{"id":50,"date":"2023-06-23T14:31:50","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T14:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/?page_id=50"},"modified":"2025-05-13T15:15:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T15:15:50","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/faq\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:37px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>What is the Critical Skills&nbsp;Classroom?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>The Critical Skills Classroom is a comprehensive approach that creatively and effectively integrates four powerful teaching methodologies into a coherent strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Collaborative Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experiential Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Problem-Based Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Standards-Driven Learning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The versatility of the Critical Skills Classroo has made it highly adaptable and successfully implemented at all grade levels and in all subject areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Working together, these methodologies provide teachers and students the means to simultaneously&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>intentionally<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Build and sustain a strong, supportive classroom learning community<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Target the curriculum in ways that provide both a depth of understanding&nbsp;and meaningful learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Develop the critical skills and fundamental dispositions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Meet or exceed the demands of district and state frameworks and standards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Students in a Critical Skills Classroom:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Frequently work as learning teams and groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Actively solve academic problems, scenarios, and real-world problems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make public presentations and exhibitions of their learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Systematically reflect on what they are doing and learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focus on standards of quality for their work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take shared responsibility and ownership of their learning and for the classroom community<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCritical Skills has become the measuring stick for every learning opportunity\u2014in my life and my classroom\u2014and my benchmark for quality learning and assessment at all levels!\u201d\u2014Debra Susi, Theater Arts Teacher, Warsaw Middle School<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Teachers in A Critical Skills Classroom:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Model, guide, coach, and support the learning process<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Design learning activities that are carefully connected and built on one another<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Incorporate targeted learning standards to guide the classroom culture, curriculum, and assessment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>Is the Critical Skills Classroom an instructional model?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>No. Critical Skills is an approach to teaching and learning, but it\u2019s not a model. That means that we don\u2019t expect \u201cfidelity of implementation.\u201d We recognize (and celebrate!) that teachers innovate, modify, and adjust what they\u2019ve learned so that it better serves their individual classroom settings, and we hope that teachers will share their successes (and growing edges) so that the CSC can continue to evolve and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>What are the Nine Characteristics of the CSC?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Students frequently work as a team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Students actively solve meaningful problems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Students publicly exhibit their learning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Students reflect on what they are learning and doing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Students apply quality criteria to their work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Teachers mediate, coach, and support the learning process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Targeted learning results guide culture, curriculum, and assessment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Work is interconnected.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Students take responsibility for and ownership of their learning and for the classroom community.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>What is the Critical Skills Classroom community?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>Critical Skills teachers know that community is the key to everything. We connect informally using<strong> <\/strong>social media (Facebook and Instagram) and formally via Zoom and face-to-face meetings. Emerging Critical Skills teachers can expect to be supported by the Antioch faculty as well.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>What happens during a Critical Skills Immersion?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>Under the guidance and leadership of practicing classroom teachers with expertise in Critical Skills, participating educators experience all dimensions of the&nbsp;approach&nbsp;firsthand. Educators explore problem-based, experiential, collaborative, and standards-driven learning and examine how these methodologies can be successfully integrated, focusing on the role of the teacher in designing curriculum, guiding students, and assessing performance. You will develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to build and maintain a dynamic and responsive classroom.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>How do I schedule a Critical Skills Institute for my school?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>Critical Skills Institutes are offered in three ways: in your school during the summer or during the school year (for teams of teachers) and during the Critical Skills Immersion held in July at our Keene, New Hampshire Campus (visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.antioch.edu\/new-england\/discover-aune\/available-classes\/\">available classes<\/a> page for more information and to register for the summer immersion)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>School-based Institutes are typically arranged by a single school or district and are supported throughout the year through coaching by our master teachers. We also offer Institutes during the school year, utilizing the existing in-service days scheduled by the district or school and supported by additional coaching between sessions. If you\u2019re ready to arrange your own Institute, contact Laura Thomas at lthomas@antioch.edu. It\u2019s helpful if you know the dates that you\u2019d like your institute to run.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>Is the Critical Skills Immersion research-based?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>Yes! There are many ideas, approaches, theories, and techniques in the world of education, big ideas that are associated with a vast set of techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 1985, the Critical Skills Classroom has been bringing the most powerful ideas together into a coherent and workable plan for teachers. Examine the diagram. The core concepts have been condensed into three fundamental ideas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1) connected problem-based challenges that are<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2) experienced in a collaborative learning community, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3) designed to achieve standards of understanding, knowledge, and skills<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Associated with these three ideas are many of the theories and initiatives that have gained attention in modern educational practice. The shading illustrates how these are linked to one or more of the core concepts of Critical Skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Critical Skills draws from this broad foundation and translates theory into practice. Specifically, the CSC supports:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-layout-columns-2 gb-2-col-equal\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-2 gb-is-responsive-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Open Source<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experiential Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Equity Centered Trauma Informed Education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Design Thinking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social Emotional Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Neurodevelopmental Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social Learning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cooperative\/Collaborative Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Universal Design for Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Constructivism<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Differentiated Instruction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Problem\u2013Based Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Situated Learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inquiry-Based Instruction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Criterion-Referenced Instruction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, download our ebook, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/design\/DAF61p324Ns\/FbhjQ2w9quas5jV5au9lZg\/view?utm_content=DAF61p324Ns&amp;utm_campaign=designshare&amp;utm_medium=link&amp;utm_source=editor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">The Research Behind the Critical Skills Classrooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\"><strong>What is the Critical Skills Leadership Community?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>Critical Skills Leadership members are active contributors to the community, participating in the ongoing evolution of the Critical Skills Classroom approach and the Critical Skills Immersions; developing an advanced understanding of the CSC. They gain theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in working with adult learners. They also facilitate courses and workshops, provide school-based coaching, and craft and publish interconnected, coherent units of study.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-accordion gb-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"gb-accordion-title\">How do I become part of the Critical Skills Leadership community<strong>?<\/strong><\/summary><div class=\"gb-accordion-text\">\n<p>Memberships is earned through a rigorous process of implementation, reflection, and observation. An individual who has gained this status is imbued with the authority to train others in the use of the Critical Skills Classroom and to participate in the Leadership Community&#8217;s continued development of the approach. Leadership members are typically selected from MEd and Certificate students based on their enthusiasm and their work in implementing Critical Skills in their own classrooms.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-theme-secondary-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"mailto:lthomas@antioch.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Have a question you don\u2019t see here? Contact Laura Thomas.<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position: relative;width: 100%;height: 0;padding-top: 177.7778%;padding-bottom: 0;margin-top: 1.6em;margin-bottom: 0.9em;overflow: hidden;border-radius: 8px\">\n  \n  \n<\/div>\n<a href=\"https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.canva.com&#x2F;design&#x2F;DAFmp-OFh7Y&#x2F;watch?utm_content=DAFmp-OFh7Y&amp;utm_campaign=designshare&amp;utm_medium=embeds&amp;utm_source=link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Critical Skills in Under a Minute<\/a> by Laura Thomas\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Critical Skills in Under a Minute by Laura Thomas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-50","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}