21st Century Skills, 21st Century Contexts:

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21st Century Skills, 21st Century Contexts
Promoting Rigor, Relevance and Relationships in
School and Community Learning Environments
Karen Pittman The Forum for Youth Investment J
uly 2005
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Community Partnerships Strategy Paul Hill

• the traditional boundaries between the public
  school systems responsibilities and those of
  other community agencies are themselves part of
  the educational problem the strategy opens new
  options for education, asking
• How can this community use all its assets to
  provide the best education for all our
  children?
  
• Hill et al., It Takes a City, 2000

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Blurring the Lines for Learning

• The question isnt whether learning opportunities
  outside of the traditional classroom and school
  day help students prepare for and engage in life,
  work, and further learning.
• The question is why these opportunities are
  considered beyond or even peripheral to high
  school reform.

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The Facts

• Critical learning can and does happen outside of
  schools for every kind of student.
  
• Not all students who need to learn are in school
  (nationally,32 do not graduate).
  
• Those in school are frequently not absorbed in
  learning because teachers have not had to master
  the art of creating youth-centered learning
  environments.

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Structured, voluntary programsget and keep
students attention
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• The point isnt that we should shut down high
  schools and let students join youth programs
  
• The point is that high-yield learning
  environments can be found or created in school
  and out

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Learning-focused reforms can and are happening in
all of these places.
WHERE?
In the Community
In the School Building
There is increasing evidence that the
characteristics of good learning environments are
the same across the range of settings where
learning happens.

During the School Day
Formal Learning
WHEN
Enriched Learning
Out of School
Informal Applied Learning
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The characteristics of high quality learning
environments are universal

• Physical and psychological safety
• Appropriate structure
• Supportive relationships
• Opportunities to belong
• Positive social norms
• Support for efficacy and mattering
• Opportunities for challenge skill-building
• Integration of family, school and community
  efforts
  
• --National Research Council, 2002

Relationships Relevance Rigor
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The Challenge is not to create 3-6 pm
after-school programs for high school students

• prevention to participation
• cognitive, social, civic, physical

School fills only a part of the Developmental
White Space, especially by high school
school
after school
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The Challenge is to Find partners

• Post-secondary education and training
  organizations
  
• Youth-serving organizations, second chance
  programs
  
• CBOs (non-profit service providers and
  associations)
  
• Businesses (jobs, internships,
  apprenticeships)
  
• Faith-Based organizations
• Libraries, Parks, Recreation Departments
• Community-based Health and Social Service
  Agencies
  
• Juvenile Justice Programs
• Families, Neighbors and Peer groups

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To Deliver 21st Century Skills Content
The Common Core of Ensuring All Youth are Ready

• Ready for Work
• Youth Employment Outcomes

Ready for College Academic Outcomes
21st Century Skills Content Information Med
ia Literacy Communication Critical Systems Thi
nking Problem Solving Creativity, Intellectual C
uriosity Interpersonal Skills Self-Direction Ac
countability and Adaptability Social Responsibili
ty Financial Literacy Global Awareness Civic Li
teracy
Specific Vocational Knowledge Skills
Subject Matter Knowledge
Community partners are calling for and
contributing to the development of broader skills
and knowledge.
Cultural, Physical Behavioral Health Knowledge
Skills
Ready for Life Youth Development Outcomes
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Closing thought

• When young people walk out of high school
  --either when the bell rings or when they give up
  -- they often walk into something or some place
  that they feel might help them build the
  competencies and connections they need to
  succeed.
• Find the places with waiting lines.
• Figure out what they do.
• Create partnerships that take the lessons to
  scale to create pathways to success for all
  students.

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There are strategies for infusing academic
content that increase student engagement in
learning

• Extended (explicit content, traditional delivery)
  
  
• Explicit (explicit content, innovative delivery)
• Embedded (embedded content, innovative delivery)
• Enrichment (authentic content, innovative
  delivery)
  

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21st Century Learning in the CommunitySix Key
Elements (slide 1)
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21st Century Learning in the CommunitySix Key
Elements (slide 2)
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How many young people are ready?

• Researchers Gambone and colleagues estimate that
• 43 of youth are doing well at being economically
  self-sufficient, having healthy habits and
  healthy relationships, and being involved in
  institutions and in their community
• but
• 22 are having difficulty

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Do these supports really make a difference?
ABSOLUTELY Gambone shows that youth with supporti
ve relationships as they enter high school are 5
times more likely to leave high school ready
than those with weak relationships.
There were similar findings for Challenging
Experiences and Opportunities to Contribute

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The Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Validated that the Public Recognizes the Skills
Gap
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NGA ''Rate Your Future'' SurveyPreliminary
Findings

• Students strongly sense high school is not
  adequately preparing them for their future, and a
  third -- including those most at risk of dropping
  out -- feel overlooked by their high school.
• One-third rate their schools as doing a "fair" or
  "poor" job of "giving them the skills to
  succeed."
  
• Sixty percent rate their high schools either
  "fair" or "poor" in preparing them for a career
  or trade. Likewise, 57 percent believe their
  school does a "fair" or "poor" job of preparing
  them for the future by providing them with tools
  to learn a trade or skill.

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NGA ''Rate Your Future'' SurveyPreliminary
Findings

• About one-third say their high schools are doing
  a "fair" or "poor" job in preparing them for
  college. Only a quarter say their schools do an
  "excellent" job.
• Three in 10 students say their high school does a
  "fair" or "poor" job challenging them
  academically and nearly 70 percent say teachers
  have high expectations for only "certain
  students."

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The National Research CouncilsNames Assets
Youth Need to be Ready

• Physical development
• health habits, risk management skills
• Intellectual development
• e.g. life skills, vocational skills, school
  success, critical thinking, decision-making,
  navigation
  
• Psychological and emotional development
• e.g.good mental health, positive self-regard,
  self-regulation, coping skills, autonomy, time
  use
  
• Social development
• connectedness, sense of place, attachment to
  pro-social institutions, navigate cultural
  contexts, commitment to civic engagement