. Thus, it's inaccurate to conceive 27 of logical thinking as a separate skill that can be applied across a variety of situations. Sometimes we fail to recognize that we have a particular thinking skill (such as applying modus tollens) unless it comes in the form of known content.
At other times, we know that we have a particular thinking skill, but domain28 knowledge is necessary if we are to use it. For example, a student might have learned that "thinking scientifically" requires understanding the importance of anomalous results in an experiment. If you're surprised by the results of an experiment, that suggests that your hypothesis was wrong and the data are telling you something interesting. But to be surprised, you must make a prediction29 in the first place—and you can only generate a prediction if you understand the domain in which you are working. Thus, without content knowledge we often cannot use thinking skills properly and effectively.
Why would misunderstanding the relationship of skills and knowledge lead to trouble? If you believe that skills and knowledge are separate, you are likely to draw two incorrect conclusions. First, because content is readily available in many locations but thinking skills reside30 in the learner's brain, it would seem clear that if we must choose between them, skills are essential, whereas content is merely desirable31. Second, if skills are independent of content, we could reasonably conclude that we can develop these skills through the use of any content. For example, if students can learn how to think critically about science in the context of any scientific material, a teacher should select content that will engage students (for instance, the chemistry of candy), even if that content is not central to the field. But all content is not equally important to mathematics, or to science, or to literature. To think critically, students need the knowledge that is central to the domain.
The importance of content in the development of thinking creates several challenges for the 21st century skills movement. The first is the temptation 32 to emphasize advanced, conceptual thinking too early in training—an approach 33 that has proven ineffective in numerous 34 past reforms. Learning tends to follow a predictable path. When students first encounter35 new ideas, their knowledge is shallow and their understanding is bound36 to specific examples. They need exposure37 to varied examples before their understanding of a concept becomes more abstract and they can successfully apply that understanding to novel situations.
Another curricular challenge is that we don't yet know how to teach self-direction, collaboration, creativity, and innovation the way we know how to teach long division. The plan of 21st century skills proponents38 seems to be to give students more experiences that will presumably 39 develop these skills—for example, having them work in groups. But experience is not the same thing as practice. Experience means only that you use a skill; practice means that you try to improve by noticing what you are doing wrong and formulating strategies to do better. Practice also requires feedback, usually from someone more skilled than you are.
Because of these challenges, devising a 21st century skills curriculum requires more than paying lip service to content knowledge. Outlining the skills in detail and merely urging 40 that content be taught, too, is a recipe for failure. We must plan to teach skills in the context of particular content knowledge and to treat both as equally important.
In addition, education leaders must be realistic about which skills are teachable. If we deem 41 that such skills as collaboration and self-direction are essential, we should launch 42 a concerted effort 43 to study how they can be taught effectively rather than blithely44 assume that mandating45 their teaching will result in students learning them.
Better Teaching
Greater emphasis on skills also has important implications for teacher training. Our resolve to teach these skills to all students will not be enough. We must have a plan by which teachers can succeed where previous generations have failed.
Advocates45 of 21st century skills favor student-centered methods—for example, problem-based learning and project-based learning—that allow students to collaborate, work on authentic problems, and engage with the community. These approaches46 are widely acclaimed 47 and can be found in any pedagogical48 methods textbook; teachers know about them and believe they're effective. And yet, teachers don't use them. Recent data show that most instructional time is composed of seatwork and whole-class instruction led by the teacher (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, 2005). Even when class sizes are reduced, teachers do not change their teaching strategies or use these student-centered methods (Shapson, Wright, Eason, & Fitzgerald, 1980). Again, these are not new issues. John Goodlad (1984) reported the same finding in his landmark study published more than 20 years ago.
Why don't teachers use the methods that they believe are most effective? Even advocates of student-centered methods acknowledge that these methods pose49 classroom management problems for teachers. When students collaborate, one expects a certain amount of hubbub50 in the room, which could devolve into chaos51 in less-than-expert hands. These methods also demand that teachers be knowledgeable about a broad range of topics and are prepared to make in-the-moment decisions as the lesson plan progresses. Anyone who has watched a highly effective teacher lead a class by simultaneously 52 engaging with content, classroom management, and the ongoing monitoring of student progress knows how intense and demanding this work is. It's a constant juggling53 act that involves keeping many balls in the air.
Part of the 21st century skills movement's plan is the call for greater collaboration among teachers. Indeed, this is one of the plan's greatest strengths; we waste a valuable resource when we don't give teachers time to share their expertise54. But where will schools find the release time for such collaboration? Will they hire more teachers or increase class size? How will they provide the technology infrastructure 55 that will enable teachers to collaborate with more than just the teacher down the hall? Who will build and maintain and edit the Web sites, wikis, and so forth? These challenges raise thorny questions about whether the design of today's schools is compatible56 with the goals of the 21st century skills movement.
For change to move beyond administrators' offices and penetrate 57 classrooms, we must understand that professional development is a massive58 undertaking59. Most teachers don't need to be persuaded that project-based learning is a good idea—they already believe that. What teachers need is much more robust60 training and support than they receive today, including specific lesson plans that deal with the high cognitive demands and potential classroom management problems of using student-centered methods.
Unfortunately, there is a widespread belief that teachers already know how to do this if only we could unleash them from today's stifling61 standards and accountability 62 metrics63. This notion romanticizes64 student-centered methods, underestimates65 the challenge of implementing such methods, and ignores66 the lack of capacity in the field today.
Better Tests
There is little point in investing heavily in curriculum and human capital without also investing in assessments to evaluate what is or is not being accomplished 67 in the classroom. Fortunately, as Elena Silva (2008) noted in a recent report for Education Sector, the potential exists today to produce assessments that measure thinking skills and are also reliable and comparable between students and schools—elements integral68 to efforts69 to ensure accountability70 and equity. But efforts to assess these skills are still in their infancy71 ; education faces enormous72 challenges in developing the ability to deliver these assessments at scale.
The first challenge is the cost. Although higher-level skills like critical thinking and analysis can be assessed with well-designed multiple-choice tests, a truly rich assessment system would go beyond multiple-choice testing and include measures that encourage greater creativity, show how students arrived at answers, and even allow for collaboration. Such measures, however, cost more money than policymakers have traditionally been willing to commit72 to assessment. And, at a time when complaining about testing is a national pastime and cynicism73 about assessment, albeit74 often uninformed, is on the rise, getting policymakers to commit substantially more resources to it is a difficult political challenge.
A Better, But Harder, Way
The point of our argument is not to say that teaching students how to think, work together better, or use new information more rigorously75 is not a worthy and attainable75 goal. Rather, we seek to call attention to the magnitude76 of the challenge and to sound a note of caution amidst77 the sirens calling our political leaders once again to the rocky shoals of past education reform failures. Without better curriculum, better teaching, and better tests, the emphasis on "21st century skills" will be a superficial78 one that will sacrifice79 long-term gains for the appearance of short-term progress.
Curriculum, teacher expertise, and assessment have all been weak links in past education reform efforts—a fact that should sober80 today's skills proponents81 as they survey the task of dramatically improving all three. Efforts to create more formalized common standards would help address some of the challenges by focusing efforts in a common direction. But common standards will not, by themselves, be enough.
If we ignore these challenges, th