Skills Builder Global

This content was written by

Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Sui Mui Secondary School

Context

We are a secondary school in Hong Kong. In the past, the criteria for assessing students' abilities has focused on students' academic performance, such as language proficiency and mathematics. However, some students find this more difficult than others and as a result of their poor grades these students are considered less capable. Therefore, by participating in the Skills Builder Accelerator programme, students can be re-assessed for their abilities through the Skills Builder eight essential skills, in addition to their academic performance. At the same time, the Skills Builder Universal Framework provides a clearly structured framework for teaching students essential skills in a step-by-step manner. It provides staff with a clear starting point and a well-defined sequence of teaching so that progress can be checked and evidenced.

Overall impact

This is our second year on the Accelerator + programme and with the support of the Skills Builder team we have created tools for proper grading criteria that can be used to present students' skill levels in a clear and objective manner. We utilise the Skills Builder Universal Framework, which allows us to gain a better understanding of the essential skills of students at different levels. We can then apply appropriate methods to help them improve their skills. This year we have expanded the number of subjects in our interdisciplinary curriculum that now includes essential skills and all these subjects incorporate a career planning element and Skills Builder criteria for assessing students' skills in the existing regular curriculum.

Keep it simple

This year, we have expanded the number of essential skills to include: Listening, Speaking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Aiming High, Staying Positive and Teamwork. We have posted the steps of the key skills in the classroom display boards where we conduct the program so that the steps of the skills are clearer to the students and also created a large Skills Builder bulletin board in a prominent position in our school. Certificates and awards are given to students that reference essential skills.There is a reward scheme for students to exchange for prizes and this also helps motivate teachers. To aid language differences we translated the skills and skill steps, this made it easier for the students and faculty staff to view. We also conducted additional staff training this year to include training for all our teachers and support staff including Social Workers, EP and general office staff. This is accompanied by a pre-training handbook that includes all the information teachers need to teach essential skills effectively. Essential skills have now become a strategic priority for all staff and students.

Start early, keep going

In our first year we introduced the Skills Builder programme in grade 9 and held talks and program kick-off ceremonies for them to start the program. Now in our second year, we have expanded the programme to include secondary 1,2 and 3.

Measure it

We have multiple ways to measure progress in all of our classes. For example, in the Chinese TSA Conversation module, we have set up two proficiency measures. In the D&T module, we have also set up measures to assess students' Creativity and Problem-Solving skills. At the end of the semester, our own skills report card allows students and teachers to test the skills of our students. These provide evidence not only for learning but also for future planning. Also, It provides a platform for teachers to pass information to each other. This year we also introduced a new platform ‘HoloTracker’ for teachers to effectively record the progress of their learners; more than 2830+ observations have been made so far.

Focus tightly

In our second year we have concentrated on seven essential skills, including Listening, Speaking, Creativity, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Aiming High and Staying Positive. We have designed lesson plans for each subject curriculum that incorporate the essential skill steps. This includes Chinese, Design and Technology, Music, Physical Education, Art and the Class Teacher Period. As well as our assembly lessons, our annual Parents Seminar and Experiential Groups. This ensures that the focus essential skill step levels are targeted and focused on during the lessons and additional activities.

Keep practising

The essential skills are integrated into the curriculum and reinforced in each lesson therefore students can directly link essential skills to a subject and have multiple opportunities to practice the skills. Our Sports teams are an essential arena to practice the essential skills for all students.

Bring it to life

In the daily life of our students, our school has created a skills report card for parents to understand their students' abilities. At the same time, through parent-teacher conferences and notices, we discuss Skills Builder allowing parents to test their students' abilities at home. In this way, students are able to test their abilities and improve them in their daily lives, both at school and at home. Each subject curriculum contains a project based experience with a final rubric for assessing students application of essential skills and progress. Each subject also contains a Life and Career Planning component that links the real world to the essential skills for our learners.

What's next

To ensure the Skills Builder framework continues to become an integral part of our school culture, our future plans will continue to focus on the following key areas: ⁠Continued development as a Core School Strategy Continued establishment of Skills Builder as a key, long-term development strategy for the school, ensuring sustained focus and resource allocation. Continued School-Wide Implementation and Platform Integration To continue our school-wide programme To create a unified platform for all parents, students, and teachers to collaboratively engage with and continue their Skills Builder development together. ⁠Deeper integration into Curriculum and Activities To systematically embed skills development into all of our school activities and events. To develop our Skills Builder teacher form period further, making it a core component of the standard curriculum. Sustained Promotion and Communication To continue to actively promote the continuous use of the Skills Builder platform and its resources among all students and teachers. To maintain a strong visual presence on campus by setting up large-scale display boards and other promotional materials to consistently highlight the importance of this initiative.

Hong Kong