Teaching Life Skills

4-H is recognized for making learning fun and for encouraging kids to try new things for themselves. 4-H curricula are just as focused on teaching youth important life skills than any specific subject matter. Even though the 4-H Science Discovery Series is about science, it is really more about youth learning to think and learn and apply what they have learned to their lives and surroundings. Life skills are important in helping young people become self-directing, productive, contributing members of society. They are a broad range of skills that are considered life-long needs and important attributes in career exploration and workforce preparation. These life skills have been subdivided into the following five categories:

• Enhance Learning Skills, such as capitalizing on curiosity, coping with change, identifying sources of knowledge, developing psychomotor skills (strength and endurance, coordination, and precision).
• Strengthen and Use Decision Making Skills, such as assessing needs and interests using resources (such as time, energy, talents and money) wisely, establishing goals and priorities.
• Develop a Positive Self-Concept. Self-concept is an emerging belief about oneself that contributes to one's ability to cope successfully with issues in one's life, and eventually making a positive impact on the lives of others.
• Communicate With and Relate to Other People. Develop communication skills that enhance the ability to understand and respect what was said with the openness to develop another point of view. This includes: verbal and non-verbal communication, record keeping practice, social skills such as tact/diplomacy, making friends, negotiation, and conflict management.
• Respond to the Needs of Others and the Community in which they live, to become aware of the concerns of the people who live there, and take appropriate action. This includes: nurturing others in a manner that respects their values and concerns, accepting responsibilities for individual and group goals within the family, club and community setting; and citizenship participation responsibilities.

The Experiential Learning Process

The "learn-by-doing" approach allows youth to experience something with minimal guidance from an adult. Instead of being told "the answers," they are presented with a question, problem, situation, or activity which they must make sense of for themselves. Learning by doing is called "experiential learning" because it is based on learning from experiences.

A helpful resource is Hands-on, Heads-on: The Power of Experiential Learning, a comprehensive training curriculum designed to show how to use the Experiential Learning Model effectively when working with youth. The curriculum contains a video and accompanying facilitator’s guide, as well as a resource website.

Here is a diagram of the Experiential Learning Process used by 4-H:

Click here for a larger view of the image.

Steps to follow - Putting the experiential learning process in action

First, it is important to review the lesson and any accompanying materials, and practice the activities to be taught. As a group leader, the adult should never freely give "the answers" to a question or problem. Instead, the leader helps guide the youth in a process through which they can propose hypotheses and determine "solutions" for themselves. The experiential learning model contains five steps but can be summarized into three main processes: Do, Reflect, and Apply. Not every step of the process is done for every activity and sometimes steps within each of the three are combined. However, it is important to complete at the three main processes of the learning cycle by the time the total lesson unit is completed. Although they are not explicitly labeled this way in the Science Discovery Series, the processes are integral to the curriculum.

Below are the roles of youth and adult leaders in each of the steps of the experiential learning process:

Asking Questions

One of the most important roles of the adult group leader is to stimulate youth to think about "Why?" and "How?" and "What if?" Asking open-ended questions along the way helps challenge youth to think. This also provides opportunities to evaluate their experience and progress. You will notice, that many of these questions are developed for you in the 4-H Science Discovery Series. They are typically listed under the heading, "Discuss." However, you may develop others based on your group’s interests, or the reasons for which you are using the lesson.

Another great resource is Hands-on, Heads-on: The Power of Experiential Learning, a comprehensive training curriculum designed to show how to use the Experiential Learning Model effectively when working with youth. The curriculum contains a video and accompanying facilitator’s guide, as well as a resource website.