Teaching 21st-Century Skills in College Courses

Learn how to teach communication, teamwork, critical thinking and self-motivated learning — four 21st-century skills strongly linked to student success. College educators and administrators gain a strong foundation in the theory, research, and practical applications of these crucial skills. You also examine skills frameworks, critiques of these frameworks, instructional design principles, and the science behind each of the four skills.

Structure

Learners will work on each module one week at a time at their own pace, engaging Dr. Hora and classmates in discussions about course readings and weekly assignments. Each module will include videotaped lectures from Dr. Hora and other experts in post-secondary teaching, readings from the instructor and the research literature, and real-world case study problems where learners apply insights from course materials to their own courses and disciplinary contexts. The course leads up to a final project where learners will apply insights from the course to revise a syllabus or lesson plan so that it prominently features one or more of the four skills.

While the course will be actively moderated for 7 weeks, students can take extra time to complete the course. The course will be available for 3 months.

Learning points

At the conclusion of the course, students will demonstrate:

• An in-depth and critical understanding of 21st-century skills frameworks
• A deeper understanding of the research behind teamwork, communication, critical thinking, and self-regulated learning
• An understanding of how these four skills should be conceptualized and taught in their own disciplines
• How to incorporate best practices for teaching these skills into their own curriculum and instruction