1. Krysalea Burns
Module 2 Paper
The realm of education has experienced many shifts and minor evolutions since the first
classroom was created. Recently, a new principle of education has emerged causing educators
and schools to begin to evolve and restructure the contemporary classroom. The 21st
Century
way of Education, founded on five Pillars, which include Critical Thinking and Problem Solving,
Language Acquisition, Global Studies, Project Based Learning, Math and Science, and Character
Education. Of all these five Pillars, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are particularly
important because they focus on cognitive ability which relates to multiple fields in Education.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are important to education and should be properly
implemented with technology because they enhance students’ skills and prepare them for the
future.
The learned skills of Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are crucial to creating a full
rounded student and person. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving focus on reasoning,
including inductive and deductive as well as system thinking. System Thinking “[a]nalyze[s]
how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems.”
(Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, n.d.) Therefore Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
strengthen students’ ability to compose judgments and decisions by analyzing information
arguing points within the classroom and analyzing different points of view. According to T.A.
Angelo, Critical thinking is “the intentional application of rational, higher order thinking skills,
such as analysis, synthesis, problem recognition and problem solving, inference, and evaluation"

2. (Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, 2014). Through students receiving information and
interpreting it for themselves, they are engaging in classroom material and becoming the teacher.
While analyzing information and evidence is important, Critical Thinking and Problem solving
also encourages students and teachers to find different approaches and solutions, in which they
must find the best solution to the problem they are examining (Critical Thinking and Problem
Solving, n.d.) . Critical Thinking and Problem Solving therefore use brainstorming, flexibility,
metaphorical thinking, planning and critiquing to solve problems and fully understand
intellectually what they are learning (Critical and Creative Thinking- Bloom's Taxonomy, 2011).
Consequently, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are essential to creating
enlightened and skilled educators and students. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are the
foundational skills for every educational discipline such as Language Arts, History, Science and
Mathematics. The Critical Thinking Foundations argues that Critical Thinking and Problem
Solving create “skilled reading, writing, speaking, listening, reasoning with all subjects, skilled
analyses and evaluation of one’s emotions and values, intelligent choices in human relationship,
skilled civic and personal choices, etc…” (The Critical Thinking Community, 2013). Therefore
the skills acquired from developed Critical Thinking and Problem solving advance students and
educators far beyond the classroom. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving therefore are
extremely important because they strengthen people’s ability to think for themselves rather than
receiving information without analyses or examination. The skills acquired internalize learning
and evolve their ability to comprehend and evaluate the circumstances and problems given.
Tony Wagner, in his book The Global Gap, concludes that Critical Thinking and Problem
solving is one of the seven survival skills required for educating and understanding the future.
(Schools, 2010)Accordingly, Critical Thinking and Problem solving are vital to discovering,

3. understanding, and achieving in our new modern technological world. Therefore, since Critical
Thinking and Problem Solving aid in every educational discipline and prepare individuals for the
modern world, these skills hence are foundational in understanding 21st
Century Education.
The five pillars of 21st
Century Education create vital skills within the classroom that
allow for Teachers to expand on technology and revitalize the former school system. According
to 21st
Century Schools, 21st
Century Education, “…is bold. It breaks the mold. It is flexible,
creative, challenging and complex. It addresses a rapidly changing world filled with fantastic
new problems as well as exciting new possibilities.” (Schools, 2010) 21st
Century therefore
rethinks the impossible and implements fundamental learning skills for both educators and
students. One of the primary skills developed in 21st
Century Schools is the development of
students Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. 21st
Century Education therefore aspires to
prepare students for the ever changing global world, due to globalization, modern sciences, space
discovery, etc., students are now challenged to become prepared for an entirely different world
once they begin their careers. The inability to properly prepare students for the exact job,
requires educators to focus on developing necessary skills rather than trade training. The new
world has thus created an entirely new classroom which hinges upon the development of Critical
Thinking. The 21st
Education model subsequently revamps the former constructs of schools to
begin to focus and equip students with proper Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills. For
example, educators in 21st
Century Educational Schools, strive to engage students by constantly
applying their lessons to real world situations which allows students to understand not just what
they are learning but why.
Asking the question why, is essential to developing the skills of Critical Thinking in 21st
Century Education. Why did this happen? Why did this solution work better than the other?

4. Therefore by asking the question “Why?” students are frequently in the positions of enquiring
and learning. 21st
Century Education, additionally founds itself on Critical Thinking and Problem
Solving by refocusing the goals of the modern classroom. Previously in class students would
focus primarily on the memorization of facts and the regurgitation of information. According to
Richard Paul in, Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Know in a Rapidly Changing
World, “Important consequences follow from this tendency of schools to emphasize lower order
thinking: 1) students do not learn how to think in a disciplinary way, 2) they are uncomfortable
thinking within multiple points of view…” (Richard, 1990) However in 21st
century Education
students are encouraged to focus on what they already know, what they can do and how they can
properly apply what they have remembered to real world situations (Schools, 2010).
Therefore in order for 21st
Century Schools to truly embrace the new modern world,
Critical Thinking and Technology skills must be implemented together. The modern world
hinges on expanding new technologies and the World Wide Web. The world today, consequently
is not the world educators or students were born into and due to the technological revolution will
not be the world students will build their careers in. Thus, joining the skills of Critical Thinking
and Problem Solving to technology is vital in the expanding global job market. By applying the
technological resources students already have and understand, students can engage in Critical
Thinking by conducting their own research, and combining computer skills to their cognitive
abilities. Therefore using technology for research and as well as analyzing visual data can aid
Teachers in developing Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills. These skills combined
with new technologies create a real world setting in the classroom and further strengthen
students’ ability to understand why they are learning certain skills. While many educators fear of

5. technology replacing them in the classroom, Tim Van Gelder in How to Improve Critical
Thinking Using Educational Technology, argues “It is to use computers to help the
Student, and to help the teacher help the student. It will be impossible, for the foreseeable future,
to replace the expert human coach with a computer program” (Gelder, 2001).
Consequently, Technology is key in creating Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
skills in 21st
Century Education. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving integrated with
Technology aide Educators in crafting and enhancing Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
skills in today’s classroom. The new focus on Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in 21st
Education prepares students for real world problems and the future job market. In conclusion,
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are particularly important in 21st
Century Education and
Technology because these skills are vital to preparing a student for the future.

6. References
Critical and Creative Thinking- Bloom's Taxonomy. (2011). Retrieved from Teacher Tap- Professional
Development Resources for Educators and Librarians: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic69.htm
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. (n.d.). Retrieved from Partnership for 21st Century Schools:
http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework/260
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. (2014). Retrieved from University of Tennessee of Chattanooga:
http://www.utc.edu/walker-center-teaching-learning/faculty-development/online-resources/ct-
ps.php
Gelder, T. V. (2001). Department of Philosophy. Melbourne: The University of Melbourne.
Richard, P. (1990). Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World.
Rohnert Park, CA: Sonoma State University.
Schools, 2. C. (2010). What is 21st Century Education? Retrieved from 21st Century Schools:
http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/What_is_21st_Century_Education.htm
The Critical Thinking Community. (2013). Retrieved from Foundation for Critical Thinking:
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/higher-education/431