Children and the
21st-century skills
A new perspective on Maria Montessori’s vision
Maria Montessori and 21st-century skills
21st-century skills are the key to facing the constant changes of everyday life.
Despite the common assumption, these skills not only satisfy new work needs but allow you to seize opportunities for cultural and personal emancipation..
The 4 skills of the 21st-century are: ::
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Creative innovation
“Help me do it by myself” and “Help me think for myself”, says a kid who is looking for his/her autonomy.
This is what Maria Montessori hoped would happen in the life of every child: to acquire autonomy through doing, even through making mistakes. Every child may have the opportunity to ask and solve questions and problems, to communicate and work with others in a mutual learning exchange, taking care of their environment and the people around them, developing their skills and talents to build a better world.
The 4C skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creative innovation) of Maria Montessori’s pedagogy have been part of everyday school life for more than 100 years.
“Help me do it by myself” and “Help me think for myself”, says a kid who is looking for his/her autonomy.
This is what Maria Montessori hoped would happen in the life of every child: to acquire autonomy through doing, even through making mistakes. Every child may have the opportunity to ask and solve questions and problems, to communicate and work with others in a mutual learning exchange, taking care of their environment and the people around them, developing their skills and talents to build a better world.
The 4C skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creative innovation) of Maria Montessori’s pedagogy have been part of everyday school life for more than 100 years.
Boboto and learning in the digital era
Many recent studies confirmed that the daily use of digital tools could affect some aspects of human cognition and emotions. This is why it is essential to watch and guide children in the use of technological awareness.
Boboto and learning in the digital era
Many recent studies confirmed that the daily use of digital tools could affect some aspects of human cognition and emotions. This is why it is essential to watch and guide children in the use of technological awareness.
Digital can be a new expressive language in the process of learning and in developing imagination, allowing children to increase the cultural and social quality of their learning processes.
Our goal, therefore, is not simply to transmit technical skills in the use of digital tools through "technocentric" activities (use of 3D printers, coding, algorithmic definition), but also to understand how new technologies can "support education or lead to new insights ”(M. Resnick).
Boboto and citizenship skills
We strongly believe that children, from an early age, are to be considered citizens acquiring their skills. Together with the 4C skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creative innovation), we believe citizenship skill is fundamental, that is, respect for other cultures and involvement in addressing issues of environmental sustainability.
In the digital era, it is essential to possess this skill in the use of the web and social media. This is why part of our work is inspired by the DQ Institute, of which Boboto is an Italian partner, which identifies 8 fundamental aspects of digital citizenship that children should acquire:
As a representative of the DQ Institute in Italy,in 2018 we created the Impact report in Italian schools to investigate the state of digitization of children from 8 to 12. The research, which involved dozens of countries around the world, was promoted by the Singapore Institute and the World Economic Forum.
From analog to digital
Over the past few decades, different studies have proved that playing is not just an entertaining activity or a way to give children something to do in their spare time, but it has a central role in learning and preparing for life's challenges. Montessori used to say that "playing is the child's job".
This is why we want to offer children activities inspired by Montessori’s concept in contexts where play is taken seriously and where it is possible to act on different levels of representation, where different expressive languages can be mixed.
Thus, each instrument becomes an extension of the other, favoring flexible thinking that moves easily between analog and digital, between natural and artificial, between concrete and virtual, between art and science.
In our activities, there is never a clear division between tools and disciplines, because knowledge can never be fragmented. Our workshops, therefore, range from tinkering to the use of color, from coding for children to the interpretation of illustrated books, from handicraft to digital.
Write us to know moreThus, each instrument becomes an extension of the other, favoring flexible thinking that moves easily between analog and digital, between natural and artificial, between concrete and virtual, between art and science.
In our activities, there is never a clear division between tools and disciplines, because knowledge can never be fragmented. Our workshops, therefore, range from tinkering to the use of color, from coding for children to the interpretation of illustrated books, from handicraft to digital.
Write us to know more