Are You Robbinsville Ready?
Now, more than ever, modern life requires students to take what they learn in school and apply it at home, at work, in their communities, and in future academic pursuits. To prepare our students for the world of tomorrow, we must enhance today’s learning environments. The outcomes we want for our students are not new to the 21st century. Instead, they express knowledge and skills that are essential for life IN the 21st century.
Our world is rapidly changing and we must consider what “college and career ready”means for our 21st century Robbinsville learners. To do so, Robbinsville teachers, administrators, parents, and students participated in focus groups and surveys about what they thought it meant to be “Robbinsville Ready,” or what skills they collectively thought our graduates should attain. Then, a committee of diverse stakeholders reviewed the data for common themes and began work on identifying the six skills our stakeholders value the most. We are now communicating these vital skills to the larger Robbinsville community and have begun professional development on how to emphasize the Robbinsville Ready skills into instruction and assessments. Please see below for our six Robbinsville Ready skills, our rationale for each skill, and descriptors of what each one can look like in the classroom.
Collaborative Team Member: Robbinsville students will learn more by working together than in isolation. As educational theorist Lev Vygotsky advocated, learning is a social process. Many workplaces today encourage employees to work in teams to solicit diverse perspectives, brainstorm new ideas and/or products, and solve problems. Further, collaboration fosters interpersonal relationships, self-management skills, cooperation, and a sense of collective responsibility. Collaborative team members are able to work with diverse groups of people who hold a variety of perspectives.
Effective Communicator: Robbinsville students must be able to clearly articulate their ideas orally, in writing, and across various media in order to successfully connect to the world around them. As the world becomes increasingly globalized, communication is more than just sharing one’s ideas. Effective communicators are able to communicate their convictions, actively listen and analyze others’ work to identify perspective and/or potential bias.
Emotionally Intelligent Learner: Robbinsville students who are emotionally intelligent learn to be empathetic, demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior, are kind, are self-aware, willing to change, and practice self-care. They are better able to cope with the demands of the 21st century digital society and workplace because they are reliable, responsible, form stable and healthy relationships, and seek to grow personally and professionally. Emotionally intelligent people are able to manage their emotions, work effectively on teams and are leaders who can grow and help to develop others.
Informed and Involved Citizen: Robbinsville students need to be digital citizens who are civically and globally aware. The concept of what it means to be “literate” has evolved along with 21st century technological and cultural shifts. Our progressive vision of literacy entails having our students explore real world problems in the classroom. Informed and involved citizens are able to safely and accurately communicate with people all around the world and are financially, environmentally and informationally literate.
Innovative Thinker: Robbinsville students must encompass innovative thinking skills in order be successful lifelong learners in the 21st century world. As stated by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod in the short film Shift Happens, “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . . using technologies that haven’t been invented . . . in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” Innovative thinkers are able to think analytically, solve problems critically, creatively engage in curiosity and tinkering, and demonstrate originality.
Resilient and Self-Directed Learner: Robbinsville students need to take risks and ultimately make independent and informed decisions in an ever-changing world. Author of Life, the Truth, and Being Free, Steve Maraboli stated, “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” Self-directed scholars of the 21st century are able to set goals, initiate resolutions by seeking creative approaches, and adjust their thinking in light of difficult situations. Resilient students are able to take risks without fear of failure and overcome setbacks by utilizing experiences to confront new challenges. Resilient and self directed scholars will consistently embrace opportunities to initiate solutions and overcome obstacles.
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