E4A Challenge Days can help your students practice and develop personalised learning and thinking skills (PLTS).

Personalised Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) includes:

• Independent enquirers
• Creative thinkers
• Reflective learners
• Team workers
• Self-managers
• Effective participators

Independent enquirers

Focus:
Young people process and evaluate information in their investigations, planning what to do and how to go about it. They take informed and well-reasoned decisions, recognising that others have different beliefs and attitudes.

E4A challenge days:

• Pose questions to answer and problems to resolve
• Require students to explore and solve challenges from different perspectives
• Demand a critical approach to information
• Allow individuals feelings and beliefs to be expressed
• Produce consensus outcomes based upon argument, fact and opinion

Creative thinkers

Focus:
Young people think creatively by generating and exploring ideas, making original connections. They try different ways to tackle a problem, working with others to find imaginative solutions and outcomes that are of value.

E4A challenge days:

• Encourage the creative generation of ideas
• Stimulate and question thinking as part of solutions
• Encourage individuals to challenge assumptions
• Require experimentation to try different solutions
• Demand flexible responses to changing situations

Reflective learners

Focus:
Young people evaluate their strengths and limitations, setting themselves realistic goals with criteria for success. They monitor their own performance and progress, inviting feedback from others and making changes to further their learning.

E4A challenge days:

• Encourage reflection on the qualities and contributions of their peers
• Provide feedback on performance, with celebration of success and achievement
• Involve all students in the evaluation of their progress and achievements
• Require reflection on what might have been done differently for an improved outcome

Team workers

Focus:
Young people work confidently with others, adapting to different contexts and taking responsibility for their own part. They listen to and take account of different views. They form collaborative relationships, resolving issues to reach agreed outcomes.

E4A challenge days:

• Promote collaboration in pursuit of a common team goal
• Encourage individuals to reach a consensus view on solutions and methods
• Expect all students to show respect
• Promote responsible actions, and develop personal confidence and self-esteem
• Provide mentors who deliver constructive support and feedback

Self-managers

Focus:
Young people organise themselves, showing personal responsibility, initiative, creativity and enterprise with a commitment to learning and self-improvement. They actively embrace change, responding positively to new priorities, coping with challenges and looking for opportunities.

E4A challenge days:

• Allow young people to act on their own initiative, agreeing key roles, and responding to changing situations
• Expect students to manage the use of time and other resources
• Allow students to take and handle risks, within acceptable limits
• Introduce change situations which require positive action by students if they are to succeed in their challenge

Effective participators

Focus:
Young people actively engage with issues that affect them and those around them. They play a full part in the life of their school, college, workplace or wider community by taking responsible action to bring

E4A challenge days:

• Use real-life scenarios which are relevant to the student, school and community
• Promote positive action
• Can be followed through into ongoing projects, embedded within other curriculum areas
  Require the application of core functional skills
• Necessitate the use of negotiation skills in order to reach workable compromises and solutions

See how E4A challenge days can help your students develop personalised learning and thinking skills (PLTS).