21ST CENTURY SKILLS - PERSONAL AND WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY

When your child masters these skills, they'll have the ability to adapt to a variety of roles and responsibilities, and work effectively in a climate of change. They'll be able to monitor their own understanding and learning needs and demonstrate initiative necessary to achieve success. Managing time efficiently and workloads effectively, they will also develop the ability to work productively.

By demonstrating diligence and a positive work ethic, including being punctual and reliable, as well as integrity, responsibility and ethical behavior your child will be better equipped to work with others of differing cultural backgrounds and in the 21st century workplace.

Personal and workplace productivity skills include:

  • Flexibility & Adaptability
    • Adapting to varied roles and responsibilities
    • Working effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities
  • Initiative & Self-Direction
    • Monitoring one's own understanding and learning needs
    • Going beyond basic mastery of skills and/or curriculum to explore and expand one's own learning and opportunities to gain expertise
    • Demonstrating initiative to advance skill levels towards a professional level
    • Defining, prioritizing and completing tasks without direct oversight
    • Utilizing time efficiently and managing workload
    • Demonstrating commitment to learning as a lifelong process
  • Social & Cross-Cultural Skills
    • Working appropriately and productively with others
    • Leveraging the collective intelligence of groups when appropriate
    • Bridging cultural differences and using differing perspectives to increase innovation and the quality of work
  • Productivity & Accountability
    • Setting and meeting high standards and goals for delivering quality work on time
    • Demonstrating diligence and a positive work ethic (e.g., being punctual and reliable)
  • Leadership & Responsibility
    • Using interpersonal and problem-solving skills to influence and guide others toward a goal
    • Leveraging strengths of others to accomplish a common goal
    • Demonstrating integrity and ethical behavior
    • Acting responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind
What You Can Do

Watch "Courage and Compassion" a lecture on faith and leadership from the Library of Congress with your family. (Thinkfinity).

Visit Character Counts website for parenting to build character ideas.

Look for "teaching moments,"using good and bad examples from TV, movies, and the news.

Self direction? How does it work in education? Take a look at the online lesson "Beyond the Books; A New Role for Your Students".

Watch this video from Edutopia on resolving conflict: