21ST CE€Tƒ„… †€‡ˆ‰EŠ‹E A€Š 
                 S†­‰‰S ­€ EŠƒCAT‡„ P„EPA„AT­‡€ 
                                                                 September 2010
     This paper has been produced as part of a collaborative 
     project by the American Association of Colleges of Teacher 
     Education and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills P21  
     unding for the project as generously provided by 
     lackboard  ETS  ­ntel  €ational Education Association  
     ‚icrosoft and Pearson 
                 C‡€TE€TS
                 A letter to educator preparation leaders                                  
                 Core principles on 21st century skills and educator preparation          ­
                 Introduction                                                             €
                 Preparing students for the 21st century economy                          ‚
                 What do P-12 students need to kno and do                               ƒ
                 What do educators need to kno and do                                   11
                 o can educator preparation programs respond                           12
                 etting started                                                          2€
                 Conclusion                                                               2„
                 ibliography                                                             2ƒ
                 CreditsAcknoledgments                                                  2…
   2
                         A ‰ETTE„ T‡ EŠƒCAT‡„ P„EPA„AT­‡€ ‰EAŠE„S
                         It is hard to imagine a time hen the opportunity and need to transform American 
                         education has been greater† ‡o be college and career ready todayˆ student learning must 
                         go beyond mastery of core sub‰ects and include 21st century knoledge and skills like 
                         critical thinkingˆ communicationˆ collaborationˆ and technology literacy†
                         ‡he American Association of Colleges for ‡eacher Šducation ‹AAC‡ŠŒ and the Partnership 
                         for 21st Century Skills belieŽe ne teacher candidates must be e‘uipped ith 21st 
                         century knoledge and skills and learn ho to integrate them into their classroom 
                         practice for our nation to reali’e its goal of successfully meeting the challenges of this 
                         century† ‡his is not a matter of teaching either academic or 21st century knoledge 
                         and skills† It’s about fusing the toˆ so that our children meet the demands of a global 
                         economyˆ as ell as engage in good citi’enship and participate fully in a Žibrant and ciŽil 
                         society† ‡his paper is an important step in an effort to promote the inclusion of 21st 
                         century knoledge and skills formally into teacher preparation programs† In subse‘uent 
                         phases of this orkˆ e hope to proŽide additional resources and technical assistance to 
                         support this effort among colleges of education nationide†
                         In late 200…ˆ a shared sense of urgency prompted a group of deans to come together to 
                         consider ho educator preparation programs might embed 21st century knoledge and 
                         skills more effectiŽely in their programs† ‡he result of their effort is this paperˆ hich as 
                         distributed to AAC‡Š’s membership in draft form for discussion at four sessions at the 
                         ”ebruary 2010 Annual •eeting† ‡his paper’s goals are to–
                         •  elp establish a shared Žision around 21st century knoledge and skills in educator 
                           preparation programs˜ and 
                         •  Spark meaningful dialogue among higher education leaders ‹presidentsˆ proŽostsˆ 
                           deansˆ and facultyŒ about implementing this Žision in educator preparation† 
                         ‡he ork to date reflects a great deal of feedback receiŽed at the AAC‡Š conference as 
                         ell as through a idespread call for feedback† ‡he paper’s themes are also reflectiŽe of 
                         a number of recent deŽelopments in P-12 education† ‡he final standards released by the 
                         Common Core State Standards InitiatiŽe in ›une 2010 include many of the 21st century 
                         skills outlined in this paperˆ hich ill be re‘uired across disciplines† It is eœpected that 
                         ac‘uisition of these skills ill be also be reflected in the ork of the žational Council for 
                         Accreditation of ‡eacher Šducation’s ‹žCA‡ŠŒ lue Ÿibbon Panel on Clinical Preparationˆ  
                         Partnerships and ImproŽed Student ¡earning and the Interstate že ‡eacher 
                         Assessment and Support Consortium ‹Iž‡ASCŒ reŽision of the Iž‡ASC •odel Standards 
                         for eginning ‡eacher ¡icensingˆ Assessment and ¢eŽelopment† 
                         We are hopeful this hite paper ill stimulate conŽersation and ideas that can enrich 
                         your transformatiŽe efforts† Against the backdrop of a seŽere donturn in our economyˆ 
                         changing state and national policiesˆ and rising accountability and eœpectationsˆ the 
                         challenges of embedding 21st century knoledge and skills are great† reat challenges 
                         re‘uire bold leadership† We hope you ill ‰oin us in adŽancing educator preparation so 
                         that every child ill thriŽe in their personal lifeˆ their community and the orkplace†
                         Sharon P† Ÿobinson                         ¤en ¤ay 
                         PresidentCŠ£ˆ AAC‡Š                       Presidentˆ Partnership for 21st Century Skills
                                                                                                                                       3
            C‡„E P„­€C­P‰ES ‡€ 21ST CE€Tƒ„… 
            S†­‰‰S A€Š EŠƒCAT‡„ P„EPA„AT­‡€
            ‡he American Association of Colleges for ‡eacher Šducation ‹AAC‡ŠŒ adŽisory group and 
            the strategic council of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills haŽe approŽed the folloing 
            core principlesˆ representing a shared Žision for integrating 21st century skills into educator 
            preparation†
            1† P-12 education ill prepare all students ith 21st century knoledge and skills†
            2†  P-12 teachers and administrators ill possessˆ teach and assess 21st century knoledge 
             and skills†
             †  Šducator preparation programs ill prepare their graduates to possessˆ teach and assess 
             21st century knoledge and skills†  
            ­†  že teachers ill be prepared to become change agents for embedding 21st century 
             knoledge and skills in all sub‰ects in P-12 curricula in accordance ith national and state 
             standards†
            €†  igher education leaders ill ork ith leaders in P-12 and local communities to inform 
             the redesign of educator preparation programs to more effectiŽely meet the needs of 21st 
             century learners†
            ‚†  Šach educator preparation program ill deŽelop a 21st century blueprint for transforming 
             itself into a 21st century program† 
            „†  Šducator preparation programs ill be recogni’ed as sources of leadership in deŽeloping 
             21st century education and learning strategies†
            ƒ†  Šducator preparation programs ill be at the forefront of research and eŽaluation of 21st 
             century education†
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