Secondary CPD

The Finding Out Phase

You have an itch of dissatisfaction, things are not quite how you would like them to be. Teachers work hard, but many students are passive, dependent and risk averse. Teachers would like to do things differently, but they are not sure what to try – the need to chase examination success on behalf of their students is consuming their energies and creativity. You worry that your students are ill-equipped to deal with the complex demands of 21st century living and working.

Might Building Learning Power be a way of improving examination success and helping students to develop the learning behaviours that will sustain them throughout a lifetime of learning ? 

Before making a start on this exciting and essential approach to education, leaders and teachers will want to explore principles, background research, and impact of learning power in schools.

Our resources in this section are designed to help leaders and teachers explore questions such as: What is Learning Power all about?; What are the imperatives that point to the need for change?; What do learning powered students, teachers and schools do differently?; What difference doe it make?

Phase 1: Making a start

You understand that students need to leave school with as good a set of examination results as they can possibly achieve, and a range of positive learning behaviours that will enable them to be effective lifelong learners. You want your students to be emotionally engaged in their learning; to have a wide range of cognitive skills with which to learn; to be able to work and learn effectively with others; and to be ready willing and able to take responsibility for themselves as learners. 

But where do you start ?

If you are convinced that independent learners for life are what you want, and are ready to engage, then Phase 1 is for you. Here you will find courses and resources to build a team of Learning Power champions to act as change agents in getting Learning Power under way in your school.

Phase 2: Beyond the basics

You have worked hard to introduce Building Learning Power into classrooms. Students are aware of the learning behaviours that they command, and classrooms are increasingly learning friendly. Teachers are consciously shifting responsibility towards learners, and learning itself is becoming the object of learning, of discussion, and of celebration. Students employ their positive learning behaviours more frequently than was previously the case, and in a wider range of contexts.

But questions remain – are they becoming better, more skilful at these learning behaviours ? Are they becoming better at asking questions ? Better at dealing with challenge ? Better at the cut and thrust of group work ? Better at managing their own learning ? Better at responding to and acting on feedback ? and so on.

And, moreover, what does becoming better, more skilful actually look like ? 

Putting the building into Building Learning Power is at the heart of this phase.

Now gathering pace, the development of a learning culture is further extended to secure a coaching approach to teaching, to broaden the language of learning to include progression, and to enable students to take responsibility for developing their own learning behaviours.

Phase 3: Broadening the scope

Learning Power is embedded in classrooms and is rapidly becoming ‘what we do round here’. Taking Learning Power beyond lessons and the classroom is the theme of this phase. It involves integrating learning power development across the whole curriculum, keeping everyone on board with the approach and engaging the community in learning power.