Written by Gina Wilt, EdD, Director of Professional Learning at Arizona State University Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation.
As a professional learning leader at Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, I’m inspired by America Succeeds’ latest report highlighting four schools embedding durable skills into everyday learning.
The report, Empowering Learners for School, Work, and Life: Insights from the Research Practice Collaborative, highlights how durable skills — core competencies such as communication, critical thinking and adaptability — can foster learning and support the work of educators when woven into established academic programs. For example, Gibson Ek High School students engage in personalized internships, while Building 21 Philadelphia utilizes comprehensive competency frameworks to track durable skills progression.
The report highlights a vital point: students learn best through meaningful, real-world experiences. Teaching durable skills provides a way to achieve that goal. Through the integration of durable skills, educators can support students’ academic progress while fostering the creativity and problem-solving abilities essential for future personal and workforce success.
So how can we help more schools and organizations embed durable skills in ways that support educators?
Rather than focusing on a radical overhaul, the report highlights incremental steps to help schools and learning-focused organizations integrate durable skills through approaches such as project-based learning, fostering student agency and connecting lessons to community applications.
Providing access to professional learning resources is also key to supporting these efforts. In fact, MLFC, which is regularly recognized for its quality education programs nationally, collaborated with America Succeeds to develop a specialization on Teaching Durable Skills that taps into the expertise of our faculty researchers, practitioners and instructional designers.
Teaching Durable Skills, which is available through ASU’s Professional Educator Learning Hub, is based on America Succeeds’ durable skills framework and it provides insight into some of the approaches used by schools featured in the recent America Succeeds report. The specialization, which is offered fully online with facilitated instructor options, provides practical approaches and practices for teaching durable skills.
For example, Teaching Durable Skills: Communication and Mindfulness helps educators equip students with foundational skills that support learning and development. This instructor-facilitated course is being offered at an introductory rate of $199. The course starts 2/24/25, and includes a 15 clock-hour certification and micro-credential upon successful completion.
Research indicates that learning can be more effective when students are engaged in learning, and one way to do that is through team-based activities. Teaching Durable Skills: Collaboration and Growth Mindset also benefits students in gaining skills that are critical in the workforce.
Other course offerings available through the ASU Professional Educator Learning Hub extend the application of durable skills to specific tactics such as service-learning, project-based learning and building learner agency.
Feedback from educators on these professional learning resources has been overwhelmingly positive. Many recognize the urgent need for durable skills as we navigate transformative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, which is reshaping how we interact and work.
The schools profiled in America Succeeds’ report offer a roadmap for what’s possible, inspiring educational innovation at every level. With the right tools and professional learning opportunities, we can empower educators to prepare students for success in school, work, and life by developing the durable skills they need to thrive now and in the future. Learn more about our professional learning programs focused on Teaching Durable Skills, and about other offerings available through the ASU Professional Educator Learning Hub.
