ZUANIA TOLLINCHI-VELAZQUEZ

Zuania Tollinchi Velázquez                        José A. Mariani Vázquez

Luis Villanueva Pagan                        Génesis Yudmé Galán Canales 

Lizamarie Rojas Rodríguez

English 3103-115

Petra E. Avillan-Leon

Summary

21st Century Skills: The Challenges Ahead

Andrew J. Rotherham and Daniel Willingham

According to Rotherham and Willingham to be successful today, the society like business leaders, politicians and educators believe that students need these skills, but they are not part of the teaching process in the 21st century. What can we do? The system is never going to change but is a task of the teacher or professor to provide the newest education, of course, but inside the lines of the system. The authors explain that these skills are taught in private schools who has the instruments or in others words the money to provide each student the latest improvement in education. What about public schools? In the system there are good and bad teachers but is the students who seek their own education. They need to collaborate with each other to ensure, not only the privileged ones, a rich education in all parts. Critical thinking, problem solving, information literacy and global awareness are not new skills. In this point of the century we need others skills to survive in this highly qualified world of technology. The students require complex challenges. Like Rotherham and Willingham said “revamp human capital education in particular how teachers are trained” because they are in charge to the first steps of motivating the future societies.

Skill and knowledge are not separates things, they are connected. Knowledge can help us see the core of a problem but to resolve it you would need thinking and problem solving skills to work through it. There are other situations where we have a particular thinking skill but content knowledge is necessary if we are to use our thinking skill. For example, if you want to criticize the information that is written in a Puerto Rican’s history book, you would have to know this resources. In that way, you need content knowledge to use your skills properly and effectively. Skills reside in the learner’s brain while content knowledge can be found in a lot of places. Therefore, skills can be seen as essential and content knowledge as desirable.

The 21st century curriculum is from 1900’s this mean that is an old one, now there is too much knowledge. One issue of the curriculum is that we know how to teach math and science but can’t teach self-direction, collaboration, creativity and innovation the same way. What the plan of the 21st century skills purpose is to give students and experience to develop these skills. Education leaders also have to know which skills are teachable and essential. The idea of the 21st century skill curriculum is to “teach skills in the content knowledge and to treat both as equally important’ (Rotherham; Willingham)

There has been greater emphasis on skills that has important effect for teacher’s learning. The mission is for the teachers to succeed where past generations have failed. Advocates of the 21st century skills favor students-centered methods: problem-based learning, project-based learning that allows students to collaborate and engage with the community, some of those methods are found in textbooks, teachers believe it’s effective but teachers don’t use them. Another problem is that class sizes are reduced, teachers don’t change their teaching strategies. Sometimes the system doesn’t give the teachers time to share their expertise.

A problem to solve in this system are the tests and assignments in the schools. Most of them are easy and not challenging in their levels of education. They should make assignments and tests that develop creativity, knowledge and skills learned in class.

Works Cited

Andrew, Rotherham J. and Willingham Daniel. "21st Century Skills: The Challenges Ahead." Eductional Leadership (2009): 16-21.