There were two quotes that stood out to me in the videos for this discussion.
“…in a world where information changes so rapidly, it is the ongoing learners who will thrive” (Galinsky, 2013).
In the ADL program, I feel as though I am transitioning into being a lifelong learner and can see the essential life skills in the video developing in my professional and personal lives. While I have always been willing to learn and have sought out opportunities for learning in my life, I cannot say that I felt as though the intent was for critical thinking as much as for content consumption.
The seven essential life skills that were listed by Galinsky (2013) were:
1. Focus and Self-Control
2. Perspective Taking
3. Communicating
4. Making Connections
5. Critical Thinking
6. Taking on Challenges
7. Self-directed, engaged learning
Some of the listed skills have come easy to me over the years but others I have struggled with or never realized I did not develop appropriately for continued learning. Being in the ADL program has made a difference in my growth as a professional and has helped me to realize the skills that I still lack to be a lifelong learner.
Specifically learning how to make connections, perspective-taking, and proper communication have been areas in that I have seen growth in the past few months. Through my own growth and confidence in developing in these areas, I have learned that it is crucial for me to provide opportunities for learners in my innovation plan to do the same.
Changing the way of thinking from learning being the content we are ingesting, to the ‘how’ we learn being most important, is critical to developing a true learner’s mindset. Keeping this in mind during this coursework will allow us to conduct research in a way that keeps the learner’s needs in mind and the research focused on what will create the most significant change in our organizations.
“Education is arguably the most isolated profession in modern work life and isolation is the enemy of improvement” (Wagner, 2009).
This quote was powerful! I have had personal experiences in two brick-and-mortar school settings where I saw this quote played out in real-time. At one school, the teaching teams there were amazing. They had mentor teachers in each grade level, scheduled weekly and monthly meetings, and team planning schedules. It was great to see how they all worked together and anytime I was there working, I felt part of the team. It felt like being in a family where everyone helped each other. I could see the benefits of collaboration.
On the flip side, I worked at a school where it felt like every teacher for themselves. They only had a weekly team meeting with the principal, and it seemed to mostly consist of pushing out what needed to be done and teachers complaining of areas that were either too overwhelming or needed more support. The teachers seemed overworked, tired, and never able to complete tasks, and they had a very high turnover rate.
I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to experience different teaching environments. Having this opportunity gave me the understanding that mentors, trainers, and administrators have the ability to make or break a team of educators with the environment they provide.
The best part of it that I can see now is that the school where the teachers were unhappy and highly stressed was the school with the most interaction from the administrators. The meetings were with the admin, lots of classroom observations, etc. But the school where teachers were flourishing was where the admin was giving freedom and trust to the educators without having to watch over their every move. They still had meetings with admin and walk-ins, but it was for support, not for judgment and control. Providing a safe environment for learners to work together to collaborate, communicate, and have personal accountability is critical to the success of any plan!
This was a great video with suggestions on how to take personal accountability:
References
Galinsky, E. (2013, July 17). The Seven Essential
Life Skills, With Ellen Galinsky | Big Think Mentor | Big Think. Www.youtube.com. http://youtu.be/SdIkQnTy6jA%20
Wagner, T. (2009). 7 Skills students need for their future [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS2PqTTxFFc