The Teaching and Learning of Twenty-First Century Skills

This paper and accompanying presentation, by Eric M. Anderman, was given for the National Research Council Board on Testing and Assessment’s Workshop on Assessment of 21st Century Skills, Irvine, California, January 12-13, 2011. In it, Anderman critically examine how 21st century skills can be taught, and how they are best learned, focusing on three domains of these skills: cognitive skills (i.e., problem-solving and critical thinking), interpersonal skills (i.e., communication skills, teamwork, and cultural sensitivity), and intra-personal skills (i.e., self-regulation, executive functioning, and self-management). In addition, Anderman discusses domain-specificity verses domain-generality of the teaching and learning of these skills and examines contextual factors that facilitate and hinder the teaching and learning of these skills.