Learning Skills

Learning skills. What does that mean, exactly? Have you ever tried to explain to your students what they are, and how they are assessed on it? Have you ever tried to connect your classroom rules to them? How about explaining the marks they get?

This is an often overlooked area of lesson delivery. However, it doesn't need to be, nor should it be. The learning skills provide students, educators and parents with the behaviours successful students demonstrate in order to achieve success in Ontario schools. Far too often there is a disconnect between these "soft" skills and achievement.

It's difficult to explain what the learning skills are to regular students in Ontario. If you have English Language Learners, then it becomes even more troublesome.

Essentially, the six learning skills are:

• Responsibility = I know what to do
• Organization = I am ready to learn
• Independent Work = I can work alone
• Initiative = I am ready to help
• Collaboration = I can work with others
• Self-Regulation = I am in control of myself

This is a very simple way of looking at each one.

Students who are responsible are those who know what they are at school to do. They see the big picture and understand their role in it.

Students who are organized are those who have their learning materials at the ready: books, notebooks, pencils, pens, rulers, calculators, their backpacks, agendas... everything. They also know how to organize their time to get work done. If they have a project due in three weeks, they know how to divide the project into doable steps in order to get it done.

Students who are independent are those who can ignore the many distractions that occur in the regular school day. They are also those who can tune out the noise and distractions at home if they have homework or assignments to complete at home. They understand the instructions and can follow them.

Collaboration means more than working on group projects. It includes the day-to-day interactions that occur at school. It means working with a variety of different learners, in a variety of different contexts. It also means accepting the ideas of others, and being able to disagree without showing aggression. It means knowing how to solve conflicts with others in positive ways, so that everyone wins, or at least arrives at some consensus.

Students who show initiative are those who can offer a helping hand when needed. These are the kids who are very good at "surveying the scene" and assessing their role in contributing to a positive outcome. They are willing to try new things, even if it places them in a socially vulnerable position (dance class springs to mind). They see the end goal, and do not allow the opinions of others to interfere with their achievement of that goal.

Finally, self-regulation. This is one of the most difficult learning skills. If you are well self-regulated, it means you know yourself well. You know what you need to do to settle yourself when the situation seems overwhelming. You know how to act when you are feeling sad, angry, frustrated, silly, confused, or sick or tired. Students with good self-regulation recognize when they need to refocus their energy on the task at hand.

Many newcomers do not understand what the learning skills are, nor how they are assessed on them. However, that doesn't mean they shouldn't learn about them. To make them more comprehensible, I've created a set of Learning Skills posters in my store at Teachers Pay Teachers. The language is simplified, and the pictures relate well to the concepts. I keep the posters in my classroom and refer to them when I notice that students are veering away from the behaviours that will serve them better. Have a look!