21st Century Skills and Afterschool Programs:

Preparing Every Child for the 21st Century

Fifth Annual Regional Conference on Afterschool, Mentoring and

Community Schools – Susan Tave Zelman

Plan

• Partnership for 21st Century Skills

• Importance of 21st Century Skills

• 21st Century Skills Framework

• CPB Initiatives

• Food for Thought

The Partnership is…

…the nation’s leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st

century skills into education. The Partnership and its member

organizations encourage schools, districts, and states to advocate for the infusion of

21st century skills into education and provide tools and resources that help

facilitate and drive change.

P21 Members

The Partnership is unique. P21 fills a distinctive and vital role as THE leading education and business partnership advocating for a 21st century skills education system.

• Currently there are 38 members of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills that represent all sectors of American society.

• 10 states (which collectively educate over 7.3 million students) have joined the Partnership to ensure students graduate with 21st century skills and the ability to succeed in the global job market.

P21 Partner States

Current State Partners

• Arizona• Iowa• Kansas• Maine• Massachusett

s

• New Jersey • North Carolina• South Dakota• West Virginia• Wisconsin

Why are 21st Century Skills so critical?

21st century skills, combining technology literacy, critical thinking, creativity and mastery

of core subject matter, are the lifeblood of a productive workforce in today's global,

knowledge-based economy. Skills that are important in the new economy are problem solving and critical thinking, in which U.S.

students are falling behind.

Why 21st Century Skills?

The requirements of the workforce

are changing

Why are 21st Century Skills so important?

• Of the high school students that you recently hired, what were their deficiencies?

Written Communication 81%

Leadership 73%

Work Ethic 70%

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 70%

Self-Direction 58%

Why are 21st Century Skills so important?

• What skills and content areas will be growing in importance in the next five years?

Critical Thinking 78%

I.T. 77%

Health & Wellness 76%

Collaboration 74%

Innovation 74%

Personal Financial Responsibility 72%

Why are 21st Century Skills so important?

Source: PISA, 2000, 2003 Courtesy of Cisco Systems

30th

25th

20th

15th

10th

5th

1st

2000 2000 2000 20032003 2003 2003

OECDRanking

Ranking of G8 countries:

10th grade math & problem solving

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

MathScience ReadingProblem Solving

24th

18th

24th

14th

18th

15th 15th

Problem - Why 21st Century Skills?

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

• A critical thinker• A problem solver• An innovator• An effective communicator• An effective collaborator• A self-directed learner• Information and media literate• Globally aware• Civically engaged• Financially and economically literate

Every Student Must Be:

21st Century Skills Framework

The Framework for 21st Century Learning describes the skills, knowledge and expertise students must master to succeed in work and life. To learn more visit: www.21stcenturyskills.org

21st Century Skills Framework

Core Subjects- Economics- English- Government - Arts- History- Geography- Reading or Language- Arts- Mathematics- Science- World Languages- Civics

21st Century Themes- Global Awareness- Financial, Economic, Business & Entrepreneurship Literacy- Civic Literacy- Health Literacy

CPB Focus on 21t Century Skills

CPB has 4 key strategies in supporting the development of 21st Century skills through public media and the educational community:

• Invest in content using new, digital media

• Build capacity

• Cultivate research and evaluation

• Engage in community partnerships.

Content

• Is aligned to 21st Century skill development and is easily accessible to teachers, parents and students

• Encourages any time, anywhere learning – including Afterschool programs

• Aligns curriculum in school, after-school, and at-home settings; content can be used in both formal and informal settings.

Content continued

• Reaches children from diverse socioeconomic and low-wealth groups

• Fosters communication and collaboration through social networking

• Has global dimensions – ensuring students know about other countries and cultures

• Creates innovative design across multiple platforms

READY TO LEARN• $72 Million grant over 5 years from U.S. Department of Education• Use innovative public media to build children’s literacy skills, on air, online, and on the ground• Focus on research and evaluation to make sure programs work• Programming includes Super Why, Word World, Martha Speaks, The Electric Company,

Sesame Street, Between the Lions• Parent engagement initiative PBS KIDS Raising Readers gives parents easy, fun literacy

activities they can do with their children

STEM

• Recently issued call for proposals focusing on STEM Digital Media Resources for Learning– Public broadcasting stations in cooperation

with key partners in the formal and informal education community will join together to create dynamic digital resources in Middle School Earth Sciences – material that can be used any time; any where – in the classroom, at home and in afterschool programs.

Build Capacity

• CPB strives to build the capacity of all learners – educators, parents, caregivers, and students – to use public media as a strategy to learn 21st Century Skills by:– Partnerships with state and local education

authorities and with Afterschool groups to train on digital media

– Using digital tools efficiently and safely

Research & Evaluation

• Investigate the role of digital media in 21st Century Skill Development

• Create initiatives and policies that help close opportunity gaps

• Convene and connect researchers to identify pressing needs and priorities

• Advocates for public and private funding for innovative, research-based applications that teach 21st century skills

Engage in Community Partnerships

• With groups such as yours, we want to encourage dialogue on what individuals need to know and be able to do to thrive and strive in the 21st century

• Create digital learning resource centers at public broadcasting stations and/or in their local communities

• Provide children in diverse, underserved communities with adult support for digital learning

Food for Thought

• How do you think your current work will change as a result of a national emphasis on 21st Century skills?

• How can Afterschool and Mentoring programs join with public broadcasting stations to increase 21st Century skills amongst our high school graduates and make them more competitive in a global marketplace?