INTRODUCTION
There has been a significant shift over the last century
from manufacturing to emphasizing information and knowledge
services. Knowledge itself is growing ever more specialized and
expanding exponentially. Information and communication technology
is transforming how we learn and the nature of how work is conducted
and the meaning of social relationships. Shared decision-making,
information sharing, collaboration, innovation, and speed are essential
in today’s enterprises. No longer can students look forward to middle
class success in the conduct of manual labor or use of routine skills –
work that can be accomplished by machines or easily out-sourced to
less expensive labor markets. Today, much success lies in being able to
communicate, share, and use information to solve complex problems,
in being able to adapt and innovate in response to new demands and
changing circumstances, in being able to command and expand the
power of technology to create new knowledge.
Hence, new standards for what students should be able to do are
replacing the basic skill competencies and knowledge expectations
of the past. To meet this challenge schools must be transformed in
ways that will enable students to acquire the creative thinking, flexible
problem solving, collaboration and innovative skills they will need to
be successful in work and life. Some authors (Carroll, 2007; Burmack,
2002; Riddle, 2009; Frey & Fisher, 2008; Elkins, 2007; Trilling &
Fidel, 2009) and organizations (Partnership for 21st Century Learning;
National Science Foundation, Educational Testing Services, NCREL,
Metiri Group, etc.) argue that 21st Century Learning Skills, the subject
of this literature review, are critical for accomplishing the necessary
transformation.
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (www.21stcenturyskills.com) has
developed a framework for 21st century learning, which describes the
skills that students need to thrive in today’s global economy. The North
Central Regional Education Laboratory (NCREL) and the Metiri
Group have also identified a framework for 21st century skills, which is
organized into four categories: digital age literacies, inventive thinking,
effective communication, and high productivity.1
This literature review
is organized in line with the framework developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Skills.2
The literature review begins by defining 21st century learning
skills, and then moves to address “Core Themes and Subjects,” “Learning and Innovation
Skills,” “Life and Career Skills,” and “Information, Media, and Technology Skills.” The review
concludes with discussions of 21st century support systems.
How are 21st Century Learning Skills Defined?
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) in its publication, Digital Transformation: A Literacy Framework for ICT Literacy (2007), defines 21st century learning skills as the ability to a) collect and/or retrieve information, b) organize and manage information, c) evaluate the quality, relevance, and usefulness of information, and d) generate accurate information through the use of existing resources. NCREL identifies broader 21st century skills as achieving 21st century learning through digital age literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity. The Partnership for 21st century skills identifies six key elements for fostering 21st century learning: 1) emphasize core subjects, 2) emphasize learning skills, 3) use 21st century tools to develop learning skills, 4) teach and learn in a 21st century context, 5) teach and learn 21st century content, and 6) use 21st century assessments that measure 21st century skills
What are 21st Century Learning Skills?
1. 21st Century Core Subjects and Themes
Traditional education models have often focused on learning identified content for subject areas (i.e. math, science, language arts, and social studies), and then assessing this content knowledge with quizzes, and tests at the end of a chapter or learning module. Desired outcomes within 21st century learning frameworks include learning traditional school subject and contemporary content themes in combination with the interdisciplinary 21st century themes. The core subjects and themes that frame 21st century learning include traditional core subjects while emphasizing civic literacy, global awareness, financial literacy, health literacy, and environmental literacy.
2. Global awareness
The global awareness theme speaks to the need for students to be able to learn from and work collaboratively with individuals from diverse cultures, religions, ideologies, and lifestyles in an environment of openness and mutual respect. This theme also references the ways in which students utilize 21st century skills to understand and engage with global issues and diverse learning communities.
3. Financial literacy
Financial literacy speaks to the set of skills individuals need to make informed economic decisions. Research indicates that there is considerable deficiency in financial literacy among students and adults in the United States. Findings from the Jump$tart Coalition’s biennial financial literacy tests of high school seniors in the contiguous United States show that students correctly answered 50 percent of the questions in 2002 (Jump$tart Coalition, 2002). Similarly, the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, in a survey of Certified Financial Planners (CFP) found that financial literacy is a major problem when it comes to making individual financial decisions. Other studies find that low-income consumers, those with less education, and African Americans and Hispanics also tend to have below-average financial literacy scores.
4. Health literacy
The emphasis on health literacy addresses the need for individuals to be able to access and use high quality information to make health-related decisions. This includes a working knowledge of ways to access health information and services and a working knowledge of preventative health measures.
5. Environmental literacy
In January 2003, the National Science Foundation released a report of its Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education. The Committee found that “in the coming decades, the public will more frequently be called upon to understand complex environmental issues, assess risk, evaluate proposed environmental plans and understand how individual decisions affect the environment at local and global scales.” The authors argued that environmentally literate individuals at the start of the 21st century will need to be able to understand and discuss both man-made and natural environmental issues and propose or debate alternative solutions to these problems.
6. Visual literacy
The graphic user interface of the internet and the convergence of voice, video, and data into a common digital format have increased the use of visual imagery dramatically. Advances such as smart phones, digital cameras, graphics packages, streaming video, and common imagery standards, allow for the use of visual imagery to communicate ideas.
21st Century Critical Learning and Innovation Skills
Communication and collaboration
Learning is a fundamentally social activity—whether in schools, workplaces, or other
environments. The communication and collaboration skill sets refer to the ability of
individuals to communicate clearly, using oral, written, and non-verbal languages, and
collaborate effectively and responsibly with diverse populations. In the area of communication
skills, Eisenkraft (2009) argues that the growing diversity of the U.S. student population poses
new communication challenges. Eisenkraft provides the example of the ways in which earth
science and physics textbooks often refer to ice on glaciers or waves on a beach, yet many
students across the country have never actually been to a mountain or to the beach. Similarly,
chemistry books, when discussing the concept of balancing a chemical equation, often
suggest that it is similar to baking bread, in which one combines certain amounts of various
ingredients. Most students today purchase bread and are unfamiliar with baking, Eisenkraft
said. The world of people adding and mixing measured ingredients to make bread, he said, “is
not the America we live in,” yet textbook authors assume it is when they try to communicate
with students. Although communication and problem-solving skills have always been
important, Eisenkraft argues, that society now demands that everyone to have these skills, not
just an educated elite.
While education has focused on the fundamentals of good communication – speech, writing,
and reading- the demands of social relations and global economy call for a much more diverse
set of communication and collaboration skills. Trilling & Fadel (2009) argue that today’s
student should be able to:
Communicate Clearly
• Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal
communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts.
• Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and
intentions
• Use communication for a variety of purposes [e.g., to inform, instruct, motivate and
persuade]
• Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a
prior as well as assess their impact
• Communicate effectively in diverse environments [including multi-lingual]
Collaborate with Others
• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
• Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to
accomplish a common goal
• Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value individual contributions
made by each team member (Trilling & Fadel, 2009)
These communication and collaboration skills can be learned through a variety of methods
(e.g., project-based learning, problem-based learning, and design-based learning). Research
on teaching communication and collaboration skills encourages direct and mediated
communication, working with others on team projects, and performance-based learning and
assessment (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2009).
Critical thinking and problem solving
Critical thinking and problem solving skills include the ability of individuals to a) reason
effectively, b) ask pointed questions and solve problems, c) analyze and evaluate alternative
points of view, and d) reflect critically on decisions and processes. The P21 initiative
specifically focuses on the ability of learners to: a) reason effectively, b) use systems thinking,
c) make judgments and decisions, and solve problems.3
Trilling & Fadel (2009) define critical
thinking as the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate, summarize, and synthesize information.
What gives these, perhaps traditional, critical thinking skills a twist in the 21st Century is
the availability of advanced technologies for accessing, manipulating, creating, analyzing,
managing, storing, and communicating information.
Creativity and innovation
Just as business and industry must constantly adapt to the rapid shifts in this 21st Century,
so must education. This calls for a culture of innovation informed by data, research, and
critical and creative thinking. This skill set promotes creative thinking and the ability to work
creatively with others.
Creativity is often described as an essential skill that can and should be fostered (Wegerif &
Dawes, 2004). In a review of the interconnection between technology, learning and creativity,
Loveless (2002) shows how technology allows individuals to produce high quality work in a
range of media that provide opportunities for creativity.
Lack of attention to developing creativity and innovation skills is often based on a common
misperception that creativity is only for artistic-types and geniuses – that creativity is
something one is born with or without (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). Creativity can, Triling &
Fadel argue, be nurtured by teachers and learning environments that encourage questioning,
openness to new ideas, and learning from mistakes and failures. Creativity and innovation
skills can be developed, like other skills, with practice and over time (Wegerif & Dawes,
2004). Though it is difficult to assess creativity, there are multiple instruments and assessments
that have been designed to measure creativity in specific fields such as problem solving and
design.
21st Century Life and Career Skills
The 21st century life and career skills focus on the ability of individuals to work effectively
with diverse teams, be open-minded to varying ideas and values, set and meet goals, manage
projects effectively, being accountable for results, demonstrate ethical practices, and be
responsible to both one’s self and the larger community.
Leadership and responsibility
Leadership and responsibility skills include the ability of individuals to work with the interest
of the larger community in mind, to inspire others by example, and to capitalize on the
strengths of others to achieve a common goal.
Productivity and accountability
Skills that fall into the “productivity and accountability” category include: setting and meeting
goals, prioritizing needs, managing time, working ethically, and collaborating and cooperating
with colleagues and clients. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2009) maintains that
students should be able to manage projects; set and meet goals; prioritize, plan, and manage
work; produce results; multitask; work positively and ethically; be accountable for results; and
collaborate and cooperate effectively with teams.
Social and cross-cultural skills
21st century social and cross-cultural skills reference the ability to work well with colleagues,
present oneself professionally, and respect and embrace social and cultural differences. This
ability is an essential 21st century life skill. Understanding and embracing cultural and social
differences and using those differences to develop new ideas and new solutions to problems
are increasingly important in social spheres as well as in the workplace (Partnership for 21st
Century Skills, 2009). NCREL (2003) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills both
argue that students should be able to interact effectively with others, conduct themselves in a
respectful and professional manner, work effectively in diverse teams, respond open-mindedly
to different ideas and values, and be able to work effectively with people from a range of social
and cultural backgrounds.
21st Century Information, Media, and Technology Skills
Media literacy
The literature on 21st century media skills argues that it is essential for individuals to be able
access, understand, and analyze media and media messages. This skill set includes the ability to
understand media bias and the ways in which media influences beliefs and behaviors. A media
literate individual will be able to understand ethical issues surrounding the production of
and use of various media forms and critique the inclusion or exclusion of opinions or factual
information in media reports. 21st century media skills also refer to the ability of individuals to
effectively create and deliver media products. Learners need skills in critically evaluating and
creatively producing representations in a variety of media.
Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all
learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and
extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their
own learning.4
In order to thrive in a digital economy, students will need digital age proficiency. It is
important for the educational system to make parallel changes in order to fulfill its mission in
society, namely the preparation of students for the world beyond the classroom.5
Information literacy is “the ability to recognize when information is needed and have the
ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (LearnHigher, 2006).
Information literacy skills include: accessing information efficiently, evaluating information critically, and using information accurately and creatively. These literacies form the basis for
lifelong learning (Andretta, 2005). They are common to all disciplines and to all learning
environments. Information literate individuals are able to:
• Determine the extent of information needed
• Access the needed information effectively and efficiently
• Evaluate information and its sources critically
• Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
• Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information,
and access and use information ethically and legally
Technological literacy
The use of social media – from blogging to on-line social networking to creation of all kinds of
digital material is central to many teenagers; lives.6
21st century learning initiatives, informed by emergent research on how people best learn,
leverage emerging technologies (e.g., computers, smart phones, and Web 2.0 tools) and
embraces the collaborative, participatory learning made possible through Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 technology enables users to produce and share content in new ways and in real-time:
user-generated content creation and ‘remixing’ (Caruso, J.B. & Kvavik, R.B., 2005; Lessig,
2008) become creative and engaging practices that challenge the traditional relationships
between teachers and students in providing information and content for learning.
Game-Based
Learning
Research shows that learning content through virtual environments enhances student learning.
Simulation games in online “virtual” environments can be influential learning tools. Such
games give students a chance to take on new identities and sink, virtually, into situations in
which they can apply knowledge in ways not possible in most students’ real lives. The choices
a player makes within a virtual simulation game transform the virtual environment, which
give students something rare: a world in which their personal actions dramatically alter events
(Metri Group 2006).
Simulation environment and modern video games are often difficult to master. They require
students/players to be skilled at pattern recognition, sense-making of unfamiliar environments,
and multitasking (Metiri Group, 2006; Carroll, 2007). They also often require the user to be
a risk-taker. In game play, players immerse themselves in complex, information rich, dynamic
realms where they must sense, infer, decide and act quickly. When they fail, they must repeat
the task, learning from that failure and working towards mastery (Carroll, 2007).
Support Systems
The vision, mission, and values of educational agencies are crucial for framing an agenda for
21st century learning work. Once these statements or goals have been developed, education
leaders can then align them with their strategic plans, strategies, and accountability systems.
This section of the review discusses two support systems for 21st century learning skills:
learning environments and professional development.
Best Practices for Implementing 21st Century Skills
Project-Based Learning
The research on project-based learning has illustrated significant benefits for students who
work collaboratively on learning activities in contrast with students who work alone. An
additional research finding was that students who have difficulties with traditional classroom/
textbook/lecture learning benefit significantly from a project-based learning experience which
more closely aligns with their learning style and preference (Darling-Hammond et. al., 2008).
Problem-Based Learning
Problem-based learning, a form of project-based learning, allows teachers to develop, and
students to focus, on complex, real-world problems using a case study approach. When
students work in small groups to research and pose solutions to problems, both a collaborative
and multifaceted environment is created. Within this environment, students can explore
multiple solutions and best practices for tackling projects.
Design-Based Learning
Design-based learning has been shown to have the most impact in the areas of math and
science (Darling-Hammond et. al., 2008). Popular design-based learning activities include
robotics competitions wherein student teams design, build and then pilot their robots in a
series of competitive challenges. 