Redesigning the 3R's and Core Academic Subjects to Improve Learning, Teaching and Assessment in the New Learning Paradigm

Pedagogies that made teaching, learning, assessment and curricula of the 20th century the great success that it was were designed and implemented with an emphasis on what are generally referred to as the 3R's of basic education, namely reading, -riting, -rithmetic and related subjects. Those pedagogies produced graduates that were well skilled for the Industrial Age economy. However, mainly due to the ubiquitous penetration of microelectronics and digital technologies into every day living, trades, businesses and occupations, a New Learning Paradigm is needed to equip graduates with the skills they need to succeed in the Knowledge Age economy. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) (P21, 2009) conceptualises those skills as consisting of not just the traditional core subjects, but also what they characterize as the Learning and Innovations skills, the Career and Life skills, as well as the Digital Literacies skills. They argue that the traditional core skills need to be redesigned as explained in this paper to form part of the New Learning Paradigm.