21st Century Learning and Teaching

From Blade Runner to I, Robot, the big screens of Hollywood have predicted the rise of the machine. Automated intelligences will wait our tables and drive our cabs. They will serve us by performing menial tasks. But fact is now surpassing fiction. Automation has moved beyond the factory assembly line as computers are diagnosing illnesses, providing legal counsel, and make financial and political decisions. And if artificial intelligence really is faster, smarter and more reliable, what are we left with?

The answer is precisely that element which makes us less efficient and slower. Our humanity. But rather than being seen as a weakness, this is actually our strongest suit. It’s one we need to empower, because studies show that as the world becomes increasingly automated, computerised and digitalised, we are losing the very skills that define us as human. Just when we need them the most.

Our empathy is something that computers will always struggle to emulate. We need to celebrate what makes us different from even the smartest of the machines. While the future belongs to those who are able to navigate this increasingly digitalised world of ours, the choicest spoils will fall to those who can combine technological fluency with emotional intelligence.

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Like other aspects of modern life, education can make the head hurt. So many outcomes, so much important work to do, so many solutions and strategies, so many variations on teaching, so many different kinds of students with so many different needs, so many unknowns in preparing for 21st Century life and the endless list of jobs that haven’t been invented.

What if we discovered one unifying factor that brought all of this confusion under one roof and gave us a coherent sense of how to stimulate the intellect, teach children to engage in collaborative problem solving and creative challenge, and foster social-emotional balance and stability—one factor that, if we got right, would change the equation for learning in the same way that confirming the existence of a fundamental particle informs a grand theory of the universe?

That factor exists: It’s called empathy.

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Soft skills is a synonym for "people skills." The term describes those personal attributes that indicate a high level of emotional intelligence.

Unlike hard skills, which describe a person's technical skill set and ability to perform specific tasks, soft skills are broadly applicable across job titles and industries. It's often said that hard skills will get you an interview but you need soft skills to get -- and keep -- the job.

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As the world fills with more sophisticated AI and ubiquitous technology, human skills--compassion, empathy, etc.--will define the competitive edge of workers and entire organizations. So those interested in thriving in a high-tech world must put renewed prioritization on emotional intelligence and soft skills.


Soft skills represent the top three missing skills of job applicants according to the Society of Human Resource Management's (SHRM) 2019 State of the Workplace.

Top 6 Missing Skills in Job Applicants

Problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, and creativity (37 percent)

Ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity (32 percent)

Communication (31 percent)

Trade skills (carpentry, plumbing, welding, machining, etc.) (31 percent)

Data analysis / Data science (20 percent)

Science / Engineering / Medical (18 percent)

The significance of developing and applying social and emotional skills is growing. Soft skills are twice as predictive of a student's academic achievement as home environment and demographics and 30-40 percent of jobs in growth industries require soft skills. Additionally, 57 percent of leaders say soft skills are more important than hard skills.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Empathy

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Empathy is systemically related to all of the abilities on the compass, particularly to self-awareness at "true south." Research suggests that the more children become aware of themselves, the better they become at understanding others. Volumes have been written about how to teach empathy, and there is still much to learn. In an excellent article from the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, author Roman Krznaric, Ph.D., claims that highly empathetic people:

Cultivate curiosity about strangers

Challenge prejudices and discover commonalities

Gain direct experience of other people's lives

Listen and open themselves to others

Inspire mass action and social change

Develop an ambitious imagination

All of these behaviors foster personal growth and lifelong learning while contributing to the growth of society, particularly empathy's role in inspiring social change.

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Researchers from the University of Otago, New Zealand, wanted to find out if engaging in normal creative acts make people feel better. An analysis of the information found a pattern of more enthusiasm and higher ‘flourishing’ following days when the undergraduates were more creative.

Study author Dr Tamlin Conner said: ‘There is growing recognition in psychology research that creativity is associated with emotional functioning.

‘However, most of this work focuses on how emotions benefit or hamper creativity, not whether creativity benefits or hampers emotional wellbeing.’

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Harvard theorist Howard Gardner describes emotional intelligence as “the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them.”  Emotional intelligence can be broken down into five major components.  When we look at each in turn it becomes easy to understand why EQ plays such a key role success.

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