Watch CBS News

Employers And Educators Seek Soft Skills As A Workforce Solution

(Photo Credit: Thinkstock)

This article is presented in partnership with CA Lottery.

The traditional learning method of a teacher standing in front of a class and talking while students are left to passively listen is outdated. According to Edgar Dale's 1964 Cone of Learning Experience, students retain 70 percent of what they say or write and 90 percent of what they actually do. The numbers are even lower for students who are given directions. Students only retain 20 percent of what someone tells them, making it no surprise that active learning continues to be one of the most successful teaching techniques used in California classrooms today.

Active learning is a more than 20-year-old process that calls for students to take a more proactive role in their learning, including everything from group discussions to hands-on activities.

 

Soft Skills Shortfalls

As more technology is introduced in the classroom, educators become more and more challenged to use technology in an active learning environment. However, if the goal is to develop students that are ready for the job market, then an April 2015 report may cause some schools to step back and review their active learning plans for students.

Many schools are falling short of meeting employers' needs for graduates with solid soft skills. In preparing students for the future workforce, employers are calling on schools to do a better job at teaching skills such as collaboration and problem-solving.

 

A Report's Findings

SMART Technologies asked Wainhouse Research to probe the state of education as it relates to developing future employees. The result was a paper titled the Role of Education in Building Soft Skills by Alan D. Greenberg and Andrew H. Nilssen.

The detailed survey and report gave many schools a passing grade in teaching basics like reading, writing and arithmetic but identified a gap in teaching the soft skills employers need. The "Four C's" of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking, in particular, are areas schools were asked to improve on.

According to the findings, the globalization and technological transformation occurring in schools today is on the right track. But while this part of education grows, more focus must be placed on developing soft skills like the Four C's. In recent years, employers have begun to call on graduates entering the workforce to demonstrate "soft skill competencies that will make graduates more agile, better team members and more adaptable."

As school districts move away from just pouring information into the heads of students, they've begun working to figure out how to empower, motivate and engage learners.

Greenberg and Nilssen agreed, "problem-solving and collaborative skills are the top two soft skills on which schools should focus. In fact, educators, parents, and students surveyed found that the benefits of a focus on collaboration are many, from encouraging active participation among learners to encouraging learners to take ownership of their education."

The study also found that more professional development is needed for educators to be completely successful in teaching collaborative skills.

 

Active Learning Success With Technology

California districts like Haywood Unified School District are among those navigating through this educational change using a combination of active learning and technology to develop world-class learners.

The district has set out on a mission to empower students to become dynamic leaders in the greater global society. HUSD's vision is for its students to be prepared, challenged and motivated in a 21st century learning environment that develops the physical, intellectual and emotional success of all its learners.

Report contributor Janet Haywood supports the success of combining active learning and technology for collaborative skill-building.

"The thing I see as really successful at the moment: the use of digital technology as it engages and enables children to collaborate. They can then share what they have produced together. With tablets, at the moment, you can have two to three children working together on a piece of work, a movie, reflecting together and talking, co-constructing."

The National Education Association reported the results of the American Management Association's 2010 Critical Skills Survey. In it, the "Four Cs" were found to become even more important to organizations in the future. Three out of four executives who responded to the AMA survey said they believed these skills and competencies will become more important to their organizations in the next three to five years; another reason to maintain the path of active learning in school.

 

Nicole Bailey-Covin is an education writer for Examiner.com.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.