The 28 Features of A Leading Learner

July 22, 2014
Here is an interesting visual I recently stumbled upon on Teachthought. This visual features the 4 characteristics of a learning leader as surmised by Heutagogy of Community Practice. While these characteristics are meant to decry a professional learner, they are also the same ethos that underly the concept of life-long learning in general. Things like  project management skills, ability to research and learn, ability to self-regulate,optimism, and empathy are all elemental components of the psychological and intellectual makeup of a lifelong learner.

Here is the full list of leading learner characteristics.

1. Ability to deal with ambiguity

• Low need for control
• Openness to Experience (one of the Big 5 personality traits)
• Moderate perfectionism
• High Stability (low anxiety)
• Project management skills
• Ability to use social media
• Optimism

2. The capacity to foster engagement

• An understanding of how to motivate others
• Ability to foster a shared purpose and vision
• An understanding of human needs
• Interpersonal effectiveness
• Ability to self-regulate
• Empathy

3. The capacity to learn

• Ability to research and learn
• Being thoroughly on top of one’s subject area
• Wide and accessible networks
• Able to share with others
• Knowledge management skills
• The ability to foster collaborative learning

4. The ability to use open systems thinking

• The capacity to scan the external environment
• Able to foster participative democracy/collaboration decision-making and process
• Able to actively diffuse power
• Capacity to work in a team
• Ongoing internal and external analysis of effectiveness (continuous improvement)

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A Comprehensive Checklist of The 21st Century Learning and Work Skills

July 16, 2014
While searching for some resources on a paper and writing on  the 21st century learning skills I came across this skills checklist created by the university of UToledo. This checklist is meant to help students build powerful resumes outlining all the skills they master. I spent some time going through the components of this sheet and found it really sharing with you here.  You can use this sheet with your students as an explanatory guide of some of the important skills ( I said some because some other important skills particularly those related to digital citizenship and digital literacy are missing) they need to work.

Below is a round-up of the 9 most important skills which I selected from the entire list. You can access this list from this link.

1- Research skills

• Know how to find and collect relevant background information
• Be able to analyze data, summarize findings and write a report

2- Critical Thinking skills

• Be able to review different points of view or ideas and make objective judgments
• Investigate all the possible solutions to a problem, weighing the pros and cons

3- Organizational skills

• Be able to organize information, people or thins in a systematic way
• Be able to establish priorities and meet deadlines

4- Problem-solving skills

• Be able to clarify the nature of a problem
• Be able to evaluate alternatives, propose viable solutions and determine the outcome of the various options

5- Creative thinking skills

• Be able to generate new ideas, invent new things, create new images or designs
• Find new solutions to problems
• Be able to use wit and humour effectively

6- Analytical/ logical thinking skills

• Be able to draw specific conclusions from a set of general observations of from a set of specific facts
• Be able to synthesize information and ideas

7- Public speaking skills

• Be able to make formal presentations
• Present ideas, positions and problems in an interesting way

8- Oral communication skills

• Be able to present information and ideas clearly and concisely with content and style appropriate for the audience
• Be able to present opinions and ideas in an open, objective way.

9- Adaptability skills

• Develop the capacity to adapt to new situations and settings
• Be able to tolerate change well
• Have flexibility to adapt to the needs of the moment

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The 8 Must Have Skills for The 21st Century Students

June 23, 2014
Here is a wonderful little visual I came across through Edudemic which outlines the 8 skills students need in order to live up to the expectations of the future job market. These skills which are highlighted in the recent report "The Learning Curve"  by Pearson are a big departure from the conventional literacy skills : Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.That being said, the report also underscored the fact that for kids (in developing countries) to get a grasp of the 21st century skills, they need to first master the basic literacy skills.

Developing countries must teach basic skills more effectively before they start to consider the wider skills agenda. There is little point in investing in pedagogies and technologies to foster 21st century skills, when the basics of numeracy and literacy aren't in place.

Here is the 8 needed skills for the future:

• Leadership
• Digital Literacy
• Communication
• Emotional Intelligence
• Entrepreneurship
• Global Citizenship
• Problem Solving
• Team-Working

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The 9 Skills Students Must Master to Succeed

April 17, 2014
Of all the things I have read about the 21st century skills required for students success in today's info rich society, the visual below from edutopia captures the essence of these skills and touches on critical areas students need to work on to meet these skills.These skills are grouped in three main categories: learning,  creating and  collaborating:

Learn

• Access, evaluate and use different forms of information
• Exercise critical thinking
• Exhibit fluency with tech tools

Create

• Use various forms of media when presenting ideas
• Display originality
• Employ problem solving skills

Collaborate

• Demonstrate cross-cultural awareness
• Communicate complex ideas effectively
• Work successfully as a team

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