Life skills are not just skills, but a key to unlocking the best things in life!
Qualities like resilience, time management, self-awareness, etc. are certainly assets for a fulfilling life. But these don’t come easy!
These essential life skills are not an inherent part of our personalities. Efforts are required to develop these skills in students. Today, the world is embracing 21st-century education. Because it focuses on building these skills in students. And helps them gain the strength required to thrive in this dynamic world.
Life skills are an imperative part of our online programs at International Schooling! We promote these skills in students through carefully planned activities.
If you wish to know more about our skill-based virtual learning programs, connect with us today!
Let’s understand more about these skills, and explore what it takes to cultivate basic life skills in students!
What are Life Skills?
Broadly, life skills are a set of skills that contribute to one’s holistic development. These are the building blocks of a well-rounded personality. And in the present times, these skills are strong determinants of one’s workplace success.
For a fulfilling life, one needs to develop these skills. Because it is impossible to imagine a decent life without good emotional control, communication abilities, and thinking capacities.
After the definition, let’s understand which are these skills!
Which are the Essential Life Skills for Students
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Creativity
- Self-awareness
- Time management
- Communication
- Resilience
- Self-control
- Emotional regulation
- Collaboration
You can read about time management skills for students in more detail on this page. 
Bringing Simple Life Skills to the Online Classroom
Planning life skills activities in the virtual classroom helps students to learn and practice thinking skills. With small group activities, collaborative projects, and one-on-one discussions, students get a hang of many more skills that they need to develop.
For instance, in an online classroom, cross-cultural peers develop essential life skills through interactions. They get matchless exposure to unique perspectives. All these interactions are an excellent way to promote life skills like empathy, communication, mutual respect, and crucial listening skills in students.
Promoting Healthy Communication
Most life skills for teens focus on communication as it is a great passport to the world. In this digitally-inclined world, communication is not limited to traditional methods alone. New ways of communication like e-mail etiquette, Chatbot assistance, search engine keywords, messaging, etc. are replacing the traditional ways of interacting with the world. In an online learning environment, teachers can plan activities that develop life skills for students. And give them a chance to work on all types of communication including the new methods.
Some examples of these activities are, brainstorming sessions, flipped classrooms, research-based project work with presentations, etc.
Mindfulness and Confidence Building Exercises
Life skills are not limited to thinking and communication alone. Self-regulation, self-awareness, etc. are equally important in today’s world.
A fulfilling life requires a balanced approach and the ability to manage emotions. This is where meditation sessions and mindful activities (like positive affirmations, sharing examples of resilience, etc.) prove beneficial. We can add these to life skills special education. And help students develop these basic life skills.
Real – World Examples
Learning is of great value if we can connect it with real-life examples. You can promote interactions through brainstorming sessions, and give students real-world scenarios to find answers to the given scenarios. Open-ended situations are wonderful to help students develop lateral thinking. Create some engaging yet interactive activities to hone life skills for teens.
In an online learning environment, technology is also a great help to create real-world situations through simulation, and AI-enabled support (tools and applications, etc.). Let students immerse in real-world scenarios and get the hang of real-world situations. 
Games
It’s a fun way to introduce life skills games that involve simulation and help students look for unique answers to real-life situations. You can also try puzzles, board games, Pictionary, drama, etc. are also great in this regard.
Art to Learn About Emotions
You can divide the students into groups or introduce this activity for individual participation. Let students draw different faces depicting emotions. All these drawings can then be collated for a full-fledged collage.
Discussions
A simple conversation about respect, empathy, financial literacy, and how to approach problems gives insights into these essential skills. Invite students to share their ideas, and applaud the most unique and genuine of them all.
Jotting Down Experiences
Encourage students to write about their personal experiences. For instance, they can write about some bad experiences when they needed help (such as a car breakdown on the highway). And how they felt while receiving or not receiving it. This will help them understand the importance of life skills like empathy in everyday situations. Try to keep these situations real, and let students open up about their challenges to learn the ways to tackle them.
Conclusion
Life skills promote pro-social behavior. And help students to become thinking individuals. The world is already witnessing a paradigm shift to innovative and unpredictable workspaces. In a world, where creative thinking is a highly valued workplace skill (a preference of 73.20% of organizations), it’s always worth investing your time and money in life skills activities.
Top 5 Skills that Organizations Look for in Candidates:
So hope you agree that it is high time we shift our focus from academic-only education to skill-based learning!
Discover the perfect online programs to develop life skills in students!
Reach out to International Schooling Today! Thanks for Reading!
Frequently Asked Question
Q1. What are the 10 life skills?
Ans: Some of the simple life skills are:
- Resilience
- Problem-solving
- Emotional regulation
- Creativity
- Self-awareness
- Time management
- Critical thinking
- Self-control
- Communication
- Collaboration
Q2. What are important life skills for students?
Ans: Some crucial life skills for teens are:
- Problem-solving
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Emotional regulation
- Focus
- Financial Literacy etc.
Q3. How to promote life skills special education?
Ans: Teach students to be independent. Plan activities, and create worksheets to help them understand how to manage everyday chores, emotions, and pro-social behavior. Simple life skills activities with comprehensive instructions are also great for such learners.
Mira Lew
Aug 28, 2024
