Mission Skills

Misson Skills

Mission Skills are not necessarily content based and can be taught in every classroom by any teacher.

Mission skills are often intangible and abstract and are transferable across situations, grades, and content areas.

Below is a list of some types of mission skills and why they are important for students to learn.

Teaching mission skills pushes us to rethink learning and become more creative in the way we think about learning, as evidenced in the pictures below.

Remember, our content area (a book, a subject) is the vehicle through which we teach transferable skills. They don't need to know specific dates or formulas or treat names. They can google those. What they can't google is how to be a critical thinker, or empathetic, or creative, etc.

I have paper copies for activities or you can use this digital copy - click, download, save, then type

mission_skills_and_educator_words_activity_editable.pdf
File Size:	100 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Activity 1 - Values

Read through the chart below - pick a few rows to get through in the next 10 minutes.

The chart breaks down why these ideas are important and how we might work to incorporate these ideas into our teaching and students' learning.

Jot down any notes - we will be coming back together to discuss what you see, what it means, and how we might address these ideas at Summerbridge.

The top items in pink are items that define who we are as a program.

The next 4 in yellow are some traits that Moravian Academy values- also items we embody at Summerbridge.

The ones in white are additional ideas that we value in our community.

Mission Skills.pdf
File Size:	93 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Activity 2 - Discovery Learning

Look at the images below. Look at them individually but also as a collective group.

What do you notice?

What kinds of learning do you see happening in these images? How does what you see align with the terms above?

We will come back together and chat about what we see. What are the takeaways?

What might discovery learning look like in your classroom?

How You and Past Summerbridge Teachers Defined an Outstanding Educator

Activity 3
Outstanding Educator Words -
ALLY

First and foremost, we are Allies for our students. Being an ally ultimately encompasses all of the words above

Together, we are going to come up with a personal goal for the summer.

Finish this goal: I want to become an ally for my students in order to______

Fill in the blank - whatever that looks like - a phrase, multiple words, etc.

Write it out on paper, then use this sheet to record your final wording

Together, we will look at all of these and merge it into a single goal.

Let’s do the breakdown we did during your meetings - I will take notes on a doc we all have access to
- Definitions
- Process
- Tangible

Activity 3 - Outstanding Educator Words

In your Summerbridge application, we asked you to list and describe three qualities of an outstanding teacher. Above are the answers you provided.

The qualities you collectively identified are critical in the teaching process and in the process of providing students not just with content area knowledge, but with mission skills that will last a lifetime.

Our job as teachers is to prepare students academically for the next level, but also to provide them with skills that will prepare them for life. This summer is about being your best teacher self.

Activity - Getting Tangible

Now that we have talked about these ideas - the skills we want to build in our students and the traits we want to embody as teachers - how do we work towards making it happen?

Let's get tangible

First task - you will have 5 minutes to select the 3 most important words to you on this list - the 3 things you want to embody as a teacher and that you want to work on this summer. Exclude the word ally - we will do that one together - it will be the 4th word for each person in this room.

Next, download the editable pdf below and complete the first page. You will have 10 minutes to complete this portion. (10 mins)

After you work independently, you will share out with a partner - add to your list as you talk if it makes sense to. (10 mins)

We will share out a few as a group (10 mins)

Now let's move to the second page - take 5 minutes to complete the definition and the first column. (5 mins)

Now let's come back together as a group and share out, adding to our individual thoughts (10-15 mins)

Activity - Online Version

This activity is a modified version of what we would do in person.

Now that we have talked about these ideas - the skills we want to build in our students and the traits we want to embody as teachers - how do we work towards making it happen?

Let's get tangible

We will break out and work together on a google doc. I will assign different people to start on a different part of the doc.

During this activity, your (and our) job is to make our Outstanding Educator traits/words tangible so that you can work to embody them.

You will make them tangible by writing down what these words look like and sound like. Be specific. Be tangible. Lots of examples.