Themes from the Text

           Among the content of the readings in chapters 5, 8, &9 in the 21^st Century Skills text I discovered two common themes present throughout.  The themes of both cooperative learning and problem solving dominate the focus of those particular chapters and emphasize the need to move our educative efforts in schools in those directions.  As we move further toward global interdependence, the need for the development of both of these concepts in today’s students becomes crucial. 

            Because of the need to be able to work collaboratively with diverse populations, the development of interpersonal skills must be fostered in all types of educational activities.  When discussing the concept of interpersonal skills in the 21^st century, the concepts of understanding diversity and appropriate online relationships are absolutely imperative.  The constantly changing world that today’s youth are growing up in, due mainly to rapidly increasing population diversity and technology, demand that students demonstrate the skills for being able to solve problems collaboratively through a variety of forms of interpersonal communication, including online.  As the ways in which people can communicate due to technology change, so must the skills of today’s students to keep up.  It isn’t good enough that they just grow up surrounded by technology, they need to learn how to continue to grow with it and use it to develop their own communication skills appropriately.  

            The theme of problem solving becomes a vital concept because not only does it help to foster interpersonal communication and collaboration, but as the world continues to develop into one global community, problems develop at an exponential rate.  The future employment opportunities for today’s students are limitless because of the constant growth of technology and the opportunities it brings, but with these opportunities comes a greater demand for skill sets that were not previously required by any other generation.  This also means that each generation of educators must continue to develop the competencies required to teach these skills to each developing generation after it.  This is why cooperative, collaborative, problem based learning styles are highly beneficial for both the students and the educators to engage in.