BENLAC

PRELIM

Module 1: 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION

This modern society is ushered in by a dramatic technological revolution. It is an increasingly diverse, globalized and complex media.
saturated society. According to Dr. Douglas Kellner, this technological revolution bears a greater impact on society than the
transition from an oral to print culture.

Education prepares students for life in this world. Amidst emerging social issues and concerns, there is a need for students to be able
to communicate, function and create change personally, socially, economically and politically at the local, national and global levels
by participating in real-life and real-world service learning projects.

Emerging technologies and resulting globalization also provide unlimited possibilities for exciting discoveries and developments.

21st Century Education Contexts

21st Century Schools. Schools in the 21st century focus on a project-based curriculum for life that would engage students in
addressing real-world problems and humanity concerns and issues.

This has become an innovation in education, from textbook- driven, teacher-centered, paper-and-pencil schooling into a better
understanding of the concept of knowledge and a new definition of the educated person. Therefore, it makes a new way of
designing and delivering the curriculum.

Schools will go from 'buildings' to 'nerve centers', with open walls and are roofless while connecting teachers, students and the
community to the breadth of knowledge in the world.

Teachers will transform their role from being dispensers of information to becoming facilitators of learning and help students
translate information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom.

Therefore, the 21st century will require knowledge generation, not just information delivery, and schools will need to create a
"culture of inquiry".

Learners will become adaptive to changes. In the past, learners spent a required amount of time in respective courses, received
passing grades and graduated. Today, learners are viewed in a new context.

These changes have implications for teachers:

(1) Teachers must discover student interest by helping them see what and how they are learning to prepare them for life in the real
world;
(2) They must instill curiosity, which is fundamental to lifelong learning;
(3) They must be flexible in how they teach; and
(4) They must excite learners to become more resourceful so that they will continue to learn outside formal school.

21st Century learning demands a school that excites students for school. There is a little or no discipline problem because of strong
student engagement. Likewise, parents are informed about positive changes in their children. As a result, students manifest
significant improvement in basic skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, researching, scientific explorations, math, multimedia
skills and others.

The 21st Century Curriculum

The twenty-first century curriculum has critical attributes that are interdisciplinary, project-based and research-driven. It is
connected to local, national and global, communities, in which students may collaborate with people around the world in various
projects. The curriculum also integrates higher- order thinking skills, multiple intelligences, technology and multimedia, multiple
literacies and authentic assessments, including service- learning.

The classroom is filled with self-directed students, who work independently and interdependently. The curriculum and instruction
are designed imbued with the concept of differentiation. Thus, instead of focusing on textbook-driven or fragmented instruction,
instruction turns to be more thematic, project-based and integrated with skills and competencies purely not confined within
themselves, but are explored through research and concept application in projects and outputs.
Learning is not confined through memorization of facts ar figures alone but rather is connected to previous knowledge, persona
experience, interests, talents and habits.

The 21st Century Learning Environment.

Typically, a 21 Century classroom is not confined to a literal classroom building but a learning environment where students
collaborate with their peers exchange insights, coach and mentor one another and share talents and skills with other students.
Cooperative learning is also apparent in which students work in teams because cooperation is given more emphasis than
competition, and collaborative learning more than isolated learning. They use technologies, including Internet systems and other
platforms.

Hence, in the process of creating a world-class 21st century learning environment, building new schools and remodeling of present
school facilities can be addressed toward creating environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and "green" schools. Inside every
classroom, students shall apply their knowledge of research in life, which is a clear indication of a relevant, rigorous, 21 century real-
life curriculum.

An ideal learning environment also considers the kind of spaces needed by students and teachers in conducting investigations and
projects by diverse groups for independent work. An ideal learning environment has plenty of wall space and other areas for
displaying student work that includes a place where the parents and the community can gather to watch student performances, as
well as a place where they can meet for discussions.

Technology in the 21st Century Pedagogy.

Technologies are not ends in themselves but these are tools students use to create knowledge for personal and social change.

21st Century learning recognizes full access to technology. Therefore, a better bandwidth of Wifi access should be available along
areas of the school for the students to access their files and supplement their learning inside the classroom. Various laboratories and
learning centers are set up in such a way that they allow a space needed for students' simulation and manipulative works. All
classrooms should have televisions to watch broadcasts created by the school and other schools around. Other resources in the
school can also be utilized by students in creating opportunities for their knowledge explorations.

Understanding 21st Century Learners. Today's students are referred to as "digital nativeen twhile educators as "digital immigrants"
(Prensky, 2001). Most likely, digital natives usually react, are random, holistic and non-linear. Their predominant senses are motion
and touch. They learn through experience and learn differently. Digital immigrants often reflect, are sequential, and linear. Their
predominant senses are hearing and seeing. They tend to intellectualize and believe that learning is constant (Hawkins and Graham,
1994).

Students' entire lives have been immersed in the 21st Century media culture. They take in the world via the filter of computing
devices, such as cellular phones, hand held gaming devices, PDAS, and laptops plus the computers, TVs, and game console at home.

A survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people (ages 8-18) spend on electronic media an average of
six hours a day. In addition, many are multitasking, such as listening to music while surfing the Web or instant-messaging friends
while playing a video game.

The preschoolers easily navigate electronic multimedia resources on games, in which they learn colors, numbers, letters, spelling,
and more complex tasks, such as mixing basic colors to create new colors, problem-solving activities, and reading.

However, as Dr. Michael Wesch points out, although today's students understand how to access and utilize these tools, they use
them only for entertainment purposes. Thus, students should be prepared and assisted to become media literate as they function in
an online collaborative research-based environment with the advent of researching, analyzing, synthesizing, critiquing, evaluating
and creating new knowledge.

21st Century Skills Outcome and the Demands in the Job Market. The 21st Century skills are a set of abilities that students need to
develop to succeed in the information age. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lists three types, namely:
(1) Learning Skills which comprise critical thinking, creative thinking, collaborating, and communicating;
(2) Literacy Skills which is composed of information literacy, media literacy, and technology literacy;
(3) Life Skills that include flexibility, initiative, social skills, productivity and leadership. These skills have always been important in an
information-based economy.

Likewise, skills demanded in the job market include knowing a trade, following directions, getting along with others, working hard
and being professional, efficient, prompt, honest, and fair. More so, to adapt to these jobs in this information age, students need to
think deeply about issues, solve problems creatively, work in teams, communicate clearly in many media, learn ever-changing
technologies and deal with the influx of information. Amidst rapid changes in the world, industry requires students to be flexible,
take the initiative, lea when necessary, and create something new and useful.

According to Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), various industries look for employees who can think critically, solve problems
creatively, innovate, collaborate and communicate. Therefore, for a perfect match between academe and industry demands, schools
need to embed time-tested industry-demanded work skills in the curriculum

The 21st Century Learning Implications. 21st Century skills are viewed relevant to all academic areas and the skills may be taught in a
wide variety of both in-campus and community settings.

Teachers should practice teaching cross-disciplinary skills in related courses, such as integrating research methods in various
disciplines; articulating technical scientific concepts in verbal, written, and graphic forms; presenting laboratory reports to a pool of
specialists, or use emerging technologies, software programs and multimedia applications as an extension of an assigned project.

Likewise, accrediting organizations and regulatory bodies may require 21s century skills in the curriculum. In doing so, the
assessment tools should also contain these skills. They may design or adopt learning standards that explicitly describe multi-
disciplinary skills that students should acquire and master.

Schools and teachers should use a variety of applied skills, multiple technologies, and new ways of analyzing, and processing
information, while also taking initiative, thinking creatively, planning out the process, and working collaboratively in teams with
other students.

More so, schools may allow students to pursue alternatives, in which students can earn academic merits and satisfy graduation
requirements by completing an internship, apprenticeship or volunteer experience. It is in this manner that students can practice a
variety of practical, career-based, work-related skills and values while equally completing the academic coursework and meeting the
same learning standards required of students.

In today's world, information and knowledge are continuously Increasing at a certain rate that no one can learn everything about
every subject. What may appear true today could be proven to be false tomorrow and the jobs that students will get after they
graduate may not yet exist. For this reason, students need to be taught how to process, analyze and use the Information and they
need adaptable skills that they can apply in all facets of life. Thus, merely teaching them ideas and facts without teaching them how
to use them in real- life settings is no longer enough.

Schools need to adapt and develop new ways of teaching and learning that reflect a changing world. The purpose of school should
be to prepare students for success after graduation and therefore, schools need to prioritize the knowledge and skills that will be in
the greatest demand, such as those deemed to be most important by college professors and employers. Hence, teaching students to
perform well in school or pass the test alone is no longer sufficient.

Henceforth, teachers must realize and students must understand that no one can move toward a vision of the future unless he/she
understands the socio-historical context of where they are now, what events led them to be where they are, how this can inform
development of a vision for the future and how they want to get there. Thus, a clear articulation of the purpose of education for the
21st Century is the place to begin.
 A Paradigm Shift for 21st Century Education
The Critical Attributes of 21st Century Education
Education continuously changes dramatically throughout time. There is a paradigm shift in the way teaching and learning is
delivered. Therefore, the 21st Century teacher needs to develop essential knowledge, skills and values in order to cope with these
changes and address students' need.
The following are eight attributes of 21st Century education and their implications:
1. Integrated and Interdisciplinary. Education in the 21st Century is characterized by interfacing various disciplines in an integrated
manner rather than compartmentalizing its subsequent parts. This critical attribute implies the need to review the curriculum and
create strategies infusing different subjects toward enhancing the learning experiences of students.

2. Technologies and Multimedia. Education in the 21s Century makes optimum use of available Information and Communication
Technology (ICT), as well as multimedia to improve the teaching and learning process, including online applications and technology
platforms. It implies a need to acquire and use computers and multimedia equipment and the désign of a technology plan to
enhance learning at its best.

3. Global Classrooms. Education in the 21st Century aims to produce global citizens by exposing students to the issues and concerns
in the local, national and global societies. This critical attribute implies the need to include current global issues/ concerns, such as
peace and respect for cultural diversity, climate change and global warming in classroom discussions.

4. Creating/Adapting to Constant Personal and Social Change and Lifelong Learning. Education in the 21" Century subscribes to the
belief that learning does not end within the four walls of the classroom. Instead, it can take place anywhere, anytime regardless of
age. This means that teachers should facilitate students' learning even beyond academics. Therefore, it should not end with
requirement compliance and passing the exams, but also for transferring and applying knowledge to a new context or real-life
situations. As such, the curriculum should be planned in such a way that students will continue to leam even outside the school for
life.

5. Student-Centered. Education in the 21st Century is focuses on students as leamers while addressing their needs Differentiated
instruction is relevant in the 21st Century classrooms, where diversity factors and issues are taken into account and addressed when
planning and delivering instruction, including their learning styles, interests, needs ant abilities.

6. 21st Century Skills. Education in the 21st Century demonstrates the skills needed in becoming productive members of society.
Beyond learning the basic skills of reading writing and numeracy, students should also develop life and work skills in 21st Century
communities, such as critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and decision-making and ICT literacy and skills. Therefore, it
implies that teachers should possess these skills first before their students.

7. Project-Based and Research-Driven. 21st Century education emphasizes data, information and evidence-based decision- making
through student activities that encourage active learning. This implies the need for knowledge and skills in research, such as self-
directed activities, learning projects, investigatory projects, capstones and other research-based output.

8. Relevant, Rigorous and Real World. Education in the 21s Century is meaningful as it connects to real-life experiences of learners.
It implies the use of current and relevant information linked to real-life situations and contexts.

The Characteristics of a 21st Century Teacher

The 21st Century teaching-learning environment becomes complicated brought by technological changes. Therefore, teachers
should be able to cope with and adapt to these changes.

Thus, teachers must be equipped with attributes, knowledge and skills critical to 21st century education so that they may be able to
integrate them in their teaching. 21st Century teachers are characterized as:
1. Multi-literate. Teachers know how to use various technologies in teaching.
2. Multi-specialist. Teachers are not only knowledgeable that the course subject they teach but also in other areas so that they can
help the learner build up what they gain in the classroom and outside the school and make sense of what was learned.
3. Multi-skilled. Teachers cope with the demand for widening learning opportunities by being skillful not just in teaching but also in
facilitating and organizing groups and activities.
4. Self-directed. Teachers are responsible for various aspects of school life and know how to initiate action to realize the learning
goals of the students and the educational goals of the country, at large.
5. Lifelong learner. Teachers embrace the ideal that learning never ends. Therefore, teachers must be constantly updated on the
latest information related to their subject and pedagogic trends. They should also share what they are learning with their students
and colleagues with a high sense of professionalism.
6. Flexible. Teachers are able to adapt to various learning styles and needs of the learners. They can facilitate learner-centered
teaching with flexibility using alternative modes of delivery.
7. Creative problem solver. Teachers create innovative ideas and effective solutions to the arising problems in the field, be it in the
classroom, in the school or the profession as a whole.
8. Critical thinker. Teachers are critical thinkers as they encourage students to reflect on what they have learned, and rekindle in
them the desire to ask questions, reason out, probe, and establish their own knowledge and belief.
9. Has a passion for excellent teaching. Teachers possess passion in the teaching profession to ensure that students are motivated
to learn under their guidance and care.
10. High Emotional Quotient (EQ). Teachers do not just have the head but also the heart to teach. Teaching is emotionally taxing but
an influential job as it involves interaction with human beings.

Common 21st Century Technology Tools for Learning

As teacher for the 21st Century, no one can escape from the reality that we are now in a border less society. It is, therefore,
important that we should know different technology tools for learning to respond to the needs of 21st Century learners' and the
demands of the times. The following are common 21st Century technology tools.

1. Affinity Groups. These are groups or communities that unite individuals with common interests. Electronic spaces extend the
range of possibilities for such groups.
2. Blogs. Web logs or "blogs" are interactive websites, often open to the public that can include Web links, photographs and audio
and video elements.
3. E-portfolio. It refers to student's works that are generated, selected, organized, stored and revised digitally. Often electronic
accessible to multiple audiences and can be moved from one site to another easily. It can document the process of learning,
promote integrative thinking, display final work, and/or provide a space for reflective learning.
4. Hypertext. These are electronic texts that provide multiple links and allow users to trace ideas in immediate and idiosyncratic
directions. Hypermedia adds sound, video, animation, and/or virtual reality environments to the user's choices.
5. Podcasts. These are digitalize audio files that are stored on the Internet and downloaded to listeners' computers or most likely to
MP3 players. The term "podcast" comes from iPod, the popular MP3 player.
6. Web 2.0. This refers to a second generation of Web-based communities that demonstrate the participatory literacies that
students need for the 21st-century.
7. Myspace. It is a social networking website that offers an interactive user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs,
groups, photos, music and videos internationally. Students can rate professors, discuss books, and connect with high school and
college classmates here.
8. Second Life. It is an Internet-based 3-D virtual world that uses avatars (digital representations) to explore, socialize, participate in
individual or group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services.
9. Semantic Web. It is an extension of the current Web that puts data into a common format so that instead of humans working with
individual search engines (e.g., Google, Ask Jeeves) to locate information, the search engines themselves.feed into a single
mechanism that provides this searching on its own. Sometimes called Web 3.0, thi this technology enables integration of virtually all
kinds of information for more efficient and comprehensive retrieval.
10. Webkinz. It is an Internet simulation wherein children learn pet care and other skills.
11. Wiki. It refers to software that fosters collaboration and communication online. Wikis enable students to create, comment upon,
and revise collaborative projects. One of the most prominent is Wikipedia, an online multilingual free-content encyclopedia, which
has 7.9 million articles in 253 languages.
12. Youtube. It is a popular website for video sharing where users can upload, view and share video footage, including movie clips,
TV clips, and music videos, even student-produced videos.
13. Google Docs. It allows students to collaborate with other people and the document materials that need to be compiled,
processed, transacted and analyzed.
14. Prezi. It allows individuals to presentation templates. use pre-made, creative
15. Easybib. It allows individuals to generate citations in any given format.
16. Social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Edmodo, Schoology, Instagram, etc.). These are means to communicate and share
ideas among users.
17. Smartboards and audience response systems. These are replacement for traditional chalkboards or whiteboards in classrooms.
18. ReadWrite Think.org. It is a repository of standards-based literacy lessons that offer teachers instructional ideas for Internet
integration.
19. WebQuest Page. It provides Webquests on an array of topics across content areas with a template for creating one's own.
20. Literacy Web. It is an online portal that includes a large number of new literacy's resources for new literacies for teachers.
SYNTHESIS
 Education prepares students for life in this world that can make them communicate, function and create change personally,
socially, economically and politically on local, national and global levels.
 There is a drastic change brought about by the advent of the 21st Century education in the context of a curriculum, classroom
environment, technology, learners and demands of the job market.
 21st Century education implies challenges among teachers in the way they need to embrace technological advancement and
instructional innovations.
 With the paradigm shift from 20th Century to 21st Century education, transformations and transitions are taking place.
 To cope with the demands of 21st Century education, educational institutions should address its eight critical attributes.
 Teachers must be multiliterate, multispecialist, multiskilled, self- directed, lifelong learners, flexible, creative problem solver,
critical thinker, emotionally intelligent and passionate for excellent teaching.

MODULE 2: 21ST CENTURY SKILL CATEGORIES

21st Century skills refer to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are deemed necessary in coping be
applied in all academic subject areas and educational settings throughout a student's life.

The 21st Century Skills

The 21st Century skills may include the following:
(1) critical thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, analysis, interpretation, synthesizing information;
(2) research skills and practices, self-direction, interrogative questioning;
(3) creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination, innovation, personal expression;
(4) perseverance, planning, self-discipline, adaptability, initiative;
(5) oral and written communication, public speaking and presenting, listening;
(6) leadership, teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, facility in using virtual workspaces;
(7) information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, media and Internet literacy, data interpretation and analysis, computer
programming;
(8) civic, ethical, and social justice literacy;
(9) economic and financial literacy, entrepreneurialism;
(10) global awareness, multicultural literacy, humanitarianism;
(11) scientific literacy and reasoning, the scientific method;
(12) environmental and conservation literacy, ecosystem understanding; and
(13) health and wellness literacy, including nutrition, diet, exercise, and public health and safety.

Framework for 21st Century

According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, this concept encompasses a wide array of a body of knowledge and skills that
have to be categorized. Moreover, this concept has been interconnected with applied skills, cross-curricular skills, cross- disciplinary
skills, interdisciplinary skills, transferable skills, transversal skills, non-cognitive skills and soft skills.

The 21st Century skills concept is grounded on the belief that students must be educated in a more relevant, useful, in-demand and
universally applicable manner. The idea simply lies in the fact that students need to be taught different skills and reflect on the
specific demands that will be placed upon them in a complex, competitive, knowledge-based, information-age and technology-
driven society. Therefore, 21st Century education addresses the whole child or the whole person (AACTE, 2010).

Hence, the curriculum should be designed to be interdisciplinary, integrated and project-based. Tony Wagner (2010), in his book
"The Global Achievement Gap", advocated the seven survival skills, namely:
(1) critical thinking and problem-solving:
(2) collaboration across networks and leading by influence; eading by influence;
(3) agility and adaptability;
(4) initiative and entrepreneurialism;
(5) effective oral and written communication;
(6) accessing and analyzing information;
(7) curiosity and imagination.

The term "21st Century skills" refers to certain core competencies, such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and
problem- solving that schools need to teach the students for them to thrive in today's world.
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills presents the following sets of skills that are categorized accordingly with different strands of
expected outcomes.

 Learning and Innovation Skills

These are the primary skills orchestrated in the 21st Century. They are attributes that differentiate students who are prepared for a
complex life and work environment from those who are not. Therefore, there is a need to stress on creativity, critical thinking,
communication and collaboration in preparing learners for the future.
A. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. These may include effectively analyzing and evaluating evidence, arguments, claims and
beliefs; and solving different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways.

B. Communication. This pertains to articulating thoughts and ideas effectively using oral and written communication skills in a
variety of forms and contexts.

C. Collaboration. It entails demonstrating ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams.

D. Creativity and Innovation. It denotes use of wide range of idea creation techniques to create new and worthwhile ideas.

Literacy Skills

People in the 21st century live in a technology and media- saturated environment marked by the following: (1) access to an
abundance of information; (2) rapid changes in technology tools; and (3) the ability to collaborate and make individual contributions
on an unprecedented scale.

Therefore, to be effective in the 21st Century, everyone must be able to exhibit a range of functional and critical thinking skills
related to information, media and technology.

A. Information Literacy. It refers to accessing and evaluating information critically and competently and managing the flow of
information from a wide variety of sources.

B. Media Literacy. It underscores understanding both how and why media messages are constructed; creating media products by
understanding and utilizing the most appropriate media creation tools, characteristics and conventions.

C. Technology Literacy. It pertains to the use of technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate and communicate information.

Life and Career Skills

Today's life and work environments both require more than thinking skills and content knowledge. Cultivating the ability to navigate
the complex life requires students to develop the following life and career skills: FLIPS
(1) flexibility and adaptability;

(2) initiative and self-direction;

(3) social and cross-cultural skills;

(4) productivity and accountability;

(5) leadership and responsibility