Recognizing that success in the labor market demands both core academic competencies and job-related skills, it is crucial to adopt an integrated approach. This requires a learning ecosystem where academic and durable skills are not treated as separate components, but rather as interconnected requirements of a student's education journey.
By integrating durable skills into core academics (and vice versa), schools can better prepare students for the realities of life after school. This is far more likely to happen if there is deep collaboration between the education and business sectors in the design of such an ecosystem.
State education agencies across the nation and local school districts are also in the process of implementing a variety of innovative practices and strategies aimed at providing students with deeper learning experiences that are personalized and competency based, with the intention of students acquiring skills, not just a diploma. Furthermore, many education and business experts, including the Carnegie Foundationi, are calling for the need to change the currency of learning from “seat time” to “skills”ii.
Integrating durable skills in core academics should be embedded in teaching and learning practices; not an add-on. While this is easier said than done, policy-to-practice research provides insights on integrating durable skills seamlessly into school curricula and activities. Research from an Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) initiative, the Employability Skills Innovation and Implementation (ESII) Grant, in partnership with America Succeeds and Learner Center Collaborative, highlight key considerations for integrating durable skills into school curricula and programsiii.
- Allocate time and resources: Effective integration of durable skills demands substantial groundwork and continuous support.
- Standardize proficiency measurement: While the importance of assessing employability skills proficiency is recognized, there's a need for standardized assessment methods. Establishing clear evaluation guidelines is imperative.
- Offer assessment flexibility: Due to the scarcity of definitive outcome data, schools should be provided with a selection of assessment options, along with grade-level assessment requirements and data reporting protocols.
- Formalize employer involvement: Forge formal partnerships and procedures to involve employers from the outset of durable skills initiatives. This entails aligning educational objectives with workforce expectations and facilitating meaningful work-based learning experiences.
- Embrace instructional diversity: Acknowledge that a singular teaching method for durable skills is insufficient. Encourage educators to diversify lessons and experiences, extending learning beyond conventional classroom settings.
- Start early: Introduce durable skills concepts and skill-building opportunities at an early stage. Early exposure to career exploration and age-appropriate skill development lays a foundation for workforce success.
- Engage families: Involving families in durable skills initiatives ensures benefits extend beyond the classroom, supporting students both academically and personally.
- Broaden skill application: Durable skills transcend mere workforce readiness, proving valuable in various contexts such as scholarship interviews, college applications, and military enlistment.
- Career insight: Durable skills should enhance students’ understanding of desired work environments, informing their career decisions.
- Incremental progress: Taking gradual, deliberate steps proves more effective than attempting comprehensive durable skills education all at once.
- Establish clear objectives: Providing structured outlines for achieving skill development objectives enhances student engagement and comprehension of initiatives.
Source: America Succeedsiv
Integration Through Deeper Learning
Deeper learning experiences extend beyond memorization or mastering repetitive tasks; they demand the demonstration of higher-level skills. These may entail navigating through complex situations with multiple variables, devising creative solutions where clear answers are elusive, or effectively conveying ideas and influencing others through various means such as writing, speech, or visuals. While deeper learning certainly encompasses fundamental content knowledge like reading, writing, mathematics, science, or social studies, it also requires going beyond the basics and applying that knowledge to solve genuine problems or innovate. Deeper learning encompasses the skills and knowledge necessary for success in today’s careers and community participation. At its core, it involves a set of competencies students need to grasp to gain a profound understanding of academic subjects and to utilize their knowledge to tackle challenges both in educational settings and professional environments. Deeper learning can take many forms, including project-based learning and student-led enterprises.
Deeper learning is often comprised of six vital competencies aimed at equipping students to excel:
- Mastery of core academic content
- Critical thinking and complex problem-solving
- Collaborative teamwork
- Proficient communication
- Acquisition of learning strategies
- Cultivation of academic mindsets
Source: Hewlett Foundationv
Integration Through Personalized, Competency-Based Learning
In a personalized, competency-based learning environment:
- Students make important daily decisions about their learning experiences, how they will create and apply knowledge and how they will demonstrate their learning.
- Assessment is a meaningful, positive and empowering learning experience for students that yields timely, relevant and actionable evidence.
- Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs.
- Students' progress based on evidence of mastery or competency, not seat time.
- Students learn actively using different pathways and varied pacing.
- Strategies to ensure equity are embedded in the culture, structure and pedagogy of schools and education systems.
- Rigorous, common expectations for learning are explicit, transparent, measurable, and transferable.
Source: Aurora Institutevi
Programs and Practices Within This Strategy
- Establish durable skills learning benchmarks
- Integrate Deeper Learning and core academics
- Support professional learning for teachers
- Structured education and career mentoring and navigation
- Teacher externships
- Effective implementation of Individual Learning Plans
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