(2017). Preparing teacher-students for twenty-first-century learning practices (PREP 21) : a framework for enhancing collaborative problem-solving and strategic learning skills. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 23 (1), 25-41. doi:10.1080/13540602.2016 AbstractWith regard to the growing interest in developing teacher education to match the 21st century skills, while many assumptions have been made, there has been less theoretical elaboration and empirical research on this topic. The aim of this article is to present our pedagogical framework for the 21st century learning practices in teacher education. We will first review the current status of policy frameworks for the 21st century learning skills. Based on our previous work and current understanding in the field of learning sciences, we will next elaborate the processes and strategies for collaborative problem solving skills and strategic learning skills to specify current, rather general claims presented regarding the discussion on 21st century skills. We will also provide concrete case examples facilitating strategic learning skills, collaborative problem-solving skills and the skills to use ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in contexts of our previous studies.

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This study focuses on Finnish pre-service teachers' perceptions of their 21st century skills, especially their learning strategies, collaboration and teamwork, as well as knowledge and attitudes related to ICT in education. The target group consist of 263 first-year pre-service teachers from three universities. The results outline how pre-service teachers perceive their twenty-first century skills, the relationships between different areas of these skills, and the differences among preservice teachers in terms of perceived skills. The results indicate that the pre-service teachers perceive themselves as skilled learners in terms of learning strategies used as well as collaboration and teamwork. When it comes to understanding how to use ICT in education, they perceived their level of knowledge lower. The strongest variation between respondents was seen in the areas of knowledge and attitudes related to the use of ICT in education.