The EdTech Center @ World Education, together with partners from the American Institutes for Research, is exploring the rollout of the Teaching Skills That Matter (TSTM) framework developed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) and will develop and pilot test instructional resources for TSTM, delivered through World Education’s online platform SkillBlox.
TSTM is an instructional framework initiated by OCTAE to provide guidance on provision of instruction that aligns with learners’ needs outside the classroom. It focuses on nine intra/interpersonal competencies (such as communication, critical thinking), five topic areas (civics education, digital literacy, financial literacy, health literacy, workforce preparation), and three teaching approaches (integrated and contextualized learning, problem-based learning, project-based learning.
The TSTM-aligned version of SkillBlox will enhance an emerging SkillBlox platform that organizes instructional content according to adult education topics and skill levels. SkillBlox is a free online platform in which instructors organize education resources by skill for lesson planning. SkillBlox lets instructors offer an increased range of learning options for students. These options can be personalized based on learner preferences and skill needs.
TSTM is an instructional framework initiated by OCTAE to provide guidance on provision of instruction that aligns with learners’ needs outside the classroom. It focuses on nine intra/interpersonal competencies (such as communication, critical thinking), five topic areas (civics education, digital literacy, financial literacy, health literacy, workforce preparation), and three teaching approaches (integrated and contextualized learning, problem-based learning, project-based learning.
The TSTM-aligned version of SkillBlox will build off an emerging SkillBlox platform that organizes instructional content according to adult education topics and skill levels. SkillBlox is a free online platform in which instructors organize education resources by skill for lesson planning. SkillBlox lets instructors offer an increased range of learning options for students. These options can be personalized based on learner preferences and skill needs.
The research team will use what they learn about challenges in implementing TSTM to develop TSTM-SkillBlox. Through an iterative design and testing process, they will work with instructors to improve SkillBlox’s usability while also working with teachers to develop Open Education Resources matched to TSTM. The resulting pilot version of TSTM-aligned SkillBlox will be designed to allow instructors to easily locate a TSTM-aligned skill they want to teach; choose relevant lessons and high quality OER, such as articles, videos, games, simulations, and assessments they wish to use to teach that skill; and then assign SkillBlox to students through the platform. They will then pilot test the fully developed platform and conduct a cost analysis of TSTM-aligned SkillBlox.
Visit the CREATE Adult Skills Network website and the TSTM-SkillBlox microsite to learn more about this research project
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