Schools have the daunting responsibility to balance teaching students appropriate
content while integrating thinking and application skills. Success in a flattened 21 st
century workforce, asks for flexibility, life-long learning, teamwork and a well-developed
capacity to think (Noddings, 2008). The demands of the 21 st century workplace are
requiring less focus on narrowly defined disciplinary knowledge and more emphasis on
thinking skills. The P21 organization stressed that the ideal learner utilizes higher level
thinking to adapt and solve complex problems or situations while drawing on past
knowledge. Technology advances in the 21 st century digital age facilitate these important
skills. Thinking and problem solving skills involve critical thinking, reasoning in order to
understand and make complex choices as well as the ability to frame and solve problems.
Critical thinking has been described as a sort of mental activity that uses facts to plan,
order and work toward an end. By seeking meaning or explanation, the learner uses self-
direction and reason to question claims and make judgment (Noddings, 2008). The P21
organization defined creative curiosity as the development and implantation of new ideas
to others by staying open and responsive to new and diverse opinions. Interpersonal and
self-directional skills demonstrate teamwork and leadership while adapting to a variety of
roles as one respects others. The Partnership for 21 st Century Skills (2006) believed that