Promote student mastery of essential 21st century skills, including collaboration, critical and creative thinking, digital citizenship, and more. Learn the qualities of the most important soft skills and how we can assess and measure them.
Benefits
- Explore the seven critical competencies necessary for success in the 21st century.
- Become familiar with good habits of mind, and pass those habits on to students to support their soft skill development.
- Learn how to teach critical thinking and other 21st century skills by facilitating learning that will develop the critical competencies in students.
- Develop powerful and effective soft skill assessment methods, such as student self-assessments, that will test student levels of competency in the seven critical areas.
- Access free reproducibles to supplement your understanding of the text and facilitate the book’s content in the classroom.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Habits of the Mind
Chapter 2: Self-Regulation
Chapter 3: Critical Thinking
Chapter 4: Collaboration
Chapter 5: Creative Thinking
Chapter 6: Communication
Chapter 7: Digital Citizenship
Chapter 8: Social Competence
Study Guide
Reproducibles
Chapter 1
- Figure 1.1: Maker Session Journal Competency Prompts
- Figure 1.2: Content and Cognitive Processes for a Performance Assessment
- Figure 1.3: Analytic Critical-Thinking Rubric
- Figure 1.4: Holistic Creative-Thinking Rubric
- Figure 1.5: Single-Point Critical-Thinking Rubric
- Figure 1.6: Critical-Thinking Frequency Scale
Chapter 2
- Figure 2.1: Hope Survey
- Figure 2.2: My Learning DNA Inventory
- Figure 2.4: Elementary Student-Reflection Template for Use Following a Pencil-And-Paper Assessment
- Figure 2.5: Effort Tracker
- Figure 2.9: Questionnaire for Improvement Planning
- Figure 2.10: Self-Regulation Rubric
- Figure 2.11: Proficiency Scale for Self-Regulation
Chapter 3
- Figure 3.2: Analytic Rubric for the Practice of Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Figure 3.3: Single-Point Rubric for the Practice of Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Figure 3.4: Critical-Thinking Rubric
- Figure 3.5: Inquiry-Driven Project Rubric
- Figure 3.6: Holistic Critical-Thinking Scoring Rubric
- Figure 3.8: Critical-Thinking Rubric for Project-Based Learning (K–2)
- Figure 3.9: Frequency-Based Critical-Thinking Rubric for Project-Based Learning (K–2)
- Figure 3.10: Critical-Thinking Dispositions Rubric
Chapter 4
- Figure 4.2: Co-Constructing Criteria With Learners
- Figure 4.3: Collaborative-Planning Guide Example
- Figure 4.4: Collaboration and Problem-Solving Student Scoring Form
- Figure 4.5: Scoring Using a Standards-Based Model
- Figure 4.6: Collaboration and Problem-Solving Scoring in a Points-Based Model
- Figure 4.7: Scoring Criteria for Collaboration 1.0
- Figure 4.8: Scoring Criteria for Collaboration 2.0 With Descriptors
- Figure 4.9: Sample Collaboration Rubric
- Figure 4.10: Learner Self-Assessment for Tracking Progress on Collaboration 2.0
- Figure 4.11: Learner Self-Assessment Form for Collaboration Skills Before, During, and After Collaboration
- Figure 4.12: Reflective Questions for Learners
- Figure 4.13: Peer-Assessment Form for Problem-Solving and Collaboration Skills Before, During, and After Collaboration
- Table 4.1: Different Iterations of Collaboration—Purpose and Criteria
Chapter 5
- Figure 5.1: Self-Reflection Template to Identify a Learner’s Preferred Modes of Creating
- Figure 5.2: Self-Reflection Tool to Identify Roadblocks to Creative Thinking
- Figure 5.3: Single-Point Self-Reflection Form for Analyzing the Creative Process
- Figure 5.4: An Elementary Single-Point Self-Reflection Form for the Creative Process
- Figure 5.5: Self-Assessment Form for the Creative Process
- Figure 5.6: Self-Assessment of Creative Thinking for a Science or an Art Project
- Figure 5.7: Creative Process Scoring Rubric for Teachers
- Figure 5.8: Collaborative Creativity-Scoring Rubric for Teachers
- Table 5.1: Instructional Questions for Teaching the Creative Process
Chapter 6
- Figure 6.1: Communication-Scoring Rubric
- Figure 6.2: Communication-Scoring Rubric for Elementary Grades
- Figure 6.3: Eye-Contact Rubric to Add to Other Communication Rubrics for Speeches
- Figure 6.4: Active-Listening Tool
- Figure 6.5: Reading Response Scale
- Figure 6.6: Reliability of Online Sources Tool
- Figure 6.7: Cross-Curricular Writing Scale
- Figure 6.8: Self-Assessment Form for Argumentation
Chapter 7
- Figure 7.2: Digital Citizenship Scenarios
- Figure 7.3: Tracking Form for Learners’ Digital Citizenship
- Figure 7.4: Learner Reflection on Digital Citizenship Learning Targets
- Figure 7.5: Single-Point Digital Citizenship Rubric
Chapter 8
- Figure 8.3: Grades 8–10 Social Responsibility Quick Scale
- Figure 8.4: Social Responsibility Single-Point Rubric
- Figure 8.5: ACS K–12 Approaches to Learning Frequency Scale
Suggested Resources
Books
- Bellanca, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Deeper Learning: Beyond 21st Century Skills. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Bellanca, J. A., & Brandt, R. (Eds.). (2010). 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Bellanca, J. A., Fogarty, R. J., & Pete, B. M. (2012). How to Teach Thinking Skills Within the Common Core: 7 Key Student Proficiencies of the New National Standards. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Buffum, A., Mattos, M., & Malone, J. (2018). Taking Action: A Handbook for RTI at Work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Buffum, A., Mattos, M., Weber, C., & Hierck, T. (2015). Uniting Academic and Behavior Interventions: Solving the Skill or Will Dilemma. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Depka, E. (2017). Raising the Rigor: Effective Questioning Strategies and Techniques for the Classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Erkens, C. (2016). Collaborative Common Assessments: Teamwork. Instruction. Results. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Erkens, C., Schimmer, T., & Vagle, N. D. (2017). Essential Assessment: Six Tenets for Bringing Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement to the Classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2012). Teaching Students to Read Like Detectives: Comprehending, Analyzing, and Discussing Text. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Guskey, T. R. (2015). On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Jacobs, H. H. (Ed.). (2014). Leading the New Literacies. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- McLeod, S., & Shareski, D. (2018). Different Schools for a Different World. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Reeves, D., & Reeves, B. (2017). The Myth of the Muse: Supporting Virtues That Inspire Creativity. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Schimmer, T. (2016). Grading From the Inside Out: Bringing Accuracy to Student Assessment Through a Standards-Based Mindset. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Weber, C. (2018). Behavior: The Forgotten Curriculum—An RTI Approach for Nurturing Essential Life Skills. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Wiliam, D. (2018). Embedded Formative Assessment (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Zhao, Y. (2016). Counting What Counts: Reframing Education Outcomes. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Websites
- Agile Mind, “Our Approach”
- Assistments
- Book Creator
- Explain Everything
- Goobric
- Google Calendar
- Google Docs
- Google Docs, “OrangeSlice: Teacher Rubric”
- Google Earth
- Google Expeditions
- Google Forms
- Google Hangouts
- ISTE Standards for Students
- Padlet
- Pear Deck
- Pearson, “Strategic Reader”
- Screencastify
- State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, “Career and Technical Education”