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This list was compiled by Rebecca Jones for the YLSIG
discussion list
as part of a fielded discussion on curriculum design.
The ability to:
listen to, support and learn from each other
concentrate throughout a demonstration or a given task
collaborate and cooperate with others: taking turns (waiting patiently), sharing ideas and materials, playing fair, encouraging and helping
organise and order tasks and equipment/materials
understand and follow a classroom procedure or routine
show respect for other students/the teacher and their property (ie. not pushing, grabbing, taking things without permission)
take responsibility for actions and property
The ability to:
express generosity
express empathy and use positive problem resolution strategies (ie. make room for a child who can't see the story book or explain the instructions again to another student who looks confused)
compromise with a smile
identify, express and distinguish between different emotions and manage their own emotional reactions within the class
embrace positivity and enthusiasm in the face of a challenge
feel confident enough to take risks in order to learn more
The ability to:
coordinate movements (including eye movements)
express meaning and feelings through appropriate body language (and read this in others)
use their voices to express emotions and intentions through changing intonation, pitch, volume, speed, rhythm etc.
The ability to:
identify and state their individual and team/class needs (ie. I can't do this because my pencil's broken, therefore I need to ask for a sharpener or a new pencil -as opposed to doing nothing or just taking another child's)
asking for permission, help, explanations when appropriate
evaluate own behaviour, strengths and weaknesses (ie. know what they find hard or easy, what they enjoy, whether they have behaved appropriately or not, etc.)
use and develop their powers of deduction, prediction, consequential logic etc.
be creative, imaginative and flexible in their approaches
be inquisitive (research suggests that these kinds of positive attitudes can not only be encouraged, they can be taught!)
I appreciate that some of these "sound" complex, however, I would like to suggest that they all have an important role to play in the learning environments of even our youngest learners. For example, "Evaluate own behaviour" for my students aged 4 means that they can give me one or two thumbs up (or a flat hand for "could do better") when asked how well they think they listened/participated/helped their teams etc. at the end of a class. Indeed, I believe that awareness raising activities such as this go a long way to increasing their sense of responsibility for their own learning later on.
