapping the expertise within a school
or school district through coaching, mentoring, knowledge-sharing, and team
teaching
7. acting as mentors and peer coaches with fellow educators
8. using a range of strategies (such as formative assessments) to reach diverse students
and to create environments that support differentiated teaching and learning
9. pursuing continuous learning opportunities and embracing career-long learning as
professional ethics (AACTE, 2010)
10. establishing a conducive learning environment where learners can freely express
themselves and explore their potentials and capacities

Implications to Pre-service Teachers Preparation

There is a need to understand the key elements of Optimum curricula that will help pre-
service teachers develop the dispositions.t habits of mind and confidence to enable students to
develop 21st Century skills in a range of core academic subject areas.
Since schools get rid of a one-size-fits-all system, therefore, preservice teachers are
expected to play an active role in developing and organizing content and instruction for their
students.
AACTE (2010) asserts that a 21St Century approach to curriculum is about more than
just adding an extra course or extra class time in the curriculum. Thus, pre-service teachers
benefit from the ability to fully explore and understand how to develop and use curriculum for
deep understanding and mastery of academic subject knowledge and 21st Century skills.
 As a starting point, a teacher education program can be aligned with student and teacher
standards in ways that blend thinking and innovation skills, ICT literacy; and life and career
skills in the context of all academic subjects and across interdisciplinary themes.

An effective 21st Century skills approach to curriculum, in other words, is designed for
understanding (McTighe and Wiggins, 2005 in AACTE, 2010). The program’s curriculum will
be most beneficial to pre-service teachers if it is designed to produce deep understanding and
authentic application of 21st Century skills in all subject areas.

Instructional models
Instructional models are an important component of any teacher preparation program.
AACTE (2010) pointed-out that the integration of innovative and research-proven teaching
strategies, modem learning technologies and real-world resources and contexts are all
imperative in:

1. Integrating “teach for understanding” principles. When pre-service teachers can prepare
and present lessons that can develop students’ essential concepts and skills with the integration
of technologies, the latter can reciprocally demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving
in class.

2. Creating rich practice teaching experiences. Strong practice teaching experiences allow
pre-service teachers to connect theory and practice.

3. Creating dynamic learning communities and peer mentoring networks. Pre-service

teachers benefit greatly from service-learning as part of their experiential learning courses. It
provides time to reflect on relevant pedagogic strategies that enhance 21st Century skills in
classroom practice.

4. Examining the role of content, pedagogy and technologies in developing higher-order

thinking skills. The ability to teach for content mastery is a challenging task for most
preservice teachers. Teaching for content mastery (1) supports a range of high-quality
standardized testing along formative and summative assessments; (2) emphasizes useful
feedback on student performance; (3) requires balanced technology-enhanced, formative and
summative assessments; (4) enables. development of student portfolios that demonstrate
mastery of 21st Century knowledge and skills; and. (5) enables a balanced score card to assess
the educational system’s effectiveness,

Teacher preparation programs can play a vital role in developing education leaders who
understand and can influence current trends in assessment through: (1) research and evaluation
test for innovative approaches; (2) 21st Century knowledge and skills assessment strategies;
and (3) mastery of a wide range of student assessment methods.

Learning environments
The learning environment within the teacher preparation program is a key component
of any systemic reform initiative. Determining the enabling structures, policies and strategies
that can best support 21st Century skills acquisition among pre-service teachers is a step
towards creating a kind of environment that will promote 21st Century learning.

The following are initiatives in creating 21 st Century teacher education learning

environment: (1) Establish a 21st Century vision for learning environments in the program and
the university; (2) Ensure that the physical infrastructure supports 21st Century knowledge and
skills; (3) Practice flexibility in time for project-based work and competency-based assessment;
(4) Ensure technical infrastructure that sufficiently supports learning; and (5) Strengthen
networking engagement in the learning environment.

Partnerships
Partnerships are extraordinarily important in the work of transforming 21st Century
teacher preparation programs; Along the line, teamwork within the program and the institution
is imperative for sustainability and development. The partnership forged with community
leaders, business industry, professional associations, government agencies, non-government
organizations, other institutions, parents, other stakeholders and the community creates high
impact outcome. The powerful partnerships are created through strong collaboration towards
enabling innovation in the teaching and learning for the 21st Century.

Continuous improvement
Continuous improvement represents willingness to commit to revisiting the process
over time. For AACTE (2010), any implementation effort should include continuous
improvement steps. to wit: (1) Clearly identify measurable goals; (2) Track progress regularly
against these goals; (3) Communicate progress to all stakeholders; and (4) gage all participants
in refining and improving success over' time (AACTE, 2010)

APPLICATION. RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATION

Direction: Analyze the following research abstract and cite its implication to teaching-
learning. You may download the full paper of this research on the website given below.

(CLICK)

How can 21st Century skills prepare students to enter workforce and higher education?
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Implication: Why do you think professional development on teaching 21st century skills
needed by teachers in the field?
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 Reference: De Leon, E. (2020). Building and enhancing new literacies across the
curriculum. Quezon City: LORIMAR Publishing Inc.

MODULE ASSESSMENT
Share a personal experience in which you were able to develop any of the 21 st
century skills. What life lesson and values you have realized and learned. How will you
apply this lesson in your future career?

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