Well part of this relates to the key skills we expect our students to have/acquire. These include learning to learn (how to learn), teamwork (working in a group), self-management (managing time and tasks), communication (presentation, written), ICT (using computers/technology) and numeracy (working with numbers). These then feed in to intellectual skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, problem solving) and are assessed through essays, exams, MCQs, presentations, reports, projects, groupwork etc.
The world is messy and we have to the constructs and tactics we use to cope with complexity, ambiguity, incomplete information, mismatched viewpoints, and conflicting objectives.