Plan

NJ Plan for the Effective Use of 21st Century Skills within All CCCS, PD, and Policy __ Vision __: New Jersey citizens have the requisite knowledge to live and work effectively in a complex and dynamic world.


 * __Mission__**: The creation of a systemic approach to ensure that all New Jersey students are provided with the knowledge and skills to be able to function culturally, politically and economically in a global society.

New Jersey is committed to preparing students to live and work effectively in the 21st century. We are acutely aware of the new skills needed in the context of the global economy that include critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication and proficiency in both core subjects and 21st century skills. Moreover, we recognize the importance of learning from and how to work collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, along with the development of usable workplace skills in other languages. These are increasingly important skills given the diversity within our state and nation and connectivity to the rest of the world. Preparing our students for success and eventual leadership in the new global climate is undoubtedly the most important task facing New Jersey business and education stakeholders in the dawn of the 21st century. ** Plan **

1) Propose supportive state board policy to ensure the integration of scaleable and sustainable 21st Century Skills a. HS redesign (note essential framework) b. State adoption of revised CCCS c. Seamless P-20 educational system which encourages students and teachers to use 21st Century Skills. d. Districts will document how their school strategic plans address the 21st Century Skills and how the skills are being institionalized. e. Implementation of financial and civic themes within existing CCCS

2) Embed 21st Century Skills within all NJ CCCS a. Revised state CCCS i. Analyze NJ state teaching and learning Initiatives to determine the extent to which they promote 21st Century skills. 1. NJ Arts Project ii. Review content standards in core subject areas and determine to what extent they meet 21st Century standards. 1. Longview Project 2. NJ I Tunes University Project (partner with online professional development provider to make available e-learning workshops to foster the application of 21st Century Skills) 3. NJ Virtual School b. Develop and disseminate guidelines and support for districts to take advantage of Plan 2 options which redesign paths to graduation c. Develop and disseminate a process by which there is a state-wide sharing of successful curriculum which embeds technology tools, global projects, project based learning, cooperative learning, information and media literacy, thinking and problem solving skills, and the key themes of global awareness, financial, economic, and business literacy, civic literacy, and heath awareness. d. Advancing the agenda of international education

3) Engage all stakeholders in the 21st Century Skills initiative a. Provide statewide informational forums to engage the support of teachers, parents, communities, business, government and educational leaders b. Publish best practices and research within NJ schools to showcase examples of excellence in the integration of 21st Century Skills

4) Develop a comprehensive Professional Development Strategies Guidelines to increase the capacity of New Jersey teachers and leaders to understand and implement the 21st Century Skills at the district, building and classroom levels. a. Develop and deploy a white paper (or integrate into existing documents) which outlines what skills, attitudes, and dispositions a New Jersey teacher and educational leader needs to teach and learn in the 21st Century. i. White paper should also contain ways that NJ classrooms at all grade levels can engage students in rigorous curriculum through successful instructional practices embedded in the knowledges, skills, and attitudes of a proficient 21st Century learner. ii. Develop a criteria for recognizing 21st Century model schools b. Define key identifiers of curriculum, assessment, teaching and learning which represent the essential knowledges of the 21st Century. i. Educate and share with all NJ Professional Development providers characteristics of good professional models that support 21st Century Skills. ii. Identifiers to include: 1. Processes in which students are engaged in cooperative, relevant world class content in which they developing enduring thinking and problem solving skills in order to prepare them for success in a globally competitive society. 2. Successful models that strengthen higher-order thinking skills while mastering subject matter. 3. Formative assessment models within a student-centered learning environment that supports differentiated and personalize student learning. c. Provide orientation to NJ professional development providers which defines and provides specific examples of 21st Century Skills i. NJEA ii. NJPSA iii. CIE iv. ETTC V. NJASCD d. Engage all NJ teachers in developing the requisite and appropriate21st Century tools (technology skills) within the NJ Technology plan to support the implementation of technology skills within all grade levels e. Provide targeted and aggressive technical assistance for low-performing high schools who are not meeting the integration of 21st Century Themes.

5) Maintain the 21st Century Task force as an Advisory Council to provide guidance on the state’s 21st Century Initiatives

6) Examine the QSAC process to ensure that NJ districts are closing the achievement gap by implementing 21st Century Skills within their curriculum. a. Assess mentoring and teacher induction programs to ensure they are including the skills, understandings and attitudes of 21st Century Learning

7) Redesign state assessments around 21st Century skills.