Page 33 - 21st Century Competencies: Foundation Document for Discussion

SECTION FOUR
Implications for Practice
The implementation of a 21st century competencies framework to guide teaching and learning in Ontario will require innovative thinking and/or action in the following areas:
Curriculum: Significant reviews of curricula to embed 21st century competencies are required (and are being undertaken by a growing number of countries).
21st century competencies are frequently included within new and revised curriculum documents. Most countries report that the competencies are
not taught as separate subjects but are integrated across the curriculum. A study commissioned by the Ministry of Education as part of the curriculum review process confirms this finding (Kane & Ng-A-Fook, 2013). Research has identified the importance of developing competencies in relation to specific subjects, rather than as topics for separate teaching. However, few of the frameworks and curricula of national systems provide clearly elaborated curriculum standards for these competencies. Nor do many of them supply detailed descriptions either of what a curriculum shaped by the broader aims of a framework will actually look like or of how it will be experienced by learners (Binkley, Erstad, Hermna, Raizen, Ripley, Miller-Ricci, et al., 2012; Ananiadou & Claro, 2009).
The U.S. National Research Council (2012) confirms that a curriculum designed to develop the “full range of 21st century competencies . . . will require systematic instruction and sustained practice” (p. 3). It will be necessary to dedicate instructional time for students to develop these competencies. It will also be necessary to provide both resources and professional learning opportunities for educators to support and advance these sophisticated learning goals.
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