Education in the Knowledge

Economy

Mike Schmidt

Director, Education and Community Development

Ford Motor Company Fund

How Can Business Engage The Education Pipeline More

Effectively?

• Talk About the “Flat World” and How it Will Impact Education

• Help To Re-assess Longstanding Notions:– Standards– Curriculum

Three Ways to Talk About “The Flat World”

I. Talk About What Is Happening

• The Knowledge Economy is Here to Stay and Moving at a Faster Pace Than Ever Imagined

• In This New Economy, It is Not Enough to Focus Only on Core Academic Subjects

• High Schools Must Prepare Students With 21st Century Knowledge and Skills

• Somehow, We Need to Foster Innovation and Creativity – That is Our Economic Edge

HELP RE-ASSESS SOME LONGSTANDING BELIEFS

AND ASSUMPTIONS

HELP RE-ASSESS SOME LONGSTANDING BELIEFS

AND ASSUMPTIONS

• Standards: What Should Students Know and Be Able to Do?

• Content and Pedagogy: What Should Teaching and Learning Look Like?

Standards: Moving From Traditional Academic

Content to 21st Century Skills

Agilent TechnologiesAmerican Association of School LibrariesAmerican Federation of TeachersAppleBell South FoundationCable in the ClassroomCisco Systems, Inc.Corporation for Public Broadcasting Dell Inc.ETS

Partnership for 21st Century Skillswww.21stcenturyskills.org

Ford Motor Company FundIntelJA WorldwideMicrosoft CorporationNational Education AssociationOracle CorporationSAPTexas Instruments IncorporatedTime Warner, Inc.Verizon

21st Century Skills – P-21 Definition

• Emphasis on Academically Rigorous Core Subjects for All Students

• Higher-Order Thinking and Learning Skills– Critical Thinking, Communications, Problem Solving, Self-Direction,

Teamwork, Personal Management, Systems Thinking

• 21st Century Tools – ICT Literacy

• 21st Century Context and Content (Relevance) – Global Literacy, Civic Literacy, Financial, Economic,

&Entrepreneurial Literacy

Content and Pedagogy:Transforming Teaching and Learning

The Ford PAS Curriculum

The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Academic Challenge– Rigorous Content– Addresses National Standards– Connects Important Ideas

Within and Across Disciplines

– Develops Reasoning Processes and Ways of Thinking Particular to Disciplines

The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Skills for Success– Critical Thinking

– Problem-Solving

– Communication

– Teamwork

The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Real-World Learning– Introduction to business

concepts– Experiences that show

how studies lead to college and rewarding careers

– Use of powerful technology tools

– Interactions with business, higher education, and community organizations

– Access to information about college

The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Consists of:– 2 ½ year series of electives beginning in 9th or 10th

grade

– 5 semester-long courses, 3 modules each

– 15 modules, each 6 weeks long

• Flexible—school, after-school, or summer program using full curriculum or individual courses or modules

The Ford PAS CurriculumTeaching/Learning Philosophy

• Inquiry-Based– Pose issues and problems.– Enable students to acquire information and

develop skills in the context of investigating issues and problems, often through hands-on experiences.

• Performance-Driven– Assesses students’ learning in multiple ways

Ford PAS Course 1: Building Foundations

– From Concept to Consumer:Building a Foundation in Problem-Solving

– Media and Messages: Building a Foundation of Communication Skills

– People at Work: Building a Foundation of Research Skills

Ford PAS Courses 2–5Course 2: Adapting to Change

– Careers, Companies, and Communities– Closing the Environmental Loop– Planning for Efficiency

Course 3: Managing and Marketing with Data – Planning for Business Success– Ensuring Quality– From Data to Knowledge

Course 4: Designing for Tomorrow – Reverse Engineering– Different by Design– Energy for the Future

Course 5: Understanding a Global Economy – The Wealth of Nations– Markets Without Borders– Global Citizens

WWW.FORDPAS.ORG