As educators, we often expect students to practice a wide range of skills during a given learning opportunity, and we understand those specific skills as fundamental to their development of expertise in a given domain. However, students may not recognize the need to apply some skills we consider necessary for success, may apply those skills without noticing that they have done so, or may fail to appreciate how important they are to expertise in the domain. In the process of being more transparent about which skills we want students to practice, how, and why, we are often able to refine our learning opportunity to make it more effective and meaningful. This session will provide a forum for educators to consider research on the value of transparency for supporting learning, revisit an existing learning opportunity in the context of the SAIL dimensions and skills, and help one another become more transparent about how students should use and understand those skills and dimensions in the context of this opportunity.

1. Transparent Opportunity Design:
Being More Explicit about
Skills and Dimensions for Learners
Kelsey Bitting
k.bitting@northeastern.edu
sail.northeastern.edu
sail@northeastern.edu
Hilary Schuldt
h.schuldt@northeastern.edu

2. REFLECTING
Think back to a time when you were learning something
new or acculturating to a new setting (e.g., starting
college, a new hobby, a new job).
• What’s one thing you didn’t even know you didn’t
know that, once you learned it, changed your
behavior or thinking?
• How did that change help you succeed?
Introduce yourself to a partner, and share your thoughts
about the prompts above.
Framework in Action
Intellectual Agility
Communication

3. Overview
Transparency as an educational approach
Using the SAIL framework to increase transparency
From transparency to integration & self-authorship
Next steps
Framework in Action
Intellectual Agility
• Strategic thinking
Professional & Personal
Effectiveness
Self-efficacy/confidence
Open-mindedness
Collaboration/teamwork
Communication
Critical thinking

4. Overview
Transparency as an educational approach
Using the SAIL framework to increase transparency
From transparency to integration & self-authorship
Next steps

5. Why transparency?
Formal curriculum
“experiences and activities that
students undertake as part of
their degree program”
Hidden curriculum
“various unintended,
implicit and hidden
messages sent to
students”
Informal curriculum
“various support services
and additional activities
and options organized by
the university”
LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
(Leask, 2015)
First-generation
students
Continuing-generation
students
Self-reported academic preparation equal
to or greater than peers (Gable, 2016)
Sophomore year
Senior year
75%50%25% 100%

6. Transparency
Understanding the embedded assumptions in a task from the
educator perspective
• Task: What students are being asked to do
• Purpose: Why? How it fits into the student’s current and future
personal or professional success
• Criteria: How the work will be evaluated, or what success
would look like
(Winkelmes et al., 2016)

7. Impact of transparency
(Winkelmes et al., 2016)
Students in 2+ transparent courses
40%
Retention, Year 1-Year 2
50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Employer-valued skills
Academic confidence
Sense of belonging
Student Self-Report Data
5.04.03.02.01.0
All students
More transparent
Less transparent

8. Overview
Transparency as an educational approach
Using the SAIL framework to increase transparency
From transparency to integration & self-authorship
Next steps

9. SAIL Framework: Dimensions & Skills
INTELLECTUAL AGILITY
Learners develop the ability to use knowledge,
behaviors, skills, and experiences flexibly in
new and unique situations to innovatively
contribute to their field.
• Computational Thinking
• Design Thinking
• Information Literacy
GLOBAL MINDSET
Learners develop knowledge, skills and behaviors
to live, work and communicate with people whose
background, experience and perspectives are
different from their own as well as to consider the
global impact of their decisions.
• Cultural Agility
• Inclusivity/Inclusive Action
• Systems Thinking
SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS
& COMMITMENT
Learners develop the confidence, skills and values
to effectively recognize the needs of individuals,
communities, and societies and make a
commitment to constructively engage in social
action.
• Advocacy
• Civic-Mindedness
• Conflict Resolution/Transformation
WELL-BEING
Learners develop knowledge, skills and
behaviors necessary to live balanced and
fulfilling lives.
• Aesthetic Appreciation
• Boundary Setting
• Self-Care
PROFESSIONAL & PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Learners develop the confidence, skills, behaviors and values
to effectively discern life goals, form relationships and shape
their personal and professional identities to achieve fulfillment.
• Coaching/ Mentoring
• Conflict Resolution/Transformation
• Financial Literacy

10. SAIL Framework: Foundational masteries
INTRAPERSONAL SKILLS
Help-Seeking
Independence/Autonomy
Initiative
Perseverance/Resiliency
Resourcefulness
Self-Efficacy/Confidence
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Collaboration/Teamwork
Communication
Empathy
Leadership
ATTRIBUTES
Comfort with Ambiguity
Humility
Integrity
Mindfulness
Open-Mindedness
STRATEGIC TOOLKIT
Creative Thinking/Innovation
Critical Thinking
Decision-Making
Ethical Reasoning
Inquiry & Analysis
Problem Solving

11. Discipline
Profession
Domain
Industry
Field
Area
SAIL Framework: Expertise-specific

12. BRAINSTORMING
Thinking with SAIL
As a pair, choose a slip of paper. It might have a dimension,
dimensional skill, or foundational mastery on it.
Next, look for similarities and differences as you discuss the
following questions:
• How does this dimension (or skill or mastery) manifest
in your contexts?
• How do you help learners cultivate this dimension (or
skill or mastery)?
Framework in Action
Intellectual Agility
Self-efficacy/confidence
Collaboration/teamwork

13. TRANSPARENTDESIGN
Part 1
Think of a specific learning opportunity that you might
offer for learners (e.g., single assignment, event,
meeting).
Fill out the title, description, and learning outcomes (if
you usually include learning outcomes when advertising
for, recruiting for, or assigning the task).
Stop there!
Framework in Action
Professional & Personal
Effectiveness
Communication

14. TRANSPARENTDESIGN
Part 2
Find a partner whose role on campus is substantially
different from your own.
Swap worksheets with that person.
Read your partner’s title, description, and learning
outcomes, and answer the remaining questions on the
worksheet.
Framework in Action
Communication
Critical thinking

15. TRANSPARENTDESIGN
Part 3
Discuss one partner’s opportunity:
• Learner: Walk your educator through your choices of
dimensions, skills, and foundational masteries,
explaining why and describing what you imagined you
would be doing during the opportunity to practice
those elements of the framework. Also explain who
you thought might want to participate, and why.
• Educator: Listen, take notes, and follow up with
questions only.
Framework in Action
Open-mindedness
Communication

16. TRANSPARENTDESIGN
Part 4
Choose a skill that resonated from your conversation
with your Learner.
How would you scaffold or support the development of
this skill in this opportunity? In other words, how are you
making the development of this skill transparent for
your learners?
Framework in Action
Intellectual Agility
• Strategic thinking
Professional & Personal
Effectiveness
Self-efficacy/confidence
Collaboration/teamwork

17. Overview
Transparency as an educational approach
Using the SAIL framework to increase transparency
From transparency to integration & self-authorship
Next steps

18. Transparency to integration
• Expansive framing of learning (Engle, 2012)
• Consistent language across contexts (Perfect et al., 2004)
ConnectElect
Initiallearning
Integration
Detect
Apply or reorganize
knowledge to fit new
purpose
Notice possible
connection to
prior learning
Decide to
pursue
similarities
(Perkins & Saloman, 2012)

19. Transparency to self-authorship

20. Overview
Transparency as an educational approach
Using the SAIL framework to increase transparency
From transparency to integration & self-authorship
Next steps

21. REFLECTING
What’s one thing that you want to remember
from this session?
Why is this important to you?
Framework in Action
Strategic thinking
Professional & Personal
Effectiveness

22. Questions?
sail.northeastern.edu
sail@northeastern.edu
#SAILatNU
#LearningEverywhere
k.bitting@northeastern.edu
h.schuldt@northeastern.edu
SAIL@northeastern.edu