21st century skills

Just what are these 21st Century Skills? According to the Glossary of Education Reform website: "The term 21st century skills refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are believed—by educators, school reformers, college professors, employers, and others—to be critically important to success in today’s world, particularly in collegiate programs and contemporary careers and workplaces." Below is a list of the 16 skills organized by foundational literacies, competencies and character traits:

So what does each of the 16 skills actually mean? Select the link below for definitions of each as described by the World Economic Forum.

That's quite a list! Now you can see why curriculum documents often champion general objectives as being just as important as specific objectives. While 'ICT literacy' is specifically identified as a 'foundational literacy' in the diagram above, if implemented well, ICT can be used to support the acquisition of the other fifteen 21st Century Skills.

Australia's Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) has embraced the use of 21st Century Skills in their curriculum documents. Watch the video below to see their justification for doing so.