21st Century Skills Research Articles

An ESD-oriented e-book based on siwalan of Tuban to enhance creative thinking skills

The 21st-century skills require education in Indonesia to train 4C skills (Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, and Creative thinking), which are fundamental parts of students facing the era of society 5.0, one of which is creative thinking skills. Teaching materials to support these skills still need to be improved. This research aims to produce e-book based on the local wisdom of Siwalan (Borassus flabellifer L.) from Tuban oriented to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to train students in grade X creative thinking skills on valid and practical biodiversity material. The validity of e-book was determined by three experts, namely two expert lecturers and one biology teacher. Readability test results measured the practicality of e-book. The results of the validity test obtained a score of 3.88, which is a very valid category, while the practicality test based on the fry graph was categorized as practical at level 10, suitable for the reading of grade X students. The results showed that the e-book based on Siwalan local wisdom is valid and practical for learning. Integrating contextual learning materials based on local wisdom can train 21st-century skills that foster students' concern for sustainable development.

DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION AND ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVES

Digital storytelling (J. Lambert) is an interdisciplinary tool that helps teachers to personalize educational process and students to acquire learning material better, improve st century skills and develop agency. It implies narratives and animated presentations of ideas, created by students with the use of computer-based tools. The work on a digital story improves students’ computational thinking skills and multimodal literacy, associated with visual perception, understanding and responding to digital and multimedia texts. In order to study learning potential and students’ perception of such educational technology the research was conducted by The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Contemporary Childhood in March, . It was completed on the basis of School № in Kashira within the government assignment «Development of technology for overcoming adolescent risks: school theater based on role-playing experimentation».  adolescents took part in  lessons in Fine Arts. After reading “Letters about the good and beautiful” by Dmitriy Likhachev, they fi gured out the appropriate statements to develop them into digital stories of moral choice. Having sketched the plots of their stories in pencil, the schoolers worked on animated fi lms in stop-motion technique. That work included drawing scenery and characters, taking and editing photos, processing photos into short animated fi lms, adding sound and subtitles. Adolescents completed  digital stories. Due to their  refl ective journals, fi lled in the form of open-ended questions, they mostly experienced interest, pleasure and fun at the lessons. Adolescents wrote that they learned to work in teams, be attentive to others and overcome interaction challenges. They found diffi cult to come up with visual metaphors and story plots, but all their new skills might be practical for other school projects. To conclude, digital storytelling may be incorporated into the curriculum to update and enhance studying as well as bridge Literature, IT and Fine Arts together.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: THE INFLUENCE OF AI AND TECHNOLOGIES ON THE EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM

This research analyzed the development of 21st century skills and the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies on the educational curriculum. The central problem investigated was to identify how technologies and AI are shaping the skills needed for the future and their impact on curricular design. The overall objective was to analyze the integration of 21st century skills into educational curricula, highlighting the role of AI and technologies in this process. The methodology used was a literature review, with a qualitative approach, including the analysis of recently published materials. The results indicated that AI and emerging technologies are driving a significant reformulation of curricula, emphasizing skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and digital literacy. The practices for integrating these skills vary, involving project-based learning, the use of advanced digital tools, and the development of programming skills. The research highlighted the importance of a balanced approach that considers both technical and socio-emotional skills. The final considerations pointed out that, despite advances, the effective implementation of these skills in the curriculum still faces significant challenges. Investments in teacher training, technological infrastructure and innovative educational policies are essential to prepare students for the demands of the 21st century. The need for future studies was highlighted to explore effective methodologies for assessing these competencies and their long-term impact.

More than just fun: Investigating students’ perceptions towards the potential of leveraging esports for promoting the acquisition of 21st century skills

AbstractEsports (electronic sports) or competitive video gaming has taken its place as a leading form of entertainment for young people worldwide. However, esports were generally studied as a popular form of entertainment, and rarely have studies examined esports from an educational perspective. This study aimed to investigate the perceived impact of various types of esports on the acquisition of the 4Cs skills (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication) through the lenses of higher education students. A sequential mixed methods research design was adopted, with a questionnaire survey involving 628 participants followed by semi-structured interviews with 46 participants. The quantitative findings showed that the players generally perceived that esports can cultivate the 4Cs skills and their perception was significantly related to gaming experience, gaming frequency, and time spent on each gameplay. The higher level of engagement in games was associated with higher 4Cs skills. No significant difference was found in scores of the 4Cs skills across nine esports genres. Apart from statistical inferences, natural language process (NLP) techniques combined with thematic analysis were used to identify various mechanisms and elements of different games associated with the 4Cs skills development. The quantitative and qualitative findings collectively shed light on the potential of integrating esports elements into innovative pedagogies for promoting learning and developing the 4Cs skills for both life and career.

Media Ajar Berbasis Digital dalam Pembelajaran IPS di SD/MI

The importance of utilizing digital learning resources for Social Studies (IPS) learning at Elementary School (SD) and Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (MI) levels is discussed in this article. The utilization of digital teaching materials is expected to improve IPS learning in a more interesting, dynamic, and efficient way along with technological advances. This study identifies various digital learning media, including web-based learning platforms, educational software, and instructional videos, that can be used in the context of IPS learning. The advantages and difficulties faced by teachers and students when incorporating digital media into the classroom are also discussed in this article. It is hoped that by using a digital approach, students will be able to better understand IPS content and develop 21st-century skills needed for everyday life. In addition, this article offers suggestions for the efficient use of digital learning resources that are appropriate to the needs of MI and elementary school students.

DEVELOPING 21ST CENTURY SKILLS WITH TDIC

This study examines the critical role that Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICT) play in developing critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and digital literacy—skills that are essential for the 21st century. We recognize, however, that there are important challenges ahead, such as the need for ongoing training for educators and ensuring equitable access to technologies. A balanced approach that prioritizes pedagogy over technology and emphasizes the need to adapt curricula and teaching practices to maximize the potential of DICT is important, as highlighted by the study. Looking ahead, we propose strategies for effectively integrating emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, into the development of 21st-century skills. We find that, while DICT has transformative potential for education, careful and contextualized implementation, informed by ongoing research and collaboration among all stakeholders in the educational ecosystem, is critical to the success of DICT. By harnessing the potential of digital technologies, this work contributes to advancing knowledge on how to effectively prepare students for the challenges of a rapidly evolving world.

Development of scaffolding-based science e-modules to improve junior high school students’ scientific reasoning

Scientific Reasoning is a high-level thinking ability to think scientifically, systematically, and logically in the scientific method process. The scientific reasoning of junior high school students is still low in Science learning. In fact, scientific reasoning is an essential component of the cognitive flow of 21st-century skills. This study aimed to describe the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of scaffolding-based Science e-module in improving the scientific reasoning of junior high school students. This study was a developmental study with the ADDIE model. The subjects were 35 7-E students in SMP Negeri 7 Jember with the implementation in the even semester of the 2023/2024 academic year. The data collection techniques used were observation, documentation, validation sheets, implementation observation sheets, tests (pretest and posttest), and questionnaires of student response. Based on the research results, the implementation of a scaffolding-based Science e-module obtained a validation value of 89.8%, which was included in the valid category and can be used in the learning process. The results of the practicality analysis obtained a value of 88%, which was included in the very practical category to be used in the learning process. The effectiveness was obtained from the results of the pretest and posttest with an N-Gain value of 0.73%, which was included in the high category, and the results of student response were 89.4%, which was included in the very good category and effective in improving scientific reasoning of the junior high school students.

Exploring and validating the componential model of students’ scientific critical thinking in science education

Critical thinking (CT) is an essential 21st-century skill and a key competence. In recent years, the importance of scientific critical thinking (SCT) in scientific literacy has been increasingly emphasized in science education. However, the SCT componential model has not been thoroughly explored or empirically tested. Based on an exploratory sequential design, an inductive content analysis was conducted from the descriptions of SCT-related literature to construct a componential model of SCT, which was validated through expert focus group interviews. Subsequently, survey data on SCT were collected from 1041 high school students in China. The subcomponents (1) scientific critical thinking skills (SCTS), (2) scientific critical thinking dispositions (SCTD), and (3) scientific critical thinking background knowledge (SCTBK) were quantitatively validated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The questionnaire related to these three components of SCT had satisfactory reliability and validity, demonstrating the compositional nature of the model. Finally, we developed a compositional model including three components and 11 subcomponents. The SCT componential model provides detailed conceptual indicators for each subcomponent, providing a theoretical basis for measuring SCT.

Project-Based Learning Implementation in Higher Education: Theoretical and Practical Issues

These days, 21st century learners need to develop different skills in order to be successful in their academic and professional lives. To respond to these needs, educators are supposed to prepare learners to successfully accomplish diverse and complex tasks in this changing world. Therefore, innovative pedagogies including project-based learning are required to facilitate the task of 21st century teachers and learners. Although diverse new teaching and learning techniques have been suggested, the focus in this paper is on project-based learning. This paper, then, aims at discussing and reviewing project-based learning and its implementation especially in a higher education context. It outlines the challenges that professors encounter while using this teaching practice as well as suggesting some possible suggestions to overcome those obstacles. It also seeks to compare and contrast between traditional forms of teaching and project-based learning. Key words: challenges, higher education, implementation, project-based learning, 21st century skills

Development of an assessment tool for collaborative problem-solving skills in chemistry

Collaborative problem-solving (CPS) skills are recognised as an essential aspect of 21st century skills and STEM education. In the STEM framework, students’ CPS skills in the learning process need to be appropriately monitored, yet assessment tools for students’ CPS skills are currently not widely developed in chemistry. This study aimed to develop and validate the assessment tool for measuring high school students’ collaborative problem-solving skills in chemistry (CPS-C). Fifty-two students participated in the assessment, which included tasks on Coke Titration, Fruit Battery, and Soap Making. The data were analyzed using Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) models and the Generalized Partial Credit Model (GPCM). The results indicated that the CPS-C tool showed good internal consistency and item fit. Additionally, ten students were interviewed, and the interview content was analyzed using MAXQDA, emphasizing the importance of providing clear and concise instructions, reducing the number of tasks, and offering meaningful and relevant options. Moreover, this study also validated the reliability of cognitive ability tests, mental load and effort tests, and interest and motivation tests. The results showed satisfactory reliability for all tests except for the mental load and effort tests, which had a lower reliability coefficient of 0.68. Despite some limitations, the CPS-C tool showed great potential for effectively assessing CPS skills. Further research is needed to validate the tool’s effectiveness and reliability across larger, more diverse samples and different cultural contexts.

Examining the Influence of Demographic Factors on Problem-Solving Ability: A Study of Gender, Family Structure, and School Characteristics

Problem-solving involves overcoming obstacles that hinder goal attainment and finding optimal solutions to issues. This ability empowers learners to address challenges they encounter effectively. Consequently, problem-solving has become one of the most crucial 21st-century skills for better future adjustment in a complex society. This paper examines gender, family type, school type, and locality as correlates of problem-solving ability. The researchers conducted descriptive research with 1,200 secondary school students from the Thoubal district of Manipur. They used the Problem-solving Ability Test (PSAT), which they constructed based on five dimensions of problem-solving ability, to collect data. The findings reveal that male students significantly outperformed female students in the PSAT. Although students from joint families performed slightly better than those from nuclear families, the difference was insignificant. Additionally, students in private schools significantly outperformed those in government schools. Moreover, students from urban schools substantially outperformed those in rural schools on the PSAT.

Student Misconceptions about Heat Transfer Mechanisms: An Island Ethnophysics Study

Learners’ conceptual frameworks vary greatly, but they develop from their everyday experiences over time and change as they mature. Their intuitive understanding of the world around them often needs to match scientific concepts as seen by experts. It is essential in culturally based teaching to recognize how these naïve conceptions differ from scientific explanations of concepts and why children construct these ideas. Heat transfer mechanisms are conceptually rich material. Particularly in the Indonesian context, little effort has been made to reduce misconceptions. This prompted us to conduct a study in this area. We present a study on students’ misconceptions about heat transfer mechanisms, namely conduction, convection, and radiation. This study aimed to analyze students’ misconceptions about heat transfer mechanisms through an ethnophysics study. The method used was a non-experimental quantitative case study. In addition, a survey was conducted in the form of a diagnostic test in the form of questions related to heat transfer for 100 students. The findings in the field show that students experience relatively high misconceptions. So far, teachers have not accustomed students to learning from contextual things in the form of local wisdom around them. They have given scientific questions to search for, find, and provide answers and solutions to these natural phenomena. The teacher mainly pursues cognition and physics problems in textbooks and less explores contextual matters. Future research is suggested to develop physics teaching materials based on local wisdom oriented to 21st-century life skills that can support students to live in the future. Keywords: student misconceptions, heat transfer mechanisms, island ethnophysics

The Impact of Educational Transformation and Social Media on Students’ Achievement

The traditional education system, characterized by teacher-centered instruction and standardized curricula, is increasingly seen as inadequate for developing essential 21st-century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and adaptability. In response, educational transformation has emerged, driven by technological advancements and the increasing use of social media. This study explores the impact of educational transformation, focusing on how social media fosters collaborative learning, enhances digital literacy, and supports student engagement. While social media has become a powerful tool in reshaping the educational landscape, challenges such as privacy concerns, digital distractions, and misinformation remain significant. By analyzing current research, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding of how social media can both enhance and hinder educational outcomes. The study also highlights the importance of developing strategies to maximize the benefits of social media while addressing its risks, ultimately contributing to the ongoing transformation of education.

Optimizing Collaboration and Communication Skills of Pre-Service Biology Teachers Based on Cognitive Styles through Scientific Paper Tasks

Collaboration and communication have become essential skills in biology learning today. This research aims to describe pre-service biology teacher students' collaboration and communication skills based on reflective and impulsive cognitive styles through scientific paper tasks. This research is designated employing exploratory research using quantitative and qualitative paradigms. The subjects were five reflective and five impulsive students. This study used a familiar figure-matching test to assess cognitive style and an observation sheet to evaluate collaboration and communication skills. The results reveal that impulsive students with high collaboration skills are more than 50%, while reflective students with high collaboration skills are less than 50%. Reflective and impulsive students show distinct strengths in various indicators of communication skills. This research concludes that impulsive students' collaboration skills are superior to those of reflective students. Based on the communication skills indicators, impulsive and reflective students each have different advantages in communication skills. The results have implications for improving the quality of pre-service biology teacher graduates. Pre-service biology teacher students who can write scientific papers will have their 21st-century skills trained. The 21st-century skills trained in writing scientific papers include collaboration and communication, critical thinking, creativity, and digital and information literacy. These 21st-century skills are essential for individuals, including teachers, to face complex problems in the global era.

Following the Innovations in A Learning Organization Perspective: To Follow, or Not to Follow

The purpose of this study was to investigate school administrators and teachers’ following innovations in pre-school education in terms of the learning organization perspective. We examined their following the innovations in terms of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Competencies, 21st Century Skills, and Innovative School. A total of 207 participants (School Administrators N =33 & Teachers N = 174) were recruited in this research. The data collections tools were Information and Communication Technology Competency Scale (ICTC), Multidimensional 21st Century Skills Scale, and Innovative School Scale (ISS). Our results have shown that school administrators and teachers have positive attitudes towards following innovations in education. Participants, however, have some concerns over innovative atmosphere and organizational impediments in terms of the innovative school. Further, the results in innovative school showed a statistically significant difference in favor of male participants. The results of the regression analysis have revealed that there is a significant relationship between multidimensional 21st century skills and the innovative school variables at a high level. Although the participants' multidimensional 21st century skills significantly predicted their innovative school scores, we found that the ICT Competence variable alone did not predict or affect it. Limitations and recommendations for future research are provided, as well.

CONECTANDO CONCEITOS: O IMPACTO DOS MAPAS MENTAIS DIGITAIS DINÂMICOS NA APRENDIZAGEM DE SISTEMAS LINEARES

Traditional teaching methods tend to emphasize verbal and linear learning, focusing on isolated information rather than identifying relationships between concepts. However, building meaningful understanding requires visualizing these conceptual interconnections. The shift from a linear approach to integrated network models, such as mind maps, facilitates this knowledge organization, allowing students to develop a deeper understanding of concepts. With the advent of distance learning, additional challenges arise in the production of teaching materials, requiring critical reflection on the potentialities and challenges of digital technologies in pedagogical practice. Therefore, this research investigates the effectiveness of using dynamic digital mind maps (DDMM) in learning Electrical Engineering, focusing on the Linear Systems course. The study aims to evaluate, through a data collection instrument, how mind maps can assist students in understanding mathematical and abstract concepts, highlighting two perspectives: how students learn, and their perceptions of meaningful learning based on Digital Educational Resources. The experience emphasized a lesson plan for knowledge construction in the face of the challenges of 21st-century engineering education, developing competencies and skills for solving real and interdisciplinary problems.

Application of Prompt Learning Models in Identifying the Collaborative Problem Solving Skills in an Online Task

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) competence is considered one of the essential 21st-century skills. To facilitate the assessment and learning of CPS competence, researchers have proposed a series of frameworks to conceptualize CPS and explored ways to make sense of the complex processes involved in collaborative problem solving. However, encoding explicit behaviors into subskills within the frameworks of CPS skills is still a challenging task. Traditional studies have relied on manual coding to decipher behavioral data for CPS, but such coding methods can be very time-consuming and cannot support real-time analyses. Scholars have begun to explore approaches for constructing automatic coding models. Nevertheless, the existing models built using machine learning or deep learning techniques depend on a large amount of training data and have relatively low accuracy. To address these problems, this paper proposes a prompt-based learning pre-trained model. The model can achieve high performance even with limited training data. In this study, three experiments were conducted, and the results showed that our model not only produced the highest accuracy, macro F1 score, and kappa values on large training sets, but also performed the best on small training sets of the CPS behavioral data. The application of the proposed prompt-based learning pre-trained model contributes to the CPS skills coding task and can also be used for other CSCW coding tasks to replace manual coding.

Implementation of Integrated STEM Learning in Educational Robotics towards 21st Century Skills: A Systematic Review

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has become a frequently discussed topic in education in recent years. This study aims to categorize research findings related to Educational Robotics through Integrated STEM Learning towards 21st century skills in 2019-2024. In its review, this study used PRISMA systematic review. Paper searches were conducted on Scopus, ScienceDirect, and DOAJ databases on December 2023-January 2024. A total of 30 articles to review. The review in this study made it possible to categorize the Implementation of Integrated STEM in the form of Educational Robotics towards the development of 21st century skills in two categories. The first category was based on the improvement of students' abilities, the learning and teaching process, and the relationship with 21st century skills. The second category was based on the evaluation of STEM integrated with Educational Robotics to support 21st century skills. The results from the first category had a strong influence in improving students' abilities, the learning and teaching process, and the relationship with 21st century skills. From the second, it was determined that there is a need for the development of methods in learning educational robotics and it is important to support 21st century skills.

Higher Education Students’ Experiences of Game-Based Learning - Fostering and Hampering Aspects in Virtual Teamwork

The application of digital game-based learning (GBL) methods has lately received more attention in higher education (HE). An extensive body of previous investigations has recognised the potential of instructional games to advance the learning of appropriate work life skills. However, there seems to be a lack of understanding in the current literature regarding the students’ views towards meaningful ways to collaborate in virtual teams during educational activities. The current study is contextualised by a business simulation game and examines university students' experiences through working collaboratively in multi-site teams. In that context, the focus is on the fostering and hampering aspects of virtual collaboration as experienced by the students during the simulation sessions. The study was executed among 66 undergraduate university students in Finland. The data were collected from the students' reflection papers and were then analysed using a qualitative content analysis approach. The evidence shows that students experienced fostering and hampering aspects in relation to communication, collaboration, organising, and technology during the simulated sessions. As these are all very typical to modern distributed collaborative work, we may conclude that the GBL course presented in this study provided students with opportunities to experience and rehearse collaborative virtual teamwork in an authentic work context. Our findings highlight the importance of allowing students to practice 21st century skills in an authentic, safe and stimulating environment. Simulation games provide a feasible context for doing so.

Pre-service biology teachers’ knowledge of the 21st-century skills and its associated instructional models: The Indonesian context

Integrating the 21st-century skills into Indonesia’s education system is crucial for equipping students to face future challenges. This study investigates the knowledge of pre-service biology teachers in Indonesia regarding the 21st -century skills and their understanding of instructional models that support skill development. Conducted from March to September 2024, the research employed a cross-sectional survey design with a total sampling technique, involving 78 students from a Biology Education program at a public Islamic university in North Sumatra, all of whom had completed a course on biology learning strategies. Data were gathered using questionnaires and analyzed quantitatively to determine key trends. The findings indicate that although most students recognize the significance of the 21st-century skills in biology education, their understanding is limited. Only a small number could identify all essential skills, with creative thinking being the most recognized. Students were well-acquainted with project-based learning as a model for developing these skills but had limited knowledge of the structure and application of other instructional models, such as discovery and inquiry learning. These findings emphasize the need for curriculum improvement to deepen students’ comprehension of various instructional models and the integration of diverse information sources, enabling more effective integration of the 21st -century skills into biology education.