21st+Century+Skills+-Cathy+Hurley+Ch.+5

**Cathy will read this chapter and write a summary focusing on the main points in the discussion board.Click on the discussion board tab and read the summary.Please respond with additional thoughts and/or questions.**

**__Chapter 5 Career and Life Skills__**
The third component of 21st Century Skills a students will need falls in the Life and Career Skills area. The workplace is changing and workers of today and tomorrow must have a different set of skils than workers of the past. The authors define the skills needed in this chapter.

**__Flexibility and Adaptability __**
"The rapid pace of technological change forces us all to adapt quickly to new ways of communicating, learning, working and living. We switch jobs and careers more frequently and entirely new kinds of work are arising from innovations in many fields. We will need to organize work into well defined projects carried out by global teams on tight time schedules with limited resources." ((p. 76) Students should be able to:

__Adapt to Change__
 * Adapt to varied roles, job responsiblities, scheules and contexts
 * Work effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities

__Be Flexible__
How can these be taught in the schools? Provide students with complex projects that challenge teams to change course when things aren't working well. Develop a student "tech support" team of the school to assist teachers.
 * Incorporate feedback effectivley
 * Deal positively with praise, setbacks and criticism
 * Understand, negotiate and balance diverse views and beliefs to reach workable solutions, particularly in multicultural environments
 * (p. 77 Copyright Partnership for 21st Century Skills )

__**Initiative and Self-Direction**__
"Time for extended training is in very short supply. Workers must arrive motivated, ready to use their initiative and prepared to be highly self-reliant in everyday work." (p. 78)

Student should be able to: __Manage goals and time__ __Work Independently__ __Be Self-directed learners__ How can students practce these skills? Music, dance, theater performances, mentorships, apprenticships, internships, community service projects, student developed projects and hobbies.
 * Set goals with tangible and intangible sucess criteria
 * Balance tactical (short-term) and strategic (long-term) goals
 * Utilize time and manage workload efficiently
 * Monitor, define and prioritize and complete tasks without direct oversight
 * Go beyond basic 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 toward a professional level
 * Demonstrate commitment to learning as a lifelong process
 * Reflect critically on past expereinces in order to inform future progress
 * (p. 79 Copyright Partnership for 21st Century Skills)

"Diverse work teams, scattered around the globe and connected by technology, are becoming the norm for 21st century work. People must be able " to work effectivley and creatively with the team members and classmates regardless of differences in cultur and style." (p. 80)
 * __Social and Cross Cultural Interaction__**

Student should be able to: __Interact effectively with others__ __Work effectively in diverse teams__ How can students develop these skills? Cross-sharing of first hand reports with students in other countries.An important resource for developing pro–social skills is the organization Educators for Social Responsibility The Asia Society has a wealth of resources on international and cross-cultural education. [] provides safe social networking for students in cross cultural settings.
 * Know when it's appropriate to listen and when to speak
 * Conduct themselves in a respectable, professional manner
 * Respect cultural differences and work effectively with people from a range of social and cultural backgrounds
 * Respond open-mindedly to different ideas and values
 * Leverage social and cultural differences to create new ideas and increase innovation and quality of work
 * (p. 81 Copyright Partnership for 21st Century Skills)


 * __Productivity and Accountability__**

Students should be able to; __Manage Projects__ __Produce Results__
 * Set and meet goals, even in the face of obstacles and competing presures
 * Prioritize, plan and manage work to achieve the intended result
 * Demonstrate additional attributes associated with producing high quality products including working positively and ethically, managi time and projects effectively, multitasking, collaborating and cooperating effectively with teams and being accountable for results..
 * (p. 83 Copyright Partnership for 21st Century Skills)

Here are a few prominent examples of these teacher development programs which will assist teachers to understand these skills better.
 * The Intel Teach Program
 * Microsoft’s Partners in Learning program
 * Oracle Education Foundation’s Professional Development programs
 * Apple’s Professional Development program
 * The Pearson Foundation’s Digital Arts Alliance program
 * The Buck Institute’s Project Based Learning Academies

There are three levels of responsibility and teamwork needed in the 21st Century-individual leadership, coordination between team members, and overall team collaboration toward a common vision. (p. 84)
 * __Leadership and Responsibility__**

Students should be able to __Guide and Lead others__ __Be Repsonsible to Others__
 * Use interpersonal and problem solving skills to influence and guide other toward a goal.
 * Leverage strengths of other to acomplish a common goal
 * Inspire others to reach their vey best via example and selflessness
 * Demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior in using influence and power.
 * Act responsiblly with the interests of the larger community in mind
 * (p 85. Copyright Partnership for 21st Century Skills)