Whose learning is it anyway?

Di Pardoe September 2009

Whose learning is it anyway?

This workshop will explore:

• the impact of enabling the learner to become a truly active participant in the learning process

• how we can enable the meaningful transference of responsibility of the learning to the learner

...developing successful learners confident

individuals responsible citizens

Learning is our business……

How can we define learning?

Learning is……

…the fundamental process of interaction between ‘development’ and ‘experience’

(Blyth 1984 – ‘What Pupils Say’ Pollard and Triggs 2000)

What are teachers for?

Assessment for Learning – the 3rd generation…..?

Assessment for Learning is about making sense of learning which means talking

about it!

How do learners differ?

Prior knowledge or skill expertiseLearning rateCognitive abilityLearning style/Multiple Intelligence preferenceMotivation, attitude, and effortInterest, strength, or talentSelf perception – in terms of learning, ability, potential

2020 Vision - High quality teaching …strengthening the relationship between learning and teaching through:

• matching high quality teaching to the different and developing abilities of pupils, focused on breaking down barriers to learning…and underpinned by high expectations

• dialogue between teachers and pupils, encouraging pupils to explore their ideas through talk, to ask and answer questions, to listen to their teachers and peers, to build on the ideas of others and to reflect on what they have learnt

• collaborative relationships which encourage and enable all pupils to participate and which develop pupils’ skills of working independently and in groups, enabling teachers and pupils to move learning forward together

• developing pupils’ appetite for and attitude to lifelong learning

2020 Vision report: 5 key strategies….

• Engineering effective discussions, questions and tasks that elicit evidence of learning

• Providing feedback that moves learners forward• Clarifying and sharing learning intentions and

criteria for success• Activating pupils as the owners of their own

learning• Activating pupils as resources for one another

…and one big idea

use evidence about learning to adapt teaching to meet the needs of the learners

raised achievement

high motivation

active involvement

learner autonomy

enabling learning environment

“…….I just want work that’s not too easy and not too hard……”

Challenge and support

Challenge

…getting the balance

and support…

Comfort zone

Challenge zone

Danger zone

Towards Successful Learning…..

What helps us to learn?

What stops us from learning?

What does a successful learner do?

What does a learner need in order to be successful?

What do we need to do to enable learners to be successful?

Know when and how

I have been successful

Feel safe and feel that ‘I can’

Learn with other learners

Have new and varied

experiences

Be involved in reviewing and

improvingmy learning

Have time

Ask questions and know what

I could learn

next

Know and understand

what I am learning

Understand how I learn

Have funand enjoy my

learning!!Know how to

improve

Knowwhy I am learning

To be a successful learner I need to ...

Have high expectations and set clear

success criteria

Create an enabling learning

environment

Provide opportunities

for reflection and

review

Provide opportunities for working in different ways

Share learningobjectives, intentions

and / or outcomes

Provide focused feedback

Manage time effectively

Ensure secure knowledge and understandingof the learning and the learner

Produce clearexplicit

planning for learning

Teach learners how to become self-evaluative

PromoteExcellence and

Enjoyment!

Model desirable

behaviours and effective

learning strategies

To enable learners to be successful we need to ...

Sue Palmer: Toxic childhood

‘It’s good to talk!’ The

significance of talk……

Think about the ways in which you already involve children in meaningful talk about their learning……

•What do you do?

•Why do you do it?

•How do you do it ?

•What is the impact? How do you know?

What? Why? How? ImpactHow do you know?

Teaching and Learning Research Programme – evidence informed principles to guide policy and

practice

1 - Effective pedagogy equips learners for life in its broadest sense…..develop intellectual, personal and social resources …..

6 - Effective pedagogy promotes the active engagement of the learner…..promotion of learners’ independence and autonomy….developing a positive attitude towards learning, confidence in oneself as a good learner…..

7 - Effective pedagogy fosters both individual and social processes and outcomes…..consulting learners and giving them a voice is both an expectation and a right…..

What?

Developing Learning Detectives is a student voice project focused upon partnerships in learning and transferring the responsibility of learning to the learner.

Why?

• to build more a more effective dialogue about learning with teachers and learners• to promote higher levels of involvement and motivation• to enable our children and young people to become independent , autonomous learners to raise aspirations• to raise achievement • towards Successful learners; Confident individuals; Responsible citizens

How………….?

Impact…………?

Aims for initial ‘training’ sessions:

☺ developing deeper understanding of what the ‘movers’ and ‘blockers’ of learning are

☺ identifying what we do and how we feel when we are learning

☺ considering what needs to be on a checklist for learning detectives

☺ creating a draft set of ground rules for learning detectives

What year is it now?

How many years until 2020?

How old will you be in 2020?

What would you most like to be doing when you are ….. years old?

If these are your goals…..

…..what do you think you need to DO to move towards your goals?

…..what do you think you need to BE LIKE as people to move towards your goals?

What do you think you need to do?

What do you think you need to be like?

Listen carefully

Concentrate

Talk through my ideas

Plan out my work

Ask questions

Organise myself

Prioritise

Set my own targets

Practise and persevere

Follow instructions

Confident

Attentive

Open to new ideas and thinking

Enthusiastic

Patient

Hard-working

Ambitious

Full of self belief

•having good oral communication skills

•being reliable and punctual

•developing perseverance

•working with others in a team and working independently

•being confident and developing problem solving skills

•being resilient in the face of difficulties

2020 Vision recommends that schools also need to ensure that young people develop the skills and attitudes that will enable them to be successful in life after school. These include:

Teacher holds responsibility……learner is passive recipient

Learner holds more responsibility…. teacher scaffolds and facilitates… learner becomes active participant

Successful Learning: Transferring the responsibility of the learning to the learner

Teachers:

• set the classroom rules

• tell learners how to behave

• manage rewards and sanctions

• distribute resources

• talk too much!

Teacher and learners together:

• negotiate class codes/contracts of behaviour, noise level etc

• discuss what they think they need to do to learn and how they will learn

• talk about what they think

• begin to negotiate ways of working etc

Learners:

• usually decide to behave appropriately

• can show that they understand how they learn

• manage resources and equipment

• make suggestions about organisation, resources, ways of working etc

• recognise mistakes are part of the learning process

• ‘have a go when they don’t know’

Successful Learning: Creating a culture for learningTransferring the responsibility of the learning to the learner

Learner holds responsibilityTeacher holds responsibility

Teachers:

Teacher plans Learning

Teacher sets success criteria

Teacher marks work

Teacher gives feedback

Teacher and learners together:

Teacher guides learner Teacher asks learners what they think they need to be successful

Teacher supports learners in seeing difficulties as part of the learning process

Learners begin to negotiate goals, targets and success criteria with the teacher

Learners have opportunities to review their own work

Learners begin to give feedback to peers

Learners:

Learners begin to plan learning and set success criteria

Learners are able to identify successes and areas for improvement

Learners make improvements to their work independently of the teacher

Successful Learning: Assessment for LearningTransferring the responsibility of the learning to the learner

Learner holds responsibilityTeacher holds responsibility