Non-cognitive Skills:
Wouldn’t it be Wonderful?
CES Fall Forum
December 3, 2016
Who’s in the Room
411 Polling:
- Connection to education
- Grade level
- Years of experience working with schools/district
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Center for Collaborative Education
Our Vision
• Equity and data are embedded in all conversations and
practices,
• Teaching and learning are purposeful, challenging, and
have value beyond school,
• Assessment demonstrates the competence of
students in multiple ways, and
• Collaborative practices improve teaching
and learning.
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Today’s Agenda
• Welcome
• Unpacking Our Understanding of Non-cognitive Skills
• Implications of Non-cognitive Skills on Instructional Practice
- Talking with Educators (Scoring)
- Talking with Students (Feedback)
• Questions and Answers
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Unpacking Our Understanding
What are we talking about?
• Non-cognitive Skills
• Habits, Skills, and Dispositions
• Essential Skills
• 21st Century Skills
• Work Study Habits
• Guiding Principles
• Soft Skills
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Non-cognitive Skills - Defined
• Non-cognitive skills are traits and abilities that
contribute to navigating life challenges skillfully
(e.g., self-control, persistence, problem solving).
• Non-cognitive skills include:
- Interpersonal (e.g., interactions with other people)
- Intrapersonal (e.g., occur within a person's own mind)
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Non-cognitive Skills – So What?
• “Children’s perception of their ability, their expectations
of future success, and the extent to which they value an
activity influence their motivation and persistence leading
to improved academic outcomes, especially for lowattaining pupils” (Institute of Education, 2013).
• Non-cognitive skills are more crucial than sheer
brainpower to achieving success (e.g., encountering and
overcoming obstacles) (Tough, 2012).
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Again, What are We Talking about?
• Communication
• Creativity
• Collaboration
• Self-Direction
These are the four non-cognitive skills are part of New Hampshire’s Work-Study Habits. These skills exist in curricula
across the US, and are by no means an exhaustive list.
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Creativity
• I can use original and flexible thinking to
communicate my ideas or construct a unique
product or solution.
- Think originally and independently
- Take risks
- Consider alternate perspectives
- Incorporate diverse resources
New Hampshire Work Study Practices and Definitions – June 20014
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Microlab
• Small group (3/group)
• Three prompts
• Three rounds (timed – 12 minutes)
- 1 minute to write/reflect on prompt
- 1 minute to share response
- All members share response before next round
• Focus on listening
• Whole group debrief (3-5 minutes)
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Prompts
1. What non-cognitive skill have you had the most
success cultivating in your class/school? Support your
answer with evidence.
2. What non-cognitive skill have you had the most
difficulty cultivating in your class/school? Support your
answer with evidence.
3. What advice would you give to a new teacher about
how to assess student attainment of non-cognitive
skills?
Communication
Creativity
Collaboration
Self-Direction
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Talking with Educators (Scoring)
Reliability
An assessment delivers consistent results.
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Consider :
Why are
the
scores
different?
• Teacher
Expectations
• Task and instruction
expectations
• Rubric alignment
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Why Create Scoring Norms?
• Hard to measure attainment of non-cognitive skills
• Important to have agreement about what terms to
share with students and parents
• Essential to have consistency is assessing them and/or
the feedback process with student
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Task & Student Work
• Assignment: Narrative Poem “This is a Story ..”
• Student asked to write about their lives in a poem
(model was provided)
• Background:
- End of unit exercise focused on identity development
- Students read “Sweeter than Juice” by Shirlee T. Haizlip
- First major writing assignment in the first weeks of an alternative high
school with a focus on interdisciplinary, project-based learning and socioemotional development (work to be shared with author)
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Criteria
Meets
Word Choice
• I can use precise words and phrases
telling details and sensory language to
convey a vivid picture of my experience.
Organization
• I can organize my ideas and connect them
clearly throughout the poem.
Taking Risks
• My thoughts and feelings are clearly
included and related to the narrative.
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Calibration Protocol
• Examination (1-2 minutes)
• Clarifying questions (2 minutes)
• Read and score: (3-5minutes)
• Score sharing (1-2 minutes)
• Discussion (3-5 minutes)
• Debrief (5-8 minutes)
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Talking with Students (Feedback)
Unpacking a
Non-cognitive Skill– “Grit”
Grit
• Perseverance
• Self-management
• Conscientiousness
Context
• How can this “habit” be
explained to students
regarding their classroom
performance?
• Passion for achieving
long-term goals
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Developing a Non-cognitive Skills Rubric
Meets
Grit
1. A
commitment
to improve
one’s
performance in
school
I put strong
effort into most
of what I do, and
see my setbacks
as learning
experiences and
look for
support when I
need it.
2. A passionate
dedication to
achieve that
goal.
I recognize the
importance of
long-term goals, as
well as short-term
goals.
Teacher Observation
Student Reflection
Indicator language adapted from College San Francisco Student Excellence GRIT Rubric (Student Version)
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Giving Feedback to Students
• Use language that describes what was observed
• Provide evidence that supports description
• Ask questions for the student to reflect upon:
- Why did s/he make certain choices?
- What was learned?
- How could s/he approach the work differently?
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Supporting Student Self-Reflection
• Provide an opportunity for student to explain their
experience
• Encourage students to use “Non-judgment” in
describing their learning
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Practice?
Grit
Meets
Teacher Observation
Student Reflection
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• Communication: I can use various media to interpret,
question, and express knowledge, information, ideas,
feelings and reasoning to create mutual understanding.
• Collaboration: I can work in diverse groups to achieve
a common goal.
• Self-Direction: I can initiate and manage my learning,
and demonstrate a “growth” mindset, through selfawareness, self-motivation, self-control, self-advocacy
and adaptability as a reflective learner.
New Hampshire Work Study Practices and Definitions – June 20014
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Or, Do We Need to Think Differently?
• How do we, as educators, consider the identity and
difference of our students in a positive light to lay
the foundation for meaningful social and emotional
learning?
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Other Questions
What would like to know more about?
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Thank You!