Focus on KEY takeaway.

Tell them monday, what it is and why it’s important. Let them know why it’s important why they will need to know his to be successful.

Short term/ performance, retrieval

vs.

Long term, storage

Americasucceeds.org Durable Skills Framework: Transforming High School Education

Over the last two years or so there’s been a push by educational leaders to better prepare students for the workplace by implementing skills-based learning. Several states are already providing career-specific training classes and work-shadow programs. However, many schools are still missing one key ingredient to a student’s success in the workplace: soft skills or durable skills training. If you haven’t see Americasucceeds.org’s report on durable skills, make sure to check it out.

Americasucceeds.org has also proposed a Model Policy framework for advancing durable skills in education, consisting of three vital components. I’ll try to summarize these components.

The first component – the Agile High School Model is a transformative model that aims to modernize graduation requirements and promote learning beyond traditional classrooms. To summarize, the Agile High School Model centers on the modernization of graduation requirements to provide diverse pathways to a diploma. This involves expanding requirements through state-approved assessments and projects that better assess competency. A quick comment here. Many will wrestle with how durable skills competency can be assessed. We have successfully employed assessment methods similar to those utilized by the world's leading companies today, emphasizing peer assessment as a central component. We strongly recommend others embrace this proven and reliable method for assessing durable skills accurately.

The model policy encourages states to empower schools and districts by endorsing skills-centric graduation requirements, recognizing competency-based credits, and supporting personalized evaluation models. While 'skill-centric' has traditionally referred to career-specific skills in areas such as dental hygiene, welding, computer programming, and various trades, we should now broaden this category to encompass durable skills if we genuinely aim for programs to be effective.

Key Recommendations from the framework:

1. Flexibility in Graduation Requirements: The model policy advocates for flexibility, allowing districts to modify graduation requirements. States are urged to provide technical support to facilitate a smoother transition.

2. Tracking Adoption and Impact: It is essential for states to track the adoption of new standards and alternative learning methods, assessing their impact on credit attainment. This data will inform future policy decisions and improvements.

3. Separating Graduation Requirements from Assessments: To ensure clarity and effectiveness, the model emphasizes the separation of graduation requirements from explicit links to state assessments, ensuring distinct criteria regardless of standardized testing outcomes.

The first model policy recommended by Americasucceeds.org’s research, the Agile High School Model presents a forward-looking approach to high school education, emphasizing adaptability, competency, and personalized evaluation.

As we embark on this transformative journey, the Agile High School Model lays the foundation for a more dynamic and skills-oriented educational experience. In the next articles, I’ll summarize the second model policy proposed education initiative, delving into a system aligned with Durable Skills Education and the creation of quality career-connected learning opportunities.

We often celebrate gifted kids in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But you don't have to be a wunderkind to achieve success.

As an organizational psychologist, I've spent much of my career studying the forces that fuel our progress. I've found that the learning process isn't finished when we acquire knowledge. It's complete when we consistently apply that knowledge.

Here are 11 little life changes that highly successful people practice every day:

1. They seek discomfort.

Instead of just striving to learn, aim to feel uncomfortable. Pursuing discomfort sets you on a faster path to growth. If you want to get it right, it has to feel wrong first.

2. They set a mistake budget.

To encourage trial and error, set a goal for the minimum number of mistakes you want to make per day or per week. When you expect to stumble, you ruminate about it less — and improve more.

3. They ask for advice, not feedback.

Feedback is backward-looking — it leads people to criticize you or cheer for you. Advice is forward-looking — it leads people to coach you.

You can get your critics and cheerleaders to act more like coaches by asking a simple question: "What's one thing I can do better next time?"

4. They figure out which sources to trust.

Decide what information is worth absorbing — and which should be filtered out. Listen to the coaches who have relevant expertise (credibility), know you well (familiarity), and want what's best for you (care).

5. They strive for excellence, not perfection.

Progress comes from maintaining high standards, not eliminating every flaw. Identify some shortcomings that you can accept. Consider where you truly need the best and where you can settle for good enough.

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At the end of the day, ask yourself: Did you make yourself better? Did you make someone else better?

6. They are their own last judge.

It's better to disappoint others than to disappoint yourself. Before you release something into the world, assess whether it represents you well. If this was the only work people saw of yours, would you be proud of it?

7. They turn the daily grind into a source of daily joy.

To maintain harmonious passion, design practice around deliberate play. Set up fun skill-building challenges — like Steph Curry trying to score 21 points in a minute, or medical residents honing their nonverbal communication skills by using nonsense words in improv comedy games.

8. When they're stuck, they back up to move forward.

When you hit a dead-end, it might be time to turn around and find a new path. It feels like regressing, but it's often the only way to find a route to progress.

9. They teach what they want to learn.

The best way to learn something is to teach it. You understand it better after you explain it — and you remember it better after you take the time to recall it. You can do this in groups, with each member teaching a distinct skill or slice of information.

10. They open doors for people who are underrated and overlooked.

Create systems that invest in and create opportunities for all — not just gifted students or high-potential employees. A good system gives underdogs and late bloomers the chance to show how far they've come.

11. They engage in mental time travel.