Our Mission
We were an educational non-profit 401(c)(3) located in Austin, Texas
1. A FREE 21st Century Literacy Curriculum
We offer a free curriculum, which currently entails a textbook, handouts, videos, and supplementary materials.
Our curriculum revises the current conception of literacy to focus it more on science, evidence, and critical thinking. We focus mostly on advanced forms of literacy and critical thinking that 21st century students should be taught in high school and college. In addition, our curriculum also discusses other relevant topics, like how to be a successful college student, a short history of literacy and democracy, and an introduction to literature with a focus on human psychology and culture.
We are trying to bring more science to the teaching of writing, more writing to the teaching of science, and more critical thinking to the teaching of every topic.
Our curriculum is available via this free website. Our textbook is called 21st Century Literacy, which was written by our director Josh M. Beach.
This website also corresponds with an academic monograph written by Beach called How Do You Know? The Epistemological Foundations of 21st Century Literacy (2018). Beach’s monograph is an advanced discussion of 21st Century Literacy meant for literacy scholars and teachers.
Our curriculum has reached teachers and students from over 100 countries all around the world.
2. Professional Development through Instructional Coaching
Our organization also organizes and conducts professional development workshops and teacher training seminars. These events typically last three to eight hours.
We use these workshops in order to share our new 21st century literacy curriculum, especially practices of science and critical thinking, which are currently neglected in many American K-12 schools, especially in the teaching of reading and writing.
We also discuss the science of teaching and learning with teachers so they can help their students learn more effectively. We promote “evidence-based practices” and inform teachers about the relevance and usefulness of using scientific research to guide teaching practice.
We are not just researchers disseminating knowledge about core concepts and effective practices. We are experienced “instructional coaches” who demonstrate core knowledge and practices, while also helping to develop the professional capacities of teachers. We utilize the cutting edge of curriculum research with specialized curricular materials, which are “designed with the intent of supporting teacher learning as well as student learning” (Davis, et. al., 2017).
We offer the following training seminars:
Teaching for Learning (Instead of the Compromise of Playing School)
21st Century Literacy: Teaching Science, Critical Thinking, & Metacognition in the Composition Classroom
21st Century Literacy: Teaching Composition, Critical Thinking, & Metacognition in the Science Classroom
21st Century Literacy: Teaching Psychology, Social Science, & History through Literature
Literacy & Democracy: Promoting Civil Debate & Civic Participation
Knowledge in a Post-Truth World: From Subjectivity & Culture to Objectivity & Science
3. Training Teachers How to Assess Student Learning
As part of our workshops, we train teachers on how to assess student learning, which is either not taught, or not taught well in teacher training programs in departments of education.
We not only inform teachers about 21st century literacy and train them to become better teachers, but we also help teachers understand the process of assessment.
We show teachers how to measure and evaluate student learning through concrete student learning objectives, which entail the combination of concrete goals and specific and measurable steps to enable students to complete these goals. We emphasize assessing both the process of learning and the products of learning. And we focus on how teachers can use their assessment tools to teach students how to understand and assess their own learning.
How can students know that they have learned if they cannot see their own learning? Likewise, how can students fix a mistake if they can’t see, understand, and classify their mistakes? We help teachers understand the importance of valid assessment techniques.
We offer the following training seminars:
Assessing Student Learning: Can We Measure What Really Matters?
4. Personalized Consulting & Curriculum Production
If schools want more in-depth, one-on-one training, we also offer personalized consulting to individual teachers or departments in order to help them solve specific educational problems or teach specific subjects. We can help teachers develop ideas, create specific curriculum materials, or create valid assessments.
5. Interdisciplinary Literacy Research & Public Policy Reports
Finally, we conduct research on various topics pertaining to 21st century literacy and the science of teaching and learning.
We use this research in order to develop new topics and tools in an effort to expand the free, web textbook. We also use this research to produce policy documents.
We seek to publicize and widely disseminate the core concepts and practices of 21st century literacy, especially scientific literacy and critical thinking. We also seek to promote “evidence-based practices” in education.
We gladly accept donations
Your help is tax deductible