What is Effective Learning?

I was just looking through my files and came accross a range of notes I took for a Masters paper in the Uk and they seemed so relevant to what I am investigating - how to develop independent learners.

Effective Learning

Institute of Education, London University

This chart really made me think abut what I am doing as the teacher and what this is developing in my learners.  I need to transition further down the line from guiding through facilitationg and into consulting if students are to become independent and self directed.

When teachers:	Instruct	Guide	Facilitate	Consult
Learners become:	Dependent	Interested	Involved	Self-directed

I think this might need more:

1. Student understanding of targets and how to achieve them.

2. Student choice over learning activities and co-construction.

3. Me letting go more of the control!

While I am still wariting for my newly ordered copy of  Dweck's 'Mindset', this next part really rings true and echoes the same truth.  

Positive Learning Orientation	Negative Learning Orientation
·       effort = success ·       believe in ability to improve & learn ·       prefer challenge ·       personal satisfaction to success ·       problem solve & self-instructions	·       ability = success ·       judged as able ·       do better than others ·       competition ·       helpless & negative self evaluation in difficult task

For our class to be a positive learning place we need to be explicit about these things:

Hard work brings success. 

I can get better.

I will be adventurous. 

Success makes me feel good.

I can solve it!

This will become our 'Positive Mindset' for Term 3. We will unpack it and do lots of self talking to help embed it in our understanding.  It will be interesting to see how it supports the students with a more negative attitude to life.  It fits perfectly with the Māori whakatoki that is our foundation this term.