Students learn communication; collaboration; critical thinking; and problem solving skills to prepare for increasing global economy

Since 2007, the Greater Cleveland Educational Development Center (GCEDC) at Cleveland State University has teamed with high school teachers in Northeast Ohio to incorporate 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving skills into the high school curriculum. On Thursday, July 31, 2008, the GCEDC will present its first 21st Century Skills Showcase at WVIZ Ideastream.

Students and teachers who participated in the High School Transformation Network 21st Century Skills Project will present the results of real world project-based lessons to invited corporate and civic leaders, along with Ohio educators. Participants include high schools from the following school districts: Cleveland, Bedford, Warrensville Heights, Chagrin Falls, Euclid, Chardon and Parma.

The day will kick off with a presentation from keynote speaker Dr. Willard Daggert, founder and president of the International Center for Leadership in Education, who will discuss what parents, communities and schools must do to better prepare young people for our technology-driven world and increasing global economy.

“There is a consensus in the business and education communities that students leaving our high schools need to be better equipped with the skills needed to be effective in the 21st century,” said Dennis Kowalski, Ed.D., director, GCEDC at CSU. “In response, we developed this program that reaches into high schools and gives teachers the assistance and support they need to help their students succeed.”

The GDEDC at CSU recently created the High School Transformation Network to establish a professional learning community for area secondary school administrators and CSU faculty. The Network provides a forum that educators can use to share knowledge and best practices.

Through the Network, area high school teachers and CSU faculty can work together to teach students communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving skills in math, science, social studies and language arts. They create lessons that bring real world issues into the classroom and challenge students to use these 21st century skills.

“Today’s life and work environments require more than just content knowledge,” said Kowalski. “Employers are looking to educators to provide students with the thinking and communication skills required to navigate complex life and work environments in today’s global information age.”

After receiving funding last year from the Jennings Foundation, the GCEDC at CSU spent a year studying the 21st Century Skills Partnership prior to establishing the program, which resulted in a vision for 21st century student success in the new global economy.

The GCEDC at CSU was established 25 years ago to provide educators with topical and timely support for sustained and embedded professional development.

For more information or if you would like to attend the Showcase, please contact Dennis Kowalski at 216.523.7106 or visit www.csuohio.edu/cehs/gcedc/.

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