School engagement in adolescence is often associated with better academic performance at school, but what are the longitudinal associations between school engagement and adult educational and employment status? The current study explored these longitudinal associations using data spanning 40-years of life, from the 1970 British Cohort Study.…

Wooden planks are a tool for developing youth skills through science, technology, engineering, and math exploration. These are small planks that can be stacked to create complex structures as youths explore math and physical relationships in an applied context. Building with wooden planks also cultivates planning, reasoning, and team skills as…

A study involving 32 adult persons who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) and successful in their jobs explored the key factors for their success. The results revealed that, in particular, social and personal competencies (soft skills) are important. These soft skills include self-confidence, patience, interest, motivation, ability to communicate,…

When the Model Work Standards were first crafted more than two decades ago, they were built on the premise that quality child care jobs are the cornerstone of high-quality services for children and families. The intent of these standards is to make it possible for those who choose teaching young children as a career to reasonably and responsibly…

Fatigue resulting from sleep deficit can lead to decreased performance in a variety of cognitive domains and can result in potentially serious accidents. The present study aimed to test whether fatigue leads to increased Einstellung (low levels of cognitive flexibility) in a series of mathematical problem-solving tasks. Many situations involving…

Preliminary analysis of data collected from trained expert facilitators of ad hoc creative teams (n=43) found that complex analytical techniques such as costed function modeling and decision criteria matrix may have far more impact upon a team's creative effectiveness than frequently researched measures such as idea quantity. (Contains…

A study described machine operators' problem-solving actions at a computerized circuit-board assembly machine in a small manufacturing plant located on the West Coast. Participants were a machine operator and his supervisor, both from Vietnam, who were building large prototype boards for a major computer corporation. Over a 6.5 minute interval,…

A study of 94 intact autonomous work groups performing multi-part tasks revealed that group creative performance increased exponentially with the number of highly creative group members composing the group. However, this occurred only when Team Creativity-Relevant Processes within the group were relatively high. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Results from a 4-year study tracking creative problem-solving success rates among 952 managers in 8-person teams (4 planners and 4 implementers) are reported. Coordination of subteam role (task) with Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory (KAI) type significantly increased group success rates, while placing KAI types outside their preferred roles…

American attitudes toward the need for teaching twenty-first century skills appear as strong as the socioeconomic research being done that shows how critical these skills are for students' future access to the middle class and the country's economic competitiveness. In 2003, the AOL Time Warner Foundation (now the Time Warner Foundation) set out…

This book is designed to provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the 16 skills that employers believe are workplace basics. Part One centers on the economic importance of the 16 skills and provides a theoretical basis for why these skills are important. Part Two discusses the foundation skill, learning to learn, on which all other skills…

This document, a result of a 3-year study, gives step-by-step instructions for establishing and implementing a program to teach the basic skills necessary in the workplace. The resulting programs use the applied approach that motivates learners by linking learning to improved job performance. The document is intended for practitioners and…