|
|
The EdSteps skills were selected to represent skills and competencies that are critical components of preparing students for college and a career, but are currently difficult and costly to assess.
The skills were chosen by the EdSteps Advisory Group, which is comprised of commissioners of state boards of education, representatives from national education organizations, and business leaders.
The Advisory Board reviewed the skills and competencies other organizations cite as critical to the success of modern learners and used the information to inform their choices. The Advisory Board reviewed the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the Metiri Group, The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner, ACT, the CollegeBoard and Achieve.
The initial five skills selected for which to build EdSteps continuums are:
EdSteps does not believe that these are the only five skills students should learn or even that these are the most important five. These skills are the five that the initiative will start examining, with the hope of adding additional skills over the next few years.
To prepare for collecting and rating student work, EdSteps formed separate workgroups for each skill area. Each workgroup is comprised of about 10-20 people, representing state departments of education, researchers, professors from colleges and universities, and other leading advocates and educators. The task of each workgroup is to bring together the best research, evidence and thinking to define the skill or competency area, determine what types of student work to collect, and then determine a meaningful process to review the student work samples. The differences in these workgroups is one reason for the slight variances in the collection and review process for each skill.
To learn more about the EdSteps skill areas, please contact info@edsteps.org.
Resources:
Here are a few helpful resources:
Sample Lesson Plans. T he American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database is a tool to support school librarians and other educators in teaching the essential learning skills defined in the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner.
|