On Wednesday, February 4th, the Texas ASCD Board of Directors and staff met with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and key people from Texas associations and businesses. The meeting consisted of learning about the framework for 21st Century Skills and how to incorporate these themes into our core subjects. The whole idea of 21st Century Skills is to have our students on the same top competitive field as other students throughout the USA as well worldwide.
The 21st Century Skills framework is a rainbow of the following skills:
• Life and Career Skills
• Learning and Innovation Skills
• Information, Media, and Technology Skills
The above skills are held up by school core subjects and the 21st Century Themes.
The 21st Century Skills Themes are:
• Global Awareness
• Financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy
• Civic Literacy
• Health Literacy
Each of these themes can easily be incorporated into our current curriculum.
The outcome of incorporating these skills, and themes is for students:
• To be able to be create, innovate, critically think, problem solve, communicate, and collaborate
• To have information literacy, media literacy, and information and communications technology literacy
• To be flexible, adaptive, self-directed, initiative, social, cross-cultured, productive, accountable, responsible and a leader.
These are the skills our students need to be competitive in the work place. Are our schools meeting the needs of our students? Can your students compete in a global economy? Texas ASCD and other Texas associations and businesses are considering working together to bring this type of framework to Texas and to our students.
*The source for the above information is The Partnership for 21st Century Skills organization.
Please feel free to comment or answer any of the questions below.
1. Is your school currently adapting these skills to the curriculum and instruction?
2. Should Texas be one of the states that is adopting this framework and how?
Upcoming Texas ASCD Events:
February 18th, 2009
Success With TAKS - Mathematics
CaLandra Pervis
Caprock HS - Amarillo ISD
(EXCLUSIVE CAMPUS TRAINING - CLOSED TO REGISTRATION)
May 7th & 8th, 2009
Maximizing Student Success
Tim Westerberg
Keller ISD
July 14th & 15th, 2009
Curriculum Leadership Academy
Second Session of Three
Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD (Dallas Metroplex area)
July 27th & 28th, 2009
Jumping Hurdles & Raising the Bar Toward Achieving Excellence in Science
Gloria Chatelain and Courtney Williams
Greenville ISD
August 13th & 14th, 2009
Maximizing Student Success
Tim Westerberg
Sheldon ISD (Houston area)
Rescheduled from a Previous date
October 25th - 27th, 2009
Texas ASCD Annual Conference
Embassy Suites - Frisco (Dallas Metroplex area)
October 27th & 28th, 2009
Curriculum Leadership Academy
Third Session of Three
Embassy Suites - Frisco (Dallas Metroplex area)
1 comment:
I am so glad there is an interest in this book! I am currently enrolled in a graduate program for Ed.Admin., and we are reading/ reviewing this book for our Curriculum and Instruction course.
I feel blessed to be in a district that is forward thinking regarding 21st century education. Our classrooms are outfitted with "smart doc cams" that act as a plain paper/overhead projector; we have laptops that access the internet and is projected upon the screen; and we have numerous computers and programs for the children to access to complete lessons and extended learning.
Our new math adoption for elementary utilizes these components to their fullest extent including interactive learning videos that allow teachers to advance "interactive slides" as he or she desires to engage the learner.
While we have these tools, we as educators can do more. Our district educators are involved in Intel training annually which helps us develop cross-curricular lesson plans utilizing our digital resources, including student use. This is all very exciting, but we all know we have a long way to go. I have yet to use my Intel training fully, but have made baby steps in that direction. I know we are on the right track!
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