zzLearning+and+Innovation+Skills

//Learning and innovation skills increasingly are being recognized as those that separate students who are prepared for a more and more complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not. A focus on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration is essential to prepare students for the future. //
 * LEARNING AND INNOVATION SKILLS **


 * CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION **


 * Think Creatively **
 * Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming)
 * Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts)
 * Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative effort


 * Work Creatively with Others **
 * Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively
 * Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into the work
 * Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real world limits to adopting new ideas
 * View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes


 * Implement Innovations **
 * Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur


 * ** Tools for "Creativity and Innovation": **
 * Graphics software (drawing, painting, image editing)
 * Web publishing software
 * Desktop publishing software (word processing & layout programs)
 * Spreadsheet & graphing software
 * Database creation software
 * Concept mapping/graphic organizers (ex. Inspiration, Timeliner)
 * Collaboration tools (wikis, listservs, email, asynchronous conferencing, Chat, MUD, MOO)
 * Presentation tools
 * GIS & GPS tools
 * CAI software
 * Videoconferencing and interactive television
 * Production tools (Digital photography & video)
 * Blogs ||

// Higher order thinking, such as critical and creative thinking, refers to a set of cognitive skills or strategies that increases the probability of a desired outcome. In an information-rich society, the quality of one’s thought processes, particularly more complex thought, might be among the most important things that an individual brings to work and society. The skills for analyzing and interpreting knowledge have become increasingly valued. //
 * CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING **


 * Reason Effectively **
 * Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the situation


 * Use Systems Thinking **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Make Judgments and Decisions **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Solve Problems **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions


 * ** Tools for "Critical Thinking and Problem Solving": **
 * Search engines and strategies
 * Electronic reference material (online libraries, databases, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, E-texts)
 * Primary Sources (text, graphic, audio, multimedia, and material culture
 * Print sources (newspapers, journals, books, magazines, maps
 * Graphics software (drawing, painting, photo & video editing)
 * Publishing and multimedia creation (clip art, video, sound, animations, Web authoring, word processing and layout programs)
 * Data collection, manipulation, and storage tools (spreadsheets, graphing, databases, digital cameras, surveys)
 * Concept mapping/graphic organizers (Inspiration, Timeliner)
 * Presentation tools (software, projection devices, “smart” whiteboards)
 * CAI& simulation software
 * Videoconferencing and interactive TV
 * TV, Video, & DVD
 * GIS & GPS tools ||


 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Communicate Clearly **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual)


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Collaborate with Others **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member


 * ** Tools for "Communication": **

* Search Engines and strategies


 * Spreadsheet and graphing software
 * Online sources
 * Print resources
 * Digital images
 * Web publishing software
 * Brainstorming software
 * Graphics software (drawing, painting, image editing)
 * Multimedia resources (clip art, video, sound, animations)
 * CAI and simulation software
 * Videoconferencing and interactive TV
 * TV, Video, & DVD
 * GIS & GPS tools
 * Collaboration tools (wikis, listservs, email, asynchronous conferencing, Chat)
 * Concept mapping/graphic organizers
 * Blogs (text & video), Cell phones ||


 * ** Tools for "Collaboration": **
 * Brainstorming software
 * Digital networking tools
 * Authoring software
 * Email
 * Cellular phones
 * Blogs
 * Asynchronous discussion boards
 * Multimedia production tools
 * Online chat
 * Web publishing and desktop publishing software
 * Wikis
 * Listservs
 * Real-time videoconferencing ||

** Data Analysis ** Data analysis is the ability to evaluate data across a range of media; recognize when data are needed; locate, analyze, and represent data effectively; and accomplish these functions using technology, communication networks, and electronic resources. Scientific Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves making observations; posing scientific questions; examining various sources of information to discover what is already known; planning investigations; using tools to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence; proposing answers, explanations and predictions; connecting experimental evidence with existing scientific knowledge; and communicating and justifying the explanations. ** Systems Thinking ** Systems thinking is a vantage point from which one sees a whole, a web of relationships, rather than focusing only on the detail of any particular piece. Events are seen in the larger context of a pattern that is unfolding over time. Systems thinking provides students with a more effective way of interpreting the complexities of the world in which they live-a world that is increasingly dynamic, global, and complex.
 * Scientific Inquiry**