7 skills students need for their future

Via this swissmiss posting, I came across this 29 minute talk below by Tony Wagner. Mr. Wagner speaks about 7 skills that students need to be successful in life:

# 1: Critical thinking and problem solving

# 2: Collaboration across networks and leading by influence

Tony Wagner mentions, for example, the importance of understanding cultural differences. Mr. Wagner also mentions that command-and-control management is collapsing.

# 3: Agility and adaptability

# 4: Initiative and entrepreneurialism

# 5: Effective oral and written communication

# 6: Accessing and analyzing information

In this regard, Mr. Wagner mentions that the amount of information that is available to us is increasing exponentially. This makes the ability to, for example, do an effective search on the internet and find out what information is important, essential.

# 7: Curiosity and imagination

How do you develop your creative skills?

Speaking, at about minute 13, about an experience he had, where he observed students not being actively engaged in independent learning, Mr. Wagner refers to a comment by a superintendent who said this: 

“The problem is not that these are bad teachers. They are some of the best. The problem is us. They are doing exactly what we have asked them to do which is teach to the test.”

Reflecting on the comment of the superintendent that Mr. Wagner refers to, I would like to ask you what your ideas are for superintendents, who have realized that they, themselves, are the problem? As you see it, what exactly should administrators do differently? Thanks very much in advance for your feedback.

As Mr. Wagner, towards the end of his interesting talk, speaks about how the new generation learns, he focuses on the new generation’s use of the Internet – for example to extend friendships, learn through exploring, and as a tool for self expression. In this regard, I’d like to share this presentation with you about 11 advantages of using a blog for teaching.