LEARNING SKILLS FOR 21ST CENTURY

 

LEARNING SKILLS FOR 21^ST CENTURY

What are 21st century skills?

q The 21st century skills are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lists three types:

Learning Skills

ü Critical Thinking

ü Creative Thinking

ü Collaborating

ü Communicating

Literacy Skills

ü Information Literacy

ü Media Literacy

ü Technology Literacy

Life Skills

ü Flexibility

ü Initiative

ü Social Skills

ü Productivity

ü Leadership

LEARNING SKILLS

1.CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS:

Ø  Critical thinking is focused careful analysis of something to better understand it.

Ø  When people speak of “Left brain” activity they are usually referring to critical thinking. 

Ø  This is convergent thinking. It assesses the worth and validity of something existent.

Ø   It involves precise, persistent, objective analysis. When teachers try to get several learners to think convergently, they try to help them develop common understanding.

Critical thinking is variously defined as:

1. “The process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion “.
2. “Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence “.
3. “Reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do “.
4. “Includes a commitment to using reason in the formulation of our beliefs “    

Students in a Critical Skills Classroom:

1. Frequently work as learning teams and groups.
2. Actively solve academic problems, scenarios, and real-world problems.
3. Make public presentations and exhibitions of their learning.
4. Systematically reflect on what they are doing and learning
5. Focus on standards of quality for their work.
6. Take shared responsibility and ownership of their learning and for the classroom community.

Teachers in a Critical Skills Classroom:

Ø  Model, guide, coach and support the learning process

Ø  Design learning activities that are carefully connected and built on one another.

7         Critical Skills That Predict Success

1.Reading.

2.Inquiry.

3. Flexible thinking and the use of evidence.

4. Conversation.

5. Collaboration.

6. Engagement.

7. Well-being.

2. CREATIVE SKILLS

Ø  All of us possess creative abilities Every one of us are in a unique creation.

Ø  That is why the degree of possession of creative ability is not uniform.

Definition

1. According to Drevdal- “Creativity is the capacity of a person to produce compositions, products or ideas which are essentially new or novel and previously unknown to the producer”.
2. Herbert Fox: “Creative process in any thinking process solves a problem in an original and useful way”.
3. Burner: “Newness, Surprise and originality is creativity”.

Nature and Characteristics of creativity

1. Creativity is a quite broad generic term.
2. Creativity is universal.
3. Creativity is also a function of one’s environment.
4. Any creative expression is the source of joy and satisfaction for the creator.
5. Creativity begins, processes and ends with an affinity for something.
6. Creativity is always purposeful and results in appropriateness.
7. The pathway to creativity involves risks, daring and persistence.
8. Creativity is different from intelligence.

Characteristics of Creative Children

1. More tolerance towards opposition.
2. They are neat and have self-actualization ability.
3. Not afraid of alien, abstract objects and thoughts.
4. Apt to work instantly.
5. They have thought flow.

Ways of Fostering Creativity

1. Provide self-initiated non-authoritarian learning
2. Encourage over-learning
3. Promote intellectual flexibility.
4. Make more use of the questioning techniques.
5. Provide opportunity to manipulate materials, ideas, concepts and tools.
6. Encourage them to consider problem as a whole.
7. Helping on individual to increase his motivation power, brainstorming ability and vision of thinking beyond problems.
8. Provide informal and free atmosphere.
9. Give more importance to the creative process rather than creation.

3. COLLABORATIVE SKILLS

Ø  Collaborative skills are the behaviors that help two or more people to work together and function well in the process.

Ø  Teachers can train their students in the skills of collaboration so they will be able to accomplish group tasks.

Ø  Collaboration is the act of working together for a common goal. 

Ø  The Partnership for 21st Century Skills says that mastering collaboration skills requires the ability to work effectively with diverse teams.

Ø  It also requires the ability to "be helpful and make necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal."

The benefits of Collaboration

1.Solving problems and examining the big picture:

Ø  Collaboration results in together a significant amount of talent, including professionals across a wide range of skills and knowledge.

Ø  This allows you to benefit from a variety of perspectives. When you can leverage multiple peoples’ expertise, you will likely solve problems faster and drive better outcomes long-term.

2. Inspiring self-analysis:  

Ø  Working collaboratively can help you become more aware of your strengths as well as your weaknesses.

Ø  This will help you leverage your best skills, and identify which areas you may need assistance from people with different expertise.

Ø  As a result, you and your teammates can work better together to fill in competency gaps.

3. Teaching and learning: 

Ø  You learn things from other team members every time you come together to collaborate.

Ø   An organization that values collaboration encourages constant teaching and learning.

Ø   Employees feel secure knowing the workplace values opportunities to grow and develop, and you will also feel motivated to expand your skillset outside your current job duties.

 

4. Increasing efficiency:

Ø  It’s easier to work together to complete projects and meet deadlines when you have the support of your team. 

Ø   Multiple people working together can divide tasks in a way that leverages each individual’s greatest strengths.

HOW TO IMPROVE COLLABORATION SKILLS?

1.Set clear goals and objectives.

2.Communicate your intentions.

3.Listen and learn to compromise.

4.Overcome challenges and solve problems without assigning blame.

5.Be open-minded.

6.Celebrate collaboration and the successes it brings.

4. COMMUNICATION

    Communication is a continuous or two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange (encode-decode) information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning.

      “Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another.”

     In general, communication is a means of connecting people or places. In business, it is a key function of management an organization cannot operate without communication between levels, departments and employees.
Components of Communication Process

1.Context: -

Ø  Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context may be physical, social, chronological or cultural.

Ø  Every communication proceeds with context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a context.

2. Sender / Encoder: -

Ø  Sender / Encoder are a person who sends the message.

Ø  A sender makes use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required response.

Ø  Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization.

3. Message: -

Ø  Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits the response of recipient.

Ø   Communication process begins with deciding about the message to be conveyed.

Ø  It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is clear.

4. Medium: -

Ø  Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message.

Ø  The sender must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not be conveyed to the desired recipients.

Ø  The choice of appropriate medium of communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly.

q  This choice of communication medium varies depending upon the features of communication.

Ø   Written medium is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group of people.

Ø   while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.

5. Recipient / Decoder: -

Ø  Recipient / Decoder are a person for whom the message is intended / aimed / targeted.

Ø   The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder.

6. Feedback: -

Ø   Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender to analyze the efficacy of the message.

Ø   It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the decoder.

Ø  Feedback may be verbal or non-verbal. It may take written form also in form of memos, reports, etc.
Importance of Communication Skills for Students

1. People turn innovative and creative.
2. Organizational as well as personal Growth take place.
3. Good team building becomes obvious.
4. Good communication gives a voice to all.
5. Better communicators have better marriages.
6. Highly skilled communicators make more money.
7. Good communicators have higher self-esteem.
8. Build a successful family unit.
9. Most important skill for people entering the workforce.
10. It is among the top traits of successful entrepreneurs.

11. Aid in development of leadership skills.

12. Helps people to become more critical of the media.

13. The communicatory ability to speak gives you the tools to participate in society.    

14. Good communication with parents determines child’s level of self-esteem, achievement, and  

       better overall health.

Improving Communication skills in Students

1. Watch films that model conversation skills.
2. Use technology.
3. Reinforce active listening.
4. Offer group presentations and assignments.
5. Ask open-ended questions.
6. Use tasks and activities that foster critical thinking.
7. Offer reflective learning opportunities.

REVISED BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

 

REVISED BLOOM’S TAXONOMY OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

        The most convincing model of classification of educational objectives is Bloom’s Taxonomy. 

Benjamin S. Bloom and his associates has adopted a three-dimensional division of learning experiences which are classified into three domains. They are,

1. Cognitive domain (Knowing)

2. Affective domain (feeling)

3. Psychomotor domain (Doing)

1.Cognitive domain:

Ø  The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills.

Ø  This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedures and concepts.

Ø  The cognitive domain represents the intellectual component of behavior and is the most important from the point of view of education.

Ø   This is known as the knowledge component of educational objectives.

Ø  The six categories are knowledge, comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and evaluation.

2. Affective domain:

Ø  It relates to the emotional aspect of educational objectives.

Ø   It includes those instructional objectives which are concerned with the development of interests, attitudes, values, appreciation and adjustment.

Ø  The instructional objectives in affective domain are classified into five categories, they are Receiving, Awareness, Responding, valuing and organization.

3. The Psychomotor domain:

Ø  It concerns itself with levels of attainment of neuro muscular coordination.

Ø  As the level of coordination goes up, the action becomes more refined speedy and automatic. In this domain the focus is on development of motor skill.

Ø  During the 1990’s Lorin Anderson, a former student of Bloom, updated the taxonomy, hoping to add relevance for 21^st century students and teachers.

Terminology changes:

Ø    Basically, Bloom’s six major categories were changed from noun to verbal forms.

1.COGNITIVE DOMAIN:

1.Remembering:   

Ø   Recall, Recognize

2. Understanding:

Ø  Defines, explain, compare, classifies, interpret, summarize, illustrate, critique, reword, paraphrase, reference, etc.

3.Applying:

Ø  Use, apply, discover, manage, execute, solve, produce, implement, construct, change, prepare, conduct, perform, respond, role-play etc.

4. Analyzing:

Ø  Analyze, break down, catalogue, compare, quantify, measure, test, examine, experiment, relate, graph, diagram, plot value, divide etc.

5.Evaluating:

Ø  Review, justify, assess, present a case for, defend, report on, investigate, direct, appraise, argue, project manage, etc.

6. Creating:

Ø  Develop, plan, build, create, design, organize, revise, formulate, propose, establish, assemble, integrate, re-arrange, modify etc.

2. AFFECTIVE DOMAIN:

1. Receiving:

           Open to experience, willing to hear.

Ø  Ask, listen, focus, attend, take part, discuss, acknowledge, hear, be open to, retain, follow, concentrate, read, do feel etc.

2. Responding:

                           React and participate actively.

Ø  React, respond, seek clarification, interpret, clarify, provide other references and examples, contribute, question, present, etc.

3.Valuing:

                       Attach values and express personal opinions.

Ø  Argue, challenge, debate, refute, confront, justify, persuade, criticize, etc.

4. Organizing or Conceptualizing Values:

          Reconcile internal conflicts; develop value system.

Ø  Build, develop, formulate, defend, modify, relate, prioritize, reconcile, contrast, arrange, compare, etc.

5.Internalizing values:

        Adopt belief system and philosophy.

Ø  Act, display, influence, solve, practice, etc.

3. PSYCHOMOTOR DOMAIN:

1.  Imitation:

                    Copy action of another, observe and replicate.

Ø  Copy, follow, replicate, repeat, reproduce sketch, duplicate etc.

2. Manipulation:

                  Reproduce activity from instruction or memory.

Ø  Re-create, build, perform, execute, implement, acquire, conduct.

3.Precision:

               Execute skill reliably, independent of help, activity is quick, smooth, and accurate,

Ø  Demonstrate, complete, show, perfect, calibrate, accomplish etc.

4. Articulation:

            Adapt and integrate expertise to satisfy a new context or task.

Ø  Solve, adapt, combine, coordinate, revise, integrate, develop, modify, etc.

5.Naturalization:

          Instinctive, effortless, mastery of activity and related skills at strategic level.

Ø  Construct, compose, create, design, specify, manage, invent, project-manage, originate etc.

Different Types of Thinking:

 

Different Types of Thinking

1.    CRITICAL THINKING:

Ø  Critical thinking is focused careful analysis of something to better understand it.

Ø  When people speak of “Left brain” activity they are usually referring to critical thinking. 

Ø  This is convergent thinking.

Ø   It assesses the worth and validity of something existent.

Ø  It involves precise, persistent, objective analysis.

Ø  When teachers try to get several learners to think convergently, they try to help them develop common understanding.

Techniques to encourage critical thinking

1. Use analogies.
2. Promote interaction among students.
3. Ask open-ended questions.
4. Allow reflection time.
5. Use real-life problems.
6. Allow for thinking practice.

Developing Critical thinking in Students

1. Encourage Project-Based learning:

Ø   To develop critical thinking is students, it is essential to encourage project-based learning in students.

Ø  By figure out and solving real-world problems get the children out of the classroom and into the real world.

Ø  Critical thinking is a skill that predominant to success in life beyond school.

Ø  Project-based learning is the great way to introduce new knowledge, concepts, and ideas that motivated the students to learn and also develop critical thinking in students.

2. Freedom to Learn:

Ø   Give freedom to students to learn things; this is one of the effective ways to develop critical thinking skills in students.

Ø  After introducing new concepts and content, teachers should give freedom to students to learn what they want to learn.

Ø  This way definitely helps students to develop critical thinking skills.

3. Connects Stories to related concepts:

Ø  Connects stories to relatable concepts is also an essential way to develop critical thinking.

Ø  When students understand the story’s fundamental meaning, ask them to draw connections outside the story by obtaining them to analyze stories that have the same concept.

Ø   Also, introduce the additional texts that offer new information or concepts students can utilize to examine the original text.

4.Start analyzing and Assessing ideas:

Ø  Analyzing and assessing the effectiveness of facts and ideas is another primary element of critical thinking.

Ø  If the students are actively engaged with course material to draw connections with other material, regulate the primary ideas, and evaluate whether the ideas are valid and logical.

5.Embrace Active Learning:

Ø  Turning students into active learners is a primary goal of teaching critical thinking.

Ø   Students frequently engage calmly with the material, or they learn it without truly thinking about it and linking it with what they already know.

Ø  It is essential to produce these connections because you are generating expressway in the brain that improves memory.

2. CREATIVE THINKING:

Ø  This is divergent thinking.

Ø  It generates something new or different.

Ø  It involves having a different idea that works as well or better than previous ideas.

Ø   Creative thinking is the ability to consider something in a new way.

Ø  It might be a new approach to problem, a resolution to a conflict between employee, or new result from a data set.

Ø  Creative thinking is a skill which lets you consider things from a fresh perspective and different angles.

Ø  It’s an inventive thought process which results in surprising conclusions and new ways of doing things.

Ø  Creative thinking can be aided by brainstorming or lateral thinking to generate ideas.

3. CONVERGENT THINKING:

Ø  Convergent thinking is the process of finding a single best solution to one problem.

Ø  This type of thinking is cognitive processing of information around a common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from different directions into a union or common conclusion.

Ø   Convergent thinking is a team coined by Joy Poul Guilford as the opposite of divergent thinking.

Ø   It is generally meaning the ability to give the “correct” answer to standard questions that do not require significant creativity for instance in most tasks in school and on standardized multiple-choice test for intelligence.

Ø  E.g.: Variety of tests, such as multiple-choice tests, standardized tests, quizzes, spelling tests and similar other tests require convergent thinking. Because only one answer can be 100% correct.

4.DIVERGENT THINKING

Ø  This type of thinking starts from a common point and moves outward into a variety of perspectives.

Ø  The goal of divergent thinking is to generate many different ideas about a topic in a short period of time Divergent thinking typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that the ideas are generated in a random, unorganized fashion.

5.INDUCTIVE THINKING

Ø   Inductive reasoning is a method of logical thinking that combines observations with experiential information to reach a conclusion.

Ø  When you can look at a specific set of data and form general conclusions based on existing knowledge from past experiences, you are using inductive reasoning.

DEVELOPING THINKING SKILLS

 q  In order to develop thinking skills in pupils, the role of teacher is very significant.

q  This means, also creating a classroom climate that would encourage every pupil. Among the tasks there should be:

1. Setting ground rules well in advance.
2. Providing well planned activities.
3. Showing respect for each student.
4. Providing non-threatening activities.
5. Being flexible.
6. Accepting individual differences.
7.  Exhibiting positive attitude.
8. Modeling thinking skills.
9. Acknowledging every response.
10.  Allowing Students to be active participants.
11. Creating experiences that will ensure success at least part of the time for each student.
12. Using wide variety of teaching methods and approaches.

We can develop thinking skills among students,

1. Create an open environment.
2. Reward initiative.
3. Scrutinize independent work.
4. Assign research projects.
5. Let the student “teach”.
6. Let the student pretend.
7. Encourage dissenting.
8. Encourage brainstorming.
9. Ask open-ended questions.
10. Focus on the positive, stimulating, encouraging classroom climate.