1. Are Traditional Teaching Methods
Right for Today’s Students?
8 ways to teach to the domains of competency
2. Who is today’s student?
In order to determine the best way to meet the challenges of teaching
21st Century students, we need to take a closer look at who they are:
Not college ready
37% of first-year students
have a hard time adjusting
to the demands of college
and university
More tech savvy
Want to acquire knowledge
quickly as well as skills that
can be transferred to the
workplace
Less traditional
Leading busy lives, often
with family and work
responsibilities outside of
the demands of school
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3. Today’s students expect that their college or
university experience will:
• Prepare them for their careers
• Relate to job competencies, job seeking and
success
• Be supported and enhanced by technology
• Focus on application and transferable skills
rather than just acquiring knowledge
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4. A growing body of research has shown that
meeting the needs of today’s students and
preparing them for education, life, and work
means addressing three domains of competency:
Cognitive
Domain
Intrapersonal
Domain
Interpersonal
Domain
4
6. The
Intrapersonal
Domain
Metacognition
(the ability to reflect on one’s
own learning and make
adjustments accordingly)
Intellectual
Openness
Work Ethic &
Conscientiousness
Self-efficacy
(one’s confidence in the ability to
control his/her own motivation,
behavior, and social environment)
Persistence
& Grit
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11. 4. Engage learners in
challenging tasks, while
supporting them with
appropriate scaffolding.
How to teach to the domains of competency
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12. 5. Teach with examples
and case studies that
bring home real-world
relevance and show
concepts at work.
How to teach to the domains of competency
12
13. 6. Prime student motivation
by connecting with
student interests,
experience and
aspirations.
How to teach to the domains of competency
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14. 7. Engage students in
collaborative problem
solving or other
collaboration with a
learning purpose.
How to teach to the domains of competency
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16. References
1. National Research Council. Education for Life and Work: Developing
Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century, 2012.
Committee on Defining Deeper Learning and 21st Century
Skills, J.W. Pellegrino and M.L. Hilton, Editors. Board on Testing
and Assessment and Board on Science Education, Division of
Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press.
2. Education for Life and Work. Developing Transferable Knowledge and
Skills in the 21st Century. National Research Council of the National
Academies of Science, 2012. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13398/
education-for-life-and-work-developing-transferable-knowledge-
and-skills.
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