Middle School Science for the Future!

As I have been ruminating about 21st Century Skills and my students I am trying to decide what skills are the most important that I should focus on at the middle school level.  The skills needed to be able to compete in the 21st Century workplace include…

• creativity
• collaboration
• flexibility
• research
• communication using multiple formats
• self-directed learning

Those are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.  Which are the most essential to teach during middle school?  What kind of product should a middle school student take into his/her future life to show/document this learning?  Should the student just receive a grade or should he/she keep some kind of artifact proving his/her learning?

I think the first priority of a middle school program should be creativity, flexibility, communication using multiple formats, and self-directed learning.  I believe that students should leave any 21st Century Skills training session or course with some tangible proof of what they have learned.  As they will have to develop an online presence and portfolio they should begin that process so that they are comfortable with it as soon as possible.

How do you teach creativity?  I have ideas about how to teach the rest, but how do you teach a person to ask and answer his/her own answers on a consistent basis?  How do you teach a person to look for non-standard solutions to a problem?

Filed under: Middle School Science, Relevance, Technology Literacy and tagged 21st Century Learners, creativity