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Professor Guy Claxton
SSAT 20th
National Conference: Innovating Learning4 - 5 December ACC Liverpool
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BUILDING LEARNING POWERSTANDARDS THE RIGHT WAY
Professor Guy Claxton
Centre for Real-World LearningUniversity of Winchester, UK
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Global dissatisfaction
There is a significant disconnection between
education systems and the needs of the 21st century.
People may or may not have the right clutch ofcertificates, but far too few of them have the
attitudes that employers know are the more
important foundations of that elusive world-class
work-force. Effective Education and Employment: A Global Perspective, 2009
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Global responses are similar
The key skills of the Junior Cycle [include]: being
flexible, being positive about learning, imagining,
exploring options, taking risks, discussing and
debating, learning with others, being curious,
reflecting and evaluating (Irish Junior Cycle, Key
Skills)
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Singapore
a confident person who is adaptable and resilient, knows
himself, thinks independently and critically, and
communicates effectively;
a self-directed learner who takes responsibility for his own
learning, who questions, reflects and perseveres in the
pursuit of learning;
an active contributor who is able to work effectively in
teams, exercises initiative, takes calculated risks, is
innovative and strives for excellence
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The New Zealand Curriculum
Our vision is for young people who will be confident,
connected, actively involved, lifelong learners.
Resourceful, enterprising, entrepreneurial, resilient Able to relate well to others
Critical and creative thinkers
Competent problem-solvers [who] reflect on their own
learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuition, askquestions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and
perceptions
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Even in much-vaunted Finland
The Finnish system, despite the international
success, needs to change The engineering
skills and mindset that built - and let down -Nokia are not the recipe for future success
The concerns are the same as in Singapore
and in South Korea...
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Mindset, attitudes, key competencies, 21
st
century skills,habits of mind, PLTS, learning dispositionsare harder to
graspand slower to build
But can we build these Qualities of Mind more deliberately,
systematically and demonstrably
At the same time as we develop literacies and raise
standards?
What does it take to go beyond fine words, fond hopes,bolt-ons and team sportsand what gets in the way?
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Do we have to OR or can we AND?
Content OR Process
Algebra OR learning skills
Standards OR Skills
Rigour OR Relevance Traditional OR Progressive
Academic OR Vocational
Can we teach in a way that get results ANDprepares young people for the risks and rigours of21st century life ?
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Do we put it in the too hard basket and play Punch
and Judyor join the quest for the Holy Grail?
Initiatives keep flaring up and fizzling out
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Possible barriers to progress
Either / or thinking
Antiquated view of ability as fixed Bolt-on, quick fix attitude
Off-putting language
Misunderstanding the learning required of teachers
Lack of courage, energy or imagination Cynicism masquerading as maturity
This is not back to the 70s
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Whats at the heart of Bushfield School?
Its our job not just to help children master
literacy and numeracy but to prepare them for
a very turbulent and complex world. We are
failing if we dont prepare them with the skills
they need to cope with uncertainty; to cope
with differing perspectives; to cope with
working with different kinds of people; to ask
good questions. Our children are at a very
crucial age. We need to get those skills right
into the DNA of the way our children think andlearnbefore its too late.
Dr Shum, Chair of Governors
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What is Building Learning Power?
A collaborative enquiry; a work in progress
A philosophy three aims for education
1. A generic preparation for life in a complex world (qualities of
mind)
2. The literacies: verbal, symbolic, digital, emotional
3. The best grades you can (but not for all)
An evidence base rigorous and practical
The learning sciences (e.g. learnable intelligence)
Impact and implementation (exams and inspections)
A set of seeds and frameworks
Seeds and scaffolds for teachers habit change
A route-map for school development
Progression, monitoring and CPD (the long haul)
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Building Learning Power: the research
12 years exploring BLP
18 schools evaluation of
Impact Implementation
Vital, challenging, possible 3 years timescale
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Monitoring students reactions
If somethings hard you dont want to say Oh this is hard, this is hard, Illjust skip it. You try - because when you grow up you might come to someanswer youll still not know, and you cant skip it then (Daneisha, 6)
If youve been focusing on one of the learning muscles in school, when Igo home I think, How could I use that here? Like when I go to swimmingclub I think maybe I could persevere more, or ask more questions, or usemy imitating muscles (Madeleine, 12)
In my old school they just gave you harder and harder worksheets. But
here they really stretch you to learn in different ways. You get lots ofencouragement so you learn to keep going and dig deep when things getdifficult. Now I always like to see if I can take things one step further(Tom,15)
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Checking the results
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Asking visitors
Walthamstow School for Girls (Outstanding) Few schools in similar contexts do as well as this school to prepare
students so well for lifethe Building Learning Power course has
successfully developed students understanding of effective learning
strategies.
Park High School, Harrow (Outstanding)
Parents report favourably on the growing confidence of their
children, and the development of skills that prepare students for the
world of work is exemplary Students enthusiasm for learning makesa major contributionthey work cooperatively with each other and
achieve well. Through the Building Learning Power programme the
school develops students understanding of how to learn and their
skills for lifelong learning
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how do you want me to bedifferent? 7 small habit changes for 21st century
teachers
1. Notice positive changes in students learning habits
2. Design activities that stretch different learning
muscles
3. Model being a confident learner (not a know-all)
4. Display work in progress and visual tools5. Give pupils increasing responsibility
6. Attribute performance to the habits, not to ability
7. Get students talking about the process of learning
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We know how to do it
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Plenty of pioneers
Opening Minds
Thinking Schools
Expansive EducationNetwork
Flow Foundation
BLP
Habits of Mind
P4C
Whole Education Tapestry
Learning-Centred Schools
.
BLP schools in Isle of Man (Laxley)
Dubai (Wellington)
Poland (Silesia)
Netherlands (Utrecht)
New Zealand (St Cuthberts)
Malaysia (Internationalschools)
Argentina (Ushuaia)
Australia (Port Pirie)
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THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!The Ebacc does not require 19th century teaching!
And remember, the results generally go up!
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www.buildinglearningpower.co.ukwww.expansiveeducation.net
mailto:[email protected]://www.buildinglearningpower.co.uk/http://www.expansiveeducation.net/http://www.expansiveeducation.net/http://www.buildinglearningpower.co.uk/mailto:[email protected]7/30/2019 Guy Claxton
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7 small habit changesfor BLP teaching
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1. Notice childrens learning muscles
The four main muscle groups
1. Active engagement locking on to learning
inquiring, persisting, venturing, concentrating
2. Skilful learning the cognitive tool-kitimagining, connecting, crafting, capitalising
3. Thinking and reflecting strategic awareness
organising, self-evaluating, analysing, applying
4. Social sophistication learning with otherscollaborating, resisting pressure, empathising,collecting feedback
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So how do you write reports?What do you act as if its worth capturing about your
students?
Usain is getting better at
careful observation, bringing his own questions into
class, asking when he doesnt understand, working with
a range of others, thinking things through, seeing how
he can improve what hes done
Jessica is becoming more
resilient in the face of difficulty, imaginative in her
writing, thoughtful about her own work, sceptical about
knowledge claims, careful in her checking, willing to
push herself
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2. Plan split-screen lessons
Learning History AND Scepticism
Learning Maths AND Risk-taking
Learning Science AND Questioning Learning RE AND Self-evaluation
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3. Be a model learner
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4. Use visual tools
and displays
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Display childrens work-in-progress
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5. Involve pupils in designing /
evaluating / repairing their education
Qualified student teachers
Student lesson observers Give you 2 stars and a
wish
Whats the best groupsize?
How well are weworking?
Harris StudentCommission
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6. Talk about learning habits, not ability
I like the way you wrote those summaries to help you
remember
Well done for concentrating through all those distractions
Wow how did you come up with so many creative ideas?
Lets try to figure out what it is that is making this hard for
you to learn, and what might help you get the hang of it
I know you used to love being the one who knew all the
answers But Im really excited about how you are pushingyourself more nowchoosing things you are not so good at,
and really sticking at them
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7. Talk about the process of learningclassroom chat that foregrounds the ups and downs of
learning
o How did you do that?o How else could you have done that?o Who did that a different way?
o Which are the tricky bits? Whats tricky about them?o What could you do when you are stuck on that?o What would have made that easier for you?o How could you help someone else understand that?o How could I have taught that better?o Where else could you use that?
o How could you make that harder for yourself?o ..?o ...................................?
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What are the effects of BLP?
On pupils? On Ofsted?
On results?
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BLP works!
Confident, capable and
enthusiastic learners
Do better on the tests
Impress Ofsted
Please parents
Develop literacy and
numeracy skills faster
Do better on open-ended
problem-solving
Transfer their learning better
from place to place
Are better able to cope with
uncertainty
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Its the detail of teaching that makes
all the difference
The biggest effects onstudents achievement
occur when teachersbecome learners about
their own teaching,and when students
become their ownteachers (John Hattie)
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Attitudes for life?
Being right
Creating ideas
Listening to teachers
Questioning things Working alone
Being active
Remembering facts
Showing initiative Following instructions
Self-evaluating
Being adventurous
Copying down
Discussing with peers
Accepting what youre told Working with others
Sitting still
Imagining possible solutions
Showing deference Taking responsibility
Being evaluated
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Being right
Creating ideas
Listening to teachers
Questioning things Working alone
Being active
Remembering facts
Showing initiative Following instructions
Self-evaluating
Being adventurous
Copying down
Discussing with peers
Accepting what youre told Working with others
Sitting still
Imagining possible solutions
Showing deference Taking responsibility
Being evaluated
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Learning habits in school?
Being right
Creating ideas
Listening to teachers
Questioning things Working alone
Being active
Remembering facts
Showing initiative Following instructions
Self-evaluating
Being adventurous
Copying down
Discussing with peers
Accepting what youre told Working with others
Sitting still
Imagining possible solutions
Showing deference Taking responsibility
Being evaluated
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Being right
Creating ideas
Listening to teacher
Questioning things Working alone
Being active
Remembering facts
Showing initiative Following instructions
Self-evaluating
Being adventurous
Copying down
Discussing with peers
Accepting what youre told Working with others
Sitting still
Imagining possible solutions
Showing deference Taking responsibility
Being evaluated
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A preparation for what?
19th century clerk?
Being right
Copying down
Listening to teacher
Accepting what youre told
Working alone
Sitting still
Remembering facts
Showing deference Following instructions
Being evaluated
21st century explorer?
Being adventurous
Creating ideas
Discussing with peers
Questioning things
Working with others
Being active
Imagining possible solutions
Showing initiative Taking responsibility
Self-evaluating
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Professor Guy Claxton
SSAT 20th National Conference: Innovating Learning