Future Teachers Identify Skills Acquired from a 1:1 Technology Environment

Abstract

Are high school students ready for their postgraduate education or a career that may not have been invented yet? As teachers focus on career prep and the necessary future-ready skills in the classroom, teachers are using technology to hone skills necessary for students’ future success. The technological skills students need to develop to be successful go far beyond the core academic subjects. Success in higher education or career pursuits requires students to develop a combination of technology through student-centered, project-based learning around the 4Cs (critical thinking/problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity/innovation). Along with knowing how to use a variety of applications, students need to be able to know how to apply the technology to solve problems. This paper aims to understand what technology and 4C skills pre-service teachers who graduated from a 1:1 technology high school possess. The findings show that the respondents are more prepared and comfortable using their 4C skills than their technology skills. This paper will address the potential implications of technology and 4C skills deficiencies and strengths on future teaching practices. The literature on technology skills and 4C skills has historically focused on one set of skills or the other in isolation. This research addresses this gap in the literature by comparing the acquisition of the two skill sets to each other in the same (1:1 technology) environment.