21st Century Skills: A Framework for Success

1. 21st Century Skills: A Framework for Success Somer Lewis, MA NBCT Teacher-In-Residence UNCW Watson School of Education

2. 21st Century Skills: How do we get there? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ehGLqzBVM

3. Framework Background Updated March 2007 • Identifies the learning needs of the “future” • Describes the skills, knowledge and expertise students must master to succeed in work and life • Identifies the outcomes and support systems • Time honored practice and theory with more recent research on the modern workplace- these skills are not “new” Source: “The Intellectual and Policy Foundations of the 21st Century Skills Framework.” Partnership for 21st Century Skills

4. Student Outcomes for the 21st Century Students need to obtain: • Learning and Innovation Skills • Information, Media and Technology Skills • Life and Career Skills • Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes

5. Learning and Innovation Skills • Creativity and Innovation • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving • Communication and Collaboration

6. Information, Media and Technology Skills • Information Literacy • Media Literacy • Information, Communications and Technology Literacy

7. Life and Career Skills • Flexibility and Adaptability • Initiative and Self-Direction • Social and Cross-Cultural Skills • Productivity and Accountability • Leadership and Responsibility

8. Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes (Skills?) • Global Awareness • Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy • Civic Literacy • Health Literacy • Environmental Literacy? “We believe schools must move beyond a focus on basic competency in core subjects to promoting understanding of academic content at much higher levels by weaving 21st century interdisciplinary themes into core subject areas”

9. 21st Century Support Systems • 21st Century Standards • Assessment of 21st Century Skills • 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction • 21st Century Professional Development • 21st Century Learning Environments

10. How does the framework fit into our teaching in North Carolina? Does this mean that 21st century skills supersede content?

11. “Every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st Century.” -Mission of the NC State Board of Education, August 2006

12. North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards: Standard III • Teachers know the content they teach • 3.4 Teachers make instruction relevant to students • Skills incorporated into teaching deliberately, strategically, and broadly • Help students understand the relationship between the NCSCOS and 21st century outcomes

13. Skills and Content: A Marriage • Can you memorize all that you ever need to know in order to be a productive and engaged citizen in the 21st Century? • How many students do you know who can memorize and “regurgitate” any amount of information and yet do not have a true understanding of content?

14. The Marriage • We must teach the skills that students need to be independent learners • Every teacher should be a teacher of skills in his/her content area • Teachers should use content as a foundation for teaching 21st Century skills SO… What are the specific skills that have been identified according to grade level?

16. How do we interpret the Framework for 21st Century Learning?

17. What are the Challenges? Brainstorm: What are the challenges that you will meet as a teacher when trying to implement strategies for teaching 21st Century skills?

18. Some Challenges to Consider • Paradigm Shift • Need 21st Century pedagogy to teach skills effectively alongside basic literacy and numeracy skills • Do skills complement the core curriculum? • Technology harnessed in a much more fundamental and effective way • Accountability and assessment Source: “Equipping Every Learner for the 21st Century.” Developed by the Centre for Strategic Education, Cisco Systems, Inc., and McKinsey & Co.

19. Other Challenges • Risk of this being a fad? • Separation of skills and knowledge can’t happen! • Ways of knowing information are much more important than the information itself <- such notions contradict what we know about teaching and learning • We don’t know how to teach collaboration and innovation the way we know how to teach long division! • Better Teaching: Convert from teacher-led to student-centered Source: “21st Century Skills: The Challenges Ahead” Andrew J. Rotherham and Daniel Willingham

21. Self Evaluation • Have I taught my students well enough so they can develop a deep understanding of a topic without my being present? • Can my students successfully apply what I’ve taught them to new situations without my being present? • Have I taught my students skills so they can read, comprehend, analyze, and evaluate information to function without my being present?