SOFT SKILLS PREDICT WORK SUCCESS
WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO DEVELOP THEM
https://surveyhero.com/c/7fa5fe6
AGENDA
• Hard skills and soft skills.
• What is learning? How do we acquire different types of skills?
• What foundational skills need to be in place for soft skills to
develop?
• What does all that imply for helping individuals learn soft skills?
• Two Sample Exercises:
• Communication
• Flexibility
WHAT RESEARCH SAYS BUSINESS MANAGERS PRIORITIZE
• Communication – oral, speaking capability, written, presenting, listening
• Courtesy – manners, etiquette, business etiquette, gracious, says please and thank you, respectful
• Flexibility – adaptability, willing to change, lifelong learner, accepts new things, adjusts, teachable
• Integrity – honest, ethical, high morals, has personal values, does what’s right
• Interpersonal Skills – nice, personable, sense of humor, friendly, nurturing, empathetic, has self-
control, patient, sociability, warmth, social skills
• Positive Attitude – optimistic, enthusiastic, encouraging, happy, confident
• Professionalism – businesslike, well-dressed, appearance, poised
• Responsibility – accountable, reliable, gets the job done, resourceful, self-disciplined, wants to do
well, conscientious, common sense
• Teamwork – cooperative, gets along with others, agreeable, supportive, helpful, collaborative
• Work Ethic – hard working, willing to work, loyal, initiative, self-motivated, on time , good attendance
Source: Marcel Robles, Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace, 2012
WHAT IS LEARNING?
• Learning is the act of making (and strengthening) connections between thousand of neurons forming neural networks or maps.
•Memory is the ability to reconstruct or reactivate the previously-made connections.
WHAT IS LEARNING?
• Learning is the act of making (and strengthening) connections between thousand of neurons forming neural networks or maps.
•Memory is the ability to reconstruct or reactivate the previously-made connections.
•Neurons that fire together, wire together!Neurons that fire together, wire together!Neurons that fire together, wire together!Neurons that fire together, wire together!
MEMORY EXPERIMENT
•bed
•rest
•awake
•tired
•dream
•snore
•nap
•peace
•yawn
•drowsy
•wake
•snooze
•blanket
•doze
•slumber
MEMORY EXPERIMENT
•bed
•rest
•awake
•tired
•dream
•snore
•nap
•peace
•yawn
•drowsy
•wake
•snooze
•blanket
•doze
•slumber
TWO DISTINCT TYPES OF LONG-TERM MEMORY
• Declarative Memory
Our general knowledge and our life experiences
that we can declare or recall consciously.
• Procedural Memory
Skills and habits that have been practiced to the
point where they are automatic and unconscious.
PROCEDURAL MEMORYPROCEDURAL MEMORYPROCEDURAL MEMORYPROCEDURAL MEMORY
Processes that have been practiced or repeated
to the extent that they have become automatic.
Knowing “how.”
Driving a car, writing, reading, typing, throwing a
pass in football, walking, playing the piano, etc.
DECLARATIVE MEMORYDECLARATIVE MEMORYDECLARATIVE MEMORYDECLARATIVE MEMORY
SemanticSemanticSemanticSemanticOur general knowledge
Language, people, places, faces, concepts, facts.
Independent of context.
EpisodicEpisodicEpisodicEpisodicOur life
experiences
Specific events and emotions connected with these events.
Reconstructed over time.
Information that we can declare or tell someone else.
Knowing “what.”
TWO TYPES OF REHEARSALTWO TYPES OF REHEARSALTWO TYPES OF REHEARSALTWO TYPES OF REHEARSAL
Rote Rehearsal Rote Rehearsal Rote Rehearsal Rote Rehearsal - deliberate, continuous repetition of material in the same form in which it originally entered working memory.
Best for creating strong procedural memoryprocedural memoryprocedural memoryprocedural memory....
Elaborative Rehearsal Elaborative Rehearsal Elaborative Rehearsal Elaborative Rehearsal – elaborating or integrating information, giving it some kind of “hook” to increase retention, creating chunks of reminders.
Best for creating strong declarative memorydeclarative memorydeclarative memorydeclarative memory.
DECLARADECLARADECLARADECLARATIVE MEMORYTIVE MEMORYTIVE MEMORYTIVE MEMORY
• The more elaboratively information is rehearsed at the moment of learning, the stronger the memory.
• The more modalities used to rehearse, the more paths you have for retrieval.
• The more real-world examples given, the more likely the concept will be understood and remembered (importance and
meaning).
• The more information is linked to previous learning, the stronger the memory.
Literacy SkillsPhonics/Phonemic Awareness,
Word Decoding, Fluency, Vocabulary,
Comprehension
Foundational Cognitive SkillsAttention (Sustained, Selective, Flexible), Visual Processing (Visual
Discrimination, Visual Span, Visual Form Consistency, Visualization), Auditory
Processing , Sensory Integration (Processing Speed, Timing and Rhythm,
Visual-Auditory Integration, Simultaneous and Sequential Processing), Memory
(Immediate Short-Term, Short-Term, Long-Term)
Core Executive FunctionsWorking Memory, Inhibitory Control, Cognitive Flexibility
Higher Order Executive FunctionsReasoning, Problem-Solving, Planning,
Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Creativity,
Communication
Numeracy SkillsNumber Sense, Operation Sense,
Computation, Measurement, Probability
Academic Performance
Educational Attainment
Workplace Performance
Lifetime Income
Health Outcomes
Legal & Safety
A HIERARCHY OF SKILLS
Technology SkillsDigital Media Use, Productivity
Tools, Programming, Systems
Thinking
IMPROVING COGNITIVE SKILLS WITH TRAINING
74
46
6166
75
55
646969
5461
66
8893 93 93
Executive Functions Verbal Working Memory Short Term Memory Broad Attention
Control Pre-Test Control Post-Test
BrainWare Pre-Test BrainWare Post-Test
"Effect of Neuroscience-Based Cognitive Skill Training on Growth of Cognitive Deficits Associated with Learning
Disabilities …” Sarah Abitbol Avtzon. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 2012
90% is
normally
developing
FLEXIBILITY
• First, become aware of your own mental
models, the unconscious models of how the
world is.
• Then explore how mental models affect your
relationships and how you function at
school/work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=T9-a1tiT66E
COMMUNICATION
You have recently started a job mowing lawns for a landscaping
company owned by your best friend’s brother. You’ve been working for
the company about three weeks and you really feel like you’re getting
into the groove. In fact, it might be the perfect job for you; you love
being outside and you can listen to your music while you work. Last
week, your company had assigned you to a different area of town so
someone else had taken care of the lawn for the customer whose
house you are just about to start on.
Source: Adapted from Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for
Workplace Success
COMMUNICATION
You hired a new company to mow your lawn a few weeks ago. Last
week when you got home after your lawn had been mowed, you were
very unhappy with the results. It was a mess! It looked awful! You
really want to express how dissatisfied with the job you are. The cut
grass was left on the lawn, the edges weren’t straight. Today is the day
your lawn gets mowed and you’ve just been thinking about how
irresponsible the lawn mower is when he/she arrives to mow your lawn.
DECLARADECLARADECLARADECLARATIVE MEMORYTIVE MEMORYTIVE MEMORYTIVE MEMORY
• The more elaboratively information is rehearsed at the moment of learning, the stronger the memory.
• The more modalities used to rehearse, the more paths you have for retrieval.
• The more real-world examples given, the more likely the concept will be understood and remembered (importance and
meaning).
• The more information is linked to previous learning, the stronger the memory.
DEVELOPING SOFT SKILLS
• Cognitive training to develop the underlying mental processes and
executive functions that have to be functioning efficiently and
accurately.
• Elaborative rehearsal, over time.
• Connecting to real life.
• Multiple modalities.
COMMONLY HELD BELIEFS ABOUT HARD AND SOFT SKILLS
• Hard skills can be learned and perfected over time, but soft skills are more
difficult to acquire and change.
• Companies that value learning as a soft skill recognize various learning styles
and encourage workers to pursue the methods that work best for them..
• Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that can be defined and measured,
such as typing, writing, math, reading and the ability to use software programs
• The term "interpersonal skills" is somewhat of a misnomer because it refers
to character traits possessed by an individual rather than skills that can be
taught in a classroom.
Source: Investopedia
BRAINWARE
• Software that develops 41 cognitive skills critical for
learning
• Comprehensive
• Integrated
• Grounded in neuroscience and derived from clinical
therapy best practices
• Delivered in an engaging digital game-based format
• Recommended usage:
• 10-14 weeks
• 30-45 minutes
• 3-5 times/week
• For ages 6 to 106
BrainWare SAFARI – Published Research
“A Study of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Skill Therapy Delivered in a Video-Game Format”
Helms, D. and Sawtelle, S.M., Optometry & Vision Development, Volume 38, Number 1, 2007.
Pre-Test
Post-Test
Ag
e (
Ye
ars
)
+ 4 yr 3 mo
+ 1 yr 11 mo
Students 1st through 7th Grades – Range of Abilities, Woodcock Johnson III
BRAINWARE SAFARI – COLLEGE-AGE
Student Change in IQ Greatest Area of Gain
Female, Age 41 6 points, pre- and post- within Average
Range
Matching (pattern recognition,
processing speed)
Female, Age 19 21 points, moved from bottom of Low
Average to middle of Average Range
Matching (pattern recognition,
processing speed)
Sequences (pattern
recognition, prediction)
Male, Age 27 12 points, moved from Average to High
Average Range
Analogies (relationships),
Sequences (pattern
recognition, prediction
STUDENT COMMENTS ON AREAS IMPROVED
• Memory
• Focus
• Listening skills
• Motivation and persistence
• Speed and accuracy
• Dealing with frustration
• Sustained attention
• Critical thinking
DEMONSTRATION
• Three Exercises
• Working Memory – Bear Shuffle
• Inhibitory Control – Web Weaving
• Cognitive Flexibility – Iguana Lookout
• Note: multiple skills are developed in each of the exercises in
BrainWare SAFARI, like cross-training.
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