Our Learning and Teaching Framework has been launched and now we continue to work as a staff to unpack each element, discussing and brainstorming the best approaches for working within our community. [It] has been well researched and developed, representing best practices and innovative thinking for the times and will guide the work we do throughout the College now and into the coming years .
Learning and Growing for the Future overarches the Framework and as such needs to be considered carefully. We understand that we are living in the 21st century. Almost every student at our college has only lived during this century. Our Year 7s of 2016 will graduate in 2021.
So what does it mean to learn and live during this century? How are we preparing our young women to be successful into their futures? How will we learn and grow for the future?
These were the questions that directed our discussion and thinking in the process of upacking the framework as a staff.
What is the essence of 21st Century Learning and who are our learners? It is essential that we remember that we are already almost 1/5 the way into the 21st century.
The General Capabilities form the basis for the development of curriculum in Australia. They play a significant role to ensure that we are equipping our young learners to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century.
“In the Australian Curriculum, capability encompasses knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions. Students develop capability when they apply knowledge and skills confidently, effectively and appropriately in complex and changing circumstances, in their learning at school and in their lives outside school” (ACARA, 2016).
The Australian Curriculum includes seven general capabilities, as shown in the figure below.
ACARA 2016
Additionally, the P21 Framework for 21st century learning (along with other resources) can assist with the thinking and practices we employ when developing, building upon and implementing learning opportunities at our College.
P21.org
The “thinking” around those skills that our young women need now and into their future
If we listen to the new Federal Education agenda, we hear their reference to creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation and the like. These are the discussions on a global scale and we are embracing these strategies in our college to ensure our young women will be well equipped as they enter tertiary education and/or employment. It is our aim to assist in developing the whole child, with focus on their futures.
“Tony Wagner of Harvard University worked to uncover the 7 survival skills required for the 21st century. To accomplish this, hundreds of CEOs in business, non-profits and educational institutions were interviewed. A list of seven skills that people will need to survive and thrive in the 21st century was compiled from their answers. We may not know exactly what lies ahead for our students in the future, but we have the advantage of knowing what skills they will need once they get there (Nicols, 2016).”
The following are Wagner’s 7 survival skills as outlined by business leaders:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
“The idea that a company’s senior leaders have all the answers and can solve problems by themselves has gone completely by the wayside…The person who’s close to the work has to have strong analytic skills. You have to be rigorous: test your assumptions, don’t take things at face value, don’t go in with preconceived ideas that you’re trying to prove.”
—Ellen Kumata, consultant to Fortune 200 companies
Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
“The biggest problem we have in the company as a whole is finding people capable of exerting leadership across the board…Our mantra is that you lead by influence, rather than authority.”
—Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Cisco
Agility and Adaptability
“I’ve been here four years, and we’ve done fundamental reorganization every year because of changes in the business…I can guarantee the job I hire someone to do will change or may not exist in the future, so this is why adaptability and learning skills are more important than technical skills.”
—Clay Parker, President of Chemical Management Division of BOC Edwards
Initiative and Entrepreneurship
“For our production and crafts staff, the hourly workers, we need self-directed people…who can find creative solutions to some very tough, challenging problems.”
—Mark Maddox, Human Resources Manager at Unilever Foods North America
Effective Oral and Written Communication
“The biggest skill people are missing is the ability to communicate: both written and oral presentations. It’s a huge problem for us.”
—Annmarie Neal, Vice President for Talent Management at Cisco Systems
Accessing and Analysing Information
“There is so much information available that it is almost too much, and if people aren’t prepared to process the information effectively, it almost freezes them in their steps.”
—Mike Summers, Vice President for Global Talent Management at Dell
Curiosity and Imagination
“Our old idea is that work is defined by employers and that employees have to do whatever the employer wants…but actually, you would like him to come up with an interpretation that you like—he’s adding something personal—a creative element.”
—Michael Jung, Senior Consultant at McKinsey and Company
So, as we continue to roll out our framework, these “21st century” skills will continue to be a focal point.
What are you doing in your classroom to address these areas? Are you developing in your learners the skills they will need for this world? Essential questions in the rolling out of any learning and teaching framework today.
Nicols, R., (2016). Teachthought; We grow teachers., 7 skills students will always need., Accessed from http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/how-to-prepare-student-for-21st-century-survival/
Wagner, T. (2016). Transforming Education, Tony Wagner’s seven survival skills., Accessed from http://www.tonywagner.com/7-survival-skills