>>> Our Definition
What are leadership skills or 21st Century skills? We found that it depends on who you ask. That created a quandary for us. We need a set of clear targets to design products that develop students’ leadership and career skills.
Deciding we were smart enough to pull together our own list the summarized and included many of the concepts seen in other places, we created our own list of leadership and career skills. We call our list “Relevant Skills” – we thought it went nicely with the name of the company!
When you buy a product from Relevant Classroom, you can be assured that it is designed to target these skills.
Fundamental Skills
• Literacy – locates, reads, evaluates, and accurately interprets written information in prose and technical documents
• Writing - communicates thoughts, ideas, information, and messages effectively through composing written artifacts and documents
• Speaking – communicates thoughts, ideas, information and messages effectively through oral communication using a variety of platforms
• Listening– receives, attends to, interprets and responds to verbal messages and other cues effectively and accurately
• Mathematic Competence – performs basic computations using appropriate tools to complete the calculations in a variety of contexts to solve problems
• Concern for Wellness and Safety – maintains personal wellness and safety and complies with rules created to extend respect for others well-being
• Time Management– organizes and prioritizes tasks and resources to consistently set and meet deadlines
• Technological Proficiency – utilizes various technological tools to accomplish work and personal tasks and matches appropriate technological systems and tools to facilitate thinking and work
Thinking Patterns
• Creativity – generates new ideas and options to resolve decisions and problems encountered in work and life
• Vision – pictures and effectively articulates a preferred future and/or outcomes when solving problems or making decisions
• Critical Thinking –analyzes and evaluates data, diverse perspectives and alternative approaches when making decisions or formulating a solution
• Systems Thinking – analyzes and expresses how individual components work together within a system to accomplish a goal
• Global Awareness – empathizes with individuals from diverse backgrounds and demonstrates acceptance in communicating with diverse others
• Information Savvy –appraises, selects and utilizes appropriate technological tools to locate relevant, credible information and data to solve problems
• Self-Regulated Learning – employs efficient and effective meta-cognitive learning techniques to acquire and apply knowledge and skills in order to adapt to new situations and environments
• Self-Awareness -reflects upon, assesses and clarifies intrapersonal concepts such as talents, interests, and progress toward personal and professional goals
Personal Qualities
• Responsibility – exerts a high level of effort and independence in persevering towards goal attainment in settings with and without obstacles
• Ethics – chooses ethical courses of action after careful consideration of the personal and professional consequences
• Self-Confidence – believes in own self-worth, maintains a positive view of self and demonstrates confidence in personal morals and values
• Discipline – establishes personal goals, monitors progress toward goals, exercises strategies to maintain balance between work, family and self
• Coach-ability – demonstrates a desire to grow; seeks coaches and mentors to foster growth; and accepts direction and criticism
• Leadership – influences people and processes positively through taking initiative and effectively inspiring and motivating others
• Teamwork - exercises respect, friendliness, trustworthiness, and flexibility when collaborating with others in accomplishing a larger goal
• Engagement – participates fully as a citizen at local, state, national and global levels through engagement in service and volunteer opportunities close
