The 21 st

Century
Teacher
To remain relevant and interesting, the teacher
must possess 21st century skills. The 21st
century skills can be categorize into 4, namely:
1.) communication skills
2.) learning and innovation skills
3.) information, media, and technology skills,
and
4.) life and career skills.
A teacher must possess them in order to survive
in this 21st century and be able to contribute
to the development of 21st century learners.
Under each of these 4 clusters of 21st century
skills are specific skills. Effective
communication sills include

1.) teaming
2.) collaboration
3.) interpersonal skills
4.) local, national and global orientedness; and
5.) interactive communication.
The learning and innovation skills are the 3
Cs namely;

1.) creativity,
2.) curiosity,
3.) critical thinking problem solving skills,
and
4.) risk taking.
Life and career skills embrace

1.) flexibility and adaptability

2.) leadership and responsibility
3.) social and cross-cultural skills
4.) initiative and self-direction
5.) productivity and accountability and
6.) ethical, moral and spiritual values.
Information, media and technology skills
are

1.) visual and information literacies

2.) media literacy
3.) basic, scientific, economic and
technological literacies, and
4.) multicultural literacy
The first 3 categories of life skills are self-
explanatory. The last category (
information, media and technology kills)
needs further explanation. They are
explained below:

Visual Literacy is the ability to interpret,

make meaning from information presented
in the form o an image. It is also the ability
to evaluate, apply, or create conceptual
visual representations.
Information literacy is the ability to
identify what information is needed,
identify the best sources of information
for a given need, locate those sources,
evaluate the sources, critically, and share
that information. Information literacy is
most essential in the conduct of research.
Media literacy is the ability to critically
analyze the messages that inform, entertain
and sell to us every day. It’s the ability to
bring critical thinking skills to bear on all
forms of media asking pertinent questions
about what’s there and noticing what’s not
there. It is the ability to question what lies
behind media productions--the motives, the
money, the values and the ownership– and to
be aware of how these factors influence
content of media productions.
Scientific Literacy encompasses written,
numerical, and digital literacy as they
pertain to understanding science, its
methodology, observations, and
theories. Scientific literacy is the
knowledge and understanding of
scientific concepts and processes
required for personal decision making,
participation in civic and cultural affairs,
and economic productivity.
Economic Literacy is the ability to apply
basic economic concepts in situations
relevant to one’s life. It is about
cultivating a working knowledge of the
economic way of thinking- understanding
tradeoffs, recognizing the importance of
incentives. It encompasses a familiarity
with fundamental economic concept
such as market forces or how the
monetary system works.
 What is technological literacy? The US
Department of Education (1996) defined
technology literacy as “computer skills
and ability to use computers and other
technology to improve learning,
productivity, and performance “
Technological literacy is the ability to
responsibly use appropriate technology
to:
• Communicate
• Solve problems
• Access, manage, integrate, evaluate.
Design and create information to
improve learning in all subject areas.
• Acquire lifelong knowledge and skills in
the 21st century
Another ways of grouping the 21st century skills
is shown below:
• Ways of thinking. Creativity, critical thinking,
problem-solving, decision- making and
learning.
• Ways of working. Communication and
collaboration
• Tools for working. Information and
communications technology (ICT) and
information literacy
• Skills for living in the world. Citizenship, life
and career, and personal and social
responsibility.