Unit 50: Identification of a Real World Problem

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." They go on to list them as;

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, ecosystems understanding;
13. Health and wellness literacy, including nutrition, diet, exercise, and public health and safety.

It is particularly the first two skills that we will investigate in this lesson and see how we might use a real world problem to provide our students with an opportunity to practice these.