Developing 21 st Century Skills through Competency Based Expanded Learning Opportunities

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Developing

21

st

_Century

_Skills

through

Competency

‐

Based

Expanded

Learning

Opportunities

March 27, 2015

Heather Loewecke, Asia Society

The Summit on 21st_{Century Learning} Washington, D.C. 2

Asia Society

Arts & Culture Education & Leadership Policy Business

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Goals

• Define terms related to informal learning

and explore emerging models

• Identify policies and practices that support

credit‐bearing activities during informal

learning time

• Provide examples of what global learning in

an expanded learning opportunity looks

like in practice through a pilot program in

New Hampshire

• Share tools, templates, success stories and

lessons learned

• Discuss the applicability of the model for

other contexts

3

Agenda

• Asia Society overview

• Define terms:

‐expanded learning opportunity (ELO)

‐competency‐based education

‐global competence & GPS framework

• Overview of the program model: ‐NH framework

‐competencies alignment process

‐professional development

‐protocol for increasing student voice and

choice

‐rubrics creation

• Example student projects & success stories

• Conclusions/lessons learned

• Discussion

Expanded Learning Opportunities

• Competency

‐

based

• Credit

is

awarded

based

on

proficiency

(vs.

seat

time

or

completion

of

tasks)

• Driven

by

students’

academic

or

social

support

needs

or

interests

(or

a

combination)

• Individual

or

group

‐

based

• School

or

community

‐

based

• Student

or

adult

initiated

• Tied

to

a

class

or

extracurricular

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Competency‐based Education

• Students advance upon achieving mastery. Mastery is “the consistently successful application of a set of knowledge (facts), skills (processes), and behaviors (actions) to complex problems and novel situations.”

• Competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning

objectives that empower students.

• Assessment is meaningful and a positive learning experience for

students.

• Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their

individual learning needs.

• Learning outcomes emphasize competenciesthat include application and creation of knowledge, along with the development of important skills and dispositions.

CCSSO, iNACOL, and MetisNet:

http://competencyworks.pbworks.com/w/page/67945372/Detailed%20Definition%20of%20Competency%20Education 5

Competencies vs. Standards

Standards

are

outcomes

(the

what

– knowledge

and

skills)

Competencies

are

behaviors

(the

how

– habits

and

dispositions)

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What Is Global Competence?

http://asiasociety.org/files/book‐globalcompetence.pdf

Possession

of

the

knowledge,

skills,

and

dispositions

to

understand

and

act

creatively

on

issues

of

global

significance.

Globally

competent

young

people:

• Investigate

the

World

• Recognize

Perspectives

• Communicate

Ideas

• Take

Action

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Importance of Global Competence

Develop 21st_Century_Skills_via_Global_Learning

• Critical thinking

• Communication and collaboration skills

• Creativity and problem solving

Prepare a Global Workforce

• Leadership skills • Cultural competence • Academic mastery

Strengthen Communities and Global Citizenship

• Engaged and informed voters

• Cultural awareness and interpersonal skills • Cooperation to address complex issues

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Building Capacity through the GPS

The Graduation Performance System (GPS) is the innovation engine that

transforms curriculum, instruction, and assessment in ISSN schools.

http://asiasociety.org/education/resources‐schools/professional‐learning/gps‐future‐success

9

Competency‐based Education in NH

• The Minimum Standards for School Approval state that local districts must

have a competency assessment process and defined course level competencies

in place for all public high schools. The Department of Education does not

mandate either the content of the course‐level competency or the grading

method used for the competency assessment process. These are local

decisions.

• Credit toward graduation is to be awarded based on student demonstration of

mastery of these course level competencies.

• Local districts must develop a plan and method of assessing course level

competencies which is supported by a policy that will include the

implementation of the standards.

• It is expected that the plan and method will be regularly reviewed and

evaluated for effectiveness.

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Expand

traditional

high

school

classroom

options

Create

rigorous,

relevant

and

personalized

learning

experiences

– Real

world

learning

for

all students

Grant

credit

based

on

demonstration

of

mastery

of

course

competencies

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Vision of ELOs in NH

NRHS

Partnership

with

the

Asia

Society

Goal: Align and support global learning across the formal school day and the

non‐formal learning program after school, providing a structure for students to

earn course credit for global learning completed during afterschool hours. Project objectives were to develop & implement:

1. an alignment process to bring together academic competencies from

school courses, non‐academic outcomes supported in the afterschool

program, and global competencies as defined in the Graduation

Performance System;

2. a structured program of professional development to help afterschool

staff infuse global learning across afterschool activities and work with in‐

school staff to create competency‐based projects and activities; and 3. an assessment protocol that guides discussion between adults, educators,

and students about how student work is assessed and can be improved to

meet targeted competencies as well as how to represent student learning

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Aligning Competencies

Knowledge

(content

areas)

Skills

(ELO)

Dispositions

(global

competence)

13

Aligning Competencies

14

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Professional Development

• Reviewed existing afterschool activities and learned how to infuse, augment or

transform activitiesto ensure a global focus.

• Trained students on what it means to be globally competent and why it is

important. Brainstormed community assets and project ideas to support

students becoming globally competent.

• Teachers and students met to discuss and choose project ideas to address

selected competencies. Then, they used a task design template to storyboard

the formative and summative assessments that would connect to their project

goals and competencies.

• Teachers learned how to encourage student voice and choice throughout the

entire project design and implementation process using a facilitation tool.

• Teachers learned how to combine relevant rubrics to facilitate feedback

sessions with students and to determine levels of proficiency in ELO, course

and global competencies. 15

Student Voice & Facilitative Methods

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Rubrics

ELO CATEGORIES EMERGING DEVELOPING PROFICIENT ADVANCED

CONTENT AREA CATEGORIES EMERGING DEVELOPING PROFICIENT ADVANCED

GLOBAL COMPETENCE

CATEGORIES

EMERGING DEVELOPING PROFICIENT ADVANCED

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Target Competencies:

•NRHS competency: The student artist will choose

and evaluate a range of subject matter and ideas to

communicate intended meaning in artworks.

•Global competency: Students will recognize that

people from diverse backgrounds perceive

information differently, even when receiving the

same information.

Arts Project Idea: Global Art Exchange

“We can set up galleries where students from other

countries send art pieces, and we send our art back

to them. By exchanging art, we will be able to

express ourselves and understand each other better.

Art is an immediate way to understand aspects of

culture.”

18

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Success Stories

• International

Club

Art

Project

about

Chinese

New

Year

– teacher

impact

• Outdoor

Club

– disconnected

youth

impact

• Trisha

– implications

for

potential

individual,

school,

program

and

community

impact

19

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 The model requires a strong commitment and buy-infrom school leadership, teachers and afterschool staff so that structures are put in place to support implementation and sustainability.

 Projects must be student driven and teachers must have on-going support to ensure their commitment and active participation.

 Educators must be able to successfully integrate course, afterschool, and global competencies and rubricsin order to assess students with a high level of fidelity and quality and to ensure implementation consistency across teachers and/or schools within districts.

 Schools and afterschool programs should create multiple pathways and hybrid modelsthat offer flexibility and varying levels of credit for students’ differing needs.

 This model should promote school-wide conversations about student voice and how to support student-centered learning across the school and the learning day.

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Discussion: Policy & Practice

1. What

are

you

currently

doing,

if

anything,

to

implement

competency

‐

based

education

programs?

What

are

the

successes

and

challenges?

2. What

are

your

initial

impressions

of

the

model

and

process

presented

today?

What

aspects

could

you

use,

adapt

or

integrate

into

your

program

or

school?

What

challenges

or

needs

might

arise

with

this

model

in

your

context?

3. There

is

ongoing

debate

about

awarding

credit

for

non

‐

formal/out

‐

of

‐

school

time/expanded

learning

experiences.

Does

awarding

credit

take

away

from

or

change

the

learning

experience?

When

is

it

valuable?

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Resources

• Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World (2011) by Veronica Boix Mansilla and Anthony Jackson:

http://asiasociety.org/files/book‐globalcompetence.pdf

• Global Learning Beyond School resources: http://asiasociety.org/global‐learning‐beyond‐school

• Graduation Performance System: http://asiasociety.org/pos

• “Succeeding Globally Through International Education and Engagement” (2012) ‐US Dept. of Education’s International Strategy for 2012‐2016: http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/internationaled/international‐strategy‐2012‐16.pdf

• CompetencyWorks: http://www.competencyworks.org/

• “Maximizing Competency Education and Blended Learning: Insights from Experts” (2015) by CompetencyWorks: http://bit.ly/1LTjmRJ

• “Promoting Partnerships Between K‐12 and Expanded Learning through Competency‐based Approaches” – 2014 webinar hosted by

AYPF: http://bit.ly/1DUpRzm

• Extended Learning Opportunities Beyond the Classroom – Resources from New Hampshire’s competency‐based ELOs:

http://beyondclassroom.org/

• “New Hampshire’s Journey Toward Competency‐Based Education” (2015) on Education Next: http://educationnext.org/new‐ hampshires‐journey‐toward‐competency‐based‐education/

• Competency‐Based Learning or Personalized Learning ‐US Dept. of Education’s website: http://www.ed.gov/oii‐news/competency‐ based‐learning‐or‐personalized‐learning