What are 21st-Century Skills in Education and Why are They So Important to Teach?

What are 21st-century skills in education and why are they so darn important to teach to our kids and teens? In short, these skills are essential for modern day life and the workplace. Therefore, teaching 21st- century skills, in my experience, is as important, if not more (unpopular opinion) than teaching content.

But why? Let me paint you a little picture...

It is spring of 2020 and you are a high school biology teacher. Suddenly a pandemic hits and you are asked to translate 10 years of in-person lessons to remote learning activities, a concept you'd never imagined possible.

Those college courses on learning theory are suddenly irrelevant. Your teaching portfolio, with a decade of hands-on science experiment ideas and classroom management techniques attached are suddenly useless. 

So what do you do? You HAVE to be adaptable. You HAVE to be creative. You HAVE to be tech literate. You HAVE to be a problem-solver.  You need to bring out those skills full-force because not a single college course prepared you for this storm of the century.

​If you're reading this right now, this story is close to home because it was the reality for most of you.

You might be thinking, "The pandemic was a once-in-a-lifetime event. We’ve learned from it, and nothing like that will happen again."

Maybe that exact scenario won’t happen again, but major disruptions will continue to shape our world. Time and again, we’ll be challenged to adapt, learn, and make significant changes, which requires important skills like flexibility and creative problem-solving.

Take AI, for example. It’s rapidly transforming every aspect of our lives. No, it’s not a pandemic, but it is a massive, unexpected shift that we all have to navigate whether we like it or not.

Whether it’s a global crisis or advancements like AI reshaping industries, the world is constantly evolving, and it’s happening faster than ever.

If it's not a pandemic or AI, it will be something else that makes us stop and ask what our educational priorities are.

Let's look at a more common place example if you're not into the pandemic or AI ones:

Let's say one of your graduates just lands a summer job in their field of interest.

It is their first day on the job and their supervisor casually asks the student to create an infographic for their Pinterest campaign and to have it ready by morning.

The student has never created an infographic before nor have they used Pinterest for marketing. All of their social media experience is on TikTok and Instagram! 

​The student knows, however, that her neighbor is a graphic designer, so reaches out to ask about user-friendly graphic design programs. That student then hops on Youtube to learn how to use the suggested program.

She researches optimal Pin sizes and explores data for Pinterest best-practices and strategies for search optimization. She refines her design through trial and error and eventually lands on something she can be proud to share with her supervisor.

So again, what are 21st-century skills and why is it so important that 21st-century learners are developing them? The student in this example demonstrates why so beautifully.

This student not only keeps her job, but shows her employers that she has the soft skills, the 21st-century competencies, to make her an asset of the team.

​In just one task she showcases skill in resourcefulness, communication, technology, creativity, problem-solving, independence, research, and so much more.

​Her GPA or an A on an exam did not prepare her for this task. Her skills did. 

Teach Skills Through Experiential Learning

It's not always easy teaching 21st-century skills. It might feel like another task added to an already full plate, or you might have no idea where to begin.

That is the purpose of this 21st-century skills blog series. The benefits of adding 21st-century skill-building to your curriculum are powerful and persuasive, so I encourage you to read on.

There are also some amazing strategies for teaching 21st-century skills that make the process easy and seamless. Incorporate skill-building into existing lesson plans or design learning experiences around skill-building. Either way you go, you'll be glad you did it!

Why are 21st-Century Skills in Education So Important to Teach?

1. To Prepare Youth for Change:

The pandemic and AI examples already mentioned show how important it is to not only anticipate change but to be ready for it and know what to do when it hits. The world is changing all the time, and quickly at that.

Let's talk about technology for a second. I am in a career where being up to date with technology is required. Yet technology changes CONSTANTLY.

Just when I think I've mastered a program something changes or that program disappears entirely and I need to either adapt or start from scratch.

I mean, look at AI and how quickly it's come about? Adapting to that vast and sudden change is a skill.

Ed-tech is always changing and I need to be ready and prepared for that to best serve my students; those that are counting on me for relevant technology and resources. 

What are 21st-century skills in education that prepare students for change? 

Adaptability, resourcefulness, creativity, problem-solving skills, working well under pressure, open-mindedness, and more.

2. To Guide Students in Finding and Navigating Information:

There is an enormous amount of information out there at our disposal; literally at our fingertips.

When I was a kid we didn't "Google" anything. If we needed a question answered we had to track down an encyclopedia, visit a library, or talk directly to an expert.

It made a little more sense at the time to memorize information. It was useful then.

Now we have access to information literally anytime, anywhere. What is relevant now is being able to navigate the plethora of information out there; it is being able to locate, organize, and make use of credible and accurate information.

What are 21st-century skills in education that prepare students for navigating information? 

Inquiry skills, resourcefulness, problem-solving, research skills, information literacy, critical thinking, tech literacy.

3. To Provide Tools for Real-World Problem-Solving:

Problem-solving is an important skill in itself, but being able to apply problem-solving skills to real-world issues and scenarios is critical.

Students need to be able to exit your classroom, get into their careers, have and raise children, navigate relationships, recognize when they're being taken advantage of, resolve conflict in the workplace, and more, without you there holding their hands.

They will need to be able to take those problem-solving skills that they were taught within the confines of the context of your classroom and apply them to real problems that surface in their lives, and yes, there will be many. 

There are a variety of ways to teach problem-solving skills that have relevance and meaning to students. 

4. To Build Character:

Twenty first century skill-building opportunities help students build character. It is important as collaborative and social beings that children have empathy, compassion, are ethical, have integrity, work well with others, and so much more.

I used to work with endangered species research programs before getting into education. I supervised a team of field technicians on a raptor project in FL for two years and needed to hire a crew.

Having a basic understanding of ecological concepts was necessary for new hires, but what I was really looking for were employees that could work well with a team, who were reliable, productive, and passionate about what we were working toward.

I knew that they could learn how to capture and release the birds. They would learn very quickly how to identify, track, and record the birds' locations. They would develop those techniques quickly through immersion and experience.

I did not have time, however, to teach new hires how to be team players or show up for work. 

What are 21st century skills in education related to character?

Empathy, reliability, punctuality, dependability, integrity, works well with others, ethics, can resolve conflict, and more.

5. To Keep Students Competitive in the Workplace:

This particular benefit of teaching 21st-century skills to your students, being hirable, is a blend of all of the other important benefits I talk about in this post.

Having good character, as the example above illustrates, is essential. An employee might have a high GPA or a deep understanding of the discipline, but if they can't get along with others in a collaborative work environment they will struggle.

Or if an employee understands the concept of habitat fragmentation but is unable to problem-solve innovative solutions to the problem in a real-world context they will struggle to maintain a career in conservation biology.

Content understanding is simply not enough, and this is a common sentiment among employers across most lines of work.

Bottom line? If your students do not have these skills someone else's students will, and they will be the ones to land those jobs.

What are 21st-century skills in education that make them more competitive in the 21st-century workplace?

I would argue that most 21st-century skills are important for career success, but commonly desired skills by employers include creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication skills. 

6. Because Everyone Else is Doing It:

Hop on the bandwagon!

Here is what I mean by that: The world is changing, we've established that. You and your students must change with it. Your students are at a disadvantage if they do not possess the skills to live happily and successfully in the 21st-century.

It is a very different time than 50 years ago. Heck, it's entirely different than it was 10 years ago, EVEN 5 years ago! This is progress, and there are enormous benefits to progress. Let your students be a part of that.

Again, let's look at technology:

Tech frustrates me to no end. I don't enjoy spending my time learning new programs and navigating tech that changes by the second. But technology is here, it is here to stay, and I do not anticipate it slowing down in the foreseeable future. So the best thing I can do for myself and my own personal success is to get on board!

While other teachers are embracing technology, so too must I for the sake of my students. I cannot hold my students back and I urge you not to either.

7. To Promote and Foster Innovation: 

Yes, as I've discussed so far, 21st-century skills are essential for individual success. They help students thrive in their careers and navigate the personal challenges life inevitably brings.

But beyond personal benefits, teaching these skills in the classroom serves a greater purpose.

Many of these skills drive societal progress, innovation being a key example. Innovation fuels economic, social, environmental, and cultural advancements by enabling creative solutions to complex challenges.

So, which 21st-century skills in education foster innovation in education?

Creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, intelligent risk-taking, lifelong learning, curiosity, inquiry, and problem-solving, and SO MANY MORE, all of which prepare students to shape the future.

As I've already said, building 21st-century skills into the learning day doesn't have to be difficult, and as you can see, it is so very important that you do.

The remainder of my 21st-century skills in education blog series is all about the practice of teaching 21st-century skills. 

How about some 21st-century skills learning activity resources? 

Shop All 21st-Century Skill-Building Resources

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