Adaptability
Topic 3-A introduced the skills of Adaptability and Managing Complexity, as defined by the enGauge 21st Century Skills report. Review this Key Information and page 34-35 in the report in preparation for Activity 3-B-1.
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills also lists adaptability among the Life and Career Skills students will need to be successful after graduation. Review this information for the activity as well.
Promoting self-determination to students can help them to take charge in various situations and adapt to circumstances they find themselves in. Review the article, Self-Determination: Supporting Successful Transition, to explore how to encourage students to be self-determined.
In their book, The Adaptive School, Robert J. Garmston and Bruce M. Wellman provide a framework of strategies for facilitating change in the increasingly complex culture of schools. Their focus on creating collaborative groups includes a chapter on using conflict as a resource, in which they suggest that conflict is an important resource for forging better practices. Conflict, like failure, can be a key strategy in developing skills of adaptability (and risk taking).
To learn more about Garmston and Wellman's approach, explore the Center for Adaptive Schools website. Their approach is meant for educational leaders to use with teachers and other staff members, but it can be easily adapted for use by teachers with students. These ideas, too, might form a foundation for your response to Activity 3-B-1.