According to We Forum’s 2020 Schools of the Future report, innovative skills are inherently linked with more interactive forms of learning.

Traditional learning methods involve a topdown direct approach, where learners are passive in their development. Interactive methods foster innovation not just because interactive methods are non-traditional, but also because innovation is all about initiative, action, and risk-taking.

Challenge-based learning nurtures real-world innovative skills through active participation, in particular, the following four essentials.

Creative critical thinking

Challenge-based learning requires the collaboration of two unique skills: creative thinking and critical thinking. Creating innovative solutions means creating creative, original solutions that are feasible and workable in the real world.

Thus, creative thinking and critical thinking are both necessary in this process. With challenge-based learning, participants are taught how to combine these two skills to make impactful innovation possible.

Critical thinking allows learners to analyze facts that provide a logical understanding of the real-world problem at hand and the factors that need to be addressed with the solution.

Education experts at Queen’s University confirm that challenge-based learners are critical thinkers who reflect on observed experiences and draw reasonable conclusions that lead to solutions.

Complimenting critical thinking, creativity gives learners an outside-the-box perspective as they brainstorm unique, authentic ways to solve the problem, with all its logical facts considered.

In Apple’s CBL studies on primary to post-secondary students, researchers found that students gained demonstrable creative thinking skills and more interest and confidence in their creative skills.

A 2018 study on medical students found that challenge-based learning significantly improved “creative consciousness” and, with that, the ability to implement creative innovations.

The current academic research on challenge-based learning supports the notion that it welds creative and critical thinking together to foster both skills simultaneously and harmoniously. Innovators require both in order to succeed.

Problem solving

Among various expert opinions and studies, problem solving is one of the most sought-after and future-proof skills in the job market today. Employers need employees they can rely on to solve unforeseen challenges that inevitably arise in the workplace.

Moreover, problem-solving employees are efficient decision-makers and take initiative to tackle problems head-on. In the future of work, problem solving will continue to be vital because it is a skill that suits the ever-changing nature of the world.

As new problems emerge in the workplace from future technology and evolving systems, problem-solvers will be able to overcome these challenges for the good of the company and will be able to innovate, driving the success of the company forward.

Collaborative project management

As students are paired with other unique, diverse minds, they teach one another, through their active teamwork, how to collaborate on a project.

A study conducted by Indiana State University with business students highlighted the effectiveness of challenge-based learning because of its collaboration element.

The problem-solving, project-based collaboration reaps a greater host of benefits than traditional collaboration exercises or traditional problem solving projects can achieve on their own. The students gained invaluable collaborative skills because of the problem solving they were challenged with.

Much of the collaborative skills gained are essentially communication skills, which are the top skills employers look for when hiring candidates.

The interpersonal element of challenge-based learning forces learners to foster effective communication skills because they will be unsuccessful in their collaborative projects without clear communication.

Collaborative project-based skills include teamwork, project management, leadership, conflict management, and decision-making. All of these skills are an integral part of the challenge-based innovation process.

Through challenge-based innovation, learners become better collaborators and project managers simultaneously.

Digital literacy skills

Digital literacy skills are an essential part of modern innovation. Unsurprisingly, digital skills are essential in today’s job market.

Digital literacy skills range from using basic applications like Microsoft Word to coding, video editing, and graphic design. Regardless, in any industry, technology is relevant because even the most traditional roles involve technology.

The original intent of challenge-based learning was to modernize and future-proof education with the use of digital tools. We Forum’s 2020 Schools of the Future report highlighted the crucial role that digital tools play in innovation learning and the future.

Without the use of digital tools, students will not learn how to innovate in the modern, digital-dominated world, whether in school or a work setting later in life.

In conclusion

Creative critical thinking, problem solving, collaborative project management, and digital literacy skills are four innovative skills that are essential to challenge-based learning.

The future of work depends on these skills, and as such, students, entry-level workers, and experienced workers alike should explore challenge-based learning to develop their innovative skills.