QUESTION 1
If a curriculum developer wants to prepare learners for the 21st century, which
knowledge and skills should be included, in particular for the diverse South
African context? These skills are listed under 1.2.5 in your textbook. Provide
an EXAMPLE of each of these competencies in your own words.
Teachers need to teach students to be adaptable to different organizations, culture,
and schedules in the 21st century. Additionally, teachers should impart a high set of
values to learners. The latter need ethics to form adequate behaviour. Moreover,
learners need soft skills to employ in their day-to-day communication.
1. Sense-making: to determine deeper meaning
Example: For example, a computer can apply brute force of number-crunching but it
cannot understand contextual variables as effortlessly as a human-being can.
2. Social intelligence: the ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to
sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions.
Example: Socially intelligent professionals are able to assess the emotions of those
around them and adapt their words, tone and gestures accordingly. It is a key-skill to
connect and collaborate.
3. Novel and adaptive thinking: proficiency at thinking and coming up with
solutions and responses beyond that which is rote and rule-based.
Example: It is the ability to respond to unique unexpected circumstances of the
moment, beit writing a cogent legal argument, or trying a new dish out of set
ingredients.
4. Cross-cultural competency. It is defined as the ability to operate in different
cultural settings.
Example: It involves specific skills like linguistic skills, and also the skills like
adaptability to changing circumstances and an ability to sense and respond to new
contexts. It is now crucial as organizations increasingly see diversity as a driver of
innovation.
5. Computational thinking: ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract
concepts and to understand data-based reasoning.
If a curriculum developer wants to prepare learners for the 21st century, which
knowledge and skills should be included, in particular for the diverse South
African context? These skills are listed under 1.2.5 in your textbook. Provide
an EXAMPLE of each of these competencies in your own words.
Teachers need to teach students to be adaptable to different organizations, culture,
and schedules in the 21st century. Additionally, teachers should impart a high set of
values to learners. The latter need ethics to form adequate behaviour. Moreover,
learners need soft skills to employ in their day-to-day communication.
1. Sense-making: to determine deeper meaning
Example: For example, a computer can apply brute force of number-crunching but it
cannot understand contextual variables as effortlessly as a human-being can.
2. Social intelligence: the ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to
sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions.
Example: Socially intelligent professionals are able to assess the emotions of those
around them and adapt their words, tone and gestures accordingly. It is a key-skill to
connect and collaborate.
3. Novel and adaptive thinking: proficiency at thinking and coming up with
solutions and responses beyond that which is rote and rule-based.
Example: It is the ability to respond to unique unexpected circumstances of the
moment, beit writing a cogent legal argument, or trying a new dish out of set
ingredients.
4. Cross-cultural competency. It is defined as the ability to operate in different
cultural settings.
Example: It involves specific skills like linguistic skills, and also the skills like
adaptability to changing circumstances and an ability to sense and respond to new
contexts. It is now crucial as organizations increasingly see diversity as a driver of
innovation.
5. Computational thinking: ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract
concepts and to understand data-based reasoning.
