Excerpt

The sponsors charged the Board on Science Education to: Plan and conduct a public workshop to explore the intersection of science education and 21st century skills. This activity will build upon the work of a previous workshop held in May of 2007, which focused on the identification of 21st century workforce skills and the available evidence in support of that identification process.

Among the questions to guide the steering committee in their planning process are the following: 1. How much overlap is there between the 21st century skills that evidence suggests may be critical for future workforce needs and the knowledge and abilities that are the focus of current efforts to reform science education, particularly those reforms based on developmental psychology and cognitive science? 2. What are the unique domain-specific aspects of science, as well as the conventions and practices of science itself, that appear to hold promise for developing potential 21st century workforce abilities? 3. What are the promising models or approaches for teaching these abilities in science education settings? What, if any, evidence is available about the effectiveness of those models? 4. What is known about transferability of these abilities to real workplace applications? What might have to change in terms of learning experiences to achieve a reasonable level of skill transfer?

Contents

• The National Academies
• Planning Committee on Exploring the Intersection of Science Education and the Development of 21st Century Skills
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
  • OPENING REMARKS AND PARTICIPANTS’ INITIAL COMMENTS
  • DEMAND FOR 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
• 2. Intersections of Science Standards and 21st Century Skills
  • ARE 21ST CENTURY SKILLS FOUND IN SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS?
  • RESPONSE
  • DISCUSSION
• 3. Adolescents’ Developing Capacity for 21st Century Skills
  • TEACHING AND LEARNING ABOUT SCIENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
  • DISCUSSION
  • REPORTS FROM DISCUSSION GROUPS
• 4. Promising Curriculum Models I
  • ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR ARGUMENTATION
  • THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CURRICULUM STUDY 5E MODEL
  • DISCUSSION
• 5. Promising Curriculum Models II
  • LEARNING BY DESIGN
  • INVESTIGATING AND QUESTIONING OUR WORLD THROUGH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
  • DISCUSSION
• 6. Science Teacher Readiness for Developing 21st Century Skills
  • HOW TEACHER EDUCATION WILL HAVE TO EVOLVE
  • RESPONSE: THE VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
  • DISCUSSION
• 7. Assessment of 21st Century Skills
  • CORPORATE ASSESSMENT
  • TOWARD A FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING 21ST CENTURY SCIENCE SKILLS
  • DISCUSSION
• 8. Synthesis and Reflections
  • SYNTHESIS AND COMMON THEMES
  • DISCUSSION GROUP REPORTS
  • DISCUSSION
  • COMMITTEE MEMBERS’ FINAL COMMENTS
• References
• Appendixes
  • A Workshop Agenda and Participants
  • B Biographical Sketches of Steering Committee Members, Presenters, Panelists, and Staff

Margaret Hilton, Rapporteur.

This study was supported by Award No. N01-OD-4-2139 TO#199 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institutes of Health Office of Science Education and an award between the National Academy of Sciences and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The following members of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills contributed to the award: Apple, Inc.; Intel, Inc.; National Education Association; Pearson PLC; and SAP (no longer a member). Additional funding was provided by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and Ford Motor Company Fund, a member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Suggested citation:

National Research Council. (2010). Exploring the Intersection of Science Education and 21st Century Skills: A Workshop Summary. Margaret Hilton, Rapporteur. Board on Science Education, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.