Page 19 - Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools. First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12. 2010

CHAPTER 2 | learning skills and work habits in Grades 1 to 12
13
LEARNING SKILLS AND WORK HABITS IN GRADES 1 TO 12
information. They also face collective challenges as societies – such as balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability, and prosperity with social equity. In these contexts, the competencies that individuals need to meet their goals have become more complex, requiring more than the mastery of certain narrowly defined skills.
The OECD report outlines the following three categories of competency:
A. Using Tools Interactively
• The ability to use language, symbols, and text interactively
• The ability to use knowledge and information interactively
• The ability to use technology interactively
B. Interacting in Heterogeneous Groups
• The ability to relate well to others
• The ability to cooperate and work in teams
• The ability to manage and resolve conflicts
C. Acting Autonomously
(OECD, p. 4)
• The ability to act within the bigger picture
• The ability to form and conduct life plans and personal projects
• The ability to defend and assert rights, interests, limits, and needs (OECD, pp. 10–16)
In the United States, researchers Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick have described sixteen “habits of mind” that contribute to success in school and in life: persisting; thinking and communicating with clarity and precision; managing impulsivity; gathering data through all senses; listening with understanding and empathy; creating, imagining, and innovating; thinking flexibly; responding with wonder and awe; thinking about thinking (metacognition); taking responsible risks; striving for accuracy; finding humour; questioning and posing problems; thinking interdependently; applying past knowledge to new situations; and remaining open to continuous learning (Costa & Kallick, http://www.habits-of- mind.net/whatare.htm).
Clearly, there is broad agreement among educators from various constituencies that learning skills and work habits like those described here for Grades 1 to 12 contribute substantially to student success. It is expected that teachers will work with students and their parents to ensure that they understand these learning skills and work habits and their importance. Students benefit when teachers discuss and model these skills, and when teachers and parents work with students to help them develop these skills. Students also benefit when teachers work with them to explain how these skills will be assessed and evaluated.
2