Teaching Resourcefulness- Five Tips

It’s not the lack of resources that causes failure. It is the lack of resourcefulness.

Teachers have the ability to make the best out of the things that are available at their disposal. Resourcefulness is a quality that every teacher should have and being resourceful is a highly desirable attribute in any individual that will help them thrive in the modern workplace. The term 'resourceful' is defined as the ability to find fast and clever ways to solve problems. Nowadays, as the service and hospitality sectors are on the rise, resourcefulness has become an even important trait one must-have. Students and their parents want nothing short of the best for them. However, in this era of growing competition all around, getting into a top NAAC accredited university , or getting a well-paying job is not an easy feat. The best way to get ahead is to start early. Thus, while your students don’t need to make business expansion plans just yet, they should be taught to develop their problem-solving abilities and think creatively from a young age itself, in order to make them more resourceful.

The best way to teach your students to be more resourceful is by encouraging them to not be trapped in dogmas, do their own thinking, challenge their ideas and those of others, and question everything. You must also teach them to embrace adversities and not to run away from problems, but to face them while keeping a cool head. Here are a few classroom techniques that might be instrumental to educators in inculcating resourcefulness in the students.

Control what you can-

The surefire way to stifle your creative thinking process is by focusing too much on the things or variables which are beyond one’s control. Educators must teach their students to not let interfere what they can’t do with the things they can do. Teach them to think rationally and explain to them how such thinking is counter-productive to their efforts. To help your students become truly resourceful, you must teach them to consider every possibility. In the words of Thomas Edison, “When you think you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this- you haven’t!”

Challenge your students-

As an educator, you must always challenge your students to think critically about problems. This can be done by posing challenging questions to them or making them solve problems that require higher-order thinking skills. By encouraging out-of-the-box thinking in students, you can help them think more critically and a critical mind is more likely to develop resourcefulness in your students than a non-inquisitive mind. Another way is through organizing brainstorming sessions with the students to help them develop the ability to think on their feet.

Encourage student collaboration-

Gone are the days when working solo was the norm. The importance of teamwork and collaboration in the modern workplace cannot be overstated. Teaching your students to be resourceful on their own is only a part of the equation. Being resourceful has provided many benefits if done as part of a team. When a group of resourceful people combines their talents in order to tackle a tough problem, they can be immensely more productive than a single person can ever fathom. Therefore, educators must emphasize collaboration and teamwork in their students.

Delayed gratification-

Various studies have found out that the kids who could delay the gratification, were indeed the ones who went on to achieve more success throughout their lives than the rest. In order to be more resourceful, your students must learn to be more patient and delay gratification. Teach your students that they can reap more rewards if they dedicate more time and effort to the process.

Scientific methods-

Teach your students to observe, form inferences, test those inferences vehemently, build upon those which pass the test, and discard the ones which do not. Nothing fuels the power of creative thinking and focus more than being ready to criticize your own ideas and inferences. Resourceful people discover more possibilities and gain more knowledge because of their ever-curious nature and an insatiable will to learn.

Today, there is a lot of guidance and tools for teachers to enhance their approach. Newer modes of teaching such as smart classes, online teaching, AR/VR, and likewise provide many opportunities for teachers to inculcate resourcefulness in their students. By combining the techniques mentioned in this article along with the innovative teaching methods, educators can set their students up for success in their lives by teaching them to be more resourceful.

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