Assignment: Change Through the Ages

Part 1

Table 1.2 (pp.14-15) in your text summarizes the ways in which society's goals for education have changed from the Agrarian Age through the Industrial Age and finally, to today's Knowledge Age. Recognizing that one of the primary goals of education is to prepare individuals to enter and remain productive in the workforce, consider how occupations have changed in concert with educational goals. Choose one profession or occupation in particular and trace the changes it has endured through the ages as the economy, technology, and society change. For this assignment you may choose to examine your current profession or one you are interested in pursuing in the future. You are encouraged to speak to individuals in this profession to gain insights about the causes and effects of these changes.

Use the following questions to guide your thinking and writing:

• What sort of educational background is required for this profession?
• What value does society place on this profession?
• What technological advancements have played a role in this profession?
• What other forces have caused a need for change in this profession?

As you consider these questions, remember that you should keep a focus on how the profession has changed through time and not just what is required for the profession in our current age. Be sure to follow the APA writing guidelines found in the Walden Writing Center.

Length: 2 to 3 pages.

Note: Instead of submitting a written paper, you may choose to provide your response using a graphic representation, PPT presentation, concept map, audio podcast, video, or other form of media or multimedia.

Part 2

In the Introduction to the course text, 21st Century Skills, Trilling and Fadel list the three categories into which they place the skills needed to be successful in the 21st century. Your course project requires you to create a resume/portfolio that would demonstrate mastery of 21st century skills to a prospective employer. Click on the project overview link below to review the requirements of this project. As the first step in completing your project, begin brainstorming the types of portfolio artifacts that could be used to demonstrate mastery of skills in the three categories. You will create these artifacts, or write detailed descriptions of them, in Weeks 3, 4, and 5 of this course. Be sure to plan ahead to complete these tasks.