25
1 Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills 2017 Monthly Webinar Series Third Thursday of Every Month | 12pm CT Webinar #9 | September 2017 Critical Thinking Presentation © Wonderlic, Inc. 2017

Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    10

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

1

Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills

2017 Monthly Webinar SeriesThird Thursday of Every Month | 12pm CT

Webinar #9 | September 2017Critical Thinking

Presentation © Wonderlic, Inc. 2017

Page 2: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Housekeeping

• “Grab tab” is on the right of your screen

• Orange arrow expands the menu• You can:

Change audio settings Ask questions Questions are not seen by the

audience• Type any questions in the chat bar• The slides and a recording will be

provided to all registrants in a follow-up email.

Page 3: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Welcome to the webinar

Winnie ClontsPrincipal and Creative Consultant

For almost 30 years, Winnie Clonts has been developing content for Wonderlic’s assessments and surveys and is currently a member of the Wonderlic Soft Skills Bootcamp development team. She has managed corporate divisions including Learning Outcomes, Research and Development, Marketing and Educational Services.

Winnie co-authored the Wonderlic Basic Skills Test (WBST), and was responsible for the development of WebApp, Wonderlic’s original Internet pre-employment screening service. She was an author of the Wonderlic Personnel Test – Revised (WPT-R), the General Assessment of Individual Needs (GAIN) and the Situational Judgement Test (SJT).

Page 4: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

SJ BarakonyFounder & CMA, Service Before Self Leadership SJ is a CMA (Consultant, Mentor, & Advisor), as well as the founder of SBSL, Service Before Self Leadership, an Educational Solutions Provider. He has been an entrepreneur in the education field since 2011.

His business model includes designing &/or implementing customizable solutions for families, individuals, faith institutions, & business owners to help address three deep, fundamental challenges with the traditional approach in the K-12, college/university, & graduate tracks of education in America.

He is presently involved (or has been actively involved) in the following mentorship and advising programs/organizations: • YEA (Young Entrepreneurs Academy) • Teen Entrepreneurial Camp • AWANA• OWU's EMF (Econ Management Fellows) • Sundown Group's “Ask an Expert” Program• ECDI 's Professional Advisory Network

He serves his alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan (OWU), on the Central Ohio Alumni Leadership Board & is also an active member of a non-profit board (ChefVet)

Welcome to the webinar

Page 5: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Today’s agenda

• Define Critical Thinking• Why is critical thinking important?• Guidelines for Critical Thinking• Examples of Critical Thinking• Common Issues Caused by a Lack of

Critical Thinking in the Business World• Roots of the Lack of Critical Thinking in

the Business World• Suggested Reading• Challenge/Response: How to Address?• Continued Conversation• Wrap-Up and Q&A

Page 6: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Audience Poll:

Which of the following best describes the meaning of critical thinking?

A. Providing an honest, objective critique of someone's work.

B. Using objective methods and information to solve problems.

C. Objectively analyzing information to determine credibility.

Page 7: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Define Critical Thinking

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action."

Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer 1987.

Source: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

Page 8: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Define Critical Thinking

"Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way." Linda Elder, September, 2007

Source:http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

Page 9: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Why is critical thinking important?

Evaluate information to identify the truth!

Critical thinking• is a vital part of problem solving• ensures the information used in the decision-making process

is accurate and reliable

Page 10: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Guidelines for Critical Thinking

• Separate factual evidence from opinion.• Prevent emotions from distorting the facts.• Examine issues from all perspectives to get at the truth.• Prevent personal biases from interfering with the

interpretation of facts.

Page 11: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Examples of Critical Thinking

Facts vs. Opinions• The house is painted yellow.• The house is painted an

attractive color.

• The temperature is 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

• The temperature is perfect.

Page 12: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Examples of Critical Thinking

Deductive reasoning proves a conclusion using facts.Inductive reasoning provides support for a conclusion using facts.

Inductive Reasoning • Our line of cars has been improved.• We have increased advertising.• We will sell more cars.

Deductive Reasoning • Sarah is twenty years old.• Her birthday is November 1st.• Next November 1st, Sarah will be

twenty-one years old.

Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning

Page 13: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Fallacies: Consider the Source

On October 10, 1938, Orson Welles performed a radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” that sounded like an actual news report.

Newspapers falsely reported that people panicked and fled the areas he mentioned. These newspaper stories were a hoax created by publishers who were trying to discredit the radio as a news source!

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/history/2013/10/orson_welles_war_of_the_worlds_panic_myth_the_infamous_radio_broadcast_did.html

Page 14: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

"…the status dropout rate decreased from 10.9 percent in 2000 to 5.9 percent in 2015." Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

"The increase in graduation rate means 2.8 million more students graduated rather than dropping out between 2002-2015.“ Source: http://www.americaspromise.org

"1.2 million students drop out of high school every year…" Source: http://www.buildon.org

Fallacies: Psychological Tactics

Page 15: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Common Issues Seen in Business Due to a Lack of Critical Thinking

• Customer Service

• Turnover/Retention

• Matching open positions to candidates

in the pool

• Satisfaction (Meaning, Purpose, Passion)

• Engagement

• Management > Leadership > Replicative Leadership

• Rules/processes (e.g., thick employee handbooks)

• Worn out management

Page 16: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Educated guess: ❏80-90% of schools, regardless of how they are funded (public,

secular private, faith based, charter), either completely overlook teaching critical thinking in the curricula subjects, or offer just a brief, “light” treatment, through a quarter or two of classes, and perhaps not even required for graduation.

This is nothing new. Yet, most prior & current debate in political circles fails to acknowledge this elephant in the room.

Growing awareness? Judge for yourself: Creative Thinking is No Longer an Option ...

The Roots of the Lack of Critical Thinking in the Business World

The Conventional K-12 Educational “Track”

Page 17: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Five “Pie Pieces” - Segmenting the 1,500+ accredited colleges/universities

• Several of these are far more likely to incorporate critical thinking into their credentialing/degree options.

Which ones, you might ask?

• As an employer, be conscious of all five, and exercise discernment in your onboarding decisions, esp. if you hire employees and/or offer contracts or NDAs versus more typical open- ended agreements.

The Roots of the Lack of Critical Thinking in the Business World, Part 2

Traditional College/University (Higher Ed) “Track”

Page 18: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Suggested Reading to Reinforce Today’s Topic

Employers Find Soft Skills Like Critical Thinking ...“Companies have automated or outsourced many routine tasks, and the jobs that remain often require workers to take on broader responsibilities that demand critical thinking …”

Critical Thinking Capabilities ...“This leads to three important reasons why I believe critical thinking should be at the top of the list …”

The Value of a Liberal Arts Education ...“Clearly, all successful careers require critical thinking, teamwork..”

Page 19: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

The Roots of the Lack of Critical Thinking in the Business World, Part 3

Graduate School Programs “Track”

❏What vs. How to Think - BIG difference!

Certain credentialing will be far more disposed to including and/or focusing on the HOW (critical/to think(ing)) than others.

Take-a-way:If your company often hires those with J.D.s, or MBAs, feel welcome to offer your candid input and/or start a discussion within, if you haven’t already.

Page 20: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

The Importance of Teaching Critical Thinking“In order to engage students in critical thinking, the educator needs to act as a facilitator to allow for discussion and encourage a freer thought process …”

Why Critical Thinking is Important “The earlier critical thinking skills are developed, the stronger and more refined they will become. Critical thinking skills not only establishes how we process and respond to information as we learn …”

Creative and Critical Thinking: Assessing the ...“ … We also found that critical thinking was closely associated with the classroom ...”

Suggested Reading to Reinforce Today’s Topic - Continued

Page 21: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Challenge/Response: How to Address?

➔Ask deeper questions during the interviewing process

➔Assign Mentors from Great Books/Liberal Arts backgrounds

➔Always invest in professional development (differs from training)

➔Offer flex time arrangements for staff to pursue self-directed education

➔ Promote those who show clear interest in &

application of critical thinking

➔Never look down on a resume which includes

any self directed content (such as podcasts,

seminars/webinars, audio learning, et al.)

Page 22: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

How to Contact For Continued Conversation

Website: Service Before Self Leadership: An Educational Solutions Provider

Scheduler: SBSL 's Scheduler (incl. email )

LinkedIn Company Page: SBSL on LinkedIn

LinkedIn profile: SJ on LinkedIn

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RkKaizenSbsL

Guest Blog Homepage: Innovate New Albany

Page 23: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Competency Matters.

Soft Skills Training Bootcamp

Final assessments allow users to earn employer-vetted digital badges for the top ten soft skills.

The Wonderlic Soft Skills Training Bootcamp™ provides online and self-paced training with interactive learning experiences to improve soft skills in ten major areas.

Page 24: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Wonderlic Soft Skills Training Overview

Would you like to preview a video that provides an overview of Wonderlic Soft Skills Training?

Type “Send video” in the Questions Box to receive:• a link to the video• an opportunity to take the Critical Thinking course at no charge

Page 25: Take A Hard Look at Soft Skills - Wonderlic

Wrap-Up and Q&A