Learning

1
Learning Leadership SeminarBristol 15th May
2008

• Context-driven, learner-centred enquiry
• what emerges from the narratives?

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Principles

• A curriculum designed to
• recognise the person of the learner, her
  intentionality, authority, relationships and
  story
• allow these to initiate, shape and motivate the
  learning process
• include reflection on process as an essential
  component of what is learned (learning about
  learning)
• free the learner to span and connect pre-existing
  forms and stores of knowledge
• enable the learning to relate - and achieve a
  purpose of value - to the (accountable) world.

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Principles 2

• an archaeological pedagogy which
• is anchored in personal interest
• (rather than didactic intent)
• starts with objective reality
• (rather than opinion or theory)
• creates its own dynamic
• (rather than following taught routines)
• relates and unites disparate elements
• (rather than fragmenting them)
• is reflexive on its process
• (rather than concerned only with outcome)
• allows the outcome to derive from the process
• (rather than pre-determine it)

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The dynamics of a learner-driven enquiry

• Personal Choice - deciding
• Observation - describing
• Enquiry wondering, interrogating
• Narratives - discovering, storying
• Mapping navigating
• Connecting - widening
• Encountering - interface with existing forms
• Communicating assessment /validation

5

• The Simpsons Guide to
• LIFE

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But WHATS THE POINT of learning?

• Finding out what matters
• to YOU
• Finding out how you can
• learn more about it
• Finding out how to be a
• good learner
• Deciding what you want to do with your life

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What makes a good learner?
?
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Scaffolding with ELLI zones
Changing and Learning? (morphing zone) Critical
Curiosity (detective zone) Creativity
(springboard zone) Meaning Making
(jigsaw zone) Resilience (gritty zone)
Strategic Awareness (pilot zone) Learning
Relationships (team zone)
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Three settings

• St Johns School Community College, Marlborough
  space in Year 11 after completing some GCSEs a
  year early
• Vinney Green a Young Offenders Institution in
  S. Gloucestershire
• Bath Northeast Somerset Training Organisation
  an E-to-E Course for NEET Learners

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Some emerging themes in the following narratives?

• Engagement getting stuck in!
• Curiosity exploring - surprising myself
• Commitment meeting deadlines -
  completing something
• Spontaneity being open-minded about things
• Reflection when it all comes together
• Identity knowing how Ive changed

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Some emerging themes in the following narratives?

• Story-telling making my experience visible
• Self-awareness - achievement within yourself
• Critical self-evaluation how I would do it
  differently next time
• Creativity and conditions for it freedom and
  limits
• Overcoming fear scary but interesting!
• How to assess the above?

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Student narrativesSt Johns

• (visiting Waterloo) made you think about it in
  an emotional way thinking about how it must
  have been connecting what I knew from
  background reading to a place

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Student narrativesSt Johns

• Once I had narrowed my area down to one thing (a
  photo) it was like a springboard
• Having limits can make you more creative

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Student narrativesSt Johns

• It is important for us to recognise when weve
  done something important achievement within
  yourself rather than measured by someone else
  self-growth

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Student narrativesSt Johns

• It is about self-awareness more than anything
  else to choose an object, you need to be
  self-aware, to know what resonates and to know
  what youve got out of it you need to be
  self-aware

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Student narrativesSt Johns

• Learning how to tell your own story would make it
  easier to do all the other things you have to do
  learn subjects, get grades etc

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Student narrativesSt Johns

• Theres a bit of a trust thing they dont trust
  you to do it your way (in the normal academic
  curriculum)
• Were all programmed in a way that makes our
  experience invisible

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Student narrativesSt Johns

• You can tell if someone is just quoting from an
  encyclopaedia in a viva
• More measurable things are given far more
  attention than the less measurable
• If you allow things to go off and get
  interesting, how do you compare?

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Young Offenders

• Tentative finding
• Violent young offenders appear to have extremely
  distinctive learning profiles (N45)

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Young Offenders
Convicted gang rape of 13yr olds
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Can we make a difference?Young offenders before
and after self assessment strategies
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NEET Learners

• What were the best bits?
• using ICT to find important and relevant
  information
• (One actually traced his grandfather whom he had
  never met but only lived in the next city)
• Researching the historical context and the
  development of the technology.
• Finding out about Cheddar Man

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NEET Learners

• If you were to do it again?
• We would get to know the scaffolds better
• Choose a better topic next time
• What would you change?
• Choose a place first then find objects
• Focus the questions better

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NEET Learners

• What was difficult?
• Choosing the topic
• Finding a starting point e.g. a photograph
• The amount of work for a 10 min presentation!
• Presentation could have been better
• Needed more time to prepare
• Slow pace of finding information (½ hour with
  nothing )
• Knowing what you are doing and getting help
• Using a wider range of sources
• like being on a slippery slope you dont know
  whats coming next
• Get fed up too much info. too little info

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NEET Learners

• What surprised you most about what you did?
• The leaflet! I didnt think I could ever do
  anything like that
• The finish and quality of my work
• Working to a deadline

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NEET Learners

• Which skills will you use in day-to-day life?
• Thinking things through
• Preparation for a job
• Taking time
• Managing variables
• Research skills

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NEET LearnersHow have you changed?

• Jess
• Im always thinking things throughmore
  spontaneous now more creativenow I do less
  planning and go with the moment. Before, I would
  think everything through and get stuck. Good in
  the Pilot Zone new to the Springboard Zoneless
  time worrying and more letting things fall into
  place
• Richard
• thought it would be boring part way through but
  it didnt get boring. More detail was more
  interesting and exciting. It linked to new stuff
  and raceswould be more confident in the
  presentation if I did it again

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NEET Learners

• Matthew
• Decision making was the hardest Doing it my own
  way I didnt know what my own way was I didnt
  feel, so I couldnt go with my feelings or trust
  the feelings when they were there. Im proud to
  have made something out of something else that
  wasnt there before.

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NEET Learners

• Thinking about ELLI
• Zones we didnt think about these once we had
  our profiles, just got on with our work wanted
  it as simple as possible.
• I didnt understand it (ELLI) at first but later
  I just got used to them.
• Zones - are wicked! At the start they give you
  an idea of how to do it.
• Profiles - at the end it is good to see the
  change. In the back of your mind you are aware of
  the differences, such as Creativity. The
  differences afterwards are interesting - to see
  the change after just a few weeks

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NEET Learners

• Jess and Richard
• The whole project is individual it is completely
  and utterly your own
• You can let it (ELLI profile) go to the back of
  your mind and notice the changes at the end.

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NEET Learners

• Jess - It (using the zones) definitely changes
  the way you look at your own learningI see
  myself as Lisa which fits into planning
• Matthew You remember and use it, not a
  conscious thought it makes you prepare things
  and take more time
• Matthew It builds up skills tells you more what
  you are like. There are some surprises.

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NEET Learners

• Was having no restrictions hard?
• Yes, but we had plenty of people there to help.
  Freedom was good. Restrictions would have been
  more difficult, more boring, less ownership.
• WE thought, WE decided, We completed it
  ourselves!
• It was scary but interesting. You learn about the
  things you want to learn about, not being told
  what to learn. It is learning by accident.

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NEET Learners

• Will it change the way you look at yourself?
• Not on its own.
• The evaluation session where all the people have
  come is when you take more in about what you have
  achieved.
• The group discussion, reflecting and realising
  what weve done, made it all come together. It
  gave it a value. It was learning stuff I actually
  enjoy.

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NEET Learners

• How is it different from School?
• Things are chucked at you in school. The teacher
  is not engaged with you. In one ear and out of
  the other. Not getting it through.
• School is boring. The way you are approached is
  different, the atmosphere.
• You are more motivated when not at school. Its
  all about us - the way you are taught (is) not
  the way you learn.

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NEET Learners

• The ELLI work has been
• more open-minded about things
• more exploring
• more skill building
• when you enjoy learning
• learning things you dont realise
• Reflection is important!

36
NEET Learners

• The timing?
• Six weeks is just about right. At the start I
  would have said (too much?) but I now feel a
  sense of accomplishment. Now I see the point of
  it. It has changed my mind a lot.
• At what age do you think it would be best to use
  it?
• In Yr 7 thinking more, when you are becoming a
  person and where information is more relevant.
• It fits with Life skills and should be in the
  National Curriculum. The Government should see
  that it prepares yourself for life not about
  qualifications.

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NEET Learners

• At what age do you think it would be
• best to use it?
• In Yr 7 thinking more, when you are becoming a
  person and where information is more relevant.
• It fits with Life skills and should be in the
  National Curriculum. The Government should see
  that it prepares yourself for life not about
  qualification
• Yr 9 before GCSEs and Coursework would be best.
• Yr 9 is a balancing point for curriculum choices
  and you should know your strengths and weaknesses.

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NEET Learners

• (Theres) nothing like this at school, it is
  really deep and meaningful. Its quite scary
  being so personal.
• Richard If you go into it too much you get
  lost, it needs more structure.
• It is most valuable and makes you think. If all
  these schools have actually done it (used ELLI)
  it can change their lives. If you learn about it
  you think deeper and have a more positive
  learning experience.

39
NEET Learners

• Grab people when they are younger. You have to
  follow it through.
• Paul It will help people improve their lives.
  Get them out of their habits. Help them control
  their thoughts. Change your personality a bit,
  feel bit more creative gives motivation and
  self-esteem great confidence builder structures
  thoughts and exercises controlmore aware of
  being a balanced person
• Advice to others
• Get stuck in!

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NEET Learners - Jess

• Its 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 didnt think I could learn any more but now I
  believe you can. Its not just about Cheddar
  Gorge, its about life stuff

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NEET Learners - Richard

• Students often dont get on with school because
  every student has to do the same work, you all do
  one thing. They need more choice in approach it
  gives you more freedom to decide instead of
  depending on what the teacher wants.

42
NEET Learners - Danny

• Ive got a new way of learning. I have
  questions, and I scan and pick out the things I
  need.
• You have to take a leap of faith!
• Its opened my eyes quite a bit to learn how to
  do these things
• And its changed what I think I can do.
• that astrophysicist has invited me to his next
  call-out with telescopes and to a lecture
• So Ill go on learning!