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How Building a Pond Teaches 21st Century Skills

Last week I wrote about the initiative that is summed up by the concept of “Skills for the 21st Century.” Educators and other “futurists” who are involved in determining what capabilities people will need to succeed in the coming years have developed several categories of skills: Core Subjects and Interdisciplinary Themes; Learning and Innovations Skills; Communication and Collaboration; Information, Media and Technology Skills; and Life and Career Skills. There are subsets of skills in each category. In many of its practices, projects, and activities, The Elisabeth Morrow School already focuses on many of these aptitudes, perhaps intuitively. Nevertheless, it is clear that we need to make such learning more visible and deliberate. How, exactly, does the School move beyond core subjects and skills and ensure the incorporation of what will be equally important for your children’s futures?

Excellent examples of the skills noted in the title of this piece were in full force during the 7th grade’s Adventure Week projects: building a large pond with a re-circulating waterfall and constructing an outdoor classroom, both on the campus. These projects, while led by Gary Lyon, Director of Environmental Studies, were a collaboration among students, faculty members, administrators and maintenance professionals.

Advance planning required a high level of critical (active, investigative) thinking, and any number of unforeseen obstacles required on-the-spot problem-solving, often involving collaboration among those with differing approaches. In fact, both of the projects were heavy on teamwork. And discovering solutions to obstacles necessitated some pretty creative approaches and the combining and refining of them. Team members had to evaluate the quality of the proposed solutions, yet another level of thinking.

One of the more crucial skills that will ensure career success is the ability to work in a team of dissimilar people. Just about all work is done in teams these days, and the workforce becomes more diverse every day, reflective of the diversity that EMS already possesses.

If you're on the campus, come take a look at these two projects!

David M. Lowry, Ph. D.

alternate spelling:
Elizabeth Morrow School