Tuesday 12 July 2016

21st Century Skills vs 20th Century Skills - Do we need both?


What is the difference between 20th century and 21st century skills? Is there a difference? I guess, yes, in terms of the industrial model vs a more organic, creative model. In the 20th century model we needed to be able to memorise and repeat knowledge, we learned content and had to be able to recall it, we also focused on indiviudal work more than collaborative or sharing; 21st century skills are more focused on finding, retrieving, understanding and applying knowledge and being adaptable, evolving, creative and able to work with others. Do we need both sets of skills? I say yes, you need to know how to do things, how things work, plus it’s fun to know stuff, but that knowledge alone won’t let you succeed or soar – you need to know how to apply it in the real world.