Infographic: Skills and Attributes of Today's Learner

As you can see, there is a lot of overlap between Jackie Gerstein's illustration of the many skills of today's learners with the growth mindset, especially curiosity and imagination, hope and optimism, self-regulation, vision, agility and adaptability, and resilience:

Skills and Attributes of Today's Learner

(visit the blog post for the full-sized version)

effective oral and written communication

* do you provide learners with lots of opportunities to speak and write using their own unique and genuine voices?

* do you help learners create focus, energy, passion around the oral and written communications they want to make?

collaboration across networks

* do you facilitate global communication and collaboration with your learners?

* do you give learners opportunities to collaborate face-to-face and virtually?

* do you assist your learners in developing their own personal learning networks?

agility and adaptability

* do you accept change as normal and natural, and assist your learners in doing so too?

* are you and your learners flexible?

* do you and your learners use a variety of tools to solve new problems?

grit

* do you give learners opportunities to work on long-term, complex projects?

* do you assist learners in identifying and acknowledging the rewards of persevering through tough times?

resilience

* do you help learners see failures as opportunities for growth?

* do you encourage and reinforce learners' own innate resiliency?

* do you ensure that each and every learner knows "You Matter"?

empathy and global stewardship

* do you provide learners with opportunities for perspective-taking?

* do you assist learners in understanding the interdependence of all living systems?

* do you create opportunities for learners to put empathy into action, engage in pro-social behavior intended to benefit others?

vision for the future

* do you give learners the time, resources, and opportunity to identify and pursue their dreams?

* do you assist learners in developing the steps and strategies needed to achieve their dreams?

self-regulation

* do you model and assist learners in developing and understanding their own metacognitive processes?

* do you help learners develop their own ability to self-motivate?

* do you assist learners in reflecting on and evaluating their learning experiences?

hope and optimism

* do you model, teach, reinforce positive self-talk? a can-do attitude?

* do you assist learners in enhancing their personal agency thinking?

* do you expose learners to stories that portray how others have succeeded or overcome adversity?

curiosity and imagination

* do you promote, encourage, and reinforce inquisitiveness?

* do you encourage your learners to add their own "personal touches" to their learning experiences?

initiative and entrepreneurialism

* do you assist learners in becoming involved in meaningful work?

* do you provide opportunities for learners to take risks, take their own initiative to do things?

critical thinking and problem-solving

*do you promote and reinforce doing things that haven't been done before, where you and your learners have to rethink or think anew?

* do you ask learners to generate and ask their own unique essential questions?