Are students prepared for the future? Are they graduating ready to innovate? What are some of the skills students should have in order to have a successful future? Those are some of the questions Tony Wagner (follow him on Twitter @DrTonyWagner) answers in a powerful talk all about the skills students must have for the future.
During the half-hour talk, Wagner talks about the “global achievement gap” which is essentially the divide between what our best schools are teaching and what’s actually needed in the future. In other words, even our best schools aren’t really adequately preparing students for the future. It’s not for lack of trying or resources, though. It’s in part due to the fact that most jobs of the future simply don’t exist yet. Not only that, it’s nearly impossible to figure out what industries those jobs will even be a part of.
The Skills Students Must Have
So if you’re not able to sit down and watch the full video below, here’s a quick rundown of the student skills Wagner recommends.
Critical thinking and problem-solving
Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
Agility and adaptability
Initiative and entrepreneurialism
Effective oral and written communication
Accessing and analyzing information
Curiosity and imagination
The PowerPoint Presentation
A Quick Aside
As someone who graduated with my Master’s Degree from Harvard, I feel like I should be more than prepared for the jobs of the future. But I don’t feel that way. In fact, I feel pretty much unsure of what job I’ll be doing five years from now considering I’m in the education technology industry. Education and technology are both evolving at a staggeringly fast rate that the careers we all thought we’d have are simply vanishing. They’re being replaced by new and exciting opportunities to be sure. But good luck figuring out what those opportunities are right now. I’ll be sure to keep you posted about what trends I’m seeing though right here on Edudemic!