AP Program Joins Partnership for 21st Century Skills
P21 will also unveil its 21st Century Skills Common Core Toolkit this week.
The College Board's Advanced Placement Program (AP) has become a national member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), a coalition of industry and education organizations focused on integrating technology into education.
P21 provides the Framework for 21st Century Learning, a roadmap for education centered around technology and skills-focused learning. It also provides resources and tools for educators and policymakers, including implementation guides and skills maps for integrating 21st century skills into core and and non-core curricula, with guidelines for skills mastery at specific grade levels.
The College Board reported that its membership in P21 coincides with the development of new science and social science courses designed around 21st century learning.
"The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has been a guiding light for the AP Program as we have thought about the knowledge and skills the AP Program should consciously strive to promote," said Trevor Packer, College Board vice president, in a statement released by P21 Tuesday. Packer leads the AP Program. "We are thrilled to formally join this partnership as we roll out a major redesign of the AP science and history programs focused on 21st century knowledge and skills."
Three other organizations also joined P21 this week, including EdLeader21, Ford Motor Co. Fund, and Goddard Systems.
EdLeader21 is an online professional learning community for education leaders. Ford Motor Co. Fund is a philanthropic organization that supports education initiatives And Goddard Systems is a company that operates the Goddard School franchise system, which is focused on early childhood education, child care, and child development.
"P21 has been a real leader in advancing 21st century education policy, and the EdLeader21 team is thrilled to become a member," said Alyson Nielson, chief operating officer of EdLeader21, also in a prepared statement. "Our professional learning community of 21st century education leaders is working to integrate the 4C's--critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration--into today's districts, schools and classrooms. The policy framework of P21 provides helpful and relevant support to the work of our 60 districts, schools and organizations. We look forward to continuing our collective efforts to move 21st century education forward."
In other P21 news, the organization will host a forum this Friday focused on sharing best practices, policies, and creative ideas for assessing 21st century teaching and learning. The forum will include representatives from the American Association of School Librarians, Council of Chief State School Officers, and various higher education institutions and state departments of education.
During the forum, P21 will also unveil its 21st Century Skills Common Core Toolkit, which the group said will be designed to support state education leaders in implementing CCSS within P21's comprehensive 21st century skills framework."
The forum will be held July 15 at the Stowe Mountain Lodge in Stowe, VT. Details can be found on P21's site.