Non-Cognitive Skills Becoming Increasingly More Important

Within the past decade or so, various research has shown that non-cognitive, or soft skills, are becoming more vital to success. Up until now, cognitive skills have been emphasized in most schools. These skills are the ones that get measured on IQ tests, and on achievement tests which are usually taken throughout elementary and high school years. However, non-cognitive skills, such as social, interpersonal, communication, and emotional skills, are in fact a stronger measure of success in the future. As students progress through years of schooling, these skills continue to be acquired and strengthened.

Although it should only take about 32 hours of schooling to pass the General Education Development Test (GED), the extra hours in school are worthwhile.

The GEDs are designed for students looking to receive their high school diploma by passing a test rather than going through four years of schooling. According to researcher and economist Dr. James Heckman, the average study time for a student in high school is 1000 hours per year, so about 4000 in all. As mentioned, the average study time estimated to pass the GED is around 32 hours. In order to see if these years of schooling were worth it, Heckman decided to research the topic. He conducted a survey where he sampled thousands of students who didn't attend high school, but passed the GEDs, and students who completed high school, He followed them into their adult years and found that those who attended high school for four years were "significantly outperforming" those who didn't.  As the graduate coordinator for an academic enrichment program called America Counts, Douglas Welcome explains how "opportunities of socialization" cause this discrepancy to exist.



The non-cognitive skills learned in the classroom are extremely valuable in our current society.

As shown in the graphic above, some of these skills include responsibility, communicating, leadership, and dependability. Currently, due to the volume of people looking for jobs, there is a lot of competition amongst job-seekers. These non-cognitive skills are a huge asset to have when it comes to interviews and making a good impression on management. In order to see what the general public's feeling was on the importance of non-cognitive skills I asked a few people to share any insight they may have.

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These two opinions highlight the importance of these skills in the work force. Many times, people believe that they can succeed by only getting good grades. However, some of these other skills are not even tested for by our education system. Recent research from the Harvard Business Review showed that success in executive roles, such as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, depend more on leadership skills and an understanding of business fundamentals rather than technical skills and functional knowledge.Therefore, it is important to remember to work on these skills at a younger age, for they definitely are treasured later on in life.

Non-cognitive skills can still be learned later in life, but will become more useful if learned throughout childhood.

Cognitive skills and pure IQ tends to be hardened at a much younger age than non-cognitive skills. If you're in the top of the distribution at age 10, you're probably going to be at the top at age 30. Non-cognitive skills are totally different, and can be taught at later ages. According to one study, 80% of the skills learned in school are characterized as non-cognitive skills. The interactions that take place in these environments help students learn extremely important skills. Welcome also says that people should still try and grasp these skills earlier in life so they can be perfected later on in life.



There are many different ways non-cognitive skills can be learned within our education system.

Everything from boarding schools to public schools to private schools have committed to teach character, and not just the ABCs. Despite this, standardized testing of math, reading and other cognitive skills has grown throughout the 20th century. Now, the main focus of our teachers and schools is to make sure students are equipped with all the knowledge they need to pass standardized tests. The reason for this switch could be because these cognitive skills are easily measured; whereas it is hard to quantify one's social or communication skills. Even though this is the main focus of our education system, there has, indeed, been a recent push to focus more on non-cognitive skills. According to the Wall Street Journal, business schools are focusing more on "soft skills" to help students become successful business leaders. These different approaches can be applied at the elementary school level too, as Welcome explains some potential tactics teachers should utilize in the classroom.



Due to the plethora of evidence and studies done on non-cognitive skills, it is evident that these skills are becoming more important to master. Our teachers and school systems will continue to learn more about these skills, and begin implementing more ways to help children learn.

Expert Interviews

Background Info

Topic: Non-cognitive skills are more important than cognitive skills throughout child development and during adult years.

            Throughout the last decade or so, there has been more and more talk regarding the importance of non-cognitive skills. Cognitive skills include memory, attention, planning, language and thinking skills; whereas non-cognitive skills include interpersonal, communication, and emotional skills. Our education system stresses the importance of measurable, cognitive skills, yet research has shown that non-cognitive skills are, in fact, more important throughout life.

           According to one study conducted in 2001, years of schooling predicts labor market outcomes—cognitive skills account for only 20%; therefore 80% of the “years of schooling” benefit is due to non-cognitive skills (Bowles, Gintis, & Osborne, 2001). Although our success in education is based on performance tests (cognitive skills), the most important skills we learn are actually non-cognitive skills. GED holders have equal cognitive skills as HS grads, but commit more crimes and have worse labor market outcomes. This is because most of what is learned in school is non-cognitive.

           The fact that our education system uses cognitive skills as a measure of intelligence is problematic. A well-studied, early childhood program in the Perry Preschool in Ypsilanti, Mich disproves the claims of some scholars that early childhood interventions are not effective. Because test score advantages for children with preschool experiences tend to fade as they go through school, many scholars concluded that preschool programs are irrelevant. However, many of the social skills learned during these years are important for non-cognitive development. Due to the plethora of evidence and studies done on non-cognitive skills, it is evident that these skills are more important than cognitive skills.

Question 1: I know that non-cognitive skills are acquired throughout preschool and elementary school, but how exactly are non-cognitive skills learned during childhood?

Question 2: Is there anything that educators can due to enhance these skills?

Question 3: Is there a certain age where non-cognitive skills must be learned in order for people to be successful/master these skills?  

On the street interview

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Dialogical Ethics and the Crisis in Korea

      Rooted in ancient Greece philosophy, the concept of dialogical ethics has really emerged, for it is now important in the realm of journalism. According to some scholars, dialogue is a natural inclusion in any discussion of ethics because dialogue is inherently ethical. This is because dialogue gives all interested parties an equal chance to give their input and arrive at an understanding of one another's viewpoints. Neher and Sandin argue that dialogical ethics are "a system in which ethics can be judged by the attitudes and behaviors demonstrated by each participant in a communication transaction." In other words, participants must be respectful of each other's opinion and accept others views without judgment. Although the media today can often force opinions upon people, it is extremely important that we formulate our own opinions as consumers of the media.

 
One of the most controversial issues in our world today includes the relationship between North Korea and South Korea.

On Monday, North Korea declared invalid the armistice from 1953 that had ended the Korean War. The potential danger with no armistice agreement in place is really frightening. The two countries would be able to resume hostlities and this could drag in the United States, which already has about 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea. The hostility between North Korea and South Korea has continued to intensify even following the truce from about 60 years ago, but this could lead to North Korea using its weapons of mass destruction. One North Korean war-vet is quoted as saying, "I am still keeping a bullet that I failed to fire at a trench in the 1950s because the U.S. imperialists and their stooges signed an armistice agreement."

Although this news is scary and disheartening, Madison Park, a CNN correspondent, does a great job of abiding by dialogical ethics throughout the article.

As mentioned in our text "Converging Media: A New Introduction to Mass Communication", the media has often made the mistake of trying to control the dialogue by rejecting dissent.  Since Park is the author of a news article with such political importance,  she could have influenced the public by providing some biased insight regarding this topic. However, Park outlines her article in a way that provides just the facts. In her article, Parks uses a question-and-answer technique to get her information across. For example, she writes "How have relations been since the armistice?". Her answer is based strictly on facts, and she cites some specific acts of violence such as the sinking of a South Korean warship to support her answer. Park also does a good job of presenting both sides of the controversy. She takes a very unbiased viewpoint on the whole situation, and she outlines how each country has been affected since the armistice along with the potential impact of an invalid armistice. This allows for the readers to formulate their own opinions and thoughts about the reading.

The comments at the bottom of the webpage represent an unethical dialogue between different readers.

Like advertising companies, many of the people posting comments are using people as a means to an end. In many of these threads, people are looking to persuade others to change their beliefs and the success of their argument is based on how many people do so. From a dialogical ethics perspective, this is highly unethical. The commenting feature that is found on many online news articles has also been ridiculed by the general public. One survey, done in 2011, showed that 63% of readers don't care about the comments and are, in fact, less likely to visit that webpage if it allows for user comments. This statistic proves the negative effects that the social media  and the importance of dialogical ethics.

Due to the growth of the social media, people are being infiltrated with information constantly.

The inability for people to gather their own thoughts and opinions has really been destructive to American society. Dialogical ethics is important to maintain because it condemns the idea of controlling dialogue. With pertinent issues arising everyday, such as the news with Korea, it is vital for journalists to report the news in an agenda-free, unbiased way that allows for consumers to develop their own viewpoints. Also as news stories are published, it is important that people express their viewpoints in a respectful way, and engage in the ongoing dialogue.

FM radio: An invention that transformed the radio industry

   As one of the most prolific inventor in radio's history, Edwin Howard Armstrong had a huge impact on the radio industry with the invention of FM radio. In 1934, Armstrong invented frequent modulation (FM) radio. This whole new approach to transmitting radio signals proved to be much more efficient than AM radio.
  Even after improving AM radio in the mid-1930s, Armstrong still realized that their were many limitations involved with AM radio.

Some of these limitations included static interference, limited auto quality, and nighttime interference. Since Armstrong was technologically gifted, he decided that by changing the frequency, there would be much better quality. The difference between AM and FM radio is that for AM radio, the amplitude, or overall strength, of the signal is varied to incorporate the sound information. With FM, the frequency (the number of times each second that the current changes direction) of the carrier signal is varied. Therefore, slight changes in amplitude would cause AM radio to become very static; wheras FM radio would be unaffected. This technological breakthrough revolutionized the radio industry, and by 1980, there were almost as many FM stations as there were AM.
 
The real effect of Armstrong's invention wasn't noticed until years later due to the legal battle Armstrong had with the RCA.

David Sarnof, the head of the RCA, was out to protect the existing AM radio empire and the RCA didn't want the competition from a new, and better form of radio. In 1937, Armstrong financed construction of the first FM radio station, W2XMN, a 40 kilowatt broadcaster in Alpine, New Jersey. The signal could be heard clearly 100 miles away, despite the use of less power than an AM radio station. Years of costly legal battles ensued and unfortunately Armstrong could not afford to keep fighting. After the RCA shut down the FM radio station, Armstrong continued to sell the rights to manufacture FM radio to several companies.  By 1941, there were 50 FM stations on air. However, with the growth of the television and constant pressure by the RCA, these stations all shut down by 1949.
   Due to the impact of the media, many people were reluctant to go out and buy FM radio transmitters. Since the RCA constantly criticized FM radio, people decided to believe them and stick with AM radio. Following Armstrong's suicide in 1954, many other inventors continued to work on the model he created in the 1930s. This led to the rebirth of FM radio, and by 1970, there were more listeners of FM radio than there were of AM radio. The popularity of FM radio in the 1970s was, in part, due to the inclusion of an FM dial in most automobile radio receivers. There were also less regulations on FM radio, so it began to thrive.
   Armstrong's invention of the FM radio proved to be a major devlopment in the radio industry. With clearer transmission, this allowed for radio broadcasts to be heard from even further away. This, of course, changed the way in which people communicated and recieved their everyday news.