Defining the 21st-Century Learner
21st-Century Learning According to B.Pearce
The ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn all while taking the gist of each learning opportunity and mentally storing it for future use is one of the skills 21st -century leaners will need. Additionally, they will need to be digital citizens and know how that impacts their digital presence. Knowing the answers has been replaced with knowing how to find and critically evaluate the answers that are provided online. These learners will also need to navigate their learning experiences while considering digital literacy. They should be familiar with being part of a learning community, where each learner has value and contributes to the learning of others in the learning community. The settings for these learners will include both cooperative and individual work (The Horizon Report K-12, Cooperative Learning). More skills these learners will need include the ability to: interact with technology, use reading comprehension skills, and identify areas that they do not understand so that they may ask questions.
21st-century learners must be adaptable in many facets of life, but particularly with technology. The 21st-century learner must have access to technology and the ability to learn with it otherwise, while they are learning in the 21st century, they would be a 21st-century learner.
21st-century learners must be adaptable in many facets of life, but particularly with technology. The 21st-century learner must have access to technology and the ability to learn with it otherwise, while they are learning in the 21st century, they would be a 21st-century learner.
Susan Singer's Definition
When looking at How Do You Define 21st-Century Learning? by Elizabeth Rich the definition provided by Susan Rundell Singer is the one that fits best. Her definition began is that 21st-century learning includes "Adaptability, complex communication skills, non-routine problem solving, self-management, and systems-thinking are essential skills in the 21st-century workforce." I agree that the 21st-century leaner should be equipped to master each of those skills. These skills are necessary largely because of the nature of the workforce students will enter after completing a formal education. Did You Know? estimates that current leaners will have had at least ten to fourteen different jobs by the time they are 38. This highlights the need to be adaptable. There are also the different methods for learning that require the other skills mentioned by Ms. Singer. Learning in a digital age means that a tool that is relevant one day can be outdated and replaced the next. Learners in the 21st-century also have more flexibility about how and where they learn. Students are no longer tied to traditional learning in a classroom; they can attend school online, complete hybrid courses, and collaborate in their online in their private lives. To be successful inside and outside of a classroom setting, students will need self-management skills along with the ability to communicate in a complex manner, and how to solve problems. One issue I have with Ms. Singer's definition is that it does not get at the heart of why these skill sets are needed and how they will continue to evolve over time.
