Learning about learning

1. Learning about learning Learning habits

2. What is a learning habit? • Came from Guy Claxton’s Magnificent 8 • Wanted to share these with the children • Identified 8 ‘habits’ across subjects

3. observant determined

4. co-operative curious

5. imaginative adventurous

6. reasoning investigative

8. What we found out • Analysing learning – know what they need to bring • Raised self-esteem – children see themselves as capable and important • Repetitive – gives framework for children to hold onto - scaffolding • Learning is already made clear, now building on that by saying which learning behaviours we expect to see so the children are showing and explaining these behaviours. The more it is made obvious to the children the more they do it. They like to feel they are real writers, mathematicians, scientists etc. They are in charge of their learning approach • Implicit expectation of quality – being an artist/scientist

9. What the children Said… • They help me because they help me to remember what I have to be • It helps me learn say I had a hard question like 6 x 2 I would have to be adventurous and determined • I think they’re helpful I might copy because I wouldn’t be sure I would be imaginative. It tells you what to do and you feel it in your body if it wasn’t there I wouldn’t think about what to do next • If we didn’t have them I wouldn’t know I was so observant! • They’re good with learning because if you didn’t have them you wouldn’t learn • You might not have things like inconsiderate and you might not be adventurous, you get more good words every week and we keep remembering them and use them in our writing. We are thinking about what you ‘ve got to be. Our writing’s easy now because them things are on the board

10. The impact Quote from parents of a year 2 child • The creative and imaginative ways you have developed to teach the children various topics really seem to engage ….. and she just loves learning! • As a parent it is great to see …doing so well academically but perhaps even more important is the fact that … was so happy at Banstead Infant School and is very keen and enthusiastic about all aspects of school life. • She also takes what she learns and applies it to life outside school. On weekend outings she talks about needing to be curious, adventurous etc. • On a recent visit to Polesden Lacey she did the children’s trail around the house and was stuck on the last question. A friendly National Trust guide offered to help her and when he realised she needed to pick a drawing and copy it his advice was to pick an easy one. …replied that she was very adventurous and didn’t need to pick an easy one!!

11. This attitude to learning and self belief does not happen without the right conditions for growth. The learning habits are a foundation on which to build but alongside them needs to be another essential aspect of intelligence: the growth mindset…….