Page 48 - 21st Century Competencies: Foundation Document for Discussion

SECTION FIVE
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Implications for Policy
Questions that need to be considered in determining next steps are presented below to focus discussion and stimulate thinking.
1. There are many different approaches to representing 21st century competencies and no single “best” framework that is applicable to all circumstances. Ontario needs to reconcile the different approaches
and develop an evidence-based framework that will meet the needs of Ontario educators and students. Such a competency framework would continue to recognize the important foundational skills of literacy and numeracy and core learning in other subject areas. It would be reviewed periodically as we continue to learn our way forward in this dynamic field.
The following categories of 21st century competencies have been shown to have measurable benefits in multiple areas of life:
• critical thinking and problem solving
• innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship
• communication
• collaboration (teamwork)
• a growth mindset (metacognition / learning to learn,
perseverance, and resilience)
• local, global, and digital citizenship
See Appendix C for a draft discussion paper that was developed to support Ontario’s and the Council of Ministers of Education’s (CMEC’s) considerations for defining and developing measures for assessing
21st century competencies. This paper expands on the competency categories listed above in that it includes draft descriptors and identifies connections between the proposed 21st century /global competencies and related CMEC areas of priority.