Module 2: 21st CENTURY SKILL CATEGORIES

Learning Outcomes
1. Identify the categories of 21st Century skills.
2. Apply the 21st Century skills in preparing, planning, and delivering a lesson.
3. Cite ways on how to enhance the 21st Century skills of learners
4. Explain how 21st Century skills be integrated in the teaching-learning process
5. Cite implications of 21st Century to educators and to pre-service teacher preparations.
6. Draw relevant life lessons and significant values form the personal experience in
attaining 21st Century skills.
7. Analyze research abstract on 21st Century skills and its implication on the teaching-
learning process
8. Craft a curriculum plan matrix imbued with 21st Century learning outcomes.

Concept Exploration
21st Century skills refer to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work, habits, and character traits that
are deemed necessary in coping with today’s world and future careers and workplace. Thus, it
can 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, interrogative questioning; (3) creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination,
innovation, personal expression; (4) perseverance, self-direction, 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, 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,
transferable skills, transversal skills,
noncognitive skills and soft skills.

the 21st Century skills concept is grounded on the belief that students must be educated in a mere
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-based, 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; (3) agility and adaptability; (4) initiative and
entrepreneurialism; (5) effective oral and written communication; (6) accessing and analyzing
information; and (7) curiosity and imagination.
The term 21st Century skills refer 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. Thy 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 in the future.

A. Critical thinking and Problem Solving. They 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.

Skills Sub-skills
1. Work together effectively in team • Establish clear definitions and agreements
on the roles of partners in the collaborative
process
• Keep communications open with teams to
carry out tasks
• Carefully identify obstacles and address
problems cooperatively

2. Reason effectively • Use various type of reasoning (inductive,

deductive, etc.)
• Use systems thinking
• analyze how parts of a whole interact with
each other to produce overall outcomes in
complex systems

3. Make judgements and decisions • effectively analyze and evaluate evidence,

arguments, claims and beliefs
• Analyze and evaluate major alternative
points of view
• Synthesize and make connections between
information and arguments
• Intercept information and draw conclusions
based on the best analysis
• Reflect critically on learning experiences and
processes

4. Solve Problem Skills • Solve different kinds of non-familiar

problems I both conventional and innovative
ways
• Identify and ask significant questions that
clarify various points of view and lead to
better solutions
B. Communications. This pertains to articulating thoughts and ideas effectively using oral
and written communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts.

Skill Sub-skills
1. Communicate effectively • Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively
using oral, written, and nonverbal
communication skills in a variety of forms
and contexts
• Listen effectively to decipher meaning,
including knowledge, values, attitudes and
intentions
• Use communication for a range of purposes
(e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and
persuade)
• Utilize multiple media and technologies, and
judge their effectiveness a priori, as well as
assess their impact
• Communicate effectively in diverse
environments (including multi-lingual)
• Use technology as a tool to research, organize,
evaluate, and communicate information
• Use digital technologies (computers, PDAs,
media players, GPS, etc.),
communication/networking tools and social
networks appropriately to access
• Exercise flexibility and willingness in
making necessary compromises to accomplish
a common goal
• Assume shared responsibility for
collaborative work, and value the individual
contributions made by each team member

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

Skills Sub-skills
1. Work together effectively in team • Establish clear definitions and agreements
on the roles of partners In the collaborative
process
• Keep communicating open within teams to
carry out tasks
• Carefully identify obstacles and address
problems cooperatively
 D. Creativity and Innovation. It denotes use of wide range of idea creation techniques to
create new and worthwhile ideas.
Skill Sub-skills
1. Think creatively • Use a wide range of idea creation techniques, such as
brainstorming
• Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and
radical concepts)
• Elaborate, refine, analyze, and evaluate their own ideas
in order to improve and maximize creative efforts
2. Work creatively with others • Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to
others effectively
• Be open and responsive to new and diverse
perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into
the work
• Demonstrate originally and inventiveness in work and
understand the real-world limits to adopting new ideas
• View failures as an opportunity to learn; understand
that creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical
process of small successes and frequent mistakes
3. Implement innovations • Act on creatine ideas to make a tangible and useful
contribution to the field in which the innovation will
occur

Information, Media, And Technology Skills

People in the 21st Century live in a technology and media saturated environment marked by the
following: (1) access to an saturated environment; (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 (AACTE,
2010).

A. Information Literacy. It refers to accessing and evaluating information critically and

competently and managing the flow of information from a whole variety of sources.
Skill Sub-skills
1. Access and evaluate information • Access information (time) and effectively
(sources)
• Evaluate information critically and
competently
2. Use and manage information • Use information accurately and creatively
 for the issue or problem at hand
• Manage the flow of information from wide
variety of sources
• Apply a fundamental understanding of the
ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and
use of information

B. Media Literacy. It underscores understanding both how and why media messages and
constructed; creating media products by understanding and utilizing the most appropriate
media creation tools, characteristics and conventions.
Skill Sub-skills
1. Analyze media • Understand both how and why media
messages are constructed, and for what
purpose
• Examine how individuals interpret messages
differently, how values and points of view are
included or excluded, and how media can
influence beliefs and behavior
• Apply a fundamental understanding of te
ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and
use of media
2. Create media products • Understand and utilize the most appropriate
media creation tools, characteristics and
conventions
• Understand and effectively utilize the most
appropriate expressions and interpretations in
diverse, multi-cultural environments

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

evaluate, and communicate information.
Skill Sub-skills
1. Apply technology effectively • Use technology as a tool to research,
organize, evaluate, and communicate
information
• Use digital technologies computers, PDAs,
media players, GPS, etc.),
communication/networking tools and social
networks appropriately to access, manage
integrate, evaluate and create information to
successfully function in a knowledge
economy
• Apply a fundamental understanding of the
ethical\legal issues surrounding the access and
 use information technologies

D. Life and Career Skills. Today’s life and work environments both require more critical
thinking skills and content knowledge. Cultivating the ability to navigate the complex life
requires students to develop the following life and career skills: (1) flexibility and
adaptability; (2) initiative and self-direction; (3) social and cross-cultural skills; (4)
productivity and accountability; (5) leadership and responsibility (AACTA, 2010).

Flexibility and Adaptability

Skill Sub-skills
1. Adapt to change • Adapt varied roles, job responsibilities,
schedules and contexts
• Work effectively in a climate of ambiguity
and changing priorities
2. Be flexible • Incorporate feedback effectively
• Deal positively with praise setbacks and
criticism
• Understand, negotiate and balance diverse
views and beliefs to reach workable solutions,
particularly in multi-cultural enviroments

Initiative and Self-Direction

Skill Sub-skills
1. Manage goals and time • Set goals with tangible and intangible
success criteria
• Balance tactical (short-term) and strategic
(long-term) goals
• utilize time and manage workload efficiently
2. Work independently • Monitor, define, prioritize, and complete
tasks without direct oversight
3. Be self-directed learner • Go beyond mastery of skills and/or
curriculum to explore and expand one’s own
learning and opportunities to gain expertise
• Demonstrate initiative to advance skill
levels towards a professional level
• Demonstrate commitment to learning as a
lifelong process
• Demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior
using influence and power
 Skill Sub-skills
4. Be responsible to others • Act responsibly with the interests of the
larger community in mind
• Consider other’ ideas and new points
• Look for others’ welfare and safety in all
circumstances
• Assist others in time of their downfalls and
setbacks

Social and Cross-Cultural Skills

Skill Sub-skills
1. Interact effectively with others • Know when it is appropriate to listen and
when to speak
• Conduct one’s self in a respectable,
professional manner
2. Work effectively I diverse teams • Respect cultural differences and work
effectively with people from a rage of social
and cultural backgrounds
• Respond open-mindedly to different ideas
and values
• Leverage social and cultural differences to
create new ideas and increase both innovation
and quality of work

Productivity and Accountability

Skill Sub-skills
1. Manage projects • Set and meet goals even in the face of
obstacles and competing pressures
• Prioritize plan and manage work to achieve
the intended result
2. Produce results Demonstrate additional attributes associated
with producing high quality products,
including the abilities to:
- Work positively and ethically
- Manage time and projects effectively
- Multi-task
- Participate actively, as well as be
reliable and punctual
- Present oneself professionally and
with proper etiquette
- Collaborate and cooperate effectively
with teams
 - Respect and appreciate team diversity
- Be accountable for results

Leadership and Responsibility

Skill Sub-skills
1. Guide and lead others • Use the interpersonal and problem-solving
skills to influence and guide others toward a
goal
• Leverage strengths of others to accomplish a
common goal
• Inspire others to reach their very best via
example and selflessness
• Demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior
in using influence and power
2. Be responsible to others • Act responsibly with the interests of the
larger community in mind

Integrating 21st Century Skills in Teaching-Learning Process

The 21st Century support systems. The following elements are the critical systems necessary to
ensure student mastery of 21st Century skills: (1) 21st Century standards; (2) assessments; (3)
curriculum and instruction; (4) professional development; and (5) learning environments. These
must be aligned to produce a support system that produces 21st Century outcomes for today’s
students (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008).

1. 21st Century Standards

1.1. Focus on 21st Century skills, content knowledge and expertise
1.2. Build understanding across and among core subjects, as well as 21st Century
interdisciplinary themes
1.3. Emphasize deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge
1.4. Engage students with the real-world data, tools and experts they will encounter in
college, on the job, and in life; student learn best when actively engaged in solving
meaningful problems
1.5. Allow for multiple measures of mastery

2. Assessment of 21st Century Skills

2.1. Supports a balance of assessments, including high-quality standardized testing
along with effective formative and summative classroom assessments
2.2. Emphasizes useful feedback on student performance that is embedded into
everyday learning
2.3. Requires a balance of technology-enhanced, formative and summative
assessments that measure student mastery of 21st Century skills
2.4. Enables development of portfolios of student work that demonstrate mastery of
21st Century skills to educators and prospective employers
2.5. Enables a balanced portfolio of measures to assess the educational systems
effectiveness in reaching high levels of student competency in 21st Century skills
(AACTE, 2010)

3. 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction

3.1. Teaches 21st century skills discretely in the context of core subjects and 21st
century interdisciplinary themes
3.2. Focuses on providing opportunities for applying 21st Century skill across content
areas and for a competency-based approach to learning
3.3. Enables innovate learning methods that integrate the use of supportive
technologies, inquiry- and problem- based approaches and higher-order thinking skills
3.4. Encourages the integration of community resources beyond school walls
(AACTE, 2010)

4. The 21st Century Professional Development

4.1. Highlights ways teachers can seize opportunities for integrating 21st Century
skills, tools and teaching strategies into their classroom practice and help them identify
what activities they can replace/re-emphasize
4.2. Balances direct instruction with project-oriented teaching methods
4.3. Illustrates how a deeper understanding of subject matter can enhance problem-
solving, critical thinking, and other 21st Century skills
4.4. Enables 21st Century professional learning communities for teachers that model
the kinds of classroom learning that best promotes 21st Century skills for students
4.5. Cultivates teachers’ ability to identify students’ particular learning styles,
intelligences, strengths and weaknesses
4.6. Helps teacher develop their abilities to use various strategies (such as formative
assessment) to reach diverse students and create environments that support differentiated
teaching and learning