In schools, administration buildings, and legislative chambers all across the country, debates over curricular necessities rage on daily. Discussions and even arguments take place over things like active & teaming vs lecture, or what content will be taught and when. All of this is driven largely from a desire to prepare students and provide the best education. It is no secret that an educated population improves the economy for everyone and reduces crime. The debates center on content and delivery. Unfortunately, a key component is always missing. The discussions never include so called "soft" skills. Skills such at teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. Other soft skills include empathy and resilience. The harsh reality is that if we do not actively address these skills in our classrooms, then students are not prepared to join the work force. Technical or "hard" skills are important for future success as well, but without the soft skills to go with them, then we are sorely limited. If you want support for this position, read through the next three paragraphs. If you are on board and want to see ways to bring these soft skills into the classroom, then skip past this next part. Supporting research: A recent Washington Post article supports this position. In her Dec 20, 2017 article, Valerie Strauss looks at the importance of "soft" skills in Google, a highly technical firm. The article discusses Google's research showing that the best teams "exhibit a range of soft skills: equality, generosity, curiosity toward the ideas of teammates, empathy, and emotional intelligence." Computer software and hardware skills are not on the list. Later in the article, she references research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. In that research, they rank "communication skills in the top three most-sought after qualities by job recruiters." Technical skill is important, but it doesn't live in a vacuum. People skills are critical. This article is hardly an outlier. In October 14, 2016, The World Economic Forum published an article by Stephanie Thomson that discusses the trend that "a child today can expect to change jobs at least seven times over the course of their lives - and five of those jobs don't exist yet." This is hardly apocryphal. I've working in three different industries in my life since college: financial planning, restaurant management, and education. I have no doubt that I would be confused with a millennial, but I digress. Technology is changing the landscape of employment world. Anything that can be reduced to an algorithm has been, or will be shortly, replaced by a computer. Just like the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, the nature of work is changing. Human skills are more important than ever. This article goes to great lengths explaining the need for educators to do much more than teach facts and hard skills. Schools must be teaching soft skills in every course if we are to prepare students for a future that hasn't been invented yet. In between these two articles is one from Caroline Beaton published in Forbes on January 6, 2017. At the very start, she writes, "Employers value technical skills, to be sure. But I asked more than 100 top HR managers, recruiters, and CEOs which was more important for entry-level job seekers, and nearly all of the said soft-skills." Notice, they didn't talk about the skills for advancement, or upper management. They said entry-level. In other words, without soft skills, you aren't getting a job. The article goes on to discuss four essential skills beyond communication and collaboration: Attention; Experience other than college classes; Agility; and Humility. All six are not necessarily core components of most k-12 curriculum. On top of that, you won't find them on a state test or the SAT. Bringing it into the classroom: Currently, I teach pre-college engineering and app development. Both are in our Career and Technical Education (CTE) department. Prior to that, I taught both math and science. I'm certified in all three. And to round out the fun, I have an economics degree. I like to learn and then apply what I have learned. This is not to brag, but to give context. I am sharing my experiences with you, not theory. Most recently, my classes completed a 3D printing design project. They worked with other teachers in the district to design 3D printed solutions for problems faced by the "client" teacher. For example, one of our teachers had problems with sharing/recording what was seen in a microscope. There is a solution that can be purchased, but at $350 each, that makes a class set unaffordable. Another teacher needed a more age-appropriate protractor. Current protractors are distracting and confusing for first time users. It's a lot like learning to drive by going on the freeway for your first lesson. The student teams met with the teachers and worked with them through the entire project. I didn't come along for meetings. I didn't set up appointments. I evaluated their work afterward. For example, I gave them feedback on email communication after they sent it. This was very intentional. In our current educational environment, students have to get it completely right before turning it in because we only give them one shot. There is no room for mistakes and growth. Because of this, they are paralyzed by the simplest things, like sending an email. I've seen them fret and delay for weeks out of fear. Regardless of how good they are, students are taught to not trust their own judgement. I force them to write the email and the pull the trigger of sending it. Only after will we review it. There will be other emails to be sent. I want them to take risks and internalize that learning from those risks is how to grow. At the end of the project, the teams gave presentations to a panel of engineers from the community. This was not your typical presentation. They didn't talk about how good their solution was or how they made it or any other technical aspects. Each team had 8 minutes to present with an additional 6 minutes for Q&A. Their presentation was required to cover three aspects: 1) The design process used: How they got from problem to solution. How each iteration inform the next 2) A reflection on their teamwork, and 3) A reflection on their time management. It was very eye-opening for my students. The engineers asked many of the same questions I did. This time, they listened. The students had to defend their choices in behavior. They had to take a hard look at how they interacted with each other. This was a review of soft skills, not how good they are with a 3D printer. To be fair, this is a CTE class. At the same time, group/team projects are found in every class. Most of the time, the only presentations are about the product produced. No time is given to the process of getting there. Something else about this 3D printing project. I don't teach 3D printing. My students do. Students mentor and sign off on other students. We created a multi-touch book (iBook) that guides students through learning and mentoring on the 3D printers. All training and maintenance is done by our students. I want our students to be the experts. It doesn't help anyone if I know more than the students about 3D printing. If I have to teach everyone and do the maintenance there is a major bottleneck. On top of that, if I were to run our printers like so many other schools do, things would be worse. Most teachers/schools don't trust their students. This is even true at the college level. Students create a design and then turn it in to a lab manager or other authority. Then it gets printed and returned. This creates yet another bottle neck. I've turned that all on its head. Our students have become 3D printing experts. Recently, one of my juniors was on a college tour. He was in the engineering labs while a senior engineering student was having problems with the 3D printer. My 16 year old student fixed what a soon to be graduate engineering student couldn't. This philosophy can be applied to any class and grade level. Two adages are important to remember: "The one who edits is the one who learns" and "We learn something best when we teach it" Why don't we have AP Biology students teaching photosynthesis to 9th grade biology students.? Why not have pre-calculus or trig students teach angles in geometry? Why do we not have English III students review 7th grade essays? Why not have first grade students mentor incoming kindergarteners on the rules of the school? Have upper-class students teach and review lab safety. None of these have to take forever. A student here, a student there. Over the course of the year, everyone has their opportunity to mentor and teach. In the process, the students have taken ownership of the learning and built a culture of personal accountability. Soft skills are necessary for life in the 21st century. Teachers and schools that say they don't have time to teach these critical skills are failing their children and their community. Without skills like problem solving, communication, and teamwork, children face a bleak future that will result in hardships for themselves and the entire community. Studies over and over have shown that when students are building soft skills in class, it doesn't come at the expense of technical knowledge. In fact, students gain even more technical skill than they would have otherwise. Soft skills also teach resilience, a growth mindset, and an intrinsic desire to learn. They should be the cornerstone of every class in school. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/12/20/the-surprising-thing-google-learned-about-its-employees-and-what-it-means-for-todays-students/?utm_term=.98754ca4b809
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/the-most-important-skills-of-tomorrow-according-to-five-global-leaders/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinebeaton/2017/01/06/top-employers-say-millennials-need-these-4-skills-in-2017/#695694f77fe4
1 Comment
Alisson Williams
2/22/2018 04:04:57 am
You should not underestimate the importance of soft skills. But you also should not forget about the traditional things, such as essays. Strong <a href="http://aessay.com/college-essay-writing/">essay</a> shows a lot about the student.
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About me & this blogThis blog is for things related to my class, PL, coaching, or just teaching in general. You can follow me on Twitter @myakSTEM Archives
June 2021
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