The 'How To' Guide
Ever wonder how to learn a new skill? Improve on one? Check out our guide on everything 'how to'!
Popular 'How To'
Selecting Your Topic
Choosing a good topic for a project can be challenging, but here are some steps to make the decision just a bit less overwhelming.
Identify your interests: Start by thinking about topics that you are interested in or passionate about. You will...
Reflections
Do a quick reflection on your understanding of the concepts covered in this lesson.
What was the goal of this lesson?What was the most important concept you learned?How might you use what you've learned in this class in the future?What are...
Interview Skills
Interview skills matter, right? Right. But in case you need a refresher as to why interview skills matter:
Job interviews: Interview skills are crucial for job seekers. A well-executed interview can make the difference between getting the job or not. Interview skills can...
'How To' Archive
25 Tools for Building a Successful Movement
A movement is a group of people who come together to work towards a shared goal or cause. Movements can take many different forms and can be focused on a wide range of issues, from politics and social justice to consumer...
Collaboration is Key!
Empathy and collaboration are closely intertwined. Empathy establishes the foundation of trust, understanding and effective communication necessary for successful collaboration. Collaboration, in turn, provides opportunities for empathy to flourish by bringing individuals together to work towards shared goals, value differences, resolve...
Creating a Podcast
By now, you've probably consumed a few podcasts, in this class or on your own time. Now it's time to learn how to produce on of your own!
What is a Podcast?
A podcast is a digital audio program or series that can...
Creating Infographics
Infographics are a great way to visually showcase data and statistics. They involve a combination of colours, images, data and text that can help effectively convey complex information to your target audience.
Perks of Infographics
Visual appeal: Infographics use visual elements, such as...
Dealing with Stress
What Causes Stress?
Present a list of common stressors, such as exams, grades, peer pressure, social media, family expectations, extracurricular activities and even societal issues.
Discuss how each of these stressors can affect you (give examples).
Effects of Stress
Discuss the physical, emotional and behavioural...
Design Thinking
“I encourage the conversation to move away from either/or, but/and, and if/that and really start thinking about what are the motivating factors and how do we enhance those motivations to really understand what it is we’re getting at.”
Gena Rotstein is a fundraising...
Design Thinking with Michael Kennedy
So, you’ve got a great idea for a class project; to launch a new business; to improve a community service; to change the world for the better. Let Michael Kennedy – an award-winning management consultant and project manager – be your...
Ethics & AI
AI has the potential to significantly advance and benefit every facet of society. However, it also raises important ethical questions we must address. Like what?
The Ethics of AI
Bias and Fairness: AI systems can inherit biases from the data they are trained...
Failure and Resiliency
Resiliency is the ability to bounce back from difficult or stressful situations, to cope with adversity and to adapt to change. It's an essential quality that allows individuals to persevere through challenges, overcome obstacles and thrive despite setbacks. And resiliency matters...
Focus Groups – A Guide
Focus groups are a valuable tool to gather opinions from, and test your idea with, a diverse group of stakeholders, consumers, citizens or classmates. Try it out!
Conducting a Focus Group
Begin with thanking the participants, state the goal of the focus group...
Giving and Taking Constructive Criticism
A critique is an evaluation or assessment of something, such as a political statement or public policy, a work of art, literature or an idea, that aims to offer constructive feedback for improvement.
Critiques are valuable because they provide a fresh perspective...
Goal Setting
To grow personally and professionally, it's important to set goals. What's does that mean exactly? It’s purposefully identifying and planning new tasks that you would like to complete - and that requires some planning, organizing and discipline to achieve these goals....
How to Be a Better Storyteller
Storytelling is a powerful tool for communication that has been used for thousands of years to share knowledge, experiences, cultural values and to promote new ideas.
Why storytelling matters:
Connection: Stories are a way to connect with others and build a sense...
How to Conduct a Student/Teacher Conference
A student-teacher conference is a meeting between a teacher and one or more students. These conferences are usually held outside of the regular classroom hours and can be initiated by either the teacher or the student. The purpose of these conferences...
How to Converse
Sounds simple, right? And yet so many of us don't know how to have a good conversation. Let's get a refresher on what good communication actually looks like.
Importance of Conversation Skills
Builds relationships: Conversations are a key way to build and maintain...
How to Converse
Sounds simple, right? And yet so many of us don't know how to have a good conversation. Let's get a refresher on what good communication actually looks like.
Importance of Conversation Skills
Builds relationships: Conversations are a key way to build and maintain...
How to Create a Brand
A brand is a unique name, symbol, design or combination of these elements that identifies and distinguishes an individual, campaign, product, service or company. A brand is more than just a logo or a slogan; it encompasses the entire identity and...
How to Create a Press Release
A press release, also known as a news release or media release, is a written statement issued by an organization to announce news or information to the media. It is a common tool used by businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and...
How To Create a Safe Space in Your Class
Creating a safe space in the classroom is crucial for fostering a positive learning environment and foster better discussions.
Establish Clear Expectations: Set clear guidelines for respectful behaviour. Discuss these expectations so everyone understands the importance of creating a safe and inclusive...
How to Deal with Conflict
Disagreements and conflict are a part of life. Whether you disagree with someone because of your beliefs, habits, personality, communication style, ambitions or priorities, it’s important to understand how to deal with and resolve conflict.
Why it's important to confront conflict
Resolving the...
How to Make Better Decisions
Why it's important to make better decisions
Achieving goals: Good decisions are often the foundation for achieving personal or professional goals. Better decisions can help you make progress towards your objectives, whether it's building a successful career, maintaining a healthy lifestyle or...
How to Market Your Idea
Why Marketing Skills are Valuable
Promoting ideas, products and services: Marketing skills can help individuals and organizations promote their products, services or ideas effectively, which can lead to increased awareness, sales and/or reach.
Understanding the needs of your target audience: Marketing skills can...
How to Measure Outcomes
We all want to see PROOF that our work makes a difference, however small. Investors and donors want to see it. Volunteers want to see it. The public wants to see it. We all want to know that our work pays...
How to Overcome Obstacles
An obstacle is any barrier or challenge that stands in the way of achieving a desired goal or outcome. Obstacles can take many different forms, such as personal limitations, lack of resources, external factors or even negative self-talk.
Obstacles can be unexpected...
How to Plan an Assignment
Need a few tips to complete your assignment and ensure you're on task? Review these suggestions!
Understand the Assignment Requirements:
Carefully read the assignment prompt.
Note down any specific requirements or guidelines.
Clarify any doubts with your teacher if necessary.
Determine the Deadline:
Mark the due date...
How to Skim Academic Journals & Texts
Academic texts can be hundreds of pages long yet contain only a few points that you actually need for your research. It's not necessary to read the entire text! Instead, skim through and select certain components of the text you think...
How to Solve a Problem
Analyzing a problem and finding a solution can be challenging. From figuring out how to fix your phone, to determining how to sustain biodiversity globally, problem-solving is a vital skill in almost every context.
Why it's important to know how to problem...
How to Stay Organized
Being organized is a crucial skill in school, career and life. Staying organized can help you be more productive, reduce stress, improve your time management, make better decisions and improve your overall health and well-being. It also helps you feel in...
How to Take Better Notes
Note taking is an essential skill that not only helps in high school, but in post-secondary education and the workplace as well. Depending on your learning style, different methods of note taking help you record important information in a quick and...
How to Think Critically
Critical thinking takes your ideas to a new level by reflecting and analyzing your reasoning and that of others. It’s a great skill to use when faced with a difficult problem that needs solving or an important decision that needs to...
How To Use AI
Part One
Write down a few ideas you have for creating a better balance between people and nature.
Take your notes and paste them into Chat GPT and ask it to improve and add to your ideas.
Discuss how Chat GPT's results relate to...
How To Use AI
There are two main types of AI: narrow AI and general AI. Narrow AI, also known as weak AI, is designed to perform specific tasks or solve particular problems. Examples include voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, recommendation algorithms used by...
How to Use AI and Chat GPT
Chat GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is an artificial intelligence language model that is designed to generate human-like responses to text input. It's one of the largest and most advanced language models currently available, developed by OpenAI using a large dataset of...
How to Work in a Group
Why it's important to know how to work in a group
Achieving goals: Working in a group can help you achieve goals that would be difficult or impossible to achieve alone. By pooling resources, knowledge and skills, groups can accomplish tasks more...
Interview Skills
Interview skills matter, right? Right. But in case you need a refresher as to why interview skills matter:
Job interviews: Interview skills are crucial for job seekers. A well-executed interview can make the difference between getting the job or not. Interview skills can...
Interview Skills
Interview skills matter, right? Right. But in case you need a refresher as to why interview skills matter:
Job interviews: This one is obvious: interview skills are crucial for job seekers. A well-executed interview can make the difference between getting the job or...
Interviewing an Expert
Value of interview skills:
Job interviews: Interview skills are crucial for job seekers. A well-executed interview can make the difference between getting the job or not. Interview skills help individuals communicate their strengths and abilities effectively, answer questions with confidence and make...
Leadership
Leadership is the ability to influence and inspire others towards a common goal or vision. A leader is someone who can guide, motivate and empower a team or an organization to achieve their objectives.
Effective leaders possess a variety of skills, including...
Learning from Podcasts
We don't need to tell you that podcasts are huge right now. Heck, we even feature over 100 of them on Nature Labs! Podcasts are a valuable medium that offer convenience, access to a wide range of topics, in-depth discussions, diverse...
Listening to and Learning from Traditional Knowledge
How to learn from traditional knowledge
Learning from traditional knowledge involves understanding and respecting Indigenous wisdom, practices and values passed down through the generations. Here are some steps you can take to learn from traditional knowledge:
Have an open mind: Be willing to...
Maintaining Mental Health
Part One
As a class, work together to find the organizations in your community that assist with mental health.
Highlight the organizations you have heard of before and discuss what you know.
Do some further research on the organizations you didn't know about before.
Part...
Mapping Your Natural Context
#BiodiversityIsLife
Why is it important to understand your local, natural context?
Understanding the ecosystem: Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on earth, but it also refers to the diversity of life found in a particular habitat or ecosystem. By understanding what species...
Mentorship
Need a mentor? Or several? Follow this guide to find the perfect mentor.
What Is a Mentor?
A mentor is someone who informally helps support you grow your skills, ideas and goals.
Mentorship is a great tool to help emerging young leaders advance innovative...
Networking Event
Networking refers to the process of building relationships with people who can potentially help you advance your goals. This can involve making connections with individuals in your industry or field of interest, attending events and conferences, and utilizing online platforms like...
Reflections
Do a quick reflection on your understanding of the concepts covered in this lesson.
What was the goal of this lesson?What was the most important concept you learned?How might you use what you've learned in this class in the future?What are...
Resume & CV/Cover Letter Writing
What is a Resume?
A resume is a concise document summarizing an individual's education, work experience, skills, achievements and qualifications for a specific job application. Typically, resumes are tailored to the job or industry in which the individual is applying. They are...
Selecting Your Topic
Choosing a good topic for a project can be challenging, but here are some steps to make the decision just a bit less overwhelming.
Identify your interests: Start by thinking about topics that you are interested in or passionate about. You will...
Social Media How To
Social media is a great tool to advance your ideas. It allows for quick and clear communication, better connectivity, creates more awareness across a broader audience, builds community and helps promote education and learning. That's the upside. The downside? There are...
Stakeholder Meeting
What it is
Stakeholder meetings are an essential tool for organizations to communicate and engage with those who have an interest in the organization's activities and outcomes.
These meetings provide a forum for stakeholders to express their opinions, provide feedback, and engage in...
Stories from rising leaders
Young people can change the world. You can make a difference for people and nature today. But the path isn’t always as obvious or as easy as we sometimes make it out to be. It’s why taking that first step – trying to create that...
The Perfect Pitch
A pitch refers to a persuasive message or presentation that is designed to convince someone to buy a product or service, invest in a project or take some other desired action. A pitch is typically given by a salesperson, marketer, advocate,...
The Perfect Pitch
A pitch refers to a persuasive message or presentation that is designed to convince someone to buy a product or service, invest in a project or take some other desired action. A pitch is typically given by a salesperson, marketer, advocate,...
Tips for Better Time Management
Time is a precious gift, so use it wisely!
Increased productivity: Effective time management allows you to prioritize tasks and complete them efficiently, resulting in increased productivity and output.
Reduced stress: Properly managing your time can help you avoid last-minute rushes and reduce...
What is AI?
There are two main types of AI: narrow AI and general AI. Narrow AI, also known as weak AI, is designed to perform specific tasks or solve particular problems. Examples include voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, recommendation algorithms used by...
What is Context
What is it?
Context refers to the circumstances, environment, background or setting that surrounds and influences a particular situation, event or communication. It's the information or knowledge that helps us understand the meaning of something or to interpret it correctly.
Context can take...
What is Design Thinking
Design thinking is a problem-solving methodology that focuses on needs and experiences to generate creative solutions. It is a human-centred approach to innovation that involves empathy, experimentation and testing (prototyping) to arrive at a solution that is both effective and user-friendly.
Design...
What is Systems Change
Systems change is a process that seeks to reconstruct or evolve an entire system, impacting everyone and everything connected to it. Systems change often looks at the systemic or root-causes of an issue, attempting to create a trickle-down impact that is...
What To Do When You Don’t Understand Something
Reread and review the material again.
Highlight the important terms or points and do some research.
Ask a peer.
Ask your teacher.
Break down the problem into smaller ideas or steps.
Find a different source to explain the concept.
If it's reasonable to do so, contact the...