5.00-7.00 1WN 3.8, Tuesday 31 October 2006.

Master educators' conversation on Understanding Learning and Learners

Steve - hoping that all went well with your operation. I'm now using that distinction of yours between feeling valued and valuable.

Thanks to Joy for the video-clip of the three 6 year old pupils working with her on understanding themselves as learners as they shared their learning on the co-creation of a more appropriate representation of their learning than provided by their present use of the TASC wheel. Also, thanks to Robyn for the introduction to the Crucial Cs of feeling connected, capable, counted and courage based on Adlerian Theory. Huge bag of chocolate available of Tuesday to stimulate the conversation!

Ed - I'm hoping that you will share your understandings of the theory of learning developed at Reggio Emilia and now being used in the 5*5*5 project with Penny Hay in B&NES.

Sally I'd also like to focus on your understandings of learners and learning and the questions you ask in your reflections piece in your recently published report by the Farmington Institute:

Do I have the confidence and the courage to let go of a content driven curriculum and be prepared to hand over more of the learning journey to the pupils? To what extent to I see myself as a learner, perhaps the senior learner in the classroom? How much am I prepared to lay out the demands of unit work and say to the pupils and students what do you think is the best way to cover this material? (Cartwright, 2006, p. 19)

Cartwright, S. (2006) Developing Independent Learning Skills through Religious Education, Oxford; Farmington Institute. Retrieved 30 October 2006 from

http://www.farmington.ac.uk/documents/new_reports/TT204.pdf

Do please have a browse through Sally's report before Tuesday if you have the time. The quality of Sally's understanding and engagement with the theories of learning in the ELLI project in Guy Claxton's Building Learning Power and with the TASC wheel of Belle Wallace seem to me to be showing the quality of knowledge appropriate for a doctor educator. Do see if the ideas are helpful in the development of your understanding of learners and learning.

Here is the Summary of Sally's report provided by the Farmington Institute:

The author addresses the issue that pupils and students in secondary schools lack skills of independent learning. There is a range of definitions of independent learning and for the purpose of this report the author has adopted a definition that involves pupil interaction or interdependence. The author looks at what is being taught in primary schools and what is expected at university level in order to understand what strategies could be adopted from Year 7 onwards. The strategies considered are the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory developed at Bristol University, Guy Claxton's Building Learning Power, Key Stage 3 National Strategy Developing Thinking Skills, and Belle Wallace's Thinking Actively in a Social Context (TASC). These approaches, in relation to the locally agreed Somerset Syllabus, Awareness, Mystery and Value, have been pulled together into four web diagrams. The author argues that pupils need to be able to continue the experience of independent learning from primary school, they need to be given the language of learning, time has to be allowed in schemes of work to do this, and that finally independence is developed not only through generic skills but also through the particular knowledge and understanding of a subject such as Religious Education.

Marie is working on the draft ideas she produced for us on learning theories and I'm working on a multi-media enquiry into learning how to live, express and represent, in explanations of educational influences in learning, living standards of judgment of emotional literacy. I hope to have the urls for these pieces on Tuesday.

Any ideas, readings and writings to share that could help us to extend and deepen our understandings of ourselves and others as learners and learning, do please bring them along. Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

Love Jack.