Breaking down speaking and problem solving

Having a skill is having the ability to do something. But a skill such as teamwork is actually made up of being able to do lots of different things. For example, teamwork includes working well with others in a positive way, working well with others by taking responsibility for completing tasks, contributing to group decision making, improving a team by resolving unhelpful conflicts, influencing a team by reflecting on progress and suggesting improvements. These are usually learned in a logical order because someone is unlikely to be able to resolve conflicts if they can’t work with others in a positive way.

So we can take one of these broad core skills and break it down into smaller steps and then put these steps into a logical order. This order can help your students make progress. If the steps are done in the wrong order, then students will have difficulties with what you want them to do. For example, if they aren’t able to contribute to group decision making, then they will find it difficult to suggest improvements.

Think about another one of the skills, speaking. We define speaking as the oral transmission of information or ideas. Here are some of the different parts of speaking clearly to someone or presenting effectively in front of a group. What do you think the missing words could be? Pause the video if you want more time to think.

Now think about the skill of problem-solving. We define problem-solving as the ability to find a solution to a situation or challenge. What are some of the different parts of being able to solve a problem? Pause the video and make some notes. Then press play when you are ready to check.

So to recap, we can take one of these broad core skills, break it into smaller steps, and then put these steps into a logical order. Following this order will help your students progress logically.