Getting and Assessing 21st Century Knowledge and Skills Bob Pearlman 8th Annual Building Learning Communities Conference Boston, MA July 17, 2008 PowerPoint Slides at http://www.bobpearlman.org/BLC2008.htm 1

What knowledge and skills do students need for the 21st Century?

“Results That Matter: 21st Century Skills and High School Reform” Improving high schools requires the nation to redefine “rigor” to encompass not just mastery of core academic subjects, but also mastery of 21st century skills and content. Rigor must reflect all the results that matter for all high school graduates today. Today’s graduates need to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and effective communicators who are proficient in both core subjects and new, 21st century content and skills. These 21st century skills include learning and thinking skills, information and communications technology literacy skills, and life skills. -- March 24, 2006 http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

SCANS U.S. Department of Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills COMPETENCIES - Effective workers can productively use: Resources - allocating time, money, materials, space and staff. Interpersonal Skills - working on teams, teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating, and working well with people from culturally diverse backgrounds. Information - acquiring and evaluating data, organizing and maintaining files, interpreting and communication, and using computers to process information. Systems - understanding social, organizational and technological systems, monitoring and correcting performance, and designing or improving systems. Technology - selecting equipment and tools, applying technology to specific tasks, and maintaining and troubleshooting technologies. FOUNDATIONS - Competence requires: Basic Skills - reading, writing, arithmetic and mathematics, speaking and listening. Thinking Skills - thinking creatively, making decisions, solving problems, seeing things in the mind's eye, knowing how to learn, and reasoning. Personal Qualities - individual responsibilities, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity. 1992

Released June 21, 2004 at NECC, New Orleans http://www.21stcenturyskills.org

21ST CENTURY SKILLS DEFINED LEARNING & INNOVATION Creativity & Innovation Critical Thinking & Problem-solving Communication & Collaboration LIFE & CAREER Flexibility & Adaptability Initiative & Self-direction Social & Cross-cultural Skills Productivity & Accountability Leadership & Responsibility INFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY Information Literacy Media Literacy ICT Literacy The skills needed to be successful today are much different than they were when schools were designed Partnership for 21st Century Skills http://www.21stcenturyskills.org

So what does learning look like where students get 21st Century Knowledge and Skills?

Project- and Problem-Based Learning Keys to 21st Century Learning Teachers start each unit by throwing students into a realistic or real-world project that both engages interest and generates a list of things the student need to know. Projects are designed to tackle complex problems, requiring critical thinking. The strategy for 21st Century Learning is simple: To learn collaboration, work in teams. To learn critical thinking, take on complex problems. To learn oral communication, present. To learn written communication, write. To learn technology, use technology. To develop citizenship, take on civic and global issues. To learn about careers, do internships. To learn content, research and do all of the above.

"What is Manor New Tech?" video -- In their own words, Manor New Tech (Manor, TX) students explain what MNTHS is to them. This video features footage of what is happening on campus every day. Presented by students at the Texas Computer Educators Conference, February 4, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-klc2KijMG8

Students form a team, develop a work contract and build a work plan Each unit begins when students are presented with a complex, standards-based problem Students form a team, develop a work contract and build a work plan

Students get to work! Students are provided an online briefcase specific to the project with information, resources, links and assessment criteria that help guide them.

Students Need To Know Student questions and “need to knows” drive classroom lectures and activities. Sometimes for the whole class … sometime for just one student

Students experiment and apply learning Students test their ideas and experiment to find solutions and breakthroughs while receiving ongoing feedback from instructors.

Students get back to work! Students work and collaborate in a business-like environment, where they know their deliverables and have the technology tools to do their jobs.

Students prepare to present Students work on building presentations to repre-sent their work and defend their solutions

Students present their solutions! Students present ideas through debates, skits, panels, presentations, etc… where their work is evaluated by peers, teachers, parents, and community

PBL EXAMPLE PRESIDENT’S DILEMMA

MORE PBL EXAMPLES Moongames Students are commissioned by TOYCO and NASA to create or modify games played on earth to work on Lunar colonies. Using Newton’s three laws and a lot of math, students consider issues like the height of a basketball hoop in low gravity conditions.

MORE PBL EXAMPLES Together We Stand Welcome new interns! As you may already know, the Solano, Napa and Partners Library Consortium is organizing a major exhibit on the Great Depression. It will be called Together We Stand. Our goal is to show in words and pictures that the 1930s provided America with its greatest test of character. Up to one-third of all Americans were out of work by the early part of the decade. Different groups were especially hard hit, including women, children and minorities. Because we live in such a diverse area, both racially and economically, we want to create an exhibit that touches the hearts and minds of all people.

PBL SUMMARY The project drives the curriculum by creating a need for the students to know the content. Students work more autonomously on real or realistic work that has high stakes. Evaluation is made more authentic with performance based measurements and is often conducted with the help of non-teachers.

The Buck Institute for Education TRAINING  DEVELOPMENT  RESEARCH Novato, California www.bie.org TRAINING  DEVELOPMENT  RESEARCH

Project Management Teamwork

Oral Communication/Presentation Exhibition Assessment and Feedback

PLAN THE ASSESSMENT What student product(s) could demonstrate that the student’s have learned what you wanted them to learn?

FINAL PRODUCTS SUB-ASSIGNMENTS PROCESS DOCUMENTS PLAN THE ASSESSMENT FINAL PRODUCTS SUB-ASSIGNMENTS PROCESS DOCUMENTS

THE FINAL PRODUCT Final Products Should… require students to understand, synthesize, and apply the project’s outcomes. • exemplify project outcomes in an authentic way. • be relevant and interesting to students. • give students the opportunity to demonstrate and reflect on their learning. • require craftsmanship and artful composition. • be relatively easy to assess. Be sure the product can actually demonstrate that the student mastered the skills and content required.

FINAL PRODUCTS SUB-ASSIGNMENTS PROCESS DOCUMENTS PLAN THE ASSESSMENT FINAL PRODUCTS SUB-ASSIGNMENTS PROCESS DOCUMENTS SCAFFOLDING

SUB ASSIGNMENTS - Scaffolding REMINDER… PBL methodology does not exclude the use of traditional assignments like homework, journals, research, or event note taking. BUT…these traditional assignments should have context within the larger project. Students should see a clear connection between the assignment and the project.

SUB ASSIGNMENTS - Scaffolding Consider developing final products that are built in stages to provide checkpoints… Proposals Outlines Plans Blueprints Drafts Edited drafts Models Revised drafts Product critiques Product tryouts

PROCESS DOCUMENTATION Group work contracts Roles and duties of group members Student generated task or “to do” lists Project calendar Group progress reports Student time cards

DEVELOP ASSESSMENT RUBRICS Design rubrics for content AND broader learning outcomes. Rubrics should articulate the various performance levels. Rubrics MUST be handed out in the early stages of the project when they can be used to set expectations.

New Technology High School Napa, California http://www.newtechhigh.org/ Integrating technology into every class Interdisciplinary and project-based Internship class consisting of classroom curriculum and unpaid work in technology, business or education Digital Portfolio http://www.newtechfoundation.org/nthlearning.html

New Technology HS LEARNING OUTCOMES Sacramento 10 Learning Outcomes: Content Proficient Able to Write Proficiently Orally Proficient Able to Think Critically Technologically Proficient Able to Collaborate Prepared for a Career Solid Citizens with Ethical Behavior Able to Analyze and deal with Data Possessing a solid Work Ethic Napa 8 Learning Outcomes Technology Literacy Collaboration Critical Thinking Oral Communication Written Communication Career Preparation Citizenship and Ethics Curricular Literacy (Content Standards)

PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO LEARNING OUTCOMES THE BIG PICTURE PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO REPORTING/STUDENT FEEDBACK CURRICULAR UNITS (PBL) EVALUATION RUBRICS LEARNING OUTCOMES

CHALLENGE PBL instruction is not as linear as traditional instruction. How can we organize our project materials for student access, action, self- direction, and project management?

The Project Briefcase allows teachers to put all project materials in one spot for easy student access and to share with other teachers.

They include everything from the entry document that launches the project to the rubrics used to assess the student’s performance.

Teachers can easily lock items from the student view.

Teachers can easily lock items from the student view. The Briefcase holds individual project documents. It can contain text, images, web links, and links to other NTH tools.

How can we help students stay on task and develop self-direction? CHALLENGE How can we help students stay on task and develop self-direction?

The Course Agenda helps keep complicated projects organized.

Teachers enter activities for each day including links to resources and homework assignments.

You might be thinking… this is cool but our school environment look NOTHING like this. Our school population looks much like your Diverse and very Urban Classes are mainstreamed- students with varying ability levels and learn styles

CHALLENGE How can we better hold students accountable for their collaboration skills while working in a group?

At the end of each project, students evaluate their group members using this collaboration rubric database.

Students submit evaluations using a standardized rubric for the whole school.

Students can view how their peers rated them (although the evaluations are anonymous). Teachers can view, edit, and delete evaluations as necessary. They can also print a report that averages the evaluations for a given project.

The evaluations are accessible on the web. Students have the option to “publish” the evaluations for use as evidence of their collaboration skills. This is the key to allowing students to demonstrate their performance of our learning outcomes.

CHALLENGE How can we capture evidence for skills such as Oral Communication so that students have something to put on their portfolios?

Students present their solutions! Students present ideas through debates, skits, panels, presentations, etc… where their work is evaluated by peers, teachers, parents, and community

The evaluations are accessible from the web after the student has marked the evaluation “public”.

The Presentation Database is a place to record and display evaluations of student performance on presentations. Collecting data on our learning outcomes is critical for the student’s Professional Portfolio.

CHALLENGE How can we give students and parents clear feedback on student performance that better reflects our authentic assessment practices?

? What do traditional teachers do with a major research paper that has been turned in late?

ASSESSMENT B+ More than likely, the teacher will take off points for each day the paper is late.

ASSESSMENT B+ More than likely, the teacher will take off points for each day the paper is late. As soon as the teacher puts that lowered grade in the grade book, we lose important data about the skills and abilities of the student. C-

SKILLS BASED ASSESSMENT

A REPORT CARD THAT MATTERS When checking grades online, students see course grades and 21st Century skill assessments.

CHALLENGE How can we give students a way to demonstrate their proficiency on the learning outcomes and then how can we assess them?

Students demonstrate mastery through …. Products Presentations Portfolios

The Professional Portfolio is the capstone of the NTHS Learning System The Professional Portfolio is the capstone of the NTHS Learning System. NTHS’s entire curriculum serves eight overall learning outcomes. In their portfolios, students demonstrate their proficiency in all eight outcomes.

These guidelines provide structure around what is otherwise a student-managed collection of projects, evaluations, and documents organized into a web site.

The portfolios are as diverse as the student body but with similar layouts and organization to aid in evaluation by staff and community members.

What is the Learning System? DIGITAL PORTFOLIO CURRICULUM LIBRARY NTHS GRADEBOOK What is the Learning System? The NTH Learning System™ is a set of tools and technologies that support a student-centered, project- and problem-based learning environment. COMMUNICATION TOOLS COLLABORATION EVALUATOR DISCUSSION BULLETIN BOARDS STUDENT DATA COLLECTION

Key recommendations Go see 21st Century Learning Learning Outcomes Determine the school’s Learning Outcomes (21st Century Skills) Embed the Learning Outcomes into projects Design assessments to measure Outcomes Students prove mastery of Learning Outcomes through Products, Presentations, and Portfolios Provide students with just-in-time assessment feedback Projects Assess 21st Century Skills Products Presentations Portfolios Go see 21st Century Learning Skills-Based Grade Reports

NEW TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHOOLS (late September  March) Napa and Sacramento Study Tours and Visits (late September  March) http://www.newtechfoundation.org

PowerPoint Slides at www.bobpearlman.org/BLC2008.htm Contact Information Susan Schilling CEO www.newtechfoundation.org 707-253-4287 1040 Main St., Suite 302 Napa, CA 94559 Bob Pearlman Director of Strategic Planning bobpearlman@mindspring.com www.bobpearlman.org 520-881-9965 PowerPoint Slides at www.bobpearlman.org/BLC2008.htm