Partnership for 21st Century Skills

This week one of our requirements was to visit the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)website.  This is a national organization that advocates for 21st Century readiness for every student.  I have to admit, that initially, I was surprised that such an organization exists but then found myself questioning why this surprised me in the first place...I guess it just seemed surprising because in this technology filled world we live in, education is lagging far behind and many schools do not have the funding for equipment or personnel to incorporate such technology based lessons.  


The website is a wealth of information with numerous links for further resources.  It lists specific skills students will need to be successful in the workforce and offers links to access additional information.  The site breaks these skills down into six key elements:  Core Subjects, 21st Century skills, Learning & Thinking Skills, ICT Literacy, Life Skills, and 21st Century Assessments.  


As I clicked on link after link I began to feel somewhat overwhelmed by the number of links and information.  I assume it would be easier to navigate if I had a specific topic I was looking into instead of trying to get an overview of the entire site.  


One key idea that stood out to me was the concept of adding an assessment piece to determine students' mastery of 21st Century Skills.  This has intrigued me to look into this further.  Exactly what skills are being assessed, and most importantly HOW are they assessed in an efficient and timely manner?


Although I found this website initially to be slightly overwhelming (and lets be honest, that could just as easily be a result of being a week away from Spring Break, having weather that is 50+ degrees higher than normal temperatures for this time of year, and a combination of too little sleep and too many irons in the fire) I see how the site could potentially be beneficial for the classroom teacher struggling to fully understand how to incorporate 21st Century Skills in the classroom.  I will be looking more closely at the maps, but wish they had one specific for math, to help me determine which skills I really need to invest time on in my classroom to ensure my 5th graders are getting the skills they need to be ready for the following year.  I also will check back to the blog section and visit some of the links over the summer to better acquaint myself with what this site offers and how I can improve the use of technology in  my classroom.