1. Warm up activity:
□ What do you think should be the focus of 21st century education? Think and note down the factors that determine the nature of higher education.

2. Now read the following text and answer the questions that follow:
Many educators believe that one of the functions of education today should be to impart 21rt century skills that are indispensable for participation, achievement and competitiveness in the global economy. Beyond the assessment of reading, mathematics and science, it is now necessary to train other essential skills that are in demand in the 21rt century. All people, not just an elite few, need 21* century skills that will increase their ability, employabihty and readiness for citizenship. Such skills include:

□ Thinking critically aid making the beat use of the barrage of information that comes their way everyday on the Web, in the media, in homes, workplaces and everywhere else. Critical thinking empowers people to assess the credibility, accuracy and value of information, analyze and evaluate information, make reasoned decisions and take purposeful action.

 

□ Solving complex, multi-disciplinary problems that all workers in every kind of workplace encounter routinely. The challenges workers face don’t come in a multiple-choice format and typically don’t have a single right answer. Nor can they be neatly categorized as ‘math problems,’ for example, or passed off to someone at a higher pay grade. Businesses expect employees at all levels to identify problems, think through solutions and alternatives, and explore new options if their approaches don’t work. Often, this work involves groups of people with different knowledge and skills who, collectively, add value to their organizations.

□ Creativity and entrepreneurial thinking skills are always associated with job creation.

Many of the fastest-growing jobs and emerging industries rely on workers’ creative capacity-the ability to think unconventionally and produce astonishing work. Students should develop the ability to recognize and act on opportunities and the willingness to embrace risks, for example.

□ Communicating and collaborating with teams of people across cultural, geographic and language boundaries is a necessity in diverse and multinational workplaces and communities. Mutually beneficial relationships are important in achieving goals everywhere, not just in business.

□ Making innovative use of knowledge, information and opportunities which create new services, processes and products. The global marketplace rewards organizations that rapidly and routinely find better ways of doing things. Companies want workers who can contribute to this environment.

These skills will prepare everyone to prepare for the challenges of the 21st century and contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.

3. Give contextual meanings of the following words. Also, give the part of speech of each word, change them in as many parts of speech as possible, and make sentences of your own with each changed form:
i. indispensable
ii. empower
iii. credibility
iv. unconventional
v. dynamic
vi. beneficial
vii. emerging
viii. typically
ix. categorized
x. evaluate

4. The passage discusses the importance of acquiring skills for entry into the global marketplace. What is meant by ‘global marketplace’? Does the passage talk about other areas of involvement as well? What are those?

5.  What are the qualities that graduates of the 21st century need to develop?

6.  Write a summary of the passage.

7.  Add more qualities that you think should be emphasized in education of our time.

8.  Write a short composition on “Your view of the 21st century education”.

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