Trainable skills & levels
Learn what the trainable communication skills are, the Definition–Example–research detail behind each one, and how skills are organised into colour-coded levels you unlock as you improve.
In Training, a skill is a concrete communication technique you practise and are scored on. The platform comes with an expert-written catalogue of skills, each grounded in research on managing challenging classroom behaviour.
What kind of skills you can train
The skills are real, named techniques. Some examples from the catalogue:
- I-statement / I-message — express a behaviour, your feeling, and its impact without blaming.
- Empathy and Empathy then redirection — connect first, then steer the conversation forward.
- The 4 steps of empathy (NVC) — observation, feeling, need, request.
- Restorative inquiry and Restorative questions — what happened, how did you feel, who was affected, how can we make it right, what do we agree for next time.
- Positive phrasing of requests — say what to do, not just what not to do.
- Rule reminder — a calm, neutral reminder of an agreed rule.
- Offer of choice — give two or three acceptable options.
- If… then… — natural or logical sequencing ("Grandma's rule").
- Reinforcing desired behaviour — specific, behaviour-focused praise.
- Agreement / behavioural contract — a written, jointly negotiated change plan.
There are many more, covering observation without judgement, paraphrasing, solution focus, explaining the reasons behind a rule, and high-support / high-expectations ("warm demander") approaches.
What each skill comes with
Open a skill's Skill Information to see a full mini-article:
- a short Definition of the technique,
- a concrete Example of it in use,
- the supporting research, with References you can follow up.
The catalogue draws on well-known sources in the field (Nonviolent Communication, Gordon's Teacher Effectiveness Training, research on empathic discipline and behaviour contracts, restorative-practices studies, and more), so each skill is a small piece of evidence-based reading in its own right.
Levels and how you unlock them
Skills are grouped into levels (also called tiers), shown on the skills page as colour-coded bands — for example cyan for the lowest level, then blue, indigo, violet, and orange for higher ones. The first level is always available; higher levels start out locked.
You unlock the next level by proving yourself in your current highest one. A locked skill shows the note "Want to advance higher? You need to meet some conditions", and a Level unlocking rules explains exactly what's needed:
To advance to the next level, you must meet both conditions in your current highest level:
- Try at least 60% of the available skills in that level, and
- Achieve at least 50% success rate in the skills you've tried.
A skill counts toward this once you have at least one completed session in it with a success rate of 50% or more. Meet both conditions and the next level unlocks permanently for your account.
Training
Practise real classroom communication skills through AI role-play, typing to AI characters who reply in character and score how well you apply the techniques you chose.
Starting a training session
A step-by-step guide to setting up a training session — choosing your role, who you talk to, the scenario, difficulty, and the skills you'll be scored on.