Building Learning Power and Challenge

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Building Learning Power and Challenge
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What is Building Learning Power?

• Building Learning Power (BLP) is an approach to
  helping young people become more successful and
  reflective learners, both in school and out. A
  key strategy for promoting challenge is to
  encourage students to take responsibility for
  their learning. BLP has the potential to support
  learners in taking this responsibility and coping
  with learning challenges. This bite highlights
  the
• core frameworks of BLP
• key evidence behind BLP
• links between BLP and other evidence-based
  resources

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Core frameworks of BLP

• BLP provides two frameworks to help teachers
  implement the approach
• the supple learning mind- a language for
  talking about young people as learners
• The teachers palette- an overview of the
  school and classroom activities that cultivate
  young people as learners
• These frameworks are not rigid straightjackets
  but act as a springboard for schools to develop
  their own approach

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The Supple Learning Mind

• The BLP language is split into 4 domains of
  learning known as the 4Rs
• These are
• resourcefulness
• reciprocity
• reflectiveness
• resilience
• Each R is subdivided into 4 or 5 capacities

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Resourcefulness

• Resourcefulness involves the main cognitive
  skills and dispositions of learning
• Questioning getting below the surface playing
  with situations (see cognitive challenge in
  Thinking Skills Approaches)
• Making links seeking coherence, relevance and
  meaning (see bridging in Thinking Skills
  Approaches)
• Imagining using the minds eye as a learning
  theatre
• Reasoning thinking rigorously and methodically
  (see Using the Thinking Frames approach to
  improve Pupil Engagement and Attainment in
  Science)
• Capitalising making good use of resources (see
  LSIS Promoting Independent Learning through the
  Use of Podcasting)

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Reciprocity

• Reciprocity involves the social and interpersonal
  side of learning
• interdependence balancing self-reliance and
  sociability
• collaboration the skills of learning with others
• listening/empathy getting inside others minds
• imitation picking up others habits and values
  (see Promoting Independent Learning through
  Modelling Organisational Skills)

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Reflectiveness

• Reflectiveness involves the strategic and
  self-managing aspects of learning
• planning working learning out in advance (see
  Learning how to learn through AfL strategies)
• revising monitoring and adapting along the way
• distilling drawing out the lessons from
  experience
• meta-learning understanding learning, and
  yourself as a learner (see meta-cognition in
  Thinking Skills Approaches)

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Resilience

• Resilience involves the learners emotional and
  experiential engagement with learning
• Absorption flow the pleasure of being rapt in
  learning
• Managing distraction recognising and reducing
  interruptions (see Multi-agency working and pupil
  behaviour)
• Noticing really sensing whats out there
• Perseverance stickability tolerating the
  feelings of learning (see Promoting Learner
  Persistence)

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The Teachers Palette

• To help young people develop the 4Rs, BLP
  proposes 4 aspects of school and classroom
  culture that cultivate a learning mind. These
  include
• commentating
• orchestrating
• explaining
• modelling

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Commentating

• Drawing individual students attention towards
  their own learning
• Responding to students comments and questions in
  ways that encourage learning-to-learn
• Commenting on difficulties and achievements in
  learning-positive ways
• Recording the development of students learning
  power

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Orchestrating

• Choosing activities that develop learning habits
• Clarifying the learning intentions behind
  specific activities
• Helping students set and monitor their own
  learning power targets
• Making use of displays and physical arrangements
  to encourage independence

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Explaining

• Making clear the overall purpose of the classroom
• Offering ongoing reminders and prompts about
  learning power
• Inviting students own ideas and opinions about
  learning
• Giving direct information and practice in
  learning tips and techniques

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Modelling

• Responding to unforeseen events, questions etc.
  in ways that model good learning
• Externalising the thinking, feeling and decisions
  making of a learner-in-action
• Having learning projects that are visible in the
  classroom
• Talking about teachers learning careers and
  histories

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The evidence

• BLP is underpinned and influenced by a range of
  research and evidence, including
• Dwecks research on a growth mindset
• Gardners theory of multiple intelligences
• Hatties evidence about achievement
• Langers research on the power of language
• Lave and Wangers work on communities of practice
• Perkins writing about learnable intelligence

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Dwecks Growth Mindset

• Dwecks extensive research over the last 30 years
  has shown that
• Peoples beliefs about intelligence influence how
  they go about learning
• If someone believes intelligence is fixed they
  are more likely to give up when they face
  difficulties than someone who believes
  intelligence is expandable
• Dweck likens the brain to a muscle, capable of
  growth through regular exercise.
• Read more about Dwecks work at
  http//www.tla.ac.uk/site/Pages/RfT.aspx

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Multiple Intelligences

• Howard Gardners theory sees intelligence as
  wide-ranging including 8 aspects
• Spatial
• Linguistic
• Logical-mathematical
• Bodily-kinesthetic
• Musical
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
• Naturalistic
• These multiple intelligences are nurtured as
  much as natured

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Effect Sizes and Achievement

• Hattie carried out extensive research looking at
  the impact of different interventions on
  achievement. From this he concluded
• The biggest effects on student learning occur
  when teachers become learners of their own
  teaching, and when students become their own
  teachers
• This can be seen to support the BLP approach of
  helping students become more independent,
  reflective learners.
• Read more about Hatties research at
  http//www.tla.ac.uk/site/Pages/RfT.aspx

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What other ideas have influenced BLP?

• Langers research into the power of language
• saying something could be rather than is
  encourages learners to engage with learning
• Lave and Wangers work on communities of
  practice
• it is important to create a culture where young
  people pick up helpful attitudes and habits about
  knowing and learning
• Perkins writing about learnable intelligence
• intelligence can be learned, and is capable of
  being helped to grow in timely and productive ways

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What is the evidence for the impact of BLP?

• Although the point of BLP is not to raise
  conventional results there is some evidence of a
  positive impact in 9 secondary schools who have
  adopted the approach
• The percentages of students who achieved 5 or
  more GCSE grades A- C increased in 6 of the
  schools, was maintained in 1 of the schools and
  decreased in 2 schools
• Interestingly some of the schools experienced an
  initial dip in the year that BLP was introduced.
• There was a strong and immediate correlation
  between the introduction of BLP and an increase
  in GCSE total point scores

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How can teachers use the evidence in this study?

• BLP views absorption in learning (flow) as a key
  element of Resilience. Could you observe a group
  of students to see which kinds of learning
  activities support this absorption? You may also
  want to discuss with a group of students their
  experiences of flow both in and out of school.
• Could you use your observation and discussion to
  work with students to plan learning activities
  that encourage flow even when the nature of the
  learning is potentially challenging?

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How can school leaders use the evidence in this
study?

• BLP views modelling as a key aspect of helping
  students develop the 4Rs. You might want to carry
  out a learning walk to sample the extent to which
  all staff model resilience in their own learning,
  and explicitly talk about this with students.
• Would it be helpful for staff to carry out joint
  planning to identify opportunities for
  demonstrating to students how they persevere
  through learning challenges?

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Study reference

• Claxton, G et al (2011) The Learning Powered
  School, Pioneering 21st Century Education
  Bristol TLO,