Developing 21st Century skills

It is going to take creative collaboration to better equip college students to develop 21st century skills. My guest, Jeff Hittenberger, has worked in higher ed, K-12; in the U.S. and abroad; and as a teacher and as an administrator. His unique perspective helps us think about how to prepare our students in higher ed for tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities. Inspiration from childhood in Haiti Learned from experiences growing up in Haiti. Most common response to the question: “What’s up?” “I’m on fire.” Regardless of what kind of adversity you are facing, you are alive, and you have something to say. 21st Century Skills What does higher education have to learn from what’s happening in K-12, as we all work to develop 21st century skills? Disconnect between higher ed and K-12 Communication that one might anticipate happening between these educational bodies doesn’t happen. Can lead to gaps in students’ educational experiences. 21st century skills gives us one way to talk about what we have in common. Partnership for 21st Century Skills Resources for educators 4 competency areas, referred to as the 4Cs PIMCO partnership Carnegie hour Lipscombe – competency-based higher education Critical thinking and problem solving Important for faculty to discover where there are differences in how they gauge critical thinking and develop ways to assess it in similar ways Creativity SmartBoards being used to teach physics “He who opens a school door closes a prison.” – Victor Hugo The maker movement TED Talk: Thomas Suarez – 12-year-old app developer Communication How can we tap into the passions of our students and engage them? Why Do Americans Stink At Math by Elizabeth Green in the New York Times Collaboration How the increase in technological capabilities is changing our ability to collaborate Character As parents of a college-age daughter, Jeff and his wife care more about who their daughter becomes as a person, in terms of her character, than they do about the knowledge she is gaining. Answering: “Who am I? Who am I becoming? What am I contributing to the world?” Recommendations Cheating Lessons, by James Lang (Bonni) 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times, by Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel (Jeff) Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century, by The Committee on Defining Deeper Learning and 21st Century Skills (Jeff)