1. Partnership for
21st Century Skills:
Preparation for
College, Career and
Citizenship
Presented by
Michelle M. Herczog, Ed.D.
Co-Chair, 21st Century Coalition for California
California Council for the Social Studies
March 2, 2012

2. 21st Century Skills Framework

3. 21st Century Skills Framework
• 21st Century Themes
– Global Awareness
– Financial, Economic, Business & Entrepreneurship Literacy
– Civic Literacy
– Health Literacy
– Environmental Literacy
• Information, Media & Technology Skills
– Information Literacy
– Media Literacy
– ICT Literacy
• Life & Career Skills
– Flexibility & Adaptability
– Initiative & Self-Direction
– Social & Cross-Cultural Skills
– Productivity & Accountability
– Leadership & Responsibility

4. 21st Century Skills Framework
• Learning & Innovation Skills - The “4 C’s”
– Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
– Communication
– Collaboration
– Creativity and Innovation.
• Just as the 3R’s serve as an umbrella for all core
subjects, so the 4C’s serve for all other 21st Century
skills

5. P21 State Leadership Initiative
Current State Partners
1. Arizona
2. Illinois
3. Iowa
4. Kansas
5. Kentucky
6. Louisiana
7. Maine
8. Massachusetts
9. Nevada
10.New Jersey
11.North Carolina
12.South Carolina
13.Ohio
14.South Dakota
15.West Virginia
16.Wisconsin

6. The 21st Century
Coalition
for California
www.p21california.com

7. 21st Century Coalition for California
Los Amigos of Orange County

8. AB 250 Curriculum Support and Reform Act
Chaptered Into Law - October 8, 2011
(8b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this act, to do all of the
following:
(1) Develop a curriculum, instruction, and assessment system to implement
the common core state standards that intentionally does both of the
following:
(A) Focuses on integrating 21st century skills, including critical
thinking, problem
solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and
innovation, as a competency-based approach to learning in all core
academic content areas, including English language
arts, mathematics, history-social science, science, health
education, visual and performing arts, and world languages.
(B) Promotes higher order thinking skills and interdisciplinary
approaches that integrate the use of supportive
technologies, inquiry, and problem-based learning to provide
contexts for pupils to apply learning in relevant, real-world
scenarios and that prepare pupils for college, career, and citizenship
in the 21st century.

9. 21st Century Themes
Global Awareness
• Using 21st Century Skills to understand and address global issues
• Learning from and working collaboratively with individuals representing diverse
cultures, religions and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue
in personal, work and community contexts
• Understanding other nations and cultures, including the use of non-English
languages
Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
• Knowing how to make appropriate personal economic choices
• Understanding the role of the economy in society
• Using entrepreneurial skills to enhance workplace productivity and career
options
Civic Literacy
• Participating effectively in civic life through knowing how to stay informed and
understanding governmental processes
• Exercising the rights and obligations of citizenship at local, state, national and
global levels
• Understanding the local and global implications of civic decisions

11. Conclusion
Global Awareness – Financial Literacy –
Civic Literacy – Environmental Literacy
These 21st century competencies, clearly articulated by P21 and described
in the California History-Social Science Framework should not be viewed
as merely links to the History-Social Science curriculum. They call for
innovative instructional practices that necessitate content mastery of
geography, history, economics, and civics as part of a comprehensive K-12
education.
The P21 Framework aligned to the Common Core State Standards for
English-Language Arts and contextualized in the content areas will blend
the subject matter knowledge, higher order thinking skills, expertise and
literacies needed by students to be fully prepared for college, career and
effective citizenship in the 21st century.

12. Stay Connected!
21st Century Coalition
for California:
www.p21california.com
Partnership for 21st
Century Skills:
www.21stcenturyskills.org