Learning to Learn

I've just been reading about St. paul's Convent School in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. I was particularly interested in their approach to meta cognition and learning to learn and the integrated use of iPod Touches. Here's an extract from the article on the Futurelab website:

Learning to learn and the 16 habits of mind

All pupils in their first two years at the secondary school undertake a Learning to Learn course. They also are trained (by the older students in F6 - aged 16) in Professor Arthur Costa’s 16 habits of mind. Prof Costa maintains that a critical attribute of intelligence is not only having information but also knowing how to act on it . The 16 habits of mind (such as persistence, thinking flexibly, remaining open to continual learning) contribute to this intelligence. For more detail on how the school has implemented these 16 Habits of Mind across the curriculum see the video at http://ihouse.hkedcity.net/~sp1400/hom/index.htm.

The 16 Habits of Mind are listed below:

1. Persisting

2. Managing impulsivity

3. Listening with understanding and empathy

4. Thinking flexibly

5. Thinking about thinking (meta-cognition)

6. Striving for accuracy

7. Questioning and posing problems

8. Applying past knowledge to new situations

9. Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision

10. Gathering data through all senses

11. Creating, imagining, innovating

12. Responding with wonderment and awe

13. Taking responsible risks

14. Finding humour

15. Thinking interdependently

16. Remaining open to continuous learning

Technology provides additional learning opportunities and enables the girls to showcase their work

The school’s learning portal enables the students to log in and access additional activities, for example additional videos and audio recordings and accompanying exercises to test their English comprehension. The students showing me round the school had made frequent use of these materials. I was shown active class discussion areas, not only featuring questions on homework logistics but also intense discussion on the role of school, the responsibilities of parents and what students need to learn to prepare them for life. Sister Margaret described how extensive use is made of ipod touches to enable students to revise topics and practice Putonghua (spoken Chinese). Technology allows the school to extend learning opportunities beyond the school day and the school term.

There is clearly lots to learn from schools in other parts of the world as well as those nearer to home. I was also struck by the headteacher's reminder of the multiple ways in which we can demonstrate and celebrate our unique talents and intelligences:

Sister Margaret points out the 100 different pursuits of the children painted on the screen to emphasise that everyone is good at something and the key is finding out what and building upon it.

5x5x5=creativity

I've been reading a Futurelab document entitled Curriculum and Teaching Innovation which makes reference to an organisation called 5x5x5=creativity. Based on an early years model of student centred education, the project's philosophy and aims (listed below) are clearly related to our own and those of Creative Partnerships generally. Much of this thinking is also reflected in Futurelab's own alternative to the national curriculum which they call Enquiring Minds. I wonder if we could learn anything from their research so far? How easily might some of these principles and working practices translate into a secondary school setting?

5x5x5 aims to:

• demonstrate ways in which creativity can be fostered in young children and fire their interest in learning
• influence educational practice by establishing creativity as an essential foundation of learning
• produce research to demonstrate the value of creative enquiry, relationships and environments in helping children develop as confident, creative thinkers
• share the research findings as widely as possible, creating a legacy for the future
• provide integrated training and mentoring for participating teachers, artists and cultural settings

5x5x5 philosophy

The project is inspired by the creative educational approach of early years settings in Reggio Emilia. This internationally celebrated approach pioneered a collaborative way of working with young children that allows them to express their ideas in many creative ways, ‘in 100 languages'.

The key philosophical principles of 5x5x5:

• children are seen as innate and creative knowledge builders, explorers and co-constructors of their learning
• educators and artists are enablers and companions in the children's learning within a culture of listening
• learning is focussed on the process of the children's explorations, not the end product
• documenting children's learning journeys is our method for evaluating and reflecting upon the children's thinking and learning
• the development of a creative learning community of teachers, artists, co-workers in cultural centres, parents and children
• involving family and community in life-long learning

'Children need the freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes and their ears, the resources of forms, materials sounds and colours. They need the freedom to realise how reason, thought and imagination can create continuous interweaving of things, and can move and shake the world.'

Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia preschools

http://zerosei.comune.re.it/inter/reggiochildren.htm