21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times »

Bernie Trilling is global director for the Oracle Education Foundation and the Foundation's board member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Prior to joining Oracle, Trilling was a director for the Technology in Education group at WestEd.

Charles Fadel is global leader for education at Cisco Systems and the Cisco board member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Charles and Bernie also co-chair the Partnership's Standards, Assessment and Professional Development committee.

The world has undergone foundational shifts in recent decades—widespread advances in technology and communications, booming economic developments and increased competition, and the escalation of global challenges from financial meltdowns to global warming. How can we prepare students to meet the challenges of our century if our schools remain virtually unchanged?

This essential resource introduces a framework for 21st century learning that maps out the skills needed to survive and thrive in a complex and connected world. A 21st century education includes knowledge of traditional core subjects such as reading, writing, and arithmetic—but also emphasizes contemporary themes such as global awareness and financial/economic, health, and environmental literacies. Students in 21st century schools will apply their knowledge to understanding and solving real-world challenges using their 21st century skills:

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

The book is filled with classroom vignettes, global examples, schoolwork samples, and

includes a DVD with video mini-documentaries of innovative practices that bring the skills to life and offer an exciting view of what teaching and learning can and will look like as we transform learning to meet the demands of the 21st century.

Introduction Learning to Innovate, Innovating Learning.

The Four Question Exercise.

Part One What Is 21^st Century Learning?

1. Learning Past and Future.

Education's Purpose: Historical Roles and Goals.

Learning a Living: the Future of Work and Careers.

The Perfect Learning Storm: Four Converging Forces.

The Turning of Learning: Toward a New Balance.

2. Learning and Innovation Skills: Learning to Create Together.

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving.

Communication & Collaboration.

Creativity & Innovation.

3. Digital Literacy Skills: Info-savvy, Media-fluent, Tech-tuned.

Information Literacy.

Media Literacy.

ICT Literacy.

4. Career and Life Skills: Work-ready, Prepared for Life

Flexibility & Adaptability.

Initiative & Self-direction.

Social & Cross-cultural Skills.

Productivity & Accountability.

Leadership & Responsibility.

Part Two 21^st Century Learning and Teaching.

5. Powerful Learning: Proven Practices, Researched Results.

21^st Century Project Learning Bicycle Model.

Creativity through Projects.

Evidence that Project Learning Works.

Challenges to Inquiry and Design Learning.

6. Retooling Schooling: Reshaping the Support Systems

Shifting Systems in Sync: the West Virginia Experience.

Standards.

Assessments.

Curriculum & Instruction.

Professional Development.

Learning Environments.

From Skills to Expertise: Future Learning Frameworks.

Afterword Learning for Life: To Build a Better World.

Appendix A Resources.

DVD Contents.

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills Resources.

Other Online Resources.

Appendix B About the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Appendix C 3Rs X 7Cs = 21^st Century Learning.

Acknowledgments.

References.

Index.

Credits.