Teaching the Skills Needed for the Future

Technology is leading to massive changes in the economy, in the way we communicate and relate to each other, and increasingly in the way we learn. Teachers and instructors are faced with a massive challenge of change. There are many opportunities in even the most academic courses to develop intellectual and practical skills that will carry over into work and life activities in a digital age, without corrupting the values or standards of academia. Even in vocational courses, students need opportunities to practice intellectual or conceptual skills such as problem-solving, communication skills, and collaborative learning. The chapter explores the skills that will be needed, and ways in which such skills can be developed. It approaches questions such as how we can ensure that we are developing the kinds of graduates from our courses and programs that are fit for an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous future as well as how we can teach or help students develop the skills they will need in the twenty-first century.