Creating Schools for the 21 st Century

1. Creating Schools for the21st Century A way to synergize our work Beth Ratway beth.ratway@dpi.wi.gov

2. When the question: 'What's new?' is pursued at the expense of all other questions, what follows in its wake is often an endless flood of trivia and fashion. I wish to be concerned with the question: 'What is best?' for this question cuts deeply, rather than broadly sweeping over everything." Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

3. You have been asked to present at a congressional hearing on NCLB – they are wondering what are the knowledge, skills and dispositions students need for the 21st century?

4. Overview “This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education… whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can’t think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good formation from bad, or speak a language other than English.” How to Build a Student for the 21st Century, TIME Magazine, December 18, 2006

5. “Stop asking me if we’re almost there! We’re nomads, for crying out loud!”

6. What do our students need to know and be able to do in the 21st century?

7. State Superintendent’s High School Task Force: • Move outside of existing structures and pursue innovation • Engage students in rigorous, authentic learning experiences that are relevant to their learning needs and future ambitions • Create smaller learning environments; require individualized learning plans • Promote school, parent, business, and community partnerships 7

8. Summit on 21st Century Skills Preparing Students for Work,Postsecondary Education, and Citizenship March 14, 2007 8

9. Summit on 21st Century Skills Sponsors: Competitive Wisconsin, Inc. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction The University of Wisconsin System The Wisconsin Technical College System Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Attendees: Business, Labor and Commerce Leaders; Legislators; Representatives from Community Organizations and Non-educational Government Agencies 9

10. Summit on 21st Century SkillsFocus Group Question If you were to advise an 8th grade student in preparing him/her to work for your company 5-10 years from now, what are the skills, knowledge, and abilities you believe would be essential to develop? What are the 21st century skills that will sustain and grow a vibrant, global economy? What should be expected of today’s students so they can be effective citizens and leaders in our communities? 10

11. Summit on 21st Century Skills What did we find? Most often discussed among groups were Learning & Thinking Skills and Life Skills • critical-thinking and problem solving • collaborative communications skills • people skills • contextual learning skills • personal responsibility • ethics • adaptability (nimbleness) http://www.dpi.wi.gov/cal/businesssummit.html

12. American Diploma Project Rigor and Relevance for 21st Century Engage stakeholders to ensure that every student graduates prepared. Align high school standards to postsecondary and workforce expectations. Focus initially on English language arts and mathematics. Partnership for 21st Century 12

13. Current National Debate 13

14. Partnership for 21st Century Skills enter the debate

15. Partnership for 21st Century Skills Learning and Innovation Skills Core Subjects & 21st Century Themes Life & Career Skills Information, Media, and Tech Skills Standards & Assessment Curriculum & Instruction Professional Development Learning Environments 15

16. Core subjects - RIGOR State Standards ADP Grade Level Foundations

17. What do you have in place?

18. 21st century Themes(Relevance) Grade Level Foundations

19. 21st Century themes Every generation of Americans wants our schools to prepare students for success in work and life. Today, business and education leaders agree that some content is missing from state and local standards and requirements for most students. This new content represents essential knowledge for the 21st century.

20. GLOBAL LITERACY CIVIC LITERACY HEALTH LITERACY ECONOMIC LITERACY 20

21. What are we doing to address Themes: • Global • International Education Council • http://dpi.wi.gov/cal/interntled.html • Civic • Service learning • http://dpi.wi.gov/fscp/slt4dist.html • Health • Health Standards • http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/skills_healthB.html • Health Assessments • http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/pdf/hlahiv.pdf • http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/class_hlth.html • Financial, Economic • Personal financial literacy standards • http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/pdf/pfl.pdf 21

22. What do you have in place?

23. Life and Career skills Skills Assessment Career pathways Project Lead the Way STEM Career Development http://dpi.wi.gov/pubsales/stw6a.html

24. Life and Career Skills: Flexibility and Adaptability Initiative and Self-Direction Social and Cross-Cultural Skills Productivity and Accountability Leadership and Responsibility www.21stcenturyskills.org 24

25. Information, Media and technology skills Information technology standards http://dpi.wi.gov/imt/itls.html

26. Information, Media and Technology Skills: • Information Literacy • Media Literacy • Information, Communications, and Technology Literacy

27. Learning and innovation skills School Counselors Library Media Specialists ELL Special Education Failing Forward 7 Habits Habits of Mind http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/scstudentstandards.html

28. Learning and Innovation Skills: Creativity and Innovation Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Communication and Collaboration www.21stcenturyskills.org 28

29. How are we focusing on the skills Inquiry, Critical thinking and problem solving Skills (Critical thinking and systems thinking, Problem identification, formulation and solution, creativity, innovation and intellectual curiosity) Knowledge acquisition Skills (concept development, learning how to learn) REFLECTION Information and communication Skills (information and media literacy, ICT literacy (communication skills)) Interpersonal and self-directional skills (Interpersonal and collaborative skills, self-direction, accountability, adaptability, social responsibility) 29

30. What do you have in place?