CHAPTER 13: Practices that build “soft skills” without including them in the grade
Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might this mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They share academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
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Due. April 22, 2022
1. Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might this mean that a part of teaching soft skills is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteI believe that some soft skills have more impact on others in a student’s academic performance
and it varies for each student. One student may need to put more effort into their time
management skills while another student might need to focus more on their self-reflection skills.
The subject area, career, time, context, and so many other factors also play in an important role
in the impact of each soft skill. I agree that we need to explicitly teach students how to assess a
Context. In my class, the soft skills that we agreed to focus on are collaboration, communication,
creativity, critical thinking, and curiosity. I know that I need to address teaching these specific soft skills a lot more than I currently am. One way I can scaffold the collaboration skills is implementing a system where students are assigned roles when rehearsing as a group. These roles might include conductor who keeps everyone in rhythm, teacher who provides specific and relevant advice, and timekeeper to ensure that each group member has time to assume each role.
2. How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
The connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance is very complex and
diverse depending on the student, subject, and skill to be performed. I also learned that there is
bias and difficulty in collecting evidence in assessing soft skills such as curiosity and
communication. I had often contemplated the benefit of grading soft skills as equal to content
areas but after reading this chapter, I am convinced that we should focus on using intrinsic
motivation instead. I will implement a tracker similar to the “Windsor Locks Middle School Habits
of Scholarship Rubric.” I particularly liked the “Time Maximization” criteria because many of my
students have difficulty prioritizing their time during our 80-90 minute class periods. I can see
having students self-assess be an effective way to improve their ability to start working without
reminders and stay on task throughout the period with adequate breaks.
3. Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They share academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
I will have my students present virtual performances where they will have a Question-Answer
portion where they interact with audience members in breakout rooms. After all of the video
recordings are shared, each individual or group will be able to share their experiences with their
family, friends, teachers, and community members and also answer any questions about
their learning journey. It is an effective way to reflect on their successful learning strategies to
continue when learning their next piece or determine possible solutions to struggles that they
faced.
Hi Zachary! I noticed that you referenced the "time maximization" criteria as a way to support students using their time efficiently. I agree that this area of time management is a big area of concern when students are given the control of their learning. My son is in 3rd grade and he is given "independent work" that has to done by the end of the week. Students are given time throughout the week to complete goals but are not told which goals to work on at any specific time. I love that their teacher is giving them the responsibility to complete the work and not telling them specifically what to work on. I see some students using their time wisely and some not. The. teacher sends home their goal sheet every Monday and if any work is not complete, then it is highlighted and expected to be completed as soon as possible. I wonder if using a "time maximizer" criteria with the class would support the students that are not using their time wisely and help them to understand how to stay on track.
DeleteHi Zach! I noticed you mentioned doing a virtual performance Q & A to help students reflect on their work, identify goals, and plan for improvement. I think its great that there will be live interaction with the audience! I wonder if maybe they also could explain a part they struggled with and how they overcame it before performing it? It would help them to reflect on their own progress and perseverance, communicate it, and then it helps connect with the audience because they have a deeper understanding of their learning journey and can listen in to hear those bars in particular, and then celebrate with the student afterwards!
DeleteSorry for the double post...forgot my name.
DeleteHi Zach! I noticed you mentioned doing a virtual performance Q & A to help students reflect on their work, identify goals, and plan for improvement. I think its great that there will be live interaction with the audience! I wonder if maybe they also could explain a part they struggled with and how they overcame it before performing it? It would help them to reflect on their own progress and perseverance, communicate it, and then it helps connect with the audience because they have a deeper understanding of their learning journey and can listen in to hear those bars in particular, and then celebrate with the student afterwards!
Hi Zachary, I noticed that you mention time management as a soft skill. I totally agree that this is a skill all students should become proficient. When thinking of a child's future, time management is key in all aspects of life.
DeleteI wonder if students understand that management skills of any kind will determine their success in the long run. They could possibly manage a crew of workers, medication management for their kupuna, feeding schedule for their children some day and not to forget completing college essays on time.
I also believe that as important as management is, so is communication. It was at my former middle school where I last participated in student-parent conferences where all I did was facilitate. Each child had the chance to explain their work (completed or otherwise), their grades and their academic performance in the classroom. Students would look to teachers to support this important conversation among the stakeholders in their lives. Imagine how powerful that would be should my high school encourage the same open communication between the school and each home.
Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might thi mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteI believe that each soft skill is unique and when combined make an impact on student performance. There is no one special soft skill more important than another. Yes, it does depend on the context, but overall, a student I really believe needs to have organization. This does include: time management, bringing supplies to class, meeting deadlines. Everything in my art class revolves around turning in a product, so having an item turned in is key. I think what it means is for your subject area, there are specific soft skills you want your students to learn. In art, they have to learn to work in a collaborative environment where supplies are shared, so social skills are important too. Overall, to teach students, it really is important that each Unit, you focus on 1 or 2 skills you want to emphasize. When I did Zen drawings with my class, I really tried to focus less on time management, but more on self control, managing emotions, and affective skills. On another project, it would be different because of the Unit’s main concept.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
Academic performance and soft skills are connected for student success. Again, in my art class, another soft skill revolves around social skills, and working collaboratively with others. Students have to share roller, ink slabs with various colors, and physical space. Navigating this shared art studio environment is tricky. When it cannot be done, things break down, and the art process becomes stalled. Again, for another class, it would be different. Because my class involves a lot of walking around and rolling ink and going back to your desk, and printing on paper, the soft skills are different when compared possibly to an English class where everyone is sitting and doing work on a computer screen. I think having students track or atleast reflect about what they did that day is helpful. Did they use their time well? Did they respectfully share materials? Having a tracker could help some students while others might not care regardless.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
I think in Art, having an art exhibition would be great. If kids would just stand in front of their work, and maybe even have an audience ask them questions about the art process. Not necessarily what grade they got, but what challenges they had. How did the student overcome or not meet the challenge. Naturally through the conversation, soft skills would be talked about but more in a natural way vs having to identify them specifically.
Hi Jeff! I noticed that focus on one to two soft skills during a Unit or Art project. I like that concept and it makes sense to sometimes separate Curiosity from Time Management. Those two soft skills can get in each others way. I know when I am working on a project, I tend to focus mostly on time management. When I am working on a new activity for my students, I tend to give myself a little more time because I working on my curiosity. I wonder how I can support one of my students with his time management skills. This student is very curious and tends to ask so many questions that we are always off topic and tend to be take longer periods of time to complete tasks. I do not like breaking his curiosity since he is a preschooler, but sometimes we need to get tasks completed.
DeleteAloha Jeff- I noticed that you said that you think having students track or at least reflect about what they did that day is helpful. You mentioned asking questions such as "Did they use their time well? Did they respectfully share materials?" I agree that having a tracker could help some students while others might not care. I wonder what practical things we can do as teachers to motivate students to use trackers to be in charge of their behaviors and thus their learning. Would we have to create the trackers, print them out, and have the students fill them out each day? Would we use, or is there even, digital trackers that are effective? Iʻm so interested in using student trackers, I have never done that before but from the reading I learned how they could be an invaluable aid in the classroom to teach and cultivate soft skills in our students. I would love to have an effective way for my students to be in charge of developing their self-regulation skills.
DeleteI notice that you feel organization is the most valuable soft skill students need to learn. It amazes me how some high school students have little to no organizational skills. It seems like they would have already learned how to organize in elementary or middle school. Naturally, every student does learn at their own pace. Specific classes like AVID have really helped our high school students learn more about organization. I wonder if more teachers could adapt some AVID organizational strategies that would serve to help students stay focused and organized across all subject matter.
DeleteI noticed your comment about organization. What a great soft skill to discuss. This is such a vast concept that we have Home Editing and Joyful Organizing television shows. But what content would this show produce when teaching a teenager to maintain an organized folder, interactive notebook or even their backpacks?
DeleteI wonder the kind of effort each home puts into helping their child maintain an organized academic world (especially inside a backpack). Organization affects students performance in so many ways. One way in particular, and in my special education realm, organization drives a child's IEP goals/objectives, it is the basis for a Behavior Support Plan and so much more when it comes to teaching an individual with specific disabilities.
I'm glad you mentioned this skill, and although one is no more important than others, organization is definitely up there at the top of the priority list.
I noticed that you suggested the idea of having an exhibition in art class so students could showcase their work. I think this is a fabulous idea. I wonder if you could also have an online gallery in case students have parents/guardians who are unable to make it to the gallery due to having to work conflicting shifts?
DeleteDo you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might thi mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteAs I look at all the soft skills listed in the Grading with Equity book, I am drawn to many that are more important than others in my classroom setting. I teach preschool special education and the majority of my students are working on a few main soft skills. They include: “making good choices,” “listening to directions,” “problem solving,” and “working collaboratively with peers” (sharing). In preschool, these skills are worked on daily and given a priority and depend on the context of the classroom. I think we can scaffold teaching a soft skill by breaking it down. I use a song to teach listening skills. We break down each part of listening, such as: “eyes are watching,” “ears are listening,” “voices quiet,” and “bodies calm.”
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
Soft skills and academic performance are very specific for each individual student. I think about my son’s soft skills of Time management/project planning and his writing skills. They tend to be very in sync with each other and neither of the skills get done due to poor time management/planning and a lack of interest in writing. This can have big implications on how his teacher gives feedback on his soft skill of time management and project planning. She could potentially grade his poorly on his writing skills when he truly was unable to manage his time and plan his project. The student writing performance tracker on pg 221 could benefit a student such as my son.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
To pilot a student-led grade conference in my classroom, I think I would need to help my students display their work so that they could identify what they worked on with their parents. My students are preschoolers and love to show off their work. I believe that they would be able to point out parts of their work that they are proud of and use many of their soft skills that they work on daily, such as: listening to directions, taking pride in their work, and thinking creatively.
Aloha Beth- I noticed that you mentioned that you use songs to teach soft skills at the preschool level. In this way you are able to break down steps of soft skills. I agree that songs are an effective way of teaching students. I wonder what I can do that is creative, engaging and practical, at the high school level to break down steps of soft skills for my students. The main soft skills I am working on at the beginning of the year include time management, punctuality, consistent attendance, and meeting deadlines but as the year progresses I also need to help them with taking pride in their work, problem-solving, creativity, and asking questions.
DeleteI noticed your connections made between your students’ ability to present their work through a student led conference. I think that it would be so awesome to be a part of a student-led conference/presentation of their work and their ability to portray their understanding of soft skills. I can just imagine the smiles on everyone’s faces to see preschool age students leading their own learning! I wonder if that could be planned towards the end of the year, instead of conference time during Fall; that way students have more time preparing and building their soft skills prior to their presentation. Thank you for sharing!
DeleteBeth, I notice your connection with soft skills and your student performance. I think since you are teaching at such a younger age, part of Kindergarten/Preschool is really soft skill learning. I mean I remember Kindergarten as kids crying and learning how to be good classmates. I wonder how challenging and fun it can be planning lessons that incorporate the two.
DeleteAloha Beth,
DeleteI noticed you wanted to try a student led conference with your preschoolers, and how they're so eager to share their work with their parents--I love that the younger grades still have that pride and excitement, and I wonder how we can foster that and bring it back in the higher grades, where students don't want to talk about what they're doing at school anymore (I teach middle school). I love how they would tell their parents what their proud of, I can just imagine their little faces beaming! I think it would be great too if your kiddos were telling their parents about what they had a hard time with, and how they fixed it, or even what they would do differently next time (or maybe point out what they liked about one of their peer's work instead if metacognition is not appropriate for them) along with what they're proud of, so they can begin to learn how to set goals and improve their practices. I would love to go to a preschool class and see that!
I noticed that you mentioned about student led conferences. These types of conferences are extremely beneficial for the students. I have done these types of conferences before. It is a lot of work and takes a lot of time of which both have been factors of me not implementing them anymore. Having the students reflect on their learning and creating learning portfolios, I have felt were very beneficial to my students.
DeleteI do not believe that each soft skill has an equal impact on a studentʻs academic performance. For example, punctuality,while very important, may or may not affect a studentʻs academic performance as much as project planning and implementation might. I agree that soft skills may vary from industry to industry and the context. From the reading I learned that low-level entry jobs value punctuality and compliance more than elite level careers which may value creativity, problem solving, and grit more than being on time and compliant. Because of this fact, I believe that it is important to teach students how to assess context to optimize their success. In my classroom I would like to implement a system of teaching soft skills that could scaffold students' learning by utilizing the sample rubric to assist students in self-regulation.
ReplyDeleteThe connection between any given soft skill and academic performance depends on the content matter, assignment, and expected outcome and product. Class participation and group collaboration would not matter if the product is an individual piece created by a singular student. Appropriate conduct such as respect for others, space, and property would be very important if the end product was a sum of a groupʻs collaboration. From the reading I learned that along with providing a rubric to assist students to regulate themselves and to learn and cultivate soft skills, I can enhance that by creating a vocabulary and framework for students to answer these questions: “What are the behaviors that demonstrate high quality participation?” And “What is the relationship between Time Maximization and academic success?” In my practice I would definitely like to use this idea of requiring students to do a reflection using the rubric along with these questions so that they can see for themselves where their behaviors fall on the rubric so they can regulate themselves to achieve success. I really like the idea that they can give feedback to themselves AND to their peers. I would like my classroom to be a place where students have a shared understanding of soft skills, where they feel empowered, and where feedback is not a scary thing but it is viewed as necessary and helpful.
Student-led conferences are something I would absolutely love to do but donʻt know how I would do that with a roster of 150 students. Having students identify goals and plans for improvement, reflecting on their performance and setting goals and a plan to reach those goals sounds amazing. I think that in my classroom I wouldnʻt be able to have student-led conferences with their families but maybe I could do it once a quarter or once a semester within each class. Iʻm trying to figure out how I could conference with students privately one on one. Maybe I could get an administrator or to sit in the class with all the students while I pull each student outside one by one for like a 5 minute student-led conference. I donʻt think I would do this for an individual assignment, project, or academic assessment but I would really like to do this to help students evaluate their behavior and soft skills against a student tracker. From the reading I learned that student trackers create a formal process that teaches students to record their performance over time as well as to assist them in building soft skills. I am very interested in creating and implementing a student tracker in my classroom for all my students. I will 100% research, create, tweak, and use one next year. Any suggestions and/or help is much appreciated!
I noticed that you picked up from the reading that the value of soft skills "may vary from industry to industry and the context." It does seem that professional industries value soft skills such as creativity and problem solving more than labor jobs who value skills such as listening to directions and consistent attendance more. It is important that we teach students all soft skills but I wonder if there is a way to show them the varying contexts and the varying scenarios in which certain skills may mean more than others?
DeleteSoft skills are the abilities a student possesses in order to elicit a positive work ethic in school. The context of what a student is learning has no influence in how a student displays and utilizes their soft skills to complete their assignments and improve learning. I believe all soft skills impact students’ outcomes in a positive way; but I wouldn’t say possessing certain skills compared to others will produce a higher end grade. Yes, there are certain soft skills that lend themselves towards certain contexts, but in general, just by being well aware of the soft skills will definitely benefit students’ outcome.
ReplyDeleteStudents come in all shapes and sizes; soft skills equip students in different ways. Students of all backgrounds can achieve the same academic outcome, regardless of their possession of different soft skills. A student tracker or self/peer assessment will provide a metacognitive awareness of one’s skill set, which is imperative in equipping students with what they need to learn and grow. The learning is not fixed, rather it’s growth oriented and provides the notion that learning doesn’t end.
I have never tried student-led conferences and it never crossed my mind as a conference strategy as I thought it was an inefficient use of time. Following the readings of the textbook, “Grading for Equity”, I see the benefits of how a student-led conference encourages the use of soft skills and prompts them to think about their own work ethics. If I were to utilize student-led conferences in my classroom, I would choose a project that is well prepared including; student friendly rubric - academic and soft skills, and provide many opportunities to reflect and student track along the way. I am currently wrapping up a PBL (project based learning) unit with my students and the final product is a presentation to an audience. The students were provided an academic rubric that details the expectations for a grade and a presentation rubric that includes soft skills required to present a high quality product. The rubric will be given to the audience members (student peers) to grade and provide feedback. The rubric allows students to be aware of presentation skills in their perspective as audience members as well as a presenter.
I notice that you have never attempted student-led conferences. I think implementing these discussions depends on the quality and level of your students. If they are well behaved and have mastered their 'soft skills', then these conferences would probably go smoothly. However, in a class with a lot of 504's and IEP's, it would most likely be a disaster. I agree that this probably would be an inefficient use of instructional time. I wonder if other teachers have been successful at this and what specifically aided their discussion tactics.
DeleteHi Matt, I liked how you are having your kids do a presentation with rubrics so they are guided by some sort of goals in mind. I think doing a public presentation like that is very similar to the Student Led Conference. At my school, we had SLC, and there are mixed reviews on it. Like everything, some students do well while others do not really take the learning opportunity. In the end, parents just want to know the Grade, not really caring what they learned. I wonder how we can bridge that gap of having parents also not caring about the grade, but more about learning?
DeleteHi Matt... I notice that shared about how you have never used student-led conferences before. At my school (prior to Covid), we would have SLC's, once a semester. For the vast majority of my students, they were just going through the motions and sharing very limited insight to what, why, and how they were learning. They would simply say, "This is my math assignment. I didn't do well. I will do better next time." In order for an SLC to be effective, students need practice in it throughout the school year in informal setting within their classes. I wonder what types of questions would spark rich conversations between students, peers, teachers, and parents.
DeleteI notice that you believe that soft skills have equal importance in helping students achieve a specific grade. While I agree that all soft skills are important, I know that based on teacher's expectations, certain soft skills will be more important in some classes than in others, and the grades may reflect that based on how the teacher grades.
DeleteI wonder how we can incorporate SLC in a way that is a good use of our time and ensures that all the students take it seriously and use it as a good reflection and practice of soft skills. It seems like this is a question that many teachers are struggling to figure out, especially at the secondary level.
Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might thi mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteI believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance. All soft skills are equally necessary to an individual’s development and role in modern society. Our school uses the GLO’s which essentially embody all soft skills. Teaching a second language involves many interpersonal activities which require students to apply various soft skills such as; ‘make good choices’, ‘listen to directions’, ‘collaborating with peers’ and ‘problem solving.’ When discussing certain grammar topics, context is a key factor to comprehension. I do feel that a big part of our job is to enforce these soft skills on a daily basis and to praise students who demonstrate positive behavior with their classmates. Scaffolding how to teach and reinforce these soft skills can be done by clearly defining the behavioral expectations prior to assigning each performance task. I tend to model appropriate behavior and soft skills with my senior T.A. students; that way the class can see exactly how to act.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
Soft skills and academic performance are clearly connected when the task is performance based; such as in a presentation. If the presentation involves a group, students need to use soft skills to achieve a high grade in the task. The connection between academics and soft skills does vary based on the skill or subject matter. If the task is an individual written exam, very few soft skills are needed. However, in classes like P.E., students are required to play and perform with their peers in various team sports, therefore demonstrating more soft skills. I think feedback on a student’s soft skills competence is mostly verbal recognition by the teacher, especially at the secondary level. Elementary schools spend much more time focusing on behavior skills than high schools.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
When I assign a group presentation, I have students evaluate and provide constructive feedback to their peers as much as I do. Students make comments such as “I like how you both expressed that, made eye contact, listened quietly, and had proper tone of voice, even while wearing a mask.” During their individual verbal exams, I sit down and speak to each individual student in the target language, and then I tend to share positive behaviors I have witnessed. This makes the students feel appreciated and encourages them to continue behaving in a positive way.
I noticed that you regularly prompt your students to have constructive conversations with one another. I love to hear students praising, providing feedback, and engaging with one another like miniature adults! I wonder how often you have to prompt them versus students organically providing feedback to each other. I would love to walk into your class to see this in action! Thank you for sharing.
DeleteAloha,
DeleteI notice that you have peer to peer feedback which I love! There is a different learning that happens when done correctly. Many times there is value when peers give each other constructive feedback. I have used this strategy in my class especially in writing. There are things that they "catch" or suggestions made that I have missed.
Hi Melissa... I notice that you believe all soft skills have equal impact on student achievement. I do believe that all soft skills are important, however, just not equally. For example, personally, I believe that developing critical thinking and creativity skills are extremely for students to be life successful. However, I don't believe timeliness is as essential because every person learns and operates at a different pace so if an individual needs a few extra days to finish something, I'd be fine with that. However, there might be a student who already has high levels of critical thinking and creativity but may struggle with procrastination so for that student, their priority might be timeliness. I wonder how we can create a manageable system for every child to work on the soft skills that are most beneficial to them at the moment.
DeleteAloha Melissa! I noticed that you provide clear expectations and model the soft skills with your students. These are effective strategies not just for teaching a second language but for all students as a whole. I also noticed that you encourage giving constructive feedback during classroom activities. I just wonder how you deal with students providing destructive feedback or the recipient of the feedback who considers it as more negative than positive. Mahalo!
Delete1.No, I do not believe that each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance. Different tasks require different skillsets, as do different industries and contexts. For instance, working in the back room of a retail store would require a lot of organizational skills, however, stress management may not be as necessary compared to being a teacher. Likewise, a person working as a waitress would need strong communication skills, whereas time management would be important for a contractor. I would agree that teaching students how to identify what soft skills are necessary for various tasks would be beneficial to help them understand what skills they have at their disposal. The next unit we’re doing is going to focus on the skill of communication, where students will be participating in a socratic seminar in which students will need to participate in a class discussion, question each other, and challenge one another. I’ve used various means to scaffold this skill by having them write their thoughts down on paper along with sentence stems, practice having smaller group discussions about non-academic topics like is a hotdog a sandwich, then to discussing academic related topics, and finally a large group discussion. We’ve also worked on their critical thinking skills all year–first helping them understand that “I don’t know” doesn’t help them grow, instead, they should just take an educated guess and modify your ideas as you learn more information. The hardest part for them is that it’s ok to be wrong, but it’s so ingrained in them from early on that being wrong is embarrassing, their grade will be lowered, and so they need to be coaxed into it. We scaffold it by giving students just enough information to start to put the pieces together, have them come up with their own individual ideas, discuss it with partners, then modify their ideas if necessary to make a better explanation that makes more sense. They then create group models where they show their thinking on paper, and we modify our models as our thinking changes.
ReplyDelete2.Soft skills and academic performance are very individualized. Like the book mentioned, there are students who never orally participate in discussion, but they learn to master the material on their own by actively listening. Vice versa there are others that participate all the time in discussion but have a hard time writing their thoughts and organizing them in a manner that demonstrates their understanding clearly. This can also change a lot depending on the academic subject because their understanding and confidence of the material differs, they may feel more comfortable with certain peers or certain teachers rather than others, etc. I have one student who participates orally in class and asks questions daily, but a goal on her 504 plan is to have her ask questions of teachers when she doesn’t understand, because she doesn’t feel comfortable asking in any other class. This makes it very difficult to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competency, because what we see in our class can be vastly different compared to another, or even from unit to unit. The use of a tracker across classes may be more beneficial, because they can set goals and see that these skills and goals are transferable from one class to another, so it allows them to see that they ARE capable and they CAN ask questions, it just doesn’t happen in all classes, and then they can reflect on why that is and practice self-reflection.
3.Our school actually does have student led conferences during non-Covid years, where students choose one summative from each class to discuss with their parents, demonstrating what they learned, what they did well, how they could improve, and use it as evidence of high school readiness, or use it to set goals for next quarter. Perhaps peer editing could be turned into a showcase of work first–students advocating for their own scores and explaining why, then peer editing, then a discussion of how they’ve improved after their feedback.
Hi Jennifer,
DeleteI noticed that you stated that using a tracker across all classes could be beneficial. I agree that helping students making connecting across content areas makes a lot of sense. The world outside of school is not divided by subjects. I am wondering what would be most helpful to include in this type of tracker/tracking?
I notice that you are doing an amazing job scaffolding your next unit on communication. I think you are teaching and utilizing a lot of soft skills during this, which is great! I know I always hated discussions in class because it feels like so much pressure, but I can see how you preparing the students this way can make them feel so much more comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, especially if they are becoming more comfortable with the idea of being wrong.
DeleteI wonder what additional ways we can work together as teams of teachers to help support students like yours who clearly has trouble feeling confident to speak out in many other classes, but seems to be comfortable in your class.
Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might thi mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteAt the Elementary school level students at this age range from 5 to about 12 years of age. At such a young age, soft skills sometimes are the priority in a teacher’s lesson plan. Take for instance a kindergarten teacher would spend the first quarter just on routines. These routines will most definitely include soft skills. I believe that over the corse of a students’ age in learning the soft skills, instead of being at the forefront of the lesson could turn into a review of the skill over time.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
Individual students and subjects are definitely factors on how the effects of soft skills on a students’ academic performance outcome. For instance, there may be students who have problems with working collaboratively but other students who have no problem working together with their peers. Their skill of not being able to work together would hinder their performance. The teacher would then have to give feedback to the student on their soft skills and find ways to help the student overcome their problems or receive strategies to perform soft skills better.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
In my class we have been doing this for several years now. We have students create a portfolio that houses their work that exemplifies their learning. With that being said their portfolios do not just display their “best” work but work that needs to be “worked on” and hopefully shows their learning at the end of the quarter. I have totally scaled back on the portfolio as I did years ago because of time constraints. I haven’t implemented a “student-led” per say conference but have the student take home their portfolios to share with their parents.
Hi Dayton, I noticed that you said you have the students take home portfolios to share with their parents. I wonder if you also have them share them with you or another adult on campus. In my school community, some students may not be able to take home a portfolio and share it with their parents for varies reasons, so being sensitive to each child's situations is something on the forefront of my mind.
DeleteHi Dayton, I noticed that you have your students take home a portfolio of their work to share with their families. Are there specific questions or guidelines you send the students home with to help them facilitate a discussion about their work? I wonder, do the parents feel more involved in their student’s grading process from this activity? Do the parents get to reflect on how their support throughout the year affected their student’s learning? Cool idea! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteDo you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might thi mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance. For example, I think it is important for students to learn how to be organized, but students can still learn the content if they are unorganized. Yes, context definitely has an impact on which soft skill is most important and teaching students about context is absolutely part of teaching soft skills. Scaffolding soft skills can be done by having students participate in self-assessments and goal setting. This way they can focus on where they need to improve.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
Each student is an individual and is going to have individual strengths and weaknesses in both soft skills and academic performance. Teachers will need to help students identify where they are at and what they need to do to improve. This is where feedback, trackers, and rubrics come into play. We will need to help the students see a connection between their soft skills and their academic performance.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They share academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
In the past, I have had students write letters to their family about what they learned over the course of a unit. To add on to this or improve it, including specific information about standards and soft skills is needed.
Hi Christine, I noticed that you also believe that all soft skills do not have an equal impact on academic performance. I completely agree. There are some soft skills that I could see as potentially not being necessary in many academic settings. I also have my students participate in quarterly goal setting and planning at the beginning of each quarter. I wonder, do your students feel the connection between goal setting and their performance? Thanks for sharing!
Delete1.) Just like in different working fields, I believe that certain soft skills are more important for certain teachers and certain subjects. For example, there are certain jobs in which working collaboratively is a make or break skill, but in other jobs it is not needed too much. There are also certain classes in which some soft skills are very important, such as thinking creatively, which may be perfect for a digital media class, but may not serve you well in and introduction to culinary, where following rules and procedures are more important than creativity. However, practicing all of these soft skills to some level of competence is very important for all students, and as they become adults they can find their own niche and job that works best with what their strengths are.
ReplyDelete2.) As I mentioned above, certain soft skills are valued more in specific classes, as well as in certain careers. Therefore, I think it is important for teachers to help students develop the soft skills necessary in their classes and demonstrate how they are important for a certain type of work, because ideally throughout all the students classes they would get practice using all types of soft skills, and in more core classes most of the soft skills are important in one way or another. I think a student tracker can be useful for those basic skills like attendance and turning in their work on time, but more challenging skills like working together and dealing with conflict well can be difficult for students to always self assess, although it would be worthwhile for them to reflect on it for sure.
3.) I could see doing something like this with students after a big project that has required the use of a lot of soft skills, and perhaps presenting it to me and maybe their counselor. The logistics of presenting to their caregivers when I have 150 high school students is simply unfeasible in my mind, unless they did a recording and showed their parents later or something. I like the challenge this presents for my many quiet students who could benefit greatly from the challenge of creating and giving a presentation.
Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might this mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteSoft skills is an interesting subject. In HIDOE we actually have the GLOs for elementary through middle school, and in my opinion, those are the soft skills that teachers should focus on as there are already rubrics created for them and they are supposed to be implemented statewide. Now, one of my issues with teaching soft skills is that teachers aren’t trained in teaching them. No one explicitly teaches teachers how to teach soft skills. In the majority of teacher preparation programs soft skills aren’t even discussed. So how can we have or develop effective pedagogy when we’ve never been taught it. Many teachers do try to teach soft skills and I think that electives such as AVID focus on some of them - but as a content area teacher who’s had no training in defining soft skills and teaching soft skills, I’m not comfortable just making things up.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
I noticed the mentioning of HIDOE GLO's and then how you mentioned that you have not received training. On page 207, there are example of soft skills that work in all classrooms. Teachers are trained in classroom management and student engagement, if your school hasn't trained teachers - please ask or demand training for the upcoming school year.
DeleteI wonder if you had a chance to play board/card games with your student at the beginning of the semester or school year? I teach high school and I enjoy bringing out my board/card games and puzzles and seeing students interact with each other. From this, I find who are my students that can easily make friends and work well with others, who are my singleton that work well alone, who are my creative thinkers and problem solvers. Then when I give formative assessments, I can hone those skills by explaining expectations with time management, completing responsibilities, problem-solving skills and taking pride in one's work. You Got This! I Believe In You!
Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might this mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteThe book had discussed that there are many different soft skills that are necessary for certain contexts. Not all soft skills have an equal impact on a student’s performance. For example, a student who is consistently late to class might not be negatively affected by this weak soft skill. On the other hand, a student who shows up to class on time, but does not bring any supplies, may be more negatively affected. I think it is important to teach students how to assess a context to identify the necessary skills they need to succeed. The text discusses how students should understand the direct relationship between strong academic performance and strong soft-skills. As teachers, we need to establish the relationship between soft skills and academic performance so students are aware of what affects their learning and performance. Student trackers and goal setting to encourage self-efficacy among students is a way to reinforce the connection between soft skills and their academic success.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker? The specific connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance really depends on the context. The text stated that some students may have very weak soft skills and strong academic performance. It really depends on the student and the context. Academic settings call for a variety of soft skills that a student may be skilled in or not. A student tracker will allow students to practice self-efficacy and begin to witness the relationship between their soft skills and academic performance. I agree with the text, a community of feedback needs to be emphasized so students have better control over their own learning. This would call for explicit explanations of how and why a student is/will be graded.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They are academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
Since this class, I have been trying to implement more activities that call for self-efficacy. A good way to begin student-led grade conferences mentioned above, work sessions and discussions in the classroom, like peer-editing and revising, is a way students can feel comfortable identifying strengths, weaknesses, and future goals. Reflections are also a great way to end a project or performance. Reflections encourage students to reflect on their performance and set future goals for improvement. Once students have participated in an independent reflection, I like to facilitate class discussion where students can share their thoughts about their performance and their grades.
Val Shindo-Uehira
DeleteHi J.,
I agree that not all soft skills have the same impact on a student's performance and that students are able to be successful even without certain soft skills in place. I also like where you mention that as teachers we need to help students to see the connection between soft skills and increased academic performance. I noticed that you mentioned behavior trackers - do you also use this in your classes?
Aloha J! I noticed your belief that soft skills do not have an equal impact on a student’s performance because context is a great factor for what specific skill is needed. You also mentioned teaching students to assess context to identify the necessary skills they need to succeed. I just wonder how one could effectively teach context and if a student is able to identify what skills he needs in a specific context, will that mean he could use the needed soft skills to perform the specific task? What about if a student has learned how to assess the context but doesn’t have the repertoire of soft skills to help him thrive? Do you perceive teaching the soft skills more necessary than teaching how to assess the context? Thanks for your input!
DeleteDo you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might this mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteI was under the impression that soft skills rise to the surface when teaching; meaning that when teachers instruct, using soft skills as students are expected and should be performed naturally. However, as a special education teacher, my job is to help students develop soft skills over time. These skills aren’t built in a day but I use all the time I can each day to teach a skill, assess the child’s use of this skill and report back with my findings. It is also my job to show students with disabilities how to maintain soft skill capabilities in order to overcome academic challenges. This is perhaps the most challenging part of my duties. Disabilities are diverse and what skills a child can do does not mean that the others have developed it as well. Doing this helps me fine tune my teaching abilities and provide individualized instruction for many. Once the skill is demonstrated by the child, we can address the industry, the context, the content, the expectations and to generalize this skill in a variety of learning environments.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
I have used trackers before; not at the high school level inclusive setting in which I work. However, I use a child’s IEP and BSP to drive my data collection, analysis and dispersing of information for each child I service and their families. Reports go home quarterly and I account for each minute that I spend with each child. Doing this, in a way, is tracking their progress with soft skill development and academic achievement.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
Nowadays, and especially at the high school level, any child with an IEP is invited to their meetings in order to discuss their progress with the goals, objectives, transition to college/career needs, and so much more. Their input is vital to a well developed plan for building of skills (soft skills and academic skills alike). With my help, a child with special education services participates successfully in presenting their thoughts/desires towards their academics, communicating openly with their IEP team members, and helping to develop their individualized education plans. Should I pilot conferences in the classroom, I’d begin with providing exemplary ways of communicating effectively by first developing a voice, consider the topic of conversation, and prepare for any particular audience.
I noticed how you mention soft skills should be performed naturally, I concur.
DeleteIt's the correct practice of these soft skills with routine repetition helps create long term memory and quick productivity. I have a little brother that was in SPED classes in school and we had to work on those skills at home just as much as he did at school. Hopefully families continue to work with their children to hone their soft skills - simple chores, hygiene care, table etiquette, proper manners, etc.
I wonder if those student trackers would be helpful towards IEPs, with giving evidence of student work. Care Coordinators don't need to be given stacks of paper evidence, just a Google Doc of the student tracker with goals/objectives?
Val Shindo-Uehira
DeleteHi Ceslee,
I also believe that soft skills should be inclusive in the lessons that we teach and should occur naturally. However, there may be occasions where these skills need to be taught more intentionally so that students are aware of what it "looks" like and how using/no using these skills can affect academic performance. I also like your use of behavior trackers. I wonder if this would work in a middle school setting?
Hi Ceslee,
DeleteI notice that you find that soft skills come naturally with regular content and I also believe this to be true. I think it is amazing that you have activities catered to your group of students and also see how each individuals needs are different and their soft skills may need more or less support depending on the particular activity. I wonder if having high school students at the IEP's are encouraging for the student? I know that I as a teacher say less than what I would if they weren't there so I think there are pros and cons of both.
1) What I learned from this chapter is that the soft skills listed in the chapter are GLO’s (General Learner Outcomes) that have been created by HIDOE to be measured in a student’s growth through elementary. As students move onto higher education, those GLO’s are still used in the classroom but not in the gradebooks (unless a teacher adds the GLO’s into their grading). It doesn’t depend on the industry/context because soft skills can be taught and used in all ranges and content areas.
ReplyDeleteChallenges to my practice is constantly using soft skills as a form of musicianship in my rubrics. Students need to learn musician etiquette to help their performance in playing an instrument. When a student has poor musicianship the tone/pitch, tempo, finger transition and/or embouchure will affect the overall sound and performance.
I will implement guidance and teach my students musicianship at the start and throughout the class to improve overall performances.
2)What I learned from this chapter is that for my music classes, there is a strong connection between any given soft skill and academic performance. All skills with working with an instrument - how the students handle and perform, a skill is needed to be used. When it’s time for their performance to be graded to show their academic performance, all the soft skills of learning how to read music, symbols and annotations, taking care of their instrument(s), musician etiquette, and preparation - all of these soft skills will help a student become a stronger and better musician.
Challenges to my practice is giving constructive feedback to my students. When I’m giving a one-on-one performance assessment to a student, it’s easy to give feedback to my student. When it’s with a section or the whole class - then it’s a group feedback then an individual feedback, unless I’m correcting a behavioral action in class. I enjoy giving feedback in all forms: individually, sectionals, and the whole band.
I will implement ways that a student tracker can be used to track their progress for each unit for my different courses. For example, a student tracker that shows what students need to know prior to their performance assessment with a copy of the rubric.
3)What I learned from this chapter is the use of the student-led grade conferences with my students. I haven’t thought about it or had one before, though I could count a little of this towards my feedback time during performance assessments. Having students become active and motivationally responsible for their learning/education is a teacher's dream.
Challenges to my practice will be starting this movement for the up-coming school year.
I will implement these student-led grade conferences for students wanting to move up to a higher level of music or chair. Band, I often test students at the start of the semester to see what chair they’ll sit in when reading music, if there are students willing to move up to a higher chair from chair three to chair two - this student-led conference will be a great way that the student can show demonstration of performance and reasons to why they want to increase their chair.
Hi Hoku!
DeleteI notice that you found ways to integrate the GLO's into soft skills. Being that the GLO's are more of an elementary school standard it's something I haven't thought about in a long time, but reflecting on it I feel like the GLO's are something that should be carried on through high school. Being a self directed learner and also a community contributor are both skills that some adults haven't even fully mastered. I may start posting these in high school classroom next year!
I wonder if students ever get embarrassed when they receive constructive criticism in front of their peers? How do they react? What do you do if someone has absolutely nothing to improve? What do you do when a student has shown the highest level of mastery?
Val Shindo-Uehira
ReplyDelete1-Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might thi mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
I believe the impact that soft skills have on academic performance will depend on the student. For example, some students may excel at cooperative learning while others may not be able to work well with peers. In addition, not all students will need the same soft skills in order to be academically successful. As teachers it is important to recognize which soft skills would most benefit our students to help them be successful not just in the classroom, but in life. I find teaching soft skills more difficult than teaching my science content! Our lessons are scaffolded as introduction, practice, and reflection. Only one skill is taught at a time and students are provided multiple opportunities to demonstrate the skill. The reflection piece ties the skill with academic performance.
2-How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
I believe the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance is student specific. Not all students will need the same set of soft skills in order to be successful. Students may be able to do well academically but may not be very good at working well with peers. I actually have a student like this. He does really well academically and usually scores in the “Exceeds” category but does not work well in small groups and prefers to work alone. In general soft skills may not change based on academic subjects. For example, the ability to meet deadlines and listen to directions. These soft skills are important in any academic setting. However, skills like working collaboratively with peers may be more important in a Science class as students work together to complete experiments and collect data rather than an English class where students work independently to write a paper. I would probably have students reflect on what skill(s) they used in class and how that skill affected their outcome.
3-Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
Actually, we used to do student-led conferences at our school. The students used advisory time to put together a portfolio of work that would best showcase their learning in each of their classes. They also worked to put a script together and practiced with peers. The school set aside one day in the school year to schedule these conferences. The teacher would just float in the room and would help facilitate if the students needed help. I really loved this activity because it made the student more responsible and accountable for his/her academic performance. I am not sure why the school decided not to pursue this activity any more. I really wish they would bring it back.
PART A
ReplyDelete1. Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might this mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
I believe that each soft skill has an equal impact on a students’ academic performance, and should be given equal importance. There are just specific situations wherein a certain soft skill is needed more than the others in order to thrive. Just like in an independent writing assignment, working collaboratively with peers will not be applicable. I can see the importance of teaching students how to assess a context, however, I feel like teaching the soft skill that a certain student does not exemplify yet is more important. Going back to cultural influence on students' learning style, behavior and value on education, there are some soft skills that students have not learned yet. For instance, a student coming from a culture where education is not a priority can mean lack of time management, lack of motivation to study, low tendency of thinking creatively and strategically, lack of problem-solving skills, and a lot more. On the other hand, a student coming from an individualistic culture may find it difficult to work collaboratively with peers. For me, scaffolding of a soft skill comes first with knowing the individual learners and having a good grasp of what soft skills they have and what they do not have. It is also good to capitalize on each other's strengths and use them to teach other students. And all throughout the learning experience, the teacher must make sure that each soft skill is being modeled and is reinforced especially in classroom situations needing it the most.
2. How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
The connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance depends on an individual student. As I have mentioned previously, there are some students who have not learned a certain soft skill which is important for academic success and they need teaching and reinforcement on that specific skill. There are also a set of soft skills needed in some academic subjects/skills that may not be considered equally important in another. Moreover, there are some instances where a student does not need to utilize a soft skill just to demonstrate her mastery of the standard. One implication of these realizations is that some strategies like giving student tracker and note taking strategies could be beneficial for those lacking time management and planning skills, but we should not impose them for students who could still thrive and meet the standards despite not submitting any of those, to further address different learning styles and individual differences. With regards to providing feedback, I believe that explicitly communicating and discussing with the students on the connections of the soft skills as an element of the HOW to achieve the WHAT will best enable them to be aware of what they need to work on and thus involve capacity-building which will further result to autonomy and accountability on their own learning.
PART B
Delete3. Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They share academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
In my context, I am already having tasks where students present their work in front of the class, have them assess their performance using Student-to-Self Single Point Rubrics and have their peers assess them using the Peer-to-Peer Single-Point Rubrics. The rubric is mostly intended for reflection since it contains columns for “GLOWS (What I/he/she did well)” and “GROWS (What I/he/she need/s to Improve). In a larger scale wherein there is a student-led grade conference with the presence of a caregiver, I could do it during Parent-and-Teacher Conferences where the student will be the one to explain his level of performance based on his portfolio and the classworks he/she have submitted via Google Classroom.
Soft skills should be integrated in a students academic performance because it is skills that everyone needs in adulthood. As a teacher who is a sophomore advisor, the students I had at the start of the year were basically eighth graders since my students spent their entire freshman year of school at home. Many of today's students lack basic social skills that are typically developed in high school. I think that teaching soft skills should somewhat be integrated into lessons in all classes (not just English), so that the high school graduates our school produces are high functioning members of society. The teaching of soft skills can be scaffolded by having higher achieving students help lower achieving students and also assessing students on soft skills growth instead of baseline showmanship. This is because some students are taught these soft skills at home with their parents while others are not.
ReplyDeleteI think that soft skills can be embedded into all class types whether it's English, math, history or science. In all jobs in the real world you will need to interact with people and at some point in time, the same goes for classmates in school. While teachers may not directly grade a student on how well they execute their soft skills, it may be a part of the lesson that they do the soft skill to start off with, then gradually implement more and more until it becomes a natural part of class. For example, in Spanish class students will confidently introduce themselves in Spanish, which is a common courtesy in all languages. This soft skill is not something that is graded, but instead the Spanish language is what is being assessed. I think that as a teacher it is essential to give feedback even if you aren't’ giving a direct grade. This way the students know what can be done and improved on in the future.
While I think that student-led conferences are great for students to do at the elementary level, at the high school level I feel like sometimes it is more important for the teachers to speak to parents about their progress and growth. I think a modified version of this is that a student makes a virtual portfolio and video slideshow that they show their parents at home. This not only enforces speaking skills but tech skills as well. Although in the future I think I will try to integrate more project based presentations so that students can practice their public speaking skill which is an important skill to have and many people struggle with.
Do you believe each soft skill has an equal impact on a student’s academic performance, or do some soft skills have more impact than others? Does it depend on the industry or the context? Might thi mean that a part of teaching soft skill is teaching students how to assess a context? How might we scaffold the teaching of soft skill?
ReplyDeleteI believe that soft skills in our case the GLO grades should have their own category of grading. One should not take the primary over the other. There might be a student who is a really great student (awesome soft skills) but lacks in their performance based on the academic performance. In retrospect a student might just be talented in academic performance but does not put in any effort into the soft skills. Therefore I truly believe that both should be different categories and not weighted together.
How student specific is the connection between any given soft skill and an academic performance? How much does it change depending on the academic subject or skill to be performed? What implications does this have on how to give feedback on a student’s soft skills competence, or the use of a student tracker?
If students are participating in group work, the soft skill of a community contributor will affect their academic performance. If the are not being a team player or argue with their partner/group members their performance academically will greatly be affected. The teacher would then need to really be aware and take the time to work with the student and give them feedback as the lesson is going on.
Some schools use student-led grade conferences in which students, alongside their teacher, explain their performance to their caregivers. They sare academic and study skills data, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify goals and plans for improvement. It’s the use of multiple soft skills; students not only reflect on their performance and set goals, they learn how to present information cogently and well-organized to an audience. How might you pilot it in your classroom for a specific project or performance?
In the past I have completed student led conferences and really enjoyed the outcome. However I have to be honest, when Covid hit us I was just trying to survive. It has been about 2 years since I have had them gather their best work samples to reflect and present them to their parents during parent teacher conferences. When I had my students complete the student-led conferences they were constantly reflecting and giving themselves feedback on both the soft skills and academic goals. When things get back to a more normal routine, I really would like to bring back the student led conferences to my classroom. However, to supplement, I have had my students reflect constantly at the beginning, middle and end of the quarter on both their academic and soft skills.