ASSESSMENT TO PROMOTE 21 ST CENTURY LEARNING : THE BENEFITS OF BLINKING

What competencies do kids need to succeed in the 21 century, and how do these skills differ from those reflected in current state standards? What is the best way to assess and support new competencies? This paper extends current thinking about educationally valuable skills and instructional system design by identifying and modeling 21 century skills. The first stage (described in this paper) of our multi-stage research involves: (a) conducting an extensive literature review to identify a set of viable and valuable 21 century skills, and (b) modeling each in terms of constituent sub-skills, at a sufficiently refined grain size so that we can measure and diagnose competency levels. The competencies showcased in this paper include: systems thinking, creativity, collaborative learning, and managing social identities. Subsequent stages of this research will include developing appropriate and engaging assessments to extract data on our relevant 21 century skills from students –individually and in groups – during interaction with immersive learning environments. Findings from the second stage will then inform the third stage which will involve adapting existing (or developing new) learning environments that incorporate problems, assessments, and instructional support in relation to our set of important 21 century skills.