NM Teaching Skills That Matter

Welcome to TSTM!

Teaching the Skills That Matter (TSTM) is a national initiative designed to help adult educators focus instruction on 9 Central Skills that support student success in the workplace and everyday life. The skills are addressed across 5 Key Topics that are essential for all adults using 3 Instructional Approaches, which are research-based teaching methods that are relevant and engaging. TSTM provides a free toolkit of model lessons, and it is also designed to support existing curriculum by helping instructors integrate TSTM components into any teaching context. TSTM Toolkit lessons are standards-aligned for both CCRS and ELPS.

The Components That Make Up TSTM

Nine Central Skills

- Adaptability and willingness to learn
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Interpersonal skills
- Navigating systems
- Problem-solving
- Processing and analyzing information
- Respecting differences and diversity
- Self-awareness

Five Key Topic Areas

- Civics education
- Digital literacy
- Financial literacy
- Health literacy
- Workplace preparation

Three Approaches That Work

- Integrated and contextualized instruction
- Problem-based learning
- Project-based learning

Image credit: David Herrera https://www.flickr.com/photos/dph1110/2931866669 used under CC BY 2.0

TSTM in New Mexico

In New Mexico, Propel’s TSTM Team provides ongoing professional learning opportunities to support programs and instructional staff as you learn about and implement TSTM components in your setting. We offer regular webinars, cohort courses, conference presentations, and technical assistance. Visit our Get Involved page to see what’s coming up soon. TSTM is fully aligned with New Mexico’s Professional Competencies for adult educators, and TSTM activities can be incorporated into Professional Learning Plans.

If you are new to TSTM, the Resources page provides some great videos showing how TSTM has been implemented in different classrooms. The TSTM Toolkit is also available on the Resources page. We also have a YouTube playlist of past webinars linked on the Playlist page.