By Kerry Shelhom through Pat Pickard
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a public-private organization
that unites educators, business leaders and policymakers to improve
education, is seeking feedback from education stakeholders on
the topics of:
* 21st Century Skills
* Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy
* Professional Development.
To contribute your research and examples regarding these topics,
please go to our Website at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org
and click on the RFI (Request for Information) icon on the homepage.
The deadline for the first round of submissions is January 16,
2004.
WHY PARTICIPATE?
The results that emerge from our work will be promoted nationally
by our partners including the Partnership's sponsoring organizations,
and the U.S. Department of Education. It is important that the
research that goes into our work be as comprehensive and inclusive
as possible. Therefore, we urge you to join the dialogue on 21st
century skills and include your research in this national effort.
BACKGROUND ON THE PARTNERSHIP
Year One Initiatives: In June 2003, the Partnership published
a report entitled, Learning in the 21st Century, and companion
Milestones for Improving Learning and Education (MILE) Guide for
21st Century Skills. The Report makes recommendations on how to
define and integrate 21st century skills into K-12 curricula and
also outlines a vision for learning in the 21st century. The MILE
Guide is a hands-on, self-assessment tool that allows educators
and administrators to measure the progress of their schools in
defining, teaching and assessing 21st century skills. Both are
available on our web site at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org
and were developed through a comprehensive process involving hundreds
of educators, researchers and employers across the country.
Year Two Initiatives: We are currently creating tools that will
enable education stakeholders to implement programs leading to
ICT Literacy and develop Professional Development strategies supporting
the integration of ICT Literacy in the classroom. Therefore, we
are seeking research and examples related to ICT Literacy and
Professional Development through our RFI. If you have any questions
regarding the RFI, please feel free to contact Jennifer Himmelstein
at (520) 881-3317 or rfi@21stcenturyskills.org.
