Pennington Infant SchoolReaching together on our

learning adventure

Aims of session

• To share the vision of the school• To show how we will be achieving

our vision and how you can help

Our Vision

• Due to an ever changing world, many of the jobs your children will do, have not been invented yet.

• Therefore we need to provide them with the tools that will enable them to adapt, and to embrace the challenges of the future.

Charles Darwin

•“It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent; it’s those that adapt to change.”

• “Since we cannot know what knowledge will be needed in the future it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead our job must be to try to turn out young people who love learning so much, and who learn so well, that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learnt” – John Holt

Guy Claxton’s Building Learning Power

• The key Aspects of BLP:• Helps young people become better learners and life-

long learners• It cultivates habits and attitudes that enable students to

face difficulty calmly and confidently• It develops the ability to take on new challenges• It is about developing attitudes, values, self-image and

confidence, as well as skills and strategies.

BLP has come from ‘Learning to Learn’ which has been modified over

time:

• Generation1: “Learning” referred to but really this is meant as just improving attainment

• Generation 2: Focus on developing “study skills” especially before exams, often focussing on exam technique

• Generation 3: Learning to Learn now includes emotional factors and self-esteem. More focus on VAK and how teaching is being delivered

• Generation 4: Students involved in the learning process, teachers also see themselves as learners. Incorporates BLP

Pennington Infant School’s

Claxton’s Learning Muscles Learning Muscles

• Resilience• Resourcefulness• Reflection• Reciprocity

• Resilience• Evaluation• Adaptability• Co-operation• Honesty

What does each Muscle mean?

• Resilience

Keep going – stick at it Try again Absorption/engagement Making linksManaging distractions

What does each Muscle mean?

• Evaluation• Asking the right questions:

What do I already know?How can I make it even better?What might go wrong?What went well?How am I going to do this?Should I change my plan?What did I learn?What could I do next time?

What does each Muscle mean?

• Adaptability

• Have a go and keep trying • How could it be done differently? • What do I know works? • What can I use to help? • Ask lots of different questions • Picture this…. • Keep thinking – it will help!

What does each Muscle mean?

• Co-operation

• Empathy• Listen to others• All join in• Help each other• A good example

                            

What does each Learning Muscle mean?

• Honesty

• Adults to model• Honest to themselves e.g. is this really your best

learning?• Honest marking and feedback

How will we achieve our vision?

• Problem solving opportunities e.g. Maths, science, Design and Technology etc.

• Our certificates given out in Celebration Assemblies celebrate the Learning Muscles

• Creative Curriculum – lots of topic links

• Provide challenges for ALL our children

• Introduce Learning Heroes

• Class Dojos

• BLP climate is dependent on the language we use:

• ‘Learning’ not ‘work’ e.g. home learning, “Are you in a good learning space?”

• ‘Effort’ not ‘ability’ language• ‘Could be’ not ‘is’ language• We need to refer to the Learning Muscles

as much as possible throughout all aspects of school to familiarise the children with them.

• We need to model the values of BLP:

• Daring not to know• Thinking aloud about learning • Show your work in progress

A BLP culture talks explicitly about learning power all the

time

• We need to:• Talk about Learning Muscles and becoming a successful

learner• Discuss when/how children get their ideas• Stretch learning muscles all the time – don’t be put

off by initial resistance – provide some opportunities for children to fail as well as succeed!

• Share some control with the children – talk about what will help them learn, how they learn, their learning environment etc.

How you can help…

• Talk about the learning muscles• Talk about your own learning• Praise your child for his or effort• Attendance!!!!

Pennington Infant School

A Community of learners

A final thought…“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” Rita Pierson