Personal Skill Development in Grades 6-12 Enhancing Learning for 21st Century Success
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The workplace has evolved into a high-tech and high-performance environment in which employees are expected to be independent thinkers and problem solvers. To keep up with the changes in the nature of work, secondary schools must integrate personal skill development into the existing curriculum in all classrooms.
Educators need not panic when considering this change. With a few adjustments, these behavioral, or “soft,” skills can be incorporated into teachers’ lesson plans and methods. |  |
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Personal Skill Development in Grades 6-12 — Enhancing Learning for 21st Century Success is a teacher training kit that identifies ways to integrate personal skills into the overall school curriculum. The activities, strategies, processes, and lessons described in this resource kit will help schools develop a “culture of success” for every student — not only in school, but also in the world outside the classroom.
Chapter 1: Personal Skills for a Changing World provides background information, definitions, and the necessity of incorporating personal skills into the education system. What do schools look like when personal skill development programs are incorporated into lesson planning? What changes need to be made in the daily routine to allow students to practice and hone their personal skills?
Chapter 2: Character Education and Lifelong Skills describes character education initiatives, which are finding such success that a wide assortment of different applications and lessons are available, and many are discussed on the Internet. Character education is the foundation for the development of good citizenship and commitment to behavior that is respectful of others. Chapter 3: Soft Skills for Success at School and Work details the “soft skills,” or the personal attributes that define one’s approach toward work, problem solving, and leadership. Several forms of literacy encompass these soft skills: personal, social, business, and cultural. Soft skills include carefulness, taking initiative, cooperation, creativity, goodwill, optimism, and sociability. Those successful in the 21st century workplace are skilled at working in teams, are creative thinkers, and easily adapt to the changing work environment. They are good listeners, critical thinkers, collaborators, and self-motivated. Chapter 3 offers a number of strategies to incorporate soft skills into the core curriculum. Chapter 4: Communicating in Groups discusses the importance of communicating in groups and offers strategies for team-based instruction. Teamwork in today’s world includes communicating with people from a variety of cultures, experiences, and backgrounds. Students need an awareness of traditions and customs different from their own, as the ever-changing nature of society brings together people from many different backgrounds. Chapter 5: Communicating with Supervisors and Customers focuses on practical applications throughout core content areas for communicating with supervisors, customers, and clients. Employers expect entry-level workers to have skills in listening and speaking, as the bottom line depends on positive interaction with customers. The same active listening, body language, and problem-solving techniques apply when working together in groups and communicating with supervisors and other workplace leadership. Chapter 6: Self-Management Skills is about self-management. Self-managing people are those with a vision who know how to plan their time, tackle the hurdles, and move toward completing a task. The key to self-management is motivation. While individuals may be well educated and have years of experience, if they are not motivated to work, they will not be an asset in the workplace. Chapter 7: Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills involves critical thinking skills that students must develop if they are to succeed academically and in their personal lives. Problem solving fundamentally is tied to decision making, for individuals must be skilled in making well-informed decisions to reach a solution. An important role for schools is helping students learn the skills needed to make insightful, perceptive, and educated decisions in solving problems. Chapter 8: Leadership Skills is about how students can obtain the necessary leadership skills, which hold a central place in the growth of young people as they mature and take their places in communities as citizens, parents, and neighbors. A significant portion of the chapter is devoted to promoting leadership skills through service learning. Projects in service learning provide hands-on experiences that teach students to practice respect, responsibility, compassion, taking initiative, and trustworthiness through meaningful community service. Chapter 9: Civic and Financial Literacy Skills focuses on civic and financial forms of literacy as part of personal skill development. Preparing students to become participants in a civil society is an important responsibility for both families and schools. Lessons focusing on citizenship and community help students learn the role of informed and engaged citizens. The kit also has four appendices. Appendix A has short descriptions of school programs related to personal skill development. Appendix B has the various surveys, worksheets, etc. from the chapters in a form suitable for photocopying. All of these items are also on the accompanying CD. Appendix C has information and examples of some national financial literacy classroom materials that are available at no charge. Finally, Appendix D contains the references used in the preparation of the kit. Includes a DVD and a CD Excerpt Order Form Online Store |
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