ATC21S at Education World Forum 2013

In our fast paced and globally interconnected world, having the right skills is essential to success. As rates for global unemployment keep soaring with dramatic consequences especially for our youth, we need to reflect on what exactly those 21st century skills are, how they can be learned, and consequently, how they can be measured.

ATC21S (Assessment and Teaching of 21st-Century Skills) is a multi-stakeholder collaboration founded and funded by Cisco, Intel and Microsoft and headquartered at the University of Melbourne. Since 2009, ATC21S has brought together the national governments of Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States as well as intergovernmental organizations and more than 250 researchers and teaching institutions from around the globe to produce an integrated system to research, develop, and create innovative resources for assessing and teaching key 21st century skills. ATC21S has developed methodologies, tools and materials to assess skills and learning progression in collaborative problem solving and ICT digital network literacy; to produce reports showing skill assessments at the individual, class, and system levels; and to induct teachers into the ATC21S approach.

Next week in London, on the occasion of the Education World Forum (EWF) , one of the world’s most prestigious and significant education events, members of the ATC21S collaboration will be holding an interactive panel on Tuesday, January 29, from 15:00 to 16:15 to discuss the benefits of implementing ATC21S, the best practices and lessons learned during the pilot trials, as well as the impact of implementation. Panellists will also share what has motivated them to implement ATC21S outputs, what are their national plans for teaching, learning and assessment, as well as the role ATC21S can have in accomplishing those. The panel participants will include:

Hon. Leonardo Garnier, Costa Rica Minister of Education

Esther Care, ATC21S International Research Coordinator and Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Maria Stockhaus of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities in Regions (SALAR)

Anthony Mackay, Deputy Chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority and Chair of the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership

Andreas Schleicher (Moderator), Deputy Director for Education and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General, OECD

I look forward to sharing the outcomes and key reflections of this panel live from EWF and invite you to visit the ATC21S site for more information on this unique and groundbreaking collaboration.