Thoughts on: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/education/learning-tools/employability-skills.aspx
I wonder why schools spend so much time and energy (and frustration) specifically on testable skills (which are needed to prepare adequately for specific jobs) but so little time on "soft-skills" (which are clearly required to set one above the crowd). This article shows what the Conference Board of Canada believes are the important skills to develop in school to best prepare learners for the workforce (or for entrepreneurship). I wonder which we are focusing on in our classroom .... Hmmmm? My classroom has the learning space and activity rules ... in 6 parts ... Content is the umbrella and the "media" to show the other skills. Critical Thinking Collaboration Communication Creativity Connections ... this is when the learner connects the new knowledge or "thinking" to other skills or knowledge they have or to current events etc. I work these 6 things into projects, either assigned or student designed, and include them in the assessment whenever possible (often as part of the self-evaluation or reflections). **** From the link above (this is the short, point form, addendum connected to a larger document). You will be better prepared to progress in the world of work when you can: COMMUNICATE
Personal Management SkillsThe personal skills, attitudes, and behaviours that drive one’s potential for growthYou will be able to offer yourself greater possibilities for achievement when you can: DEMONSTRATE POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS
Teamwork SkillsThe skills and attributes needed to contribute productivelyYou will be better prepared to add value to the outcomes of a task, project, or team when you can: WORK WITH OTHERS
*** Other useful documents can be found at: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/Libraries/EDUC_PUBLIC/esp2000.sflb http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/top-ten-skills.htm
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While I agree, for the most part with the following quote from page 163 of "Teach like a Pirate" by Dave Burgess, I do have one concern .... (see the bottom).
*** Now let's move on to the point of the story. You will be criticized! Infact, the more you step outside the box and reject the culture of conformity, the more of a target you will become. When criticism comes, take a moment to evaluate it. Is the criticism an opportunity for growth? If so, learn from that instruction. But realize, too, that your critic may have no idea what they are talking about! In that case, ignore it. *** I agree ... learn from those who have thoughts that are different or those that doubt that your "outside the box" thinking is valid. Be able to defend your philosopy - okay, I get that BUT to ignore people who are critical because they haven't an idea what they're talking about does cause a problem when that person is an administrator who is writing a report that may determine your position as an educator. Sadly, from my experience, teachers are way quicker to adapt and develop positive strategies than administrators are which can cause great stress and academic dissonance for teachers trying to grow and create "out of the box" learning experiences for their students. Hard to "ignore" that! I've long since argued or STRONGLY AFFIRMED that the word RIGOR is not what educational speakers and "leaders" think it is and that, for the most part, it really isn't something that should be describing our focus as we teach our students or present opportunities for them to learn and become "human". This quote shows another good reason for my thinking. I could go on about "rigor" but this is a good start. In my opinion there are many (maybe countless) better goals for learning in our classroom than the pursuit of rigor.
Excerpt from, "Teach like a Pirate" by Dave Burgess page 163-164 *** Later I learned that one of the final leadership meetings, an English teacher was criticized because students were drawing a picture of a Greek god as part of a project on mythology. The comment was, "Is that really an example of rigor in an English class?" Yeah, God forbid that we incorporate artistic elements and creativity into a class outside of the art department. Next thing you know, kids might start enjoying school and become well-rounded individuals. I know I'm going to get into trouble with som of you now, but let's be careful with this word, "Rigor." Here's how Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word:
**** This quote (as quoted on page 216 of "The Innovator's MIndset" by George Couros) was an "U-huh" moment for me as I seem to always be stuck in a loop of "Relentless Restlessness" - never feeling like I've arrived or am doing it "right" ... I feel I should have by now. This quote is both comforting while still not quelling this emotion.
*** As Pixar's Academy Award-winning director Brad Bird puts it, organizations that spread and sustain excellence are infused with a "relentless restlessness" - that often uncomfortable urge for constant innovation, driven by the nagging feeling that things are never quite good enough. The following excerpt mirrors many of my own thoughts. What do we want students to gain from being with us in schools? Do we really ask that? I think many teachers are concerned about "preparing the students for the next year" instead of preparing them for their life. Sure, schools say that they want to produce thoughtful, accomplished citizens but what do we value? I see most metrics value recall learning as much, or more, than 40 years ago when I was in public school.
I think this is why I struggle so much with assessment and report cards. I, via the mark requirement for report cards, am required to generate a comparative grade on some prescribed content or skill but I try to teach to show value to the process and the personalization of learning/knowledge. These two expectations may not be mutually exclusive but a connection is elusive (at least for me). The deification of the business model as it applies to school is also something I have noticed more and more in the past years. It impacts the programs and the way the "system" provides funding. We are asked to produce something quantifiable so subjects with the greatest affinity to right-wrong answers and measurable skills are honoured as they can be deemed as "profit". The "soft" skills, which are harder to platoon into age groups and more difficult to quantify, are often dropped - yet we KNOW that being in band, having our artistic skills explored and appreciated, being encouraged to think and philosophise makes us better prepared to enjoy (and be successful in) our adult life, and still we drop virtually all those activities and requirements so we are able to fill more of the school day with "marketable" skills (ie. those we can sell to the parents or the business world as success to, hopefully, generate just a little more funding or credential). It becomes up to the classroom teacher to attempt to circumnavigate the system to modify and tweak things so as to provide the "business of school" the data that makes them happy while still offering students something of long-term value - this "game" ends up being very stressful on teachers (many just revert, for their own sanity, to the simples numbers game) and it is very stressful to students as they are pulled from one independent activity to another, where so little seems to connect and skills and knowledge are presented in isolation. Systemically, schools/teachers/students are in a virtual no-win situation. I propose, and would love to experience, an education that was more holistic and connected - where topics and skills are presented in multi-disciplinary ways so that students are able to go deeper and not just "cover the requirements" in separate compartments. This is harder to manage but, in my opinion, provides a skill set for greater success in the "real world" This would also be a lot less stressful for the students and they would be able to celebrate their thinking, reasoning, and decision making while still being exposed to the best learning topics and experiences available. Sadly, I feel that this type of learning situation would require a different funding model and probably a different mindset - one that may not be shared by enough people in the "education business" to make it a reality on the larger scale ... but there are pockets of this and I look forward to seeing how these schools/classrooms and those students move on to re-define what learning and school should/could look like. ******* From "The Innivator's Mindset" by George Couros page 214 HOW WILL YOU MEASURE SUCCESS? We often try to, use business metrics to measure the success of the school. Rather than counting money like a company does, we often use test scores to measure success. Sure, there are other metrics that help businesses determine future success, such as customer satisfaction, but the bottom line for almost any business is money; profit is a critical measure. Although schools can learn from the business world, out success is not as quantifiable. In a conversation with Katie Martin, director of professional learning for the University of San Diego's Mobile Technology Learning Center, she talked with me about the struggle schools face when it comes to determining whether or not they are successful "Right now, we are at odds in many systems because we say we want kids to be critical thinkers, productive citizens, responsible decision makers... and we only measure 'success' by how they perform on tests and not celebrate how they have grown and developed in other desired skills and mindsets," she said. She's right. For years we've taken the most human profession in the world and simply tried to reduce it to letters and grades, and it doesn't work. Before we can decide if our schools are successful, we have to first define what success means, realizing our impact is measured long after a child leaves school. If you ask most adults about the school experience that made a positive impact on them, it might have been a powerful project, a cool assignment, or a significant, positive relationship they had with a teacher who they might have felt was their "champion." Not any test. I love the part that says, "You don't fatten a pig by weighing it."
Also, do we want deep thinking from our students or compliance? If we want deep thinking, this article suggests that giving extraordinary value to memorizing and reciting factual material (for correct/wrong answers) actually diminishes deep thinking but promotes compliance .. "Just tell the teacher what he/she wants then forget it." I call this "playing school" ... do we want our students to play school or develop deep learning strategies and experiences? I believe, right now, that we need to lower the value of "knowing" in tests and projects and increase the value of "wondering", "questioning", or even "producing" and "communicating" ... content should only be the medium in which learners learn about how to show learning, understanding, and creating. To put it this way, is it important that students know how the ancient egyptians built the pyramids or is it important that they are able to creatively explain and communicate their understanding of the research that they do on this topic? I think the latter ... I have yet, in my life had to tell anyone what I know about egyptian pyramids but I have had to present my understanding of research countless times - and often in a creative and personal way - maybe with passion and individual connections. I would suggest that we focus on the communication of knowledge and less effort on the "knowing" part of knowledge. This is an interesting read. I am sure I will post other large blocks of quotations and my thoughts on how that connects with what I already know or believe or how I might be adapting my beliefs moving forward. Thanks to my colleague, Doug Williams, for inspiring much of my thinking and providing a great sounding board for my "rants". Doug will be (and is) the small seed that begins and sustains great things for his school and his students and all those connected. *** (From the Innovators's Mindset by George Couros. Page 206) The word innovation is becoming more prevalent in school and district mission and vision statements. Our job as leaders is to make sure that innovation isn't simply a word but a mindset that intentionally and consistently shapes our daily practice our actions, as I mentioned earlier, must align with our mission and vision statements. If we are still focused on solely doing well on standardized exams, then preparing students to be successful in the world today, and in their future, isn't really our chief concern. This is not to say that tests are irrelevant, but a testing culture is, As the old saying goes, you do not fatten a pig by weighing it. If we want our students to be designers, thinkers, creators, and leaders, we must first realize that having them regurgitate information on a piece of paper or on a computer will achieve nothing more than compliance. I'm not saying that everything we did in school before--as teachers or students -- was-irrelevant. What I am saying is that we the information, resources, and network to to create something much better. From the Innovators's Mindset by George Couros. Page 206 I've been reading a bit this summer about building capacity in learners while we launch a Chromebook 1:1 program. I have read about, and experienced, the power of technology to create a more personal learning environment for students. This summer, I have also read about the importance of relationships (students with teachers; students with other students; and, possible, students with other learners). I have also been reading about the power of personal passions and how computers can provide opportunities for learners. I have read about the need for students (all learners) to communicate their knowledge, passions, questions, and failures in a safe and supportive way.
So now, I am hoping to put together a program where each of these is part of the fabric. How will I do this? I'll start by recognizing each value and then jump in ....thoughts? Well, today was a first for me. Today I received my first actual comment (from an adult) to a blog I posted. Thank you. It was thoughtful and helpful AND it has inspired me to both post this as well as begin to think about my next post. Who know, someone might read it too :-) PS. Thanks to my twitter friend for sharing my blog link (and commenting on twitter). Interesting to note the connection between twitter followers and encouragement to think and write. Hmmmm? This is Connected Educator month #ce14 - I struggle with blogging or journaling of any kind. I am not sure why. Possibly because I don't value my own thoughts and beliefs or I don't think others will. It might be that, while I value my thoughts, I struggle with sharing something that is not eloquent or thoroughly thought out and written with skill. Maybe it is because I don't want to share - I am typically a private person - always willing to listen and/or help someone else but usually keeping my thoughts and struggles to myself (for fear of looking weak or sounding like a whiner looking for pity). The cynical and rational person that I find myself to be convinces me that there are so many other blogs or twitter posts worth reading so why share mine to "add to the noise". Then I read some of these "experts" among the twitter folk that I follow and the blogs and articles that I read and I think that I am experiencing much the same or have thoughts or experiences that might just help or inspire someone too. Then the doubt of value returns and I choose to be a reader if others' thoughts but seldom a sharer of my own. So how to overcome this struggle? I'm not sure. I read many awesome twitter posts and connected articles. I retweet many and sometime add my own thoughts - in a few characters. I try to add relavent hashtags, hoping to find someone who might value from the insights. I might even try to blog :-) - whatever that will mean or look like. I might add thoughts or reflections from my class or from the books and articles I'm reading or share excerpts from the book I've been trying to write (I get so many requests to write a book about my thoughts and beliefs about how to inspire kids by parents and others) but it's been a bit hard to get past the prologue. I guess I'll start by sharing this blog post on twitter and see if anyone reads it. |
CategoriesJames KlassenI am a teacher. I have held various teaching positions, mostly in Abbotsford, BC, Canada, since 1987. I believe that teachers have the opportunity to inspire deep and meaningful learning and that all learners create their knowledge in ways that are connected to their interests and within their social context. I have observed many waves of educational "reform" come and go and remain hopeful that schools will be transformed into places where all learners desire to be creators and consumers of knowledge and that, together, each member of this community will become prepared to face their world in both skills and attitudes. |