Title of Unit: Subject/Course/Grade Goals: Curriculum Designers: Desired Results Enduring Understandings: Students will understand that... Essential Questions: Students will know... Students will be able to... Performance Task(s): Assessment Evidence 21 st Century Skill Incorporated: Lessons/Lab Overview Learning Plan 21 st Century Skills Focus and Information, Media and Technology Skills Used
21 st Century Learning and Innovation Skills: S Creativity and Innovation Think Creatively o Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming) o Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts) o Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts Work Creatively with Others o Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively o Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into the work o Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real world limits to adopting new ideas o View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes Implement Innovations o Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Reason Effectively o Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the situation Use Systems Thinking o Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems Make Judgments and Decisions o Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs o Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view o Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments o Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis o Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes Solve Problems o Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways o Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions
Communication and Collaboration Communicate Clearly o Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts o Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions o Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate, and persuade) o Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact o Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual) Collaborate with Others o Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams o Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal o Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member Information, Media and Technology Skills Information Literacy: Access, evaluate, use and manage information Media Literacy: Analyze and create media products ICT Literacy: Apply technology effectively Life and Career Skills Flexibility and Adaptability Initiative and Self-Direction Social and Cross-Cultural Skills Productivity and Accountability Leadership and Responsibility
Recommendations for Designing Curriculum for the 21 st Century 1. Develop curricula for understanding: Ensure that curricula are designed to produce deep understanding and authentic application of 21 st century skills. This by definition will enable the development of 21 st century skills; curricula should include models for appropriate learning activities that accomplish 21 st century skills outcomes 2. Unpack the standards to articulate essential concepts and skills. Use curricula to articulate the essential understandings and 21 st century skills contained within the standards. Ensure all curricula materials (curriculum guides, model units) clearly identify the big ideas and 21 st Century skills as the goals for learning 3. Build widespread consensus around the big ideas and essential questions. Involve educators and stakeholders at all levels to ensure the big ideas, essential questions and enduring understandings particularly those that emphasize 21 st century skills are supported and understood. 4. Use curriculum-embedded performance-based assessments. Design and implement curriculum-embedded, performance-based assessments that are integrated and aligned with the state accountability system. 5. Commit to continuous improvement in 21 st century curriculum design processes. Commit to an ongoing process of reflecting upon and revising curricula with the purpose of improving the teaching and learning of 21 st century skills over time. 6. Collaborate. Educators should initiate meaningful partnerships with key stakeholders, content developers and curriculum providers to ensure a wide range of instructional products are designed to produce 21 st century skills outcomes. 7. Use Teach for Understanding principles. Develop and deliver lessons and units that connect the most essential concepts and skills students need to know and do. Avoid the teaching of disparate, unconnected facts that inhibits the development of critical thinking, problem solving and other 21 st century skills. Coach students to progress from teacher-guided experience toward independent application, interpretation and explanation.
8. Create meaningful opportunities for student demonstration and mastery of 21 st century skills. Ensure that students have real-world opportunities to synthesize, apply and demonstrate their mastery of key concepts and 21 st century skills. 9. Deliver learner-centered instruction to instill 21 st century skills. Commit to meeting the unique 21 st century skills needs of each student. Connect curriculum to learners experiences and frames of reference to build upon each student s knowledge and experience and help them systematically expand their abilities and master new concepts and proficiencies. 10. Reflect, refine and improve 21 st century skills instruction. Educators should develop personal learning communities (and advocate for the school-wide time and support for them) and use them to reflect on and refine instructional methods that enhance 21 st century skills mastery in classroom practice. Resources from the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills http://www.p21.org/documents/p21-stateimp_curriculuminstruction.pdf