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Or these 7 Desired Outcomes for 21st Century Learners (7C’s of Transformational Learning): 

1. Critical Thinking & Problem-solving Research, Analysis, Synthesis, Project Management, etc.
2. Creativity & Innovation New Knowledge Creation, ”Best Fit” Design Solutions, Artful Storytelling, etc.
3. Collaboration, Teamwork & Leadership Cooperation, Compromise, Consensus, Community-building, etc.
4. Cross-cultural Understanding Across Diverse Ethnic, Knowledge & Organizational Cultures
5. Communication & Media Fluency Crafting & Analyzing Messages & Using Media Effectively
6. Computing & ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Fluency Effective Use of Electronic Information & Knowledge Tools
7. Career & Learning Self-reliance Managing Change, Lifelong Learning & Career Redefinition

 

(After Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick, Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series, Copyright © 2000)

The Habits of Mind are an identified set of 16 problem solving, life related skills, necessary to effectively operate in society and promote strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity and craftsmanship. The understanding and application of these 16 Habits of Mind serve to provide the individual with skills to work through real life situations that equip that person to respond using awareness (cues), thought, and intentional strategy in order to gain a positive outcome.

1. Persisting: Sticking to task at hand; Follow through to completion; Can and do remain focused.

2. Managing Impulsivity: Take time to consider options; Think before speaking or acting; Remain calm when stressed or challenged; Thoughtful and considerate of others; Proceed carefully.

3. Listening with Understanding and Empathy: Pay attention to and do not dismiss another person's thoughts, feeling and ideas; Seek to put myself in the other person's shoes; Tell others when I can relate to what they are expressing; Hold thoughts at a distance in order to respect another person's point of view and feelings.

4. Thinking Flexibly: Able to change perspective; Consider the input of others; Generate alternatives; Weigh options.

5. Thinking about Thinking (Metacognition): Being aware of own thoughts, feelings, intentions and actions; Knowing what I do and say affects others; Willing to consider the impact of choices on myself and others.

6. Striving for Accuracy: Check for errors; Measure at least twice; Nurture a desire for exactness, fidelity & craftsmanship.

7. Questioning and Posing Problems: Ask myself, “How do I know?”; develop a questioning attitude; Consider what information is needed, choose strategies to get that information; Consider the obstacles needed to resolve.

8. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations: Use what is learned; Consider prior knowledge and experience; Apply knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.

9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision: Strive to be clear when speaking and writing; Strive be accurate to when speaking and writing; Avoid generalizations, distortions, minimizations and deletions when speaking, and writing.

10. Gathering Data through All Senses: Stop to observe what I see; Listen to what I hear; Take note of what I smell; Taste what I am eating; Feel what I am touching.

11. Creating, Imagining, Innovating: Think about how something might be done differently from the “norm”; Propose new ideas; Strive for originality; Consider novel suggestions others might make.

12. Responding with Wonderment and Awe: Intrigued by the world's beauty, nature's power and vastness for the universe; Have regard for what is awe-inspiring and can touch my heart; Open to the little and big surprises in life I see others and myself.

13. Taking Responsible Risks: Willing to try something new and different; Consider doing things that are safe and sane even though new to me; Face fear of making mistakes or of coming up short and don’t let this stop me.

14. Finding Humor: Willing to laugh appropriately; Look for the whimsical, absurd, ironic and unexpected in life; Laugh at myself when I can.

15. Thinking Interdependently: Willing to work with others and welcome their input and perspective; Abide by decisions the work group makes even if I disagree somewhat; Willing to learn from others in reciprocal situations.

16. Remaining Open to Continuous Learning: Open to new experiences to learn from; Proud and humble enough to admit when don't know; Welcome new information on all subjects.

 

 

 

• Inquiry-Based Learning This is a learning process that is based on inquiry or asking questions. Through asking challenging questions learners get intrinsically motivated to start delving deeper to find answers for these questions and in doing so they are exploring new avenues of knowledge and insight. Inquiry-based learning is a cyclical learning process composed of many different stages starting with asking questions and results in asking more questions. Inquiry based learning is not just asking questions, but it is a way of converting data and information into useful knowledge. A useful application of inquiry based learning involves many different factors, which are, a different level of questions, a focus for questions, a framework for questions, and a context for questions.
• Problem-based Learning In a problem-based learning (PBL) model, students engage complex, challenging problems and collaboratively work toward their resolution. PBL is about students connecting disciplinary knowledge to real-world problems—the motivation to solve a problem becomes the motivation to learn.
• Discovery Learning Discovery learning is a kind of teaching that is based on the student finding things out for themselves, looking into problems, and asking questions. Essentially, it's all about students coming to their own conclusions and asking about things in their course that might not make particular sense. Obviously, as soon as inquiries are made, they can learn new things and hence will have become part of an innovative, thought-provoking and interesting educational journey. Top psychologists in the country have promoted this kind of learning 
• Cooperative Learning Several definitions of cooperative learning have been formulated. The one most widely used in higher education is probably that of David and Roger Johnson of the University of Minnesota. According to the Johnson & Johnson model, cooperative learning is instruction that involves students working in teams to accomplish a common goal, under conditions that include the following elements:
• a. Positive interdependence. Team members are obliged to rely on one another to achieve the goal. If any team members fail to do their part, everyone suffers consequences.
• b. Individual accountability. All students in a group are held accountable for doing their share of the work and for mastery of all of the material to be learned.
• c. Face-to-face promotive interaction. Although some of the group work may be parceled out and done individually, some must be done interactively, with group members providing one another with feedback, challenging reasoning and conclusions, and perhaps most importantly, teaching and encouraging one another.
• Appropriate Use of Collaborative Skills. Students are encouraged and helped to develop and practice trust-building, leadership, decision-making, communication, and conflict management skills.
• Group Processing Team members set group goals, periodically assess what they are doing well as a team, and identify changes they will make to function more effectively in the future. Cooperative learning is not simply a synonym for students working in groups. A learning exercise only qualifies as cooperative learning to the extent that the five listed elements are present. 
• Authentic Learning Authentic learning typically focuses on real-world, complex problems and their solutions, using role-playing exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in virtual communities of practice. The learning environments are inherently multidisciplinary. They are “not constructed in order to teach geometry or to teach philosophy. A learning environment is similar to some ‘real world’ application or discipline: managing a city, building a house, flying an airplane, setting a budget, solving a crime.
• Project-based Learning An instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.”
• Situated Learning Situated learning is a type of learning that involves learning materials within the context of how the information or skills are actually used and applied. It is typically associated with social learning and though it was initially recognized in regard to adult education, some of its practices have been extended to youth education as well. With this type of learning, communities of practice are established in which individuals learn and build mutual meaning through active processes that imbue context and purpose into what is learned. Situated learning does not typically involve a particular pedagogical approach, but instead seeks to understand how learning relates to daily practices and social interactions.

 

 

 

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