Approach: Building A Foundation
SEQUENCE MATTERS
Over the years of testing, we realized that there are three core foundational skills that most students need to cultivate first before they are realistically comfortable with developing additional durable skills.
The New A’s of education: Self-Awareness, Self-Appreciation, and Self-Acceptance.
In order for any student to develop the confidence and belief that they can develop, grow, and improve, they must first believe in their own ability to do so.
To achieve this, the very first MindSage lesson, helps students grasp the significance of cultivating the three foundational skills.
These three foundational skills establish a platform of self-reliance, born from self-belief.
We have found that once a student has built this essential foundation, they become more confident and positive about developing additional durable skills and are more likely to do so.
LESSON TYPES
Building on this foundation, we established the sequence for developing the remaining durable skills originally identified, considering a rationale for their introduction order. We structured our durable skills training into four levels of eight lessons. Each level incorporating the following types of durable skills lessons:
Type 1 : Deep Dive
These lessons focus on durable skills that require much deeper introspection and result in deeper self-awareness and understanding.
Examples of these types of lessons will be available on the following pages.
Type 2 : Refactoring
These lessons help transition participants from the "classroom" mentality, where constant supervision, direction, and instructions are the norm, to a workplace mindset that encourages confident expression, critical thinking, ideation, and fosters collaboration.
Examples of these types of lessons will be available on the following pages.
Type 3: Practical
These specific durable skills lessons are designed to deliver quick, practical, applicable skills that will provide immediate benefits to employers. These skills nurture proactive, perceptive team members, ready to make meaningful contributions to in the workplace.
Examples of these types of lessons will be available on the following pages.
Implementation: Short, consistent messaging over time.
Based on our pilot programs, we utilize the following format for maximum effectiveness:
Conduct a 10-15 minute session on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
On Wednesday, students can focus on self-review if time constraints arise.
On Fridays, allocate more time, especially for a group metacognitive discussion, which we highly recommend as an integral part of the lesson.
*Note: The lessons can be covered on any day of the week, or all on one day if needed. The above is our suggestions for maximum effectiveness based on our pilots.
Implementation: Monday
Above: Introduction to the concepts of metacognition and micro-learning in using the MindSage program. Note how the trainer asks for and encourages input, observations, questions, and comments. Note: You may have already viewed the video it it’s entirety on the previous page.
On Monday, the teacher or trainer introduces the durable skill with a series of questions and introductory concepts: What is it, and why is it important now, and once they reach the workplace?
The teacher can cover each micro-learning section in the lesson in class or introduce the questions, allowing students to complete the rest of the day's lessons on their own.
To conclude the day's segment, the teacher or trainer introduces the week's metacognitive assignment or goal.
States of Communication lesson example:
After asking the group introductory questions like, 'How many of you think you're a good or effective communicator?' and, 'What makes someone a good communicator?' the trainer provides an introduction to the States of Communication lesson (see video).
Both lesson introduction video examples above are less than 10-15 minutes.
Implementation: Wednesday
If teachers are pressed for time during the week, the Wednesday in-class session can be dropped, and students can review the lesson on their own.
Otherwise, the instructor or teacher should review the first few learning sections - or a section that he or she finds especially interesting, and discuss to elicit responses from the students. The teacher should remind the students that there is no right or wrong answer and that they are welcome to give their opinions or comments based on what they feel or understand from the lesson.
Students can review the remainder of the lesson on their own time.
Implementation: Friday
Unmoderated Group Metacognitive Discussion Example
On Friday, teachers have the option to cover part of the lesson in class. However, the main objective is to foster a class-wide or small group discussion where students can share their personal insights and discoveries related to the durable skills and metacognitive assignments they considered throughout the week.
Teachers can either facilitate the discussion or allow the groups to manage their own group discussions, visiting each group during the discussion session.
Below are examples of moderated group metacognitive discussions.
Unmoderated Group Metacognitive Discussion Example
High School Students
What they’re saying.
Participants in the program should recognize the practical, immediate value of the skills they develop, in addition to their usefulness in the workplace. Please watch the following videos:
High School Students
College Students