21st Century Learning – Educational Reform

Have you heard of 21st Century Learning? It is a relatively new term. How about the 3Rs? I’m sure you heard of those:

• Reading
• ‘Riting
• ‘Rithmetic

The purpose of 21st Century Learning is to replace the 3Rs with education which is relevant to our changing society and the demands it place upon its members.

Let’s take a moment to look at where the 3Rs have gotten us:

• 40% of all students entering higher education need remedial coursework. (Some research shows as high as 60% of students need remedial education.)
• 21% of students require more than one remedial education course upon entering higher education.
• 1.3 billion dollars are spent yearly for remedial education.
• 15% of students fail the remedial education courses (National Center for Educational Statistics).

Additionally, the National Governors Association published statistics gathered from college professors who stated:

• 70% of students lacked reading comprehension skills
• 66% of students lacked analytical thinking skills
• 62% of students lacked writing skills
• 59% of students lacked research skills
• 55% of students lacked practical application skills

Where do all of these statistics lead? 50% of students drop out of higher education!

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The 3Rs system of education derived from the industrial revolution. Look at the similarities. Children enter school and progress from grade to grade just as Ford’s model T progressed from station to station with the innovation of the assembly line. The endless educational assembly line model of rote memorization is no longer needed nor effective. Leave the fact searching to search engines.

21st Century Learning moves the emphasis of education from the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) to marketable skills such as innovation, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving and quantitative understanding. Where do we go from here in our movement to change education? Let’s start by asking the right questions!

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By Tracy Atkinson

Tracy Atkinson, mother of six, lives in the Midwest with her husband and spirited long-haired miniature dachshunds. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education and a master’s in higher education. Her passion is researching, studying and investigating the attributes related to self-directed learners and learning styles. She has published several titles, including MBTI Learning Styles: A Practical Approach, The Art of Learning Journals, Calais: The Annals of the Hidden, Lemosa: The Annals of the Hidden, Book Two, Rachel’s 8 and Securing Your Tent. She is currently working on a non-fiction text exploring the attributes of self-directed learners: The Five Characteristics of Self-directed Learners. Check out her courses on Udemy.