21st Century Skills:

Rethinking How Students Learn

Book Study Quotes Spring, 2011

Forward

By Ken Kay

“21st Century Skills: Why They Matter,

What They Are, and How We Get There”

“Proficiency in 21st century skills is the new civil right of our times.”

“The new social contract is different: only people who have the knowledge and skills to negotiate constant change and reinvent themselves for new situations will succeed.”

“U.S. schools and students have not adapted to the changing world. On top of that, many students are not engaged or motivated in school learning that seems out of step with their lives and irrelevant to their future.”

“Students need both content knowledge and skills to apply and transform their knowledge for useful and creative purposes and to keep learning as content and circumstances change.”

“The combination of core academic

subjects, 21st century themes and

21st century skills redefines rigor for

our times. However, rigor traditionally

is equated with mastery of content

(core subjects) alone, and that’s

simply not good enough anymore.”

“The vision for 21st century learning is

situated in reality: producing the

results that matter in terms of student

outcomes in 21st century skills

requires every aspect of the

education system to be aligned

toward this goal.”

“…the term 21st century skills is not a vague and squishy catchword that can mean anything.”

“Every element of our (the P21) model has been defined, developed, and vetted by leading experts, scholars, educators, business people, parents and community members.”

“The most important next step is

to agree on terms of proficiency

in 21st century skills. And it’s not

enough to want these outcomes –

it’s essential to plan the entire

education system intentionally

and transparently around them.”

“Articulating the skills that matter

is only the first step.

States and districts cannot

assume that teachers can break

out of the 20th century box

without sustained professional

development.”

“It is unfair and unproductive to expect students to meet new and higher expectations if the supporting infrastructure does not exist.”

Chapter 3

By Chris Dede

“Comparing Frameworks

for 21st Century Skills”

“Growing proportions of the nation’s labor force are engaged in jobs that emphasize expert thinking or complex communication- tasks that computers cannot do.”

“The predominant learning activities on the Internet have changed from the presentation of material by website providers to the active co-construction of resources by communities of contributors.”

“Given that the curriculum is already crowded, a major political challenge is articulating what to deemphasize in the curriculum – and why – in order to make room for students to deeply master core 21st century skills.”

“Lack of professional development is another

reason 21st Century skills are underemphasized

in today’s schooling….Altering deeply ingrained

and strongly reinforced rituals of schooling takes

more than the superficial interchanges typical in

“make and take” professional development or

school board meetings…

Intellectual, emotional and social support

(in professional development) is essential for

“unlearning” and for transformational

relearning that can lead to deeper behavioral

changes that create next-generation

educational practices.”

“The assessment is forward looking,

focusing on young people’s ability to

use their knowledge and skills to

meet real life challenges, rather than

merely on the extent to which they

have mastered a specific school

curriculum.”

Chapter 7

By Jay McTighe and Elliott Seif

“An Implementation Framework

to Support 21st Century Skills”

“The current curriculum simply contains too many topics and is too fragmented, often without clear connections from one topic to another.”

“Many of the very skills and processes needed to succeed in the modern world are blocked out of the curriculum.”

“The perceived expectation to teach to all of the standards and march through designated textbooks leads to superficial “coverage” of instructional content.”

“The pressures of content coverage come at the expense of learner engagement and in-depth exploration of concepts and investigation of important questions.”

“How can we possibly add 21st

Century outcomes

to an already overcrowded

curriculum?

“The key to unclogging a crowded

content-driven curriculum is to

create a clear conception of a few

really important ideas and

essential questions in order to

focus on understanding and

integrate 21st century skills.”

“because the curriculum is more

focused… teachers have time to

“uncover” it by engaging students

in analyzing issues, applying

critical and creative thinking to

complex problems…”

…working collaboratively on inquiry

and research investigations,

accessing and evaluating

information, applying technology

effectively, and developing initiative

and self-direction through authentic,

long-term projects.”

“ If we genuinely value the infusion of 21st century skills with core academic goals, then assessments at all levels classroom, district, and state – should be aligned accordingly.”

“The curriculum maps remind

teachers that their job is to uncover

important ideas, explore critical

questions, focus on learning and

using 21st century skills, and

prepare kids to apply their learning

to new situations.”

“With this approach (authentic assessment/

portfolios), students graduate from high

school with a resume of authentic

accomplishments that demonstrate their

understanding of key ideas and their ability to

apply 21st century skills, instead of merely a

transcript of courses and a GPA.”

“While the changes we advocate are not

a quick fix, nor will they be easy to

implement, such changes to educational

missions and methods are necessary if

schooling is to remain relevant and will

adequately prepare our children to live

and work in the 21st century.”

Chapter 10

By Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

“Preparing Students for Mastery

of 21st Century Skills”

“Like the chalkboard of our school

days, the best technologies fade

into the background – they “weave”

themselves into the fabric of

everyday life until they are

indistinguishable from it.”

“Humans need to communicate, share,

store and create. As a species, we’ve

engaged in these functions for centuries.

There’s really nothing new about them.

What is new are the forms, or tools, that

students use to meet these needs.”

“Given that our attempts to ban

technology have failed and

technological innovation is

accelerating, it’s time that we

consider the use of 21st century

tools that serve long-standing

functions.”

“If we focus on the tool but lose sight of the purpose, we are forever condemned to playing catch-up in a landscape of rapidly changing technology.”

“The tools themselves evolve; our task as educators is to foreground communication while keeping abreast of the technologies that support it.”

“Focusing on the tool at the

expense of the purpose means that

we shortchange our students. We

risk failure to prepare our students

to be 21st century learners who can

adapt to new technology…

… because they understand the

collaborative, cooperative and

communicative purposes that

underlie the tool.”

“ … as teachers, we should focus on functions of the technology rather than the tools or forms of technology.”

“We have to stop thinking of

technology in terms of nouns

(PowerPoint, YouTube, or Twitter)

and instead think in terms of verbs

(presenting, sharing,

communicating).”

“As their teachers, it is our

responsibility to meet them halfway.

We have been entrusted to guide the

next generation, and doing so

requires that we apprentice them in

the functions they will need to be

successful…

…and this success will involve tools

that we haven’t yet imagined.

We’re no longer stressed about this;

we’re excited to learn alongside

students as they teach us tools and

we help them understand functions.”

“Our goal is to release responsibility

for learning to students, yet still

provide them with the support

required to be successful. We have

found the gradual release of

responsibility model most

appropriate to accomplish the goal…

… it suggests that teachers move

purposefully from providing

extensive support to using peer

support and then no support…”

“teachers have to move from

assuming “all the responsibility

for performing a task…to a situation

in which the students assume all of

the responsibility.”