Untapped Opportunities Hiding in Plain Sight

Up for debate is the recent wave of noncognitive skill initiatives in education. New efforts to expand noncognitive development incorporate so-called soft skills like self-awareness, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and self-management into classroom practice with the hope of developing students into effective learners. 

Proponents believe these noncognitive skills hold promise for making teachers more effective and students more successful. And Lija Farnham, Gihani Fernando, Mike Perigo, Colleen Brosman, and Paul Tough argue that, "the potential for schools to foster more effective learners has not been developed to any significant scale—especially for the students from low-income districts who would benefit the most" in their recent article "Rethinking How Students Succeed" published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review online. They also suggest that, "We are at a moment in time when that could change."

And Playworks founder and CEO Jill Vialet agrees. In her response to the article, she emphasizes the power of noncognitive skills by sharing the experience she gained during 19 years at Playworks, "What’s more, in our experience, we’ve found that there are untapped opportunities to develop those skills hiding in plain sight at schools across the country: through play and recess." Vialet offers a solution to the challenges of scaling social-emotional learning programs posed in "Rethinking How Students Succeed." She believes "a solution predicated on 'fixing' recess stands a great chance of adoption, one that promotes social-emotional learning while eliminating the chaos at recess that detracts from the teaching and learning that our education professionals are so desperately working to deliver."

We encourage you to join the debate.