Background
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is the leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education. The organization brings together the business community, education leaders, and policymakers to define a powerful vision for 21st century education and to ensure that students emerge from our schools with the skills needed to be effective citizens, workers, and leaders in the 21st century.

The arts – dance, music, theatre, and visual arts - are included as core subjects within the Partnership's Framework for 21st Century Learning as well as in Federal law. America's leading professional organizations for educators in these disciplines are involved in a project with the Partnership to demonstrate how an education in the arts develops essential 21st century skills. The organizations collaborating on this project are the American Alliance for Theatre & Education, the Educational Theatre Association, MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the National Art Education Association, the National Dance Association, and the National Dance Education Organization.

The Partnership's website provides publications and resources for embedding 21st century skills within each subject area. The professional associations in English, Geography, Science, Social Studies and Mathematics have each developed a "21st Century Skills Map" as one of the key resources available through the Partnership, using a common format.

Eight writers came together in October to draft a 21st Century Skills Map for the Arts:

• Colleen Dean, National Dance Association (NDA)
• Christie M. Lynch Ebert, The National Association for Music Education (MENC)
• Susan McGreevy-Nichols, National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)
• Betsy Quinn, American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE)
• Robert Sabol, National Art Education Association (NAEA)
• Dale Schmid, Educational Theatre Association (EdTA)
• R. Barry Shauck, National Art Education Association (NAEA)
• Scott C. Shuler, The National Association for Music Education (MENC)
   

The same writers have held follow-up meetings on the web to refine the draft. The map in this draft focuses on four elements that are common to all 21st Century Skill Maps, presented in the format used in all these Maps: an Introduction, Outcomes, Examples, and Cross-Curricular Themes.

• An Introduction to provide a context for the contributions of the disciplines to 21st Century Skills.
• Outcomes for each 21st Century Skill. These skills, as identified by the Partnership, are:
  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Creativity
  • Innovation
  • Information Literacy
  • Media Literacy
  • Information, Communications, and Technology Literacy
  • Flexibility and Adaptability
  • Initiative and Self-Direction
  • Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
  • Productivity and Accountability
  • Leadership and Responsibility
• Examples to show of how the 21st century skills can come to life in the classroom for students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Note that, in an effort to keep the Arts Map as concise as possible, these examples offer a mix of artistic disciplines through the Arts Map, rather than providing an example for all four artistic disciplines at each grade level for each skill.
• Identification of the way that several examples connect with Cross-Curricular Themes. These themes, as identified by the Partnership, are:
  • Global Awareness
  • Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
  • Civic Literacy
  • Health Literacy
  • Environmental Literacy
     

All of the elements of the Arts Map are designed to be read and understood by concerned citizens outside the field of arts education. The Arts Map is not a document designed to drive curriculum or exhaustively define teacher practice. The organizations involved in developing the map may well proceed with exploring those more detailed curricular issues, but the present document is designed to communicate the great potential of the arts for helping students meet the challenges of our century.

Review and Comment
The entire arts education community is invited to review and provide comments on this draft of the 21st Century Skills Arts Map. All comments must be submitted through http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=p7IKPP0l7CmzWFIv1Tkp8Q_3d_3d, which contains a survey designed to enable the entire project team to review all of the comments. The Review and Comment period will end on Friday, December 11, 2009.

Note that comment is invited on the introduction, the examples, and the cross-curricular theme descriptions; all other elements are set. We strongly recommend that those who want to comment on the Arts Skills Map first review the maps already established for other subjects at www.21stcenturyskills.org (search for "publications" under the "tools and resources" tab).

If you have any questions about the Arts Map that go beyond the survey, please direct them to klevin@arteducators.org or mikeb@menc.org.