The following is part of a series of interviews conducted as part of the VISKI Education Erasmus+ project, which focuses on bringing together learners, educators, and employers through challenge-based learning and demonstration of skills acquired through formal and informal education.
Educators at higher education institutions (HEIs) always have the development of student‘s transversal skills in mind, according to Dr. Arne Ortland, a researcher and instructor at the University of Vechta in northern Germany. Such skills are „linked to understanding the challenges of today and how to address them.“
Considering the skills listed as part of the Partnership for 21st Century Learning’s Framework for 21st Century Learning, two skills that raised questions for Dr. Ortland were „productivity“ and „information, communication, and technology (ICT).“ Quality should be prioritized over productivity and while a basic understanding of ICT is important, because it contains so many different digital skills, the term ICT becomes ambiguous. Dr. Ortland cautions that out of context, ICT may not be useful.
To counter these concerns, Dr. Ortland points to the importance of social and „transformative“ skills, including self-direction, initiative, critical thinking, problem-solving, understanding changes and complex problems, as well as the complexity of the problems we face in today’s world. These types of skills can also be categorised as transversal skills, skills that benefit employees and employers, no matter the job or profession.
The Covid pandemic worsened student’s existing struggle with taking initiative and self-direction, in Dr. Ortland’s view. Encouraging and enabling students to take on challenges, address problems in their communities, and to roll with the ups and downs of such processes is key to helping students develop into their potential.
Dr. Ortland considers decision-making based on objective data an issue at a basic level. This is one point on which VISKI Education aims to help. In developing an opportunity- a tool- to simultaneously demonstrate and develop transversal skills such as decision-making, the VISKI Education project is poised to offer learners a chance to exercise their initiative in an innovative way. Highlighting the skills and knowledge learners gain through formal and informal education builds confidence and inspires curiosity about what is possible. This approach creates transparency about what is being learned, which Ortland views as a benefit for those who participate in challenge-based learning and those who are merely observers of the results.
Resources: Framework for 21st Century Learning, 2019, Battelle for Kids. https://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/P21_Framework_Brief.pdf
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