What is the Critical Skills Classroom?

The Critical Skills Classroom is a comprehensive model that creatively and effectively integrates four powerful teaching methodologies into a coherent strategy:

• Collaborative Learning
• Experiential Learning
• Problem-Based Learning
• Standards-Driven Learning

The versatility of the Critical Skills Classroom model has made it highly adaptable and successfully implemented at all grade levels and in all subject areas.

Working together these methodologies provide teachers and students the means tosimultaneously and intentionally:

• Build and sustain a strong, supportive classroom learning community
• Target the curriculum in ways that provide both a depth of understanding andmeaningful learning
• Develop the critical skills and fundamental dispositions
• Meet or exceed the demands of district and state frameworks and standards

Students in a Critical Skills Classroom:

• Frequently work as learning teams and groups
• Actively solve academic problems, scenarios, and real-world problems
• Make public presentations and exhibitions of their learning
• Systematically reflect on what they are doing and learning
• Focus on standards of quality for their work
• Take shared responsibility and ownership of their learning and for the classroom community

“Critical Skills has become the measuring stick for every learning opportunity—in my life and my classroom—and my benchmark for quality learning and assessment at all levels!”—Debra Susi, Theater Arts Teacher, Warsaw Middle School

Teachers in A Critical Skills Classroom:

• Model, guide, coach and support the learning process
• Design learning activities that are carefully connected and built on one another
• Incorporate targeted learning standards to guide the classroom culture, curriculum, and assessment

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