21st+Century+Education+at+HHS

21st Century Skills as Defined at Heritage High School At Heritage High School we believe the following skills are necessary in order for students to be prepared for higher education, for productive and rewarding work, for responsible citizenship, and for meaningful and engaged living in the 21st century. These skills align with the 21st century skills identified in the proposed Colorado Department of Education’s content standards.
 * DRAFT ** (Revised 10-15-09)

 1. Habits of Mind. This is sometimes referred to as critical thinking skills. At HHS every student develops key habits of mind in preparation for further education, for work, and for citizenship. Specifically each student demonstrates intellectual openness; analysis; argumentation and proof; precision and accuracy; and problem solving (Conley, 2007).

 2. Literacy.  a.   Reading and Writing. Every student knows how to make meaning from reading a variety of texts and knows how to present arguments clearly and substantiate each point, largely free of grammatical, spelling, and usage errors. (Conley, 2007)  b.   Information Literacy/Research. Every student is able to access, authenticate, and use information from any type of source. (Maas, Porter, Stall, Levesque, 2008). Each student understands what constitutes a reliable source of information and how to validate that source. ( Briggs, E., Sams, A., Cartwright, B., 2009 ) Each student recognizes bias, opinion, and unsupported assumptions or claims.  3. Collaboration. Every student is able to work with others to learn. Collaborative learning groups include students in the classroom but also extend outside the classroom across cultural or geographic boundaries (Partnership for 21st century skills, 2008).

 4. Self-direction. Every student actively monitors and directs her/his own learning, recognizes her or his level of learning in relation to a set of clearly communicated expectations, and determines and executes next steps for learning (Lauer, 2009). Each student uses metacognition to monitor her/his own cognitive processes.

 5. Creativity. Every student has the ability to think unconventionally, imagine new scenarios, and create original work (Partnership for 21st century, 2008). Each student is challenged to formulate and express novel ideas, solve problems, create new products, construct and contribute new knowledge. Sources: Briggs, E., Sams, A., Cartwright, B., Science standards sub-committee leadership. (2009, May 1). //Colorado Department of Education// //Colorado Academic Standards: Science, Draft.// Retrieved June 23, 2009, from [] Colorado Department of Education. (2009). //21st Century Skills and Postsecondary and Workforces Readiness, Draft//. Retrieved on June 22, 2009 from [] __Readinessdraft121008.pdf__ Conley, D. T. (2007). //Toward a more comprehensive conception of college readiness.// Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center. Lauer, D. (2009). //School cultures that build and sustain student achievement.// [Presentation Handouts]. Tointon Institute for Education Change. Maas, D., Porter, M., Stall, R., Levesque, D. (2008). LPS hallmarks of 21st century learning. Partnership for 21st century skills. (2008). //21st Century skills, education and competitiveness: a resource and policy guide.// From [|http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/21st_century_skills_education_and_competitiveness_ guide.pdf]