{"id":6496,"date":"2017-03-09T03:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T03:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/fctl\/?p=6496"},"modified":"2019-06-05T20:03:41","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T20:03:41","slug":"soft-skills-an-evolutionary-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/2017\/03\/09\/soft-skills-an-evolutionary-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft Skills: An Evolutionary Tale!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Clark Shaffer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, employers across the country are looking to higher education to develop and implement programs to teach skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving and communication to name only a few.<\/p>\n

As we look at this challenge, questions to consider examining both at today and yesterday:
\n1) Has this dynamic always been in place regarding employers and higher education?
\n2) Looking back 15, 20 even 30 years ago were these skills in such high demand?
\n3) Were the conversations in the workplace as loud as they are today?
\n4) More subtly, has the nature or definition of soft skills changed over the years and if so, what do those changes look like and\/or mean both from the employee and employer perspective?<\/p>\n

There are far too many issues and aspects to address in a short narrative, but in general and from personal observation over the last 25 years, hopefully a worthwhile perspective can be provided!<\/p>\n

Yes, it seems in any conversation I have with employers today, across any industry, the common thread is \u201cWhat is higher education doing to address teaching these skills?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question sounds so simple!<\/p>\n

The solution\/answer is challenging both to develop and consequently implement.<\/p>\n

In reality both the definition of, and what constitutes a soft skill has evolved over the last 25 years. Thirty years ago the most commonly considered soft skill was Work Ethic or, \u201cproviding an honest day\u2019s work for an honest day\u2019s wage.\u201d Clearly many of us from my generation understood the Depression mentality from which that mantra evolved.<\/p>\n

Soft skills today are very different. Even the word \u201csoft skills\u201d has evolved to what employers now call \u201cbasic skills.\u201d Now these \u201cskills,\u201d are more an inherent part of a person\u2019s demeanor and character. They are a skill that can not be taught or disciplined into any individual as was the case in earlier times!<\/p>\n

As evolution of these skills progressed we now hear: Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Problem Solving, and Communication, Integrity, Respect or Listening.<\/p>\n

So, the question becomes: Do you teach Respect the same way you would teach, let\u2019s say, English? I don\u2019t think so!<\/p>\n

How then, do we as teachers connect with students in a meaningful way to teach these skills in a manner students not only grasp and connect with but, more importantly, implement?
\nUnfortunately the question of whether it\u2019s our job to teach these skills is a moot point. Typical ways in which these skills were taught in the past, in the home and in grade schools, are no longer effective in meeting societal needs and\/or expectations. Until those two trends reverse, higher education has a duty to students to help instill those skills in our students.<\/p>\n

Curriculum has been developed in many colleges and universities across the country providing structured courses in these areas as part of a student\u2019s core course work throughout their degree pursuit. However, in the age in which we live in today, the more pertinent question then becomes: How do we teach these skills? Lecture and note taking\u2026.abject failure! Most teachers find this methodology a complete waste of time.<\/p>\n

No, the answer is in connecting with students, talking with and engaging them! Developing projects to help them understand that the importance of these skills transcends their own self-interests and actually connects them with their larger role in the workplace and society in general is the path to success.<\/p>\n

Did we have this challenge 15, 20 or 25 years ago?<\/p>\n

Personally, no! My peers and I did not have the kind of conversations I\u2019m routinely hearing today. Employers expected quality work or, simply, you weren\u2019t around too long or you found yourself relegated to a \u201cpath to nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Very Sincerely – Clark Shaffer – Adj. Prof. & Coordinator for Internships and Employer Outreach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Clark Shaffer<\/strong>
\n
\nToday, employers across the country are looking to higher education to develop and implement programs to teach skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving and communication to name only a few.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[146],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-written-by-faculty"],"acf":{"carousel_content":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}