What Learners Really Need

A great deal has changed since I began writing this blog back in 2009. For starters, my primary device to connect on Twitter was a Blackberry.  I didn’t even have a Facebook page until a year later.  Additionally, my views on education regarding teaching, learning, and leadership were beginning to evolve in ways that would eventually help my school experience innovative success while also pushing my professional practice into a whole new dimension.  As my thinking shifted so did my views as to how education had to change to better prepare learners to survive and thrive in a disruptive world.  The same old thinking typically leads to the same old results, which does not benefit anyone.

When it comes to education, I now view it through two distinct lenses. On the one hand, there is my professional lens as I work with schools, districts, and organizations from all over the world. By looking at the rapid pace of change due in large part to advances in technology, past and present research on what actually works, and evidence of the impact that purposeful innovation can have on learning outcomes, has given me valuable insight on what learners genuinely need.  Then there is my parent lens. It is here where I try my best to look at the world through the eyes of my two children who are both in middle school. It is impossible to predict what type of career path they will pursue at this point, which is why it is essential that their education helps them to develop critical competencies needed for success in an unknown world. 

As I reflect more and more on this, I am always drawn to an image created by MMI independent educational consultancy. The premise of the image aligns with work that I help facilitate in that there has to be a focus on sound pedagogy while creating a culture that truly prepares learners with the qualities they need now and well into the future.  We call this Quad D learning based on the Rigor Relevance Framework. It is here where learners have the competence to think in complex ways and to readily apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired. Even when confronted with perplexing unknowns, learners can use extensive knowledge and expertise to create solutions and take action that further develops their skills and knowledge. What I really like about the MMI image is not only how it aligns to Quad D learning, but also how it lists the qualities, outcomes, and dispositions that present and future learners really need.

Image credit and more info

I have taken the liberty of writing out each of the descriptions on the outermost part of the image.  The innermost circle represents knowledge taxonomy, the second key verbs, and the third sample activities that can be linked to each. As MMI explains, the categories on the periphery are added as an independent external wheel which can be applied to any section of the taxonomy.

Creative thinkers think creatively by generating and exploring ideas making original connections. They try different ways to tackle a problem, working with others to find imaginative solutions and outcomes that are of value. 

Reflective learners evaluate their strengths and limitations, setting themselves realistic goals with criteria for success. They monitor their performance and progress, inviting feedback from others and making changes to further their learning. 

Team workers work confidently with others, adapting to different contexts and taking responsibility for their own part. The listen to and take account of different views. They form collaborative relationships, resolving issues to reach agreed outcomes. 

Self-managers organize themselves, showing personal responsibility, initiative, creativity, and enterprise with a commitment to learning and self-improvement. They actively embrace change, responding positively to new priorities, coping with challenges and looking for opportunities. 

Effective participators actively engage with issues that affect them and those around them. They play a full part in the life of their school, college, workplace, or wider community by taking responsible action to bring improvements for others as well as themselves. 

Independent enquirers process and evaluate information in their investigations, planning what to do and how to go about it. They take informed and well-reasoned decisions, recognizing that others have different beliefs and attitudes.

As someone who has transitioned from the public to the private sector, I can tell you without hesitation that the qualities and outcomes listed above are critical to my current role. A strong case can also be made that our learners would benefit greatly if these were emphasized across the curriculum.  Standardized tests, standards, and curriculum do not hold anyone back from focusing on what kids really need. If it is important, then a way will be found. If not, then an excuse will be made. Our learners are relying on us to provide them with an education that will withstand the test of time.

Think about where you are with each of these, but more importantly where you want to be. How does learning in your classroom, school, or district help learners become creative thinkers, reflective learners, team workers, self-managers, effective participators, independent enquirers? Where is there an opportunity for growth?

It is also important to remember how these qualities and outcomes are just vital to you as well.  As you reflect think about where you can grow in these areas to benefit professionally and personally.

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Cognitive Flexibility: Paving the Way For Learner Success

A few years back the World Economic Forum came out with an article titled The 10 skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The opening two paragraphs sum up the point of the piece nicely:

By 2020, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have brought us advanced robotics and autonomous transport, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced materials, biotechnology, and genomics. 

These developments will transform the way we live, and the way we work. Some jobs will disappear, others will grow and jobs that don’t even exist today will become commonplace. What is certain is that the future workforce will need to align its skillset to keep pace.

The image above shows the skills that will be most in demand in 2020 and probably well beyond. After reading this article I was extremely interested in how schools and educators provide opportunities for learners to not only acquire these skills but also illustrate competence in how they are applied. Some of the skills and how leaners can demonstrate competency are self-explanatory.  Others are not.  This led me to focus on one skill in particular that crept onto the list at number 10 – cognitive flexibility.  What does this skill entail?  Below is a good definition from the University of Miami:

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to shift our thoughts and adapt our behavior to the changing environment. In other words, it’s one’s ability to disengage from a previous task and respond effectively to a new one. It’s a faculty that most of us take for granted, yet an essential skill to navigate life. 

Spiro & Jehn (1990, P. 65) provide another look at the skill:

By cognitive flexibility, we mean the ability to spontaneously restructure one’s knowledge, in many ways, in adaptive response to radically changing situational demands.

Both definitions seamlessly align with Quad D learning based on the Rigor Relevance Framework as described below:

Students have the competence to think in complex ways and to apply their knowledge and skills they have acquired. Even when confronted with perplexing unknowns, students are able to use extensive knowledge and skill to create solutions and take action that further develops their skills and knowledge.

In my mind, cognitive flexibility might be the most important skill on the list as it incorporates so many of the others in some form or another.  Below are a few ideas and strategies on how to help learners develop this important skill:

1. Design learning activities the support divergent thinking where learners demonstrate understanding in creative and non-conventional ways.
2. Empower students to identify a solution and then come up with a workable solution in a makerspace.
3. Allow students to explore a topic of interest in OpenCourseware and then demonstrate what they have learned in non-traditional ways (see IOCS).
4. Implement personalized learning opportunities where students think critically, openly explore, and then do using their own intuitive ideas to learn in powerful ways.
5. Engage students in a real-world application in unanticipated situations where they use their knowledge to tackle problems that have more than one solution. 
6. Provide pathways for students to transfer learning to a new context. 

How we prepare our learners for the new world of work has to be a uniform focus for all schools.  The key to future-proofing education and learning is to get kids to think by engaging them in tasks that develop cognitive flexibility.  

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Competencies vs. Skills

The 21st Century skills discussion and debate has waged on even prior to the onset of this century.  The ensuing conversations have provided an opportunity for schools, districts, and organizations to critically evaluate what students need to know and be able to do in order to succeed in the new world of work.  As we have moved further into this century the number 21 has less of a meaning, but the skills are still important.  Thus, many educators, including myself, now refer to these as essential skills.  Over time they have evolved beyond just communication, collaboration, creativity, and global awareness to include entrepreneurship and emerging technological proficiency.

The other day I was speaking with Rose Else-Mitchell, a wickedly smart educational leader, who pushed my thinking on the whole skills conversation. As I was reviewing a talking point for a webinar that I was to facilitate later in the day, I brought up this image and discussed the skills that students needed to be critical thinkers in the 21st Century and beyond. After looking at what I had on the slide and listening to my analysis, she commented that I was (or should be) referencing and explaining competencies, not just skills, which students will need. This really got me thinking. 

As I reflected on her feedback I began to dive deeper into what the difference is between competencies and skills as well as their implications on learning.  Below is an image that until my conversation with Rose I would have just viewed as another catchy way to visualize digital skills that students (and adults) need. However, I am now more focused on how we can begin to address these as competencies to really prepare students for success in a disruptive world.

Image credit: www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/8-digital-skills-we-must-teach-our-children/

While skills are an important part of learning and career paths, they’re not rich or nuanced enough to guide students towards true mastery and success. Skills focus on the “what” in terms of the abilities a student needs to perform a specific task or activity. They don’t provide enough connection to the how. Competencies take this to the next level by translating skills into behaviors that demonstrate what has been learned and mastered in a competent fashion. In short, skills identify what the goal is to accomplish. 

Competencies outline "how" the goals and objectives will be accomplished. They are more detailed and define the requirements for success in broader, more inclusive terms than skills do. There is also an increased level of depth that takes into account skills, knowledge and abilities. To succeed in the new world of work, students will need to demonstrate the right mix of skills, knowledge, and on-the-job ability. A skill is a practical or cognitive demonstration of what a student can do. Competency is the proven use of skills, knowledge, and abilities to illustrate mastery of learning by solving problems. 

In order to really see the difference between a skill and competency I came across this great communication example provided by HRTMS. 

A person can become a good presenter through practice, learning from others, and education but in order to be a strong communicator one must rely on a combination of skills PLUS behavior and knowledge.  A person can learn how to be a good presenter but only a strong communicator has advanced language skills, the knowledge of diverse cultures, and behaves patiently when communicating.   In short, skills are specific learned activities like mopping the floor, using a computer, and stocking merchandise, while competencies are skills + knowledge  + behavior like problem solving, communication, or professionalism.

Competencies, therefore, may incorporate a skill, but are much more than the skill.  They include a dynamic combination of abilities, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as knowledge that is fundamental to the use of a skill aligned to a learning outcome. The Rigor/ Relevance Framework helps us move from a focus on skills to competency-based learning. The acquisition and application of diverse skills is foundational, but moving to Quad D requires the use of skills, knowledge, and abilities to illustrate cognitive growth and authenticity through solving real-world problems that are unpredictable in nature. 

Success in a digital world will rely on much more than skills.  It's time to shift our focus an energy on developing and assessing core and innovative competencies that will serve all students now and in the future. 

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