MY LEARNING PORTIFOLIO

ON
CORE SKILLS ENHANCEMENT

Presented by
Abel Nagubwagye
(0702342239 / 0772342239)
Lecturer
National Teachers College Muni
 CORE SKILLS ENHANCEMENT CIRCLE

• Core skills looks at things that people are able to do and which are
highly transferable including knowledge, values and technical things.
• A core skills graduate must be globally aware, confident, critical,
creative, innovative, generates ideas, learns from mistakes, shows
initiative, communicates well, listens & reflects, and gets on well with
others
My Expected Learning Outcomes were;

• Engagement & active participation

• Expansion of my knowledge on Core skills and why they matter
• How can I teach core skills to my students .
• Discover policies to build core skills into my wider curriculum
• Look at different ways to assess progress of learners in core skills.
• Develop Action Plan of integrating core skills project with my students
• Facilitation at the end of the session
• Certificate of participation
DAY 1: Over-view and concepts of core skills
• The Seven Core Skills for young people in the 21st century include;
1. Creativity and Imagination
2. Critical Thinking and Problem-solving
3. Collaboration & Communication
4. Digital Literacy
5. Student Leadership & personal Development
6. Global citizenship
7. Innovativeness
Day 1: The Skills Builder Framework
Practically, to build core skills in the classroom, British Council came up with the Skills
Builder Framework which breaks down skills into teachable, assessable steps;

British Council Core Skills In the Skills Builder Framework

Citizenship Aiming High
Communication & Collaboration Creativity
Creativity & Imagination Leadership
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Listening
Digital Literacy Presenting
Self Management Problem Solving
Student Leadership Staying positive
Team work

Two Useful tools to explore particular skill steps in greater depth, and to understand how they can be taught & assessed, you can use;
1. Skills Builder Interactive Framework: This is freely available at www.skillsbuilder.org/framework
2. Skills Builder Hub: This has more teaching resources available at: www.skillsbuilder.org/hub
Why Core Skills: Deep Vs Surface Learning
• Deep Learning
This is a committed approach to learning where the learner uses higher
order cognitive skills to master academic content, work collaboratively and
think and interact critically and actively with the content being learned.
While;
• Surface Learning
This is where learners tend to avoid the hard work and instead rely on single
sources of information to simply learn what has been asked of them only.
In this type of learning learners concentrate only on what is expected to be
assessed.
 Deep Learning Vs Surface Learning
Deep Learning Surface Learning
 Actively construct  Are passive Learners
knowledge  Fail to tie information to
 Give meaning to a larger framework
material  Focus on extern al
 Focus on internal rewards
rewards  Externally motivated
 Self motivated
 Teacher-Centric Learning Vs Student-centric
Teacher-Centric Learning
 Lecturer on the stage
 Students take notes or
given notes
 Every student given the
same learning experience
 Every student goes through
the same learning activities
Student-Centric Learning
• Social collaborative learning
• Flipped Learning
• Blended Learning
• Personalized Learning
• Learning Analytics
 Course/Training Reflection
• The lesson was very interactive.
• The facilitator engaged us in online
games.
• He also asked provoking questions
to make us think.
• I also had a reflection of Blooms
Taxanomy
• The facilitator was trying to
become exemplary to us, so that
we learn from him in the use of
ICT in teaching.
• I think the Facilitator wants us to
internalise the content before he
moves us to the next step.
• This does not make me wonder.
However it inspires me to use ICT
in teaching and also in engaging
learners in the learning process.
Day 2: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (CTPS)

• Critical thinking is a self-directed thinking that produces new and

innovative ideas and solves problems
• CTPS refers to the ability to use knowlegde, facts, and data to
effectively solve problems.

• Critical thinking involves Breaking a complex topic (such as

questioning) down into smaller parts to gain a better understanding
of it
How can Creativity and Imagination Be Enhanced
in my learning area
My Learning area being Geography, I think creativity and imagination can be enhanced
in one of the following areas.
• Engaging learners in multiple Geography projects that are related to real life
experiences.
• Making the learners watch videos of experiences that are not found in their
environment e.g. from our session we were shown a teacher who made pupils
to watch the life style of a whale.
• Engaging pupils with questions that allow them to explain or describe concepts
which in turn would increase their reasoning ability.
• Taking learners for field work trips so as to relate theory with the environment
around them
• allowing learners to do research projects related to the content they have learnt
• Using teaching aids to explain a concept in the O' level Geography.
The Three Take-aways
• The Approach of Critical Thinking: This can ivolve breaking up a topic
into small areas in order to obtain deeper understanding;
• While Problem-solving: Can be a process of carrying out various tasks
in order to come up with a solution
• The Difference between Foundation Skills & Core Competencies
• How to apply questioning for deep learning
• The session was interactive. There was use of various ICT tools in giving
feedback to the facilitator.
• During the presentation I liked the way the teacher used learners’
knowledge on fish to give a verdict on a whale.
• The facilitator gave very relevant examples and engaged the audience.

• Increase the time for participation using other tools like jam board,
mentimeter, etc because
• some of us are either not good at using digital learning or have slow
networks
What will I teach a colleague?
• Question for deeper learning (What, How, Why)
• Using various digital tools to get a feedback from learners
• Encouraging learners to work in groups and teams
• Making learners share ideas
• Using observation of what is going on in the immediate environment
to bring upon Creativity & Imagination
Day 3: Teaching Strategies that enhance Critical Thinking

• asking questions to develop deeper thinking and check for

understanding
• creating a learning environment that supports critical thinking and
problem solving
• providing systematic feedback and corrections.
Day 4: The Skill of Citizenship

The Six Dimensions of Wellness

Physical
Occupational
Emotional
Spiritual
Intellectual
Social
Wellness contributes to
• How a person contributes to their environment and community ,and
how to build better living spaces and social networks
• The enrichment of life through work, and its interconnectedness to
living and playing
• The development of belief systems, values, and creating a world-view
• The benefits of regular physical activity, healthy eating habits,
strength and vitality as well as personal responsibility, self-care and
when to seek medical attention
• Self-esteem, self-control, and determination as a sense of direction
• Creative and stimulating mental activities, and sharing your gifts with
others
Day 5: Principles of Core Skills Progression
• Keep it Simple
• Start Young and Keep going
• Keep Practicing
• Focus Tightly
• Bring it to life
• Measure it
 Action Plan
• My List of ideas to implement from this facilitation or Training:
Core Skill: Creativity
Step 15: I support Teacher-trainees to innovate, or by coaching them to be
more innovative
• I will use this in supporting students as they do their projects.
• First I will make them bring a variety of topics of the possible projects
they can do.
• Then from the variety of the topics, we come to choose one after
assessing the requirements of each of the projects.
• Then throughout the project, I will keep track of the students'
achievements as I recommend better approaches to use.
Closure of the Training: Putting into Practice
The Training ended with closing remarks from the:
• Facilitators
Dr. Maina Wa’Gioko
Mr. Alfred Okello

• Commissioner TIET – Mrs. Joan Kajura

• Country Director British Council – Mr. Besa Chilufya