CSM
Core Skills Mastery
David Goldberg, CEO
david@csmlearn.com
(303) 862-7233
Education and work success
College and
work skills
Problem-solving
& thinking skills
Core math and literacy skills
CSM
Learning
skills
(by reading)
Persistence
Carefulness
Confidence
Self-reliance
Motivation
Core Skills Mastery -- CSM
Web-based course
Adaptive learning / computer guided
Online or classroom
Will work with students as low as 3rd grade math /
6th grade reading
Free for colleges, schools, non-profits
Including teacher support & professional development
Certificate available for students who complete
CSM
CSM CURRICULUM
CSM curriculum has two parts
Core Instruction
Integrated math, literacy & problem-solving
10-60 hours
Optional: Challenge Problems
Advanced problem-solving & thinking skills
10’s of hours
Core – deep understanding
Solve the following problems in your head. Do not use a calculator, and
only use paper if absolutely necessary.
10,000
200
Core – integrated & complex contexts
Women who are pregnant
Core – information extraction
Core – problem-solving
charge per dog groomed ($/dog)
revenue ($)
dogs groomed (dogs)
cost shampoo & scissors ($)
expenses ($)
rent & labor ($)
CSM Challenge Problems
Increasingly challenging real-world problems
Solving novel problems / analyzing new contexts
hints, no instruction
lawyer
advanced college level
problem-solving
&
thinking skills
student
reporter
CSM Core Instruction
Challenge Problem time
CSM curriculum characteristics
Core Instruction
Integrated math, literacy & problem-solving
10-60 hours
Optional: Challenge Problems
Advanced problem-solving & thinking skills
10’s of hours
All workforce contextualized
Goals
Decision-making, supervisor-level skills
College completion skills
Focus of CSM instruction
Teaching students skills
Teaching students how to
learn skills on their own
…through reading
CSM Instruction
8460
Meta-cognition  thinking about learning
Teach concepts and context…
… as well as “just the facts”
Making decisions what to read
forces meta-cognition
CSM requires a high level of mastery
In most educational technology, mastery is:
a 1 in 5 chance of guessing it right
a 60% passing grade
a checkmark on the day the student first learns it
On the job, the only acceptable grade is “A”
Want students to learn about A-level work
How you do it
That you can do it
How good it feels
Accuracy, carefulness and mastery
Must get all right in a
single try
…2 times
Ensure durable mastery
Conventional: teach once, test many times
CSM:
Learned
initially
Remembered
More instruction
if needed
More instruction
if needed
L-shaped
Problem
Unit Pricing
Area
Conversions
• Area of complex shapes
• Unit pricing, area conversions, rounding
• Perimeter
Rounding to
10’s 100’s
Area of
Rectangles
Money
Round to
Nearest Whole
One-step
Conversions
Decimal
Numbers
Fractions
Perimeter
L-Shape
Problem
Area
Conversions
One-step
One-step
Conversions
Conversions
Another Skill
Rounding to
10’s 100’s
Area of
Rectangles
Round to
Nearest Whole
Decimal
Numbers
Fractions
Yet One
More Skill
Teachers and CSM
Teacher as strategic interventionist / mentor
skill-specific / cognitive
independent learning / learning strategies
affect, behavior, habits of mind (persistence,
carefulness, confidence, self-reliance, motivation, etc.)
CSM promotes intrinsic motivation
Learn skills largely on your own (autonomy)
Maintain at edge of knowledge (mastery)
All skills are work contextualized (purpose)
Protect students from learned helplessness
Professional development
before you start
embedded
while you
CSM work with
students
check-in
Examples of college CSM use
Adult ed for college transition or GED
Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology
MAT2 – Henry Ford CC for apprenticeships
Oregon Career Pathways
Research: CCRC / Heldrich
STEPPING BACK
College and career readiness
SAT
Common Core
GED
COMPASS
WorkKeys
ACT
ACCUPLACER
Math and literacy standards
Different test-prep for every standard
College and career readiness
CSM
Math and literacy for decision-making
Problem-solving and thinking skills
Independent learning
Habits of mind (persistence, self-reliance,
carefulness, etc.)
Capable, confident, adaptable student
Capable, confident, adaptable supervisor-level
decision-maker
Roseburg, OR / Umpqua CC
10th grade preparation for dual-college (Alternative
placement to ACCUPLACER/COMPASS)
College-transition class for adult education
At WDC for transition into various programs
Development education class for college
Credit-bearing academic success class
Co-requisite class for post-secondary CTE programs
Professional services for local businesses
Businesses give interview to CSM certificate holders
This doesn’t transform the community
Community uplift
Community uplift occurs when everyone uses
CSM
Virtuous cycle of supply and demand
Programs that use CSM instruction (supply)
Programs that honor CSM certificate (demand)
Best if:
Every program uses CSM for its own purposes
Without a heavy hand – self-organizing
CSM for collective impact
Creating the Supply
Creating the Demand
Secondary  As part of an advanced math
 As an alternative to placement exams for dualelective, college-prep class, or other college enrollment or CTE programs
course
Adult/
Workforce
 As a CSM course (can be combined  As a relevant credential for job placement or
with GED or college transition
workforce programs
classes)
Postsecondary
 CSM Certificate earned as part of
developmental education, a corequisite foundational skills course,
or an academic success class
 As an alternative to placement exams (e.g.
bypassing the ACCUPLACER or COMPASS
tests)
 As a requirement for apprenticeships
 As a graduation requirement
 As a requirement for scholarship programs
Business
 CSM Certificate earned through
internal training courses for new
hires, for promotion, or for general
skills upgrades
 Guaranteeing interviews to CSM Certificate
holders who are otherwise nominally qualified
 As a requirement for promotion
 Making college tuition reimbursement
contingent on CSM Certificate
Hasn’t this been tried before?
Previous attempts
Mainly math and literacy
CSM
Math, literacy, problem-solving,
learning, habits of mind, etc.
Little instruction; old pedagogy Free, web-based with nextgeneration technology
Target low-skill, entry-level
Decision-making, supervisor
level skills
Of little interest to academic
Workforce standard of interest
institutions
to academic institutions, from
secondary to college
Practically speaking, how do you do
collective impact?
Your own program
Other program in
your institution
Local business
Other community
organizations
Use CSM however it works for you
Use CSM for your own program
Use CSM for community uplift through collective
impact
www.csmlearn.com
info@csmlearn.com