Twenty-first Century Skills Research Articles

Incorporating an ICT-Competency Framework and Problem-Solving Skills as Twenty-First Century Skills in Practical Key Teaching Syllabuses

Incorporating an ICT-Competency Framework and Problem-Solving Skills as Twenty-First Century Skills in Practical Key Teaching Syllabuses

Development of STEM-Based Physics E-Module with Self-Regulated Learning to Train Students’ Creative Thinking Skills

Twenty-first century skills are recognized as a competency standard that students need to possess to support the demands of success both in work and in life in the future, especially in learning. In line with this, learning that can accommodate 21st-century skills is learning that has a balance between the scientific approach and the use of technology. One of the efforts that can be made is to develop teaching materials in the form of electronic modules that integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to train creative thinking skills that are also adjusted to the applicable school curriculum. However, most of the teaching materials, especially the modules that are used in general, are only printed modules. Based on these problems, we need electronic modules (e-modules) that direct students to have 21st-century skills and the dimensions that exist in the independent learning curriculum. This study aims to develop an e-module based on STEM and self-regulated learning about global warming topics to train students’ creative thinking skills. This type of research involves adapting a 4-D development model. Which consist of defining, designing, developing, and disseminating. The data were gathered through questionnaires and tests. The questionnaire instrument consists of an expert validation questionnaire of three experts. Meanwhile, the test instrument consisted of a pre-test and a post-test, which were tested on 32 students in class X majoring in science. The N-gain score for creative thinking skills is 0.60 in the medium category. Based on the results of this study, the development of a STEM-based physics e-module with self-regulated learning on the global warming topic can train students' creative thinking skills.

Efficacy of micro credential learning spaces in developing students’ twenty-first century skills: Towards graduate work readiness

Efficacy of micro credential learning spaces in developing students’ twenty-first century skills: Towards graduate work readiness

An Ontology to Formalize a Creative Problem Solving Activity

Our study is set in an educational context: to better teach and assess twenty-first century skills, such as computational thinking or creative problem solving, we propose to formalize a specific activity that involves these competencies. This activity, referred to as #CreaCube, is presented as an open-ended problem which consists of assembling a set of robotic cubes into an autonomous vehicle. We not only anchor our formalization in classical learning science frameworks but we also propose to draw on neuro-cognitive models to describe the observed behaviors of learners engaged in this activity. The chosen formalism is symbolic and is aligned on upper ontologies to ensure that the vocabulary is well specified. This allows for a better communication between the summoned research fields, namely learning science, cognitive neuroscience and computational modeling. Beyond this specification purpose, we suggest performing inferences using available reasoners to better guide the analysis of the observables collected during the experiments. This operationalization of a creative problem-solving activity is part of an exploratory research action. In addition, an effective proof of concept is described in this study.

Numeracy Corners and Lower Basic Public Primary School Pupils’ Twenty-First Century Skills Acquisition: Implications for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study examined numeracy corners and lower basic public primary school pupils’ twenty-first century skills acquisition with their implications for achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Lagos State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 20 lower basic public primary schools and 60 teachers. Two research instruments, titled "Observation Schedule for Availability of Numeracy Corners and Materials" and "Questionnaire on Teachers’ Perception of Numeracy Corners and Acquisition of 21st Century Skills", designed by the researchers and validated by research experts were used to collect data for the study. The instruments yielded reliability coefficients of 0.91 and 0.85, respectively. The data was collected by the researchers and some trained research assistants. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentages, mean, and standard deviation. Findings revealed that numeracy corners and materials were not adequately available in the lower basic public primary schools covered. Teachers had positive perceptions on the extent to which numeracy corners promote the acquisition of twenty-first century skills. It is recommended that the federal government of Nigeria, through the Lagos State commissioner for education, should adopt a proactive approach to ensuring that provision is made for numeracy corners at each lower basic public primary school. The corners should be well equipped with learning facilities that would enhance the acquisition of twenty-first century skills.

Embracing Culturally Relevant Computational Thinking in the Preschool Classroom: Leveraging Familiar Contexts for New Learning

AbstractComputational thinking (CT) is an important twenty-first century skill that begins developing early. Recent interest in incorporating early CT experiences in early childhood education (i.e., preschool) has increased. In fact, the early years mark an important time during which initial competencies are acquired, interest and motivation begins to form, and in which children may develop a sense of belonging in STEM fields. As a result, providing children with access to robotics and computer science experiences to support CT that are also developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant is key. This paper uses the “powerful ideas” of computer science, seven developmentally appropriate CT concepts that children can learn, as a framework and explores the experiences of two (composite) teachers who participated in and co-developed a culturally relevant robotics program and the processes they undertake to support children’s CT development and learning. This paper considers practices that support the seven key powerful ideals while leveraging existing instructional routines and contexts that are already occurring in most classrooms, such as centers, small group activities, classroom environments, and read-alouds. Of note, this paper prioritizes approaches that acknowledge, center, and feature the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds of young children and their families. Identifying affordable and accessible practices, this paper provides educators with tangible, integrated, and authentic practices to support children’s computational thinking, STEM learning, and sense of belonging.

مَهارات القَرن الحادي والعِشرين وعَلاقتُها بجَودَة الحَياة النَفسيَّة لدى عيّنة من طالِبات جامِعَة الملك عبد العَزيز بمدينَة جدة

Accordingly, the current study aimed to identify the relationship between twenty-first century skills and psychological quality of life among female students at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. To achieve its purpose; It relied on the descriptive correlational approach, as the study was applied to a sample of (214) undergraduate students at King Abdulaziz University, and the measures of the twenty-first century skills and the quality of psychological life were prepared by the researcher, after verifying their psychometric characteristics, which came to a high degree. The study found the following results: There is a positive correlation, statistically significant, between the skills of the twenty-first century and the quality of psychological life among a sample of female students at King Abdulaziz University. The results concluded that the level of all twenty-first century skills (learning and creativity skills - digital culture skills - life and work skills) is available to female students at King Abdulaziz University at an advanced or high level. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences in the degrees of twenty-first century skills among a sample of female students at King Abdul Aziz University, due to the effect of the specialization variable. There are also statistically significant differences in the scores of twenty-first century skills among a sample of female students at King Abdulaziz University due to the impact of the current general assessment variable, in favor of female students whose assessment is high. Also, there are no statistically significant differences in the degrees of the quality of psychological life among a sample of female students at King Abdulaziz University due to the effect of the variable of specialization. Finally, there are statistically significant differences in the degrees of psychological quality of life among a sample of female students at King Abdulaziz University, due to the effect of the current general assessment variable.

Overcoming barriers to teaching 21C skills: the Bridge21 approach

ABSTRACT The global twenty-first century (21C) skills agenda has become a common feature in the educational policy of many countries. However, teachers can face operational, definitional and systemic barriers to the integration of 21C skills in practice. The operational barriers include insufficient teacher capacity, which in turn is influenced by insufficient teaching materials and ultimately teacher beliefs. This paper explores how we can address these issues, at secondary school level, through the promotion of the use of a pedagogical model designed to support the teaching of 21C skills and an associated approach to teacher professional development (PD). Using a comparative methodology two research questions are addressed. RQ1. Do teachers who participated in the PD report more positive beliefs and greater agency in relation to teaching 21C skills, than their peers who did not partake in the PD? RQ2. Are teachers who participated in the PD more likely to implement approaches that support the development of 21C skills, than their peers who did not partake in the PD? Statistically significant, positive differences, with small and medium effect sizes, were found in responses (N = 510) to questionnaire sub-scales pertinent to the research questions. Implications of the findings on future reforms are considered.

Analysis of the content of some scientific theses used in teaching mathematics at the university level in light of twenty-first century skills

Analysis of the content of some scientific theses used in teaching mathematics at the university level in light of twenty-first century skills

Twenty-First Century Skills Retraining Needs of Mechanical Engineering Craft Practice Teachers in Technical Vocational Institutions in the North West Zone of Nigeria

Twenty-First Century Skills Retraining Needs of Mechanical Engineering Craft Practice Teachers in Technical Vocational Institutions in the North West Zone of Nigeria

The Degree Of the First three Grades Teachers Practice Of the Twenty-First Century Skills From Their Perspectives

هدفت الدراسة إلى الكشف عن درجة ممارسة معلمات الصفوف الثلاثة الأولى لمهارات القرن الحادي والعشرين من وجهة نظرهن، واستخدمت الدراسة المنهج الوصفي المسحي، وتم تطوير استبانة لهذا الغرض بعد التأكد من صدقها وثباتها، وتكونت عينة الدراسة من (242) معلمة تم اختيارهم بالطريقة العشوائية. أظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن درجة ممارسة معلمات الصفوف الثلاثة الأولى لمهارات القرن الحادي والعشرين من وجهة نظرهن جاءت بدرجة (مرتفعة) على الاستبانة الكلية، وعلى جميع المجالات، كما أظهرت نتائج الدراسة عدم وجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا في درجة ممارسة معلمات الصفوف الثلاثة الأولى لمهارات القرن الحادي والعشرين تعزى إلى متغيرات (المؤهل العلمي، السلطة المشرفة، وسنوات الخبرة)، وأوصت الدراسة بالمحافظة على المستوى المرتفع لتطبيق مهارات القرن الواحد والعشرين، واعتبار مستوى ممارستها من وسائل التقييم السنوي للمعلم.

Teacher competencies necessary for teaching chemistry in the context of Twenty-first century skills

هدفت الدراسة إلى تقصي درجة امتلاك معلمي الكيمياء بإدارة تعليم وادي الدواسر للكفايات التدريسية في ضوء مهارات القرن الحادي والعشرين، وتحديد مدى وجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا في تلك الكفايات تعزي لمتغيري الخبرة والمؤهل العلمي، وتكونت عينة الدراسة من جميع معلمي الكيمياء في المرحلة الثانوية بإدارة تعليم وادي الدواسر والبالغ عددهم (33) معلمًا، واستخدمت الدراسة المنهج الوصفي (دراسة مسحية) ويجيب عن تساؤلاتها، وذلك باستخدام الاستبانة كأداة للدراسة، وتوصلت الدراسة إلى أن الكفايات التدريسية في ضوء مهارات القرن الحادي والعشرين تمثلت في ثلاث كفايات هي: (كفايات التخطيط، والتنفيذ، والتقويم)، كما توصلت إلى أن درجة امتلاك معلمي الكيمياء للكفايات التدريسية في ضوء مهارات القرن الحادي والعشرين جاءت بدرجة كبيرة جدًا في الدرجة الكلية، في مجالات التخطيط، والتنفيذ، والتقويم. وأوصت الدراسة بعدة توصيات أهمها توجيه القادة والمسئولين عن التعليم إلى الاهتمام بالكفايات التكنولوجية، وإكسابها للمعلمين، ومتابعة استخدامهم لها أثناء التدريس.

Implementation of 21st Century Skills in EFL Classroom: Perceptions of Lecturers and Students

Twenty-first century skills refer to a broad set of skills that are critically important in the educational system to meet the complex and rapid changes around the world. Of particular concern in the context of Afghanistan is the failure to produce graduates with the essential competencies necessary for success in the workplace. In education, incorporating these skills is important to meet the current and future demands of society. This study investigates Afghan lecturers’ and students’ perceptions toward the implementation of 21st century skills in EFL classrooms. Quantitative approach was used, whereby data were collected through questionnaires from 197 participants at three public universities in Afghanistan. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 was used for descriptive and inferential analyses. The findings revealed that all of the eight 21st century skills were implemented to some degree in the EFL classrooms. In addition, the level of implementation varied between key skills, subcategories, and specific practices listed within each domain whereby none of the skills were fully and consistently incorporated into the classroom. The findings of this study will provide EFL lecturers and students, educationists, and curriculum developers with insights into implementing 21st century skills at tertiary level education.

Students’ and teachers’ responses to use of a digital self-assessment tool to understand and identify development of twenty-first century skills when working with makerspace activities

In this qualitative study, we investigated how students and teachers responded to the design of a digital self-assessment tool and how they experienced the use of the tool to support understanding and development of twenty-first century skills when working with makerspace activities. There were 65 lower secondary school students and four teachers participating in the study. We used individual interviews with the teachers and group interviews with the students. Data were analysed with thematic coding of transcripts from interviews. The results showed that the participants found that the tool needed technical improvements, but that they gained some insights into the meaning of the included twenty-first century skills (collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, life/social skills and communication). However, it was particularly difficult for students to understand the meaning of life/social skills and how this connected to makerspace activities. Still, both students and teachers argued that it is possible to develop twenty-first century skills during makerspace activities. Teachers also found connections between the skills and learning objectives in the school subject technology, but also in other subjects. We were unsure of how used students were to self-assessment and we believe that teachers’ role is essential, even when it comes to supporting students in self-assessment. Finally, both students and teachers argued that twenty-first century skills are of importance for the future and the project served as an eye-opener in this aspect.

The Paper Towels Challenge: an open-ended scientific inquiry activity to promote science understanding, scientific skills and 21st century skills

This article introduces a flexible and easy-to-implement open-ended scientific inquiry activity called the Paper Towels Challenge. After experimentally determining which of three unbranded paper towels is the most absorbent, students discuss their results and methods. The teacher facilitates the discussion of epistemological issues. This activity can be used regardless of the participants' age or country to promote science understanding, NGSS science and engineering practices, and twenty-first century skills, such as critical thinking and communication. The many uses, benefits, and possible adaptations of the activity are discussed.

Fostering twenty-first century skills among primary school students through math project-based learning

In today’s modern world, students must be equipped with twenty-first century skills, particularly those related to solving real-life problems, to ensure competitiveness in the current global economy. The present study employed project-based learning (PBL) as an instructional tool for teaching math at the primary level. A convergent mixed-methods approach was adopted to determine whether the PBL approach has improved students’ twenty-first century skills, including collaborative, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Thirty-five students of the experimental group were treated with PBL, while 35 students of the control were treated with the traditional teaching method. ANCOVA test for “critical thinking skills” showed a significant difference between the experimental and control group (F = 104.833, p = 0.000 < 0.05). For collaborative skills, results also showed a significant difference between the two groups (F = 32.335, p = 0.000 < 0.05). For problem-solving skills, the mean value of experimental (25.54) and control group (16.94) showed a high difference after the intervention. The t-value (8.284) and the p value (p = 0.000) also showed a highly significant difference. Observations of the classroom also revealed the favorable effects of employing PBL. PBL activities boosted the level of collaboration and problem-solving skills among students. Students could advance their collaboration abilities, including promoting one another’s viewpoints, speaking out when necessary, listening to one another, and participating in thoughtful discussions. During the PBL project, students’ active participation and effective collaboration were observed, significantly contributing to its success.

"Operationalizing collaborative problem-solving skills: A framework for assessment and development in the digital age"

"This article delves into the operationalization of collaborative problem-solving (CPS) skills, focusing on the essential aspects required to effectively apply CPS in the modern digital age. The article emphasizes the growing significance of CPS skills as technology-based work and the automation of routine tasks demand proficiency in addressing non-routine, complex challenges. To enable successful CPS, a new set of skills including information literacy, divergent thinking, and problem-solving, both individually and collaboratively, are explored. The article investigates the strategies and approaches employed by individuals and teams when engaging in collaborative problem solving, with an emphasis on knowledge sharing and skill pooling. The study highlights the criticality of CPS as an invaluable skill set, enabling individuals to effectively collaborate and overcome intricate problems. Moreover, as contemporary work environments increasingly rely on successful group problem solving, the significance of operationalizing CPS is expected to continue growing in the future. Keywords: collaborative problem solving, problem solving, PISA, literacy, Human-to-Human, Human-to-Agent, Twenty-first Century Skills."

The critical thinking-oriented adaptations of problem-based learning models: a systematic review

Critical thinking is a significant twenty-first century skill that is prioritized by higher education. Problem-based learning is becoming widely accepted as an effective way to enhance critical thinking. However, as the results of studies that use PBL to develop CT have had mixed success, PBL models need to be modified to guarantee positive outcomes. This study is a systematic review that analyzed how studies have adapted Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to become more Critical Thinking (CT)-oriented, evaluated the effectiveness of these adaptations, and determined why certain adaptations were successful. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) by searching the scientific databases Scopus and Web of Science. Twenty journal articles were chosen based on their adherence to the inclusion criteria established by PICo (Population, Phenomenon of Interest, and Context). In these studies, PBL adaptations were categorized into five classifications, with activities centered on CT development being the most prevalent approach. Researchers utilized a variety of analytical methodologies to assess the effectiveness of these adaptations and derive significant insights and formulate valid conclusions. An analysis of all selected studies revealed positive outcomes, indicating that incorporating CT elements into PBL was effective in enhancing students' CT. These findings were categorized into nine factors that contribute to the successful adaptation of PBL to be CT-oriented.

Primary School Students' Experiences using Minecraft Education during a National Project-Based Initiative: An Irish Study.

Minecraft Education is a digital game-based learning platform that is thought to support the development of twenty-first century competencies and skills. The purpose of this study is to explore primary students' experiences of using Minecraft Education during an innovative national project-based initiative. The initiative had two phases: 1) educational episodes for teachers and students on how to use the platform and 2) a national competition that required students to re-imagine a sustainable version of their community. We used a mixed-methods design with a sample of classes taking part in the initiative. First, third to sixth class students (N = 173) completed a survey that examined: 1) learning opportunities with Minecraft Education, 2) ease of use, 3) usefulness, and 4) enjoyment. Eight focus group interviews were then conducted with a subsample of sixth class students (n = 30). Students indicated that 1) there were good opportunities for learning with Minecraft Education, particularly for creativity and collaboration, 2) the platform was easy to use and useful and, 3) using Minecraft Education was enjoyable. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified five themes: 'collaboration', 'opportunities for creativity', 'immersive learning environment', 'student engagement', and 'technology and digital skills'. This research highlights the value of innovative project-based learning activities with Minecraft Education for supporting student learning.

The impact of twenty-first century skills on university students’ robotic achievements

The impact of twenty-first century skills on university students’ robotic achievements