Learn more about Metiri’s involvement with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and Metiri’s commitment to helping schools achieve this increasingly important momentum towards 21st Century learning.

As the discussion continued it was obvious that what they were building was a framework for 21st Century Learning. This framework was constructed on four pillars – Common Core Standards, authentic work, digital tools that inspire creation, creativity and collaboration, and 21st Century Skills like critical thinking.

This framework holds an exciting promise but in reality it was a little overwhelming to consider. As the group broke this framework down into manageable next steps that would begin a journey, Jody articulated a few steps to remember.

1. Use data!
Jody shared our D21 report with the group so that they could see how baseline data is essential to creating a sustainable 21st Century Learning Organization. Having access to baseline data across the 7 dimensions of 21st Century Learning is key. As Jody mentioned, you have to know what you are starting with and you need to have the data set that will allow you to continually monitor progress.

2. Plan for professional growth!
Jody shared a few case studies from our work here at Metiri that can offer insights into professional growth. From examples of teacher teams collaboratively designing new units of study for the Common Core Standards, to teacher leaders developing a definition of student engagement, Jody painted a portrait of how professional growth can look in the 21st Century. A big focus was on rethinking our use of time to allow teachers to work through asynchronous content before coming together as a team to work. Jody showed our 21st Century skills eBook series that provides teachers with research and strategies for each skill area. She also provided an overview of our AP21 tools that allow teachers to “see” Common Core Standards being implemented, access rubrics for 21st Century Skills, access rubrics for Common Core Standards, and document their scoring team’s progress in achieving interrater reliability using samples of student work.

3. Everyone has to change!
Jody shared reflections from her experiences with schools who are implementing the Common Core Standards. One constant was that everyone has to willing to change, visions from all stakeholders must align to encourage the creation of a 21st Century Learning organization. What happens in the classroom must be supported by policies and decisions that will sustain the vision.

4. Don’t just buy stuff!
At Metiri we are lucky to work with learning organizations all over the world. One challenge that we continually observe is the purchasing of tools that are either “one hit wonders” having a single use, or the purchasing of materials that sit in a closet. Buy tools that will support your vision of 21st Century Learning. Spend time and money on classroom innovations that align to your vision, your definition of student engagement, and your goals. Empower innovative practice in the classroom, and look for how cost savings from things like teacher-created digital textbooks can save money, support your vision, and improve student learning.

4. Start with the end in mind!
Always move towards your vision for 21st Century Learning. When the daily operations of learning organizations become the driving force and not your vision you may be loosing ground. Stay focused, draw connections, and create a dialogue throughout the organization that is focused on continual growth, progress, and revisioning. Jody highlighted Cheryl Lemke’s work with school districts around the country on creating a vision for 21st Century Learning across stakeholder groups. These dynamic visioning sessions, led by Cheryl, are really pulling districts into innovative thinking and the reimagination of school.

To talk with Jody about her work, visit her Our Team profile and use the contact form to send her a message or follow her on twitter @jodybritten

• What policies or practices in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, and Virginia support local use of data for education purposes?

• How do Arkansas, Florida, Texas, and Virginia support local use of data in selected state education agency–administered programs?

Read more about their findings and download a copy of the report at the Institute of Education Sciences here.

I was quite pleased when I read about a powerful new learning technique  called perceptual learning. Perceptual learning is a strategy that builds on the pattern-recognizing tendencies of the brain. In one study in Pennsylvania described in a New York Times article here, for example, students learned to add and subtract fractions, not by having a teacher do a step-by-step lesson, but by sitting at a computer “slicing and dicing” fractional objects and developing strategies for adding and subtracting fractional parts independently.  In an assessment used as part of a formal study, students who learned in this way outperformed students who learned fraction skills through direct instruction by 73% to 25%.

Written by Ed Coughlin

In the long term, Metiri Group envisions this portal as a vehicle for teacher professional growth in 21st Century learning, in the context of the Common Core standards. Through the portal’s digital assets, social media, and online learning, teachers and other educators (e.g., school administrators, curriculum directors, technology directors, higher education faculty, pre-service teachers, etc.) will see the rhetoric of the 21st Century Skills (i.e., critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, self-direction, etc.) translated into practical curricular units/lessons in core subject areas.

Through the portal’s video case studies – which use research on how students best learn, samples of student work, and associated video training – teachers and other educators will learn how curricular units/lessons can be designed and implemented. They will learn how to assess with reliability student progress toward the Common Core standards and 21st Century Skills using rubric-based performances. In addition, school-based team teachers will be able to establish inter-rater reliability for school-wide use of such performance measures.

Policy makers are calling for school reform in the U.S. Reports indicate that 15-year-olds in the U.S. scored 24th out of 28 nations, who are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  (OECD), on the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) mathematics tests, and 29th on the 2003 problem solving assessments. This clearly indicates there is a strong need for U.S. middle school mathematics teachers to approach critical thinking and problem solving in mathematics in new ways.

In the next six months, Metiri’s proof of concept will focus on a single 21^st Century Skill (critical thinking/problem solving) in the context of teaching specific Common Core standards (probability and statistics), at specific grade levels (6-7).

The portal leverages social media and online learning, using digital assets on the site to engage teachers and other educators.

Learn more about Ed’s presentation online at ISTE’s Conference Website.

Assessment matters. Many of the countries that rank as world class on K12 international benchmarking, have instituted comprehensive, balanced assessment and accountability systems that have served as catalysts in their educational transformations into top performers. A closer look reveals that different assessment strategies, at different stages of their trajectory were necessary in order to attain world-class status.

Nations and states across the globe are recognizing that education is key to economic competitiveness and a high standard of living in today‘s knowledge economy. Their ticket to global competitiveness is integrally linked to the intellectual capital of their citizenry – a natural resource that every country can develop.

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