21st Century Frame Work

Introduction to the 21st Century skills framework
The 21st century presents itself as a world of opportunities, from technological advancements to our personal and professional lifestyle to globalization that has blurred the lines between nations. Definitions of job scopes are constantly evolving as businesses are trying relentlessly to reinvent current practices to keep up with increased competition.

According to the Economist, information has increased so much that by 2013, the amount of traffic flowing over the internet annually will reach 667 Exabyte based on a research conducted by Cisco. (1 Exabyte is equivalent to 10 billion copies of the Economist). Information has changed the way we live, behave, make decisions and learn. We are living in an entirely different period and this effect is felt everywhere from business to science, from the corporate world to the classroom.

The students we see every day will grow up in the future to become 21st century global citizens, ready to take on the paramount challenges and surmounting obstacles that the information age might pose to them. What makes a 21st century global citizen? How can we prepare our students now so that they will be ready for the future? The answers to these questions can be found using the “Framework for 21st Century Learning”, an innovative approach by P21 which is a national organization in the United States that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the three Rs and four Cs.

The diagram above represents each component distinctly for descriptive purpose and P21 understands that all are interconnected in the process of 21st century teaching and learning. Core knowledge instruction forms the foundation with students learning essential skills for success in today’s world, such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration to counter tomorrow’s problems.

Infusion of the 21st Century Skills Framework to today’s classroom

We at Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group (AKLTG) understand that today’s students are facing challenges that have surfaced due to the innovation and progress in the 21st century. Using yesterday’s solutions to solve today’s problems is simply not the answer to preparing them for the future. This can perhaps explain why despite the best efforts to equip our students with the right skills to do well in school, many continue to struggle with their academic work and find it difficult to handle the tension and problems that come along with it.

For many students, the amount of stress coupled with inadequate capabilities can sometimes turn these students into teens who often face low self-esteem, lack of confidence, inadequacy and the inability to handle with setbacks and disappointments. What differentiates excellent students from the average ones is not just the grades they score BUT the ability to do it consistently and how they respond to failure.

What makes it even worse for some average students is that they use their failed experiences as a yardstick for their future and shift into a ‘learned self-helpless’ mentality and stop giving their best. As grades fall and criticisms increase, rebelliousness and indifference in behaviour soon follows.

Through our experience working with today’s “strawberry” generation, we have taken a giant leap towards reengineering and revamping our flagship programs, the “I Am Gifted, So Are You” program for secondary school students (IAG) and the “SuperKids” program for primary school kids (SK), to be more 21st century skills friendly.

Previously adopting the social-emotional learning (SEL) framework as the basis of our programs, we have been working on existing modules and introducing new delivery styles, approaches, content and materials to align our programs to the 21st century framework while infusing it with the existing framework.

CASEL (Collaborative for academic, social and emotional learning) is a not-for-profit organization founded by Daniel Goleman, whose aim is to advance the science and evidence-based practice of social and emotional learning (SEL).

Five core groups of social and emotional competencies have been identified:

• Self-awareness—accurately assessing one’s feelings, interests, values, and strengths; maintaining a well-grounded sense of self-confidence
• Self-management—regulating one’s emotions to handle stress, control impulses, and persevere in overcoming obstacles; setting and monitoring progress toward personal and academic goals; expressing emotions appropriately
• Social awareness—being able to take the perspective of and empathize with others; recognizing and appreciating individual and group similarities and differences; recognizing and using family, school, and community resources
• Relationship skills—establishing and maintaining healthy and rewarding relationships based on cooperation; resisting inappropriate social pressure; preventing, managing, and resolving interpersonal conflict; seeking help when needed
• Responsible decision-making—making decisions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, appropriate social norms, respect for others, and likely consequences of various actions; applying decision-making skills to academic and social situations; contributing to the well-being of one’s school and community

Integration of the 21st Century Framework with SEL