Learning Powers

Building Learning Power

- Building Learning Power is an approach originated by Professor Guy Claxton. It is about helping young people become better learners.

It is Learning How To Learn!

Guy Claxton’s Three Core beliefs:

BLP believes that the core purpose of education is to prepare young people for life after school; helping them to build up the mental, emotional, social and strategic resources to enjoy challenge and cope well with uncertainty and complexity
BLP believes that this purpose for education is valuable for all young people and involves helping them to discover the things that they would really love to be great at, and strengthening their will and skill to pursue them.
This confidence, capability and passion can be developed since real-world intelligence is something that people can be helped to build up.

These fundamental beliefs are relevant in all society and are often known as the 4 R’s

The 4 ‘R’s

Resilience, Reflectiveness, Resourcefulness and Reciprocity

Persevering Penguin - Resilience

I don't give up easily. I keep going even when I find things tricky. I am not afraid of new challenges. I keep looking for new ways to tackle a problem. I manage distractions.

Planning Panda – Reflectiveness

I don't rush into work. I take my time and plan things out carefully to get better end results. I try to think of the best ways to achieve my goals.

Making Links Lion – Resourcefulness

I use my brain to work hard. I look for patterns in learning. I remember the skills I have already been taught to help me with new tasks. I ask questions to find the answers.

Collaborating Koala – Reciprocity

I work well in a team. I am helpful to others. I listen to other people's thoughts and ideas. I share my thoughts and ideas with others. I share resources and wait for my turn. I emapathise with others.

THE 4 R’s are our ‘Building Learning Muscles’. These dispositions are inherent in us all regardless of race, society or ability! There are - NO LIMITS TO BUILDING LEARNING POWER! This is incredibly empowering and we are hoping to impart this power to all the children at the Alport!

Learning Muscles

RESILIENCE being ready, willing and able to LOCK ON TO LEARNING	RESOURCEFULNESS being ready, willing and able to LEARN IN DIFFERENT WAYS
Absorption Learning Muscle; you become engrossed in what you are doing; you are unaware of time passing Managing Distraction Learning Muscle; you know what distracts you, you try to minimise distractions, you settle back quickly after an interruption Noticing Learning Muscle; you notice how things look, what they are made of, or how they behave, you can identify significant detail Perseverance Learning Muscle; you are not put off by being stuck, you keep on going despite difficulties and find ways to overcome them, you recognise that learning can be a struggle	Questioning Learning Muscle; you are curious about things and people, you often wonder why, you play with ideas, asking "How come?" and "What if?" Making Links Learning Muscle; you look for connections between experiences or ideas, you find pleasure in seeing how things fit together, you make patterns Imagining Learning Muscle; you picture how things might look, sound, feel, be; you let your mind explore and play with possibilities and ideas Reasoning Learning Muscle; you create logical arguments, you deduce what might happen, you look for evidence
REFLECTIVENESS being ready, willing and able to become MORE STRATEGIC ABOUT LEARNING	RECIPROCITY being ready, willing and able to LEARN ALONE AND WITH OTHERS
Planning Learning Muscle; you think about what you want to get out of learning, you plan the steps you might take, you access which resources you may need Revising Learning Muscle; you are ready to revise your plans as you go along, monitor how things are going, change your plans when you've had a better idea Distilling Learning Muscle; you mull over experiences, draw out useful lessons from experiences, think about where else you might use these lessons Meta-Learning Muscle; you are interested in how you learn as an individual, know your strengths and weaknesses as a learner, are interested in becoming a better learner	Interdependence Learning Muscle; you know how much interaction you need with others to assist your learning, you make informed choices about working on your own or with others Collaboration Learning Muscle; you manage your feelings when working with others, you understand the ground rules of team work, you are able to work effectively as part of a pair or team Empathy and Listening Learning Muscle; you put yourself in other people's shoes to see the world from their point of view, show you are listening by eye contact and body language, hear feelings and thoughts behind someone's words Imitation Learning Muscle; you are ready to learn from others, notice the approach and detail of how others do things

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Learning Powers