Improve your students’ employability by developing this key skill
We are living on the cusp of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. The pupils we currently educate will enter a world of work that is shaped by wide-ranging innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and robotics. A 2018 report, Solving future skills challenges, published by Universities UK, highlighted the increasing demand from employers for transferable skills, as fast-evolving and flexible career paths involving lifelong learning are replacing the now anachronistic ‘job for life’. Initiative and independent learning were highlighted as key skills required from employees.
Policymakers in higher education have anticipated this, with ‘learning ability’ being included as a skill descriptor for all UK degree-level courses in the Quality Assurance Agency’s 2014 Framework for higher education qualifications. Indeed, last year, more than half of physical sciences undergraduates surveyed for a UK engagement report said they undertook 11 hours or more of independent study per week. It is, therefore, a great benefit to pupils to have the opportunity to develop their independent study skills before they embark on post-18 education or employment.
We are living on the cusp of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. The pupils we currently educate will enter a world of work that is shaped by wide-ranging innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and robotics. A 2018 report, Solving future skills challenges (bit.ly/2KuJpzJ), published by Universities UK, highlighted the increasing demand from employers for transferable skills, as fast-evolving and flexible career paths involving lifelong learning are replacing the now anachronistic ‘job for life’. Initiative and independent learning were highlighted as key skills required from employees.
Policymakers in higher education have anticipated this, with ‘learning ability’ being included as a skill descriptor for all UK degree-level courses in the Quality Assurance Agency’s 2014 Framework for higher education qualifications.(bit.ly/2W9jX9i) Indeed, last year, more than half of physical sciences undergraduates surveyed for a UK engagement report (bit.ly/35y2M6M) said they undertook 11 hours or more of independent study per week. It is, therefore, a great benefit to pupils to have the opportunity to develop their independent study skills before they embark on post-18 education or employment.
The advantages of developing school-aged pupils’ independent study skills are far-reaching. Individuals who can plan their time efficiently and prioritise tasks effectively will generally find themselves with a more manageable schedule. Those who can assess their own strengths and weaknesses are more likely to set appropriate learning goals. They will also be able to evaluate their progress against targets they have set. Good independent learners will take responsibility for their own learning and are more likely to adopt proactive approaches and problem-solve when faced with challenges, accelerating their pace of progress.
So, what can we do to help embed these skills?
1 Make pupils responsible for their prior knowledge
Prior to lessons that build on content pupils have already encountered, give pupils a simple tick-list of ideas they will be expected to be familiar with, accompanied by a reference to a textbook page or website that will provide the necessary information. This can be an effective way of transferring ownership of pupils’ learning back to them, and could save time going back over old ground in the lesson itself.
2 Provide a set of criteria to help pupils assess their own work
Even the most diligent pupils can fall into the trap of assessing the quality of their work by their perceived input of time and effort. Teachers, however, are more likely to base their assessment on a very different set of criteria focusing on specific outcomes, for example: ‘including workings and adding correct units’ or ‘referring to structure and bonding when explaining the physical properties of sodium chloride’. Sharing a set of criteria with pupils at the time a task is set empowers them to ensure they have completed the task successfully.
3 Let pupils be their own examiner
When practising calculations, it can be helpful to give pupils access to the answers (without workings, if cheating is a concern) while they complete the task. Pupils should check their answers as they go, looking back through their workings to identify mistakes when they encounter an error. This encourages them to show their workings clearly by putting them in the place of teacher/examiner and facilitates problem-solving rather than allowing pupils to ask for teacher help immediately.
4 Make pupils responsible for each other’s learning
Certain topics lend themselves well to jigsawing tasks. For example, small groups of pupils could each be tasked with researching and explaining the trend in melting points across different elements in period 3. The groups would then come together and each share their piece of the ‘jigsaw’.
5 Let pupils fail once in a while
Time constraints and the ability to anticipate problems pupils will encounter can lead us to implement well-intended interventions to ensure pupils succeed in every task. This is an efficient route to producing an exam-ready chemist, but it can be at the expense of independent study skills if we step in too often. A well-designed homework task could provide an opportunity to let pupils discover strengths and weaknesses in their study skills for themselves. Setting a longer task over several homework slots that would usually be broken into two or three shorter and more structured tasks will challenge pupils’ time management and prioritisation skills. A review session afterwards could give pupils time to reflect on and evaluate their independent study skills.
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