Page 8 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

COGNITIVE The Concepts, Processes, and Tools listed on these two pages are fundamental
to Process Education and underlie the design and contents of this book.
SOCIAL
Learning Skills
AFFECTIVE
Remember when you learned how to ride a bike? Riding a bike is certainly a skill. So is juggling,
texting, speaking a foreign language, and dancing the tango.

The skills covered in Foundations of Learning are a bit different; they’re learning skills. They are the
skills used in the process of learning, and which aren’t limited to a single situation or context, but apply
across many different context. When you improve your learning skills, you increase your ability to learn.

Process educators have classified learning skills in four domains: cognitive (dealing with thinking),
social (dealing with people), affective (dealing with emotions), and psychomotor (dealing with motor
skills). In Appendix B, more than 200 skills within the cognitive, social, and affective domains are
identified. For this course, we will focus on 25 of these:

Learning Skills for Foundations of Learning

Observing—seeing details in an environment/object
Recording—writing out information
Outlining—identifying primary and secondary groupings
Identifying assumptions—examining preconceptions/biases
Inquiring—asking key questions
Exploring context—seeing the relationship of parts to the environment
Interpreting—adding meaning for better understanding
Using prior knowledge—integrating unprompted knowledge
Transferring—using ideas in a new context
Validating—using alternative methods to test results
Clarifying expectations—defining proficiency level

Attending—mindful focusing by a listener
Checking perceptions—feeding back implied meaning
Defining purpose—specifying outcomes for a message
Taking an interest in others—enjoying personal differences
Being non-judgmental—responding with an assessment mindset

Observing self—noticing one’s actions
Listening to self—being conscious of one’s point of view
Believing in oneself—developing and maintaining self-esteem
Collaborating—working together for mutual benefit
Being curious—wanting to find out more
Managing resources—applying assets and means to important goals
Prioritizing—addressing what is most important
Persisting—continuing despite difficulties
Committing to future—engaging life goals

2 Foundations of Learning