Book: 21st Century Skills: Learning for life in our times
Author: Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel
Publisher: Jossey-Bass (2009)
Some ten years into the 21st century, I find it amazing that we are still having conversations on what skills are necessary to succeed in this new century. We’ve explored some ideas of what skills are relevant before (see this, this, this, and this, for example), and there appears to be a general consensus that there are needs for skills development in creativity, innovation, smart use of ICTs, and social leadership. This is exactly in line with what Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel, co-board members on the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, identify (lifted from the book jacket):
- Learning and Innovation Skills: Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, and Communication and Collaboration
- Digital Literacy Skills: Information Literacy, Media Literacy, and ICT Literacy
- Career and Life Skills: Flexibility and Adaptability, initiative and Self-Direction, Social and Cross-Cultural Skills, Productivity and Accountability, Leadership and Responsibility
What makes this book valuable to practitioners, however, is that instead of building up chapters of reasoning for why we need to adopt the P21 skill set in education, they focus more on what each of these skills mean. Moreover, they tie in examples of the skills in practice with an included DVD, containing real-life classroom examples.
While the book excels at understanding each of the P21 skills and their implications, it falls short on how to build these skills in broader contexts – i.e., as a replacement set for NCLB standards. For this, the text could have benefited with an invitation –and mechanism– for its readers to join the conversation on adopting and embracing new skills for the 21st century. Instead, leading the conversation seems left to us: Where shall we begin?
Note: The publisher provided a copy of the book for review. Please read our review policy for more details on how we review products and services.
Comments
I think P21 skills/competences are also 1) multidimensional and overlapping understanding and usage of time, 2) awareness and ability to live in simultaneous physical, virtual and social places, in which the dynamics of emphasis is changing all the time, and 3) human capacities to “rhythm” silencing, interacting and creating.
[...] J. Cerniglian blogiviestin saattoi tulkita myös metaosaamispuheeksi. Ja myös John Moravec Education Futuressa nosti esille kirjan, jossa käsiteltiin metakompetensseja. Nämä kaikki liittyvät liittyvät [...]