Over the past year, as we’ve seen our 1:1 program move from boardroom planning to classroom implementation, four themes have guided our thinking regarding curriculum and instruction:

• Information Management and Research
• Digital Citizenship
• Communication and Collaboration in a Global World
• Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Design

While these themes have served us well thus far, they are, in many respects, incomplete in addressing the needs of today’s learners.  For our students to succeed once they leave our care, they must be equipped with the knowledge and skills required of 21st century citizens; they must become literate in the contemporary sense of the word.

The 7th grade Digital Literacy course illustrated that literacy is as much about the journey as the destination, and the path to becoming functionally literate has changed since we took our first steps.  While our four themes certainly point in the right direction, recent conversations within the School community and the education profession at large suggest that we need to examine the concept of literacy more closely.

An Issue of National Prominence

Whether referred to as “21st century skills” or “21st century literacies”, the over-arching issue of 21st century learning is one of national prominence.  This month’s edition of Social Education, published by the National Council of Social Studies (NCSS), is devoted to Developing 21st Century Skills.  As noted in the magazine’s overview,

Recent events have made one thing clear: there is no historical force that guarantees American success in the twenty-first century if Americans lack the knowledge, skills and competence needed to deal with the challenges that face them in the United States and the world. As social studies educators, nothing is more important than providing our students with these capabilities.

Today marks the conclusion of the annual conference of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).  This year’s theme,  Because Shift Happens: Teaching in the 21st Century, and this month’s issue of the Council Chronicle each emphasized the importance of rethinking our approach to literacy.  NCTE’s online feature, More Thoughts on 21st Century Literacies, includes this observation from Ernest Morrell:

[There are} three major differences between 20th and 21st century literacies: vastly greater communications technologies in the 21st century, such as the Internet, laptops, and iPods; rapidly changing demographics, with an increase in Latino and other minority populations; and a change in how students are expected to process information—critically, rather than simply regurgitating what they have consumed.

Earlier this month, Education Sector’s Elena Silva published Measuring Skills for the 21st Century.  Silva’s work provides a good overview of the need to teach complex thinking skills, examines several models for articulating 21st century skills,  and explores new assessment models. As Silva states in her report:

It is an emphasis on what students can do with knowledge, rather than what units of knowledge they have, that best describes the essence of 21st century skills.

While these are but three examples, it's worth noting that they all (1) come from reputable, national organizations, (2) were published within the last month, and (3) reflect a measure of consistency because they reference and build upon established frameworks.

Frameworks for 21st Century Skills

ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards have long served as a guide for improved teaching and learning.  As their website states,

ISTE standards for students, teachers, and administrators help to measure proficiency and set aspirational goals for the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to succeed in today’s Digital Age. Our proven leadership in developing these benchmarks and providing guidance in implementing them has resulted in broad adoption of the ISTE standards in the U.S. and in several countries.

The NETS for Teachers were revised in June of 2008.  The Student Standards, shown below, were a major influence is crafting our four 1:1 themes and describe, "what students should know and be able to do to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital world."

Literacy requires mastering a skill-set, and the enGauge 21st Century Skills from the NCREL/Metri Group offers another model that articulates these important skills.  As their Skills Briefing states,

Advances in the cognitive sciences show that learning increases significantly when students are engaged in academic study through authentic, real-world experiences. The enGauge 21st Century Skills build on extensive bodies of research – as well as on calls from government, business, and industry for higher levels of workplace readiness – to define clearly what students need to thrive in today’s Digital Age.

Their four focus areas, Digital-Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication, and High Productivity, "should be considered within the context of rigorous academic standards.  They are the bridge to authentic, intellectually challenging work by students."

A third, more detailed approach to defining literacy comes from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.  Their Framework for Learning includes both student outcomes (as represented by the arches of the rainbow) and support systems (as represented by the pools at the bottom):

The four student outcomes, Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes, Learning and Innovation Skills, Information, Media, and Technology Skills, and Life and Career Skills, when combined with the accompanying support systems, form a comprehensive model for defining and achieving 21st century literacy, the importance of which cannot be overstated:

Every child in American needs 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders in the 21st century. There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces. To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments by infusing 21st century skills into their teaching and learning.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Although there is a demonstrated need for redefining literacy, and established frameworks can provide guidance, the complexity of the issue and process can be overwhelming.  The urgency heard from NCSS, NCTE, and others will not transform education until literacy can be easily internalized and applied.  To that end, we must adopt a literacy framework that meets the needs of our students.

Defining Emerging Literacies

Our Middle School academic leadership has been discussing the concept of 21st century learning, as have our counterparts in the Upper School.  A cohort of their teachers has reviewed the aforementioned resources and tentatively organized/categorized them into seven "Literacies of a Lifelong Learner":

• Basic Literacy
• Habits of Mind Literacy
• Visual/Media Literacy
• Information Literacy
• Intercultural Literacy
• Citizenship and Ethical Literacy
• Network Literacy

This schema, though early in its development, is a very thoughtful attempt at formulating "talking points for our internal culture."  Since we are a part of that culture, we need to consider how literacy, regardless of how it is framed, lives within our division.  As such, I would encourage you to spend some time reading and reflecting on what it means to be a literate student, and teacher, in 2008.

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Posted: 11|23|08 at 5:23 pm. Filed under: 1:1, Leadership, Literacy.
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