Learning PowerAn Introduction

Kingdom of BahrainRuth Deakin Crick

Graduate School of Education

A Perfect Storm is Brewing

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“It is time to hold up our hands and admit that our education system just isn’t working well enough.

Our emphasis needs not to be on proving the residual value of outdated curricula, tests and league tables, but on inspiring andchallenging children [and young people] so that they in turn can inspire and challenge us.”

Lord David PuttnamChancellor, Open University

Introduction to the Learning Futures Programmewww.learningfutures.org

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“To put it very crudely, the habits of mind required, and therefore cultivated, by the 19th century curriculum of mass schooling were deference, unquestioning acceptance of authority, neatness, punctuality, accurate recapitulation and ‘sequestered problem- solving’”

Claxton & Lucas, 2009 UK National Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning

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Why are these so important now?

dialoguesocial media

argumentation

participatory inquiry

Learning Power

Sensemaking

Collective Intelligence

Wicked Problems

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phone tablet laptop desktop

search find link listen watch discover learn blog share talk discuss create collaborate

tv

Inversion

Hewlett Foundation 2010 focus: “Deeper Learning”

http://www.hewlett.org/programs/education-program/deeper-learning

“In one survey after another, business leaders complain that the majority of U.S. job applicants are ill-equipped to solve complex problems, work in teams, or communicate effectively.

“Hewlett envisions a new generation of schools and community colleges … harness the deeper learning skills of critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication, collaboration, and learning to learn to help students develop a strong foundation in traditional academic subjects.”

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© Tim Coburn, 2011

90,000 Employees18 Countries

All Sectors

Engagement ImprovesSatisfactionProductivity

RetentionPerformance

79% Not Fully Engaged

Engagement Improves with1. Leadership

2. Learning

Organisations Want More Engagement

Engaged?Only 21%!!

EngagementImprovesImpact

EngagementImprovesRetention

EngagementImprovesPerformance

Source: Closing the Engagement Gap, Towers Perrin, 2008Sample: 90,000 Employees, 18 Countries

Learning is a Key Engagement Factor

Source: Closing the Engagement Gap, Towers Perrin, 2008Sample: 90,000 Employees, 18 Countries

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Creative competencies for complex challenges (Palus & Horth 2002: Center for Creative Leadership)

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Complexity & Chaos

PayingAttentio

n

Personalizing

Imaging

Serious Play

Co-Inquiry

Shared Understanding & Sensible Action

Crafting

Based on analysing and mentoring many senior leaders, Palus & Horth recognise a new pattern of competencies in leaders who cope well with overwhelming complexity. CCL has developed practical tools to scaffold these competencies

…how do we nurture these in ourselves, and the next generation?

suggested reading:

The Leader’s EdgeSix Creative Competencies for Navigating Complex Challenges

Charles J. PalusDavid M. Horth

Summary article in Ivey Business Journal:http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/article.asp?intArticle_ID=582

PERFORMAddress Real

Work Challenges.Partners

CustomersProfit

LEARNImprove Capacity to Learn, Enquire, Coach and Lead

ENGAGEEngage their Self-

MotivatedDesire to Learn and Perform

WellGROW

Develop Whole Self for Life-long

and Life-wide Fulfillment

NEXTGENERATION OF

EMPLOYEES

Employee Performance enabled by learning power, authentic enquiry and leadership

Learning Past …….curriculum as prescription

• Delivery of outcomes – top down • Students as performers• Teachers as experts• Factory model of schooling• Impoverished language for learning• One size fits all (more or less)• Curriculum as cage rather than framework

Learning Futures ..curriculum as narration

• Students as authors of their own learning journey• Enquiry based learning – authentic pedagogy• Co-construction of knowledge• Teachers as facilitators of learning• Rich language for learning• Local diversity • Curriculum as framework rather than cage

Learning is a complex process

Competence

in the world

Knowledge skills &

understanding

Learning power

values attitudes & dispositions

Identity

story, desire, motivation,

relationships

Practical

Propositional

Presentational

Experiential

Public

Personal

Personal Development: Values, Attitudes, Dispositions, Identity, Story

Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Learning Power

Competencies and skills for employability

Seven Dimensions of Learning Power

• Changing & learning*

• Meaning making*• Critical curiosity*• Creativity• Learning

relationships• Strategic

awareness• Resilience

• Being stuck & static• Data accumulation• Passivity• Being rule bound• Isolation &

dependence• Being robotic• Fragility &

dependence

Changing & learning v being stuck & static

I see learning as something I can get better at, and myself as an improving learner. This often reflects a more general interest in ‘self-improvement’, and faith that this is possible. I have a sense of history and of hope. I tend to take ownership of my own learning, and like to be responsible for what I’m learning and how I go about it. I’m usually quite ready to ‘sign up’ to learning tasks that are presented to me

Critical curiosity / passivity

I like to get below the surface of things and see what is really going on. I like to work things out for myself, and to ask my own questions. I tend to go looking for things to understand better, rather than just responding to problems that come my way. I am usually excited by the prospect of learning, and have a good deal of energy for learning tasks and situations. In general, I’m attracted to learning and enjoy a challenge. I value getting at the truth.

Meaning making / Data accumulation

I tend to look for patterns,

connections and coherence in what I am learning, and to seek links between new situations and what I already know or am interested in. I’m on the look-out for ‘horizontal meaning’ I like to make sense of new things in terms of my own experience, and I like learning about what matters

to me.

Creativity v RuleboundI like new situations, and will sometimes create novelty and uncertainty ‘just to see what happens’. I’ll spice things up to stop them being boring. I like playing with possibilities and imagining how situations could be otherwise. I am able to look at problems from different perspectives. I like trying things out even if I don’t know where they will lead. I sometimes get my best ideas when I just let my mind float freely, and I don’t mind ‘giving up mental control’ for a while to see what bubbles up. I often use my imagination when I’m learning, and pay attention to images and physical promptings as well as rational thoughts.

Learning relationships v Isolation or Dependence

I like working on problems with other people, especially my friends. I have no difficulty sharing thoughts and ideas with others, and find it useful. I am quite capable of working away at problems on my own, and sometimes prefer it. I don’t feel I have to stick with the crowd for fear of being lonely or isolated, when I’m learning. I have important people at home and in my community who share with me in my learning. I am ready to draw on these when it seems helpful. I feel that I live within a supportive social context.

Strategic Awarenessv Robotic

I tend to think about my learning, and

plan how I am going to go about it. I usually have a fair idea how long something is going to take me, what resources I am going to need, and my chances of being successful.

I am able to talk about the process of learning – how I go about things – and about myself as a learner – what my habits, preferences, aspirations, strengths and weaknesses are.

Resilience v dependence and fragility

I tend to stick at things for a while, even when they are difficult. I don’t give up easily. I often enjoy grappling with things that aren’t easy. I can handle the feelings that tend to crop up during learning: frustration, confusion, apprehension and so on. I have quite a high degree of emotional tolerance when it comes to learning. I’m not easily upset or embarrassed when I can’t immediately figure something out. I don’t immediately look for someone to help me out when I am finding things difficult, or when I get stuck. I’m usually happy to keep trying on my own for a while. I don’t mind if there’s nobody around to ‘rescue’ me.

Seven scales in a self report, online questionnaire, designed to measure learning power and to stimulate change

Four types of feedback:

• Individual • Group or class• Organisation • System wide

Changing and learning

Learning relationships

Strategic Awareness

ResilienceCreativity

Meaning Making

Critical Curiosity

Type One ELLI Profile

Changing and learning

Learning relationships

Strategic Awareness

ResilienceCreativity

Meaning Making

Critical Curiosity

Type Two ELLI Profile

ELLI - an assessment event

a framework for a mentored conversation that moves between the person and identity of the learning and a negotiated learning outcome or performance

Trust, affirmation and challenge

Critical Curiosity

ELLI profiles shown as bar graphs

e-Science for Learning to LearnIndexed archive of >50,000 anonymised ELLI

profiles (and other validated tools) for

mentoring, research and development

http://www.learningwarehouse.org

Study 1Learning Power

seems to get weaker and more fragile as children go

through school

N = 6045 Schools = 116

N=851, 5-9, 2004 • Learning power is associated with:

• Attainment (except creativity!)• Students perceptions of: teachers ability to

create positive interpersonal relationships, to honour student voice, to respect students and to stimulate higher order thinking

• Organisational emotional literacy

Study 2: Ecology of learning

Teachers whose students’ have high levels of learning power are characterised by:

Self efficacy; reflective self-awareness; high autonomy support (as opposed to highly controlling) learner-centred beliefs about students.

Exploring the Learning Profiles of Underachieving

Students

Study 4

Significant differences between high and under achieving groups

• Changing and Learning• Meaning Making• Critical Curiosity• Creativity• Learning relationships• Strategic awareness• Fragility and dependence

• .003• .002• .001• .345• .691• .011• .099

Tentative findings….Underachievers are characterised by:• Passivity in learning dispositions• Accepting things at face value• Lacking strategic awareness – of thinking,

feeling and planning/doing• Not looking for meaning and sense making in

their learning• Being ‘stuck and static’ in their sense of

themselves as learners.• Being unable to ‘tell their story’

So what works?

• Creating a shared language for learning• Scaffolding learning through metaphor, image

and symbols• Coaching for learning - awareness, ownership

and responsibility• Enquiry based learning as part of a blended

curriculum• Co-constructing knowledge with learners• Extending the places and partners for learning

Creating a rich language for learning

• CHANGING & LEARNING: SNAKE• Sheds his skin• Dislocates his mouth/ jaw to fit in food• Uses venom & constriction to capture its prey• Changes shape to adapt to its environment

• CRITICAL CURIOSITY: EMU• Always looks up to see what is around its • environment• Curious• Explores and is adventurous• Stares• Proud and strong

Creativity

• Or ‘springboard zone.’• Thinking around things• Coming up with new

ideas, sometimes a bit crazy!

• Trusting your hunches

RESILIENCE

LENNY

RESILIENCE

LENNYHello, I’m Lenny and my learning strength is resilience. I love to challenge my thinking and learning. I don’t give up easily – even when things are difficult.

Five levels of intervention

• Feedback only• Feedback plus coaching conversations• Adapting the curriculum• Enquiry based learning • Leaders leading systemic culture change

towards learner centred-ness

Intervention studies

Study 7

Learning Outside the Box

Impact of self assessment of learning power on highly achieving sixth formers in a Malaysian college

Pre post changes

• N=184 17 year olds Paired T Tests

• Interventions were coaching conversations with tutors responding to ELLI profiles

• Significant change pre to post on six out of seven dimensions

17year old – gains in 6 dimensions

• I have changed so much in my learning ability and this makes me feel a bit more confident in myself. Apart from just learning whatever I need, knowing why should I learn them is an important part for me and then analysing them.

Study 11Foundation Years: Language for Learning Project

Language of learning through

music and movement – using animal metaphors as a vehicle for modelling and imitation and conceptual understanding

Learning power in the community

Resilience – Brolga - Gudurrku

• I explained the meaning of the graph.

Study 8

Learning Power and Higher Education

• Assessing learning dispositions as a means of supporting personal development planning in 14 British Universities N = 1890

University level personal development planning paired t tests

Mean Std. Deviation t df Sig. (2 - tailed)

Pair 1 changing and learning - changing and learning post

-3.96141 18.56131 -4.300 405 .000

Pair 2 critical curiosity - critical curiosity post

-1.87922 13.35450 -2.835 405 .005

Pair 3 meaning making - me aning making post

-1.97044 14.24545 -2.787 405 .006

Pair 4 creativity - creativity post -2.61728 14.89449 -3.536 404 .000

Pair 5 strategic awareness - strategic awareness post

-4.27561 13.54886 -6.359 405 .000

Pair 6 learning relationship - learning rel ationship post

-1.53635 14.29021 -2.164 404 .031

Pair 7 fragility and dependence - fragility and dependence post

-.89083 12.96695 -1.383 404 .168

Key interventions: coaching and mentoring

• “It’s made me more aware… it has enhanced my awareness of myself as a learner”

• “ELLI makes you aware that there are different ways to learn and to improve your learning. I was never aware of the seven aspects (dimensions), just thinking of learning as an end-product. ELLI has highlighted the areas I can get better at.”

Study 16

• Learning Power and Skills for Employability

Bahrain Polytechnic

N= 821

Project Report September 2010

The Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory(ELLI) Project

Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol

ELLI Research & Development ProjectBahrain Polytechnic 2009-10

A picture of change:

 

Figure 1: Pre- and post profile for Student 1: Foundation 2 to first year ICT Degree Student

Pre-post comparisons (* statistically significant gains N=211)

Descriptives of means and standard deviations of each pair of pre/post scores

Pre-means Post - means Std. Deviation

changing and learning 73.74 79.30* 19.46/16.78

critical curiosity 63.56 67.19* 16.13/16.01

meaning making 77.89 82.80* 14.23/12.72

creativity 74.55 76.97* 14.03/14.90

learning relationships 64.01 66.26* 14.36/14.68

strategic awareness 65.55 69.94* 14.70/15.02

fragility and dependence 50.01 49.58 16.02/16.20

What the students said

• “I’ve become more flexible... open-minded...

• I am more aware of what learning means to me

• I did more teamwork, looking for meaning in

everything... asking if I didn’t understand...

• being more sociable in the way I learn...

• I also made decisions to change...

What the students said• I have a more positive attitude...

• Now I find my own answers... find out something

from different perspectives...

• I know we need it in the work environment...

• ELLI gave me a great push! • ELLI makes me focus on myself as a learner...

see what I have to do to get better.

Learning By Accident

Study 15• Learning power and a context driven,

object based curriculum with NEET Learners, Young Offenders and Gifted and Talented 16 year olds

Jess• ‘It’s made me not so scared

to learn other things,’ ‘It was a tiny little project and it spiraled into all these other things that were connected.’

• ‘I didn’t think I could learn any more but now I believe you can.’ It’s not just about Cheddar Gorge, it’s about life stuff.’

Danny – a ‘NEET’ Learner with profound learning difficulties – targeted Critical Curiosity and Learning Relationships

“It’s changed what I think I can do.”