Preparing Students with Twenty First Century Skills for the Future Post-Pandemic Era

Abstract

Educational policy makers, employers and other stakeholders are urging schools and universities to promote twenty first century skills, such as teamwork, problem-solving, and self-management, which are regarded as important for success in the workplace, citizenship, and family life. These skills are critical for success in the modern world because they allow people to negotiate complex situations, form strong connections, and achieve their goals. Furthermore, these skills are not set characteristics, but rather may be acquired and enhanced via conscious practice and feedback. This chapter will focus on the importance of integrating twenty first century competencies into education to bridge gaps between education and the workplace in the post-pandemic era. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for digital transformation since students are expected to possess different twenty first century competencies such as digital literacy, problem-solving, adaptability, and communication skills. This chapter will explore how educators can prepare students with these skills through authentic learning experiences like project-based learning (PBL) and internships. It will also examine the challenges of transitioning from academia into the workplace, and how businesses and educational institutions need to collaborate to ensure that students are equipped with the skills needed for success in the modern workforce.

1. Introduction

In recent years, there has been a rising understanding of the value of twenty first-century skills and competences such as creativity and innovation, digital literacy, and social and civic responsibility for success in the workplace, citizenship, and family life. Educational policymakers, companies, and other stakeholders are asking schools and universities to incorporate these competences into their curricula in order to better prepare students for modern-day difficulties [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the necessity of digital transformation and providing students with the skills they need to flourish in an ever-changing and increasingly digital society [2]. As a result, this chapter will investigate the significance of incorporating twenty first-century competences into education in order to bridge the gap between school and the workplace in the post-pandemic period. This chapter encourages educators to provide authentic learning experiences like project-based learning (PBL) and internships to prepare their students for critical skills including digital literacy, problem-solving, flexibility, and communication. It will also look at the obstacles of transferring from academia to the workplace and how businesses and educational institutions can work together to ensure that students are prepared for success in the modern workforce. Overall, this chapter provides a thorough grasp of the significance of twenty first century skills and competences in education, as well as the efforts educators and institutions may take to prepare students for success in a post-pandemic environment.

2. Research review

2.1 Digital transformation and literacy in education

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the importance of digital transformation and literacy in education. According to research, the pandemic has hastened the implementation of online learning and digital technology in education, as well as exposing the digital divide that exists between students and teachers [3]. Research has shown that digital literacy is necessary for success in the twenty-first century industry, and pupils with higher levels of digital literacy are more likely to thrive academically. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed that children who lack digital literacy abilities face barriers to obtaining school and fully participating in the digital economy [4]. According to research, digital transformation in education is about more than simply technology; it is also about pedagogy and curriculum design. Curriculum designers must consider the changing requirements of the digital age, and digital literacy and other twenty first century competencies must be incorporated into learning objectives and evaluation criteria. Additionally, teachers must be trained on how to properly use digital tools and create interesting online learning experiences that promote collaboration and critical thinking. The transformation of education relies on the actions and beliefs of teacher teachers, as they are the main deciding stakeholders regarding students’ learning experiences and if any changes in the curricula are to be implemented [5].

Additionally, unlike never before, students live in highly connected and interactive environments as they utilize their phones, tablets, laptops and other devices to access the virtual world of messaging, social media platforms. And, as students enter the classrooms today leaving the virtual world behind, the delivery of instruction is catching up and shifting towards integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) and focusing on digital literacy in the classroom, especially when students are able to submit assignments and access class materials online when they are home [5]. ICTs via the Internet have paved the way for new learning contexts, pedagogies, and learning outcomes. Thus, providing teachers with the needed resources for technology integration, teachers’ technology competence, and teachers’ perceptions of technology play a major role in how they integrate technology tools in the classroom for developing students’ twenty first century skills [6].

The impacts of teaching students twenty first century skills have encouraged the spread of inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs), which are schools that serve all students regardless of prior academic achievement. With student centered learning being the main priority, ISHSs foster the development of students' twenty first-century skills, including adaptability, effective communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and self-regulation [7]. Such programs are impactful because they provide students opportunities for knowledge construction, real-world problem solving, skilled communication, collaboration, use of ICT for learning, and self-regulation in teacher lesson plans and student work samples [7]. These skills foster the long-term academic achievement and career pursuits of students.

3. Acquiring twenty first century skills through authentic learning experiences

By offering students authentic learning experiences, they are encouraged to tackle problems that lack a definitive answer. This type of learning requires them to think critically and creatively, employing unique methods and techniques to find innovative solutions [8]. When students are active participants in meaningful student-centered learning environments, they are more likely to come up with new ideas, share those ideas, enhance each other's cognitive processes, and evaluate their own and their peers' academic ideas [9].

Internships are an integral part of authentic learning experiences and they place students at the center of learning. Internships emphasize the development of life-long learners with positive and constructive experiences in today's work environment [10]. As academic institutions develop internship programs, they focus on significant advancements, transformations, and progressions related to education and instruction [11]. Research has shown that after the Covid-19 pandemic and the dissemination of internships as part of students’ learning experiences, students appreciated an internship-study balance through distance learning [11]. Internships, whether in-person or online, are anticipated to enhance the employability of graduates, since they provide valuable support in smoothly transitioning from the academic to the professional world [12]. One skill that students learn is skill-based learning, which is when students learn to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world practical scenarios. Online internships or e-internships present students with opportunities such as cultivating proficient virtual communication skills and effectively convey ideas, concepts, and work materials within a computer-mediated setting. This entails that students possess the technical competence to complete such e-internships. E-internships also provide students with cognitive learning outcomes, since they require students to have intrinsic motivation to take a lead in asking questions, performing tasks, voicing out their thoughts and seeking advice [12]. This could be viewed as a challenge that accompanies e-internships, since the students’ mentor is not supervising their day-to-day activities and challenges as closely as in an in-person internship setting.

Another form of authentic learning is PBL, also known as real-world problem solving. In such tasks, students are expected to actively discover real-world problems, develop solutions targeted to a specific project, test their suggested solutions, and successfully communicate and share their ideas with others. Such experiences encourage student creativity and personal development, as students’ achievements and setbacks are not evaluated based on a fixed set of criteria as seen in traditional classroom environments. Teachers also benefit from PBL, as the skill of collaborative learning allows teachers and students to engage in a shared process of exploration and learning [13]. Collaborative learning has the potential to cultivate constructive interactions and facilitate learning activities such as inquiry, explanation, justification of opinions, articulation, argumentation, and expansion of ideas. As such, students learn the construct of knowledge sharing where they generate individual ideas, share ideas with their peers and develop shared understanding [14].

PBL also fosters twenty first century capabilities like critical thinking, problem-solving, interpersonal communication, information and media literacy, cooperation, leadership and teamwork, innovation, and creativity [15]. Research that has compared the results of two groups of students who were exposed to online PBL vs traditional lectures showed that those exposed to online PBL had statistically significant better computing skills in month 36 than students exposed to traditional lectures [16]. PBL fits into activities built into an internship, as they both align in structure and outcomes such as including the processes of student readiness, problem analysis, problem-solving, and evaluation [17]. By engaging in internship opportunities and PBL projects students engage in real-life projects that enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities as they address open-ended problems that closely resemble the types of challenges they will encounter in professional environments [18].

4. Transferring twenty first century skills from academia into the workforce

Measuring students’ abilities to perform twenty first century skills prepares them for the expectations and professional standards of the industry [19]. It is essential to equip students to attain employability skills they will use once they graduate to effectively work in a professional setting. The unexpected advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 nearly immobilized the world of global education. Since then, the education system has made some strides to reform its learning strategies in order to establish more robust learning models that meet the needs and demands of industries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students were unable to participate in real-world internships and work placements. As a result, virtual internships and job experience have been used to facilitate learning experiences. Because of the limited time given to students, instructors were forced to consider alternatives. Virtual internships did not previously match the minimum qualifications, however due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, instructors were forced to reconsider. Virtual worlds are ideal for students who are required to participate in authentic learning experiences. Additionally, situational role playing can still be observed in online situations. For instance, job owners, managers, work personnel have built online exercises that allow students to observe how things work. Virtual workspaces are being designed and customized to meet specific learning objectives and needs [11]. Because of the reduced time and travel costs, these opportunities contained more extensive experiences than would be possible in real life. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of virtual workplaces is projected to continue due to its ease of use and risk minimization [20].

A twenty first century skill that students acquire from participating in authentic learning experiences is the utilization of ICT for learning. As students are in the process of knowledge sharing, generating new ideas and testing them out, they also learn what ICT tools choose and how to use them, and are able to identify reliable online sources of information [7]. One framework teachers are encouraged to explore is the TPACK framework, which encourages ICT-integrated lesson design [21]. This framework encompasses the application of educational theories, lesson preparation, adaptation to various learning styles, and student assessment in the context of utilizing technology for learning. TPACK is implemented when teachers employ their technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge to develop targeted strategies for integrating ICT into instruction. A crucial aspect regarding digital literacy is that there is a digital divide between schools that have technological opportunities and those with limited resources and poor infrastructure [22]. This highlights the importance of working towards providing equal access to ICT tools regardless of students’ socioeconomic backgrounds [23]. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure that teachers receive adequate training opportunities to possess the necessary technological skills to effectively guide students towards adopting technology with a positive mindset [24]. Technology-enhanced learning opportunities can develop students’ twenty first century competencies, such as thinking and problem solving, interpersonal and self-directional skills, and digital literacy [25]. For instance, lessons that include ICT incorporate real-world challenges, current and authentic informational resources, virtual tours of remote locations, concept simulations, or engagement with experts and global communities [25]. Thus, when students engage in meaningful, relevant, and intellectually stimulating tasks, their performance in the classroom improves, since the curriculum content becomes more personally significant to them, making it easier to comprehend and master.

Additionally, teachers are encouraged to be knowledgeable about the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things, robotics and virtual reality. Such terms are changing the economic, social, and political structures worldwide [26]. Thus, the 4IR is another reason why teachers should alter how they teach twenty first century skills, which in turn emphasizes the role of the TPACK framework in preparing teachers to effectively teach students. Since teachers are considered significant in the field of education, they need to gain a full understanding of how to effectively use emerging tools like AI tools to successfully integrate this technology into the classroom and to support their students. This increases the need for teachers to receive support in terms of curriculum planning, resources, training, and pedagogical approaches to ensure the successful implementation of technology-based teaching in schools. Teacher preparation to deliver twenty first century skills is highlighted because their self-efficacy beliefs can influence and anticipate their achievements and improve students’ learning outcomes [27]. Perceptions of self-efficacy influence people’s choices, motivations and behavior. Thus, teachers’ skills and knowledge in using technology are influencing factors in how they deliver instruction in online learning [28].

Authentic learning experiences shape students’ identities, as immersing them in knowledge and practice of digital literacy offers them twenty first century skills like guided, purposeful, and critical examination of their own discourse [29]. Digital literacies present an advantage to include students’ voices and identities in the lesson, since unlike blackboards and overhead projectors that require students to focus on the teacher and the board, personal computers and online spaces motivate and facilitate curiosity, communication, and cooperation [30]. For instance, Curwood and Cowell, developed a digital poetry curriculum for high school sophomores called iPoetry to incorporate digital literacy practices that “enhance students’ critical engagement, increase their awareness of audience, and encourage their progressive use of multiple modalities” (p. 111). When teachers are creating the curriculum, they should keep in mind “what is to be learned and how it is to be learned” [30]. Because students are familiar with using technology in their daily lives, this way of learning allows teachers and students to create communities of inquiry where students and teachers use a range of ICT tools to co-construct knowledge [31]. For example, in a music class where students were asked to use music software packages to express their styles of music, the teacher mentioned that this exploratory project that was an integral part of students’ social and cultural lives was an opportunity for her to learn more from the students, rather than them gaining the instruction from her [31]. Teachers are also encouraged to use multimodal approaches that include ICT like using movies, TED Talks, digital texts, memes, and social media posts. Classroom activities like this include diagnostic assessment, students’ identities, and the use of ICTs. When ICT is accompanied by individualized learning, then the classroom will be transformed into a learning community that embraces students' cultures while studying the curriculum using ICT. For instance, students in an English class were asked to produce media texts by creating websites, and they were able to create dynamic projects that expressed their thoughts and unique voices by incorporating ideas being presented by their teachers and their out-of-school experiences [31]. Teachers and students work within a classroom culture that is influenced by in-school and out-of-school factors. This means teachers should use methods to include students’ unique knowledge and experiences into the classroom. There is evidence that suggests that how students use technology in the classroom is affected by out-of-school cultures of use [31]. Drawing on socio-cultural theory, when students use technology in the classroom, they form knowledge based on what they have previously known and believed.

Recommendations are made to improve e-internships, which have the potential to be authentic workplaces in the post-COVID era. However, there are certain factors to be considered when dealing with having effective e-internships such as faculty mentors' preparedness, industry mentors' preparedness, interns' readiness toward online internship, and interns' Internet efficacy [32]. Schools are encouraged to develop equitable programs that address their students’ pedagogical, technological and social needs. When implementing authentic learning experiences as part of students’ learning, it is recommended that both students and educators receive technical training to enable them to effectively navigate the difficulties associated with using ICTs, digital literacy, remote learning and e-internships. It is also essential to update software programs to offer educators and students with more updated features and is less prone to errors caused by software glitches commonly known as bugs [11]. An academic-industry collaboration is pertinent to design authentic learning experiences that prepare students to meet the needs of their employers. In such collaborations, students partake in internships and PBL experiences, where they learn the competencies that employers require prior to employment [33]. Additionally, when teachers become part of professional learning communities such as partaking in professional development opportunities, they pave the path for collectively constructing knowledge and undergoing the needed pedagogical changes. This is where the role of the TPACK framework in education is emphasized since it puts together the knowledge required by teachers to design lessons that include ICTs, especially considering the rapid advancements in technology [34]. To ensure valuable learning experiences for students, educators must possess the necessary training and skills for designing effective learning environments, implementing appropriate assessment methods, and offering essential student support.

5. Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for digital transformation in education, and that students must possess various twenty first-century competencies like digital literacy in order to excel in the digital age. This can be done by providing students with authentic learning experiences like internships and PBL. A major attribute for authentic learning is that it provides immersive learning experiences that offer students the chance to actively participate in real-life situations. Students can better understand the value and practicality of what they learn in the classroom by relating it to situations and problems in the real world. Including ICT in curriculums affects how students access information, communicate, and learn within and outside of classrooms. As students engage in authentic learning experiences, they learn twenty first century skills like critical thinking, adaptability, creativity, digital literacy, the use of ICTs, cooperation and cultural competence, which improves their knowledge and sparks their enthusiasm for learning. Through internships and PBL, students develop into lifelong learners who are prepared to successfully navigate the ever-changing digital world. With the rapid emergence of new technologies, there is a constant need to make changes in what twenty first century skills students acquire and the methods through which they learn them. Further, the TPACK framework transforms how learning in the classroom takes place, as it focuses on what teachers need to know to incorporate technology in the classroom. How teachers integrate technology is a crucial facet, and developing unified theoretical and conceptual frameworks solidifies the proper intersection between content, pedagogy and technology. Educational institutions, policymakers, and educators must realize the impact that authentic learning experiences have on students’ learning outcomes, and this begins by giving teachers the necessary assistance, materials, and professional development to develop and implement such curriculums into educational systems. The inclusion of technology in the classroom goes beyond students’ lives inside of the classroom, as it ties into narrowing the achievement gap by preparing learners for future opportunities and necessary skills they will need to become competitive in a global, knowledge-based economy.