21 CENTURY

ST

LEARNING SKILLS
AND PROPONENT
Prepared by: Ms. Julie Ann M. Montilla
What are 21 Century Skills?
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◦21st century skills refer to the knowledge, life

skills, career skills, habits, and traits that are
critically important to student success in
today’s world, particularly as students move on
to college, the workforce, and adult life.
◦ Districts, schools, and organizations prioritize
different 21st century skills depending on what is
most important to their respective
communities. Generally, however, educators agree
that schools must weave these skills into learning
experiences and common core instruction. Here is
a non-exhaustive list of the most commonly cited
21st century skills.
◦ Critical thinking
refers to a form of mental discipline in which a person can
conceptualize, analyze and reflect upon various input and other
information and then apply it in a constructive fashion.

o Communications Skills
good teachers communicate concern and caring by their
tone of voice and use of body language. They must be able to break down
complex ideas into simpler parts and smaller steps to transmit to their students .
John Dewey (1910: 74, 82) introduced the
term ‘critical thinking’ as the name of
an educational goal, which he
identified with a scientific attitude of
mind. More commonly, he called the
goal ‘reflective thought’, ‘reflective
thinking’, ‘reflection’, or just ‘thought’
or ‘thinking’. 
 Communication theory was
proposed by S. F. Scudder in
the year 1980. It states that all
living beings existing on the
planet communicate although
the way of communication is
different.
◦Creativity
This 21st-Century Skill allows students to embrace their inner
strengths from big-picture planning to meticulous organization. They learn about
their creativity and also learn how to express it in healthy and productive ways. More
importantly, they also become motivated to share that creativity with others.

◦Problem solving
Students use analysis to gain an understanding of issues in today's
world and to comprehend the significant aspects of complex situations set in
the future. Problem solving skills are applied as they focus on possible
solutions and develop Action Plans for those situations.
In his book Imagination and Creativity
in Childhood (1995/1930), Vygotsky goes
further and develops his theory of
creativity. The book describes how
Vygotsky regards the creative process
of the human consciousness, the link
between and thought, and role of the
imagination.
 Schoenfeld (1992) stated
that students need to learn to
define goals and to self-regulate
their problem solving behaviour in
order to improve solving of non-
standard mathematics problems.
Schoenfeld observed that during
problem solving, students display
distinct categories of behaviour.
◦Perseverance
Perseverance is that ability to keep going when things are tough.
Even if students don't achieve or master something right away, they can keep
persevering towards their goal. For many students, perseverance can be challenging.
Module 6 in The Encouraging Classroom is all about learning ways to persevere.

◦Collaboration
Being an effective collaborator means not only being able to work
with others, but also being able to learn from, share with, and express oneself
to them. Most importantly, an openness to collaboration and sharing creative ideas
means that children communicate with each other more in class.
◦Information literacy
information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, organize, use,
and communicate information in all its various formats, most notably in situations
requiring decision making, problem solving, or the acquisition of knowledge .

◦Technology skills and digital literacy

Digital literacy also creates new ways to teach and learn within the
classroom. Students are discovering new ways to interact with their interests online
and through other digital media. They are no longer confined to just physical text
when it comes to reading or learning more about their possible interests.
◦Media literacy
Media literacy provides students with skills that will help
them foremost think critically about media. It also cultivates other 21st-
century skills like creativity, collaboration, and communication, as well as
increasing digital literacy skills through interacting with media, information, and
technology.

◦Global awareness
Being globally aware means that you enjoy developing an
understanding of different nations and cultures and respecting and working
effectively with people from all backgrounds, cultures, and religions.
◦Self-direction
Self-directed learning gives learners the freedom and autonomy
to choose the what, why, how, and where of their learning

◦Social skill
A social skill is any competence facilitating interaction and
communication with others where social rules and relations are created,
communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of
learning these skills is called socialization. Lack of such skills can cause social
awkwardness.
◦Literacy skills
Literacy skills are all the skills needed for reading and writing. They
include such things as awareness of the sounds of language, awareness of
print, and the relationship between letters and sounds. Other literacy skills
include vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension.

◦Civic literacy
The knowledge and skills to participate effectively in civic life
through knowing how to stay informed, understanding governmental processes,
and knowing how to exercise the rights and obligations of citizenship at local,
state, national, and global levels.
◦Social responsibility
The skills include creativity and innovation, critical
thinking/problem solving/decision making, learning to learn/metacognition,
communication, collaboration (teamwork), information literacy, ICT literacy, citizenship
(local and global), life and career skills and personal and social responsibility

◦Innovation skills
Learning and Innovation Skills, or the 4 C's of 21 st Century Learning
include Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation,
Communication, and Collaboration. If the 4 C's sound familiar, it's because they
probably are. Most people learned many of these skills in school.
◦Thinking skills
Thinking Skills are cognitive processes that we use to solve problems,
make different decisions, asking questions, making plans, organizing and
creating information.
 First of all, by “Thinking”, Dewey
means an “active, persistent, and
careful consideration of any belief or
supposed form of knowledge in the
light of the grounds that support it,
and the further conclusions to which it
tends” (1991a,p.6)