21st-Century Skills for Students: Nurturing Competencies for the Digital Age
The term ‘21st-century skills’ is being thrown around more and more. But what does this mean?
As the world rapidly evolves with advancing technology, so do the skills needed for success. The gap between the skills acquired in higher education and those demanded by employers has become more apparent: ‘in a Wall Street Journal survey of 900 executives, 92% reported that soft skills, such as communication, critical thinking, and curiosity, are as important as technical skills and mostly short in supply (Ashford, 2019; Davidson, 2016)’ (Chaudry et al., 2023).
To bridge this divide, a renewed emphasis on 21st-century skills is essential throughout students' learning experiences. As Zizka and Probst point out:
This mindset and disposition toward rapid learning that is required to thrive in an environment of constant disruption will be a competitive advantage for these students in their future careers (2023, p. 62).
Why 21st Century Skills Matter
The digital revolution has, in turn, revolutionised the skills landscape, making traditional knowledge alone insufficient for success. 21st-century skills are essential to address the complexities of the contemporary world, enabling students to navigate a digitally-mediated professional environment with confidence. The core 21st-century skills include:
citizenship
communication
collaboration
problem-solving
creativity, and
critical thinking
Though not entirely new, these skills require a new approach to teaching and assessment, given the evolving digital landscape.
Citizenship
Citizenship in a digital and global world involves active engagement, understanding personal rights and responsibilities, diversity and inclusion, responsible use of digital technologies, awareness of global issues, and the ability to take action for social and environmental challenges. To instil effective citizenship, we can employ the following methods.
Civic engagement projects
Encourage students to participate in hands-on, community-based projects that address social, economic, political, or environmental issues. The real-world engagement is going to help them foster a real sense of responsibility and help them understand the importance of civic action. It’s time to do away with the ‘bubble’ of academia.
Service learning
We can design projects that allow students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems, partnering with communities and organisations to address local or global needs.
Debates and discussions
Introduce students to civic issues like social justice, human rights, and environmental sustainability across various disciplines. Encourage them to think about their role as global citizens through healthy and productive debate.
Leadership development
Try offering workshops, group projects, or mentoring programmes to help students develop their leadership skills and empower them to lead effectively in a globalised society.
Communication
Of course, communication has always been a critical skill for success, but the way in which we teach communication needs to change to reflect the changing ways in which people communicate in the digital age.
Of course, communication involves the ability to express oneself through multiple mediums, including written, verbal, and nonverbal. But, it also involves the ability to actively listen and interpret information, as well as the ability to collaborate with diverse groups of people. It involves the ability to use technology appropriately in a digital world and finally, the ability to understand cultural differences and adapt communication appropriately for diverse groups of people. The following methods can be used to help cultivate communication skills that are appropriate for the digital age.
Online communication etiquette
Provide guidelines on tone, cues, formatting, and language for virtual communication. Communicating through email, instant messaging, or video conferencing are all different, and students need to be taught how to communicate effectively across the multiple digital mediums available.
Social media usage and presence
Social media is so prominent. So let’s not ignore it. Let’s show students how to create a professional online presence, using social media for networking and effectively conveying their skills and values to a global audience.
Digital presentations
Equip students with skills for presenting effectively using multimedia tools, including visual aids, animations, and digital mediums for conveying information to different audiences.
Multimedia storytelling
Look at how popular and effective podcasts are at conveying knowledge and reaching global audiences; we can teach students how to use these multimedia tools to tell stories and share their knowledge or convey messages to wider audiences.
Collaboration
The next skill is collaboration, which is a word that is thrown around a lot in education. But it means more than just working with others in a group. It involves the ability to work effectively with diverse groups, yes, but what makes it collaboration is the outcome being a common goal between all members. It also involves the ability to communicate openly and respectfully, listen to others and contribute unique perspectives and skills to a team.
Collaboration is essential for studying, but it’s also critical for just living in our digital world (Hesse et al., 2015). Being able to collaborate effectively with diverse people is critical for success in the 21st-century; the following methods are effective at fostering collaborative skills for the digital age.
Group projects
This might seem obvious. But, for a group project to be truly collaborative, we can’t just assign students into groups and give them a task to complete. The task needs to be designed so that it can’t be completed without all members contributing. This is the way in which collaboration happens in real life: individuals are put into groups to solve a problem, and each person brings their own unique skills to the task. No one person can solve it effectively alone.
Peer review
Encourage students to provide constructive feedback to their peers. This will help develop their evaluative judgement (a critical skill in today’s information age) as well as enhance their ability to collaborative in a constructive way.
Team building
Being part of a team isn’t instinctive. People need to be taught how to be an effective team member. Design activities that promote trust building, respect, and effective communication, creating a sense of community amongst learners.
Roleplay
Hypothetical scenarios that mirror real-life professional challenges can be incredible at teaching students how to collaborate, negotiate, and problem-solve as a team. It’s also going to tap into their brain’s ability to recognise authenticity — key for deep learning!
Problem-solving
Of course, problem-solving isn’t a skill that is new to the 21st century. But, the way it is taught has to change because the skill of problem-solving has shifted in the digital landscape. Now, new skills are needed to synthesise a huge amount of digital information, and students must be able to flex their problem-solving skills to analyse and interpret this data.
Problem-solving involves the ability to identify, analyse, and develop solutions to complex problems in multiple contexts. In the 21st-century, it also involves the ability to be adaptable, resilient, and continuously improve.
It is now more complex for us to teach and assess, but the following methods can be effective.
Group projects
Group projects are not just a method for teaching collaboration, they are also incredibly effective for teaching problem-solving when done correctly. Funke et al., tell us that “many complex problems in the real world are not tackled by individuals but by people collaborating in teams. Collaborating brings certain benefits, for example, sharing knowledge, combining specialist skills, or distributing work, but also introduces difficulties through miscommunication, coordination losses, and potential goal conflicts” (2018, p. 49). If our teaching design is to effectively foster the skill of problem-solving in students, it should be through collaboration; this is the way in which our students will actually tackle real problems in their careers.
Case studies
“In teaching students how to become better problem solvers, a common constraint in traditional test design has been that the attainment of the solution is the sole criterion from which inferences can be made. This has occurred despite the fact that procedural aspects of problem-solving have been considered important for some time.”
Using authentic case studies can help students foster their problem-solving skills, by focussing on the process rather than the solution. By using case studies, you can encourage students to strategise, weigh evidence, and evaluate perspectives within real contexts.
Design thinking
Emphasise empathy, problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing to help guide students through innovative problem-solving approaches.
Simulations
Engage students in experiential learning, allowing them to apply knowledge in relevant and immersive contexts, honing their ability to think on their feet and make informed decisions. Again, simulations tap into authenticity, which promotes deep learning for students.
Creativity
Fostering creativity involves the ability to generate original ideas and think creatively to solve problems. It also involves the ability to apply the imagination to different situations and to use different tools and resources to create innovative solutions. It involves the ability to adapt and embrace failure, and the ability to collaborate with others to bring creative ideas to fruition. We can employ specific methods to help foster creativity in our students.
Entrepreneurship studies
Inspire your students with real-life success stories of creativity. This is going to help them see the importance of creativity, not just for studying, but for following their dreams out in the world.
Creative thinking techniques
Sometimes, students don’t know how to be creative. It might not be their natural inclination. So, get them to practice with creative thinking techniques; methodologies like mind mapping, idea generation, SCAMPER, or even random word association can help them break out of their normal thinking patterns and ignite their out-of-the-box thinking.
Artistic expression
Getting students to use artistic expression can be simple but effective. It can be as simple as getting students to draw by hand, or create visual representations of their ideas, even filming videos or stills to get students to use their creativity.
Experimentation
We need to let our students experiment with new ideas, procedures or tools to try new things, iterate, and flex their creative thinking. But experimentation involves embracing failure. So, we need to prime students to use failure to grow. It is vital for learning. We must foster in them the acceptance of, and necessity of, failing in order to learn.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking involves the ability to analyse, evaluate, and interpret information from various sources to make decisions and solve problems. It also involves the ability to apply logical reasoning, creative thinking, and innovation to develop solutions and strategies. It means being able to communicate findings and conclusions clearly and the ability to continually evaluate and adjust thinking based on new information and feedback. Critical thinking is absolutely essential for the digital era; we can use methods to teach it in a way that is appropriate for the 21st-century.
Case studies
A method that teaches the majority of 21st-century skills, the case study can be used to allow students to analyse, evaluate, and strategise within authentic contexts. It will develop critical thinking more profoundly if the cases are not defined; let students critically consider the opportunities for solutions.
Debates
Debates are a tried and tested method for getting students to demonstrate their critical thinking skills. When you try to convince someone of your opinion, you must critically evaluate your own position as well as the arguments of others. It can help develop students’ ability to communicate their critical thinking as well.
Information evaluation
Students need to be taught how to discern the quality, reliability, and trustworthiness of information they find online. Google is not a truth factory, and search algorithms are not without bias.
Reflection
Reflection is a core component of developing effective critical thinking. Students need to reflect on their own thinking process, identify their own biases and assumptions, and evaluate their reasoning.
REFERENCES
Care, E. and Kim, H. (2018). Assessment of Twenty-First Century Skills: The Issue of Authenticity (pp. 21-40). In E. Care, Griffin, P. and M. Wilson (eds.) Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills: Research and Applications. Springer.
Chaudhry, I. S., Sarwary, S. A. M., El Refae, G. A. and Chabchoub, H. (2023). Time to revisit existing student's performance evaluation approach in higher education sector in a new era of ChatGPT - A case study. Cogent Education, 10(1).
Eyler, J. R. (2018). How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching. West Virginia University Press.
Hesse, F., Care, E., Buder, J., Sassenberg, K. and Griffin, P. (2015). ‘A Framework for Teachable Collaborative Problem Solving Skills’, In P. Griffin and E. Care (Eds) (pp. 37-56). Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills: Methods and Approach. Springer.
Voogt, J. and Roblin, N. P. (2012). A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competencies: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44(3), 299-321.
Zizka, L. and Probst, G. (2022). Learning during (or despite) COVID-19: business students’ perceptions of online learning. Quality Assurance in Education, 31(1), 60-73.
