I’ve been hearing a lot about 21st century skills! They are all over education, being talked about in the biz world and there was an panel at the AEP (Arts Education Partnership) Forum this past month in Cambridge that talked about these skills and how THE ARTS can play a part in their development in children.
This is a big topic and a way for the arts to be promoted in the schools. Although the skills themselves are not directly associated with the arts, the are embedded in the arts and arts education.
In future blogs I would like to talk more about this and also put this topic in the forum, but for now, here is some basic info on 21st century skills:
Learning and Innovation Skills
* Creativity and Innovation
* Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
* Communication and Collaboration
Information, Media and Technology Skills
* Information Literacy
* Media Literacy
* ICT Literacy
Life and Career Skills
for much more informative and elaborate information, visit http://21stcenturyskills.org
As I mentioned above, these skills can certainly be taught through the arts. This idea of workforce preparedness and people’s ability to think critically plays a huge part in this as well.
There is so much to this…more is sure to come.
Related posts:
Elizabeth Peterson has devoted her life to education and to reaching out to other teachers who want to remain inspired. Mrs. Peterson teaches fourth grade in Amesbury, Massachusetts and is the host of www.theinspiredclassroom.com. She holds an M.Ed. in Education, “Arts and Learning” and is currently enrolled in a C.A.G.S. program through Plymouth State University with a focus in “Arts Leadership and Learning.” Elizabeth is author of Inspired by Listening, a teacher resource book that includes a method of music integration she has developed and implemented into her own teaching. She teaches workshops and courses on the integration of the arts into the curriculum, leads an arts integration PLC (PLaiC) and is adjunct faculty for PSU. Mrs. Peterson believes there is a love of active, integrated learning in all children and from their enthusiasm, teachers can shape great opportunities to learn. 
