New platform content: Life challenge learning modules

The Persona Life Skills e-learning platform now includes a growing library of life challenge learning modules in its curriculum – the Discovery Islands.

26-Mar-21

By Dr Leila Khouja Walker, Chief Product Officer

Life is not a rehearsal. However, continuing to learn and apply new life skills as we grow supports us in making better future decisions in the life challenges we face.

Persona Life Skills uses an engaging learning metaphor of exploring 'Islands' representing different life challenges, to help students develop 22 social-emotional life skills across six skillsets, associated with good wellbeing in social, learning and workplace environments.

A growing life skills learning curriculum 

This e-learning platform for schools and colleges now has a growing library of Discovery Islands – learning modules that reside in our curriculum, aptly named the Archipelago.

Each Island guides students to learn more about themselves and others through the lens of personality insights, using this knowledge to develop and actively apply life skills in real life, often challenging, scenarios.

In an Island module, students navigate through a series of learning activities where they acquire and practise newly acquired  skills – learning to adapt their thinking, communication and behaviour to achieve positive outcomes, for their own and others’ benefits.

Island learning modules

Students 'step onto' each Island and are taken on a journey with their Map (learning objectives), tackling a life challenge such as The Unexpected, Social Media Chat or even Getting Along With Teachers.

On Island 4 – The Unexpected, students are faced with a range of scenarios that allow them to discover more about their own reactions to unexpected situations, and how others may react in the same way, or differently. Students explore these reactions from a personality perspective, gaining insights into how they and others think, communicate and behave. They then apply these insights by developing strategies to help them manage these types of situations better in the future. Life skills covered include stress management, staying positive and being adaptable.

On Island 5 – Social Media Chat, students develop life skills relating to processing information, managing feelings and informal communications, through a series of activities enabling them to explore their social media communication safely, and apply new understanding about how this is affected by their own and others' mix of personalities. This learning equips students with the knowledge to communicate in a way that is beneficial both to themselves and whoever they are chatting with, leading to a more positive social media experience.

Island 8 – Getting Along With Teachers helps students to understand that teachers have a key role to play in realising their learning potential, and that learning how best to communicate with them through understanding personality styles can significantly boost their learning. Students are encouraged to find ways to better communicate and adapt their behaviour with any particular teacher. Life skills covered include active listening, staying positive and being adaptable.

Monitoring life skills progress

Before leaving an Island, students send a 'Postcard' to their teacher – self-reporting their perceived progress against the specific key skills practised in that particular Island.

Students' reporting against our 22 life skills, as well as their individual progress on each Island, can be viewed by teachers in dashboard screens within the app. This allows teachers to monitor progress and identify any need for interventions.

Persona Education offers free access to its Persona Life Skills e-learning platform for secondary schools and colleges interested in developing their students’ social-emotional life skills, to boost wellbeing and employability. To request a live demo of the platform please get in touch – we would love to talk to you!

About the author: Dr Leila Khouja Walker has been working in the education sector for 25 years. An ex-teacher and pastoral deputy head, she is now a respected edtech and pedagogy thought leader, leading development of the personality insights life skills e-learning app Persona Life Skills, at the Bristol based edtech company Persona Education Ltd. www.persona-life.com